Meeting Notes is a weekly feature. Here we will dish on tidbits, news, and important things we thinking Working Girls should know. So scroll down to hear what we think you should glean from this work week.

At the mere mention of “winter storm warning”, I become giddy with anticipation. I wish, I hope and I pray for a snow day, just like a little kid.

It starts the night before—I always have a hard time falling asleep as I plan all the fun things I can do on my unexpected day off. And when I wake up the next day, it almost feels like Christmas morning. I eagerly leap out of bed before my alarm goes off and run to the window, my snow day hopes flying high.

But as soon as I see the snowflakes, I remember that I’m now a working girl. And a snow day in the corporate world would pretty much NEVER happen—especially where I live. But I still can’t help feeling a tiny bit of hope every time. And a bit of envy (teacher friends, you are SO lucky!)

For me, snow days are a thing of a past. Instead, I get to look forward to the intense thrill ride that is my commute to and from work on snowy days. On the way home tonight, I fish-tailed all over the entrance ramp to the highway. Nothing’s more exhilarating than losing control of your car! Or not. I don’t know why more companies don’t call for snow days—sometimes the driving is way too treacherous to be out and about. My hands were cramped from gripping the wheel so hard. Yikes.

But the thing that always lifts my melted little spirits on my non-snow days is reading the list of closings and cancellations. Have you ever really looked at the names? They’re hilarious. My personal favorite is the Swingin’ Senior Singles Meet-up (hey, it beats bingo). And The Future of America Preschool (now that’s pressure). Or what about Little City Kids (I feel like that isn’t very PC)? But some of the places really bug me, like Kidz Development Center and Kinder Korner. Those names are just WRONG. I certainly will never send my kids to a place that intentionally misspells its name to be cute. (Sorry, that’s my biggest pet peeve. Moving on…)

Sigh. I miss snow days. And clearly I spend way too much time at work thinking about this.

In other news, my class “speech” went so well! Thanks for all the advice! Though I think I said, “Oh yeah, good times” at least 10 times. Nothing like a catchy verbal crutch, right? And when someone asked me what activities I did in college, I couldn’t really remember. How sad is that? I went from feeling like I was still a student to feeling like I was totally ancient. Whoa. But my old professor said it went really well and the kids asked a lot of questions, so the time flew by.

So what’s on your mind? Any thoughts on snow days? Or the weather? Or absurd pet peeves, like mine? Feel free to share!

The 2010 Olympics are upon us and WG2 can vouch for me when I say I am obsessed with anything involving Olympics. I have organized my fair share of Beer Olympics with hope that it may one day become big enough to make it to NBC. (Keep you fingers crossed). Being a fan of The Office and The Olympics, I could not resist posting this photo from the beloved episode of “The Office” when Jim organizes events to help the employees bond on a day when the boss is away. Luckily when Michael Scott returns he is not angry, but rather rewarded with a gold medal crafted from the foil seal on a yogurt cup.

Anyway, I took it upon myself to do some internet searching and found that MANY offices have created their own Office Olympics! Unfortunately teachers are not allowed to leave the children to participate in said events, but we do have In Service and Training days where it wouldn’t hurt to incorporate some sportsmanship.

Enough talking, here are some of the best Office Olympic Events I found…

Chair Rowing-Seated competitors must push off with both feet. Bonus points for faking a rowing motion with hands. Coxswain optional.

Target Shooting-Contestants throw Sharpies at paper target from a fixed distance. Must leave a mark (on target, not contestant) to score.

Coffee Mug Marathon-Athletes carrying coffee cups filled to the brim must circle the floor at least six times. Winners are judged by a combination of fastest time and least amount spilled. (Bonus points for using piping-hot coffee.)

Shot Put-Employees attempt to heave a stapler the longest distance using traditional shot-putting techniques. (Event is best held in a parking lot or a padded room.)

Paper Sculling-Individuals or teams construct a boat out of office paper and blow it across a tub of water in head-to-head competition. Sinking is an automatic DQ.

Office Ping-Pong-Clear a conference table and set a line of books across the middle to make a net. Opponents use either a book or a bare hand to compete. Ping-Pong or other bouncy ball required. Hard hats optional.

Hurdles-Competitors race down a hallway, leaping over reams of paper (low difficulty), boxes (medium difficulty), or office chairs (high difficulty/rather stupid).

Book Balance Beam-Athletes prance across a narrow, stacked row of books at least 2 feet high and 8 feet long. Routines are evaluated, rated and, of course, mocked by a panel of judges.

I love the comments we get when we end posts with a question, so I have to ask…does your place of work participate in sports/olympic-like events? (Would it be inappropriate to suggest ‘child-hurling’ at my school’s next training day!?)

In honor of Love Month … and going along the same theme as Teaching Working Girl’s last post (nice one!) here’s what I love most about my job:

NO DRESS CODE*.

“Eeets tha baste!” (Nacho Libre? Anyone?) Is PR typically like that, you ask? Hmm, not necessarily. It really depends on the agency, each one is so different. Although, the smaller boutique-y type of agencies tend to be more casual. Since I work in-house at a large company vs. at a PR agency, we follow the overall company’s dress code guidelines. Luckily our brand skews the younger demographic and is super laid back, so our office environment embodies this great “come as you are” philosophy. I highly dig. Employees are encouraged to wear what’s most comfortable to them, because at the end of the day what matters is that you get your work done, not what you wear.

My last job, however, was at a very large PR agency in Chicago where the dress code was business casual every day and formal business attire when clients were in the house. I would often tell myself that I enjoyed dressing up for work, but man, when you have to stop by the grocery store after work or run an errand at CVS, heels and nice clothes were a major pain. Finally, after a lot of prodding from employees, “casual Fridays” or “jeans Fridays” was born. But there were still really strict rules. There was even a secret dress code enforcer person who made his/her rounds through cube city every day policing the entire office to make sure no flip flops, sneakers or T-shirts had entered the building.

Ironically, this ended up not being such a good thing for me.

One Friday, my team had a big client in town, and I showed up to our meeting in jeans. I was still very put together and professional looking, mind you. My jeans were of the dark and skinny variety, I had on black peep-toe heels and a very nice well-taiored top. My boss, oh yeah, she came into the meeting with a full-on suit, a silky fucia top and big jewelry around her neck. As soon as she saw me, her eagle eye that never missed a thing looked me up and down. I could tell she was not happy.

After the meeting, she pulled me aside (oh no, please please please tell me I’m not fired) and tersely whispered that even though it was “casual Friday” we always dress up for the client. No ifs, ands or buts. I was mortified.

But you see, the tables have now turned. When folks from our PR agency come into the office for meetings all dressed up and dapper-looking, I can’t help but smile at how ridiculous and uncomfortable they look while the rest of us, the client, are dressed in jeans, sweats and Uggs.

*OK, OK, OK guys. It’s a day later and I realize this post makes it sound like I come to work each day looking–and smelling–like a homeless slob. Haha. Not true. It’s the option to wear something very loose and comfortable (such as on a Friday before a long holiday weekend) or a cute, planned out outfit (which I shoot for most days) that I love about not having a dress code. Cool? OK. Now get back to work.

Sleek laptops, phones that do everything but take out the trash, a World Wide Web ready to return thousands of options to any old random search for information . . . Working Girls today have it made! It wasn’t that long ago that telephone had big spinning dials and a computer filled an entire room (yet still did not have the computer power of even the cheapest cell phone today). I heard one horror story about having to cut and paste (literally, with scissors and paste) advertisements by hand. Can you imagine such nonsense today, in 2010, in the land of Kindle?

Last year, I became the proud owner of an iPhone and just months later, I’m wondering how I survived without it. There’s no doubt that technology and all the gadgets it spawns have completely changed the working landscape, allowing us to work smarter, faster and less expensively while creating new career paths and shaping our way of life.

Here are just a few electronic marvels that every Working Girl should have on her “must have” list.

1. Quick Charge – Throw your cellphone, bluetooth, MP3 player or camera onto its surface for instant charging. No wires, no need to plug anything in! My girls thinks it’s magic! Retailing around $100 bucks, its practical and affordable. For charging on the go, the RCA AirEnergy unit converts the WiFi antenna signal to DC power to recharge its own internal lithium battery, so it automatically recharges itself whenever the device is anywhere near a WiFi hotspot. If you have a wireless network at home the AirEnergy would recharge overnight virtually anywhere in your home. When you need to recharge your phone or other device you plug the AirEnergy battery in via USB to transfer the charge.

2. A Digital Notepad – Do you prefer to hand write but don’t because you need to store you data electronically? Can’t afford a tablet PC? Will, note takers of the world, your solution has arrived. Whatever you write on the Digimemo Digital Notepad, you can download via USB to your computer for filing, storing or printing! Also going for around a palatable $100.

3. Turn-by-Turn Directions – Face it Working Girls. Time is money so don’t waste it wandering around aimlessly searching for a destination. Its 2010. Go ahead and get a GPS! Garmin and Tom Tom both has decent models that do the job between $120 and $150. Even if you have GPS on your cell phone, having a freestanding GPS just makes sense. Even if you have a GPS app on your cell phone, it’s just makes sense.

4. Webcam/Headset – I’m still amazed at how many Working Girls are not taking full advantage of the time and money saving aspects that the internet can bring. With the aid of a webcam and headset (which isn’t necessary if you have a build in microphone), the internet transforms into a powerful networking tool that allows you to place calls for free or really (really) cheap, hold online meetings, create videos for YouTube and social networking sites and, of course, keep in touch with family and friends. Webcams range in price from around $50 into the hundreds with varying features and functions. There’s one to fit every budget and need. For shooting video away from the computer, the Flip is a winner with its High Def video quality, portable, user friendly design and, most importantly, affordable price. You can get one with a with 2 hours worth of memory for $129.

What are some of the gadgets that YOU just can’t live without?

“You” being public speaking, of course. There’s nothing like the thought of talking in front of a room full of people to send my nerves into a panicked frenzy. And unfortunately, I have to learn to get over that pretty quickly. Like, tomorrow. Because that’s when I’m heading back to college to speak in my old copywriting class.

Gulp.

You see, I know in my head that I’ve had great work experiences to share with the students. And I know I have a lot of insights into what it takes to get a job, adjust to the “real world”, the real power of networking, etc. But it’s the actual talking that scares the crap out of me. And the whole being-in-front-of-other-people thing.

I like to joke that I totally fit the artsy, hard-to-understand creative stereotype. Because while I’m good at thinking and writing, it’s the whole socializing bit that trips me up. Sure, when I’m with friends I’m a total chatterbox. But when it comes to serious discussions with strangers, I suddenly develop every speech impediment under the sun. I trip over words, forget what I’m saying, mispronounce things, stutter, sweat profusely, my voice gets all quivery and the absolute worst—I forget to swallow. And that most certainly leads to a watery little gagging noise in my throat that is quite unattractive.

Sure, I can write a story no problem. But to actually tell a story? Yikes. I’m the girl who skips to the punch line, leaving people wondering what the heck I’m talking about. I sometimes forget that people aren’t in my head, following my train of thought. Boy, I wish they could (well…maybe not).

The professor, who is actually my old professor and former boss, told me my time in class should be really informal. He told me I should just get up there, tell them about my career thus far and show off some of my work. No preparation necessary.

Um, right. Winging it isn’t really my style. I can just see it now: Me standing in front of a bunch of bored college kids, stumbling over my words, talking in circles and sweating like an ice cold margarita in the hot summer sun. (In other words, A LOT.)

But honestly, I think that’s what I have to try to do. If I write up what I want to say, it will make me even more nervous. So right now I’m just going to take a deep breath and try my best to shake away the butterflies. I’m going to try to focus on what I wanted to hear when I was in their shoes. Reassure them that the real world isn’t that scary. Actually, it can be pretty fun. And make sure to remind them to soak up every last ounce of college while it lasts. Because time sure does fly.

Despite my incredible case of nerves, I’m so honored my old professor asked me to come in and speak. I can’t even believe I’m the professional now. How weird is that? I still feel like I should be sitting in a classroom, fretting over exams, cute boy crushes and sneaking beer into the dorms. But I’ve grown up. And for the first time, I actually feel grown up. And I think I kind of like it.

So wish me luck. And please remind me to bring extra deodorant. I’m going to need it.

What about you guys—are you terrified of public speaking? Or does it just come naturally to you? (Lucky duck!) Any embarrassing stories? I have my share of them, but I’ll save those for another time….

I know there are still two weeks until VDay, but starting today in school everything is hearts, love, and red all over so I thought, what a better way to kick off the month than talking about doing stuff we absolutely love! Eating chocolate, watching chick flicks, shopping with friends, going on romantic dates..the list can go on and on.

Notice that I didn’t mention “work” among those things. I mean come on, raise your hand if you absolutely love going to work on daily basis…anyone…anyone…Bueller? My point exactly. Don’t get me wrong, there are people who enjoy what they do for a living, but would they prefer being at the office on a Saturday night instead of at the beach or at a bar? I doubt it.

I’m not writing this post to rant and rave about how awful my job is because actually I am pretty lucky. I am one of few young working women who found their passion very early and life and went for it. Sure there are bumps along the way (different major in college, interview after interview, hiring freezes, etc) but I absolutely love teaching. I really do. The school I am in right now is not ideal and the position may be a step down from my last, but as I listen to my iPod on my drive in to work, I am not dreading the next few hours. I love seeing the smiles on the kids faces, drying their tears when they fall, helping them write their names for the first time, and most importantly the exciting moment when that child who we were told would never have the muscle strength to pull himself up and walk takes his first steps with perfection (I swear, it happened last week, not a dry eye in the room).

So why not do something you love?

I’m thinking about going to Australia next September to teach there for a year. Is it a huge risk? Yes. Do I have the funds? Probably not. Is it really smart to leave my secure job? Not at all. Am I 25 and young and love to teach and want to experience as much out of life as I can without regrets or excuses to hold me back? Absolutely.

So if you’ve been thinking of changing career paths, I say go for it. If you’d rather strive to work your way up in the job you have now, go for it! This article from Women Today gives some advice on how to love the job you already have. You’re only young once and you have the rest of your life to work, so why not enjoy sitting in the traffic on your way to work or smile as you’re plowing through the snow as you walk the city streets to your office building. To this day my 60-year-old father still says he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. He never found his passion or went for his dream job (coaching a professional football team) and he regrets it.

So here’s a fun question…if you could do anything in the world, without any strings attached, what would be your ideal profession? Honestly. If tomorrow you could be transported to a job you always dreamt of having what would it be? Besides teaching some of my dream jobs would be…a dolphin trainer, a magician (with a sexy male assistant), a tv producer, or a Rockette.

Then ask yourself…is it really that impossible? These jobs exist for a reason. They are tangible. The lyrics: “Some say I’m a dreamer…but I’m not the only one”. Just something to think about…