Monday, February 25, 2008
Double knot those laces
I've never claimed to be a runner, but it is my new goal. For 6 months I was on the right track at the gym. I was making it there every single day, combining strength training and cardio...and I fell in love with spin class. Every time I walked out of there, I knew that I had accomplished something and that made me feel great. Well, over the Christmas holidays I somehow got a muscle strain in my back, most likely due to bending over incorrectly on the spin bike. So, after some physical therapy and a lot of inflammatories, I feel I am getting back on track. Yet, I am a little intimidated to get back on the bike, so, I decided that my new goal is to learn how to run (not on a treadmill). Today started DAY ONE of my new training and realized that this is going to be a lot of work and that is alright. I went to the park where the milage is clearly marked, and let me tell you it was hard. I kept imagining myself slowly taking charge of the whole track....but I didn't. I've never been good at running outside. It makes my lungs hurt and I have weird knees, but that isn't going to stop me for now. I've decided that the only way to accomplish this is to set small goals each day, so I don't get hurt or feel defeated. My goal is to make it around the whole track without walking by next week and we will take it from there, so wish me luck.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Robbers Beware!
Tonight my husband and I went to the store and bought our first baseball bat...and NO it wasn't for baseball practice. We got a call from a neighbor informing us that 17, yes, I said 17, break-ins have occurred in our neighborhood this week. His house was hit in the wee early morning hours today and the police spent 4 hours fingerprinting. I have to admit, I'm nervous. It's obvious that these hooded guys in some volvo (the get away car in question) are robbing these homes while people are there. So, here's my message to you crazy dudes..."Go AWAY, we've protected our home and everything I have is in my safety deposit box. And please leave my neighborhood alone. There's a lot of little old ladies around here that can't run fast."
Monday, February 18, 2008
Aquarius Posting
I usually don't pay attention to horoscopes at all...but today I glimpsed at it. Just wanted to say "Thank You" to whomever it is talking about.
The extraordinary efforts of someone in your crew -- social circle, office clique, team, whatever -- are creating some incredible opportunities for you right now, and today is the day to take advantage of them! Put the routine matters of the day aside and put your name on the list of volunteers for a brave new experiment. You have to show that you're eager to get involved in order for anyone to involve you. Be sure to show gratitude to the person who enabled all of this to happen.
The extraordinary efforts of someone in your crew -- social circle, office clique, team, whatever -- are creating some incredible opportunities for you right now, and today is the day to take advantage of them! Put the routine matters of the day aside and put your name on the list of volunteers for a brave new experiment. You have to show that you're eager to get involved in order for anyone to involve you. Be sure to show gratitude to the person who enabled all of this to happen.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day...Did you know?
In honor of Valentine's, I've put up some history about the word KISS.
The band KISS used to be known as Wicked Lester. They changed the name in 1973. Paul Stanley (guitar and vocals) became the "Starchild" due to his tendency to be referred to as the "starry-eyed lover" and "hopeless romantic." Stanley came up with the name for the band, which was taken from the New York Dolls song "Looking For A Kiss."
The scientific name for kissing is philematology.
Some anthropologists believe that kissing originated with early Homo sapiens passing food to their babies mouth to mouth. As humans developed, the mouth-to-mouth feeding stopped but the learned behavior of kissing remained.
Hershey's Kisses got their name because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
Kissing each day will keep the dentist away. Kissing encourages saliva to wash away food from the teeth and lowers the level of the acid that causes decay, preventing plaque build-up.
You burn 26 calories in a one minute kiss.
The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing.
The top five foods to avoid 24 hours before kissing are garlic, onions, fish, cheese and pastrami.
The longest recorded kiss took place in New York City on December 5, 2001, between Louisa Almedovar and Rich Langley. It lasted 30 hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds
The band KISS used to be known as Wicked Lester. They changed the name in 1973. Paul Stanley (guitar and vocals) became the "Starchild" due to his tendency to be referred to as the "starry-eyed lover" and "hopeless romantic." Stanley came up with the name for the band, which was taken from the New York Dolls song "Looking For A Kiss."
The scientific name for kissing is philematology.
Some anthropologists believe that kissing originated with early Homo sapiens passing food to their babies mouth to mouth. As humans developed, the mouth-to-mouth feeding stopped but the learned behavior of kissing remained.
Hershey's Kisses got their name because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
Kissing each day will keep the dentist away. Kissing encourages saliva to wash away food from the teeth and lowers the level of the acid that causes decay, preventing plaque build-up.
You burn 26 calories in a one minute kiss.
The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing.
The top five foods to avoid 24 hours before kissing are garlic, onions, fish, cheese and pastrami.
The longest recorded kiss took place in New York City on December 5, 2001, between Louisa Almedovar and Rich Langley. It lasted 30 hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Recessions drive me crazy
Sticking to the topic of jobs....I'm just going to put it out there and say it. If you read my previous post, just be lucky you have a job. Stick to those simple bullet points and be grateful for the time being. Hmmm...maybe I should explain where this is coming from.
As many of you readers out there know, I lost my job last November. Of course I had my few days of shock and sadness. Believe it or not, there actually is a grieving process that goes on. I didn't even feel mad or bitter towards my boss who gave me the news and I felt confident in my skills, the experience I had gained. I even listened to everyone who said "You will be back on your feet in no time!" Well, it's all about timing. First off, why do people think that giving workers the boot on the holidays make it easier. I love how everyone tries to say "Go out and enjoy the holiday. Now you have time to go have fun and go shopping." Here's a clue, it makes it easier if you have a paycheck to help out. Also, it's a time when NOBODY is hiring, but they all are dreaming big for the new year. So, they are still interviewing people, but in reality, they know that nothing is going to start moving at the pace you need it to. Yet, you can't afford to not be looking and interviewing at the same time. Might as well practice those skills, right?
Okay, so it's the new year. Maybe those prospects, that you thought you won over, might make a decision and move forward now. I keep telling myself, keep your chin up. Stay confident, you can still get through this. Well, as many of you might have heard..Breaking a four-year string of growth in hiring, employers shed jobs in January, the clearest sign yet that the U.S. economy is nearing a recession, if not already in it. Lucky for me, right? Yeah, this doesn't look good. In the meantime, two of the jobs that I was very hopeful about, both claim they continue to grow. But now, I have to take into account that any job that I may get, won't be a great offer because no matter what, all companies right now are cutting back. Especially if they are trying to add on more and more employees.
You may ask, what prompted this post? Well, I got news today from a company that they hired someone internally, that had been doing contract work for a while. So, knowing this makes me sad because I lost out, due to a technicality. What drove it home, was that I got forwarded a goodbye email from the person who got the job. You know, her "Dear John, I'm leaving my job and am eager about this new opportunity..blah, blah."
This new angle makes me feel guilty too. I have a friend that was being interviewed for the same job, as me, at my other prospect. As far as I know, I'm still in the running, but she's already gotten notification of them moving forward. If things ended up in my favor, I would find it very difficult to tell her. She's been very great about it and supportive, but I can't help but think that she might feel the sadness that I feel today over this. It had already been looming over my head since I found out, but I really can't afford to look the other way right now. I need a job and this would actually be something I really want too.
As I am challenged with these things, it has been attacking my self confidence now (back to timing as I mentioned above). I feel like I have the scarlet "U" on my chest, standing for "unemployed." As I move into my third month of this hiring challenge, I am starting to feel a little frustrated towards my situation. I realize why a lot of people in the music business jump from label to label. It is simply because it's all they know, so I advise you to look at #5 on the list below. It's a niche market and it is hard to pull yourself out. I am starting to feel sad that my old job was so quick to let me go and eliminated my position and are now so SLOW in moving forward without me with their plans. What was the rush?
As many of you readers out there know, I lost my job last November. Of course I had my few days of shock and sadness. Believe it or not, there actually is a grieving process that goes on. I didn't even feel mad or bitter towards my boss who gave me the news and I felt confident in my skills, the experience I had gained. I even listened to everyone who said "You will be back on your feet in no time!" Well, it's all about timing. First off, why do people think that giving workers the boot on the holidays make it easier. I love how everyone tries to say "Go out and enjoy the holiday. Now you have time to go have fun and go shopping." Here's a clue, it makes it easier if you have a paycheck to help out. Also, it's a time when NOBODY is hiring, but they all are dreaming big for the new year. So, they are still interviewing people, but in reality, they know that nothing is going to start moving at the pace you need it to. Yet, you can't afford to not be looking and interviewing at the same time. Might as well practice those skills, right?
Okay, so it's the new year. Maybe those prospects, that you thought you won over, might make a decision and move forward now. I keep telling myself, keep your chin up. Stay confident, you can still get through this. Well, as many of you might have heard..Breaking a four-year string of growth in hiring, employers shed jobs in January, the clearest sign yet that the U.S. economy is nearing a recession, if not already in it. Lucky for me, right? Yeah, this doesn't look good. In the meantime, two of the jobs that I was very hopeful about, both claim they continue to grow. But now, I have to take into account that any job that I may get, won't be a great offer because no matter what, all companies right now are cutting back. Especially if they are trying to add on more and more employees.
You may ask, what prompted this post? Well, I got news today from a company that they hired someone internally, that had been doing contract work for a while. So, knowing this makes me sad because I lost out, due to a technicality. What drove it home, was that I got forwarded a goodbye email from the person who got the job. You know, her "Dear John, I'm leaving my job and am eager about this new opportunity..blah, blah."
This new angle makes me feel guilty too. I have a friend that was being interviewed for the same job, as me, at my other prospect. As far as I know, I'm still in the running, but she's already gotten notification of them moving forward. If things ended up in my favor, I would find it very difficult to tell her. She's been very great about it and supportive, but I can't help but think that she might feel the sadness that I feel today over this. It had already been looming over my head since I found out, but I really can't afford to look the other way right now. I need a job and this would actually be something I really want too.
As I am challenged with these things, it has been attacking my self confidence now (back to timing as I mentioned above). I feel like I have the scarlet "U" on my chest, standing for "unemployed." As I move into my third month of this hiring challenge, I am starting to feel a little frustrated towards my situation. I realize why a lot of people in the music business jump from label to label. It is simply because it's all they know, so I advise you to look at #5 on the list below. It's a niche market and it is hard to pull yourself out. I am starting to feel sad that my old job was so quick to let me go and eliminated my position and are now so SLOW in moving forward without me with their plans. What was the rush?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Keep your job
The Today Show had a segment today about keeping your job during this recession time. Geez, I wish they would have a segment about how hard it is to find a job during the recession. These simple steps seem easy and for those of you out there who aren't willing to try...well, you disappoint me. I've listed the bullet points below and especially like the last one. (If you follow through, I may have a lot of friends coming to me. One thing I've noticed in the work place, when you lose your job, is who your friends really are. It was shocking to me how certain people, who just don't feel comfortable around you anymore, find it hard to say "hi" when they see you outside the workplace now.)
1. Be a good sport-don't be a drama queen and don't complain
2. Don't expect to get a raise-don't offer to take a pay cut, but don't turn one down either
3. Work harder and smarter-re-commit yourself to the job
4. Review your company health plan
5. Update yourself-it's time to learn those new skills
6. Add 20% more to your emergency fund-save your tax refund check
7. Prepare other options-there's no shame being open to other jobs and keeping your resume updated
8. Redirect a portion of your 401k to savings
9. Reconnect with people that have lost their jobs-they can give good advice and perspective
On a sidenote- this brief portion came on to help caution workers about work email. I kept on saying to myself "Who is dumb enough to do that?" because not sending your resume/personal emails from your work account just seems to be common sense, right? Well, they say that half of all businesses scan companies emails. They use software that detects key words because they want to protect company secrets, personal information and monitoring inappropriate contact. Courts are finding that businesses have the rights to do this and an employees' right to privacy just doesn't outweigh that interest. That's it in a nutshell.
1. Be a good sport-don't be a drama queen and don't complain
2. Don't expect to get a raise-don't offer to take a pay cut, but don't turn one down either
3. Work harder and smarter-re-commit yourself to the job
4. Review your company health plan
5. Update yourself-it's time to learn those new skills
6. Add 20% more to your emergency fund-save your tax refund check
7. Prepare other options-there's no shame being open to other jobs and keeping your resume updated
8. Redirect a portion of your 401k to savings
9. Reconnect with people that have lost their jobs-they can give good advice and perspective
On a sidenote- this brief portion came on to help caution workers about work email. I kept on saying to myself "Who is dumb enough to do that?" because not sending your resume/personal emails from your work account just seems to be common sense, right? Well, they say that half of all businesses scan companies emails. They use software that detects key words because they want to protect company secrets, personal information and monitoring inappropriate contact. Courts are finding that businesses have the rights to do this and an employees' right to privacy just doesn't outweigh that interest. That's it in a nutshell.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Turning 30
Tomorrow is my 30th birthday. You know the best part about turning the big 3-0 is the fact that you no longer have to hear people ask the question "Uh, oh, are you scared?" and watch them make that face. That's right, you know the face I'm talking about. It's the one with the look of concern that you're facing the reality that you now are getting old and "What are you going to do?!?!?" Blah, blah, you know what? I don't care. I'm glad to be done with my twenties, I think? Nevertheless, it is a memorable birthday and one that everyone talks about. I am sad that my mom isn't here to celebrate with me and I'm sure she would have made it great.
So, for the big birthday, I'm getting three days of celebration (one day for each decade, I guess). Friday, I got to celebrate with close friends all day. It first started at Noshville with my old girls lunch crew. That evening we headed to the Rosepepper Cantina in East Nashville. Geez, What a great time! I just felt very lucky to have such good friends around me on an important day. Each person around that table mean the world to me. It was just the way I wanted. Small and intimate with the people that genuinely make me feel loved.
Tonight was the family dinner out at California Pizza Kitchen because of course my big day had to fall on SuperBowl Sunday. It's a pretty important birthday and I'm not letting a stupid football game be an excuse to party. I've had that happen before and it sucked. So, instead, I've decided to milk it for all it's worth. I might be able to round up some pictures and post them tomorrow. In the meantime, I give everyone permission to eat really bad tomorrow and have a good time.
P.S. I am still trying to figure out who to cheer for. I wouldn't be upset either way, but I think I'm leaning towards the Giants. They gave they Patriots a good run for their money last time they played and It'd be nice to see them pull it off. But I already give kudos to New England for a great season.
So, for the big birthday, I'm getting three days of celebration (one day for each decade, I guess). Friday, I got to celebrate with close friends all day. It first started at Noshville with my old girls lunch crew. That evening we headed to the Rosepepper Cantina in East Nashville. Geez, What a great time! I just felt very lucky to have such good friends around me on an important day. Each person around that table mean the world to me. It was just the way I wanted. Small and intimate with the people that genuinely make me feel loved.
Tonight was the family dinner out at California Pizza Kitchen because of course my big day had to fall on SuperBowl Sunday. It's a pretty important birthday and I'm not letting a stupid football game be an excuse to party. I've had that happen before and it sucked. So, instead, I've decided to milk it for all it's worth. I might be able to round up some pictures and post them tomorrow. In the meantime, I give everyone permission to eat really bad tomorrow and have a good time.
P.S. I am still trying to figure out who to cheer for. I wouldn't be upset either way, but I think I'm leaning towards the Giants. They gave they Patriots a good run for their money last time they played and It'd be nice to see them pull it off. But I already give kudos to New England for a great season.
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