What Does Christmas Mean To You?

Christmas means a lot of different things to different people. For some it's about family, others about presents, traditions, snow. Everyone has a vague idea of what Christmas is about, what it stands for, why it is important. I don't think that anybody's reason is wrong, but I do think it's something each of us should think about and know about ourselves.

My thoughts on Christmas have changed quite a bit over time. Growing up one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I did not celebrate Christmas. I remember driving through neighborhoods, envious of the pretty lights, the gorgeous Christmas trees in front windows, fun, inflatable Santas and snowmen. I remember my parents complaining about listening to Christmas music in the stores, the lines, the "bell ringers" out front. It was awkward knowing what to say when wished a Merry Christmas. I could not return in kind, but did not want to be rude. And of course I had to be coached on what to say if someone asked what I wanted for Christmas, what I got for Christmas, etc. A whole lot of effort went into not celebrating Christmas.

After I stopped being a practicing Jehovah's Witness, I must admit that Christmas was about the presents. Hey, it was a new thing for me. And the decorations. I bought boxes and boxes of ornaments that first year, not really knowing how to decorate a tree, and endured a little ribbing from my husband. It was fun. I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect. Things didn't go exactly the way I wanted them to, but looking back it was perfect because it was ours.

This will be my fourth Christmas. And now Christmas is more about spending time with my husband. We are such busy people and we're both looking forward to being our family - each other. We're building our own little traditions. Of course I'm still into the presents! But I've found what is really important about the holidays. It's our family. Our little family of two that will hopefully one day be a bigger family. The stores and the traffic and all that don't really matter. Happy time together matters. And that's what Christmas means to me.

It's All Okay

I am someone who is very hard on myself. I think that, really, most people are hard on themselves. It could be childhood/parental issues (such as in my case), peer issues, or just the kind of issues that the person came with. Everything has to be perfect and then, wouldn't you know it, it's just not good enough. I never try hard enough, I always quit, I start things I don't finish, my house isn't clean enough, the dinner wasn't good enough, the presentation wasn't pretty enough, I'm not skinny/pretty enough, blah blah blah. You know the drill. It's nothing knew. Thankfully (or perhaps unfortunately), I am not unique. Yes, I constantly have those voices running through my head. And yes, I sometimes answer them (don't you judge me! You answer them too).

As a general rule I handle these issues in some fashion, usually bottling them up inside, and then at some point I break. I used to freak out on a very frequent (almost daily) basis, but I've gotten better. Sometimes, though, I just feel too overwhelmed and nothing is going to help except a good cry and cuddle from my husband. And then he says the sweetest things and I feel better. Last night was one of those times I was freaking out. I think about not working out. And then it branched off into other things, as these things do, and it just kept going. All the things I start and don't finish (like the blanket I started to crochet about two years ago), or the book(s) I'm the process of reading, or blogging. Whatever.

He reminded me that growing up I was very sheltered. I was homeschooled and my life revolved around my religion and I didn't really get to have hobbies. So at this point in my life, it's ok for me to try lots of things. It's ok for me to dabble and then leave it alone and then come back to it and so forth. It's ok for my hobbies to be video game playing and TV watching and comic book reading and blog reading. (Yes, I am super-nerdy.) And I felt tremendously better. In fact, I still feel better. All of the things I do, I do because I want to. I'm allowed to do random things and it's ok because I'm still a responsible adult. I have to say, I have a renewed sense of peace with myself.

And, for the record, the husband also tells me that I'm beautiful and a good cook and a great housekeeper even though I'm not the housekeeper and so forth. I tell him he just says those things so he can sleep with me. :-P

What I'm Thankful For

This time of year, it seems every blogger is doing this post. I think it's especially important this year with all of the economic uncertainty and instability around us. We need to remember the good things in our lives and remember to appreciate and be thankful for them. So here are a few things I'm thankful for:

I'm thankful that on March 8, 2005, (my 18th birthday) I left my parents home and never looked back. As bad as things were there, it was still very, very difficult. But that decision changed the course of my life for the better.

I'm thankful for my husband. I know that's a bit cliche, but I truly feel lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive person in my life, and to know that he'll always be there for me. He's been there for me during some of the most difficult times in my life, and he will continue to be there.

I'm thankful for the life we have built. I am a firm believer that your life (and everything in it) is what you have made it, good or bad. My life is amazing and (as cocky as this sounds) I have myself and my husband to thank for that.

I'm thankful for our military. These men and women have volunteered to sacrifice their lives, their families, their relationships in order to protect all of us. Because of them, we can enjoy our Thanksgiving and all of the things we are thankful for in peace.

I'm thankful for the really great friends I have made. It's a lot of work making friends. I had to start all over with friend making three years ago, and I'm truly thankful for the incredible friends I have.

I'm thankful that I have a job. It's not glamorous, but it's a good job. I've been here for three years and the job has been really good to me. It's been worth the blood, sweat, and tears I put into it when I first started.

I'm not much of a religious person. I tend to say that God and I aren't speaking right now. And I'm thankful that I can say that. I can say whatever I want. People like to complain about our country and point out all of the problems with it and our tumultuous history. You know what? The only reason you get to say all of that is because we do live in such a great country. We can believe what we want, say what we want, and directly influence the way our country is run. While there are still problems that need solving, we need to remember all the good things about our country too.

And that, in a nutshell, is it. I could go on about what I am thankful for. But don't let me do all of the talking. What is one of the things you are most thankful for?

Life . . . Keeps Going

It's odd that just because you may be having an off time, things don't stop to let you catch up. In fact, they tend to go faster. I can't believe I went so long between posts. The funny thing is that every day I get a reminder from my Google Calendar agenda, letting me know that I need to post on one of my blogs. What do I do? Archive it. Which I can do because, well, they're my blogs.

Often in life things start to get crazy. And then they get crazier. It's not a big deal. It's the way of things. Strangely, during these sorts of times, it is easy to let the important things go, the things that really bring us peace. For me, blogging and reading blogs is a way to clear my head, to process thoughts, learn new things. Since I tend to think of blogging as a hobby, I seem to let it slide when I start to get stressed. Instead, I turn to "enjoyable" things, like video games, computer games, etc. Those are all well and good, but when I'm done playing, I frequently feel as though I wasted time. This is not always the case. I do enjoy playing games and they are a great distraction for me. But when I spend all my time on mindless activities, I start to feel very bleh. I feel guilty that I "wasted time", that I didn't blog, that I didn't read.

Know when I don't feel guilty about playing games? Days like today. I worked a full day, went to the gym on my lunch break, worked out with free weights in the evening, baked cookies, cleaned my kitchen, watched TV, and spent time with my husband. And I played a computer game. The moral of the story?

There isn't one, really. This is just me noticing a part of myself. It's not necessarily a flaw, it's just something I need to be aware of and learn to work with or around. And this is me getting back to the things that matter to me.

National Coffee Day!

I was planning to write a post on my lack of perfection and why I *might* be okay with it, but then I heard that it is National Coffee Day, so obviously I had to post about coffee.

I love coffee. It makes me feel good in the morning. There is nothing better first thing in the morning that a smooth cup of black coffee. When I have time, I love to curl up with my laptop and coffee and browse the interwebs. I find it extremely relaxing.

I'm not sure when my affair with coffee began. I think that really it was sort of a right of passage. I started to feel I was being treated as a grown up when I got to start drinking coffee. Which is, of course, a little ridiculous because I was a young teenager. But it's all about the feeling, right?

Anyways, Happy National Coffee Day to everyone! How does coffee affect you?

Trusting Your Significant Other

Recently on Twitter, ABKing twittered a question, "Love Byte- Is it ever okay to break into your significant others' email, you know, like, if you think they're cheating on you?" I was inspired to write a post based on that. Check out my post over on my Married Life blog! Let me know your thoughts!

I'm a PC . . . and I Love This Commercial

Eat that, Apple! (Even if I do love the iPod, I still love my PC.)

Let Them Play Ball!

So, Adam Schefter (of NFL Network) reports in his blog that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is cracking down on illegal hits. He even went so far as to suspend "Buccaneers cornerback Elbert Mack one game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Atlanta rookie quarterback Matt Ryan." Is this good or bad?

Goodell has distributed a memo to all teams that is required to be read or distributed to every player tomorrow. In part, his memo reads, "Player safety on the field is important to all of us in the NFL. Football is a tough game and we need to do everything possible to protect all players — offense, defense, and special teams — from unnecessary injury caused by illegal and dangerous hits." (http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/09/18/goodell-getting-tough-on-illegal-hits/) Good. That's what the rules are designed for. Nobody wants to see someone get hurt.

But there must be a balance. This is a somewhat slippery slope. Football is a full-contact sport. Everybody who plays professional football is aware of that and of the risks involved. Rules are in place to prevent excessive roughness, however there must be balance in enforcing the rules. Penalties change the course of a game. Is it really fair to not only enforce a penalty during a game, then also suspend a player for an entire game? Isn't it a little early in the season to try to establish a pattern of behavior and punish a player based on it?

What are your thoughts? When is enough, enough?

Blog Tagging

So here's the deal. Laurie Ruettiman has tagged me to post 6 random things about myself. She says they don't have to be interesting, just random. You've been warned.

1. Fall = Pumpkin Spice Lattes to me.
2. I love to play Madden NFL 09 on the PS3.
3. Every weekend, my husband and I play American Idol karaoke. We're awesome.
4. I make the best chili in the world. The WORLD.
5. I hate realty TV, but cannot live without Project Runway.
6. I have a Venom plush toy which my husband bought me at Comic-Con on my bed.

Ok, so now that you've been bored to death, I have to tag 6 more bloggers. They are:

1. Godemperorofnerds.
2. Jamie Harrop.
3. Mike Doe.
4. Kimberley Schmahl .
5. Rachel.
6. Jenn Barnes.

Hopefully I haven't tagged anybody who was already tagged. If so, sorry dudes! Remember that if you don't do it, Laurie and I will hunt you down. They won't find the body. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. :-)

Oh, one more thing. Here's the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

How 9/11 Changed My World

I didn't live in New York. I didn't have family there. I wasn't in business when it happened. I didn't go to public school. I was 14 in 2001. Outwardly, nothing changed for me. But inside, many things did.

I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness (I am no longer one, having been disfellowshipped). My parents were extremely strict and sheltering. I was homeschooled. I did not know anybody who was not a JW. Everything I did centered around the religion. I spent at least 70 hours a month preaching, I went to church three times a week, I studed ahead for church, I atended church functions. Religion was not part of my life, it was my life.

I remember that morning very clearly. I was getting ready to go preaching. Someone was going to pick me up at home and I was going to be out all day. I had finished showering and was walking through the living room on my way to eat breakfast when I glanced at the TV, and saw the first plane go into one of the towers. I was shocked. I stared at the TV for what seems like forever. My mother was calmly sitting on the couch eating cereal. When she saw my reaction, she nonchalantly said, "It's ok. Don't worry about it." I continued to stare and could not believe what I was seeing. Who had done this? Why? How should I feel about it? Jehovah's Witnesses are supposed to be neutral to politics, peaceful, not have an opinion or get involved.

I had to leave to be on time for a church meeting before preaching, so I left. In the car all day that was all that was on the radio. Businesses were closed. Some of the schools closed. I wanted to scream and cry ask what was going to happen, but I couldn't. My religion wouldn't let me. Instead, I went to people's doors, trying to share a Bible verse to "comfort" them. Mostly people were apalled that I was at their. There was no comforting that day.

That's the day my feelings about my religion had changed. Until then, I had blindly followed, trying to please my parents and everyone I knew. 9/11 was a wake-up call to me. How could I follow a religion that would not fight for it's people? If there is a cause worth fighting for, wouldn't it be to protect our homeland? If there is a time where it's ok to stop everything and feel the pain of the person next to you, wouldn't it be then? Instead of only feeling grief for the Jehovah's Witnesses that died that day, shouldn't we grieve for everyone? Not only those that died, but their families? Shouldn't we grieve for those who didn't die? We used the events of that die to try to preach to others the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses. To try to say that our beliefs were better. But they weren't. We weren't really helping anyone, not even ourselves. I was preaching to people about a time when everyone might live forever, but that day I had realized my own mortality. That my religion did not guarantee my life. And that I was being pushed in the wrong direction.

This is not a great story like others have written today. This is not a great memorial to those that died that day, or those that have died avenging them. Nor am I saying that religion is bad, or even that Jehovah's Witnesses are bad. It's just a story of the turmoil that day caused within a confused kid. That day began a long chain of events that has led me to where I am now, a happy, healthy person with her own opinions and views.

A New Undertaking

If you follow me on Twitter!, you've seen me tweet about something new that I'm involved in and very excited about. I've recently gotten involved with the Invisible Youth Network. Our slogan is "Advocating for America's Youth," and we focus on helping youth get off the streets and assist those that are. The media has estimated that there are nearly 4,000 homeless youth in San Diego alone.

Although headquartered in San Diego, California, Invisible Youth Network is a national organization focusing on helping our youth. Our belief is that one more day makes a difference in these kids' lives, and can truly make all the difference. Not only do we want to assist youth on the streets, but we want to help prevent them from being there in the first place. Although the reasons for their situation may vary, we can all do a part to help them.

What can we do? First and foremost, we must spread awareness. Many people aren't even aware of the situation these youth are in, let alone thinking of how they can help.

Please visit our website to find out more about who we are and how you can get involved.

Football

Ok, deep breath, say it with me, "FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!!" Who is not excited? Well, probably a lot of people. But the rest of us are all over it. I love football season. I get really into it. We've joined a fantasy football league, so the games are so much more interesting. Even if my team (the Bengals) or my husband's team (the Cowboys) isn't playing, we still have a vested interest in most of the games. Sunday's spent cheering on our teams, eating nasty food like chips and dip, drinking beer (gasp). What could be better?

Along the lines of football, but slightly unrelated, we picked up Madden '09 for th PS3 this week. I have to say, Madden is back to it's incredible self. There are a few glitches on the Xbox 360, but all the strange glitches from last year have been removed. It's time for some football domination!

And in about five months I'll return to my usual, sane self. Stay tuned!

Sarah Palin for Republican VP

Since the news of McCain's choosing Sarah Palin for his VP hit the wire, I've not been inundated with people wanting to know my thoughts. So for all those people who are not asking, I thought I'd write a post and let you know anyway. :-)

First, let me say that politics are very, very new to me. There are a lot of reasons for that which I'm not going to get into right now. But I've only recently begun to learn about politics and how our government works and in turn become interested in it. I haven't paid much attention to the presidential race up until the last couple of weeks because, well, it was a lot to take in and it was just a bit much. But now that we're down to two candidates, I think I can handle it.

I find it frustrating that I cannot completely agree with the politics of either party. Nor can I fully buy into the policies of either candidate. So I'm left with a "lesser of two evils" situation. My husband assures me that everyone is right there with me.

All of that being said, I think the choice of Sarah Palin was fabulous. A lot of people wanted Hillary in office. Obviously Sarah is not Hillary, but a lot of voters would rather vote for Sarah than no woman at all. A lot of voters are disgruntled that Barack did not pick Hillary as his VP. And now McCain has done something that nobody expected and invited not only a woman, but someone who is quite young to be his running mate. Shocking, yes? She can bring a fresh perspective and she is someone that many people can identify with; a hardworking wife and mother of several children, one of whom is in the Army and delpoying to Iraq. She too has a vested interest in the war and whatever she is lacking in foreign policy experience will be made up by her connection with her son who will be there. I look forward to her debate with Biden. I'm excited to see how she handles herself and what she plans to bring to the table.

Everyone has a different opinion, especially on a subject as volatile as this one. Tell me in the comments what yours is.

Recruiting Database Maintenance

Fair warning - This is a rant against both Recruiters and Candidates. Please bear with me on this.

As the Office Administrator (or the "She'll Do Anything You Need" person), one of my responsibilities is Database Maintenance. We switched to our current database about two years ago and this new one is my baby. When we switched over, I went through the entire database person by person looking for duplicates, merging them, formatting resumes properly, entering information in the correct places. Obviously I have an attachment to the database beyond most people here. Currently I try to keep tabs and make sure no more duplicates are added, I format resumes before we submit them to clients, make sure all the information has loaded in the correct spots, and ensure that each recruiter has entered the proper notes. This is not a bad job, nor that difficult, but it is extremely tedious. A lot of resumes come in every day and that's a lot of effort to keep up. Lately I've been covering some responsibilities that are not usually mine, so this has fallen by the wayside to an extent. I've been catching up over the last couple of days, and here are some thoughts I've had.

Candidates

• When I ask for a Word version of your resume, please do not send it in PDF. I know you have it in Word. Save the me the hassle of reformatting it or, worse, retyping it.
• Do not type your resume in a table format. I know that formatting resumes is frustrating. Microsoft Word has plenty of very nice, clean, professional formats that do not involve tables. Or text boxes.
• Clearly indicate which number is your home number and which is your cell phone. I would think this was self-explanatory, but evidently it is not.
• Do not send your resume from your work e-mail address. When I ask you for a personal e-mail address, do not give me your work e-mail address. It is bad business for everyone involved to correspond through your work e-mail.

Recruiters

Listen, I know that your time is money. I know you need to be on the phone with a candidate or a client to make a placement and a commission. However, it does not take long to do these things, so please just do them. If it does take you a long time to do it, you're doing it wrong. I will personally show you to do it right. Everyone will be happy that way.

• Enter all of the notes you need to enter. This is a company rule. This is not something I do to terrorize you. In fact, it makes your life easier when your notes are there. So just do it.
• Search for the name before you add it. I can almost guarantee it's already in there. You probably entered it six months ago when you had a similar search.
• Call me crazy (actually, don't), but since the candidate has e-mailed you their resume, I know that they do have an e-mail address. I also know that you have it. When I ask you for it, give it to me. We both know it needs to be in the database. Unless you don't want anybody to place your candidate. Which is fine with me.

I think that if we all work together, we can make the world a better place for our poor admins who are tearing their hair out to make your life easier. Of course, anybody who works with a database has a pet peeve. What's yours?

Disconnectivity

Wow, time flies when you're having fun. Or working a lot. Or don't have a laptop so you can't get online at home very much. And if all three of those things are going on, it's all over.

I'm still without laptop. I'm saving up to buy the laptop that I really want. It's a Sony Vaio with a built-in webcam and microphone. It's beautiful. :) And although it's still a budget machine, it's a bit more than the other ones available. Still, I really think it will be worth the wait. So until I get it (hopefully in October), my online presence will be sporadic at best.

I've been working overly much lately. Since I'm doing my job as well as handling responsibilities that would normally belong to my boss' assistant, I've been a little overwhelmed. In fact, some things are slipping, which is never good. We've recently landed a huge contract (yay!), which is great, but a LOT of extra work. I'm always glad to help, but it has caused some loooong days.

Every day I seem to come up with great blog ideas. Something will happen, or I'll read something, or I'll hear something, and I'll think, "I should blog about that!" And then life catches up with me and no blogging really happens. It's frustrating for me because I enjoy blogging. Whenever a significant period of time passes without me blogging, I feel as if I'm starting over again. And that really just frustrates me more.

All of this has led me to a feeling of disconnectivity (I'm trademarking that word) with my interwebs. I'm still reading all the blogs I love and commenting when I can, but I don't feel as though I'm really dedicating the time to blogging and online friends that I should. Hopefully I can stick it out just a little bit longer and then I'll be back on the wagon with my new laptop.

Toodles!

Why I Could Never Be A Recruiter

This may seem odd coming from someone who works in a recruiting firm. Don't get me wrong, it is fun to work here. One person's success is everyone's success. When one person makes money, the whole company benefits. Because we are such a small firm, it's easy to see everyone's connection to each other. The flip side is also true. When nobody is making money - nobody is making money. And there is where I falter. The great times are great. But I don't see myself handling the not so great times. The stress would be unbelievable. I can hardly imagine. I feel bad enough being an Administrative person, knowing that I don't actually bring in cash flow. So to be a recruiter must be that much more difficult. Our firm specialized in homebuilding. Now that homebuilding has slowed down, we're branching out, sort of coasting until we figure out the next big thing. The tension in the office is palpable. We've downsized due to people leaving. Everyone wants to make money, and nobody is. Candidates don't have jobs and they are stressed out, constantly calling recruiters. Recruiters have no jobs for these candidates and all people involved are becoming more and more stressed out. No way I could handle it! Of course this is still a great place to work, no matter how things are going.

The Sony PSP

... is awesome!! I am sitting in the parking lot of the college and I'm writing a blog post while I wait. This is so awesome. My laptop is on the fritz again so my new love is my PSP. Look for more posts this way. Now if I can get Twitter to work on here....

Comic-Con 2008

Well, folks, my husband and I just finished our vacation. And let me say, vacations are wonderful. This was our first vacation, and we look forward to many more. That being said, Comic-Con this year was incredible. It just gets bigger and better every year. It was great to see so many people there and to see the respect that movie producers, director, and actors have for their fans. Comic-Con was huge, taking up the entire San Diego Convention Center, with programming lasting well into the night. There were definitely some characters, truly hard-core fans, as well as more casual fans, but the entire experience was well-worth it. If you've never been, it's hard to describe. No longer is it for the "nerds" and "geeks." Well, it is. But, it's also for movie and TV fans, artists, readers, you name it. Comic-Con truly has something to offer everyone.

That being said, I'm still exhausted. Check out my Facebook page to see all of our pics. I actually got to meet Seth Green! And I found out that Olivia Munn is really nice in person, which was great. I need to get some rest, but check out my pics!

Hands-Free Cellphone Use

As those of you in California know (and those of you elsewhere have probably heard), recently the law went into effect that you cannot talk on your cellphone while driving unless you are using a hands-free device. Many have heralded this as a life-saving law. I don't disagree. I have seen and heard of many accidents caused by talking or texting on a cellphone. Unfortunately, a lot of those accidents have caused fatalities. It is good that something is being done to control it. However, I have a bone to pick with this law.

While I do agree with the law, I feel that cellphones are being singled out of a multitude of things that contribute to or cause car accidents. If you are going to say that cellphone use causes accidents because it is a distraction, that's fine. But, there are a lot of other things that are equally as distracting. For instance, thousands of accidents are caused by smokers who are distracted by trying to light a cigarette, smoke it, dispose of the ash, or dropping it into their lap or elsewhere in the car. What about changing the radio station? That is not illegal, yet that is a huge distraction, fiddling with the volume, the station, the CD. Having passengers in the car and conversing with them is a terrible distraction. It is our nature to look at the person we are talking to, especially when we are trying to make a point. If we are thinking about the next thing we're going to say, we are not giving our full attention to the road. What are some distractions you've noticed?

I am not disagreeing with the law on cellphone use. I do think it is a good law and will help cut down on the number of accidents to an extent. However, I feel it is unfair to single out cellphone use out of a myriad of other causes of car accidents. What do you think?

There is Hope

So if you follow me on Twitter (which you should be doing if you're a cool kid), then you know that my laptop decided to die on me this weekend. I have been sadly out of touch with the online world. I'm terrified to check my Google Reader for fear of how many posts I need to read. Anyhow, my point is that I was planning to put together several posts over the weekend. I have them all in my head, I just need to work them out into a post. Due to the amazing invention, Facebook, I've got a great computer guy looking at my laptop tomorrow. He says that it will probably be something simple and I'll be up and running quickly. I hope he's right! I need my laptop! So, please, bear with me over the next few days while I get put back together.

Happy Fourth of July!

I know that it is late on the Fourth of July and most of you in the U.S. are out barbecuing and lighting fireworks. But remember to take a moment, to appreciate our freedoms. It's an amazing country we live in that we can criticize our government and the military. We can turn on the TV and watch people imitating and laughing at our president. We have the right to not only have our own opinion, but to voice it. Remember to appreciate America. Appreciate our troops, wherever they are. It is their sacrifice in fighting for our country that allows us to have those rights. Things may not be perfect here (after all, we're imperfect people), but we are all doing our best to make our country great.

So, here's to us. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, Independence Day.

Nonconformity and Taking Over the World

The Brain from my beloved Pinky and the Brain would be very upset with me right now. I have, in fact, figured out how to take over the world. Well, I didn't figure it out myself. Someone else figured it out and was kind enough to share. Not surprisingly it does not involve hair-brained schemes performed by lab mice. Neither does it involve wishful thinking or passive visualization. What does it take? Good old-fashioned hard work and sacrifice. Shocking, yes? Isn't it funny how we obviously know something, but it takes someone telling it to our face before we believe it? Everyone is always searching for the easiest, fastest way to reach their goals and "get ahead." Chris Guillebeau is here to tell you, that's not how it works.

Who is Chris Guillebeau to tell you such things? Nobody, really. Just some guy who has managed to do remarkable things. He has never had a typical "real job," but he spent four years in West Africa with his wife as a volunteer aide worker. He has visited 83 different countries and plans to visit every single other country within the next five years. The couple doesn't have many worldly possessions - he is a writer and she is an artist. Yet they manage to give back. Chris is the author of a manifesto, "A Brief Guide to World Domination (and other important goals)." I have to admit that when I first heard about this manifesto, I thought it would be full of lots of bull. Why is this one different?

First off, Chris targets a very specific set of people - those that want to be remarkable. Whether or not you want to be remarkable, the information in the manifesto is worth reading. He reminds us all that we can do anything we want if we put forth the effort and make the sacrifices necessary. See? Effort + sacrifice = success. Simple, really. He outlines a great plan of attack that includes planning, effort, sacrifice, and helping others. I truly believe that following such a system will help you to be remarkable - or at the very least reach your goals.

I encourage you to read Chris' manifesto, then come back and let me know what you think of it.

The Process

This may be weird, but I started out writing this post by hand with good, old-fashioned pen and paper. I generally just type a post, skim through it for errors, and then up it goes. However, I was recently told that if I want to grow as a writer (and I do), I needed to start going through several drafts before I post. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that. In school there were always writing assignments that followed the same routine. I turned in a rough draft, a revised draft, and a final edition. To me, this was a pointless exercise. My finished product never really differed from the original. Now maybe my teacher did not properly demonstrate to me the value of writing more than one draft and making changes. Or maybe she did and I just didn't get it. Regardless, the fact remains - I am unconvinced of the value of writing more than one draft. Despite my reservations, I am going to try it. That is why I began by writing this post by hand. I feel more of a connection when I write with pen and paper. And because I write slower than I can type, it gives me a bit more time to think about what I'm writing. So, here's my plan: The first draft was, obviously, the handwritten one. Then I typed it into a document and tweaked it a bit as I went. Finally, I typed it into Blogger.

I'm interested to track how many changes I make between the first draft and the final posting. I am going to follow this process for the next several posts that I make and see how much of a difference it makes. The most important judge is you, my readers. So please take a second to leave a comment and let me know what you think. I want to hear your writing advice and if you notice a difference, good or bad, in my writing. Wish me luck!

Should I Have to Go to College?

A coworker of mine who is based in San Mateo is down in our home office with us this week for a few days (yay! finally another girl in the office with me). It's a nice change of pace and great to have her energy here. After work yesterday we went out for a much-needed drink and started talking about life and work. I've been with this company for 2-1/2 years and she has been here for about three years. Due to the market, we have gone from a large, flourishing niche recruiting firm to four recruiters. She encouraged me to go to college so that I could continue to progress in my career.

My question to her was, Why? Why is it that I have to go to college in order to make a decent living? I understand that people who go to school for something specific certainly have something I could not get on my own. However, I would make more money right now if I had a degree in . . . well, anything. I see people around my age who have degrees in sociology or communications. No offense, but usually they are not using those degrees for anything specialized. They didn't know what they wanted to do, so they just got a degree. And they will make more than me at my job. I started working here when I was 18. So that means that the four years they spent at college (probably partying) I've been getting real-world experience in learning how to do the job.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing college. College is a good thing and everyone that can go, should. However, I don't feel that just because someone completed a four-year degree, they are smarter than me or automatically more qualified to do my job. And I understand that in this society, you absolutely have to have a degree to get a really good job. I just feel that it is unfair to those that do not have the opportunity to go to college, but have the drive and smarts necessary to do fantastic at a job.

What do you think? How did going to college help you in your career?

Why Do I Blog?

That may seem like an odd title for a post on a blog that has been inactive for a month. There are some things about myself that I have always known in my subconscious, but that have become very apparent as I've become an adult and undertaken new projects. When something disrupts my plan or my goal, I get a little freaked out and I tend to drop it altogether. For instance, at the beginning of the year I bought a Nintendo DS and bought BrainAge. I played religiously every day for nearly two months. I missed one day, and that was it. I haven't picked it up since. The same thing happened with blogging. I was trying to blog on a regular basis, and be on Twitter, and learn how to network. I got overwhelmed, I stopped, and obviously I didn't pick it up again.

This is not something I'm proud of. Obviously it's a hindrance in many ways. I'm forcing myself to work around it. So I'm writing this post. I've been thinking about the reasons I like blogging and being on Twitter and so forth. The list is not particularly extensive, but I thought I'd share.

1. I like to have an outlet for whatever I'm thinking about or feeling at a particular time.
2. I enjoy writing. It makes me feel smart and creative.
3. I like Twitter because I can get to know amazing people I would never normally meet. This has helped me broaden my horizons.

And that's all I've got. But now I've also got a starting point. I've made a post. So now it's not so overwhelming to make another. :-)

Work, work, work

Since my coworker left a couple of weeks ago, I have taken over some of her duties. I don't mind this in the slightest. I'm doing admin work for my boss, which is no big deal. Now that our company is smaller (6 people including me) I didn't have quite enough to fill my day. Things were perfect - my day was full enough to keep me at a brisk pace, but not enough to stress me out. Then my boss decided that he wants to exhibit at ICSC ReCon 2008 in Las Vegas - in three weeks. No problem, I've already confirmed our booth spot, paid for it, ordered and paid for the furniture, booked the rooms, and booked the flights. Everything that is left will be finished by Monday of next week. Now he wants me to do data entry. You know, I love my job. I like my boss. I hate data entry. With a passion. It is tedious work. While still taking care of my regular duties and my newfound admin duties I've also been doing data entry and teaching employees how to use our database. (Which, by the way, they should know.) After two days of this mayhem, I think my boss realized he was spreading me too thin. The solution?
A great one, actually. He has hired a temp to come in for three to four days and do all of the data entry he wants. That's all she has to do. So I just need to teach her to use the database (I promise, it's not difficult) and show her exactly what the boss wants. Piece of cake! I'm thrilled. And, on a side note, it will be nice to have another girl in the office for a couple of days.

Great Careers

I'm sure that everyone by now has read Yahoo!'s "10 Great Careers You've Probably Never Heard Of." I have to agree, I hadn't heard of some of those jobs. What I found so interesting about this article is that these jobs represent the evolution of our society. How?

20 years ago, nobody would wake up and say, "I want to be an Experience Designer." Probably, nobody really knew what that meant. Now, it's being hailed as a great career choice. Why? As the article points out, companies are trying to create experiences. Starbucks wants you to spend all day there because you will drink more coffee and buy more eats and treats. So their Experience Designer tells them to put in comfy chairs with side tables, play low music that appeals to wide variety of people, offer wireless internet services, etc. And, of course, it works. Starbucks has become the place to be, especially for student types. Now, that sounds like a fun job.

What position stands out to you why? Why do you think these are such great careers?

Happy Administrative Professionals Day!

Just wanted to give a shout-out to all hardworking administrative professionals (virtual and otherwise). We all know how hard we work and how often it is unappreciated. Even though we take pride in our work and would do a good job no matter what, it is nice to know that our hard work is appreciated. Remember that the admins generally keep the office running smoothly and take a lot of stress off of you. So bosses - Appreciate your admin with a small note, flowers, gift card, or even lunch. Small things go a long way.

The Answer to My Problems

I have finally found it. You know, IT. The answer to my problems. No longer do I feel tired, unmotivated, lazy, stressed, overwhelmed. All due to a miraculous thing - coffee. I'm serious. I used to be a die hard coffee drinker. Then I decided that wasn't healthy and I started drinking green tea. Then I decided to not have any caffeine at all because I was working out a lot and I had enough energy. Well I haven't been working out lately (which is another post in and of itself) so I have no energy. But today, oh yes, today I drank coffee. Not just any coffee, either - Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla coffee. And not just a little coffee - four cups in one afternoon.

The result? I feel great! I worked over nine hours, drove home (hitting every red light), cooked dinner, caught up on my reader feeds, and am now posting on my blog. Coffee is a miracle elixir!! Apparently, it has even been linked to liver health, fewer gallstones in women (who are 50% more prone to them than men), and clearer skin.

I pledge to never swear off coffee again. Hooray for coffee!!

Is the Internet Making Me Crazy?

Well . . . yes it is. I love the internet. It is a magical place full of interesting people, fascinating information, odd things, cool things, weird things. The internet has made my life better; I've learned, found my husband, networked, and started this blog all because of the internet. But lately I started to feel overwhelmed. I had SO many unread posts in my reader, SO many things I should blog about, SO many people to follow on Twitter, SO many things to do that it got to be too much. So I took a break. I just stopped. I didn't read the blogs, I didn't follow Twitter, I didn't even post on this blog. Do you know what happened? Life continued. The earth kept turning. I felt calmer. I read a book! Shocking!

Of course I can't really live without the internet. Why would I want to? But taking a few days off from it helped me to put things into perspective. It's okay to *gasp* not be online and to not necessarily know the very instant something happens. It's okay to not read every blog post in your reader. It's okay to feel . . . very 20th century.

So now that I've had my breather, I'm back. I'm loving Twitter in all it's glory, I'm caught up on my blogs, and here I am posting. But who's to say I won't get overwhelmed again? Well, you guys (yep, you, reading this) are some smart people. What do you do so that you don't get overwhelmed by everything on the internet?

I'm Sorry

I just wanted to post a quick note. I'm so sorry I didn't post my goals today. We were extremely busy this weekend and today was a loooong day. And I really haven't gotten the hang of blogging yet. So look for a real post tomorrow evening. :-)

April Checklist

I just have to recommend a site I found a while back. This site has taught me so much and is a great resource. What is it? LifeOrganizers.com. The site is organized into areas that you probably want to organize. They also have two blogs, Life Organizers and Life Fitness. One of the best things about this website is their monthly e-newsletter. Included in this newsletter is a Monthly Checklist. The checklist is set up with the date and an item for you to accomplish. Some are big, some are small. All are easily accomplished during your day. If you do each of the things on this checklist, it will help you maintain an amazing home and keep your peace of mind. I'm not going to repost the entire April checklist here, because you can get your own free copy by going to LifeOrganizers.com. I do, however, want to post some of the things I'm planning on doing.

Apr 5 Toss old socks that no longer have mates. I swear that the washing machine eats socks. My husband doesn't believe me, but it's true!

Apr 7 Wash and scrub out or hose out your garbage cans. This is an excellent reminder. Oftentimes you forget what the inside of your trashcan look like. But I promise you, you will not be pleased.

Apr 13 Give away or sell 5 books you no longer enjoy, read, or want. Books take up a lot of space in our home. Sometimes we hold onto books thinking we will reread them or that it's just nice to have them. There are some books I will never part with. But some books are easily replaced. Find a bookstore in your area where you can trade the books in for store credit.

Apr 16 Look ahead to the next couple of months and buy ahead some holiday cards. What a great idea! I don't know about you, but I often forget about holidays until they are upon me, and it would be nice to be prepared.

Apr 21 Weed out your wallet or purse. Toss any old receipts, movie stubs, discount cards, papers that are no longer needed. Make sure to shred anything with personal information.

Apr 28 Take a bouquet of flowers to a friend or a loved on you haven't seen or visited in a long time. How thoughtful! I might add that you may want to get a bouquet for yourself, perhaps for your desk at work. It will make you so happy.

What are some things you plan to accomplish this month?

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Musings and Ramblings of a Tired Gal

So I'm sitting outside at the community college near the cafeteria eating dinner. I'm a people-watcher, so naturally I'm watching people. And much to my surprise, I see a girl wearing short shorts, high heels, and . . . a hoodie. Now, I know that it's a bit nippy. Despite it being spring in San Diego, it's not warm here yet. Knowing this, I completely understand the hoodie. I also understand that sometimes the day will start out warm and then become nippy. So I basically understand the shorts. However, the heels? As my husband quaintly put it, "Unless you're in a rap video, there is no good reason to wear heels with shorts." Enough said.

In the course of my people watching, I began to get more of a sense of the people that attend this particular community college. I feel that community colleges attract a wider range of people - young people out of high school who can't afford a university yet, young people out of high school who don't know which university they want to go to, older people who are seeking to further their education and realize that it's just more affordable to go to community college, etc. But there is one type of person who never ceases to amaze me. There are those (usually younger, 18-21) who are enrolled in school and occasionally show up to class that don't pay attention, don't do the homework, and don't really care how they do on the tests. Why are they even there?! They are wasting their time, the teacher's time, someone's money, and a seat in a class that somebody else probably wants. Stop it! Either pay attention and take advantage of the opportunity you have, or stop wasting space!

And with that, this tired young woman is off to bed. Right after I plan my next post.

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Question To Readers - Losing Fat

A friend of mine is looking to lose 10 pounds of fat. I'm not really sure what to tell him. I know how to lose 10 pounds. But I think that losing just fat is probably different.

What do you guys think? Do you have any recommendations or know a good website to refer him to?

How to Acheive Your Goals - Steps 6 and 7 of 7

I've been posting a series based on Marcia Francois' wonderful seminar "7 Things You Must do to Achieve Your Goals." If you haven't subscribed to my blog yet, then please go check out my first three posts - Step 1, Steps 2 and 3, and Steps 4 and 5. And then, go subscribe!

Step one was to know your mission. Step two was to set big, juicy goals that stretch you a bit. Step three was to write down your goals, and follow that up with sharing it with someone to more fully commit yourself. Step four was to evaluate your lifestyle. Step five was to realize that you always have a choice (and therefore can say no to things that hinder your goals). Let's see the final two steps.

Step 6 - Plan your goals. In project management, you spend three hours planning and one hour doing. Why? Planning saves you time. Take a look at your big, juicy goals you've written, and formulate small action steps. This will help you not be overwhelmed. Write down eight to 10 action steps. This puts thing in perspective. You can realize that these small steps take just a few moments, but which contribute to the large goal, the big picture.

Step 7 - Prioritize your actions. Now that you've written out your action steps, you need to prioritize those actions. When you write your to do list, you know that some things are more important than others. Most people spend their time on low value tasks and never get around to do high level tasks that support their goals. She suggests using a four-quadrant system of "Do It Now," "Got a Minute," "I Really Should," and "I Really Shouldn't." This will help you make sure that the most important, urgent things always get done. The box, "I Really Should," is the box that always gets annoyed. We know we should write that post, join the gym, buy healthier food, etc. These are things that are going to contribute to our goals. We have to focus on these items to make sure you attend to them.

Whew! Marcia has really put together a great system here. To recap: 1. Know your mission. 2. Set big, juicy goals. 3. Write down your goals. 4. Evaluate your lifestyle. 5. Realize that you always have a choice. 6. Plan your goals (action steps). 7. Prioritize your actions.

Now that I've listened to all seven audios, it's time for me to put these things into practice. On Monday I will post about the major goals I set and how I plan to accomplish them. You guys are going to be my involuntary support group. ;-) I promise not to dwell on my goals, but do stay tuned to see how things work out.

What goals are you planning to work on?

If you would like to receive a free copy of Marcia Francois' series on 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals, please click here. To learn more about Marcia, her qualifications, and how she can help you, please visit her website by clicking here.

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What Am I Signing?!

This is a somewhat political post, which is not something I normally blog about. I try not to blog about things I know nothing about. Ha!

Anyway, this happened to Chris and I at the grocery the other day. You know those people who sit in front of stores and try to get you to sign things? Petitions and whatnot? Well, one of those guys was there. We didn't want to stop on the way in, but we felt it was a worthy cause, so we stopped on the way out. So we signed the first one. Then he says he has another and explains what it is. We sign that one. He has another. We sign. Another. Sign. Another. No signatures. Another. Seriously? Come on!

I felt sort of violated. I came over to do my duty as a citizen and then all of a sudden I was being led down a path. The idea, I guess, is to get a person to where they don't know what they're signing and they just blindly sign. I'm not one of those people. But it's frustrating to think that when you stop to do something good, someone will try to take advantage of you. Especially considering that I completely disagreed with one of the things he put in front of us.

The moral? Read what you sign. Don't be easily led down a path you don't really want to be on. Be proud of your beliefs and stick with them.

For My Lovely Readers

Thank You! This may seem silly, as all posts are technically for the readers, but I wanted to make a special one for you all. When I began blogging, I wasn't sure what my mission was. I just blogged. But since then I am beginning to realize what a great community blogging is and what wonderful opportunities there are. And of course I enjoy it. It really warms my heart to know that people (a) read my blog and (b) enjoy it enough to subscribe.

So, thanks to all you readers and subscribers! Remember to pass on my blog to your friends, families, and coworkers! And if you don't already subscribe, follow the link at the end of this post to learn how.

P.S. Don't forget to also hook up with me on Twitter!

Talk About Tuesday - New Things Afoot

Hi everyone! It's once again time for Talk About Tuesday! (Weird how Tuesday comes once a week, but seems to come so quickly.) Be sure to follow the link and check out everyone else's posts.

Happy April Fool's Day! I have to say that I was not really raised with fooling others on this day and when things happened to me I always ended up feeling very dumb, so now I shan't be doing any April fooling. But kudos to all who have fooled in good fun (especially Darren - read about it here).

As organized as I usually am, you would think I would have this meal planning thing down. Right? Wrong! I tend to be very sporadic. I'll adopt a practice and keep it up for a couple of weeks, and then suddenly it's gone. So this weekend, in the midst of cleaning house, I suggested to my husband that he cook two meals a week and I would cook three, and then the weekends could be left overs, frozen foods, or (gasp!) take out. We decided to give this a shot. This means I really only have to plan three meals a week. Not that I have planned them. Well, he makes dinner on Mondays and Thursdays so I have to do Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'm planning on making "Pollo Bowls" tomorrow night. I see Friday as being a crock pot day. Wednesday I'm not so sure about. We'll have to see.

One of the new things going on is my desk! We have a small, one-bedroom apartment, so there is not a lot of room. But I felt that I needed a desk, and my wonderful husband humored me. He found me this adorable desk, went to the store with me to buy it, and then put it together for me. He's so handy! :-) Anyway, so far it's working out well. I have my computer and a couple of essential files on it along with a couple knickknacks. The best part is that it gives me a place to set my things when I come in my door. This way I know exactly where they are and I won't have to move them later. This is key! For a place that only has two adults and two small cats, it's amazing how things move.

Last, but certainly not least, you may have noticed that I've given my blog a face lift. I went over my accessories and got rid of some, added others, and gave my "About Me" section a much needed overhaul. I plan to add some video or audio soon, just to make things a little bit different. As always, I welcome everyone's comments and suggestions.

Thanks for reading my blog and have a beautiful day!

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March - A Month In Review

It's been a busy month over here. Here's a quick, handy summary of what's gone on.

My First Post in A While, Trying to Get Back Into The Swing of Things - Catching Up

9 Tip to Be a Great Admin

My First Rant Day (Maybe I should do this again? What do you think?) - Rant Day

10 Weird Things About Me

Our Trip to the San Diego Zoo - San Diego Zoo

Step 1 of 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals

A Reposting of a Rather Sentimental Poem That Has a Great Moral - Friendships

Steps 2 and 3 of 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals

Health and Fitness (It includes a nifty slideshow!)

My About Me Page (a much-needed overhaul)

Steps 4 and 5 of 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals

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How to Achieve Your Goals - Steps 4 and 5

I've been posting a series based on Marcia Francois' wonderful seminar "7 Things You Must do to Achieve Your Goals." If you haven't subscribed to my blog yet, then please go check out my first two posts - Step 1 and Steps 2 and 3.

Step one was to know your mission. Step two was to set big, juicy goals that stretch you a bit. And step three was to write down your goals, and follow that up with sharing it with someone to more fully commit yourself. These next two goals really go hand-in-hand. Let's see how.

Step 4 - Evaluate your lifestyle. If you are so busy that you cannot find time for things that are important to you, you have to learn to say yes to yourself. Look at your goals that you've written down, and see if you actually have time to accomplish the steps that lead to accomplishing your goals. If you don't you realize that some things need to change. Look at your daily and weekly schedule and find areas you can cut back on so that you will have time to work towards your goals. Often the things we do, we do only to please others and not to support our goals.

Step 5 - Realize that you always have a choice. You always have a choice as to how you respond to things that happen to you. If you want to be a person who achieves their goals, you must make wise decisions about how you spend your time. You cannot spend time doing things that are at odds with your goals. When you say yes to one thing, you are saying no to other things. Learn to say yes to the correct things. Start saying no to things that are not in line with your goals.

So we've already determined our mission, set our goals, and written them down. Now we need to take some time to evaluate our lifestyle to make time for reaching our goals and acknowledge that we always make a choice. It's up to us to make the right choices to work towards our goals.

Stay tuned for the end of this series with steps 6 and 7.

If you would like to receive a free copy of Marcia Francois' series on 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals, please click here. To learn more about Marcia, her qualifications, and how she can help you, please visit her website by clicking here.

Can't wait for Rachel's next post? Of course not! Click here to find out how you can subscribe!

My About Me Page

Well a couple of great bloggers have posted this week about writing an About Me page. Darren made a great post over here and Jamie Harrop made a post over here over here. This, of course, has forced me to take a look at my own About Me page. You know what I found? Of course you do, you've looked at it. It's pretty lame. So I read and reread those posts and I read a few different people's About Me pages. And mine has now been updated. Take a look!

Health & Fitness

Earlier today I was approached by Aruj. He puts together slideshows on his blog, and then lets other bloggers use them and embed them on their sites. How fun!

Anyway, this year one of my major goals is to lose some weight, so I was definitely interested in this slideshow. Take a look!


Make Your Own Slideshow

Thanks Aruj!

How to Acheive Your Goals - Steps 2 and 3 of 7

This Tuesday, for Talk About Tuesday, I made a post about the wonderful series Marcia Francois has called 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals. I have since continued with the series and am delighted to share steps 2 and 3 with you.

Remember that step 1 was to know your mission. Any goal you set must relate to your mission in life.

So for step 2 - Step specific, juicy goals. Why? Specific goals give you a sense of direction. Marcia quotes the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland when she says, "If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?" Setting a juicy goal means that it is big and bold. It's going to stretch you a little bit. For instance, take a goal you think you want to accomplish within six months. Now, give yourself three months to do it. You will be more focused, you will work that much harder, and in the end you will accomplish your goal.

Step 3 - Write them down. This seems simple, doesn't it? But I think a lot of people (myself included) forget to do this. You know in your head that you want to accomplish something, but it is much more real when you write it down. You make more of a commitment to yourself to accomplish it. Take this a step further and share these goals with a friend, an accountability group, or your coach (if you have one). A great example is this post by Leo at ZenHabits. He let all of his readers know of his goal and now he has that entire support group to help him accomplish it.

So now we have a great basis to get started. Know your mission, set specific, juicy goals with your mission in mind, and finally write down your goals and share them with a support group. Be sure to check back next week for steps 4 through 7!

If you would like to receive a free copy of Marcia Francois' series on 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals, please click here. To learn more about Marcia, her qualifications, and how she can help you, please visit her website by clicking here.

Friendships

I don't normally repost or forward these types of things. This is a poem that has circulated and I got from a coworker and on down the line. It really illustrates how we often forget that time goes by quickly. In life, oftentimes things like friends get pushed by the wayside, even if we don't think they're less important than anything else.

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friend's face,
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine, but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
'Tomorrow' I say, 'I will call on Jim
'Just to show I am thinking of him.'
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away.
'Here's a telegram sir, Jim died today.'
And that's what we get and deserve in the end,
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
Remember to always say what you mean.
Because when you decide it's the right time, it might be too late.

Talk About Tuesday - Goals

I'm so excited to participate in Talk About Tuesday again. I've been so busy lately that I've been letting my blogging slip. But now I have something really great to blog about, so here I am! This is actually going to be the first in a series of posts about how to achieve goals. Stay tuned to learn all of the steps!!

In the last several months, I have been focusing on the future and on improving myself and figuring out what I want to do. I was going through various blogs recommended by my Google Reader and I came across Marcia Francois over at http://www.takechargesolutions.org. Marcia is a time management and organizing coach who helps people organize their time, space, business and life. Among her repertoire is a session she has regarding 7 Things You Must Do To Achieve Your Goals. I was lucky enough to sign up to receive the audio of those seven things, and you can too by visiting http://tinyurl.com/2etlkp. You will receive the seven things in seven separate clips, each about 3 to 4 minutes. They are well worth your time.

The first thing she covers is that you must know your mission. She points out that many people choose goals that other people suggest, that other people are doing, or things that they think they should be doing. I completely agree. I'm often swayed by the opinions of those I'm around, not just in what they think I should do, but also how they think I should do it. Yet, if you don't have a clear concept of your mission in life, you cannot set appropriate goals.

Since listening to this audio, I've been thinking about my mission. I truly believe that everyone should have a mission statement for their life. At times it may change, but it's important to know where you want your life to go. I'm currently mulling over different thoughts relating to my marriage and my career. How fun!!

Be sure to check back for number 2 in the series of 7 things you must do to achieve your goals.

Special thanks to Marcia for letting me blog about this series. I can't wait to go through them all!

San Diego Zoo

Chris is taking an anthropology class this semester and he was assigned a zoology project that involved, you guessed it, going to the zoo. The point was to observe primates and then he as a paper to write on it. So we decided that today was the perfect opportunity. We had a blast!!! I'm going to post some of the pictures we took. I have to point out that we're not really big on taking pictures of each other, but the animals are so adorable that you have to take pictures of them!





That is exactly what all of the gorillas thought of us!




These are Wolf's Guenons. They are so tiny! The one on the left is the mama, and the other two are smaller, but still nearly full-size.


Of course we went through the entire zoo, but since our focus was on the primates, that's mostly what we took pictures of. We had a blast! I can't believe we've lived here for three years and this is the first time we've been. Oh, well, better late than never . . . right?

To learn more about the San Diego Zoo or to find out how you can help to keep it going, visit http://sandiegozoo.org/.

10 Weird Things About Me

How exciting, I got my first tag for a meme ever! I'm weird, so I'm thrilled. Thanks Marcia! Be sure to check out http://tinyurl.com/ywnf8w">10 Weird Things about Marcia.

Ok, so here's 10 weird things about me:

1. I hate working, but I love my job. Although I cannot wait to quit working forever, my job is great.
2. I don't like the food on my plate to touch each other.
3. My husband has a smaller ring size than me.
4. Until recently I thought that Garth Brooks was the same as the guy in Brooks & Dunn.
5. I love surprises, but I always demand presents early (Christmas, birthdays, etc.).
6. I got married at 18 in the County Recorder's Office, and I couldn't be happier.
7. One of my favorite shows is ">Batman, The Animated Series.
8. I didn't go shopping for Easter dinner ingredients until Easter, but I made and gave my husband his Easter basket four days ago.
9. I never learned my multiplication tables, but got all As in math.
10. I think it's weird to brush your teeth anywhere outside of the bathroom.

So there you go, my weirdness in a nutshell. Believe me, this list could go on. :-)

Rant Day

Today has officially become Rant Day. Maybe I'll make every Friday Rant Day. It will get rid of my negative energy before the weekend. Now, usually I'm in a great mood on Friday. Heck, it's Friday!! I'm actually in an especially good mood today because tomorrow is my 21st birthday. But I started thinking about one thing and that just led to other things and so here are. Let the ranting begin:

• People who cut class. My husband and I are taking a psych class on Thursday nights. Every week there are two tests (one for each chapter of reading she assigns). She gives one test before the break and one after. Several people have been taking the first test and then leaving in the middle!! It's so annoying to me. They are missing over an hour of lecture, plus the other test. These same people are the type that text message and whisper while she's lecturing. Our prof is actually very interesting and lectures on material related to the book and the tests. This is a huge pet peeve of mine.
• Those who try to put love in a box. It's not an intangible, fanciful thing. However, it is also not something that can be specifically defined in a certain way. There are so many different types of love and so many factors that influence how we love. I feel that it is simply not possible to specifically categorize love. It is frustrating that many people feel they have to. Because they do that, they judge other people who may not love the same way, and often they can have trouble if someone they are in a relationship with has a different love style than them. Instead of communicating, they simply decide that the other person doesn't love them and they end the relationship. So ridiculous.
  
• People who don't like Umbrella. I know that at first it may sound annoying to some (including me). But if you listen to it, it's a great song about love and commitment. How can you not enjoy that? Seriously!!

Ok. I feel better now. Do me a solid and watch the Umbrella video. Listen to the words. Really!!

9 Tips to Be a Great Admin

Who am I to write such a post? Nobody - but I happen to think I'm awesome. And I think that most of the time (ha!) my boss(es) would agree. I started off in my current position as a data entry person, then administrative assistant, and currently I'm the office administrator. Yes, it's a very small company. That doesn't mean I have any less work. My boss is just as crazy as yours (maybe crazier). This post could go on forever, but I've narrowed it down to the top 9 things that have helped me and may hopefully help someone else.

1. Learn how your boss thinks; adjust accordingly. This is not brown-nosing. You are going to spend 40 to 50 hours per week doing work for this person. You want this process to go smoothly. Unfortunately, different people think differently. I know that your boss is insane and thinks like a crazy person. That's okay. You don't have to think like a crazy person, just understand how Boss thinks. When you do, you will be able to understand what Boss wants when they ask for things and exactly how Boss wants it done.

2. Invest in an awesome stapler. No, really. This sounds dumb, I know, but bear with me. You know how Boss wanted you to magically put those papers together five minutes before the meeting? Remember that you almost did it and then your stapler jammed? Or that day Boss grabbed your stapler really quick, it jammed, and then you received their wrath? Yep. Get a great stapler.

3. Take lunch out of the office. You need that 30 minutes away from your lists, desk, computer, e-mail, phone, Boss. Trust me, your psyche will thank you.

4. Understand that everything is your fault. Of course it is. It's your job to make your Boss look good. It's your job to do . . . basically everything. When something isn't going right, it will be your fault. Deal with it. In two years you can move up and then it will be somebody else's fault. Just remember that it is NEVER your Boss' fault.

5. When you mess up, 'fess up. Your Boss would much rather hear it from you than discover it on their own and then realize you did it. This is hard for all of us, especially if we're new at a particular position. I have a hard time with this too. I have a system for when I mess up. When I realize the mistake, I first try to fix it. Then I apologize and 'fess up. This lets my Boss know that at least I was proactive about fixing it. Boss is not as mad this way.

6. Realize that it is your job to be awesome. You will not be thanked. It's important to take pride in your work and go the extra mile. The reward comes from your own good feelings. Boss pays you to be awesome. Being awesome is nothing special. If you weren't awesome, you wouldn't work there. This means you will rarely get a Thank You or a Good Job. It's okay, nobody else did either.

7. Proofread everything. This is how a typing project should go: Type, proofread, spellcheck, proofread. It takes an extra 3 minutes, but will save you from looking dumb for misspelling something. The same goes for typing an e-mail, writing a note, etc.

8. Never say I Don't Know or I Forgot. Those phrases should not even be in your vocabulary. We both know you forgot or truly don't know. We know you are human. Boss thinks you are super human. Say that you'll follow up on it, you'll find out what's going on.

9. Appreciate yourself. You know that you're doing a great job. Reward yourself once in a while. Let your Boss know you'd like to take an extra half hour for lunch for Administrative Professionals Day. It really is okay.

Catching Up

I can't believe that it's been almost a whole month since my last post! I came down with that flu that the whole country has and it hangs on. I got sick, got better, got sicker. I even went to the doctor, just to be told there was nothing she could do. Lovely. I've let so many things go while I've been sick.

But today I feel pretty good. Not quite well, but pretty darned good. Chris went to take a nap, so I cranked up my iPod and decided to take care of business. I scrubbed my kitchen and then sat down to catch up on my blogs. I had over 100 blog entries piled up in my Google Reader. So I read most, scanned a few, starred a few. And I'm planning on blogging on the things I've learned.

So, basically, I've been down for the count, but now I'm back in action. Look for me to start blogging regularly again this week!!

Weight Loss

So, I think I posted about this before, but I'm posting an update. I have resolved to lose 80 pounds this year. So I've really cracked down on myself. I'm counting calories and working out every day. In January, I lost 13 pounds!! I want to lose 17 more pounds by my birthday (March 8th). My goal is to be at 200 for my birthday. Then I'm going to buy something fabulous to wear. I've been steadily losing about 2 pounds a week. That's pretty average, I think, but of course I wish I had faster results. I would love to lose weight like they do on the Biggest Loser.

Anyway, my point is that so far I'm doing pretty good. I definitely feel a lot better. :-)

Top 5 Tips to Overcome Procrastination

I recently subscribed to get organizing tips from Marcia Francois at Take Charge Solutions. These are some tips I received in my latest e-mail. I think they probably work and I'll have to try them . . . later:

1. Do nothing until your most important task is done If something needs to be done, resolve to do nothing else until that task is done. That means no coffee or breakfast! (This really works if you love eating like I do, and you're self-disciplined).
2. Give yourself a self-imposed deadline Tell yourself that the task must be done by a certain time. And when you actually do it, it usually takes you just a fraction of the time to complete instead of the hours you imagined.
3. Get someone to check up on you I like being someone who keeps to my word so this works perfectly for me. I chat to Beth Dargis, a fellow coach, every Friday night, when we set our business goals for the week ahead. Just knowing that I have to report back to Beth makes me get moving and helps me get things done. I'm told that I do the same for my coaching clients ;)
4. Work on it for just 15 minutes For bigger tasks, it always helps if you tell yourself you'll work on the task for just 15 minutes. You can do anything for 15 minutes. Usually by the time 15 minutes rolls around, you'll have built momentum and you'll want to make some serious headway. But even if you don't want to carry on, at least you've made a start! I do this with gym - "I only have to stay for 30 minutes" and before you know it, the class is over and an hour's gone :)
5. Build in rewards Reward yourself the minute it's done, depending on the size of the task, of course. Like a cup of coffee for making a difficult phone call. Please don't go out and buy a new dress to reward yourself just for doing the laundry!

To subscribe to these newsletters and receive excellent tips like these, click here.

Saving the Planet, One Pizza at a Time

There is a new pizza franchise coming to San Diego - Pizza Fusion. This company was founded in Florida in 2006. According to the store owners, they are committed to opening only Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified locations. They use biodegradable materials for their disposables, such as spud ware and cornstarch materials. They also use bamboo flooring and local organic farmers (which also helps boost the local economy - I'm a fan!). But what about those gas-guzzling delivery drivers? All of their delivery vehicles are hybrids!! How cool is that?

To learn more about Pizza Fusion and their efforts to be Green, check out this article in Entrepeneur.

Storms in the South

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the 48 killed in the tornadoes that tore across the South yesterday, as well as all those affected by the storms.

My Confession(s)

So yesterday was Super Tuesday (and Fat Tuesday and Pancake Day and the first day of Lent). Here's my confession: I didn't vote. Here's my other confession: I don't know anything about what's going on.

I happen to be extremely uninformed. This is, of course, entirely my fault. I do not set out to be uninformed. I have actually tried to do research on who the best candidates are, what they stand for, which issues are important to me. I always wend up being frustrated and overwhelmed. There is a lot of information out there. I certainly can't vote unless I fully understand who/what I'm voting for.

That's not really the only reason I didn't vote. There is also the fact that I don't even know how to vote. This would be my first time voting (will be, I guess). I don't know if I registered under a specific political party. I don't know where to go to vote. Basically, I'm just a political mess, awash in a sea of Lord knows what.

So, here's what I'm going to do about it. I'm going to figure out how I registered. I'm going to watch the Presidential debates and figure out who I believe in the most. And I will be prepared to vote this year. Because, really, if I don't vote, I can't complain about the administration. :-)

My Blogging Goals

I'm super new to blogging. I really enjoy it, and I've realized that I'd love to grow my blog. I love reading The Lazy Organizer. When I saw her post announcement for Talk About Tuesday, I knew I had to participate.

I've been reading a lot of articles about how to grow a blog. So many articles, in fact, that I'm extremely overwhelmed. But I have learned something key. I need to figure out my goals for my blog. At this point, it's just an outlet. It's something fun I can do. It's relaxing. But I'm not necessarily sure that everybody wants to read about me. So, PLEASE, help me. How did you decide what you wanted to blog about?

The Super Bowl

Well, what do we think? Personally, I was very surprised at the outcome yesterday. I was rooting for the Giants, but wasn't sure they had what it took to pull it out. Clearly, they proved me (and every other doubter) wrong. Their defense was extraordinary. Eli has certainly come of age. No more labels of "Fake" Manning or the "Other" Manning for him!! I'm thrilled that Michael Strahan has his ring. After playing 14 years in the NFL, he can retire happy.

This crushing loss for the Patriots comes on the heels of new cheating charges on Saturday. A former member of the Patriots staff claims to have filmed the Rams final practice before the 2002 Super Bowl. http://tinyurl.com/yub9f9 Marshall Faulk went on record as saying that it would make sense. In the 2002 Super Bowl, the Rams had no problem moving the ball down the field, but seemed to have trouble in the red zone. Coincidentally, the final practice they ran was of their red zone plays.

If it turns out to be true that the Patriots have cheated, it's sad to see such a blemish on the history of football. It's also nice to see that cheating doesn't always win you the big one.

Birth Control, Abortion, and Minors

These topics were brought up last week in the Human Sexuality class I'm taking with my husband. We were doing an exercise on how conservative/liberal we are now compared to 4 years ago. The last two questions asked us how we felt about minors being able to obtain birth control or get an abortion without notifying their parents.

These are really two different issues, birth control and abortion. And there is absolutely a double standard when it comes to birth control. A boy can walk into a store and buy condoms and it's not an issue. A girl would need to see a doctor to receive birth control. I think it's important for a girl to be able to talk to her parents and see a doctor. Birth control, while wonderful and convenient, can have devastating effects on the human body if not used properly, especially if the effects are not noticed quickly. On the flip side, I think it's OK for boys to go buy condoms. I think that everyone needs to realize that boys are just as responsible as the girls are as far as using contraception. Girls need to understand that it's OK to ask a boy to use a condom. Boys need to be responsible and use condoms. Simple solution.

Abortions. Wow. That's a big one. I'm personally a little bit on the fence here. I grew up in a family where it would have been the end of the world if I had gone to my parents and told them I was pregnant. (I was never pregnant, I'm just saying.) At the same time, I think parents have a right to know. They need to be there for their daughter emotionally as well. An abortion is a big deal, no matter how sure you are that you want it.

I understand that most of us would not have felt comfortable talking to our parents about either birth control or an abortion. What I think is important to take from this is that we need to make sure OUR kids feel comfortable talking to us. It's our responsibility to form the future. Our relationship with our kids will be what we make it.