Hurry up already!

OMG! One of these days I am going to scream when it happens again! You get a request yesterday and today they are following up to find out why you haven't completed it, really? When did it become an EXPECTATION that you would deliver within a 24 hour period of time? Goodness knows that when you respond back, very kindly of course (LOL), that any deadlines should be mentioned in the original email, it is met with a higher ranking manager of the company saying they understand, but it really couldn't be helped and can you have it done in an hour! It is quite aggravating when this happens because "they" take no responsibility in being utterly unreasonable in their demands! And of course, if you say anything to the contrary, you become labelled as "difficult" and "not a team player"!! So, so, so, so, frustrating!

I can't recall how many times I've had to stay well past the time to go home when I've made plans to get things done. How many dinners I have missed and eaten at 10pm because of things that needed to get done. And  how about going home and still working on your laptop until almost 11pm because of things that need to get done. Corporate America really needs to start learning that people do have a breaking point. We are not automatons - we are not robots - we have feelings and need to be valued and not just when it is convenient and necessary. And then, to forget you at review time over and over again saying (monetarily) that you are not a "valuable" commodity that they need to invest their money into keeping! How frustrating!!!

Does this happen to you at all, often or repeatedly? If so, what do you do about it, especially when it comes down from on high???

Thanks for listening....

Is courtesy dead....

Is there courtesy left in this world? I believe it's here, but getting more and more limited in not only quantity, but quality. Today I was sitting on the bus commuting into the city, as always, and the ahem....gentleman....I really HATE using that word, but I will...the person sitting next to me decided not only to take up 1.5 seats (I'm a size 4 so I was squished against the window), but put his elbow out and kept poking me with it! REALLY! REALLY! After about 15 minutes of it, I said, "EXCUSE ME SIR! You are POKING ME WITH YOUR ELBOW"...do you know he didn't stop? Really!!! I can't believe he wasn't embarrassed! I know he understood me because the Smart Phone he was reading was in English. He just didn't give a CRAP about anyone else's comfort and did his GUY thing (sorry some of you guys who don't) where they spread their legs open when they sit and sit on half your side and continued to poke me in the side with his elbow every time the bus moved. SO I HUFFED - and I got a BOOK, hardcover of course, out of my bag and put it right there at my side against his elbow. Do you know he continued to do it and worse??? OMG - if I had been sitting more towards the front of the bus, the bus driver would have gotten an earful, but I really wanted him to pay attention to the road and not my gripes. I have decided that if this JerkFace decides to sit next to me again and pokes me, I'm going to poke HIM every time he pokes me and then, I'm going to file a harassment and violence complaint against him with the bus company and the police. I'm just so sick of this bull - and I cannot believe that he wasn't so embarrassed by me being loud that he continued to do it! ARGH!!!

So what could I have done any different???

Thanks for listening...

Jack of all trades, master of.....

I've been thinking lately about all the things I am really good at doing. Good? Great? Awesome? Somewhat? These are all really relevant when you try to consider your skill/aptitude level of core competencies, right? Do we really have a huge capacity for understanding a large amount of competencies and become completely adaptable within a range of those competencies? I say, with a very strong, resounding, YES! I believe that we do have that capability, we just need to evaluate our core skill sets (competencies) and branch out from there. This is something that you do when you put together your resume, right? You look for all your core strengths and then work your way down (if you don't have enough of those) to those skills you know, but don't do nearly as awesome, but still want to recognize as a competency, regardless of the level. I've decided that I want to put together a portfolio of the things that make me awesome; the things that make me superb; the things that make me great; the things that interest me, but I'm only "good" at doing and this way I can decide and focus my energies where they really need/or want to be! Do I really want to get better at doing something I know, but am not an expert at doing? Hmmm...a very good question! Or do I want to pursue something I am awesome at doing and branch out into things that are tremendously inspiring and/or wetting my appetite to learn more!

So, now I've put together a list of things that roughly fit into those areas, where do I go from here? I'm starting to wonder if I am a Jack of all trades, master of who knows what!?! OK, I am really kidding because I know technology and more technology is the life blood of my life, but what it comes down to is technology is a broad spectrum and where is it that I really fit in? What I do is a myriad of things within the back-end of the technology structure, I've carved a place for myself doing all the administrative management of items that all the uber-techies don't want to do and because of that, I've become an expert in ad-hoc administration, management and learning anything necessary to make things work! I believe that is one of my strengths, I can become a chameleon and put on a hat and run with it, and excel. That is a great thing to be able to do, especially when you have your own day to day operations to run and need to make sure you are constantly learning. Sometimes I feel that if I don't learn 200 new things a day, I've had a really slow day! And sometimes, I wish there was an off switch for my brain.

So what are you a Jack or master of in your life and have you ever thought of what comes next?

Thanks for listening...

SMASH

SMASH! My new favorite show on TV! YUP! It's about a hot musical from idea, casting, set ups, financing, through to first opening show and who gets to open it! There are so many twists, ins, outs and goodness knows "dirt" that it really has been an "on the edge of your seat" fun for me to watch this year! Monday nights at 10pm, a little late for me and more often than not, I end up watching on demand on Wednesdays as I get up at 4:30am every morning for work! Season Finale was awesome! Loved, loved, loved it!

How about Once Upon A Time?!?! Yup...another new favorite this year! The nursery rhymes that end up in the real world due to a curse from Snow White's StepMom the Evil Queen! So many amazing characters and stories that have intertwined, and of course, the child who needs to break the curse. Great acting and characterizations help you to grow attached to, and care about, the growth and development of the characters. From Rumplestiltskin who has a Modis Operandi to Pinocchio who just wants to get back home and continue to be a real boy...From Little Red Riding Hood to Jiminy Cricket! The characters are fun, entertaining, realistic (mostly) and hard to figure out where they will go next and what they will do! The Season Finale...yup - very awesome and completely unpredictable on the cliff hanger too! Loved, loved, loved it!!!

What new show are you watching and why should I start to watch it too?!?!
Thanks for listening...

Blogging

It is amazing what you learn when you really try to do something that you have never done before. Maybe you think it is easy and maybe you think it might be terribly difficult. But either way, you really will not understand the dynamic of what is done until you really get in the trenches and DO IT!

I surely feel that way about blogging. I always thought how easy it would be to do this every day. In the beginning, you find yourself looking forward to finding what to talk about and how to say it and make it real. Then, after a fashion, it takes a lot of ingenuity in order to find new content and discussions that may be relevant to what you want to say. Not to mention that you want to keep it real and interesting and yet make it your own.

Sometimes it means researching your topic and finding other things to inspire you and/or content that you hadn't thought about before. The information super-highway sure is a great research tool and more importantly, AWE-INSPIRING when it comes to INSPIRATION, seriously! If you cannot think of anything to say, why not try to "google" or "search" the subject "top things to blog" and why don't you see how MANY topics come up for you to get inspired by, take advantage of or just think about doing in the near future!

With the advent of the search engines and all of the content going on the internet, it is difficult to figure out what is the "truth" and what is "fiction", however, inspiration is definitely not lacking. I sometimes find my inspiration from the internet for what I feel the need to say, but that doesn't make it any more irrelevant that I was inspired by something I saw online...at least I don't feel that way!

So what do you think is so easy to day that you have never tried? Will you try it and really see what it entails and find out that maybe it isn't as hard as it seems?

Thanks for listening...

Boots, Boots, Boots

Now let me preface this blog post by explaining that I am NOT a girly, girl by any means. Before this weekend, I had 2 pairs of boots, 2 pairs of heels, 2 pairs of black no heel shoes and 5 pairs of sneakers in my closet. All of them from easily 5-10 years old, except for the sneakers which I wear most of the time and have to replace often. Of course, I am a Ryka girl for my sneakers. I need extra support for my arches and heel and Ryka gives that to me in every sneaker, every shoe! Even so, I still have to wear arch supports in them, it's just the way of my foot. The size of the boots and the shoes in my closet prior to this weekend? 7.0 up to 8.0, depending on the fit and cut of the shoe.

But this weekend, that all changed! I walked into a sale of boots at Mandee. Previously I couldn't shop at Mandee because I couldn't fit into any of their clothes so I stayed out of the store so as not to see all of the clothes that I couldn't wear due to being too large. Well now...I'm not large! Woo hoo!

So I went into Mandee, they were having their "end of season" clearance sale on boots. Wow! I loved their boots and I decided to go in and take a look to see if they had some nice ones I could wear. Definitely a good and bad thing! LOL Walked right into a 40% off the already reduced clearance price, really? I said, really? OMG! Some of the boots were only going to be $6! So I started trying them on, and trying them on. Well, I found out my foot went from a 7-8 to a 6-7, mostly around 6.5 in the size area. Wow! I didn't know you could lose that much on your foot size!

So I ran the gambit on the shoes...Ankle high ones that are so cute! Some with Fur, some with small heels, some plain with nothing, some with buckles! Here's a Leopard one... These are really cool and I love the way they zip up the back of the little bootie! I will definitely have to practice about a month or so walking in the house in these to get used to walking out of the house with them! They are definitely higher than anything I've worn in YEARS! LOL

Then there are the cute little ankle ones that are a little less formal and a little less heel so definitely a lot easier to work with having to walk! Aren't they so cute!!! 

Definitely a little more along the lines of being able to wear them with my cute new jeans that I bought at Kohls a few weeks ago! They are as comfortable as they look and they fit my foot like a glove!!! 

Then we have the plain....

And we have a really cute pair of grey cuties I wore today that everybody at work thought were totally adorable!!! I love the way the fur kept my feet warm, although they were a little narrow in the toe to get used to...

I had to have a bunch that were longer and cooler so I invested in a bunch more, here's an example of one set that I was able to acquire for $11...

These are very cool and I'm thinking they may be a good set for some Steampunk outfits with a little bling added, of course! LOL And here is another pair of beautiful grey ones...

Very cool, so all in all, the shopping excursion was a major success. I actually ended up buying 20 pairs of boots that cost me a total of $209, some of the boots were originally $64 and I got for $11, how can you really beat that!!!

I am not so good at formatting, so sorry if the format for this blog is a little off with the pictures, I'll get better as I go along I assure you...But I didn't want to bore you all with pictures of every boot...

So did I turn into a girly girl? Nah...but I sure do love these boots! And I will definitely be on the lookout for more bargains as they come available! I have a few skirts that look really great with these boots! LOL Ok, maybe a little girly...only a little!!!

So as we grow, we change and have interests in new things.

What new interest have YOU picked up that surprised you recently?

Thanks for listening...

Jeans

Really, jeans? I never thought I would blog about this topic, but here I go.
Yesterday at the store I went shopping for my first pair of jeans in easily 12 years. I was totally amazed at how many different variables are taken into account now when buying a pair. It used to be color, straight leg or bootcut and size...not anymore!

To start out with, there are 6 kinds of fit (now I'm talking women's jeans...so no comments if mens are different! LOL)
Fit 1/2 deal with jeans that come to just below your waist
Fit 3/4 deal with jeans that come mid-waist
Fit 5/6 deal with jeans that come to your hips only

So that is the fit...now the colors? They have every variation of blue, blue/black, black & then how about the pre-washed, non-washed, bleach look, ripped look, torn to shreds look, white, purple, gray, rust, green and colors I couldn't even think what to name them! Then the sizes - a Size and then "R", "L" and "S" - assuming they mean Regular, Long and Short (of course it doesn't say anywhere on the freakin' label!!) Then they come in straight, bootcut & skinny...assuming that is the cut of the legs (and of course this isn't anywhere either!!)

I have never had to try on so many pairs of pants in my life to find a size, style, color and brand to fit my shape. In some respects, I think it is a good thing because manufacturers have finally realized that all women are not built alike and that some are curvy, some are straight, some have high waists and some have low waists. Some like really tight "skinny" jeans and some like them rounder and more loosely fitting.

I must say coming into this all brand new and not understanding this ahead of time, I spent almost 2 hours in the store to find one pair of  jeans that I could wear. Well, I have a pair of jeans now and I'm happy about it...I just hope the next time will not be such a high learning curve! LOL

So what has been your challenge to shop for something you haven't bought in a long time?

Thanks for listening...

Back Again

Decided that posting on my blog is a very important part of who I am right now at this crossroads of my life. Somehow, I seem to think things through and get rid of "stuff" that plagues me when I blog! I'm not sure how many of you out there experience the same thing, but it seems that writing can be therapeutic in some cases, and in this case, for me! So I've decided to be more....what is the word that I am reaching for...diligent on posting my blog regularly. That, of course, is not to say that I will be posting every day, I'm not sure I have that kind of dedication or time at the moment. But I do not want to let three months go by without having any postings on my blog. There has to be a happy medium and I'm looking for it, and, will, achieve it!

So what is happening in life? I am down to that last snarky 9 pounds that refuses to come off my body so that gives me a little grief. I'm sure that all of us have things that we don't like about ourselves, mine is definitely my thighs and I want them thinner, darn it!! So I'm starting with a new(er) picture of myself, taken over the Thanksgiving holiday where I did not pig out and gain tons of weight! Woo hoo!! It seems that by taking this journey I found myself on, I have broken some very bad habits, ones that I don't want to go back to ever and that, is a very good thing!!!

I hope that all of you had wonderful holidays and are looking forward to a very productive year! At least until the cataclysmic event on 12/21/12! LOL Of course, that's my birthday, but hey! At least it will be momentous!

So what do you think about writing as therapy?

Thanks for listening....

Some days just suck!

Commuting just sucks some days!
Today is one of those days, as I sit, stuck in traffic, in the Holland Tunnel typing this blog. Of course it gives me time to write my blog, but it keeps me from getting home to where I have a gazillion things to do and never enough time to do it! Already leaving work later than I should have, and now to sit in traffic and have to continue to wait. Not to mention the food shopping that I have to do on the way home. By the time I get home, it will be after 7:30pm and I haven't eaten dinner yet! And I need to be in bed by 10pm in order to get up at 4:30am the next morning. What a total mess!!

This should teach me to leave late. It is bad enough to get into work every day at 6:30am and start working, but now, I leave at 5:00 only to get stuck in traffic to where I end up moving out of the Tunnel by 6:00!! OMG, what a disaster! Of course it usually happens in rain, snow, sleet and hail and, of course, massive accidents don't help the situation. Love to go back to the days where I can take a train into the city and not worry about traffic patterns. But that way is more expensive, takes 3 different modes of transportation, one of which I have to stand for 30 minutes and takes longer every day by about 40 minutes a day! Wow, what a choice! a 2 hour commute on bad days or more expensive, transfers, standing and not having to worry about traffic patterns, but have to walk 12 blocks to and/from one of those transportation hubs! I wonder what most of you would choose?

Oh well, some days just suck seems to be my motto lately.
When you are down about something, what do you do to "pick yourself up"?

Thanks for listening to me gripe today...

Carbohydrates

Today is the time to talk about Carbohydrates. So many different kinds, so many different experiences, with so many differing viewpoints from all around the globe.

From the Wiki:
In food science and in many informal contexts, the term carbohydrate often means any food that is particularly rich in the complex carbohydrate starch (such as cereals, bread, and pasta) or simple carbohydrates, such as sugar (found in candy, jams, and desserts).
Foods high in carbohydrate include fruits, sweets, soft drinks, breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals. Carbohydrates are a common source of energy in living organisms; however, no carbohydrate is an essential nutrient in humans.
Carbohydrates are not necessary building blocks of other molecules, and the body can obtain all its energy from protein and fats. The brain fats contain 37.8 kilojoules (9 kilocalories) per gram. In the case of protein, this is somewhat misleading as only some amino acids are usable for fuel.
Organisms typically cannot metabolize all types of carbohydrate to yield energy. Glucose is a nearly universal and accessible source of calories. Many organisms also have the ability to metabolize other monosaccharides and Disaccharides, though glucose is preferred. Polysaccharides are also common sources of energy. Many organisms can easily break down starches into glucose, however, most organisms cannot metabolize cellulose or other polysaccharides like chitin and arabinoxylans. These carbohydrates types can be metabolized by some bacteria and protists. Even though these complex carbohydrates are not very digestible, they may comprise important dietary elements for humans. Called dietary fiber, these carbohydrates enhance digestion among other benefits. (END WIKI)


With so much information out there and so many differing viewpoints, how do we know what is "good" and what is "bad"? I think sometimes we take things to the extreme. For example, when you have high cholesterol, the tendency is to NOT eat any bad cholesterol. The only problem is that if you don't give your body cholesterol, it will utilize carbohydrates to CREATE cholesterol and it could push your levels higher than they really need to be.

There are so many people adopting a "low carb" lifestyle. What is it? Should you do it? How do you know? I think we all have to decide what works for "us" by trying different things and finding out what is good for "your" body! "low carb" does not mean, NO carb...what it means is using raw fruits and raw vegetables as your everyday carbs (for the most part) and keeping your carbohydrate grams under a "certain" number...for me, that number is 80g/day. It seems to be working for me and I tweak daily. Gone are those days when I have to try to figure out what works for me. This has become a great way to maintain my current lifestyle and I like it. It is all about making the "right" choices for me...

For example, a banana has 27g of carbohydrates. That is more than 25% of my daily intake. So I ask myself, do I want to eat that or 3 cups of raw green beans or broccoli? Also - ask yourself do you need to eat it cooked? If you look at a carbohydrate/calorie book, look up Broccoli, Cauliflower, or Green Beans - look them up RAW and COOKED. Look at the difference in Calories and note that when you cook it the vegetable becomes a STARCH and breaks down differently in your system. Learning a lot about food, makes me feel like I have more control over the future of my life and my well being. That's the way I roll now...it wasn't always, but I am much happier in my life every day because of it!

Have you tried a lot of things to keep your body "maintained" at it's "optimum"? If so, what methods to YOU use to keep it "status quo"?

Thanks for listening...

Reality Shows

Sorry I've been away so long, I did get overwhelmed and decided to stop for a little while. But now, I'm back and I hope you want me to be here as much as I want to be here.

What is up with Reality Shows? Have they gotten really outside the box and completely outrageous? I'm thinking some of them are like the one with the "gold rush" - panning for gold. Do we really want to see a reality show about people on a quest to find gold? This one, definitely not for me. How about "swamp people"? Wow...I can't tell you enough how much that one SCARES ME! YIKES! Horrible visions of "Deliverance"!!!

Where did reality shows begin?
I'm not really sure, but the earliest documented "reality" show on Wikipedia is "This is your life" in 1952. I think everyone has at least heard of that one! And the list is HUGE and growing. If you include game shows/competitions, then you have "Original Amateur Hour" 1948, "Beat the clock" 1950, or "Candid Camera"! I'm sure everyone knows at least ONE of these.

I believe that the reality show has changed a lot over the years.
Now - they are locking people up into a house together and filming all the "ugly" truths and putting the entertaining and controversial parts on TV.

Then you have the competition shows like "Project Runway" and "Survivor" - All HUGELY popular they are still going. Not to mention the "Great Race". What about the "Apprentice" or "Celebrity Apprentice"? And the list is growing!!!

How many do I watch? Hmmm...I love the "Rachael Zoe Project", "Flipping Out" (although he acts like such a jerk a lot of the time), "The Apprentice", "Celebrity Apprentice", "Little People, Big World", "The Little Chocolatiers" (Where are they??? I LOVE THAT SHOW!!!), "So you think you can dance", "American Idol", "The Next Food Network Star", "Who wants to be a Superhero", "Gene Simmons Family Jewels", "I married a Princess" (LOVED this show - too bad it went bye bye), "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" (OMG - have you seen the DRESSES!!!), "The Little Couple", And of course, do not forget Captain Phil (god rest his soul) and "The Deadliest Catch"....

I think that is way too many! OMG - what is wrong with me.
But considering how MANY shows out there that can be found...not too bad...all in all....Considering I know people who watch pretty much everything!


What exactly is it that you watch?
And how do you feel about watching them?

Thanks for listening...

Overwhelmed

What do you do when life is too overwhelming and you have too many pans on the fire? Do you ever wake up in the morning and want to go to bed because there are .5 Million thoughts running through your head creating terrible noise and headache pain?

It is always especially hard this time of year knowing that Christmas is just a few months away. I always also worry about gifts that I give and have I put enough forethought into them, you know the drill. I still have a hard time letting go with "just good enough" and that is my cross to still struggle with every day.

I know that I like to keep busy, but I also know that things don't always go according to plan. I have a jewelry business, Avon, A full time job and a Consulting business on the side. Not to mention family affairs and trying to find time to have a personal life. But how else do you get by in today's society where you still cannot get a raise (or a new job that has no job security either) in this horrible economy?

I couldn't imagine having too much free time on my hands, because I imagine I would fill it with all kinds of stuff anyway! I looked at an offer for a 3-hour Fondant class showing you how to fill cakes and decorate them and thought how AWESOME that would be for $87!!! I want to do it now!! I am an "information junkie"! You know it from reading my blog and I know it from being who I am, but I wouldn't want to be any other way! I love to learn, I love to do things, have fun, play games, all those beautiful and wondrous things I haven't even done yet! I hate to miss anything! I hate sleeping because it takes away from time to do other things! LOL

So what exactly do you do to stop yourself from feeling overwhelmed when you are overwhelmed? How do you get out from under it and prioritize even though you think everything is a priority?

Thanks for listening...

Ideal Body Weight?

Who takes stock in the "Ideal Body Weight" charts and all the voodoo that doctors/medical practitioners or anyone puts into "categorizing" individuals? Doesn't the word "individual" by definitely defy such charts and generalizations? Are any of them really accurate?

If you put in "ideal body weight" into google, you will get 1,040,000 return results! How amazing is the information highway today and access to so much of it? Of course a lot of it is opinion, misguidance and conjecture, but there are some good sites out there that seem to do things well. You just have to parse your way through them, of course!

I am female, 5'5.75"
Here are some of the actual ranges from web calculators:
117-144 (mean 132)
132-145 (mean 138)
130 (nothing else! Really? What kind of calculator is that? About.com)
121 (nothing else! Really? Idealbodyweight.com)
112-154 (Note that your ideal weight range is somewhat broad. Depending on your build and whether you are male or female, an ideal weight for you may fall anywhere in this range.)

With all of this information which I got in 5 minutes, how can I know what is right? There is no way...no way and anyone would be very confused...

Is Body Mass Index (BMI) a good measure?
Your weight (pounds) times 703, divided by the square of your height in inches.
e.g. Weight 190 pounds.
Height 6 ft (72 inches)
722 = 5184
190 x 703 divided by 5184 = BMI 25.76
BMI is supposed to remain between 18.5 and 25 to maintain a "healthy" style.

But how is this IDEAL for those who are at the top of the scale and see mounds of fat on their bodies? The answer is to remember that everyone is different and every body type is different. BMI doesn't take into account the differences between an olympic swimmer and a couch potato. BMI doesn't take into account bone density, so it really is a very slightly reliable method to determine where you are, not where you should be. Everyone has different muscle tone, larger/smaller muscles, larger/smaller frame so there is no "ideal" way to measure. Even going to the doctor, depending on the physician, they use such outmoded measurements like Calipers, or a scale and a chart used in 1975 (like mine did)!

With this LACK of information, how can we get some REAL information for us as individuals? Many so-called "experts" agree that determining body fat percentage is really a good indication of how "fit" a person is and would calculate more accurately the differences between an Olympic swimmer and a couch potato. Some of the methods they utilize to determine this is:
near-infrared interactance
dual energy X-ray absorptiometry
bioelectrical impedance analysis

The American Council on Exercise recommends the following percentages:
Essential fat
Women 10-12%
Men 2-4%
Total fat
Athletes
Men 6-13%
Women 14-20%
Non-athletes classed as fit
Men 14-17%%
Women 21-24
Acceptable
Men 18-25%
Women 25-31%
Overweight
Men 26-37%
Women 32-41%
Obese
Men 38% or more
Women 42% or more

While I do fit into the "acceptable category of this chart, I am definitely NOT happy with the actual fat hanging on my body so I will definitely continue to look towards getting myself on the lower end of that scale!

So I hope that this has been an interesting blog for you to read.

Were you wondering how things are calculated with your own weight? Or are you one of the "lucky" ones that doesn't have to think about their health every day of their lives?

Thanks for listening...

Windy Days

Wow, what amazing weather we've had this last weekend. Have you ever experienced wind gusts up to 90+ mph? After this weekend, I sure can say yes! If you think riding out a regular storm is hard, circulating winds around the bay mixed with water for an 18 hour period of time is sheer madness! By the end of Sunday, I was pretty much done hearing wind whipping around the house with its Eerie high-pitched screams! You couldn't even count how many times the house shook as the raging winds and rain beat down upon it incessantly!

Inside, we're scouting all the news stations trying to find out the latest on the position of the storm and how fast it is moving. Trying to find out the projected paths and how the experts are tracking the water issues and the wind issues and what is projected for your area. Seeing the news reports of power outages is enough to frighten anyone who has sump pumps in their basement and no back-up gas powered generators knowing what a mess will be there to clean up if you lose power! Having the storm stall and move slower was a huge issue and probably a lot of the reason for the huge power outages that STILL are affecting the state. I still know people who don't have power and are being told it will be September 7th before they feel they will be able to have it working again! Mon Dieu! How they are surviving day to day, I have no idea! While I like the idea of grilling my food, I'm not sure I would be happy to be forced to go to the grocery store every day to get perishables to cook on the grill to consume immediately without leftovers. That kind of planning would get old really fast! And it's not just one or two people here, it is entire towns and parts of towns and in many different counties! Not just the shore communities got hit, there are people who aren't even close to the water that still don't have power today, and people with babies and young children too! I know there are people who have 100ft extension cords going to their neighbors houses nearby sharing electricity just to keep their refrigerators going to keep some food handy. But that doesn't help the lack of running water, heat, air conditioning, light, computers to run their business. I have a friend who has to go to the library every day and wait on line and there is a 2 hour limit on time you can be on the computers. And she's still not getting all her work done for her home business. Camping is one thing, but this is completely another. I don't think the world realizes there are still people, right now, that do not have power from that huge storm that passed by over the East Coast!

While we were watching the news during the hurricane, we kept worrying we would lose power so we sat back and watched what we wanted and surfed the internet to get our fill because we knew that at any moment the forces of the universe would snatch that power away from us and not return it for a long time. We had preparations with water for drinking and water for the lavatory. We had coolers and ice packs that could keep things fresh for a little while. We had flashlights and batteries, oodles of candles, lighters and matches. Blankets on all the windows (yeah, try finding WOOD to board up your windows when a hurricane is announced will hit your area - good luck with that and a generator) to stop any flying glass should the need arise. Everything movable out of the yard and secured - you sure don't want to be the cause of flying objects going through your neighbors windows!

I couldn't sleep, the raging wind and rain pummeling the house was making such a racket I just couldn't sleep. I think it may have been around 2am after the latest Weather update that I finally was able to snooze a little overnight, but the wind continued to rage against the dying of the light! Sorry, couldn't help but get some literary reference in there! LOL

We survived the hurricane and, luckily thank the powers of the universe, did not lose power. We still had water seepage in the basement that we had to deal with from various sources that were not at the sump pumps, but compared to what it could have been, I am very very thankful.

My only wishes are for the rest of the people to have resolution quickly and power restored so they can get on with the rest of their lives and survive this crisis.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I am sure. All of the Ohio Electric trucks going round the state shows that we truly are getting a lot of help, I guess they just need to get to everyone. The good news is the weather has cooled down quite a bit! It has been cold every morning, unusually so and I'm sure we can contribute it to everything that has happened. I only hope we get enough warm weather to get rid of the saturated water throughout the state before we get hit by winter.

So how did you fare during the recent weather? Were there any interesting incidents you can report?

Thanks for listening...

Sleepers

Who else in this world hates people who sit next to you in mass transit, then fall asleep and lean on you????

One of my biggest pet peeves, and I'm sure, some of you commuters as well. Or are YOU one of THEM and hit me with your swooning ways!! LOL

You know, most people out of some sense of courtesy see someone working on their laptop and will sit somewhere else, I've had (3) guys in the past week all almost break my laptop to sit in the seat next to me while my bag is still there and none of them have said excuse me to let me know they were sitting down. Do you SEE me ENGROSSED in my work or NOT! What the heck is wrong with you people? Do they just not care about anyone but their selfish selves? Plenty of room on the bus, but you have to sit right next to the person working on their laptop, and then get annoyed when you get an ELBOW in your side because you fall asleep and have no consideration for my private space?

Excuse me commuters out there and listen up. If you sit next to me and fall asleep and swoon towards me, guess what? You WILL find an elbow in your side when you do it. I'm done being Ms. Nice GAL all the time. Wake up and smell the roses and get with the program! It is time for you to be a little more considerate of those people that are in the seat next to you. Don't like it - then get your lazy backside off the seat and MOVE!

So what would you do if that happened to you all the time? Wouldn't you be just as ticked off as I am right now? Three times in one week?

Thanks for listening...

Research

What is it about doing research on a new topic that is so interesting that I want to get out my claws and deep dive into the minutiae of the data? What is it about learning something new that just gets my creative juices flowing to where I need to learn everything? Is that the perfectionism shining through or just someone who is attuned to the minutiae of the detail and loves to understand everything?

Today we were meeting with a new prospective relationship. It was great and I was finally happy about being included in the details. So much so that I read every piece of information out there I could find on the company. Then on their e-commerce software solution, the different licenses, what each offers, how it works, etc. Then I went and researched their NPM (Network Performance Monitoring)tool to see what that was and then how it works. And let's not forget the whole research into the Web Analyzing trend tool, how it works, etc. Oh boy, did I mention that I even delved into who the partners were and how many big box clients they had? I even asked who is responsible for the licensing relationship with the third parties at the meeting, what a great question (or at least I believed it was)! LOL

I think it stems back to when I was in school, I always loved the term papers that resulted in tons of encyclopedia research, rewriting, analyzing and then finalizing the paper. Does it stem back into how I just want to learn more and more and more and I just can't stop myself? When will enough be enough? How deep is too deep to delve into a project and understand the subject matter before a meeting? I surely do not know the boundaries as I always worry about what the next question might be and I've learned to anticipate who knows what! I think that also goes back to my "former" boss who always asked so many questions in the beginning when I started working for him that I sort of learned to try to anticipate what he would question next, making me thorough in my approach. I think its a good way to be, but is it obsessive and to the extreme?

How do you research these potential situations and do you deep-dive into them headfirst with gusto?

Thanks for listening...

Skimming

Who likes to get email responses from those individuals who have skimmed your email and still didn't get the real meaning of what you were trying to convey? Do you find it is the same individuals over and over again who plague you with their lack of commitment to detail that it annoys you time and time again? How many times are you frustrated by the numerous communications you receive due to this insulting behavior? Why DO people skim things, including emails? I say, if you don't have enough time to read it right, do not respond to it until you do!

I especially hate it when it comes from a VP because the response you get is usually half-witted, half-hearted and completely illegible. Then you have to look like an idiot and say, "Excuse me, but can you please clarify what you mean so that I don't get it wrong?" It is near impossible sometimes to do your job when this is becoming a repeated and prevalent practice within the business world.

It isn't just me either, a lot of my professional friends are saying the same thing. I think because we have come down to a society where VP and Executive level management no longer have "secretaries", "personal assistants" or "administrative assistants" as they like to be referred, to cow-tow to their every whim and write memos, emails and responses to everything, we are now getting a lower level of communication from them. Is it because a lot of the "older" gentlemen never learned grammar, haven't had to use it, or are just ignorant?

It is very difficult to really understand. I think a lot of times in companies that grow quickly, people are promoted due to vacating positions and they are not necessarily "qualified" for the job were they to be hired from outside the company. Because of this, in my humble opinion, people who have less than the basic skills have made it to high-ranking positions within the company just by default. And because of that, we end up getting less quality at the time and, of course, less leadership. Lack of quality and less employees due to the recession is a killer and if the corporations aren't smart, their business will also suffer in the long run.

I only hope the economy picks up so that we can get better quality employees into positions and salaries they should be in and stop holding onto the people who can't do the job just because they've been there forever...there is a lot to be said for tenure, but the job really needs to be done efficiently and correctly or not at all.

Of course this is just my opinion. So let me know how you feel.

Why exactly do you think this horrible habit is becoming more prevalent in the business world today and how does it make you feel when it happens to you?

Thanks for listening...

Organizing

My new craze - organizing! Who doesn't need to organize better, whether it be things in their life, email, their calendar, events or even magazines, or junk mail?

So I'm developing a system, it is definitely a work in progress.
I am so tired of seeing junk mail in the front hallway near the door, fliers, newspapers, etc. That I want to make sure that I am going to take care of them right away. So now, I have bins by the stairway. One bin - cardboard. One bin - newspapers and any paper without my name/address on it (have to be wise about security these days). Then one bin - cans/bottles recycling in the pantry. One bin for having everything with names/addresses on it that will make fodder for the proverbial fire-pit in the backyard come this cold season.

I'm also looking for new and innovative ways to organize my jewelry findings, half completed projects, newly bought beads that don't fit in the current containers. Oh my goodness, you can spend a fortune on things to organize for yourself, that's for sure. There sure are plenty of ideas out there, you just have to be able and willing to pay dearly for them. 3 shelf unit at Target is $20? WHOA! No wonder everyone is saying the cost of living is going up - really? I'm flabbergasted! How about a desk - ON SALE with double incentives is $69.99 for one of "poor construction" according to the reviews at Staples!

How about closets - don't even let me tell you how much they cost! I got 3 wooden units for all my DVD's at Unclaimed Freight and they were $15.99 each, but they fit a large amount of DVD's so they were well worth it (and I had a coupon). Try looking for a value bookcase - have you seen the prices of things these days? I would have to go a month without eating before I could buy only a percent of what I want to buy to organize my life.

So for right now, I guess I'll keep dreaming up ways to save money without spending too much and organize as I go. The bins for the recycling and such were 6.84 at Home Depot - so for under $20 I'm not spending a ton and, at least organizing my front porch.

Organizing your schedule takes a little more doing and email, a LOT more doing. How many email accounts do you have? I count 8 for me and I'm not making any more!!! Wow, that's a lot of junk to sort through, thank goodness that hotmail now has a "junk" button anytime you are viewing an email that will send it to junk next time it gets there. I wish Gmail would implement the same thing...The rest are outlook and hosted outlook and are just a lot to organize. So I've started coming up with really cool "file" systems within my emails so that filing the items away is a breeze. I think in my work email from 11 years, I have 13 .pst folders and about 300+ folders/subfolders in every one of them. Amazing how I can find things though when push comes to shove and people ask me about past items or things from way back! So it really is all about what you can remember about how to file things...

What exactly do you do to organize things?

Thanks for listening...

Image - is it everything

Why are we so hard on ourselves when we look in the mirror? Why do we always criticize everything that is wrong and never give ourselves credit for the awesome things that we have done to change? Is Image everything?

I hate my thighs! That is a fact and even though they are MUCH smaller than they used to be, all I see is how huge they are now! When do we really "see" the changes that we have worked so hard to make?

A friend of mine told me it takes MONTHS of actually looking at yourself before you see the "true" you staring back in the mirror. She says it is because we all have a visual image of what we looked like before, and the changes haven't taken over inside our "psyche" yet - the image of what we WERE permeates our being until we can actually see ourselves for the "who" we look like in the mirror now. What do you think, do you think it's possible?

Here's something interesting to know. How many of you equate our mental perceptions with our own images to what we grew up with as children? How about the image of "Barbie" the iconic doll - do/did little girls (and now women) aspire to be that same shape (of which we know is foolhardy or do we?). Here's something that dates back to 1965:

In 1965 Mattel came out with a “Slumber Party Barbie” that came complete with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 pounds. The doll also came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight. And inside this book it gave the advice: “Don’t Eat”. The matching Ken doll also came with slumber party accessories, but his were milk and cookies, sending a very different message.

What do you think of that? There are (2) Barbie dolls sold every second somewhere in the world TODAY. Girls between the ages of 3 and 11 have on average 10 Barbie dolls in their possession. Are any of them the "right" size to what a normal woman would look like? We all know that isn't the case...

How does image play a part in self-esteem in today's society? I know in Europe they take a very different understanding of how they feel about themselves as I've seen some pictures of women in things I wouldn't wear with that body type wearing very revealing clothing. So is it the prudish people like me who might have immense pride and only see their faults?

I am unconvinced I am the only one who refuses to wear things that make them look awful. Why should I wear shorts when my fat hangs out of them and I feel disgusted at myself when I look in the mirror?

Is image everything? Do we put too much pressure on ourselves to try to reach, dare I say it, perfection that we know cannot be reached?

Thanks for listening....

Skype ROCKS!!

I spent the most amazing 1 hour and 4 minutes (yes, exactly) on VIDEO SKYPE with a GREAT and beautiful friend who resides in AZ last night! It was the first time I had my camera on my PC up and working and she could see me sitting in my chair as we talked and talked and talked...It is funny, I have felt like I knew her all my life when we met and became friends. We both joined a support group for weight loss online in a virtual community and we became fast and great friends! More than a year later, we have grown close, we text each other every day and we try to talk as often as possible. Just recently we have added the Video Skype to the mix.

I think it is awesome, I have just introduced my mother to having it. We set it up on her new laptop and she's already got 2 people on her contacts list: me, and my brother who resides in the 'burg...She'll be able to Video Skype with any of us and when I go on vacation and finally MEET my beautiful virtual sister (by a different mother) in AZ, I'll be able to Video Skype her from my vacation and that is just so awesome! I remember way back when all of the sci-fi shows I've watched, they had "vid-phones" and now, if you think about it, they are REAL and we can use them now! All you need is a cheapo camera and an internet connection and "voila"! There you are, able to keep in touch seeing your friend, sister, uncle, brother, father, mother, anyone you care about as if they are sitting in front of you!

Technology is my passion, my burning desire, my great joy and I love, love, love new and interesting ways to make things happen, easier, AND more enjoyable in my life! The addition of the Video Skype has really added a new dimension to how I view things now. There is nothing that is too far away anymore. Technology, simplicity and fun are no longer only available to those who are rich enough to afford them along with those who have the know-how to implement them. With the advent of the internet and the information sharing that is available via the internet in this new evolving universe we live in, it is inconceivable not to take advantage of these wonderful tools and get into the 21st Century! How awesome is the world we live in today where we can jump through an internet connection and be able to video chat across the world, across the country, or just around the corner.

Are you using the technology you have available to you to your best advantage? Do any of these things excite you as they do me? What does excite you?

Thanks for listening....

Vanity

What is it about needing to feel good about the way you look all the time? Why is it I can't accept the things that aren't "pretty" or "appealing" about me in public? Why do I always have to feel like I need to cover up the bad stuff so that I can feel good about the way I look in public?

I do worry that this is part of the "perfectionism" that I am trying, quite desperately, to get under control. Knowing I'm not perfect with my skin hanging a little under my arms, I wear long sleeves and roll them up to my elbow so that nobody notices the flapping of my arms. Is this all because I don't feel Perfect or that striving to be perfect that I can never achieve again? I am so totally unsure of this one, completely out of left field.

I won't wear Bermuda shorts without tights. Kind of negates the reason for getting into "cooler" clothing than real pants, doesn't it? But yet, I can't seem to like or get myself to accept the flaws and wear the Bermuda shorts or even the Capri style. I tried, really I did, but I just couldn't do it.

And don't get me started about make-up and going out in public! Why is it when I know I need to be somewhere, I have to dress "to the 9's" (always loved that adage) and make sure to "put my best face on" (that one too!) even though I realize, who do I need to impress? Why is it that I continue to feel the need to feel great about the progression of my body?

I was recently told that Europeans don't have the same issues with weight, clothing (appropriate for size) and all that jargon when they go out in public. I have seen things from other countries that leads me to believe that is the case as well. Is it just in the US that people have this feeling like me? I can't see wearing skimpy or revealing clothing to show things I don't even want to look at to people I don't even know! Well, it appears there are plenty of places in the world where people don't seem to care...and that does include the US as well...just not as much I think.

Is it vanity or just caring about how you look when you go out in public? Where exactly does vanity fall into play? What is the real definition of Vanity?

1. excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit
2. an instance or display of this quality or feeling.
3. something about which one is vain.
4. lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness: the vanity of a selfish life.
5. something worthless, trivial, or pointless.

What exactly constitutes "excessive"? I don't think wanting to look good and covering up your flaws will qualify so WHEW! I am so glad I solved that mystery, at least I think so...

Where does pride in appearance change into Vanity and when is it really Vanity and not pride? I guess we all have our own opinions of that very delicate balance, what is yours?

Thanks for listening...

Self Control

Everyone has their breaking point when it comes to self control. I'm not sure where mine is yet as I seem to have been good with it for the past few years and haven't gone in "excess" or "extremes" in any of this time. There was a time where my self control would dwindle when french fries were around, or maybe Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. LOL

Do you have any issues with Self Control?
Maybe it's Chocolate. Maybe it's texting, I hear a lot of teenagers actually are having this one, so much so that schools are taking phones away during class because the kids aren't paying attention! Go figure! Do you have a problem with spending money you don't have? Credit card debt is actually a big problem in this country.

Self control or self-control is the ability to control one's emotions, behavior and desires in order to obtain some reward later, and is the capacity of efficient management to the future. In psychology it is sometimes called self-regulation.

Self control should increase with age due to the development of the sensory system. As the sensory system develops, people's perceptual abilities expand. Children do not have a concept of time, and in this sense, they live in the present. However, as children age and develop into adults, they gradually gain the ability to comprehend the future consequences of their actions.

It really all boils down, again, to perception. If you perceive and are capable enough of understanding that there is a "reward" at the end of the "control" aspect of what you are 'waiting' for...you are more likely to keep control and reap the benefits of the rewards.

I find I really do well under self-control circumstances, lately. I see to have developed a way to just command my mind to see things the way I want it to see it and do what I want it to do, luckily enough!

Do you have any issues with self control? If so, what might they be and have you tried to conquer them? I think that we should all try to attain a higher state of being and with that, comes self-control. What do you really think?

Thanks for listening...

Pretend - do you or don't you

Costumes, do you or don’t you? When it comes time for Halloween, do you have a costume? Do you make a costume? Do you even enjoy the costumes that trick or treat at your door? Do you buy a store bought costume? Do you just have fun at Halloween because of the parties you get invited to?

So many different viewpoints and so little time I say. If you do enjoy being in costume, then you are actually in the minority. Most people scoff at what they consider to be a “juvenile” activity. However, from my viewpoint, I have to say to all those people who have never done it, don’t knock it until you try it! There is a lot to be said for being in a costume, and more than ever when you are in a GREAT costume. Halloween is just one time that you get an opportunity to dress up if you so choose. You can go to a Comic convention and dress up as a comic book hero, heroine or bad guy. How about going to a sci fi convention? Well there, I have a ton of experience and I can tell you that it is a magnificent experience. While you walk through the halls in costume, you can be anybody you want to be in that costume, not “you” per se, just anyone. Make something up. Be someone else for an hour, a day, a weekend, a week depending upon the length of the convention. When you go to a convention and dress up, you feel like a movie star when you are in costume. Those of you who have never done so will ask why…those of you who have will just smile and nod their heads in the affirmative! LOL The reasoning is simple, everyone who is anyone wants to take pictures of all the people in costume. Not only do you feel great about being there and being able to “get out of your own skin” and be someone else, you get to feel like a movie star who gets their picture taken every 5 feet! Down the hallways, when you’re eating, it won’t matter. If you want to know what it feels like to deal with the Paparazzi, dress up in a great costume at a sci-fi convention and you will have zero doubt as to what they go through! If you are a female, the skimpier the costume, the more pictures people want to take. Ok, I really mean guys, but there are plenty of women out there TOO!

Not to mention how many different costumes can you come up with to do at these conventions? With Science fiction, there are so many conventions it is very hard to NOT come up with an idea. All of Star Wars, throw on a trek uniform, doesn’t matter what series and most people won’t even care if you don’t have any communicator pins (but if you do, you’d better have the right pin for the costume! LOL) on your costume, it will just be cool that you “participated”. How about Babylon 5 and all of their species choices? You can do any of the Stargate, even dress up as Rodney from Stargate Atlantis (one of my faves to watch! LOL). How about Lost in Space? Danger Will Robinson, Danger Will Robinson! How about all of the “goth” conventions that are out there? Dress dark, put some blue streaks in your hair and make yourself look like a vampire!

I have seen them all from really great ones made out of cardboard to store bought costumes and ones made from bathrobes! And what it all comes down to is FUN, FUN, FUN! And if you haven’t tried it, you surely are missing a ton of fun. Especially if you think you are too old to do something like that – think again! My mother dresses up at plenty of events and she’s in her 70’s and most people will tell you she lives her life having fun.

I need to take a sewing class and learn how to make my own. I can’t go in armor every time, I sure know how to do that from all my years hanging out with the 501st and the groups!

What costume would you pick if you were to go next week? Would you actually have one ready?

Thanks for listening…

Words Fascinate....

Words, do some of them have any “impact” on you in an emotional way? Are there some that you “like”? Are there some that you “dislike”? Are there some of them that make you “LOL”?

Words are fascinating! They can express so many different emotions in so many different ways! One of my favorites, you ask? Poignant! The “g” is silent, but it’s spelled with a “g” – how cool is that? What does it mean?

poign•ant
[poin-yuh nt, poi-nuh nt] adjective
1. keenly distressing to the feelings: poignant regret.
2. keen or strong in mental appeal: a subject of poignant interest.
3. affecting or moving the emotions: a poignant scene.
4. pungent to the smell: poignant cooking odors.

Don’t like the word, but like the meaning you want to get across? Try a “synonym” – Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com have become two of my favorite websites. Lost for a word – give it a TRY!

One of my next favorites is “giggle”!
I cannot say or think that word without smiling and, most of the time, making a small giggle noise! It’s a little embarrassing sometimes! It just “tickles my fancy” so to speak (of course!). A very interesting “tidbit” (another FAVorite!) about the word giggle – it ends in the suffix of verbs “-le” which has its own meaning – are you ready? How many said “NO!” – oh well! Too bad! Here it is anyway! LOL

-le
— suffix forming verbs
denoting repeated or continuous action, often of a diminutive nature:
twiddle ; wriggle ; wrestle

Don’t you find that totally interesting? Ok, maybe not! But words ARE fun! You just have to find the right ones for YOU! Here’s a few to try:

Abasement –
NO! It is not the room built into the foundation of your home! LOL
It is a noun meaning to Humiliate, dishonor, defame or belittle!

Aesopian –
NO! It is not something you wash a child’s mouth out with when they are bad! LOL
It is an adjective meaning to convey by hint, euphemism, innuendo or the like!
Pertaining to, or characteristic of Aesop or his fables!

Antiphonal –
NO! It is not someone who is against using Phones!
It is a performance style in which an ensemble is divided into two or more groups, performing alternately as separate groups and in unison.

See! Words can be FUN!! But it is truly a matter of what you do with them that counts!

Next time you see yourself looking for a way to say something “fresh” or “new” – why don’t you grab those websites and see what kind of words you can come up with! Or better yet, subscribe to their word of the day and learn a new word every day for the rest of your life! It could be fun in an intellectual way…

What is YOUR favorite word!

Thanks for listening….

Too many interests

My new fascination, or is it really “new”, looking and browsing real estate, is that a weird thing or what? I loved the whole process of going through and looking for my home. Getting email updates to my inbox every day, looking at the neighborhood on google maps or zillow research to figure out what the current “value” of a property was (estimated of course) versus what the sellers wanted for the property. Who was the real estate agent and what else did they have as far as properties available in the same area. Did/Do I agree with their estimates of price or can I see that they are too high, too low with what they are asking.

Real Estate has been funky over the last two years. I closed on my house almost 2 years ago and I love it. I don’t have any money to buy another, and yet, I still find myself subscribed to the updates on a bunch of real estate websites. I like to look and see where the market trends are going. I like to see what new houses have come up in my “target area” and what amenities they have for what purchase price. Is that a little strange considering I’m not in the market?

I never really thought about selling real estate or being a broker, but it is quite fascinating. Kind of like collectables – something is only as valuable as what someone is willing to pay for it. Hence all of the short sales and bank foreclosure sales, people are just not willing to pay what they used to for prime real estate anymore and I wonder when that will change and be on the upswing again. Over the last 3 years since I started the journey to find real estate, found it, bought it and keep watching it, I have seen so many transitional things. Houses when from being thrown sloppily on the market, to being prepped, repainted, updated and staged to get it sold in a decent amount of time for a “reasonable” price. It sure does make a difference if it is a “sellers” market or a “buyers” market. The economy surely puts a lot of stress and strain on the market and I think one of the worst things about it (in my humble opinion of course) is that there are no standards for anyone to do “appraisals” to decide on “value” of each and every property.

In the middle of this whole “crisis” we have found ourselves in, the president and FHA were going to put together “guidelines” on how appraisals would be done in the future so that everyone would be around and on the same page when it came to evaluations. You would think that would be a huge starting point for the government to work on considering half of the problem as to why the bottom dropped out of the market was OVER-appraisals where properties were just not worth what someone was asking for it. And then people would be mad when they weren’t able to get what they wanted out of the property. Luckily, I talked with my friend who is doing loan closures and she told me the real estate guidelines changes so frequently, the bank has a compliance officer that is charged with keeping up on all of the changes just to make sure they don't make any mistakes. That's a relief, at least to start seeing some "responsible" lending happening. Thanks for the info!

Unfortunately, we do both agree that there are plenty of people who are not following those guidelines even now, and they are still taking the attitude around "what do you need it to be valued at" before they actually do the valuations. I only hope that someday that will stop being a practice and we can stop all the scheisters from their lawlessness ways...yes, I know, keep dreaming! LOL

Again, it does come down to “what someone is willing to pay for it” period.
If you were buying something, you have a top price, right? Why not with real estate – that shouldn’t be any different.

What is your “hidden and secret” passion that you do every day that very few people know about??

Thanks for listening…

Excel and Organize!

Excel is my new best friend. Why, do you ask? Well, as you probably already know, it is a very useful tool at work when you want to do spreadsheets for financials or even categorize things. You can take raw data and sort via pivot tables and get all kinds of great statistics out of what seems like, sometimes, noise! LOL
What a lot of non-tech savvy people don’t realize is that you can use Excel (and Word for that matter) for so many other reasons or purposes. One of my favorites, you ask me? Inventory my game systems and their corresponding game titles! That was a good one and one I needed to do the first time I bought a game that I already had purchased prior! Ouch! What a waste of good money! Luckily enough, I found my mistake quite quickly and was able to return the unopened game for a full refund. But that was the time I started to realize that life can get in the way of memory and we all need to have a way to keep track of things.

How about an inventory of all your electronics? This way if anything happens to your stuff, you have an account and record of everything you owned. Take pictures along with that and you can even have info for insurance purposes if you keep in a safety deposit box and can prove you purchased them. How about collectibles? Everyone, (ok, so not really and truly everyone! LOL) likes to categorize something, most everyone has a collection of “something”. Some people like to collect unicorns, some electronics. I have a friend who likes to collect piggies and has a great big collection around her house! Well, you can use Excel in order to make lists and you can even keep a history of where you purchased them, why you purchased, notes of a trip or who was with you when you did purchase them and the money you paid for them. How about that?

Here’s another great use for it, templates! I love that one!!! Ok, I confess! I mostly use that one at work, but for having a cookie party at your home and sending out the invites? That template feature can really be a great tool for you to use! I make sure to use it any time that it fits into making my life easier. Isn’t that really what technology is all about? Making our lives easier and making life better to live!

The templates are a great way to get organized, especially if there is something that you do all the time. Keep a list of all your family members, their addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, anniversaries and email addresses? That’s a GREAT one to use with Excel templates. You can start the template and pass it around to all your relatives for easy access to the addresses come Christmas time to send out Christmas cards! I love to send out Kitty cards to all my relatives so it’s a great time to be organized, especially when you are talking about the Christmas season! LOL
If you are unaware of how to use, utilize or even want to learn something new having to do with Excel, Word, or any of the other Microsoft applications, go to www.microsoft.com and type in Excel – see how much information comes up. I bet you’ll learn a thing or two and thank me in the long run for simplifying and organizing your life!
What do you use in your day to day life that gives you such great power?
Thanks for listening….

Web Surfing

Have you ever just surfed the web, just to see what's out there? Just because you can? Just because you have a few moments? Just because you're bored and don't want to play Facebook games or surf You Tube anymore? Do you ever want to just see what's "new" and might be "exciting" on the web out there today? If so, how do you go about it? Do you surf a title? Do you search a keyword that interests you? Do you surf on the "photo" site or the "shopping" site? Do you do a random search on Google to "just get lucky"? LOL

There are so many things on the internet today, I think those of us that are used to it just take it for granted. We also may not realize how "intimidating" it is to the new players on board, mostly the older generation since they are confused by it, don't understand how they can be scammed by it, or are just plain "overwhelmed" by it. I know I've had to teach mom all of the protocols of buying online. She's not allowed to put in her credit card unless she looks for the SSL certificate. She isn't allowed to buy at a company that doesn't have a "storefront" in her area like a big chain without asking one of us children to research it out for her. I think we forget how intimidating such a wealth of knowledge (and, of course, lies and deceit) can be to those who haven't grown with the times, especially in the technology arena.

If you do surf the net, what do you look for? As I'm typing this, I just searched for cupcakes. WOW and OMG! 60 Million results! How beautiful the images are, that's for sure, and look at google maps and it points out every location of a "cupcake" specialty store in your area - there are TONS! When did these stores shoot up, overnight? My boss introduced me to Crumbs a few years ago, but I don't really eat sweets so I never gave it another thought. Until I decided to watch some reality tv and the Cupcake Girls, DC Cupcakes and, my favorite, Cupcake WARS! These shows don't make me hungry, but they do satisfy my need for competition and some good old fashioned peeping into someone else's life that we seem to get from reality TV! I had no idea there were so many businesses competing for the same market, holy smokes! Makes me smile and hope that everyone does a great business, but that a whole bunch of people don't start to have weight problems!! ROTFLMAO!

How about a search of 'cookbook' - how about 64 million results!! With Bettycrocker.com being at the top of the list of course! LOL There are sites with the 'largest recipe collection ever' and then you have the Wikipedia on Recipes (now there's a big surprise! NOT!) Make your own cookbooks. Create your own cookbooks with cookbook software! How about some cookbook blogs! The list seems endless!

So I decided to see what would happen when you go to the search engine page and just hit "feeling lucky" - Google is great at marketing, man! It comes up with their logo page, Google Doodles, Google Calendar and so on, I wonder how many people actually hit enter by accident without typing anything into the search box and get this daily?

Now on the other side, I went to Bing and did the same thing, nothing! The search engine didn't do anything. HOWEVER - I like it that they have "popular posts" at the bottom and a "giggle fest" link and then, of course, a "living the dream" link. I think the "popular now" posts are awesome in that they take you to a topic you may never have dreamed of trying just to take a peek at what everyone else is "supposedly" searching for today. I say "supposedly" because there is really no way for us to "know" that these are the popular ones for the day, just Bing's (and Microsoft, of course!) word for it, but it is an interesting idea to just click and see what the fuss is all about. Kind of like following Abe Vigoda on Twitter, how hilarious his posts are (not that you know they ARE his, but its still funny!). Sometimes you just have to do it! There is a website, by the way, abevigoda.com that lists whether he is alive or dead - he jokes about it so much on twitter it's become a hilarious joke!

I definitely turn to the more intellectual pursuits on the internet when surfing. You remember my blog about the "pause" button? I cannot seem to turn my brain off or even pause, so even when I'm in the bus on the way home from commuting (like I am doing now), I am always thinking of new things and wanting to learn new pursuits and figure things out. I guess that is just the way my mind works!

So what exactly are you surfing for today?

Thanks for listening...

Different Strokes

Having been on both sides of the weight train, both morbidly obese and a healthy size 4, I am often still amazed at how differently people treat you depending on how you look. I wonder if anyone else has ever experienced this.

When I am thin, Men hold open the door. People move out of the way as you're walking down the street. You catch a smile here and there when someone makes eye contact with you on the street, in a store. Sales people come up to you and ask you if you need help with anything. It really is a glorious world sometimes.

When I was obese, people would ignore me as if I didn't exist. Sales people would talk to the person next to me and never to me. People don't make eye contact with you. Walking down the street, people would "barrel" through you as if YOU don't matter, but THEY do for some unknown reason.

Try going on an interview when you are obese. The interviewer comes out to see you and their face drops in a way that you can see a quick look of, only way I can describe it is "disgust", before putting on that veneer of friendliness. Then you get a VERY short interview regardless of how qualified you are for the job. Getting a job as an obese person is very difficult and it doesn't matter that I can type 120wpm or that I adapt to technology quickly or have tons of experience. People see "fat" and they THINK "lazy". Period, end of story. It is the way of the world and I HATE to accept it, but there it is out there for all to see.

If anyone thinks that kind of treatment makes fat people do something about their weight, it sure doesn't. All it does is make them feel worse about the situation they find themselves in and eat more because they are depressed and feel like a nothing. Does it help to surround them in a parking lot outside the grocery store and yell whale at them and make pig noises? Wow, that was a hard one to swallow and boy did that make me afraid to even go out in public. It definitely would have been easy to become an Agoraphobe (for those who don't know, a fear of open or public places). People are downright MEAN to overweight people. I'm sure all of you have seen the show where a thin, beautiful girl puts on a fat suit and tries to go out in the streets to see how she is treated. That's all well and good to show how people are treated, but at the end of the day, she was able to take the suit off and overweight people have to work on it.

If anyone thinks these things don't happen, think again. They happen every day. I am much more prone to seeing them even now, when I'm thin, because the hair stands up on the back of my neck at the way they are treated. Everyone has their story and everyone has reasons for things being the way they are and people looking the way they look.

Ponder this, if everyone looked beautiful and thin, there would be no variety and we would CRAVE something more, new, different. It's like that twilight zone episode where the person kept going through surgery and the nurses/doctors would show horror when the bandages were revealed, but you never got to see the face until the end. Then you saw all the doctors and nurses had pig faces and the "patient" was a beautiful blonde woman. And they all considered HER deformed, it's because the pig faces were the norm and the beauty were the grotesque.

It all boils down to perception. How do you treat people who are different from you?

Thank you for listening...

Friends Rock

Tonight was a totally awesome treat for me! Plans were made for dinner to have at an organic restaurant with someone I haven't seen this year or had opportunities to socialize with recently. It was AWESOME! I totally love this vivacious woman! Besides being very much alike, we also complement each other from our strengths and weaknesses. We can ask each other advice and we can give it freely without any fear of repercussion. We can be ourselves and never have to pretend a protocol or niceties, just us, being us. How wonderful and comfortable a dinner it was too! The conversation was lively as we caught up on what was going on in our day to day work lives. Then personal and, of course, wishes and dreams and hopes. Boy did we cover a lot in those 2 hours despite the raging 102 degree heat with humidity outside that was drenching us as we walked to the bus station!

Friendship is such a wonderful experience, especially when you hit it off with someone that allows you to always be yourself and never makes you feel bad about yourself. I hope everyone has someone in their life that they can have listen to the bad times and give true advice when necessary, or just to listen when you need to gripe!

My gorgeous friend is not only vivacious, she is full of life, energetic, intelligent and, surprisingly, unattached! But that is only because she is, like me, driven by her career and puts extra hours and effort into that part of her life. She is courageous and always willing to face adversity head on, something I am trying to have rub off on me more. While I'm not afraid of adversity, sometimes it can be daunting and overwhelming. She has this amazing laugh, there is no other way to put this, she is INFECTIOUS! She always makes me smile when I hear her voice on the other end of the phone, and she has an amazing way of making me feel really great about myself and my accomplishments. She has an eye for detail and a sense of fashion (she used to be a stylist) that is second to none! She is independent and I do love that about her, she wants to learn the truth by herself, but loves it when you can steer her in the right direction! She loves a challenge and cherishes her 'alone' time, just like me.

My other tremendously beautiful friend lives on the other side of the country and I've never actually "met" her face to face. However, we've been conversing via forums, text, email, phone, and recently video Skype and she probably knows me better than I sometimes know myself! She gives me clarity even though I'm stubborn and committed (not to be confused with needing to be committed)! She helps me to talk through the tough things sometimes and makes me face my demons when necessary. (Boy is that the sign of a true friend! One who isn't afraid to make you do that).

That relationship began innocently enough, but soon after "meeting" her online in a forum, I started to realize she was a lot like me and I was wondering if I had found a long lost sibling (metaphorically speaking of course). She is intelligent, well spoken, self-made woman with incredible strength and dedication to that which she is passionate about, a lot like me again. We hit it off almost immediately, and as we progressed in the relationship, I found myself not only looking forward to those daily morning texts from her, but found myself wanting to get to know more about her and her life and what makes her happy. How she found the love of her life she is with right now and why she feels he is the love of her life (he also makes her laugh and that is so important too!).

Wednesday was an awesome day because we were able to Skype free over the internet for ~2.5 hours and she took her laptop around the house and gave me a tour! How awesome is technology? I say bring it on!! The fun continued as she made me laugh repeatedly as her little doggie decided to try to mark his territory near her feet, and although she knew it was there, kept getting distracted and finally, unfortunately, stepped in it. I thought I was going to laugh so hard I'd choke! OMG! And of course, it was in the triple digits there in Arizona-land so she had to keep putting me on hold (really turning the laptop so I could watch) she would jump in the pool, cool off and then come back and we'd pick up the conversation again. I am going to meet her this fall and I surely can't wait! Even though we ended the conversation, I felt as if we hadn't even scratched the surface of what I wanted to discuss with her!

Now my other long lost friend I was lucky enough to find again was from La Canada, California, and recently moved to North Dakota. Yes, you heard me, the middle of the bible belt (and she's not Christian! LOL). What a truly remarkable woman who has stuck to her guns to get out of life what she wants and believes that she deserves. Good for her! She's made sacrifices along the way and has given up things for the various men in her life she thought were going to be there for the long haul. I applaud her commitment to her relationships and the way she really believes in what she is doing. Right now she is lucky enough to be a gal of leisure, and I hope is enjoying this for a good change of pace! We were able to touch base this month and had a 3 hour chat and only had to hang up because my battery on my phone was dying. She was missing from my life for about 10 years and I am grateful that I was able to find her again on Facebook. Despite the bad wrap having "friends" on social networking can be, when you re-connect to people that hold a special place in your heart, it is just a wonderful feeling that cannot compare to anything else! I hope you will agree!

There is another gorgeous friend (inside and out) that I have from high school (yes, a very long time ago) who I recently was able to see in person again and she looks just as beautiful as when I last saw her. I have such fond memories of us going to her father's townhouse after school and sitting in the basement talking about writing romance novels, the main characters, plots, the romance of it all. Silly teenage girl stuff that always brings a tremendous smile to my face. We had then lost touch for a while, but we reconnected when I joined a science fiction club back when I was married (yes, again, a long time ago! LOL). We would go to conventions, do costume contests, paintball (of course I don't play, I just go for the fun!) and hang out dancing at the parties from the conventions. Then I moved to California and lost touch again. I did move back, but my career took a front runner to everything else and only recently have we reconnected and were able to see each other. She is such a beautiful person inside and out, lovely in spirits, always has a great thing to say to everyone. Loves socializing with people, being a great hostess and all of that. I am very lucky she is only in Pennsylvania right over the border, not too far where we may be able to visit a little more often, that is, only if she so wishes it!

There are SO many beautiful friends in my life, both near and far, and although I don't want to leave any out, these are just a few RECENT examples of some of the contacts I have made to friends I have either just found or re-gained a relationship with through social networking, etc. Any way you slice it, they are a FABULOUS group of gals and I love them all!

I hope that I have conveyed to these amazing women, and to all my friends, just how much they mean to me. Friendship really is such a wonderful thing. I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends I would have to blog about a different one every day of the week for over a year to mention the beauty in all of them.

Let's suffice it to say that I am grateful and thankful for those in my heart. I only hope they know, each and every one, how truly special they are to me. And I hope those of you reading also have special someone's in your life that continue to make you smile when you look back on just a quick and recent visit, whether in person or from afar, it's all about the human touch, the love in your heart, the interpersonal relationships that we share that give life meaning.

Thanks for listening...

Young at Heart, always

Someone asked me today to give them a good description of my mother. After a few moments of thought, my response was, "my mom is a 70 year old juvenile delinquent going on 45"! Yes, with an exclamation point! And I kept thinking how appropriately the description fits! So this blog is dedicated to being a juvenile delinquent. I truly believe that you are only as young as you feel. Considering that I myself have felt the gambit between 25 and 75 depending on my health, I resemble that remark! LOL When I weighed upwards of 275 pounds, I felt like I was 75, always dragging my heels and unhappy with my life. Living on the "lighter" side definitely makes things a ton better so I'm glad I shed a ton...metaphorically speaking of course!

So back to mom, she's amazing although she tells me all the time she's not! She goes golfing twice a week, she babysits her granddaughter once a week, she goes here with the Redhats to visit a winery, then to a theatre, then to a movie, I can't keep up with her! We go to Vegas on vacation and I finally had to tell her I wanted 4 hours of rest! I went back to my room and just relaxed and took a nap! I couldn't keep up with her! She says there's plenty of time to rest when she can't move anymore so get up and go! We walked for MILES on the Vegas strip. We went to see shows, we did the buffets, oh my goodness what a trip and fantastic memories! Like the wind on top of the Eiffel tower at the Paris casino - what a blast! Of course I used all my "great deal" knowledge to get us the best prices. The Eiffel tower was a buy 1 get 1 free coupon so we split the cost. Then we got half price tickets for the Chippendales and the Marvalettes show. We took the "buffet" deal and ate for a whole day on $60 but got 4 meals out of it. How you say? Well, its a 24 hour period, so you start with lunch at 1pm and as long as you go to eat lunch the next day and get in before 1pm, you get to eat lunch under your existing pass. Then you do a late dinner and you have the 4 meals for the next day as long as you get them in within 24 hours. What a great deal and the Planet Hollywood and Rio buffets are the best of all 7, that's for sure!! I could barely keep up with the Juvenile delinquent! LOL

Not to mention when walking down the street and music plays, she sings the songs and dances on the sidewalks! She had a young group of kids yelling towards her "you go girl" (both male and female) and it just made her ham it up all the more, OMG! She's dancing the entire time we're at the Chippendales and does so much that she gets picked out of the audience for a "special gift" - signed autographs!! It must be her aura or her vibration or something because she attracts these things. We went to a quiet cabaret with a DJ to do a little dancing with a small crowd. And SHE gets some guy to buy her drinks! And then they ask her to dance! Meanwhile she's under the guise that "blondes have more fun" so she wears her fancy blonde wigs out. I swear they work!! She cracks me up, but we sure do laugh a lot!

It really is all about staying positive, your outlook, your reality, your feelings. I believe that because while Mom last year was going through chemo and radiation, she came through it like a trooper at 69 years of age! We kept her positive, we kept her feeling good every day, even lifting her spirits on those really "rough" days definitely helped her through those 8 very long months. Even now, she tells us that all of us trying to keep her positive HELPED her in ways we couldn't understand. So anyone going through a tough time, keep a positive spirit and attitude, it definitely helps you deal with any situation!

This 70 year old woman, I'll have you know, went zip-lining in the jungles of Australia! She went Parasailing in the water of Panama! She went on a dogsled in the dead of winter in Alaska! Folks - its all about feeling young and being positive and enjoying life!!!

It kind of makes me feel like I'm not living up to my potential!
It's a work in progress!
So what are you doing to stay young and positive?

Thanks for listening!

Leadership Really?

Office politics has never been my forte, that's for sure, I don't play games when it comes to my career. I have always worked hard and put in the extra effort daily believing that the effort would, eventually, be rewarded. Before this job, that was definitely the case. At this job, things are entirely different.

Change of leadership is the greatest detriment to hard working employees, period. You get your reputation out there with those who matter, then they leave and you have to start again, and again, and again. If you're lucky, those that are in a position to help you will take you under their wing and bring you with them. If you're not, you continue to get passed over time and time again, until you start over with the next leader. That usually takes about 2-3 years. By the time you realize it, you're looking at 11 years gone by and nothing has happened in your advancement!

Then, if you're really unlucky, you get someone who is a poor leader in charge of the overall department. What constitutes a poor leader you may ask. Well, after seeing so many come and go, there are key factors that indicate good leadership in my humble opinion:

1. The investment both knowledge based and financially based in your employee assets
2. Communication down chain from the leader
3. Involvement in Operational as well as project activities

Coming into a department as a leader and "cheaping" out on all merit increases given to the department is definitely a sign of "uncaring" leadership - especially after the entire department was given 0% merit increases over the last 3 years and were told they should be happy they still have a job. Once a company announces it has money to spend and won't re-invest in their best assets - the longevity and knowledge investment in their employee assets - it is bound to have a negative effect on the MORALE and the overall expectations of the employees. There is only so much that people will take from a company, regardless of the time investment.

When will leadership understand that going from a department of 68 to a department of 28 with the same workload minus new openings creates inefficiencies and low morale. Couple that with lack of compensation and you're playing with fire once the economy comes back online with positions available. When will companies realize that having a department of 28 people with 12 of them having more than 10+ years in the department and at the company actually is a knowledge vested interest the company has in keeping them.

It all falls back on leadership. A leader who is absent is a leader who doesn't have the confidence of its minions. A leader who doesn't communicate with its minions and makes them feel a part of the greater picture doesn't have its minions' respect or emotional investment any longer. A leader needs to show leadership to the people who are doing the daily grind work otherwise there will be consequences to pay in turnover, knowledge transfer loss AND in cost. Companies don't realize people coming onboard will want MORE than they are currently paying the employees. There are some people who will require (2) bodies to replace and I don't say that lightly.

Having worked for those leaders who really understood keeping the minions happy and informed, I really miss those days and wish they would return. Just my two cents...

Thanks for listening...