This post was from my MySpace blog.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Don’t even ask...
Current mood: annoyed
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers
Please do not ask me about my job search, either in person or by e-mail or phone. I don't really want to talk about it until I have something good to say. Right now, I think I'm re-tailoring my skills for a different type of field, but I don't even know if that's the right way to go anymore. And yes, Eitan is in day care while I look, in order to keep my schedule open for interviews (whenever those tend to occur). While it would be nice to have him home with me, he loves it at day care and stays out of trouble that way. He usually has a way more productive day than I do. :P
Anyway, thanks for respecting my wishes.
Follow up: I sometimes think about what place I was in my life when I wrote this post because of the job search frustrations of others. Those frustrations bring me back to this time when I remember being so completely frustrated with my job search. I remember writing this post shortly after talking to some people from my shul at a Hanukkah event. I felt like they were judging me for not only being unemployed but also for not knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I just knew that I wasn't motivated and my husband was trying to help me get into a different field that didn't feel right for me. I felt like I was lying by even saying that was the field I was going into. It was a really uncomfortable position in which to be. I had been searching for 7 months with nothing to show for my efforts (except for the one offer that was rescinded because of my Shabbat and holiday observance). It didn't matter to me that my husband had a job because the cost of living in NJ was high and it was pertinent that we both had jobs in order to stay afloat. I also felt that it was something personal and constantly wondered what I was doing wrong on my resume or during interviews.
I landed the part-time medical billing job less than two months later. I had reached a point by then where I was a month away from giving birth and needed something flexible that didn't require a lot of travel. While I was happy about this job, I still got the impression that people thought I wasn't pulling my weight in the home. I'm sorry, but they weren't the ones taking care of my kids and getting all the household chores and errands done. There wasn't enough time in the day and I appreciated the time flexibility the job afforded me. I ended up enjoying my job, even though the work itself was mundane. I knew that what I was doing was important for the business to run smoothly and my bosses respected me in ways no other boss had respected me before. It motivated me to work harder and know that even if my job was seen as "minor," I was contributing to the greater good. Thankfully, that job was all I needed to launch myself into my current job after we moved. It showed that I had recent work experience and I received a great reference from my boss.
In any case, I just wanted to use my blog from late 2007 to show that I did reach a point in my life where I thought I had hit rock bottom career-wise. I'm thankful that people took a chance on me and that I took a chance on them in turn.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
The deep side of female friendships
Back in March, I wrote a post about the fun of having girlfriends. I feel a lot more content in the amount of "girlfriend" time I have nowadays, so that's not what I'm here to discuss this time around.
On Shabbat, I went to a women's seudat shlishit (afternoon meal), where the topic was about female friendships. There was a salad and dessert bar and some women presented on different aspects of friendships between women since the beginning of time (or at least since the days of the Old Testament). It was interesting to hear about the depths of female friendships throughout the ages.
Sure, the "girlfriend" aspect is nice, but if there's nothing else to talk about, in which direction does the friendship go? I value loyalty and the ability to have conversations about anything and everything. It's almost like a marriage...if you can't be best friends, how can you grow old together? It's so important to never be able to run out of stuff to talk about. I love that I have these types of friendships, even over e-mail. I mentioned in a Friendship Friday post about a female friend with whom I write "novels." This is what we refer to as our long e-mail conversations. We sometimes take a while to reply back with the novels, but they're so worth the wait. Parts of the novel are about our favorite rock star crush and other parts are about stuff that is happening in our lives, as well as some of our deepest thoughts and feelings. There are other times I send short e-mails back and forth between my friends and myself, but they encompass a whole conversation.
Aside from the conversations, I will do anything to support my friends in their efforts to achieve their dreams and goals. Sometimes I get too overzealous and offer help when it is not requested. Other times, I do what I can in order to show I care, even if I'm not able to go all out. I am able to laugh or cry with them, celebrate their achievements, comiserate during the tough times, etc. I wouldn't be where or who I am without my female friendships and I want my friends to know how much they mean to me. I plan to continue the Friendship Friday posts (and I promise not to leave my male friends out too much) and also find other ways to get to know my female friends better. I apologize to those with whom I am not in contact as often as I could be. I need to work on reaching out and staying in touch better. I hope my friends know that I'm thinking of them and that they are always welcome to contact me as well, to tell me what is new in their lives. I'm very thankful for all my female friends, whether we're just "girlfriends," we can have deep conversations or even a mix of both.
On Shabbat, I went to a women's seudat shlishit (afternoon meal), where the topic was about female friendships. There was a salad and dessert bar and some women presented on different aspects of friendships between women since the beginning of time (or at least since the days of the Old Testament). It was interesting to hear about the depths of female friendships throughout the ages.
Sure, the "girlfriend" aspect is nice, but if there's nothing else to talk about, in which direction does the friendship go? I value loyalty and the ability to have conversations about anything and everything. It's almost like a marriage...if you can't be best friends, how can you grow old together? It's so important to never be able to run out of stuff to talk about. I love that I have these types of friendships, even over e-mail. I mentioned in a Friendship Friday post about a female friend with whom I write "novels." This is what we refer to as our long e-mail conversations. We sometimes take a while to reply back with the novels, but they're so worth the wait. Parts of the novel are about our favorite rock star crush and other parts are about stuff that is happening in our lives, as well as some of our deepest thoughts and feelings. There are other times I send short e-mails back and forth between my friends and myself, but they encompass a whole conversation.
Aside from the conversations, I will do anything to support my friends in their efforts to achieve their dreams and goals. Sometimes I get too overzealous and offer help when it is not requested. Other times, I do what I can in order to show I care, even if I'm not able to go all out. I am able to laugh or cry with them, celebrate their achievements, comiserate during the tough times, etc. I wouldn't be where or who I am without my female friendships and I want my friends to know how much they mean to me. I plan to continue the Friendship Friday posts (and I promise not to leave my male friends out too much) and also find other ways to get to know my female friends better. I apologize to those with whom I am not in contact as often as I could be. I need to work on reaching out and staying in touch better. I hope my friends know that I'm thinking of them and that they are always welcome to contact me as well, to tell me what is new in their lives. I'm very thankful for all my female friends, whether we're just "girlfriends," we can have deep conversations or even a mix of both.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Not that I'm keeping track or anything....
Only one month left until my birthday. Not that I'm really looking forward to it this year, thanks to the Hebrew calendar matching it up with Tisha B'Av. I'll go out the next night, but still. It's rain on my parade, I suppose. Like I almost feel guilty for enjoying my birthday at all this year.
Speaking of birthdays, one of my close friends (L.R. from this post) had a baby girl today. It so happens that her baby was born exactly 6 months before her birthday.
What can I say, people born on the 20th of their months are cool. ;) She also shares a birthday with a family friends' daughter. I thought that if my older son were able to wait another week, he could have been a 20th baby too...born two months between myself and my husband (also born on the 20th of his month). I'm sure I could have also let my younger son wait 2 more days, but I didn't want to cut things so close to Purim that year.
Speaking of birthdays, one of my close friends (L.R. from this post) had a baby girl today. It so happens that her baby was born exactly 6 months before her birthday.
What can I say, people born on the 20th of their months are cool. ;) She also shares a birthday with a family friends' daughter. I thought that if my older son were able to wait another week, he could have been a 20th baby too...born two months between myself and my husband (also born on the 20th of his month). I'm sure I could have also let my younger son wait 2 more days, but I didn't want to cut things so close to Purim that year.
Where I have been
Well, I've been around since I obviously blog each week. However, I haven't posted updates on anything I've done lately. I get so caught up on the theme posts that I forget about everything else.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we drove 7.5 hours to SC to visit my father-in-law and his family. We hadn't seen them in almost 2 years, so it was nice to visit with them again. We also got to see my husband's grandmother a couple of times. She was confused a lot of the time and kept falling asleep. However, she recognized my older son and seemed happy to see both kids. I'm glad we sent her pictures in the past so that she knew what to expect. We had a lot of water time over the weekend between the pool and the water park. My older son loved being in the water, but my younger son refused to go in the pool and took a while to actually like the water park. And since my father-in-law has teenage girls, they were able to watch the boys so the adults could go out for dinner. It was nice catching up without being interrupted every few minutes. My father-in-law has 2 cats and my younger son was obsessed with one of them. He followed him all over the house and kept getting in his face.
Work is still going well. I still like it after 6 months. Things have been busier lately with the fiscal year coming to an end soon. I like being able to contribute to the greater good in any way possible. My organization had its annual meeting in early June at an old style movie theater. It was a neat venue for the meeting and I enjoyed being able to assist at the event. I stuck around for part of the meeting after my duties there were finished. Last week, there was a party for our CEO, who is leaving soon, and a social gathering at Dave and Buster's. It's nice to talk to my coworkers in a different setting. I usually tend to flock to the same people, but it's hard to find time to catch up at work. We're all in different parts of the office. I also saw two coworkers at a women's event at a nearby shul this past weekend. (I'll discuss the event in another blog post soon.)
This past week, my husband and I went to Wolf Trap (the Ravinia of VA) to hear Harry Connick Jr. perform. We didn't actually see him perform, but it was nice to bring a picnic and sit on the lawn and just listen. It was just nice to be on a date again. The only thing that bothered me was that a lot of other people on the lawn were talking loudly while Harry was singing or talking. It's one thing to talk before the show, but another to talk throughout. One woman was even on her cell at one point and then repeated her whole conversation to the person sitting by her. It made me wish that Wolf Trap had the same "quiet" policy as Ravinia.
I've been focusing a lot on Chick Lit Central, the Facebook group I created to discuss all things chick lit related. I also keep a blog for the group and run author interviews and book giveaways through it. I am very passionate about this group and am looking for ways to keep it fun and interesting. I recently had a conversation with someone that helped me think of ways to handle what and how often I post on my wall or other walls. It pushed me to think outside the box in regards to how I run the group and I appreciate the insights from the person with whom I spoke. I want to keep things as positive and upbeat as I possibly can for the group and hope my new "guidelines" will help in that effort.
I had a really nice Shabbat yesterday. It started with lunch at a friends' house, where I enjoyed getting to know them better. Then I went to a women's event that I referenced earlier and will discuss in another blog. Afterward, I stopped by our next door neighbor's house, as my husband and kids were hanging out there. Then another neighbor came over to our house with her kids later and stayed till after Shabbat ended. We had a nice conversation and it helped the last hour before the end of Shabbat feel less like it was dragging. I love being able to visit with friends on Shabbat. It's something I was hoping for when we moved here and I haven't been disappointed yet. :)
Today was nice. I took my older son swimming in the morning. They had a women and children (boys 5 and under) only swim. We stayed for about an hour and my older son had such a nice time. In the afternoon, we went to a minor league baseball game. It was fun. The last time I was at a baseball game was to see the Cubs on my older son's first birthday. I'm glad we went later in the game this time because both kids were getting antsy by the end and it was really hot out. We were with our next door neighbor and his two sons. Then we all had a barbecue at our house. It was a nice way to spend Father's Day.
I'm hoping this week will be low key. Maybe it will allow time for me to start writing the short story for the contest in Family Circle magazine. I have an idea in my head and am still playing around with it. I'm also supposed to meet a local author at the end of the week. I'm really looking forward to that!
Recent movies I've seen:
"An Education": Disappointing, compared to what I was expecting. Good acting though.
"The Princess and the Frog": Liked the old school Disney feel but not my favorite. Songs were not that memorable.
"The Invention of Lying": Very clever and funny. I definitely recommend it.
"Leap Year": Cute, but predictable. I like Amy Adams though.
"The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus": I didn't like it and found it confusing. It put me to sleep too.
"My Life in Ruins": Really cute and better than I expected. Lots of funny parts.
"Dear John": Decent book adaptation, but slow at times. Good music though.
"When in Rome": Cute, but silly. A light chick flick that men can also enjoy.
I know this post was long. Goes to show how bad I am at keeping people up on my life. Thanks for hanging in there!
Over Memorial Day weekend, we drove 7.5 hours to SC to visit my father-in-law and his family. We hadn't seen them in almost 2 years, so it was nice to visit with them again. We also got to see my husband's grandmother a couple of times. She was confused a lot of the time and kept falling asleep. However, she recognized my older son and seemed happy to see both kids. I'm glad we sent her pictures in the past so that she knew what to expect. We had a lot of water time over the weekend between the pool and the water park. My older son loved being in the water, but my younger son refused to go in the pool and took a while to actually like the water park. And since my father-in-law has teenage girls, they were able to watch the boys so the adults could go out for dinner. It was nice catching up without being interrupted every few minutes. My father-in-law has 2 cats and my younger son was obsessed with one of them. He followed him all over the house and kept getting in his face.
Work is still going well. I still like it after 6 months. Things have been busier lately with the fiscal year coming to an end soon. I like being able to contribute to the greater good in any way possible. My organization had its annual meeting in early June at an old style movie theater. It was a neat venue for the meeting and I enjoyed being able to assist at the event. I stuck around for part of the meeting after my duties there were finished. Last week, there was a party for our CEO, who is leaving soon, and a social gathering at Dave and Buster's. It's nice to talk to my coworkers in a different setting. I usually tend to flock to the same people, but it's hard to find time to catch up at work. We're all in different parts of the office. I also saw two coworkers at a women's event at a nearby shul this past weekend. (I'll discuss the event in another blog post soon.)
This past week, my husband and I went to Wolf Trap (the Ravinia of VA) to hear Harry Connick Jr. perform. We didn't actually see him perform, but it was nice to bring a picnic and sit on the lawn and just listen. It was just nice to be on a date again. The only thing that bothered me was that a lot of other people on the lawn were talking loudly while Harry was singing or talking. It's one thing to talk before the show, but another to talk throughout. One woman was even on her cell at one point and then repeated her whole conversation to the person sitting by her. It made me wish that Wolf Trap had the same "quiet" policy as Ravinia.
I've been focusing a lot on Chick Lit Central, the Facebook group I created to discuss all things chick lit related. I also keep a blog for the group and run author interviews and book giveaways through it. I am very passionate about this group and am looking for ways to keep it fun and interesting. I recently had a conversation with someone that helped me think of ways to handle what and how often I post on my wall or other walls. It pushed me to think outside the box in regards to how I run the group and I appreciate the insights from the person with whom I spoke. I want to keep things as positive and upbeat as I possibly can for the group and hope my new "guidelines" will help in that effort.
I had a really nice Shabbat yesterday. It started with lunch at a friends' house, where I enjoyed getting to know them better. Then I went to a women's event that I referenced earlier and will discuss in another blog. Afterward, I stopped by our next door neighbor's house, as my husband and kids were hanging out there. Then another neighbor came over to our house with her kids later and stayed till after Shabbat ended. We had a nice conversation and it helped the last hour before the end of Shabbat feel less like it was dragging. I love being able to visit with friends on Shabbat. It's something I was hoping for when we moved here and I haven't been disappointed yet. :)
Today was nice. I took my older son swimming in the morning. They had a women and children (boys 5 and under) only swim. We stayed for about an hour and my older son had such a nice time. In the afternoon, we went to a minor league baseball game. It was fun. The last time I was at a baseball game was to see the Cubs on my older son's first birthday. I'm glad we went later in the game this time because both kids were getting antsy by the end and it was really hot out. We were with our next door neighbor and his two sons. Then we all had a barbecue at our house. It was a nice way to spend Father's Day.
I'm hoping this week will be low key. Maybe it will allow time for me to start writing the short story for the contest in Family Circle magazine. I have an idea in my head and am still playing around with it. I'm also supposed to meet a local author at the end of the week. I'm really looking forward to that!
Recent movies I've seen:
"An Education": Disappointing, compared to what I was expecting. Good acting though.
"The Princess and the Frog": Liked the old school Disney feel but not my favorite. Songs were not that memorable.
"The Invention of Lying": Very clever and funny. I definitely recommend it.
"Leap Year": Cute, but predictable. I like Amy Adams though.
"The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus": I didn't like it and found it confusing. It put me to sleep too.
"My Life in Ruins": Really cute and better than I expected. Lots of funny parts.
"Dear John": Decent book adaptation, but slow at times. Good music though.
"When in Rome": Cute, but silly. A light chick flick that men can also enjoy.
I know this post was long. Goes to show how bad I am at keeping people up on my life. Thanks for hanging in there!
Friday, June 18, 2010
We'll always have Indian Princesses
In honor of Father's Day, this week's Friendship Friday post is about my first male friend...my dad.
My dad and I go way back...to the day I was born. (I take after his knack for corny jokes.) He's always played a prominent role in my life. Even though he traveled a lot when I was a baby, he made sure to spend quality time with me when he was home.
During my elementary school years, my dad and I did a program called Indian Princesses. We went to meetings every few weeks and on camp-outs in the fall, winter and spring. It was a fun bonding experience for us. My sister joined when she was old enough. One year, he got to be Nation Chief, which is a huge honor. We were both so proud of him, even when the tribal chiefs doused him with flour to celebrate. He always came up with fun things for our tribe to do and made sure to bring PB&J sandwiches to every camp-out in case of picky eaters, like myself. We did fundraisers where we'd sit outside the bank all day and sell candy.
We also had a ritual where the two of us would go out for dinner as special father and daughter bonding time. We usually went to Yen Yen for the occasion. I also went with him to watch him bowl on league nights. He found ways to help me feel involved. I got to see him bowl again when I was older, as he bowled with my husband for a while. We also would bowl together a lot in my youth and adult years. We even entered a tournament together once.
My dad has always been supportive without being overwhelming. He listens and knows whether advice is needed or not. He will get overenthusiastic sometimes, but that's just his way of expressing himself. I find it endearing. When we first told my parents that I was pregnant with my older son, my mom made a huge fuss and my dad just sat there and smiled. I knew he was thrilled but had his own way of showing it.
I am very similar to my dad in terms of personality. We're both very friendly, welcoming, funny (or at least we try to be), and we find ways to make ourselves stand out. He's famous for his latkes and is always in demand around Hanukkah time. He now is on Facebook and has connected with all my friends on there. (How many people actually respond to their friends' parents' friend requests on there? Apparently 72 that I know.)
When we moved to NJ, he was the only person who didn't make me feel bad about our decision. He offered words of support and tried to make the move as easy for us as possible.
My dad is a fantastic grandpa to my sons. They both adore him. When my younger son was turning 1 year old, he only wanted to be with my dad and would not leave his side. He even fell asleep on him a few times. He's always excited and supportive about everything they do, even if it's a minor milestone. He's also really good with animals and treats his pets as if they were human. He had a special bond with Kitty, the cat who passed away recently. I know it was hard for him to let him go. Kitty chose my dad originally, when we got him in 1994. He approached and cuddled with him both times that we went to the shelter.
He has a motto that he taught me when I was a kid and will still tell me to this day: "Dad can fix anything." Not saying that he should come to fix stuff in our house (even though he does anyway when he visits), but he instilled in me the belief that anything is fixable and not to give up when something isn't right.
I am very fortunate to have such a strong connection to my dad. I enjoy talking to him, even though he doesn't tell my mom anything and I have to repeat the same stories to her. He's always been there for me, no matter how far apart we live. I have a lot of fond memories from our past, as well as ones we've created over time and continue to create going forward. However, my favorite memory will always be our time together in Indian Princesses.
My dad and I go way back...to the day I was born. (I take after his knack for corny jokes.) He's always played a prominent role in my life. Even though he traveled a lot when I was a baby, he made sure to spend quality time with me when he was home.
During my elementary school years, my dad and I did a program called Indian Princesses. We went to meetings every few weeks and on camp-outs in the fall, winter and spring. It was a fun bonding experience for us. My sister joined when she was old enough. One year, he got to be Nation Chief, which is a huge honor. We were both so proud of him, even when the tribal chiefs doused him with flour to celebrate. He always came up with fun things for our tribe to do and made sure to bring PB&J sandwiches to every camp-out in case of picky eaters, like myself. We did fundraisers where we'd sit outside the bank all day and sell candy.
We also had a ritual where the two of us would go out for dinner as special father and daughter bonding time. We usually went to Yen Yen for the occasion. I also went with him to watch him bowl on league nights. He found ways to help me feel involved. I got to see him bowl again when I was older, as he bowled with my husband for a while. We also would bowl together a lot in my youth and adult years. We even entered a tournament together once.
My dad has always been supportive without being overwhelming. He listens and knows whether advice is needed or not. He will get overenthusiastic sometimes, but that's just his way of expressing himself. I find it endearing. When we first told my parents that I was pregnant with my older son, my mom made a huge fuss and my dad just sat there and smiled. I knew he was thrilled but had his own way of showing it.
I am very similar to my dad in terms of personality. We're both very friendly, welcoming, funny (or at least we try to be), and we find ways to make ourselves stand out. He's famous for his latkes and is always in demand around Hanukkah time. He now is on Facebook and has connected with all my friends on there. (How many people actually respond to their friends' parents' friend requests on there? Apparently 72 that I know.)
When we moved to NJ, he was the only person who didn't make me feel bad about our decision. He offered words of support and tried to make the move as easy for us as possible.
My dad is a fantastic grandpa to my sons. They both adore him. When my younger son was turning 1 year old, he only wanted to be with my dad and would not leave his side. He even fell asleep on him a few times. He's always excited and supportive about everything they do, even if it's a minor milestone. He's also really good with animals and treats his pets as if they were human. He had a special bond with Kitty, the cat who passed away recently. I know it was hard for him to let him go. Kitty chose my dad originally, when we got him in 1994. He approached and cuddled with him both times that we went to the shelter.
He has a motto that he taught me when I was a kid and will still tell me to this day: "Dad can fix anything." Not saying that he should come to fix stuff in our house (even though he does anyway when he visits), but he instilled in me the belief that anything is fixable and not to give up when something isn't right.
I am very fortunate to have such a strong connection to my dad. I enjoy talking to him, even though he doesn't tell my mom anything and I have to repeat the same stories to her. He's always been there for me, no matter how far apart we live. I have a lot of fond memories from our past, as well as ones we've created over time and continue to create going forward. However, my favorite memory will always be our time together in Indian Princesses.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
"I'm afraid I just 'blue' myself."--Tobias Funke, "Arrested Development"
I have a few friends who knit and blog and we've decided to embark on a blog project that has nothing to do with knitting. We're going to take turns coming up with a topic every Thursday and we each have to blog about it by the end of that day and post links to each others' blogs so that people can see our different perspectives on the same topic.
Check out the backstory about how the project was conceived and how we all came together.
Here are the other blogs:
Froggie Knits Like Crazy
Charmingly Random
Desperate Madness
This week Desperate Madness wants to know: If you were a color, what color would you be?
I could sum up this topic in one answer, but I thought I should probably explain it too. If I were a color, I would be blue.
There's something about the color blue that speaks to me. It's beautiful and serene. I can wear anything blue and it will totally enhance my eye color (also blue). It's the color of US Postal Service mailboxes and recycling bins. I love getting mail and recycling, so it's a good representative color. It's also the color people associate with baby boys, so it brings up good memories from both my sons' births. And along with that, my favorite monster from "Sesame Street"....Cookie Monster! I don't have that much to say about this topic, so I decided to do an image search on "blue" and share the pictures I found most striking. Enjoy!
Mmmm...chocolate...
I see you!
Makes me think of "The Glass Menagerie."
Just for fun!
The origin of the title for this post...
Wiggin' out!
My favorite furry blue guy!
Check out the backstory about how the project was conceived and how we all came together.
Here are the other blogs:
Froggie Knits Like Crazy
Charmingly Random
Desperate Madness
This week Desperate Madness wants to know: If you were a color, what color would you be?
I could sum up this topic in one answer, but I thought I should probably explain it too. If I were a color, I would be blue.
There's something about the color blue that speaks to me. It's beautiful and serene. I can wear anything blue and it will totally enhance my eye color (also blue). It's the color of US Postal Service mailboxes and recycling bins. I love getting mail and recycling, so it's a good representative color. It's also the color people associate with baby boys, so it brings up good memories from both my sons' births. And along with that, my favorite monster from "Sesame Street"....Cookie Monster! I don't have that much to say about this topic, so I decided to do an image search on "blue" and share the pictures I found most striking. Enjoy!
Mmmm...chocolate...
I see you!
Makes me think of "The Glass Menagerie."
Just for fun!
The origin of the title for this post...
Wiggin' out!
My favorite furry blue guy!
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