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Archive for June, 2007

thank you!

June 29th, 2007 at 04:44 pm

Thank you for your honest responses to yesterday's post. I really appreciate all of your input!

I thought about it long and hard, and finally decided to be honest with myself. I can't work for the money. The raise would be fabulous, but spending my time forcing other people to do their jobs just does not appeal to me. I can handle stress - in fact, I love odd situations, unforseen problems I can solve, things other people find stressful. What I don't like is being a task master. I feel that if you're contracted to do something that has a deadline, you should do it by the deadline, without having to be asked or reminded a zillion times. So, I declined the job shadow and am applying elsewhere.

I'm confident I can find something better. I don't want to go from one bad job to another, nor do I want to settle.

I should clarify that everyone walking in seemed happy...except the woman who would have been my boss. She was clearly stressed, and as I mentioned, pretty much ignored me throughout the interview. Not a good sign.

My 10-year high school reunion is this weekend. I'm staying in town and taking maternity photos of my friend instead. Hopefully they will turn out!

advice requested

June 28th, 2007 at 05:13 pm

Had a very short job interview this morning. It would be as a project coordinator for a translation firm.

PROS
- Free parking
- Something new and different
- Diversity of projects (10-15 juggled at one time)
- About $5,000 more per year
- End-of-year bonus
- Everyone in the office seemed happy as they walked in, which is unusual
- Pretty much the same commute
- No two days are the same
- Casual, pleasant work environment - jeans!
- Some proofreading, more Quark experience
- Small office, everyone around my age

CONS
- The person who would be my boss hardly spoke to me at all - she was more interested in checking her email
- They stressed how stressful and chaotic the job is
- I'd have to track down translators and beg them to finish projects on time, and then dock their pay when they don't, and explain why (yuck, I hate confrontation)
- They want me to do a 1/2 day (4 hours!) job shadow before they even offer me the job, just to see if I like it (unpaid, and I'd have to take time off of work)

So - more money, more stress? Is it worth it? I can't decide.

My job now is not very stressful, not even remotely challenging, pretty much the same every day (boring), and I haven't been happy with it since the second month on the job.

Decisions, decisions.

lurker

June 27th, 2007 at 06:15 pm

Three weeks this time...wow. Just wanted to let you know that I am alive, and still reading your blogs. I have google feeds for several and take a peek at the main blog page whenever I have the chance. So although I may seem absent, I'm still keeping tabs on you!

Let's see...the baby shower I hosted was fabulous. I think most everyone had a nice time, particularly the soon-to-be parents, and they received so many nice gifts. I baked four dozen vegan cupcakes (root beer float flavor and lemon flavor) but didn't take ONE photo of them! They were a big hit, even after SO told everyone that they were vegan. (For whatever reason, that tends to freak people out.) I am incredibly excited about this baby's arrival. Since they are keeping the gender a secret, it will be fun to see what it is!

I have a job interview tomorrow. My main goal is more money and less boring work at this point. I purchased an LSAT study guide last week...still on the fence about actually taking the test and actually going to law school, but it's a start. I need a life plan, a career plan, something I can really feel involved in that will bring in some decent money. Right now, I'm just floating through life, and I hate that feeling. Fern, I've been thinking a lot about what you asked in my previous post, and my biggest gripe is the monotony of my current job. Every day is the same and far too simple. Some of my coworkers drive me nuts, but that's inevitable. I should be getting paid more in general, as well.

If I do go to law school, it will preferably be full time, so it would be nice to have a job for a year that brought in more money than my current job. Anyone with insights on law careers and law school, bring them on! I'm most interested in environmental law, international law, and public policy.

I cut out my daily Topamax pills and am waiting for my headaches to subside. At the moment, I'm pretty sure it's just medication withdrawal. I hope I'm right, or I may need to finally give in and visit a neurologist. I just don't want to be eternally medicated, and cutting out dairy and eggs has really helped with the headaches. I hadn't had a migraine since March, up until last Saturday, when I quite taking the Topamax.

My five-year anniversary with SO is tomorrow. Five years! It certainly doesn't seem that long. I guess that is a good sign, eh? We have no plans to celebrate, but we bought ourselves a Wii...romantic, I know. Wink It's seriously fun, though.

I've been posting Project 365 photos to my

Text is flickr page and Link is http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeenes/sets/72157600108283009/
flickr page, but here are a few small ones.

If you think vegan food is boring, bland, or uninteresting, think again.

Bean enchiladas with vegan "cheese" sauce, tofutti sour cream, and salsa:


Seitan tacos (one of my favorite recipes):


Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chiffon mousse frosting - these are to die for:



and, not food-related - beautiful daisies in my yard:

howdy!

June 5th, 2007 at 04:26 pm

Yikes! I've been away for a couple of weeks. I visited my parents for the long Memorial Day weekend (and my dad's birthday) and have been pretty busy lately.

Since I haven't posted two weeks' worth of Project 365 photos here, I'll spare you the endless array, and just direct you to

Text is my Project 365 site on flickr and Link is http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeenes/sets/72157600108283009/
my Project 365 site on flickr. Click on a photo's thumbnail to see it bigger. Please feel free to comment! My favorites include the little green worm that attached himself to SO's shirt, my dad's old GMC truck, and my mother's sweet 29-year-old horse.

My sister moved into her apartment last weekend, so I hosted her and my mom again. I spent waaaaay too much money as well. June is shaping up to be an expensive month already.

I purchased some of the upcoming baby shower food items at Sam's Club but I've still got more to get, including decorations. The party isn't until the 16th, but I feel like I've got a lot to do...including baking four dozen cupcakes.

Still losing about a pound a week! Big Grin I received the completed payment notice regarding my student loan, too, so I'm free and clear on that one. I also dropped down my car insurance levels and removed collision entirely, so that will help immensely. The yearly premium plus deductible was more than my car is worth, and I don't even drive it that often. I kept comprehensive, since I live in the city. I'll be saving $250 a year - not bad!

One of my coworkers is quitting, and I'm pretty envious. I've been looking for something new, but nothing clicks. Same refrain - six years after college, still don't know what to do with my life. All I know is that it's not this. It would be nice to be happy in a job, and feel like it was a career. Am I dreaming? How many people actually obtain that?