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| Taken from PostSecret.com |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Appreciation
Today I'm in a cheery mood. It all started yesterday as I stumbled into work wearing only things that don't match. I had on my black + many colored sorta tie died but acceptable for work skirt Mandy got me a few years ago on, a pink/salmon tshirt that didn't match the pink in the skirt, an ill fitting black cardi, long knee socks that are cream and appropriate for winter, my brown winter boots, and a green long flowing headband/wrap thing on my head to "hide" my dirty hair. Over it all I wore my red and grey winter jacket and had on orange fingerless gloves that I knitted.
My work has windows that reflect you perfectly when you walk in. Also, it was super cold and all of my warm clothes are super dirty, that's why I was dressed like that. I realized that I wanted work to be easy yesterday and fun, so I said to myself in my head "I appreciate my job. I appreciate my coworkers. I enjoy this about this person and I enjoy this about this person." And by the time I go inside I was not simmering in my own disgust, but was a little bit smiley. Because, actually, my work is pretty awesome and they spoil the hell out of us. It's not works problem, but me that's the problem.
Then I was invited by my friend/coworker to go office supply shopping! Always awesome. Plus, I actually did have a list of things I needed. I'm starting a new filing system for my random papers that are usually stacked up on my desk. I'm putting tabs on them and labeling the tabs, and then putting them in one file. The file is upright on my desk in a file holder, and all the tabs stick up and are easily identifiable. As the papers no longer become needed by me, I recycle them. It's a new short terms storage system. I was able to get some nice sticky tabs that have space for me to write notes on the papers too, to remind me why I'm even keeping them and what I need to do next with the papers.
My colored pens are also running low on ink, so I got more of those. They didn't have a small pack of the bright colors, so I got the large pack with 3 new colors! I now have light blue, dark blue, purple, red, pink, green, and orange pens. When I read things and take notes I use different colors. Black is just information notes. Blue usually means, here is a thought I need to take action on. I use orange for emails and calls I either made or need to make. Green is thoughts I have or questions while I'm reading/taking notes. The other colors just make things pretty or if I use them it's because I grabbed them first. I also have yellow, green, pink, and blue post it notes, and I like to write on them with matching, or sometimes contrasting, colors.
When I got back, I started working on this presentation I have to give in May. It's the Tribal Utility Summit in Seneca, NY (near Niagara Falls), and one of my coworkers is the person planning the entire summit. There, water and waste water plant operators will earn CEUs (adult learning credits...needed to maintain certification in water and waste water operating). My presentation is 1 hr long and it is worth one CEU. It's on watershed management. I know nothing about watershed management. Except what a watershed is, I do know that. I was planning on doing a lot of research and coming up with a presentation that way, but I realized I wouldn't never get a quality presentation done in time. My thesis presentation was only 20 min long! (I think, I don't actually remember). So, using my new skillz gained at work, I googled: Free Online Watershed Management Course. Sounds pretty improbably right? Right. Yet, I found one! Not only that, but it's from the EPA, and I'm still working on an EPA Grants Management Course that has actually helped me quite a bit. The best part of this Watershed Management Training course? I get a certificate at the end!!! I will pretty much do anything for a certificate. They are like Work Crack. I even get to put a copy of my certificates in my 'Official File' in the HR office.
Now, I want to talk about the Government. It seems to move slow and it's results are less in quality (usually) than if a private company was providing the results. But look at this, the government provided me with a free online course on watershed management. I don't have the time or resources to take a course at the college, and the government (EPA) stepped in to help me. The government (Dept. of Energy) has been creating National Optional Standards and online training tools for energy auditors and energy auditor certification. It's not the best available, but it's the best available for free. So I say to everyone as a whole and to the general public, before you start being upset that the government takes your money and you see no results...have you been looking for the results? Do you know everything the government provides? The US Government is a pretty damn big government...there is'a hella lotta land and different people types and different regional cultures the government has to manage and make happy. I think our government is doing pretty good when you look at it that way. I mean, our country is too big to be perfect. Why do you think Sweden is so awesome? It's the size of California (I googled that to find the answer...I was going to guess Minnesota or something). I bet California would be a lot different if it was completely able to govern itself. There be pot smoking gay married foodies EVERYWHERE and they'd have to pay high tariffs to Nevada and Utah for their water. So, imagining California as it's own country is a little futile because it pretty much does what it wants anyways.
I was also able to buy more Werther's Originals for my candy bowl. I buy them because they get eaten slowly and I don't like them. Also, the are stereotyped as the candy grandpas always have, so I get them to tease my coworkers about being old grandpas. My candy bowl is made out of an agate-y sedimentary rock. The gold wrappers of the candy look really pretty in it.
Another thought on how great our government is. Look at Greece...they are a small country, and yet they couldn't hold it together. If I was into this sort of stuff I'd talk about the differences of the Greek Government and the US Government, but besides size and the differences in country, I have no idea. Government and politics are not my strong point. But soon, watershed management will be!
My work has windows that reflect you perfectly when you walk in. Also, it was super cold and all of my warm clothes are super dirty, that's why I was dressed like that. I realized that I wanted work to be easy yesterday and fun, so I said to myself in my head "I appreciate my job. I appreciate my coworkers. I enjoy this about this person and I enjoy this about this person." And by the time I go inside I was not simmering in my own disgust, but was a little bit smiley. Because, actually, my work is pretty awesome and they spoil the hell out of us. It's not works problem, but me that's the problem.
Then I was invited by my friend/coworker to go office supply shopping! Always awesome. Plus, I actually did have a list of things I needed. I'm starting a new filing system for my random papers that are usually stacked up on my desk. I'm putting tabs on them and labeling the tabs, and then putting them in one file. The file is upright on my desk in a file holder, and all the tabs stick up and are easily identifiable. As the papers no longer become needed by me, I recycle them. It's a new short terms storage system. I was able to get some nice sticky tabs that have space for me to write notes on the papers too, to remind me why I'm even keeping them and what I need to do next with the papers.
My colored pens are also running low on ink, so I got more of those. They didn't have a small pack of the bright colors, so I got the large pack with 3 new colors! I now have light blue, dark blue, purple, red, pink, green, and orange pens. When I read things and take notes I use different colors. Black is just information notes. Blue usually means, here is a thought I need to take action on. I use orange for emails and calls I either made or need to make. Green is thoughts I have or questions while I'm reading/taking notes. The other colors just make things pretty or if I use them it's because I grabbed them first. I also have yellow, green, pink, and blue post it notes, and I like to write on them with matching, or sometimes contrasting, colors.
When I got back, I started working on this presentation I have to give in May. It's the Tribal Utility Summit in Seneca, NY (near Niagara Falls), and one of my coworkers is the person planning the entire summit. There, water and waste water plant operators will earn CEUs (adult learning credits...needed to maintain certification in water and waste water operating). My presentation is 1 hr long and it is worth one CEU. It's on watershed management. I know nothing about watershed management. Except what a watershed is, I do know that. I was planning on doing a lot of research and coming up with a presentation that way, but I realized I wouldn't never get a quality presentation done in time. My thesis presentation was only 20 min long! (I think, I don't actually remember). So, using my new skillz gained at work, I googled: Free Online Watershed Management Course. Sounds pretty improbably right? Right. Yet, I found one! Not only that, but it's from the EPA, and I'm still working on an EPA Grants Management Course that has actually helped me quite a bit. The best part of this Watershed Management Training course? I get a certificate at the end!!! I will pretty much do anything for a certificate. They are like Work Crack. I even get to put a copy of my certificates in my 'Official File' in the HR office.
Now, I want to talk about the Government. It seems to move slow and it's results are less in quality (usually) than if a private company was providing the results. But look at this, the government provided me with a free online course on watershed management. I don't have the time or resources to take a course at the college, and the government (EPA) stepped in to help me. The government (Dept. of Energy) has been creating National Optional Standards and online training tools for energy auditors and energy auditor certification. It's not the best available, but it's the best available for free. So I say to everyone as a whole and to the general public, before you start being upset that the government takes your money and you see no results...have you been looking for the results? Do you know everything the government provides? The US Government is a pretty damn big government...there is'a hella lotta land and different people types and different regional cultures the government has to manage and make happy. I think our government is doing pretty good when you look at it that way. I mean, our country is too big to be perfect. Why do you think Sweden is so awesome? It's the size of California (I googled that to find the answer...I was going to guess Minnesota or something). I bet California would be a lot different if it was completely able to govern itself. There be pot smoking gay married foodies EVERYWHERE and they'd have to pay high tariffs to Nevada and Utah for their water. So, imagining California as it's own country is a little futile because it pretty much does what it wants anyways.
I was also able to buy more Werther's Originals for my candy bowl. I buy them because they get eaten slowly and I don't like them. Also, the are stereotyped as the candy grandpas always have, so I get them to tease my coworkers about being old grandpas. My candy bowl is made out of an agate-y sedimentary rock. The gold wrappers of the candy look really pretty in it.
Another thought on how great our government is. Look at Greece...they are a small country, and yet they couldn't hold it together. If I was into this sort of stuff I'd talk about the differences of the Greek Government and the US Government, but besides size and the differences in country, I have no idea. Government and politics are not my strong point. But soon, watershed management will be!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Who's a Stronger Female Character Than Katniss?
Today we shall discuss the Hunger Games books.
Just in case, I tried not to spoil the story for anyone. I'm pretty sure I succeeded.
To begin with, I've only read the first one. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It didn't leave me dreaming and wondering about Katniss (I couldn't even remember her name, I've only learned it since the movie came out and people write it out more often). What's the pull of a book where everyone you meet dies at the end? It's a predictable story. It's an entertaining story, but I could have done without the whole reality tv show/American Idol dressing up theme thing. That part really turned me off. I'd rather it had gone:
Katniss is blindfolded and not allowed to talk to any one and transported to an unknown area and released. There she meets people, maybe she kills a few...and there is a scene about her guilt at murdering another human. Maybe she meets Rue and they work together. Maybe she makes an animal friend and her own bows and arrows. Maybe she's actually resourceful.
And maybe there isn't a horribly terrible "romance" scene that is a cliche teen romance scene from so many movies. That was my least favorite part of the book.
"Because I have read these books and, keeping it real, they are not all that well written and the subtext is sort of obvious and clumsy. A comparison to Brave New World or To Kill a Mockingbird really highlights that." ~Random comment from Jezebel article (those colored words "Jezebel article" is a link, if you click it it takes you to more content to put this in context).
This comment describes how I feel. I couldn't put my finger on why the book wasn't amazing for me. (I soooooooooooooo wanted it to be amazing and awesome and wonderful when I started reading it...I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and feel like I was a part of the community and bond with my girlfriends who do like it. I really really did. The same goes for Twilight.) But it does have a clumsy subtext...and it's like saran wrap it's so easy to see through.
So...what sort of action adventure love story women empowering books do I suggest reading:
Just one: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane is the strongest, most responsible, most caring, most strong, and most confident in her knowledge of right and wrong than any other female character I have ever read about. AND there is a monster in the book too.
And don't take my word for it:
"It is a novel often considered ahead of its time due to its portrayal of the development of a thinking and passionate young woman who is both individualistic, desiring for a full life, while also highly moral. Jane evolves from her beginnings as a poor and plain woman without captivating charm to her mature stage as a compassionate and confident whole woman. As she matures, she comments much on the complexities of the human condition. Jane also has a deeply pious personal trust in God, but is also highly self-reliant. Although Jane suffers much, she is never portrayed as a damsel in distress who needs rescuing. For this reason, it is sometimes regarded as an important early feminist (or proto-feminist) novel" Wikipedia
The interesting thing is, I'm not so sure Jane would want to be called a feminist.
**EDIT**
There is a ton of books I've read that are worse than Hunger Games. It's not a bad book, it just doesn't make me want to gush about it and daydream about it. I'm more confused by why people love it so, more than anything.
Just in case, I tried not to spoil the story for anyone. I'm pretty sure I succeeded.
To begin with, I've only read the first one. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It didn't leave me dreaming and wondering about Katniss (I couldn't even remember her name, I've only learned it since the movie came out and people write it out more often). What's the pull of a book where everyone you meet dies at the end? It's a predictable story. It's an entertaining story, but I could have done without the whole reality tv show/American Idol dressing up theme thing. That part really turned me off. I'd rather it had gone:
Katniss is blindfolded and not allowed to talk to any one and transported to an unknown area and released. There she meets people, maybe she kills a few...and there is a scene about her guilt at murdering another human. Maybe she meets Rue and they work together. Maybe she makes an animal friend and her own bows and arrows. Maybe she's actually resourceful.
And maybe there isn't a horribly terrible "romance" scene that is a cliche teen romance scene from so many movies. That was my least favorite part of the book.
"Because I have read these books and, keeping it real, they are not all that well written and the subtext is sort of obvious and clumsy. A comparison to Brave New World or To Kill a Mockingbird really highlights that." ~Random comment from Jezebel article (those colored words "Jezebel article" is a link, if you click it it takes you to more content to put this in context).
This comment describes how I feel. I couldn't put my finger on why the book wasn't amazing for me. (I soooooooooooooo wanted it to be amazing and awesome and wonderful when I started reading it...I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and feel like I was a part of the community and bond with my girlfriends who do like it. I really really did. The same goes for Twilight.) But it does have a clumsy subtext...and it's like saran wrap it's so easy to see through.
So...what sort of action adventure love story women empowering books do I suggest reading:
Just one: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane is the strongest, most responsible, most caring, most strong, and most confident in her knowledge of right and wrong than any other female character I have ever read about. AND there is a monster in the book too.
And don't take my word for it:
"It is a novel often considered ahead of its time due to its portrayal of the development of a thinking and passionate young woman who is both individualistic, desiring for a full life, while also highly moral. Jane evolves from her beginnings as a poor and plain woman without captivating charm to her mature stage as a compassionate and confident whole woman. As she matures, she comments much on the complexities of the human condition. Jane also has a deeply pious personal trust in God, but is also highly self-reliant. Although Jane suffers much, she is never portrayed as a damsel in distress who needs rescuing. For this reason, it is sometimes regarded as an important early feminist (or proto-feminist) novel" Wikipedia
The interesting thing is, I'm not so sure Jane would want to be called a feminist.
**EDIT**
There is a ton of books I've read that are worse than Hunger Games. It's not a bad book, it just doesn't make me want to gush about it and daydream about it. I'm more confused by why people love it so, more than anything.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Pain is Temporary, Glory is Forever
Zumba Update: When I wrote my last post on what I would be doing in Zumba, I thought I was exaggerating just a little bit. Well...I wasn't. That is exactly what it was like. I flailed my arms, I went right when everyone went left, and I shook my butt and my chest and swiveled my hips around. It was also admitted by another Zumba person that she likes it when I'm in front because watching me makes her feel better. I do what I can. I do what I can.
Despite my lack of footwork, I was able to sweat enough to have it drip in my eyes. I'm also sore today. It means I accomplished what I set out to accomplish.
Okay. Now to a serious note. I am going to try out a new style of blog post, but I cannot say right now that every post will be in that style. I've been thinking a lot about this upcoming summer and I have a feeling that I want to document it on a regular basis. But I want to focus what I document with a slight focus on the civil and social environment of the country. Going into it, this summer seems to have the atmosphere of the beginning of a good movie or the apocalypse. Don't worry, I understand that just about any moment could be the beginning of the apocalypse and any moment could not be the beginning either. Just like if you are going to die in the next second or not
lkdsjfamln:OIYHDsf;lkaHWSE;LKFHDSLKJ ASD BLLLEHHH bllehhh bleeeehhhhhh
J/K! You all thought I just died there, but I didn't. Or has my dad would say "I just died, not."
Anyways, I'm going to start writing some posts as if I am the captain of a ship. Pirate ship or spaceship? I don't know. Both? Neither? This will be fun, I'm excited already. Maybe it'll change depending on my mood.
We shall see. We shall see.
Despite my lack of footwork, I was able to sweat enough to have it drip in my eyes. I'm also sore today. It means I accomplished what I set out to accomplish.
Okay. Now to a serious note. I am going to try out a new style of blog post, but I cannot say right now that every post will be in that style. I've been thinking a lot about this upcoming summer and I have a feeling that I want to document it on a regular basis. But I want to focus what I document with a slight focus on the civil and social environment of the country. Going into it, this summer seems to have the atmosphere of the beginning of a good movie or the apocalypse. Don't worry, I understand that just about any moment could be the beginning of the apocalypse and any moment could not be the beginning either. Just like if you are going to die in the next second or not
lkdsjfamln:OIYHDsf;lkaHWSE;LKFHDSLKJ ASD BLLLEHHH bllehhh bleeeehhhhhh
J/K! You all thought I just died there, but I didn't. Or has my dad would say "I just died, not."
Anyways, I'm going to start writing some posts as if I am the captain of a ship. Pirate ship or spaceship? I don't know. Both? Neither? This will be fun, I'm excited already. Maybe it'll change depending on my mood.
We shall see. We shall see.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Pre Work Out Motivation
Tonight is my exercise night. I am going to a Zumba class with a friend. I've heard of Zumba for over a year now, but didn't know what it was (at all) until I actually went for the first time over a week ago. To me Zumba is dancing sorta dirty (I don't dance this way at weddings!) but with stupid footwork.
If you don't know, I am unable to dance if I have to follow choreographed or established footwork. Not only are my sense of Left and Right broken, but I cannot keep a proper beat for the life of me.
And Zumba isn't just in sets of 4s or 8s but can change to 3s and 6s. That just means the counting of the beat changes...but no one tells me when.
A better explanation of Zumba is if you mixed kick-boxing with latin dance, sorta. You do a whole lot of sticking your butt and chest out and in rapidly. It works your core. And I'm sure that's why there are guys in Zumba.
So, to recap, I will be spending one hour tonight moving in the opposite direction of everyone else, while flailing my arms over my head and shaking it uptown and shaking it downtown. Fun. Fun. Fun.
And when it's all over I will smell bad.
(Nothing new there)
I'm just sarcastic because I hate exercising, just like I hate brushing my teeth. It's annoying, hurts a little (sensitive teeth), and reminds me that I need to see the dentist. Exercising is annoying, hurts a little, and reminds me that I am not in shape. I still brush my teeth, and I still need to exercise.
If you don't know, I am unable to dance if I have to follow choreographed or established footwork. Not only are my sense of Left and Right broken, but I cannot keep a proper beat for the life of me.
And Zumba isn't just in sets of 4s or 8s but can change to 3s and 6s. That just means the counting of the beat changes...but no one tells me when.
A better explanation of Zumba is if you mixed kick-boxing with latin dance, sorta. You do a whole lot of sticking your butt and chest out and in rapidly. It works your core. And I'm sure that's why there are guys in Zumba.
So, to recap, I will be spending one hour tonight moving in the opposite direction of everyone else, while flailing my arms over my head and shaking it uptown and shaking it downtown. Fun. Fun. Fun.
And when it's all over I will smell bad.
(Nothing new there)
I'm just sarcastic because I hate exercising, just like I hate brushing my teeth. It's annoying, hurts a little (sensitive teeth), and reminds me that I need to see the dentist. Exercising is annoying, hurts a little, and reminds me that I am not in shape. I still brush my teeth, and I still need to exercise.
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