Looking for a Job?

Since returning from a semester of school in Idaho, I'm now home again working for the next four months at what the Athens Banner-Herald Reader's Choice Award claims to be the "Best Staffing Source in Athens, Georgia." I man the front desk every day, assisting with walk-ins, answering phone calls, handling paperwork, making copies, administering clerical and nursing tests, and whatever else may happen up front at a typical staffing agency. The tasks may seem a little dull to you; however, working here for the past three weeks has been anything but boring. I have learned a lot of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” in a job-seeking world. If you are part of the unfortunate percentage that is unemployed in our country, let me give you some tips that I’ve gathered these past three weeks (and p.s.: I know I haven’t collected them all, so if you know of any good ones, please feel free to share):

Job Tips, Round #1:

When you go to apply for a job, go alone. Do NOT bring the following, as it is unprofessional and will hinder your chances at getting a job (hey, we only get to do a FIRST impression once):

• Your mom
• Your dad
• Your BFF
• Yo baby's daddy
• Yo baby's mama
• Any of yo babies actually
• Your girlfriend
• Your boyfriend
• Your transportation driver
• A bad attitude (I find it difficult to help out someone who is rude or is upset that I haven’t found them a job yet…go figure)
• A stench (It's not good to smell like you haven't showered in days, or that you have really bad breath, or that you are a coffee addict or chain smoker)
• A resume that lists your Facebook and Twittering skills.
• An edited, scratched out resume with pencil/pen & white-out marks
• A cell phone or pager that's turned on with or without obnoxious ringers. Leave it in the car if it will tempt you if it rings.
• A digital portfolio with scanned sketchings of kittens, cats, or lemurs. Actually, no sketchings would be good (unless you are applying for an art position and your art portfolio is requested).
• Do NOT walk into a staffing office or any place of potential employment and use this phrase: “I heard ya’lls giving out jobs.” Rather it’d be best to state you’d like to submit an application of employment along with your resume (and it would be to your advantage to use correct grammar)

DO Bring:

• A happy, upbeat personality, who is punctual and professional
• A smile that is laced with kindness and patience
• A determined attitude
• An up-to-date resume, that is appealing both visually and content-wise. Make sure it includes your name and contact information. These are vital in obtaining a job interview for potential employment. Also, make sure you have proof-read your resume. The word “objectives” and “objections” are two different words with two different meanings.
• Legitimate references (I would avoid mentioning your probation officer here)
• Forms (yes, plural) of ID
• Any certifications received prior pertaining to your job (Ex. CNA license)
• A professional demeanor (Yes, this includes the way you dress. Spaghetti strap shirts and short shorts would be considered inappropriate).
• And depending on the situation, it might even be appropriate to bring your business card and your portfolio.

Hope this list helps for all you job-seekers out there. And yes, all the aforementioned have happened since I have started working at the staffing agency. Never a dull day, ever.

Oooo Santa Baby!

With Christmas being just one week away, it dawned on me that maybe I should do some Christmas shopping. Someday, when I’m that perfect little soccer mom, I will have my Christmas shopping done and wrapped by October. But alas, I’m not a soccer mom yet; I’m your typical college student that procrastinates, and Christmas shopping is no different.

As I began to think about what to get everyone, I was exhausted as I realized what had to be accomplished by this week. It’s not so much of how much to buy, or where to buy, but really what to buy. I think a gift should be something appreciated by the receiver and a reflection of the giver.

After reviewing what I should buy or make for everyone, I thought how Christmas is so much different now as an adult with a budget. When I was younger, I made sure to send my letters to the North Pole and visited Santa personally every year. I always had some item on my Christmas wish-list, whether it was Barbie Doll or Ken, CD player and CDs, or even a car when I was older. Ironically, as a child I hated getting clothes as a gift. Now I love it! Now I don’t care too much about Barbie Dolls or Ken (unless he’s a real life Ken doll version), CD players (I’m much rather have an iPod Touch), or a new car (unless you want to pay mine off...). Christmas excitement now is not so much Santa Claus, but is more celebrating with friends and family and getting together for parties and having fun.

So just for fun, to reminisce back to my childhood, I made a wish-list. Hopefully, this will help my siblings out, especially Dean, since they keep asking what I want.

- Year membership to the gym
- An iPod Touch as previously stated
- 2 new tires on my car
- Gas Card
- College tuition paid for
- Shopping spree to the mall
- A new cell phone
- Laptop
- dSLR camera
- Diamond bracelet from Tiffany’s
- A Mink Coat


Okay, just kidding about the last two, I would never in my wildest dreams want a mink coat and jewelry from Tiffany’s is just too outrageous for me. I’m not that high-maintenance! Okay, so maybe they are all a little outrageous. I can’t imagine anyone getting me any of those for Christmas. I really don’t care too much of what I get for Christmas, as long as I am happy. Although since I am trying to work on my “bucket list,” there is one gift that I would absolutely love to see under the tree…

Santa baby, please bring a hula hoop. That’s all I really want this year. Thanks.

Merry Christmas!!!!

My Own Bucket List

This summer I took Business 101 with Brother Mark Nygren (FYI, this crazy man is a complete blog to himself. I highly recommend taking a class from him if you happen to be taking business classes at BYU-Idaho. And RANDOM, but does he look like Chevy Chase to you?!).

Anyway, he assigned us to create our own “Bucket List,” partly inspired from the movie that came out this summer with Jack Nicholson, and a newspaper article by Wendy Swallow Williams from the Washington Post. Basically he had us write a list of at least 50 things we wanted to do before we die.

And now, switching gears, this Friday, November 21, 2008, 10 A.M. EST, I will be at the oral surgeon’s office, awaiting all sorts of painkillers & drugs & even needles to put me to sleep in order to remove my lower two wisdom. Not that I’m a pansy or anything, but it does alarm me about the whole “there-is-a-chance-you-could-die-or-be-seriously-injured-for-life-from-this-procedure-so-sign-your-name-here-on-this-waiver-so-we-won’t-get-sued” form. Hmm.

If that didn’t pump me up enough, everyone has been telling me their own horror stories stories. These all have been so random, ranging from my sister, Charika-Freaka having the 2nd worst case of wisdom teeth removal as noted by her surgeon, to the Mr. Masculine being so upset about that he actually broke down and started crying, to Mr. Joe Average getting up the next to go water-rafting. Therefore, I have no clue what to expect other than maybe pain, tears, or even slight possibly of water-rafting on Saturday. We’ll see.

So what does this have to do with Brother Nygren and his “Bucket List?” Just made me look over my list and realize that if I died (sorry to sound morbid), I pretty much would not have anything accomplished from my “Bucket List.” Here’s just some of the stuff I put on it:

1. Learn piano & guitar & just overall be more musically inclined
2. Work on my mad cooking skills & take a cooking class
3. Grow a vegetable garden
4. Grow a flower garden….aww cute!
5. Complete a triathlon (I was sure ambitious when I was putting this list together!)
6. Drive stick-shift, ok, so NOT as ambitious as the triathlon
7. Get Married…hmm, I guess I didn’t think that would be assumed

8. Have babies

9. Meet HARRISON FORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I better do this last, because I might very well die of shock the moment it happens!)

10. Own a home

11. Learn to wakeboard

12. Ski/Snowboard and be good at it

13. Learn to cut hair

14. Learn to sew

15. Be on a volleyball team and actually be good at my overhand serve

16. Golf

17. Travel to CAMPINAS, BRAZIL!!!

18. Travel to Italy; however, I will have to take a class just to prep me on all the history there before I go. Once I’m there, I WILL buy a pair of shoes.

19. Be involved on the PTA for my kids

20. Run for a local office someday

21. Get a manicure (I’ve yet to do this!)

22. Keep an updated journal

23. Learn to ride a horse and actually enjoy it

24. Visit NYC and Paris, France

25. Get season tickets for an NBA team one year. I guess it depends on where I live, but my heart belongs to the Dallas Mavericks! Go Mavs!

26. Fish frequently—and actually skin, cook, and eat the fish I catch.

27. Skinny-dip…maybe more that once…

28. Graduate College, and hopefully a Masters Program

29. Perform in a community theatre play

30. Adopt a Grandparent (I actually already did this, so that’s one to cross off!)

31. Learn Spanish

32. Learn to juggle. It’d be fun!

33. Improve my hula-hooping skills

34. Hike around the Grand Canyon

35. Camp at Zions National Park

36. Take a random beach trip to Florida

37. Learn to make gourmet homemade ice-cream

38. Take a cruise

39. Do the splits. Ouch!

40. Take a ride in a hot air balloon

41. Visit a game show as an audience member

42. Have laser eye surgery performed
43. Pick up photography and be good at it!

44. Learn calligraphy

45. Start to scrap book

46. Get a real estate license

47. Learn to make bread, and have it taste better than my mother’s.

48. Go on a mission for my church (hopefully to Brazil!!!)

49. Run a mile in under 8 minutes

50. Be an extra in a movie

So some are events, some of these are life-long goals, and some I may actually never get to. We’ll see with life’s twists and turns what will actually happen. But as soon as I regain consciousness from my oral surgery, you could say I’ll definitely have my work cut out for me. Wish me luck!

Oh, the irony of it all..

A couple of years ago my older sister created her own blog. Let’s call her “Charika-Freaka,” just to limit info for any virtual stalkers out there. Anyway, initially, it began as a little hobby, maybe to relieve some boredom on quiet days at work as a secretary (believe me I know, I have her old job, as I replaced her as the new secretary once she started grad school at UGA), or maybe it was some goal she had, I don’t really know. However, in time, I felt that she became a tad-bit obsessive about it. It wasn’t really an obsession, but something my family and I would tease her about.

For example, Charika-Freaka and I would be in a random conversation about something, anything really, shoes, ships, sealing wax, you name it, and something would be said and Charika-Freaka’s face would light up, and she’d say, “Ooohhhhh, yes, I like that! I’m blogging that!” And then it I became slightly paranoid about her blogging everything that even if she hadn’t mentioned blogging yet, I would end the conversation with, “And you better not blog that!”

Her excitement for blogging could only continue to develop more and more, and because of the fanatical way she is about being organized, I could swear to you, this girl created a blogging schedule. It was as if she was in a college writing class and she HAD to have her blog done every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Now normally, her organization doesn’t bother me, I mean, being organized is very commendable; however, she hogged the computer constantly, working away at her little blog, like it was on a deadline.

To add more to the story, not only was she blogging frequently, but she was also reading everyone else’s blog. And when I say everyone, that’s pretty accurate. Not only was she getting back in touch with all her old college buddies, she was reading other random people’s blogs. Dorky Dad and Pioneer Woman are a HUGE part of her blogging life. She’s even converted my mother to reading Pioneer Woman and now my mother uses her recipes to make dinner (I think the Pioneer Woman’s chicken casserole is my mother’s favorite).

I have watched her now for that past couple of years and have always vowed that I would NEVER create a blog. I know that no one gets killed by blogging or sick but why get addicted to something else? I mean really, I already check my email and Facebook like 10 times a day. However, a lot of my friends are getting blogs (I really am a sucker for peer pressure), and so then I reconsidered the whole blog thing and decided that I would get a blog sometime in the future, like when I was married or something—you know because that’s what married people do. They blog. But then, I thought maybe I should reconsider blogging sooner. It’s a great way to improve on your writing skills, and essentially a journal…that everyone reads. So I thought I’d wait until I had a camera and then I’d blog. But, nope, no camera, no husband, and here I am typing my first blog. I once heard that you should keep your words short and sweet, because someday you’ll have to eat them up. And really, what’s the ironic thing about it all is here I am, in Charika-Freaka’s old chair at work, writing a blog, just like she used to, and eating up my words. Maybe it comes with the job description. Who knows!

But anyway, hopefully I’ll get the swing of this, or maybe I’ll even become obsessed, we’ll see, only time can tell, but Charika-Freaka, here’s to you, I dedicate this first blog to you and to all your blogging madness!