For some reason, I'm having a lot of epiphanies when it comes to children. Like, these are things I knew ahead of time but the concepts didn't sink in. For instance, I realized a couple months ago that when you have children, you can never unhave children. You are a parent for the rest of your life and so for the rest of your life there will be at least one person you are constantly worrying about. You will never be able to go back to that person who was carefree and had no responsibilities. Even when your kids are at Grandma's house (and you trust your mom totally), you will still be thinking about them and worrying about them because that's what you do now. How did this not sink in earlier? My theory is because whenever I got tired of daydreaming I was a parent, I just went back to my daydreams of the single days, not realizing as a parent I wouldn't be able to do that.
My new epiphany came from babysitting a bunch of nights in a row. I've been going to bed earlier lately, thus these past couple jobs I've become tired and almost fallen asleep which is probably the worst thing you can do as a babysitter. The babysitter is there to dial 911. You can't dial 911 if you're asleep. I had a real problem with staying up late when I was younger and had actually fallen asleep with the kids to have the parents come home and wake me up. I am not kidding. So this lesson has really drilled into me.
Imagine my shock when I realized every night when the kids are asleep, the parents go to sleep too. No one is awake to dial 911 or be at the ready should a kid wake up in the night and go downstairs to get some water, standing on their step stool to fill their cup at the sink, slip, and hit their head on the floor/counter (I actually just came up with that whole scenario right this second). The parents, guardians, people who are supposed to be watching the kids are asleep! The kids are unsupervised!
My next thought? How do they do that?
I can just imagine me becoming a new parent with my new infant and having a doctor tell me to sleep when my baby sleeps. Sleep? How am I supposed to be prepared when something bad happens? What if I'm so exhausted I don't wake up to hear the baby gagging? What if the baby just stops breathing and I'm right next to the kid on the couch sleeping as my baby chokes for air?! Sleep?? You want me to sleep?! Is there someone else taking over my shift?!
This new epiphany just furthers my new resolve to not have kids for a very, very long time.
Seriously, how do you guys do that?
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Reading about SEO
The book I bought on the basics of SEO finally came in, but I'm still waiting on the book on hold at the library. I'm about a quarter of the way through and it isn't so bad. I'm learning a few things about HTML which is interesting and unexpected. Also, I'm learning the reasons behind all of the blogging rules my aunt gave me when I wrote my first blog post for the company. I'm so glad I decided to wait to apply for the social media jobs until after I received this book because I would have looked like a complete fool in an interview. There's so much I didn't know or, worse, thought I understood and misunderstood. I've already learned a number of things I'm going to put into practice.
Oh, I'm still working for TripRental.com, by the way. I just have student loans coming in and need a paying job now in order to pay the upcoming bills. I'm looking for a job in social media so I can learn more about the field and be able to take anything I learn and apply it to what I'm doing for TripRental. There are certainly more jobs available in social media than in writing or editing so finding jobs hasn't been a problem. The problem came when reading over the requirements. Reading over them, I knew I had performed most of what the employers were looking for but I had no idea how to describe them in such a way that would make me appear like I knew what I was doing. Mostly because I didn't.
Basically, I like my job but I always felt like I was a chicken running around with its head cut off. Now I feel like I'm not so clueless and have some direction to take a strategy, once I create one. I'm also learning what a bunch of the terms mentioned in the job applications mean and can now explain myself in such a way I'd have confidence in an interview.
Gosh, I love being able to focus on just a job instead of a job plus papers, grades, and classes.
Oh, I'm still working for TripRental.com, by the way. I just have student loans coming in and need a paying job now in order to pay the upcoming bills. I'm looking for a job in social media so I can learn more about the field and be able to take anything I learn and apply it to what I'm doing for TripRental. There are certainly more jobs available in social media than in writing or editing so finding jobs hasn't been a problem. The problem came when reading over the requirements. Reading over them, I knew I had performed most of what the employers were looking for but I had no idea how to describe them in such a way that would make me appear like I knew what I was doing. Mostly because I didn't.
Basically, I like my job but I always felt like I was a chicken running around with its head cut off. Now I feel like I'm not so clueless and have some direction to take a strategy, once I create one. I'm also learning what a bunch of the terms mentioned in the job applications mean and can now explain myself in such a way I'd have confidence in an interview.
Gosh, I love being able to focus on just a job instead of a job plus papers, grades, and classes.
Friday, July 19, 2013
So you think DJs are cool?
It's 4am and I can't sleep so I came downstairs in hopes of tiring out my brain with internet surfing (It seems to work in the middle of the day). I happened across this article on MSN titled "So you think DJs are cool?" It's the tiniest little article about "posing" DJs who I guess people are hiring and finding not to be as good as they expected.
Before even reading the article I knew it was going to be about the DJs that play music in clubs, raves, parties, etc. and a thought crossed my mind. For those of you who don't know, my dad is a DJ and has been for many years. When I was a kid, I would usually use this tidbit of information to answer the "something unique about you" question teachers liked to ask in questionnaires or as ice-breakers at the beginning of the school year (I'd either use that or say I have twin younger sisters. Apparently I couldn't think of anything actually unique about me). Almost as soon as I answered, someone would immediately ask "Oh, what radio station is he on?"
What I'm saying is, there seems to have been a shift at some point where people stopped most associating DJs with the radio hosts and started associating them with the people in charge of the music at parties like my dad. As I'm writing this, I'm starting to remember there was a time somewhere in the middle when DJs were known for riffing records (or perhaps that's still how they're perceived for many people). It's interesting how our perception of certain jobs seem to change over time even if the job itself hasn't changed at all. As I mentioned before, my dad is a DJ and he's been in charge of music at parties for over 20 years. In fact, he did my eighth grade dance kind of as a favor to my school (I'm assuming it was discounted because I know he did the music one night for Budweiser during the 1996 Olympics and there's no way a public middle school could afford that. Granted, it was a smaller party with less equipment needed... I digress).
I can' think of any other jobs that have had the general perception of their work change so much, can you?
Before even reading the article I knew it was going to be about the DJs that play music in clubs, raves, parties, etc. and a thought crossed my mind. For those of you who don't know, my dad is a DJ and has been for many years. When I was a kid, I would usually use this tidbit of information to answer the "something unique about you" question teachers liked to ask in questionnaires or as ice-breakers at the beginning of the school year (I'd either use that or say I have twin younger sisters. Apparently I couldn't think of anything actually unique about me). Almost as soon as I answered, someone would immediately ask "Oh, what radio station is he on?"
What I'm saying is, there seems to have been a shift at some point where people stopped most associating DJs with the radio hosts and started associating them with the people in charge of the music at parties like my dad. As I'm writing this, I'm starting to remember there was a time somewhere in the middle when DJs were known for riffing records (or perhaps that's still how they're perceived for many people). It's interesting how our perception of certain jobs seem to change over time even if the job itself hasn't changed at all. As I mentioned before, my dad is a DJ and he's been in charge of music at parties for over 20 years. In fact, he did my eighth grade dance kind of as a favor to my school (I'm assuming it was discounted because I know he did the music one night for Budweiser during the 1996 Olympics and there's no way a public middle school could afford that. Granted, it was a smaller party with less equipment needed... I digress).
I can' think of any other jobs that have had the general perception of their work change so much, can you?
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Healthy Living
This all started with a physical I had to go to in order to continue receiving my anxiety meds. I mentioned my stomach issues and she decided I should try going without dairy for a week. So I didn't do it last week because I still had milk left over (that and I was craving cereal like socialite craves attention). However, I started it yesterday and I've already had some realizations.
For one, most products that typically have dairy in them that are sold without dairy tend to also be missing gluten, making it difficult for me to figure out whether it's the gluten or the dairy. I'm purposely eating my regular pasta instead of the gluten free pasta I bought to see how things go. I actually found chocolate cookies without dairy or gluten in them. They aren't half bad either. I also found lactose-free yogurt that is also missing gluten. The yogurt tastes just like yogurt, meaning I'm reluctantly drinking it down. I also found dairy and gluten free milk chocolate. They used rice milk. I also had it and it wasn't bad either. I'm seriously starting to believe I might be okay if this is the solution because I felt like I was given a death sentence at first.
Still, there's the problem of whether or not it's the gluten or the dairy.
In other news, I'm seeing a chiropractor that's more like a physical therapist for my hips. When we found out I still had health insurance my aunt suggested I see a chiropractor about my hips. She has clearly figured me out because she suggested we go then and actually took the dogs with us and sat there while I filled out the paperwork. If that had been left up to me, I probably would have taken a couple weeks because setting up a time to see a new doctor always makes me anxious. I've had two visits and I'm seeing him two more times this week and will continue to see him three times a week for twelve weeks. I also have two exercises I need to do everyday. The first one is probably the most difficult and uses my ab muscles which are non-existent. This works out pretty well though because I've been complaining about my stomach for forever and this way I don't have to think about what I'm going to do to solve it or research how to solve it- he tells me what to do and I do it. Simple. I like simple. The second one makes me feel like I'm working out in the 80's. It's that lift the leg exercise while you're laying sideways.
Apparently the whole problem is my gluteus medius and how it has no strength whatsoever. I mean, if you google that and look at the pictures or where it is, it's exactly where all my pain has been. So we're relaxing it, working it, and everything elsing it.
I also planned to start using that unlimited yoga classes for a month groupon today but I woke up late. They have a class called "Sunrise" that's from 6:30 to 7:30. I woke up around 6:30 so I just need to get myself to wake up a little before six, like I did in high school, and then I'll be able to go. The class is every weekday morning so it should be easier to follow than something that's once a week. Hopefully, I'll wake up early enough tomorrow.
For one, most products that typically have dairy in them that are sold without dairy tend to also be missing gluten, making it difficult for me to figure out whether it's the gluten or the dairy. I'm purposely eating my regular pasta instead of the gluten free pasta I bought to see how things go. I actually found chocolate cookies without dairy or gluten in them. They aren't half bad either. I also found lactose-free yogurt that is also missing gluten. The yogurt tastes just like yogurt, meaning I'm reluctantly drinking it down. I also found dairy and gluten free milk chocolate. They used rice milk. I also had it and it wasn't bad either. I'm seriously starting to believe I might be okay if this is the solution because I felt like I was given a death sentence at first.
Still, there's the problem of whether or not it's the gluten or the dairy.
In other news, I'm seeing a chiropractor that's more like a physical therapist for my hips. When we found out I still had health insurance my aunt suggested I see a chiropractor about my hips. She has clearly figured me out because she suggested we go then and actually took the dogs with us and sat there while I filled out the paperwork. If that had been left up to me, I probably would have taken a couple weeks because setting up a time to see a new doctor always makes me anxious. I've had two visits and I'm seeing him two more times this week and will continue to see him three times a week for twelve weeks. I also have two exercises I need to do everyday. The first one is probably the most difficult and uses my ab muscles which are non-existent. This works out pretty well though because I've been complaining about my stomach for forever and this way I don't have to think about what I'm going to do to solve it or research how to solve it- he tells me what to do and I do it. Simple. I like simple. The second one makes me feel like I'm working out in the 80's. It's that lift the leg exercise while you're laying sideways.
Apparently the whole problem is my gluteus medius and how it has no strength whatsoever. I mean, if you google that and look at the pictures or where it is, it's exactly where all my pain has been. So we're relaxing it, working it, and everything elsing it.
I also planned to start using that unlimited yoga classes for a month groupon today but I woke up late. They have a class called "Sunrise" that's from 6:30 to 7:30. I woke up around 6:30 so I just need to get myself to wake up a little before six, like I did in high school, and then I'll be able to go. The class is every weekday morning so it should be easier to follow than something that's once a week. Hopefully, I'll wake up early enough tomorrow.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Never be a Single Parent
I was going to make this a Facebook status but then I thought, what the heck, I'll make it a blog entry.
So I learned today that there's not way I could be a single parent. I babysat these twin girls all day yesterday and then again from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm today. I didn't have any major meltdowns. They listened fairly well. All-in-all it was a good experience. After yesterday I was exhausted. I actually would have gone to bed immediately but Aunt Joy wasn't home and I didn't want to shut my door on the dogs. Thus, I remained downstairs, waiting for her and eventually caught my second wind watching Numb3rs. Today, I walked across the street (they live right across the street), plopped my bag down, stole the blanket from my sleeping aunt and laid down on the couch. She asked if I would walk the dogs for her and I said no. I was totally exhausted. I probably fell asleep in less than a minute of her getting off the couch which was less than five minutes of when I returned. And today was a good day. Can you imagine how exhausted I would have been if I'd had a bad day? There's just no way. I need a relay partner to tap me out and take over.
So I learned today that there's not way I could be a single parent. I babysat these twin girls all day yesterday and then again from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm today. I didn't have any major meltdowns. They listened fairly well. All-in-all it was a good experience. After yesterday I was exhausted. I actually would have gone to bed immediately but Aunt Joy wasn't home and I didn't want to shut my door on the dogs. Thus, I remained downstairs, waiting for her and eventually caught my second wind watching Numb3rs. Today, I walked across the street (they live right across the street), plopped my bag down, stole the blanket from my sleeping aunt and laid down on the couch. She asked if I would walk the dogs for her and I said no. I was totally exhausted. I probably fell asleep in less than a minute of her getting off the couch which was less than five minutes of when I returned. And today was a good day. Can you imagine how exhausted I would have been if I'd had a bad day? There's just no way. I need a relay partner to tap me out and take over.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Social Media is harder than I thought
So I've now been at my job, what, a week? Two weeks? And I've been learning the business of social media as I go. I've obviously been on Facebook for years but I've only used Pinterest for a year, LinkedIn for two, and Twitter I haven't used at all. Then there's blogging which I've technically been doing since middle/high school but didn't start caring about followers until college.
Now that it's my job to create buzz and interest, I'm starting to pay more attention and worry. I keep thinking "Am I doing a good job?" because people are liking our Facebook and Twitter page (and not all of them are my friends, thank you very much) so I'm doing something but is the improvement too slow? What's normal?
Thus, I've been doing searches looking for advice on how to do better. Some of the information is ridiculous- at least it is if you use Facebook regularly ("Create a page" and "Make Friends" are actual steps). There are things similarly said about Twitter. Then I came across this video and was introduced to "black hat marketing" tactics. Basically, you pay people to follow/like you. I actually thought at first "well, duh," thinking no wonder everyone has such high traffic. However, after looking at his twitter feed and then our competitors it doesn't seem like our competitors are doing that. I mentioned it to my aunt and she termed it for me and informed me we would not practicing like that. So I wonder how many people do? By the way, his twitter account has been suspended.
I also told her how we have a few more likes and followers than when I started and she seemed pleased. She made a point to say it's early, implying she wasn't expecting much.
A couple likes and a couple more followers in two weeks. That's not a bad start, right?
Now that it's my job to create buzz and interest, I'm starting to pay more attention and worry. I keep thinking "Am I doing a good job?" because people are liking our Facebook and Twitter page (and not all of them are my friends, thank you very much) so I'm doing something but is the improvement too slow? What's normal?
Thus, I've been doing searches looking for advice on how to do better. Some of the information is ridiculous- at least it is if you use Facebook regularly ("Create a page" and "Make Friends" are actual steps). There are things similarly said about Twitter. Then I came across this video and was introduced to "black hat marketing" tactics. Basically, you pay people to follow/like you. I actually thought at first "well, duh," thinking no wonder everyone has such high traffic. However, after looking at his twitter feed and then our competitors it doesn't seem like our competitors are doing that. I mentioned it to my aunt and she termed it for me and informed me we would not practicing like that. So I wonder how many people do? By the way, his twitter account has been suspended.
I also told her how we have a few more likes and followers than when I started and she seemed pleased. She made a point to say it's early, implying she wasn't expecting much.
A couple likes and a couple more followers in two weeks. That's not a bad start, right?
Sunday, June 16, 2013
A Real Adult
Well, I'm having a lot of fun with my family here. It's ridiculously crowded though. Five people plus three dogs in a two bedroom place is just not ideal.
Anyway, I turned twenty-five a couple days ago. I still keep thinking I'm twenty-two or twenty-three. Like, I'm definitely older than twenty-one but not by much and here I am halfway through my twenties.
A quarter of a century old. That's what my sisters keep saying. I feel like my generation is growing up so late now from being coddled and lack of responsibility (or lack of maturity to take responsibility) that being twenty-five doesn't make me an adult. I don't know if this is just me but I feel like I won't be a real adult until I'm thirty. Then again, maybe I'll never feel like a real adult. I wonder if anyone does truly feel like an adult. They must not, otherwise they wouldn't feel so surprised to see a child grown up and say "Gosh, I feel so old now."
Even though my friends have children, I still can't see them as real adults. We're all just playing house or forever babysitting.
And I'm going to the zoo to take pictures of the animals.
Anyway, I turned twenty-five a couple days ago. I still keep thinking I'm twenty-two or twenty-three. Like, I'm definitely older than twenty-one but not by much and here I am halfway through my twenties.
A quarter of a century old. That's what my sisters keep saying. I feel like my generation is growing up so late now from being coddled and lack of responsibility (or lack of maturity to take responsibility) that being twenty-five doesn't make me an adult. I don't know if this is just me but I feel like I won't be a real adult until I'm thirty. Then again, maybe I'll never feel like a real adult. I wonder if anyone does truly feel like an adult. They must not, otherwise they wouldn't feel so surprised to see a child grown up and say "Gosh, I feel so old now."
Even though my friends have children, I still can't see them as real adults. We're all just playing house or forever babysitting.
And I'm going to the zoo to take pictures of the animals.
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