Posted by Sam on November 24, 2009
Going back to school was a big jump for me. I had thought that I would be working in retail sales for my entire life, but one day, I came to work and the store was closed. I guess business wasn’t as good as we all thought and our branch closed.
Faced with the prospect of finding another job, I thought to myself that this might be a good opportunity to finally follow my dreams and go back to school. Deep down, I always had a love for cooking and I thought that someday I could monetize my passion, but sadly that never happened.
Maybe this was my chance.
So, I enrolled in cooking school and it has been a grueling two months so far. I thought that I was good at cooking, but truth be told, I had no idea. In fact, the experience so far has been very trying and I have seen a number of my colleagues quit because they couldn’t handle the pressure.
But I have persevered and have finally been rewarded with a day off. I thought that I would do something fun today, but in the end, I have just ended up cooking. Alright, it isn’t for fun, but rather to practice for our exam on Friday – I hope I will be ready.
Technorati Tags: cooking school, cooking schools
Posted by SceneR on November 21, 2009
Your computer is probably one of the most important pieces of equipment that you use to get your job done each day. That’s why it is such a headache when your computer breaks down. Luckily you have a lot of options to help get you up and working even when this headache occurs.
Options for working when your computer breaks down include:
- Get a quick repair. If you have an IT guy who can help you out then by all means call him in and ask him to get that computer up and running as fast as possible.
- Do work that doesn’t require a computer. If you’re going to have to send your computer in for repairs then use that time to do any work that you can do which doesn’t require you to use the computer.
- Head to the local library. If you do need a computer then head to the local library or Internet cafe and use their public computers. Hopefully you’re using a cloud computing service (like Google Docs) so that you can access some of the files that you need from any computer that connects to the web.
- Look into computer rentals. If your computer will be down for a few days then you may want to get a laptop rental so that you can work from the office and from home while you wait for your computer.
Technorati Tags: computer rentals, laptop rental
Posted by SceneR on November 12, 2009
We’re still more than a month away from the New Year but I’m already starting to think about my resolutions. Actually, I don’t make resolutions so much as I make goals. I already have a list of goals I’d like to accomplish in my home office in 2010.
Those home office goals include:
- Reducing my use of paper. I print out way more documents than I need to print out. I want to get green and go paperless!
- Finding a better way to organize the paper and data that I do need to keep. I’m already looking into document management solutions and data storage solutions to assist me in completing this goal in the new year.
- Getting a business address. I use my home mailing address for my business needs but I want to get a P.O. Box for safety reasons this year.
- Getting out of the office more. I love my home office but I spend way too much time there. I want to work at coffee shops and co-work spaces more often. That’s going to require that I get a better laptop. I’m okay with that!
What are the goals that you have for the New Year? How many of them relate to improving life in your home office?
Technorati Tags: data storage solutions, document management solutions
Posted by Sam on October 24, 2009
If you were to ask anyone that knows me, they would tell you that I am very helpful. Chances are if you have ever asked me for help, or to volunteer for some event, I said yes. But as it turns out, saying “yes” is my fatal flaw, and this year it has got me into trouble.
I thought that this year would be different and that I would spend more time on my own interests than helping others out, but I knew in January that my goal was just not going to be attained. When I was asked then if I would be interested in managing teams for the community, can you guess what I said?
“Yes.”
It didn’t stop there. As it turned out, I have coached three different teams this year and it looks like they want me to coach the curling team as well. But what bothers me more is that I said “yes” when I was asked to be part of the HOA management committee for our condominium. All of a sudden I realized something:
There is no time for me.
So, I just don’t know what to do. Sure, I want to help out, but I feel so burdened with all the activities that I am helping out with, and I afraid that I am going to crack. What should I do? How do I get out of some of these commitments that I find myself burdened with?
Any thoughts on the matter would be highly appreciated – I just don’t know what to do.
Technorati Tags: HOA management, managing teams
Posted by SceneR on September 23, 2009
I regularly attend a medical support group with my father. He is a two-time transplant patient who goes to a monthly group to receive support from other people who have also dealt with traumatic ongoing medical conditions. I have learned a lot from attending this group with him. One of the things which I didn’t expect to learn about from this group was the state of Medicare in this country today.
I always thought that Medicare covered all of the expenses for elderly people who needed health care. What I’ve learned is that this isn’t true at all. Medicare does a great job of covering most of the costs of health care for the elderly. However, it doesn’t cover everything. The patient still has to pay a small percentage of the costs for himself. When you’re dealing with an ongoing medical condition or a big procedure like an organ transplant, even that small percentage can be very high.
Through my dad’s group, I’ve learned that there’s a solution to this problem. The solution is to purchase supplemental Medicare insurance which pays for the part of your health care that isn’t covered by Medicare. For example, if you look into affordable health insurance in Florida then you’ll discover that there’s a Florida Medigap program which you can invest in to cover these added health expenses. And what I’ve learned from Dad’s group is that it’s totally worth it!
Technorati Tags: affordable health insurance Florida, Florida Medigap
Posted by Sam on August 22, 2009
At the high school where I work in Colorado, we’re getting ready to produce the play, Look Homeward, Angel on October 8. It’s a Pulitzer Prize winning play based on the novel of the same name by author Thomas Wolfe.
The book is pretty complicated, yet the play is pretty straightforward. Still, I want to do the play a great deal of justice. I want to infuse the play with details from the novel, even though they might not be mentioned in the play. First off, I can definitely use the book’s character backgrounds to help the actors understand their roles better. It is rather semi-autobiographical, and refers to a number of actual places in North Carolina, like Chapel Hill. And the whole feeling-tone of the play suggests some mores and attitudes of that region. Although the play takes place in 1917, I still think I could get a grasp of the culture if I could experience it just a little bit.
So I was thinking of visiting the area, just to get a taste of the local flavor. I’ve been looking at rates and think I just might book a room at Sleep Inn. Durham, North Carolina will give me a nice taste of that region, I think.
Technorati Tags: Look Homeward Angel, mores, Sleep Inn Durham North Carolina