Running and Getting a Job

Lately, I have not felt the desire to run.  The only inspiration I have is from the running program I'm volunteering for and my husband.  I have a strange relationship to running.  I like what running physically does for me.  It keeps me in shape.  I gain muscles in my legs.  It helps me maintain weight and sometimes loose a little.  Overall, I feel running is the best way to stay in shape so it is my exercise of choice.  On the other hand, I hate running.  I don't like the pain.  It's a challenge that I feel is sometimes impossible to overcome and I think those who love running are crazy.  I have never loved running.  Despite the hatred, I just recently have come to realize I will never quit.  I've been off and on running since 2001.  Why haven't I quit?  For the reasons above.  My physical health is important to me.  

Last year I ran in several races, mostly 5Ks.  This year, I haven't run in a single one and I haven't signed up for any either.  First off, I work on weekends and most races are on the weekends.  Secondly, they are expensive.  Third, you get a lot of the same old crap race after race.  I really don't need any more t-shirts.  There is just one race I want to run in this year and it is the Hot Chocolate Race in Chicago.  I get excited just thinking about it.  =)  It is on the weekend and it is expensive but I get to be in downtown Chicago.  My favorite city in the US.  (Paris being my fave outside the US).  I also get an awesome jacket, not a t-shirt.  I get chocolate after the race AND lastly, they have a 15K which I've never raced.  Yea!  So if you like Chicago, chocolate, a cool jacket and a challenging, but not too challenging run, sign up.  Hmmm...Chicago, chocolate, cool jacket, and challenging run... the big 4 Cs.  Anyway, if you want to know how my race was last year, just go here. 

I have some pictures I've taken as of late and I feel the need to share them.  I just recently moved into a house, (Yea!) and I've been taking pictures of all the flowers that have been popping up.  The irises have been my favorite. 

 

I also have a new nephew and a new cousin. Well, the cousin isn't that new.  I just don't get to see that family very often.  

Lastly, I have a couple of tips for people looking for a job. There is a website called LinkedIn.  You can post your job experience on the site and find friends on there too but it is strictly networking for career purposes.  You cannot become friends with people who you don't know.  You can also join groups such as a group for alumni for your school.  Another tip I have for trying to get a job, print business/networking cards.  I got mine through Vistaprint.  Carry the cards around with you so when someone wants to know your contact information you can just give them a card.  You may be surprised by what happens.  I gave mine to someone and they said that they used to be a principal at a former school and starting asking me where I would like to get a teaching job.  The last tip I have is to send a thank you card to the people that interviewed you.  I just print my own with index sized cards I bought at Wal-Mart.  I have more tips I can share but I will save those for another day.  I leave you with an inspiring quote that helps me get through the tough times of applying for jobs over and over again.  

Believe in yourself, and you will succeed.  A plus tard!

Music, sewing, running and learning from our mistakes

Hello!  I hope everyone had a wonderful fall weekend.  I talked to my sister on Skype for free and she's in Australia.  If you don't know how to use this, you should learn how.  It's awesome being able to literally see my family when they are so far away.  The distance between us doesn't seem so bad then.

I also listened to a lot of music this weekend.  Well, honestly, I always do.  I listen to music through Pandora and I have several different stations.  I have a swing station, Michael Buble station, 3 Doors Down Station, Nature station and a Teen Pop station.  What I am doing and what type of mood I am in helps me choose which station I want to listen to.

On Saturday I was really proud of myself because I ran an hour.  I've been struggling with my running so I was even happier when I didn't have any problems.  My goal is to run a 10k on Halloween.  If I have another run like that I won't have any problems.  Perhaps the cooler weather is helping or perhaps my body is finally use to running.  Whatever the reason, I am happy.

I love crafts and I want to learn to sew.  Unfortunately, the only sewing machine I inherited was a 1930's Singer sewing machine that has one stitch that only goes forward.  It's cool but you can't do anything fancy with it.  Luckily, my sister-in-law has one she doesn't use.  Yea!  Now I need to stop knitting somehow and make time for sewing.  Hmmm....

Over the weekend I was sitting in my apartment reading my Popular Mechanics magazine and I came across an article about BP's oil spill.  It was a really good read and a good eye opener.  I didn't really know much about this incident.  All I kept hearing was how BP meant to do it and it was all of their fault and they took too long to fix the problem.  The only opinion I had on it was, "I don't know a thing about oil rigs so how can I possibly criticize?"  This article was good because it explained the timeline, the details of an oil rig and it explained it in simple terminology.  The article pretty much said it was many, many people's fault, not just BP's, and that part of the reason it happened was b/c the quicker they got the oil rig working, the less money it would cost.  They started off being 3 months late to begin with so there was added pressure from the very start.   They ignored warning signs which people had done previously with other oil rigs because they never had problems before.  The U.S. Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) was supposed to make sure they did everything safely and they didn't.  Several people were involved with making sure everything was safe.  The article compared it to Chernobyl or the space shuttle Challenger.  Those were also incidents that could have been prevented.  People got lax about safety precautions b/c there were no accidents and there was little chance of one happening and it blew up in there face.  Well, since then, MMS has been disbanded and made into a new organization and BP has lost billions of dollars.  The best thing you can do from mistakes is learn from them.  Unfortunately, it costs the lives of 11 people and many sea creatures. 

Lastily, the hubby and I are going to start looking for a house even though I don't have a full-time job.  First off, we could get a house that would be about the same as our rent.  Secondly, our house would probably go up in value over the next two years so we could make money off of it and get a bigger and better house later.  Third, we just want to get out of where we are now.  We are sick of loud college students and being cramped up in our apartment right now.  I want a place that is quieter and where I can sit outside and enjoy the weather.  I want to be able to have outdoor plants and not worry about some drunk college student knocking it over b/c he thinks it is funny.  So hopefully this goes well.  I am looking for another part-time job and I am hoping to get another before we start talking to a bank.  We'll see.  Good luck to us. 

Have a wonderful day.  Remember when you make a mistake, the best thing you can do is just learn from it. 

About this blog

I'm not sure how this blog is going to go but I'm just going to go with what I feel right now.  Right now I want to talk about the internet.  I love the internet.  There is just so much information out there.  One of my favorite things to do is read the articles on Yahoo!'s homepage.  The articles often have information that is just handy to know.  For example:

7 Things to Stop Doing Now on Facebook

Or sometimes there is just a story that gets me feeling a tad emotional like this one:

Gamers Lend Support to Widow It makes me realize that people can be very helpful and loving to one another.

Today I found one of my greatest discoveries through Yahoo! articles.  Well, I think it is a great discovery.

A Charmed Wife

It's blog by a woman who is 28 years old so instantly I felt a connection but she is a housewife.  She is full of great ideas of how to stay organized or how to clean more efficiently.  I love reading her blog and I've already done a couple of things she suggested doing such as boiling water and vinegar in your microwave so that it is easier to clean.  Her blog reminded me of something my husband said.  He said he read an article about how you can put your sponges in the microwave to kill off germs so I found an article on that.

Microwave Kills Germs in Sponges

I love handy tips and there are so many out there.  I will probably continue to post handy articles I've read on the web as well as talk about the daily activities in my life so I hope you enjoy this.  Au revoir!