job search – Learn Or Do

So much to do!

My to-do list has blossomed! I signed my offer letter this morning – now I feel like I need to be getting ready for a new school year.

My Apple Watch won’t hold a charge for a full day anymore and if I work out, it doesn’t last much past supper time. So I’m off to the Apple Store to see what they can do for me. Apple Watch 10 was announced yesterday! But I don’t think there’s that much difference between the 9 and the 10 so I may not wait. Here’s the announcement about Apple Watch 10 from Apple in case you’re interested: https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-10/?afid=p238%7Cs3R8IOVTb-dc_mtid_20925qtb42335_pcrid_712872752772_pgrid_166902453003_pexid__&cid=wwa-us-kwgo-watch-slid—NonCore-AppleWatchSeries10-Announce-
I have to be in the office 3 days a week once I start the new job – and their dress code is business casual. I haven’t been business casual since before Covid! My wardrobe mainly consists of jogger pants and t-shirts. So I’m going to need to do some shopping. I’m thinking along the lines of a capsule wardrobe to give myself a lot of flexibility but not a lot of expense. Here’s some info about a capsule wardrobe: https://theeleganceedit.com/a-business-casual-capsule-wardrobe
I’ll be shadowing someone for a while to learn new systems and processes so I’ll need to take a lot of notes. So what will I need? Office supplies! I love college ruled notebooks and who can start a new job without new pens? I’ll be checking out the leftover school supplies at Target.
I’m also trying to wrap up a couple of home projects before I’m consumed with the new job – I’m trying to get the dryer vent cleaned which has been MUCH more of a project than you would think. And I’m still working on the grass where I had a tree removed. It’s definitely a process and will include a trip to Lowe’s soon….
- And my social calendar is blowing up – I’m trying to pack as much fun as I can into the next 2 weeks so playtime with friends is a priority right now. Anyone want to meet for lunch? Dinner? A walk in the park? LOL!

So I’m off to the mall and Target – have a great day!

Yes – I took a week off the blog for Labor Day. I had company so I was distracted being a good hostess! And I also had an interview which resulted in a job offer! So after 8 months of job searching – I’m going to be working again!!!!!!!!

If all goes well with the background check timing, I’ll be starting as Program Management Lead Analyst – VP at Citi on September 23rd. I am OVER THE MOON excited! The job description is full of things I excel at – I couldn’t have written a better description of what I like to do myself so I think I’m going to be very happy in the role.

So I’m working to pack the next 2 weeks full of as much fun as possible to celebrate – and because I’ll need to jump into the new role head first. I have a LOT of learning to do but that’s when I’m happiest so YAY!!!!!!!

Throwback Thursday!

So I humiliated myself big time yesterday and to make myself laugh, I’m throwing back to the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to me.

Background: I grew up in Wapakoneta, Ohio which is most famous as being the hometown of Neil Armstrong. It’s a small town and my family and the Armstrong family were friends – my Dad and Neil were really good friends in their youth. The Armstrongs and my family went to the same church – which the remaining player in my story attended as well. Her name was Doris Weber – and she was in the same high school class as Neil.

So now we throw back to it being time for Doris and Neil’s 30 year class reunion. Doris was in charge of the reunion and had a reputation around town for putting on little “shows.” And as her actors/singers/dancers, she often recruited members of the Sunday school class she taught. That’s where I come in along with my friend Jenny. Jenny and I were about 14 at the time – which most women will tell you when they look back was a horrible age. Well, Doris decided that the theme of the “show” at the reunion would be a Hawaiian luau and that Jenny & I would be singing through it. The highlight of the show being when we went over to Neil, sat on his lap and sang “Fly Me to the Moon.” It’s been a lifetime since that night, but I still blush when I think about it. It was just horrible singing that particular song to a man I had known and idolized my whole life. The saving grace? He was as embarrassed as Jenny and I were. He never spoke of it again any time I saw him until his death – thankfully.

Jenny and I laugh about it today. But that is the MOST embarrassing thing that I’ve ever done!

Embarrassment

My health question today is – can you literally die of embarrassment? I did something epically dumb this morning that may cost me a new job. I confused a no email for a role at a company for a role where I am 2 rounds of interviews deep in the process with final interviews pending. A role that I have been pursuing for 11 weeks and think I could be a rock star in. And of course the person who has been my contact and could potentially be my boss is the one who pointed my error out to me. In my defense, the role titles and req numbers are very similar – I just didn’t check my job application spreadsheet before I leaped into disappointment. I would like to die of embarrassment this morning,

So I asked Chat GPT if you can die of embarrassment. The odds are low, but yes you can. Here’s what I got:

Yes, in rare cases, embarrassment can be fatal. For example, in 1860, a housemaid who was caught stealing food from a larder died suddenly after the incident, and doctors were unable to determine the cause. However, it’s likely that a sudden rush of adrenaline, similar to the one that occurs during stressful situations, was a factor. Another way to die from embarrassment indirectly is by not reporting a medical condition until it’s too late. For example, some people may be embarrassed about getting a colonoscopy, which can cause discomfort, but almost all patients don’t remember the procedure.

Embarrassment can also trigger self-destructive behaviors and suicidal thoughts and actions. Men may be especially vulnerable if they are confronted with evidence that they aren’t as smart, powerful, or brave as they think they should be.

Here are some tips for coping with embarrassment:

Practice self-compassion

Stay calm and take a deep breath

Laugh it off

Confront the situation

Learn from it

Treat yourself with grace and compassion

Acknowledge what really happened and own the situation or mistake

Spotlight levity

Remember that you are not alone

Distract yourself

I’ve definitely learned something from this. I need to learn to curb my tendency leap into disappointment during this job search. I’m trying to treat myself with grace and compassion – hope my potential new boss will too.

New Grass

I had a tree removed from my front yard about 3 weeks ago so after they removed the stump, I had an area that was just wood chips and mud. So I’m busily working to get grass growing there. Have you ever needed to seed lawn from scratch? Unfortunately, there’s no sod to be found around here right now so I seeded.

This is what AI told me to do:

Here are some steps you can take to seed a new lawn:

Prepare the soil. Remove weeds by hand or weed killer, and loosen the soil by raking. If the soil is compacted, you can aerate it. You can also add compost or topsoil if the soil is poor quality. Let the area cultivate for 10–14 days to encourage dormant weeds to appear, then remove them by hand.
Choose the right seed. Select a type of grass seed that’s suited to your climate and area.
Spread the seed. You can use a seed spreader or your hands to spread the seed evenly across the area. For larger areas, use a spreader and spread half the seeds in one direction and half in the other to create a crisscross pattern. The manufacturer’s instructions should indicate how much seed to use.
Rake the seed. Gently rake the seed into the soil to distribute it and cover it with a thin layer of soil. You can also firm down the seed with your foot or a roller to improve contact between the seed and soil.
Water the seeds. Water the seeds to soften the ends and start the germination process. Keep the soil moist for the first 10 days, and then water every two days for a month after the seeds germinate. You can reduce watering as the grass matures.
Apply fertilizer. You can apply a small amount of starter fertilizer near the seeds when you plant them to help the seedlings and sod roots establish.

I followed this pretty much to the letter but I haven’t fertilized yet. I did add a few bags of top soil to help level out the area but with all the watering, the soil has settled so it isn’t as level as it was when I started but that’s OK. I’ve been watering morning and evening every day since I put the seed down – I think this is the key to getting good results (especially when you plant in August!).

The grass is about 3″ tall and filling in nicely but I’ll be overseeding it in a couple of weeks to try to encourage more coverage and sod roots before winter.

So there you have it! This works for bare spots and worn areas too – give it a try in your yard!

Only a week until Labor Day?

Where did this summer go? Next Monday is Labor Day already! It’s the un-official end of summer – but what do you know about Labor Day – other than it’s a good excuse to have a party or cook-out?

Labor Day has some of its roots in the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago. So definitely NOT a party. And as the word riot implies, there was violence and several deaths. On May 4, 1886, workers from the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company were holding a peaceful protest in support of a strike over the demand for an 8 hour workday. An unknown person brought a bomb – and threw it at police who were trying to break up the rally. Between the bomb and police firing in retaliation, seven police officers and four civilians were killed – and dozens more were wounded.

If you’re in Chicago, you can see a memorial to the events in Haymarket Square on the New West Side at Randolph and Des Plaines Streets just east of Halstead Street.

Fall out from the riot lead to the arrest of of eight men and the trial Illinois vs August Spies et al which began on June 21 1886. It was a high profile, contentious trial with jurors who themselves professed that they had prejudice against the defendants. In the end, 7 of the 8 defendants were sentenced to death by hanging with the 8th defendant sentenced to 15 years in prison.

It’s a fascinating case. 7 of the 8 were foreign born and were labeled as anarchists by the judge. There were allegations of manufactured evidence and evidence tampering as well as press campaigns inspiring widespread public fear and hate of immigrants as well as strikers.

The convictions were appealed – but the petitions were denied. Illinois Governor Richard Oglesby commuted two of the death sentences to life in prison in November 1887. And one of the defendants committed suicide on the eve of the scheduled executions. The remaining four defendants were taken to the gallows on November 11, 1887 where they were hanged – but did not die immediately. Instead, they strangled to death slowly.

And even though there were convictions, they were for conspiracy. No actual bomber was ever brought to trial – let alone convicted. However, the Haymarket Riot was one of many labor actions which eventually lead to the establishment of an 8 hour work day. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill creating the Labor Day holiday as the first Monday in September in 1894.

Want to know more about the Haymarket Affair? Check out these links:

Friday Funny

Oak Leaf Mites?!

Turns out, what I thought was a patch of eczema last week, may actually have been an Oak Leaf Mite bite! What’s that you say? Well, I had never heard of them either but it seems that our giant cicada invasion this summer brought with it a surplus of Oak Leaf Mites.

Oak Leaf Mites – also known by their Latin name Pyemotes herfsi – are a tiny European mite species. Tiny? Barely visible to the naked eye at an average length of 0.2mm, the Oak Leaf mite is redish brown with a shiny exoskeleton. And because they are so tiny, you won’t just find them around oak trees – they easily blow around with the wind so you can get a bite even if you haven’t been close to an oak tree or even if you never go outside since they fit through the openings in window screens! Unlike other biting pests, DEET has mixed effectiveness for these mites so managing them is difficult.

Why do we have so many of them this year? Well, they LOVE to feast on other insects – and it turns out that the nests of 17 year cicadas that we had earlier this summer were just full of these mites. Yay? The good news is that by the end of this month, their lifecycle will come to a close and we can go back to our normal range of biting pests.

What does an Oak Leaf Mite bite look like? The bite generally presents like a pimple at the center of a red, irritated area – and it itches like crazy!

How to deal with a bite if you get one? In my case, the treatments I use for eczema were pretty effective. Hydrocortisone or calamine cream/lotions help a lot. I also slathered mine with Aveeno Eczema Therapy cream – the ceramides and colloidal oatmeal in that also help with the itch. I’m 2 weeks in with my bites and they are finally starting to calm down but it has been annoying. I’m definitely going to be glad when the bites – and the mites – are gone!

Want to learn more about the Oak Leaf Mite? Here are some resources:

Apple Pie

I was at the grocery yesterday and picked up a bag of Granny Smith apples. They are BEAUTIFUL. Like take a picture of them beautiful. Too pretty to bake a basic apple pie with. So I’ve been looking at recipes for apple pie variations to try out on this to-do Tuesday.

I think I’ve settled on this from Food & Wine Magazine – but now I need to run to the grocery again for Apricot preserves! And please note – I won’t be using their fancy pie crust but the jury is out on whether I make my own. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Here’s a link to the recipe for this Deep Dish All American Cinnamon Apple Pie – let me know if you try it too!

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/deep-dish-all-american-cinnamon-apple-pie

First day of school?

The kids in my neighborhood started back to school late last week. I can’t remember first days of grade school anymore – although first days at college are like yesterday!

When I was in grade school, we didn’t start back to school until after Labor Day so the idea of going back to school in mid-August would have freaked me out back then. My family usually took our vacations in mid/late August so going back to school this early would have caused all kinds of family drama!

Mostly I remember being excited about having a new 3 ring binder, new pencils/pens and new clothes. I still love having new office supplies – do you suppose that’s an echo of loving those new school year supplies?

My first day at college was really memorable. I had 3 roomies my first year at BGSU so that first day was all about figuring out how we were all going to live together. We didn’t get to meet prior to showing up on campus so there was a lot of discussion about how to arrange furniture, who would get what desk and what closet and meeting everyone on the hall. Could NOT have been more exciting for me – I’d never had a roommate before let alone 3! Then figuring out where classes were, how the cafeteria worked, applying for my on-campus jobs and of course working out where it was best to hang out!

I remember going for a walk around campus my first night at BGSU with one of my roomies. She was from the east coast and couldn’t figure out why I kept saying hi to people. Finally, she just asked me – do you KNOW all these people? And I laughed – I thought everyone just said hi to everyone! The difference between a Midwesterner and an East Coaster maybe?

But this is a good time of year to take stock and remember those firsts. I’m hoping to be rejoining the work force soon and having an adult version of the first day of school. Wish me luck!

Tag: job search