Ever since starting my job at ASSIC/GIP, I have been keeping up with a blog in my free time on Office 365's Delve. It was a good opportunity to talk about things vaguely related to my company or my job. Unfortunately, Microsoft is ending support for the blogs and closing them down later this year. So, I decided to switch over to Blogger, which is probably better anyway.
In total, I did 28 blogs since I started in September. I'm going to move them over here, and I and you or anyone can use this to get to them quickly. I thought I'd also use this to explain briefly what each one is about. I'm not going to go to the trouble to link to each one, they should be on the right under "Blog Archive".
1. "Scam Calls" - The first post I did was about the scam calls I almost immediately started getting. It's short, but I go over other specific calls in another post.
2. "I'm Happy to Help" - This is basically my cry for help, as I was bored and just telling people that I'm willing to help with basically anything.
3. "My Ties to the Aviation Industry" - I have some family that's worked in the aviation industry that I talk about, as well as a brief history of my flying experiences.
4. "In Flight Experiences" - I talk about different experiences I have had while on a plane, what I like to drink and do on a plane, etc.
5. "Places I Want to Travel" - Self explanatory, just basically a bucket list of places I want to go before I die and why.
6. "My Favorite TV Shows and Movies that Involve Planes" - I was really stretching for topics related to my work, but it was a fun thing to write about.
7. "My Frugal and Money Saving Tips" - I talk about the various methods I have used or seen others use to save money. One of my longer posts.
8. "Working a typical Mon-Fri work week" - This job is my first occupation working Monday-Friday, so I go over the positives and negatives to that.
9. "The long, arduous process of a plane flight" - I go over the entire process of a plane flight, from packing and going to the airport to security and whatnot. There's quite a bit of sarcasm in this one.
10. "The many ways I've helped people" - This is almost a continuation of the "I'm Happy to Help" post, but this one I provide specific examples on how I've helped others in the past.
11. "Bonding outside of work" - I did this post right after having lunch with my coworkers for the first time. I talk about it and other past experiences hanging out with co-workers.
12. "Goals and Aspirations" - I talk about various goals I have; now while I'm not specific, I do have some.
13. "Ways to stay productive" - There are plenty of ways to stay productive, even when you have nothing to do, as I pointed out.
14. "Foreign languages" - Since we have a lot of bilingual people in our office, I talked about my experiences with other languages, mainly how I know a bit of German.
15. "Expanding on my skills" - On the Delve profile, one section is a list of professional skills, so I went over the skills I listed and how I acquired them.
16. "My Thoughts on Different Airports I've Been To" - I've only been to a small handful of airports, but each one is different and I went over their unique features
17. "My history with computers" - My personal favorite to write, I talk about my history in owning computers and laptops and how well they've fared for me.
18. "Losing weight tips" - I shared some tips I've picked up on how to lose weight, and it's more than just eating right and exercising. Now if I could only apply these...
19. "Experiences with Scam Calls" - By this point, I had gotten experience with quite a few different scam call attempts. This is basically a continuation of my first post simply titled, "Scam Calls".
20. "Commuting to Work" - I talk about the different ways I have gotten to my two jobs now which is more than just driving, and my plan to try to reduce my carbon footprint.
21. "Dressing up for Holidays at Work" - Right before Halloween I made this post, because I was planning on dressing up fairly extravagantly as a zombie. I explain the different ways I've dressed at work for different occasions.
22. "Working with Numbers" - A simple concept, but numbers are a part of most jobs in the world, and I explain how I've used math, memorization of numbers and more in my two jobs now.
23. "Christmas at Work" - I go over what it's like for me to work in the days leading up to Christmas and how I celebrate it and stay festive.
24. "Apples" - My boss owns an apple farm, and I used to work at a grocery store, so I go over my experience dealing with apples in both jobs.
25. "Helpful Links" - I shared some helpful links I had found while working at my current job.
26. "Computer Hints, Shortcuts, and How-To's" - I share some keyboard shortcuts that I had found while working my current job.
27. "Changes" - I talk about changes going on around me and in my life, and how they're inevitable and how it's better to just roll with the punches of life.
28. "Well, this sucks" - A post I made after finding out I will no longer be able to blog there. The only post that I didn't include a picture with.
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Helpful Links
Originally published January 22, 2020
Recently, I figured out how to link to various websites on here, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite links. These links have either helped me at work here, or they've at least helped pass the time in an informative way.
The Per Diem Calculator: This helped me calculate the per diem for my boss's trips he took last year. Per diem is the allocated amount someone gets for traveling to various destinations, usually internationally. It's used for tax purposes, mostly.
Currency Exchange Rates by Date: This helped me figure out the approximate exchange rate on a particular date. I have had to convert different currencies to U.S. dollar, and this website shows you the exchange rate for any currency on any date. Pretty handy.
Google Translate: Who hasn't heard of Google translate? Regardless, it has helped me translate things so I can understand what a particular foreign charge was for, as not everything was in English.
Report Google scam calls: Unfortunately, we get quite a few scam calls, most notably the Google business listing scam. Various automated voices have told us our Google business listing is in danger of being taken down, and each time a new number calls I use this link to report their number.
Merging and Rotating PDF Files: One thing I've had to do is assemble PDF files on items that were scanned. Unfortunately, those scans can be oriented incorrectly. The second link is the best one I found to rotate PDF documents. Then, once they were oriented correctly, I had to merge some of them into one file, so I used this first link to merge them into one. I wasn't able to find the best options on one website, but these two work really well for what I need, and best of all they are free.
Today's Front Pages: I've visited this website off and on for many years. They have the front page of most newspapers around the globe. It's good for checking in with current events for a particular area, and good for practicing translating. They had posted they were going to stop at the end of 2019, but in 2020 they are still updating with new front pages.
Recently, I figured out how to link to various websites on here, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite links. These links have either helped me at work here, or they've at least helped pass the time in an informative way.
The Per Diem Calculator: This helped me calculate the per diem for my boss's trips he took last year. Per diem is the allocated amount someone gets for traveling to various destinations, usually internationally. It's used for tax purposes, mostly.
Currency Exchange Rates by Date: This helped me figure out the approximate exchange rate on a particular date. I have had to convert different currencies to U.S. dollar, and this website shows you the exchange rate for any currency on any date. Pretty handy.
Google Translate: Who hasn't heard of Google translate? Regardless, it has helped me translate things so I can understand what a particular foreign charge was for, as not everything was in English.
Report Google scam calls: Unfortunately, we get quite a few scam calls, most notably the Google business listing scam. Various automated voices have told us our Google business listing is in danger of being taken down, and each time a new number calls I use this link to report their number.
Merging and Rotating PDF Files: One thing I've had to do is assemble PDF files on items that were scanned. Unfortunately, those scans can be oriented incorrectly. The second link is the best one I found to rotate PDF documents. Then, once they were oriented correctly, I had to merge some of them into one file, so I used this first link to merge them into one. I wasn't able to find the best options on one website, but these two work really well for what I need, and best of all they are free.
Today's Front Pages: I've visited this website off and on for many years. They have the front page of most newspapers around the globe. It's good for checking in with current events for a particular area, and good for practicing translating. They had posted they were going to stop at the end of 2019, but in 2020 they are still updating with new front pages.
Christmas at Work
Originally published December 6, 2019
My favorite holiday is easily Christmas. The lead-up to it is a month long, and there's no holiday that has more decorations, more songs about it, or more closures of businesses. Sure, there's a bit of stress that goes along with it, such as the shopping, decorating, wrapping gifts... but in the end, it's all worth it. At work, decorations can be seen across a wide variety of businesses, and many workplaces have employees exchange gifts.
At my last job, we didn't really exchange gifts, especially since there were so many of us. However, a couple times some of us that were closer (and hung out outside of work) exchanged gifts. I remember getting a long-sleeve Star Wars shirt from one of my friends/coworkers that I still wear to this day. I also exchanged Christmas cards with some of my co-workers as well.
But my favorite part of the holidays at work was the feast we had. Every year on Christmas Eve, we would have a large amount of food in the break room, from ham to turkey and vegetables and rolls. We'd usually have some deli food to go with it like Jo Jo's, chicken tenders, and/or chow mein. On a couple of these occasions, our supervisors would even let us out (or get backup to let us out) on unscheduled breaks to enjoy the food, which was nice. These feasts would also happen on the day before Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if they ever happened Christmas Day because I never worked it. I don't think so, from what I heard from my co-workers that worked Christmas Day.
As I said in my "Dressing up for Holidays at Work" post, I did just that. I liked to wear red and green whenever possible in the days leading up to Christmas. Our store would usually get decorated to a limited extent. I remember one year wrapping empty boxes to put up on top of the aisle end caps to make it look like Christmas gifts. We also would have a Salvation Army bell-ringer outside our store starting shortly after Thanksgiving. But my favorite part (sarcasm) was trying to sell Hunger Bags. The bags represented a $10 donation that our company would make to the local food bank. We were often encouraged to ask customers if they wanted to "buy a bag", which I was never too keen on. I did, however get a few donations that shocked me. One guy donated 10 bags ($100 worth) and someone else donated over 30! ($300!) Seeing the joy of giving at work was something special.
I wonder what we do here, if anything. I'm curious. Ever since seeing Secret Santa's done on TV shows (Friends, The Office), I've wanted to do one either with friends or coworkers. But I feel like if we were going to do that, we would've picked names by now. I can't say I know everyone here extremely well, but I know most of them well enough to know what sort of gift they'd like and appreciate.
The thing that is best about Christmas is it's a day to forget your troubles and enjoy time with family as you not only get to see what they got you, but see their reaction to what you got them. I have never worked Christmas Day and I don't plan on doing it ever. I certainly empathize with those that have to work Christmas. It's perhaps the one day out of all the year that work just stops for 24 hours. I honestly feel like all non-essential businesses should be closed.
I sure miss the says of the two-week long winter break that I had in school. That went from a week before Christmas to a day or two after New Years Day. It would be cool if my place of work did that, but I understand the loss of revenue/sales/business would cause it to be too detrimental. As I write this, Christmas is less than three weeks away. It always seems to sneak up on us. Can't wait!
My favorite holiday is easily Christmas. The lead-up to it is a month long, and there's no holiday that has more decorations, more songs about it, or more closures of businesses. Sure, there's a bit of stress that goes along with it, such as the shopping, decorating, wrapping gifts... but in the end, it's all worth it. At work, decorations can be seen across a wide variety of businesses, and many workplaces have employees exchange gifts.
At my last job, we didn't really exchange gifts, especially since there were so many of us. However, a couple times some of us that were closer (and hung out outside of work) exchanged gifts. I remember getting a long-sleeve Star Wars shirt from one of my friends/coworkers that I still wear to this day. I also exchanged Christmas cards with some of my co-workers as well.
But my favorite part of the holidays at work was the feast we had. Every year on Christmas Eve, we would have a large amount of food in the break room, from ham to turkey and vegetables and rolls. We'd usually have some deli food to go with it like Jo Jo's, chicken tenders, and/or chow mein. On a couple of these occasions, our supervisors would even let us out (or get backup to let us out) on unscheduled breaks to enjoy the food, which was nice. These feasts would also happen on the day before Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if they ever happened Christmas Day because I never worked it. I don't think so, from what I heard from my co-workers that worked Christmas Day.
As I said in my "Dressing up for Holidays at Work" post, I did just that. I liked to wear red and green whenever possible in the days leading up to Christmas. Our store would usually get decorated to a limited extent. I remember one year wrapping empty boxes to put up on top of the aisle end caps to make it look like Christmas gifts. We also would have a Salvation Army bell-ringer outside our store starting shortly after Thanksgiving. But my favorite part (sarcasm) was trying to sell Hunger Bags. The bags represented a $10 donation that our company would make to the local food bank. We were often encouraged to ask customers if they wanted to "buy a bag", which I was never too keen on. I did, however get a few donations that shocked me. One guy donated 10 bags ($100 worth) and someone else donated over 30! ($300!) Seeing the joy of giving at work was something special.
I wonder what we do here, if anything. I'm curious. Ever since seeing Secret Santa's done on TV shows (Friends, The Office), I've wanted to do one either with friends or coworkers. But I feel like if we were going to do that, we would've picked names by now. I can't say I know everyone here extremely well, but I know most of them well enough to know what sort of gift they'd like and appreciate.
The thing that is best about Christmas is it's a day to forget your troubles and enjoy time with family as you not only get to see what they got you, but see their reaction to what you got them. I have never worked Christmas Day and I don't plan on doing it ever. I certainly empathize with those that have to work Christmas. It's perhaps the one day out of all the year that work just stops for 24 hours. I honestly feel like all non-essential businesses should be closed.
I sure miss the says of the two-week long winter break that I had in school. That went from a week before Christmas to a day or two after New Years Day. It would be cool if my place of work did that, but I understand the loss of revenue/sales/business would cause it to be too detrimental. As I write this, Christmas is less than three weeks away. It always seems to sneak up on us. Can't wait!
Working with numbers
Originally published November 27, 2019
I love working with numbers. Never has that entirely been my job, but it's now been a part of my last two jobs. Ever since I was a kid learning math, I have always been at least above average at math, sometimes even being the best student in class. Numbers never change and once you know something (such as algebra), it can help you in more complex and difficult applications (such as calculus). I took Pre-Calc in high school, and then took three calculus classes in college. Anytime my job involves working with numbers, I enjoy that aspect of it, and I'm always good at it.
As I said, back in school, I was good with numbers. I once won a contest to memorize digits of Pi. I don't remember exactly how many I remembered, but it's helped me remember this much so far (without cheating): 3.14159265358979323846. I did more than that, but I still have those memorized at least. My favorite part of math was algebra, solving for x and whatnot.
At my past job, numbers did come in to play quite often. First off, I had to memorize PLU (Produce Look Up) codes for produce items. I picked that up very quickly, since they are only 4 or 5 digits long, and usually started with the same number (4). I would often impress my coworkers and customers when I would remember a PLU code for a very obscure produce item we wouldn't sell very often. I even memorized the bar codes of cases of water, soda, and cat litter because I typed those in often enough. Those were around 10 digits long. And then, it came in handy when I got trained for bookkeeping, as my math skills helped immensely (counting money, for one).
And now at this job, my skill with numbers is helping yet again. Currently, I'm having to add and find totals for various apple varieties for different fruit companies, which can be overwhelming due to the vast amount of numbers. But it helped me find matches between different reports to help verify the correct totals.
I just have a very good memory for numbers. I remember all of the addresses I've ever lived at. I remember phone numbers very well, even ones I hardly ever call or never call. When I'm watching a show or movie and a character has to remember a series of numbers, I try to see if I can do the same, which I usually can. If you ever need someone to remember a series of numbers or do some quick math for you, I'm your guy.
I love working with numbers. Never has that entirely been my job, but it's now been a part of my last two jobs. Ever since I was a kid learning math, I have always been at least above average at math, sometimes even being the best student in class. Numbers never change and once you know something (such as algebra), it can help you in more complex and difficult applications (such as calculus). I took Pre-Calc in high school, and then took three calculus classes in college. Anytime my job involves working with numbers, I enjoy that aspect of it, and I'm always good at it.
As I said, back in school, I was good with numbers. I once won a contest to memorize digits of Pi. I don't remember exactly how many I remembered, but it's helped me remember this much so far (without cheating): 3.14159265358979323846. I did more than that, but I still have those memorized at least. My favorite part of math was algebra, solving for x and whatnot.
At my past job, numbers did come in to play quite often. First off, I had to memorize PLU (Produce Look Up) codes for produce items. I picked that up very quickly, since they are only 4 or 5 digits long, and usually started with the same number (4). I would often impress my coworkers and customers when I would remember a PLU code for a very obscure produce item we wouldn't sell very often. I even memorized the bar codes of cases of water, soda, and cat litter because I typed those in often enough. Those were around 10 digits long. And then, it came in handy when I got trained for bookkeeping, as my math skills helped immensely (counting money, for one).
And now at this job, my skill with numbers is helping yet again. Currently, I'm having to add and find totals for various apple varieties for different fruit companies, which can be overwhelming due to the vast amount of numbers. But it helped me find matches between different reports to help verify the correct totals.
I just have a very good memory for numbers. I remember all of the addresses I've ever lived at. I remember phone numbers very well, even ones I hardly ever call or never call. When I'm watching a show or movie and a character has to remember a series of numbers, I try to see if I can do the same, which I usually can. If you ever need someone to remember a series of numbers or do some quick math for you, I'm your guy.
Dressing up for holidays at work
Originally published November 1, 2019
Whenever I get the chance to wear something unique to work, I take advantage of that opportunity. Who wants to wear the same boring old outfits every single day? Holidays and special occasions are a good way to break up the monotony of the work day, and it also works as a conversation starter. I am going to discuss my history with dressing up for certain occasions, and how I take advantage of different holidays and special occasions.
Dressing Down: At my past retail job, we were given the opportunity to dress down on certain occasions. The first time this happened was when we donated a certain amount of money to our current fundraiser (usually around $10 each) and wore a button saying we are dressing down to support that fundraiser. It showed customers that we cared about the fundraiser at the time, whether that be breast cancer research, muscular dystrophy, or prostate cancer research. Unfortunately my place of work stopped doing that; I think because too many people weren't donating and also dressing down, and it was too hard to keep track of. And also because our store wanted to be a bit more professional, and too many people weren't even abiding by the dress down dress code. The second opportunity was for employee appreciation week. Management allowed us to dress down so long as our store was doing well enough on the customer satisfaction surveys, which it always was. I again took advantage to get out of my work uniform. At my current job, just like at a lot of places, we have casual Friday's, so I wear my jeans on Friday's and so far Seahawks gear on every Friday as well (see below).
Seahawks/College football games: Also at my old place of work, they allowed us to wear football jerseys and shirts during football season. Fridays were "Blue Friday" and we could wear Seahawks gear. Saturdays were for college games so we could wear the gear of our favorite local team, whether that be the Washington Huskies or Washington State Cougars. Sundays were usually for Seahawks games and we could again wear Seahawks gear, although this day was sometimes on Monday or Thursday if the Seahawks played on those days. I always took advantage of wearing my plethora of Seahawks gear, and usually took advantage to wear something Huskies or Cougars related on Saturdays. At my current place of work, since I work Monday through Friday, I can really only represent on Fridays for the Seahawks and I have every Friday so far. However, the Seahawks already played a Thursday night game, and I happily supported them then, and they play a Monday night game in just a couple weeks so I will support them at work yet again.
Halloween: Halloween is tomorrow as of me writing this and I am planning on wearing a costume. I wore a costume every year at work with varying degrees of effort put into them. A couple times I was Harry Potter. I have also been a Seahawks player, Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Star Lord, and a nerd. I had to stay work appropriate and I couldn't wear masks. I am a huge fan of dressing up for Halloween, and I love shopping for costumes.
Christmas: Christmas is my favorite holiday. I've never had to work Christmas day fortunately, but I have had to work Christmas Eve almost every year. Around the time leading up to Christmas, I love to wear Christmas colors; wearing red and green every chance I get. I have both a green and red sweater I can wear around that time. This year I plan to do the same.
Patriotic Days: I love my country and I do my best to support it whenever certain patriotic holidays roll around. On the 4th of July, I've been known to wear patriotic wristbands, undershirts, and red and blue beads. Those days I would recognize would be Memorial Day, 4th of July/Independence Day, 9-11/Patriot Day, and Veteran's Day. I have had to work all of those days at my previous job, and always did my best to show my patriotic colors, even though I still had to wear my work uniform.
St. Patrick's Day: I don't think I have ever not worn green for St. Patrick's Day. As long as I have been dressing myself, I have worn something green on March 17th. Just like with patriotic holidays, I do my best to show off my colors by wearing wristbands, undershirts, and necklace(s) of that color, in which this case would be green. Now that I don't have to wear the standard work attire as everyone else, I will definitely try to wear even more green next St. Patrick's Day.
There aren't really any other holidays you can "dress up" for, but as you can tell I always did my best to recognize certain holidays and occasions, and I took advantage of any opportunity to dress differently.
Whenever I get the chance to wear something unique to work, I take advantage of that opportunity. Who wants to wear the same boring old outfits every single day? Holidays and special occasions are a good way to break up the monotony of the work day, and it also works as a conversation starter. I am going to discuss my history with dressing up for certain occasions, and how I take advantage of different holidays and special occasions.
Dressing Down: At my past retail job, we were given the opportunity to dress down on certain occasions. The first time this happened was when we donated a certain amount of money to our current fundraiser (usually around $10 each) and wore a button saying we are dressing down to support that fundraiser. It showed customers that we cared about the fundraiser at the time, whether that be breast cancer research, muscular dystrophy, or prostate cancer research. Unfortunately my place of work stopped doing that; I think because too many people weren't donating and also dressing down, and it was too hard to keep track of. And also because our store wanted to be a bit more professional, and too many people weren't even abiding by the dress down dress code. The second opportunity was for employee appreciation week. Management allowed us to dress down so long as our store was doing well enough on the customer satisfaction surveys, which it always was. I again took advantage to get out of my work uniform. At my current job, just like at a lot of places, we have casual Friday's, so I wear my jeans on Friday's and so far Seahawks gear on every Friday as well (see below).
Seahawks/College football games: Also at my old place of work, they allowed us to wear football jerseys and shirts during football season. Fridays were "Blue Friday" and we could wear Seahawks gear. Saturdays were for college games so we could wear the gear of our favorite local team, whether that be the Washington Huskies or Washington State Cougars. Sundays were usually for Seahawks games and we could again wear Seahawks gear, although this day was sometimes on Monday or Thursday if the Seahawks played on those days. I always took advantage of wearing my plethora of Seahawks gear, and usually took advantage to wear something Huskies or Cougars related on Saturdays. At my current place of work, since I work Monday through Friday, I can really only represent on Fridays for the Seahawks and I have every Friday so far. However, the Seahawks already played a Thursday night game, and I happily supported them then, and they play a Monday night game in just a couple weeks so I will support them at work yet again.
Halloween: Halloween is tomorrow as of me writing this and I am planning on wearing a costume. I wore a costume every year at work with varying degrees of effort put into them. A couple times I was Harry Potter. I have also been a Seahawks player, Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Star Lord, and a nerd. I had to stay work appropriate and I couldn't wear masks. I am a huge fan of dressing up for Halloween, and I love shopping for costumes.
Christmas: Christmas is my favorite holiday. I've never had to work Christmas day fortunately, but I have had to work Christmas Eve almost every year. Around the time leading up to Christmas, I love to wear Christmas colors; wearing red and green every chance I get. I have both a green and red sweater I can wear around that time. This year I plan to do the same.
Patriotic Days: I love my country and I do my best to support it whenever certain patriotic holidays roll around. On the 4th of July, I've been known to wear patriotic wristbands, undershirts, and red and blue beads. Those days I would recognize would be Memorial Day, 4th of July/Independence Day, 9-11/Patriot Day, and Veteran's Day. I have had to work all of those days at my previous job, and always did my best to show my patriotic colors, even though I still had to wear my work uniform.
St. Patrick's Day: I don't think I have ever not worn green for St. Patrick's Day. As long as I have been dressing myself, I have worn something green on March 17th. Just like with patriotic holidays, I do my best to show off my colors by wearing wristbands, undershirts, and necklace(s) of that color, in which this case would be green. Now that I don't have to wear the standard work attire as everyone else, I will definitely try to wear even more green next St. Patrick's Day.
There aren't really any other holidays you can "dress up" for, but as you can tell I always did my best to recognize certain holidays and occasions, and I took advantage of any opportunity to dress differently.
Commuting to work
Originally published October 25, 2019
I have been in the American workforce for over a decade now, and with working comes the commute to and from work each day. I have been a licensed driver in the state of Washington for over 14 years, but I don't always like driving. For one, driving can be stressful, especially if there is traffic. Also, anytime I drive it costs fuel and adds to the wear and tear on my car, adding miles and whatnot. So, if and when I get the chance, I like to take alternative forms of transportation to get to work to not only save money but to get a little bit more exercise.
I have been in the American workforce for over a decade now, and with working comes the commute to and from work each day. I have been a licensed driver in the state of Washington for over 14 years, but I don't always like driving. For one, driving can be stressful, especially if there is traffic. Also, anytime I drive it costs fuel and adds to the wear and tear on my car, adding miles and whatnot. So, if and when I get the chance, I like to take alternative forms of transportation to get to work to not only save money but to get a little bit more exercise.
In the first few years of my first job, I lived close enough that I could walk to work. I lived just less than a mile away, so it made sense to walk when I could. But unfortunately, that wasn't very often. I couldn't walk if I worked too early or too late (dark hours, in other words), and I really preferred not to walk when I had a long shift in front of me, because that made working an eight hour retail shift that much tougher. Anyone that's worked a long retail shift where you stand on your feet all day knows your feet hurt enough from standing and adding walking to and from work to that can be borderline torture. But if I had a shorter shift somewhere during the day, I did my best to walk to work. It took longer, but I could listen to music on the way or just think about my day ahead. This was also preferred by my parents because in the first few years of my job, I didn't have my own car so I had to drive my parents' car to work.
Eventually, however, I moved out of my parents' place, which as I said was close to my first job. However, my new place was about 5 miles away from my job. I therefore lost the ability to walk to work. But, I was able to find a bus route that took me from close to home to close to work. There was still a bit of walking involved, but not as much as walking all the way to work from my parent's place. I therefore tried taking the bus when I could, but it was tough because all the buses that could take me home stopped running around 6, 7 o'clock, and I usually worked until at least then, if not later. On occasion I would get an earlier, shorter shift so I would do my best to take the bus on those days, and I eventually got an Orca card to make it much more convenient. And honestly, I love taking the bus (so long as it's not too crowded), because I can do anything on my phone like play games, watch videos, and text people, that I would not be able to do if I was driving.
After leaving my last job and working here, I found there is another bus route that can take me from close to home to close to here. I then took that bus to work. It cuts it close to me being on time, but I always have the option to stay late if need be to make up for it. What is brilliant about this setup is that if I take the bus to work, I do not have to take the bus home. I am fortunate enough that my girlfriend (Whom I live with) works less than a mile away from me. She gets off an hour after I do, so that gives me plenty of time to get off and walk over to her work, so we can carpool home together. I saw that if I were to take the bus home, I would get home just a little bit sooner than her, so there's not really a reason to pay an unnecessary bus fare when it won't even get me home that much sooner than if I were to carpool.
Eventually, however, I moved out of my parents' place, which as I said was close to my first job. However, my new place was about 5 miles away from my job. I therefore lost the ability to walk to work. But, I was able to find a bus route that took me from close to home to close to work. There was still a bit of walking involved, but not as much as walking all the way to work from my parent's place. I therefore tried taking the bus when I could, but it was tough because all the buses that could take me home stopped running around 6, 7 o'clock, and I usually worked until at least then, if not later. On occasion I would get an earlier, shorter shift so I would do my best to take the bus on those days, and I eventually got an Orca card to make it much more convenient. And honestly, I love taking the bus (so long as it's not too crowded), because I can do anything on my phone like play games, watch videos, and text people, that I would not be able to do if I was driving.
After leaving my last job and working here, I found there is another bus route that can take me from close to home to close to here. I then took that bus to work. It cuts it close to me being on time, but I always have the option to stay late if need be to make up for it. What is brilliant about this setup is that if I take the bus to work, I do not have to take the bus home. I am fortunate enough that my girlfriend (Whom I live with) works less than a mile away from me. She gets off an hour after I do, so that gives me plenty of time to get off and walk over to her work, so we can carpool home together. I saw that if I were to take the bus home, I would get home just a little bit sooner than her, so there's not really a reason to pay an unnecessary bus fare when it won't even get me home that much sooner than if I were to carpool.
In my life I have probably commuted to work by car over 95% of the time just because it is easier and I don't have to plan for it. I would love to be able to reduce that and take the bus more often. I think I'll start out slow, taking the bus once every two weeks, then once a week, then two times a week, then maybe I might occasionally get to three times a week. I think I could get used to it so long as I gradually ease myself into it and get used to the different schedule. It also helps that King County Metro has made it so much easier for people with the introduction of Orca Cards, where you can load your cards with funds and check their balances online. I just wish everyone else made even as much effort as I do to either walk or take the bus, because if they did, the roads during rush hour would be a lot less crowded.
Addition, March 12: I am moving later this month to a place in Bothell, so my commute is about to get worse. Checking Google maps, they say it takes anywhere from 27 minutes to over an hour to get to work. Lovely. I also checked for buses and I'd have to take multiple buses to get to work. That would take even longer, or at least I'd have to get up earlier for it. I may get a Good-To-Go pass so that I can travel in the toll lanes and travel along 405 much quicker. I'll have to see how it is first, so time will tell.
Addition, March 12: I am moving later this month to a place in Bothell, so my commute is about to get worse. Checking Google maps, they say it takes anywhere from 27 minutes to over an hour to get to work. Lovely. I also checked for buses and I'd have to take multiple buses to get to work. That would take even longer, or at least I'd have to get up earlier for it. I may get a Good-To-Go pass so that I can travel in the toll lanes and travel along 405 much quicker. I'll have to see how it is first, so time will tell.
Experiences with scam calls
Originally published November 6, 2019
My first post on here was about scam calls and how I handle them, but it was not very lengthy and I didn't really have too many examples to draw on. Now that I have worked at my current position for a month and a half now, I think I have built up a nice collection of phone calls that have not been for legitimate business purposes. Here are a few that stand out:
- The most obvious scam attempt
I would say the single most obvious scam attempt was a call I got a few weeks ago. There was a delay before they started speaking of course, but in that delay I could hear background noise (perhaps other scammers trying to scam other innocent individuals). I was just about to hang up, but decided to ask "Hello?" because I heard the background noise. Then someone with a bit of an accent said "Hello?" I then asked him how I could help him. He then shouted my boss's/our company president's name. Didn't ask to speak with him; just shouted his name. And not in the form of a question, either. The caller ID said "Out of Area" with no phone number attached to it, so I asked "May I ask what this call is regarding?" And he promptly hung up. This call may have been made from across the world for all I know, and it seems like this is a scam-baiting attempt where they probably call hundreds and hundreds of businesses a day, hoping to get a hold of a business owner and attempt to scam them.
- "Myron" and their frequent attempts to sell us stuff again
This isn't so much a scam, but more of a telemarketing call. In any case, it's an unwanted call. It seems like at least once a week a company named "Myron" calls and asks to speak to my CEO. They are a promotional materials company based in New Jersey. Apparently, my CEO and our company have done business with them before. From what I have gathered by doing research on their phone number, they are a company that will incessantly try to reach a business to try to reestablish a business relationship with them. I can tell by how she ignores their call that she has absolutely no desire to do business with them again, and I don't blame her. I've started ignoring their calls because I recognize their phone number (Their caller ID shows up as "Out of Area" but at least has a phone number). I may one time in the future just tell them that we're not interested. Apparently, the combination of Lisa and myself ignoring their calls may not be enough to get them to take a hint.
- The robot that could respond to what I said
This call happened just to me recently. Earlier that same day that I got the call and even the day before, I had gotten a few calls from a Florida phone number with the caller ID saying "Talada Lowell". Through some research, I actually found out this phone number belongs to a Lowell Talada that lives there in Florida. Anyway, the first few times they called, it was a silent call. However, on the 3rd or 4th time, I heard an automated voice. You know how when you call a company and you hear an automated menu? It sounded a bit like that. However, this automated voice (male, by the way) asked how I was doing. I responded, "Well, how about you?" They responded by saying "Ah bless you, I'm doing well." I just thought that was interesting. They then want on a spiel to say they represented an insurance company and were going to offer me life insurance (which I already have). This voice then asked, "So to get things started, how old are you?" Obviously I am not going to tell a strange voice over the phone my age, so I said, "I'm actually not interested, I already have life insurance." They then promptly hung up without so much as a pause. So to sum up, some poor old man's phone number was hijacked by this insurance company, and it was the strangest responsive automated voice.
- The Google Listing Scam
I have gotten a few of these, and they were all over a three day span or so. After a delay (of course), an automated female voice says, "Don't hang up". Yes, that makes it sound really legit! NOT. She then goes on to say that our business is in danger of having its listing on Google removed. She then says, "Press 1 to keep your listing", then goes on to say, "If you are the owner, press 1", so in a way she contradicts herself. Then she says, "If you'd like taken off the call list, press 7." I've tried pressing 7, but they just called back again later. I also just stayed on the line, but eventually the call disconnects. Each time they called with a Washington area phone number, usually one with area code (425), which is where we are. It seems like they have stopped calling us, but it sure was weird.
-Three automated calls in six minutes from either PSE or Corix Utilities
Also recently I got a series of phone calls from an automated voice that claimed to be Puget Sound Energy, our local power provider. However, the Caller ID said "Corix Utilities" and the area code for their number is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They said that they'd need access to our power meter basically. After some research, I've seen many other people get calls from this number claiming to be for their local power provider (Not PSE). Honestly, I cannot figure out what their angle is. I can't figure out what they are trying to accomplish with these automated calls. Also, these calls came in quick succession, and the 2nd one came in while I was listening to the first! And it was the same number, somehow. The third one came five minutes after the 2nd one, so all three were in a total of just six minutes. All said the same thing.
- How I could pocket $10,000 every two weeks
This one was while I was out of office, but it's a fairly common one from what I've gathered. It was an automated voice that had already started its spiel when it was time to leave a message. It said to press 3 if I was to find out exactly how to start putting $10,000 or more in my pocket every 10-14 days. He finishes with press 9 and I'll never hear from him again. I love how these automated systems don't know they're leaving messages that we cannot press buttons on our phones to interact with them. By the way, his voice sounded like someone crafted a salesman's voice in a lab until it was absolutely perfectly sounded like a salesman.
My first post on here was about scam calls and how I handle them, but it was not very lengthy and I didn't really have too many examples to draw on. Now that I have worked at my current position for a month and a half now, I think I have built up a nice collection of phone calls that have not been for legitimate business purposes. Here are a few that stand out:
- The most obvious scam attempt
I would say the single most obvious scam attempt was a call I got a few weeks ago. There was a delay before they started speaking of course, but in that delay I could hear background noise (perhaps other scammers trying to scam other innocent individuals). I was just about to hang up, but decided to ask "Hello?" because I heard the background noise. Then someone with a bit of an accent said "Hello?" I then asked him how I could help him. He then shouted my boss's/our company president's name. Didn't ask to speak with him; just shouted his name. And not in the form of a question, either. The caller ID said "Out of Area" with no phone number attached to it, so I asked "May I ask what this call is regarding?" And he promptly hung up. This call may have been made from across the world for all I know, and it seems like this is a scam-baiting attempt where they probably call hundreds and hundreds of businesses a day, hoping to get a hold of a business owner and attempt to scam them.
- "Myron" and their frequent attempts to sell us stuff again
This isn't so much a scam, but more of a telemarketing call. In any case, it's an unwanted call. It seems like at least once a week a company named "Myron" calls and asks to speak to my CEO. They are a promotional materials company based in New Jersey. Apparently, my CEO and our company have done business with them before. From what I have gathered by doing research on their phone number, they are a company that will incessantly try to reach a business to try to reestablish a business relationship with them. I can tell by how she ignores their call that she has absolutely no desire to do business with them again, and I don't blame her. I've started ignoring their calls because I recognize their phone number (Their caller ID shows up as "Out of Area" but at least has a phone number). I may one time in the future just tell them that we're not interested. Apparently, the combination of Lisa and myself ignoring their calls may not be enough to get them to take a hint.
- The robot that could respond to what I said
This call happened just to me recently. Earlier that same day that I got the call and even the day before, I had gotten a few calls from a Florida phone number with the caller ID saying "Talada Lowell". Through some research, I actually found out this phone number belongs to a Lowell Talada that lives there in Florida. Anyway, the first few times they called, it was a silent call. However, on the 3rd or 4th time, I heard an automated voice. You know how when you call a company and you hear an automated menu? It sounded a bit like that. However, this automated voice (male, by the way) asked how I was doing. I responded, "Well, how about you?" They responded by saying "Ah bless you, I'm doing well." I just thought that was interesting. They then want on a spiel to say they represented an insurance company and were going to offer me life insurance (which I already have). This voice then asked, "So to get things started, how old are you?" Obviously I am not going to tell a strange voice over the phone my age, so I said, "I'm actually not interested, I already have life insurance." They then promptly hung up without so much as a pause. So to sum up, some poor old man's phone number was hijacked by this insurance company, and it was the strangest responsive automated voice.
- The Google Listing Scam
I have gotten a few of these, and they were all over a three day span or so. After a delay (of course), an automated female voice says, "Don't hang up". Yes, that makes it sound really legit! NOT. She then goes on to say that our business is in danger of having its listing on Google removed. She then says, "Press 1 to keep your listing", then goes on to say, "If you are the owner, press 1", so in a way she contradicts herself. Then she says, "If you'd like taken off the call list, press 7." I've tried pressing 7, but they just called back again later. I also just stayed on the line, but eventually the call disconnects. Each time they called with a Washington area phone number, usually one with area code (425), which is where we are. It seems like they have stopped calling us, but it sure was weird.
-Three automated calls in six minutes from either PSE or Corix Utilities
Also recently I got a series of phone calls from an automated voice that claimed to be Puget Sound Energy, our local power provider. However, the Caller ID said "Corix Utilities" and the area code for their number is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They said that they'd need access to our power meter basically. After some research, I've seen many other people get calls from this number claiming to be for their local power provider (Not PSE). Honestly, I cannot figure out what their angle is. I can't figure out what they are trying to accomplish with these automated calls. Also, these calls came in quick succession, and the 2nd one came in while I was listening to the first! And it was the same number, somehow. The third one came five minutes after the 2nd one, so all three were in a total of just six minutes. All said the same thing.
- How I could pocket $10,000 every two weeks
This one was while I was out of office, but it's a fairly common one from what I've gathered. It was an automated voice that had already started its spiel when it was time to leave a message. It said to press 3 if I was to find out exactly how to start putting $10,000 or more in my pocket every 10-14 days. He finishes with press 9 and I'll never hear from him again. I love how these automated systems don't know they're leaving messages that we cannot press buttons on our phones to interact with them. By the way, his voice sounded like someone crafted a salesman's voice in a lab until it was absolutely perfectly sounded like a salesman.
There have been quite a few others not as memorable, most of them being silent calls. I'd say about 2/3 of all scam/spam calls are just silent calls. Sometimes the line disconnects before I can even finish my greeting. I think there are some phone systems out there that are programmed to hang up unless they hear the word "Hello". That is the standard greeting for when an individual answers a phone, but not a business. And individuals are much more susceptible to getting scammed than businesses (or people at work, for that matter).
Losing Weight Tips
Originally published October 25, 2019
Much like I did with my Frugal and Money saving tips post, I am doing another advice-type post. This one will be on losing weight. Now, I will admit I am not the best person to share advice on this as I am a bit overweight. I just need to stick to these things I am about to share because I know how to to do it, I just need to do it. However, like most people, my weight has fluctuated throughout my adult life, which does include losing weight so I know how to do it. I have lost 20-25 pounds at one point in my life. I will share my weight-loss tips and how I am going to follow through with them. Forewarning: This is a long post as I have a lot of tips, but if anyone follows most of these, I bet they will lose weight.
- Drink plenty of water
Water is a known appetite suppressant. Especially if you drink it about 30-45 minutes before your mealtime. I now work in an office setting with a water jug, and I am drinking 6-8 mug fulls of water each work day (Which is anywhere between 40-60 ounces). And that's just while I'm at work. I also bring a water bottle that I leave in my car that I drink to and from work. Some people really don't like drinking water citing its tastelessness, but as long as its cold, I really like drinking it. However, adding sweeteners with sugar or artificial sweeteners takes away a lot of the benefits of water, such as Mio and Crystal Light packets. If you really don't like the taste of plain, even cold water, try sweetening it with some sort of fruit like a citrus fruit (Orange, lemon, lime) or berries. In this case, it would be worth investing in a water bottle that is a fruit infuser that will slowly over time infuse your water with the fruit you drop in. Plus you get the added benefits of the nutrients from the fruit. Just find a way to keep yourself hydrated, especially before mealtimes.
- Drink less sugary beverages
But you cannot hydrate yourself with sugary beverages. One problem I've had is that I have been known to drink a lot of sugary beverages. It's not just soda, but certain flavored teas, juices (with sugar added), sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened coffees. These types of beverages probably are a huge factor towards our country's obesity epidemic, because a lot of people don't realize that just by drinking bad stuff, they can gain weight. They could have a perfectly healthy food diet, but if they drink sugary beverages all day every day, they will probably gain weight. I am therefore trying to primarily drink water, fruit juices (with natural sugars only) or low or no sugar teas with meals. Sugars get converted to energy in our bodies and if we don't use them, they get stored as fat.
- Get more physical activity, even if it's just walking
Our bodies were designed to move. In the age of cavemen, before the industrial age and the age of computers and cars, we constantly were on the move. A lot of us, myself included, work jobs that don't have enough physical activity in them. So we must get physical activity in some way. An extra bit of walking can go a long ways if done on a consistent basis. I am starting to go for walks on my lunch breaks when there's time (3 times a week at least, provided it doesn't rain). Also, I am starting to work out for short periods after I get home. Once I get home, I don't usually and instantly want to veg out the rest of the night, because I still have some energy. Anyone who works at a desk and sits most of the day should have enough energy to work out after work. The problem is if I start vegging after I get home, it is very hard to stop and get up and do something physically active. So, my plan is to work out before all that and then rest afterwards. The more physical activity, the better, but as is the case with a lot of us, there's usually not a lot of time to get physical activity. But there are little things you can do in your daily routine even if you don't have much free time: Park further away so you have to walk further, take the stairs instead of an elevator/escalator, and walk somewhere for lunch rather than drive. If ever given a choice that involves physical activity, choose the option that takes more physical activity if you can. It's good for you.
- Eat out less
When we eat out, we have a tendency to not only overeat but eat less healthy than if we ate at home. Restaurant foods tend to be filled with sodium, sugar, and fat. Most restaurants care more about making the food taste good (to get you to come back) than the health and nutrition of the food. The wait staff of course try to tempt you with dessert and/or appetizers as well, because the larger the bill, the more tip they get. For lunches, try to bring your lunch to work as much as possible rather than always going somewhere to eat. If you work at a place that sells ready to eat food, (like I used to), do your very best to limit yourself on the amount of times you eat from there. I've seen and heard multiple stories where people start working in fast food or at a grocery store that gained weight because they ate there too often. Heck, I'm one of them! Anyway, eating out less will not only save your waistline but it'll save money in your wallet as well. Save eating out for special occasions, and then when you do, pay attention to the caloric intake of each dish, because most restaurants nowadays have the calorie amount on their menu. Anything over 1,000 calories should be avoided.
- Don't push yourself too hard too fast with your workouts
One problem I've had is trying to push myself too hard and too fast, thus resulting in me giving up on working out because I wasn't able to complete a particular workout. Depending on your fitness level, find a workout that suits you. I own a copy of the "Insanity" workout program, which I do not recommend to beginners. Even when I was in better shape, it was very tough to do. I considered starting that again recently, but I decided I need to be in better shape (and focus on losing weight) first. There are a ton of workout apps out there and I found one that works for me that gives me the option to choose beginner, intermediate, or expert. I chose beginner so that when I am ready I can move on to intermediate and then expert. Know your fitness level and what you are capable of. The key is to push yourself, but only a little at a time. Do not get discouraged because you get tired quickly. Just slowly and incrementally push yourself a little bit more each time.
- Shop for what you need and what's on your list
When you go food/grocery shopping, make a list beforehand of things you need to prepare meals for the coming week or few days (depending on how often you can shop). Of course, make healthier dinners filled with vegetables and healthy meats and then shop for the ingredients for them. Then when you go shopping, do not buy anything not on your list. It can be tempting because bad for you food items are often put in the most well-lit and prominent areas of the store. Just say no. It might be a good idea to only bring enough money for what's on your list, provided you know the cost of each item.
- Know it takes time to lose weight
If I had a nickel for every time I looked at the scale and wondered why I wasn't losing weight faster, I would have quite a bit more money. Losing weight takes time, and depending on how intense you are dieting/exercising, it may take a while for results to appear. The key is to not get discouraged and keep at it. Don't let the results of the scale get you down and make you want to quit; if anything, it should motivate you. Some weeks you might even gain weight if you're doing strength exercises like push-ups or lifting weights. That just means your body is converting fat into muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. If you're more into actually shedding some pounds, focus on cardio exercises that get your heart rate going such as running, dancing, and aerobics. And even if you're working out and dieting intensely the pounds may not shed that quickly. The key is how long you can keep at it, not how intensely you work at it in a short amount of time.
- Eat in moderation and plan your meals out more
As far as diets and what to eat goes, my advice is two-fold. One, eat in moderation. First off, don't over-indulge if you can help it. It helps to eat slower so that your stomach has time to register what you've eaten and tell your body that it's full. Also, if you happen to have a fairly large breakfast or lunch, have a lighter dinner. Or if you know you're going to have a larger dinner, have a lighter lunch. And to go along with that is my second point, which is to plan out your meals. Don't decide last second what you are going to eat, because more than likely that can result in ordering unhealthy takeout or fast food. If you plan your meals ahead of time, you'll more than likely stick to them and eat healthier in the long run.
- Eat a light meal when you know you aren't doing much physical activity in the near future
To go along with the tip above, if you're trying to lose weight, try your best to eat a light meal if you won't be working out until after your next meal. Our bodies are like cars in a way. If a car doesn't run, it doesn't need gas/fuel, does it? Our bodies are pretty similar in that we don't need to fuel up on carbs and calories if we're not going to use them much. Conversely, that's why you hear stories about how much professional athletes eat. They have to eat a lot in order to fuel their bodies for practices and games because they burn so many calories during those things. So, unless we're sleeping or sitting/lying completely still, we are constantly burning calories through our movements, so you need to eat something so you don't pass out when you try to move. Passing out is kind of the body's form of a car running out of gas. I plan to eat lighter meals when I can, especially for lunch when I won't be working out either at all or much until dinner or the next day.
- Track your meals and/or weight progress
Something that has helped me in the past is tracking not only my weight, but what I've eaten. It can be easy to lose track of what you've eaten, but there are a number of apps you can download on your smartphone that will help you record your caloric intake, and most of those you can track your weight on as well. This helps regulate what you eat. For example, you can see you ate a decent-sized meal on Monday so you decided to eat light Tuesday. I personally like writing down my weight progress and putting it in a place I will see it often so that I can be motivated and keep track easily. But do what works best for you.
- Try not to think about food too much
One problem someone might have with a diet is that they think about food too much when they're hungry, thus making them submit to cravings for unnecessary/unhealthy food. This is obviously easier said than done, but it can be accomplished by keeping yourself busy. I have had days where I have been so busy I have made my mealtimes much later than they normally are. In these cases, I didn't even think about being hungry or eating food. One other trick is to try to think of something else when you are thinking about food. Pick a particular interest or hobby of yours to convince yourself to think about instead of food, such as sports, a certain TV show you're in the middle of, or plans for the future. Anytime you think of food, think of this other thing and it will really help curb your cravings. I am not saying starve yourself, but this will help your body adjust to the smaller amount of calories it is taking in.
- Be happy and not disappointed when you make healthy choices
What can really hurt someone's motivation to diet is when they are tempted with food that is unhealthy, and they have to say no because they are dieting. Say someone brings in donuts to the office and you have to say no. That in itself can be depressing to watch other people enjoy donuts while you can't. Instead, you can focus your negative energy two ways. One, you can tell yourself that those people are gaining weight, and you're not. You're making healthy choices, and they aren't. Or two, you can be proud of yourself for being able to turn down a tempting offer. It's not easy to turn down some temptations we encounter, so instead of being upset, think to yourself that you did something you should be proud of, like jogging a mile or lifting heavy weights.
The main thing to really take away from these tips is that losing weight is more mental than it is physical. It's all about having the right mindset. You have to be determined and you have to be strong mentally. To be those things, it helps to have some sort of motivation, whether it be a partner encouraging you, or trying to fit into an article of clothing you don't already. I personally have a few shirts I'd love to be able to fit into that I can't quite right now. Plus, being able to see my friends and family's reactions to seeing a slimmer me would just feel incredibly good and worth all the the effort I put into losing weight. I'm determined right now to lose weight, and (if you need to lose weight) I hope you are too!
Much like I did with my Frugal and Money saving tips post, I am doing another advice-type post. This one will be on losing weight. Now, I will admit I am not the best person to share advice on this as I am a bit overweight. I just need to stick to these things I am about to share because I know how to to do it, I just need to do it. However, like most people, my weight has fluctuated throughout my adult life, which does include losing weight so I know how to do it. I have lost 20-25 pounds at one point in my life. I will share my weight-loss tips and how I am going to follow through with them. Forewarning: This is a long post as I have a lot of tips, but if anyone follows most of these, I bet they will lose weight.
- Drink plenty of water
Water is a known appetite suppressant. Especially if you drink it about 30-45 minutes before your mealtime. I now work in an office setting with a water jug, and I am drinking 6-8 mug fulls of water each work day (Which is anywhere between 40-60 ounces). And that's just while I'm at work. I also bring a water bottle that I leave in my car that I drink to and from work. Some people really don't like drinking water citing its tastelessness, but as long as its cold, I really like drinking it. However, adding sweeteners with sugar or artificial sweeteners takes away a lot of the benefits of water, such as Mio and Crystal Light packets. If you really don't like the taste of plain, even cold water, try sweetening it with some sort of fruit like a citrus fruit (Orange, lemon, lime) or berries. In this case, it would be worth investing in a water bottle that is a fruit infuser that will slowly over time infuse your water with the fruit you drop in. Plus you get the added benefits of the nutrients from the fruit. Just find a way to keep yourself hydrated, especially before mealtimes.
- Drink less sugary beverages
But you cannot hydrate yourself with sugary beverages. One problem I've had is that I have been known to drink a lot of sugary beverages. It's not just soda, but certain flavored teas, juices (with sugar added), sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened coffees. These types of beverages probably are a huge factor towards our country's obesity epidemic, because a lot of people don't realize that just by drinking bad stuff, they can gain weight. They could have a perfectly healthy food diet, but if they drink sugary beverages all day every day, they will probably gain weight. I am therefore trying to primarily drink water, fruit juices (with natural sugars only) or low or no sugar teas with meals. Sugars get converted to energy in our bodies and if we don't use them, they get stored as fat.
- Get more physical activity, even if it's just walking
Our bodies were designed to move. In the age of cavemen, before the industrial age and the age of computers and cars, we constantly were on the move. A lot of us, myself included, work jobs that don't have enough physical activity in them. So we must get physical activity in some way. An extra bit of walking can go a long ways if done on a consistent basis. I am starting to go for walks on my lunch breaks when there's time (3 times a week at least, provided it doesn't rain). Also, I am starting to work out for short periods after I get home. Once I get home, I don't usually and instantly want to veg out the rest of the night, because I still have some energy. Anyone who works at a desk and sits most of the day should have enough energy to work out after work. The problem is if I start vegging after I get home, it is very hard to stop and get up and do something physically active. So, my plan is to work out before all that and then rest afterwards. The more physical activity, the better, but as is the case with a lot of us, there's usually not a lot of time to get physical activity. But there are little things you can do in your daily routine even if you don't have much free time: Park further away so you have to walk further, take the stairs instead of an elevator/escalator, and walk somewhere for lunch rather than drive. If ever given a choice that involves physical activity, choose the option that takes more physical activity if you can. It's good for you.
- Eat out less
When we eat out, we have a tendency to not only overeat but eat less healthy than if we ate at home. Restaurant foods tend to be filled with sodium, sugar, and fat. Most restaurants care more about making the food taste good (to get you to come back) than the health and nutrition of the food. The wait staff of course try to tempt you with dessert and/or appetizers as well, because the larger the bill, the more tip they get. For lunches, try to bring your lunch to work as much as possible rather than always going somewhere to eat. If you work at a place that sells ready to eat food, (like I used to), do your very best to limit yourself on the amount of times you eat from there. I've seen and heard multiple stories where people start working in fast food or at a grocery store that gained weight because they ate there too often. Heck, I'm one of them! Anyway, eating out less will not only save your waistline but it'll save money in your wallet as well. Save eating out for special occasions, and then when you do, pay attention to the caloric intake of each dish, because most restaurants nowadays have the calorie amount on their menu. Anything over 1,000 calories should be avoided.
- Don't push yourself too hard too fast with your workouts
One problem I've had is trying to push myself too hard and too fast, thus resulting in me giving up on working out because I wasn't able to complete a particular workout. Depending on your fitness level, find a workout that suits you. I own a copy of the "Insanity" workout program, which I do not recommend to beginners. Even when I was in better shape, it was very tough to do. I considered starting that again recently, but I decided I need to be in better shape (and focus on losing weight) first. There are a ton of workout apps out there and I found one that works for me that gives me the option to choose beginner, intermediate, or expert. I chose beginner so that when I am ready I can move on to intermediate and then expert. Know your fitness level and what you are capable of. The key is to push yourself, but only a little at a time. Do not get discouraged because you get tired quickly. Just slowly and incrementally push yourself a little bit more each time.
- Shop for what you need and what's on your list
When you go food/grocery shopping, make a list beforehand of things you need to prepare meals for the coming week or few days (depending on how often you can shop). Of course, make healthier dinners filled with vegetables and healthy meats and then shop for the ingredients for them. Then when you go shopping, do not buy anything not on your list. It can be tempting because bad for you food items are often put in the most well-lit and prominent areas of the store. Just say no. It might be a good idea to only bring enough money for what's on your list, provided you know the cost of each item.
- Know it takes time to lose weight
If I had a nickel for every time I looked at the scale and wondered why I wasn't losing weight faster, I would have quite a bit more money. Losing weight takes time, and depending on how intense you are dieting/exercising, it may take a while for results to appear. The key is to not get discouraged and keep at it. Don't let the results of the scale get you down and make you want to quit; if anything, it should motivate you. Some weeks you might even gain weight if you're doing strength exercises like push-ups or lifting weights. That just means your body is converting fat into muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. If you're more into actually shedding some pounds, focus on cardio exercises that get your heart rate going such as running, dancing, and aerobics. And even if you're working out and dieting intensely the pounds may not shed that quickly. The key is how long you can keep at it, not how intensely you work at it in a short amount of time.
- Eat in moderation and plan your meals out more
As far as diets and what to eat goes, my advice is two-fold. One, eat in moderation. First off, don't over-indulge if you can help it. It helps to eat slower so that your stomach has time to register what you've eaten and tell your body that it's full. Also, if you happen to have a fairly large breakfast or lunch, have a lighter dinner. Or if you know you're going to have a larger dinner, have a lighter lunch. And to go along with that is my second point, which is to plan out your meals. Don't decide last second what you are going to eat, because more than likely that can result in ordering unhealthy takeout or fast food. If you plan your meals ahead of time, you'll more than likely stick to them and eat healthier in the long run.
- Eat a light meal when you know you aren't doing much physical activity in the near future
To go along with the tip above, if you're trying to lose weight, try your best to eat a light meal if you won't be working out until after your next meal. Our bodies are like cars in a way. If a car doesn't run, it doesn't need gas/fuel, does it? Our bodies are pretty similar in that we don't need to fuel up on carbs and calories if we're not going to use them much. Conversely, that's why you hear stories about how much professional athletes eat. They have to eat a lot in order to fuel their bodies for practices and games because they burn so many calories during those things. So, unless we're sleeping or sitting/lying completely still, we are constantly burning calories through our movements, so you need to eat something so you don't pass out when you try to move. Passing out is kind of the body's form of a car running out of gas. I plan to eat lighter meals when I can, especially for lunch when I won't be working out either at all or much until dinner or the next day.
- Track your meals and/or weight progress
Something that has helped me in the past is tracking not only my weight, but what I've eaten. It can be easy to lose track of what you've eaten, but there are a number of apps you can download on your smartphone that will help you record your caloric intake, and most of those you can track your weight on as well. This helps regulate what you eat. For example, you can see you ate a decent-sized meal on Monday so you decided to eat light Tuesday. I personally like writing down my weight progress and putting it in a place I will see it often so that I can be motivated and keep track easily. But do what works best for you.
- Try not to think about food too much
One problem someone might have with a diet is that they think about food too much when they're hungry, thus making them submit to cravings for unnecessary/unhealthy food. This is obviously easier said than done, but it can be accomplished by keeping yourself busy. I have had days where I have been so busy I have made my mealtimes much later than they normally are. In these cases, I didn't even think about being hungry or eating food. One other trick is to try to think of something else when you are thinking about food. Pick a particular interest or hobby of yours to convince yourself to think about instead of food, such as sports, a certain TV show you're in the middle of, or plans for the future. Anytime you think of food, think of this other thing and it will really help curb your cravings. I am not saying starve yourself, but this will help your body adjust to the smaller amount of calories it is taking in.
- Be happy and not disappointed when you make healthy choices
What can really hurt someone's motivation to diet is when they are tempted with food that is unhealthy, and they have to say no because they are dieting. Say someone brings in donuts to the office and you have to say no. That in itself can be depressing to watch other people enjoy donuts while you can't. Instead, you can focus your negative energy two ways. One, you can tell yourself that those people are gaining weight, and you're not. You're making healthy choices, and they aren't. Or two, you can be proud of yourself for being able to turn down a tempting offer. It's not easy to turn down some temptations we encounter, so instead of being upset, think to yourself that you did something you should be proud of, like jogging a mile or lifting heavy weights.
The main thing to really take away from these tips is that losing weight is more mental than it is physical. It's all about having the right mindset. You have to be determined and you have to be strong mentally. To be those things, it helps to have some sort of motivation, whether it be a partner encouraging you, or trying to fit into an article of clothing you don't already. I personally have a few shirts I'd love to be able to fit into that I can't quite right now. Plus, being able to see my friends and family's reactions to seeing a slimmer me would just feel incredibly good and worth all the the effort I put into losing weight. I'm determined right now to lose weight, and (if you need to lose weight) I hope you are too!
Foreign Languages
Originally published October 11, 2019
Working in an office where almost everyone speaks a second language is definitely interesting and new for me. I don't speak a second language, but I wish I did. One reason I'd want to speak a second language is to be able to talk freely with someone else who speaks that language and not have to worry about being overheard. I often wonder if I hear two people talking in a foreign language near me if they are talking about me. But more so than that, the ability to speak another language is a huge skill to have and can help you in both your professional and personal lives. My role here may help me learn a bit about other languages as people speak those languages around me, and I also do work involving translating foreign languages to English.
As I said, most people in the office speak a second language, that language usually either being French or Spanish. I think I may have heard some Arabic at one point. I catch a few words here and there that I recognize such as "tres bien". Spanish and French are about on the same level for me now; if I had to survive in a country that spoke one of those languages, I could probably figure out a way to get by. They are much easier languages to understand than other languages you might hear on occasion such as Chinese or Japanese.
Most of my experience with a second language is with German. I took three years of German in high school, plus a semester in college. Most of my ancestors came to the United States from Germany around the turn of the 20th century, which inspired me to take German. Unfortunately, high school and even college was a while ago for me, so I'm not as sharp with the German language as I used to be. But if I was dropped into Germany all of a sudden, I could definitely get by, and not just because most German people know a basic amount of English. The hardest parts for me with learning German were two things: The gender of different things (Die, Das, or Der?) and conjugating verbs. Conjugating verbs in English is tough for non-native speakers, as we often hear them say things like "They is", "She running" and "He weren't", so it is equally as tough for me in German.
What's also helping me learn a bit of other languages is translating different things on the internet, usually using Google Translate. I have to go through certain foreign receipts and transactions and categorize them, but I cannot categorize them if I don't know what they were for. Therefore I have to use Google Translate to determine what certain receipts and transactions were for. Mostly the things I have to translate are in French. It's amazing what technology can do for us. On little devices (smart phones) that we carry around in our pockets, we can translate anything. At my past job, I had a couple different people who didn't know English that used their smart phones to translate their speech to English, and I would speak into their phones to translate back to their native tongue so that we could communicate. I guess it's both a good and bad thing we have the convenience of these devices, as it makes it so much easier to communicate in foreign country, but it also eliminates the need to learn another language and becoming more dependent on technology. But I would definitely consider it more a good thing, as anything that makes life easier and makes conversing with people from other cultures is definitely a positive.
Learning another language is very tough to do. It is even harder to do as an adult, because our brains are already fully developed and set in their ways as opposed to a child whose brain is still developing. I don't know if I will ever fully learn a second language, but I know if I set my mind to it, I could. There just isn't a great need in my life right now to learn a second language. I already know enough German to get by, so if I were to learn a second language, it would probably be Spanish. Not only is its use on the rise (at least in the US), but my girlfriend has a Hispanic background. However, as generations go on, knowing the Spanish language has become less and less prevalent in her family. Her grandparents are fluent in it, while her parents' generation knows some but not a ton, and her generation only knows bits and pieces. I think this is the case in most families that have immigrated to America, as the English language becomes more commonly known and used throughout the world. I can see some day English being extremely predominant to the extent of almost everyone in a first world country knowing basic English, and trickling down to second and third world countries. We could some day way in the future some languages die out (some already have) and see English everywhere on Earth except for the most remote locations away from civilization.
Working in an office where almost everyone speaks a second language is definitely interesting and new for me. I don't speak a second language, but I wish I did. One reason I'd want to speak a second language is to be able to talk freely with someone else who speaks that language and not have to worry about being overheard. I often wonder if I hear two people talking in a foreign language near me if they are talking about me. But more so than that, the ability to speak another language is a huge skill to have and can help you in both your professional and personal lives. My role here may help me learn a bit about other languages as people speak those languages around me, and I also do work involving translating foreign languages to English.
As I said, most people in the office speak a second language, that language usually either being French or Spanish. I think I may have heard some Arabic at one point. I catch a few words here and there that I recognize such as "tres bien". Spanish and French are about on the same level for me now; if I had to survive in a country that spoke one of those languages, I could probably figure out a way to get by. They are much easier languages to understand than other languages you might hear on occasion such as Chinese or Japanese.
Most of my experience with a second language is with German. I took three years of German in high school, plus a semester in college. Most of my ancestors came to the United States from Germany around the turn of the 20th century, which inspired me to take German. Unfortunately, high school and even college was a while ago for me, so I'm not as sharp with the German language as I used to be. But if I was dropped into Germany all of a sudden, I could definitely get by, and not just because most German people know a basic amount of English. The hardest parts for me with learning German were two things: The gender of different things (Die, Das, or Der?) and conjugating verbs. Conjugating verbs in English is tough for non-native speakers, as we often hear them say things like "They is", "She running" and "He weren't", so it is equally as tough for me in German.
What's also helping me learn a bit of other languages is translating different things on the internet, usually using Google Translate. I have to go through certain foreign receipts and transactions and categorize them, but I cannot categorize them if I don't know what they were for. Therefore I have to use Google Translate to determine what certain receipts and transactions were for. Mostly the things I have to translate are in French. It's amazing what technology can do for us. On little devices (smart phones) that we carry around in our pockets, we can translate anything. At my past job, I had a couple different people who didn't know English that used their smart phones to translate their speech to English, and I would speak into their phones to translate back to their native tongue so that we could communicate. I guess it's both a good and bad thing we have the convenience of these devices, as it makes it so much easier to communicate in foreign country, but it also eliminates the need to learn another language and becoming more dependent on technology. But I would definitely consider it more a good thing, as anything that makes life easier and makes conversing with people from other cultures is definitely a positive.
Learning another language is very tough to do. It is even harder to do as an adult, because our brains are already fully developed and set in their ways as opposed to a child whose brain is still developing. I don't know if I will ever fully learn a second language, but I know if I set my mind to it, I could. There just isn't a great need in my life right now to learn a second language. I already know enough German to get by, so if I were to learn a second language, it would probably be Spanish. Not only is its use on the rise (at least in the US), but my girlfriend has a Hispanic background. However, as generations go on, knowing the Spanish language has become less and less prevalent in her family. Her grandparents are fluent in it, while her parents' generation knows some but not a ton, and her generation only knows bits and pieces. I think this is the case in most families that have immigrated to America, as the English language becomes more commonly known and used throughout the world. I can see some day English being extremely predominant to the extent of almost everyone in a first world country knowing basic English, and trickling down to second and third world countries. We could some day way in the future some languages die out (some already have) and see English everywhere on Earth except for the most remote locations away from civilization.
Ways to stay productive
Originally published October 9, 2019
No matter what job you have, you more than likely have busier days than others, or at least busier moments than others. I certainly fall into that category. Sometimes I have a lot on my plate, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I get a lot of phone calls, and sometimes I get hardly any. Busy days just seem to fly by, because we aren't checking the time as much wishing it would go faster and our work days would be over sooner. Slow days just drag on, and I have learned that you just make it seem like it goes faster by staying productive and busy.
The goal you should be focusing on when you're slow and have little or nothing to do is trying to find something to do that can help the company you work for to some extent. Whether it helps yourself be a quicker or better worker or it helps others, so long as it helps someone or the company as a whole, it's worth doing. Updating various things around the office helps. Even little chores like cleaning around your workplace or a shared work area or a break room can be beneficial, because it saves time so someone else won't have to do it later.
I know what you might be thinking. I am currently working, yet here I am writing this. This, to me, is productive because I am organizing my thoughts and I try to offer life lessons or helpful advice with these posts. I think it also benefits me because it helps me become a better writer and perhaps be a bit more articulate, and it helps increase my typing speed. My typing speed before I really got into writing and blogging was around 55-60 words per minute. After a few years of writing and blogging, I am now at 75-80 words per minute.
I don't spend all my time doing these posts when it's slow. I clean up in the kitchen and bathroom when it needs it. I update any document I need to when there is a change to be made. I have gone through a lot of the features of word and excel so I become more knowledgeable with those programs in the future and become a larger asset to the company. I have familiarized myself with our phone system by not only exploring its features but by reading the manual for it. It also helps to be available at a moment's notice, in case anyone needs help with something for any reason.
Being productive for me isn't hard. Or at least it's not a hard choice to make to be productive, because I feel guilty if I am not productive. I don't know how people can slack off on jobs where they work next to really hard-working people, yet I have seen it happen (at my past job). I could never do that. My parents raised me too well to be content with slacking off. I can't just sit and do nothing, mainly because that's boring. Throughout my life I have become very good at finding stuff to do to occupy time and to try to be somewhat productive. The more experience you have doing it, the better you are at doing it. For me, it helps to either make a mental list or an actual list on a piece of scratch paper of things I could do when it's slow. Whenever something occurs to me while I am working, I jot it down.
The bottom line is that being productive is a win-win situation. It helps out the company you work for, and it helps time go by faster so your work day is done quicker. Again, I don't know why anyone would chose to not be productive, unless they completely despise the work they do. Fortunately for me, there's not a whole lot I despise doing, but more than that I just like the feeling of being productive and doing a good job. It sure beats the alternative.
No matter what job you have, you more than likely have busier days than others, or at least busier moments than others. I certainly fall into that category. Sometimes I have a lot on my plate, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I get a lot of phone calls, and sometimes I get hardly any. Busy days just seem to fly by, because we aren't checking the time as much wishing it would go faster and our work days would be over sooner. Slow days just drag on, and I have learned that you just make it seem like it goes faster by staying productive and busy.
The goal you should be focusing on when you're slow and have little or nothing to do is trying to find something to do that can help the company you work for to some extent. Whether it helps yourself be a quicker or better worker or it helps others, so long as it helps someone or the company as a whole, it's worth doing. Updating various things around the office helps. Even little chores like cleaning around your workplace or a shared work area or a break room can be beneficial, because it saves time so someone else won't have to do it later.
I know what you might be thinking. I am currently working, yet here I am writing this. This, to me, is productive because I am organizing my thoughts and I try to offer life lessons or helpful advice with these posts. I think it also benefits me because it helps me become a better writer and perhaps be a bit more articulate, and it helps increase my typing speed. My typing speed before I really got into writing and blogging was around 55-60 words per minute. After a few years of writing and blogging, I am now at 75-80 words per minute.
I don't spend all my time doing these posts when it's slow. I clean up in the kitchen and bathroom when it needs it. I update any document I need to when there is a change to be made. I have gone through a lot of the features of word and excel so I become more knowledgeable with those programs in the future and become a larger asset to the company. I have familiarized myself with our phone system by not only exploring its features but by reading the manual for it. It also helps to be available at a moment's notice, in case anyone needs help with something for any reason.
Being productive for me isn't hard. Or at least it's not a hard choice to make to be productive, because I feel guilty if I am not productive. I don't know how people can slack off on jobs where they work next to really hard-working people, yet I have seen it happen (at my past job). I could never do that. My parents raised me too well to be content with slacking off. I can't just sit and do nothing, mainly because that's boring. Throughout my life I have become very good at finding stuff to do to occupy time and to try to be somewhat productive. The more experience you have doing it, the better you are at doing it. For me, it helps to either make a mental list or an actual list on a piece of scratch paper of things I could do when it's slow. Whenever something occurs to me while I am working, I jot it down.
The bottom line is that being productive is a win-win situation. It helps out the company you work for, and it helps time go by faster so your work day is done quicker. Again, I don't know why anyone would chose to not be productive, unless they completely despise the work they do. Fortunately for me, there's not a whole lot I despise doing, but more than that I just like the feeling of being productive and doing a good job. It sure beats the alternative.
Bonding outside of work
Originally published October 25, 2019
It's funny, some of my happiest work-related memories do not take place at work. Maybe they don't count as "work-related memories", but to me they do. My best work-related memories are when I do things with coworkers outside of work. It brings forth a sense of camaraderie and makes work more fun. I try not to turn down a chance to go out with coworkers, even though I consider myself an introvert and I'm rarely the most talkative person in a group. Turning down an opportunity to bond with coworkers only makes work feel more isolated and alone.
My favorite coworker-boding moments from my past job happened at Denny's and occasionally Sherry's restaurants. Our PIC, or Person In Charge, was the one who organized these get-together's. Usually, she was the latest to get off (being the night manager) and would not get off until midnight. Since she wanted to go somewhere to eat, we went to one of the only places that was open past midnight: Denny's! We went to the Denny's in Totem Lake in Kirkland many times, but unfortunately, it is no longer there; instead it has been replaced by a Chick-Fil-A. But we used to bond over work, and to me those were some of the happiest memories (not just work-related) I have over the last 5 or 6 years. We also would on occasion go to Sherry's, also in Totem Lake, whenever we felt like going somewhere slightly different. We ultimately ended up going to only Sherry's after the Denny's closed and was torn down.
Unfortunately, as is usually the case with a large group of friends, we had a bit of a falling out. Some people moved on to other jobs and we lost touch. There was a bit of drama at work that I won't get into, but before our PIC left for another job, she stopped organizing the get-together's. However, a small faction of us that were part of the get-together's kept the tradition up for a while, extending it to other places because we could go before midnight. Those places included Tech City (a bar and arcade), the movies, and other various restaurants. Now that I've left that job, it's just me and my girlfriend (who did work with us) and our close friend. We had a bit of a hostile work environment at times with all the different personalities, but it sure was fun while it lasted. Some of the times we went out, we brought along fun card games (usually Cards Against Humanity) to play while we waited for our food and ate.
Now I'm at a new position at a new place, and I just had my first outside of work get-together with them. We celebrated one of our coworkers' birthday. At least for me, it takes me a while to get accustomed to people and used to speaking freely around them, so I wasn't the most talkative. But it's a memory created that I'll remember for my entire time here; something to reminisce about.
I would suggest most places of work do this. If I was a boss, I would encourage my employees to socialize outside of work. As I said earlier, it builds camaraderie and teamwork. Those who are shy become less shy and more willing to communicate with their coworkers. I'm still pretty new (in my first month still), so that outing we just had definitely helped me and it makes it much easier to approach anyone I shared this outing with. I guess this is why most businesses don't completely forbid non-business talk; otherwise if they did, work wouldn't be much fun at all and it would feel like we had all enlisted in some armed service or something. In summary, bonding at work and away from work helps build not just working relationships but friendships that make work easier and more enjoyable. It's a win-win situation.
It's funny, some of my happiest work-related memories do not take place at work. Maybe they don't count as "work-related memories", but to me they do. My best work-related memories are when I do things with coworkers outside of work. It brings forth a sense of camaraderie and makes work more fun. I try not to turn down a chance to go out with coworkers, even though I consider myself an introvert and I'm rarely the most talkative person in a group. Turning down an opportunity to bond with coworkers only makes work feel more isolated and alone.
My favorite coworker-boding moments from my past job happened at Denny's and occasionally Sherry's restaurants. Our PIC, or Person In Charge, was the one who organized these get-together's. Usually, she was the latest to get off (being the night manager) and would not get off until midnight. Since she wanted to go somewhere to eat, we went to one of the only places that was open past midnight: Denny's! We went to the Denny's in Totem Lake in Kirkland many times, but unfortunately, it is no longer there; instead it has been replaced by a Chick-Fil-A. But we used to bond over work, and to me those were some of the happiest memories (not just work-related) I have over the last 5 or 6 years. We also would on occasion go to Sherry's, also in Totem Lake, whenever we felt like going somewhere slightly different. We ultimately ended up going to only Sherry's after the Denny's closed and was torn down.
Unfortunately, as is usually the case with a large group of friends, we had a bit of a falling out. Some people moved on to other jobs and we lost touch. There was a bit of drama at work that I won't get into, but before our PIC left for another job, she stopped organizing the get-together's. However, a small faction of us that were part of the get-together's kept the tradition up for a while, extending it to other places because we could go before midnight. Those places included Tech City (a bar and arcade), the movies, and other various restaurants. Now that I've left that job, it's just me and my girlfriend (who did work with us) and our close friend. We had a bit of a hostile work environment at times with all the different personalities, but it sure was fun while it lasted. Some of the times we went out, we brought along fun card games (usually Cards Against Humanity) to play while we waited for our food and ate.
Now I'm at a new position at a new place, and I just had my first outside of work get-together with them. We celebrated one of our coworkers' birthday. At least for me, it takes me a while to get accustomed to people and used to speaking freely around them, so I wasn't the most talkative. But it's a memory created that I'll remember for my entire time here; something to reminisce about.
I would suggest most places of work do this. If I was a boss, I would encourage my employees to socialize outside of work. As I said earlier, it builds camaraderie and teamwork. Those who are shy become less shy and more willing to communicate with their coworkers. I'm still pretty new (in my first month still), so that outing we just had definitely helped me and it makes it much easier to approach anyone I shared this outing with. I guess this is why most businesses don't completely forbid non-business talk; otherwise if they did, work wouldn't be much fun at all and it would feel like we had all enlisted in some armed service or something. In summary, bonding at work and away from work helps build not just working relationships but friendships that make work easier and more enjoyable. It's a win-win situation.
Working a typical Mon-Fri work week
Originally published October 4, 2019
For the first time in my working adult life I am working a typical work schedule. My hours aren't the most common (7:30 am-4 pm), but I am working Monday through Friday. Before, I worked in retail (a grocery store, to be specific), and my days varied. My most common days off then were Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and sometimes Monday. Occasionally I'd get other days of the week off but it was rare. Now they are always Saturday and Sunday. It's taking a bit to get used to. I haven't had Saturdays and Sundays off on a consistent basis since I was in school.
I love having the typical weekends, Saturday and Sunday, off. The main reason being I am off at the same time as everyone else, especially my girlfriend. It's two days in a row off as well; something that really recharges the mind and body. I also love having Sundays off, especially this time of year, because of football. I love watching NFL games, and the day of the week they are mostly on is of course Sunday. I used to miss Seahawks games constantly, and I would resort to watching them later, having already learned the outcome. Not anymore.
Although I am now experiencing the dreg of the typical work week. Often times during my retail job I'd get my days off separated and I'd work only 3 or 4 days before my next day off. I also worked a lot of varying shifts so I may work five days in a row, but I might have one day off at 1 PM and the next day I don't work until 1:30 PM, so in essence it was like a day off. So working the same shift every day in itself is taking some getting used to. My body has basically been accustomed to not having a regular schedule for a long time, so it will take a while to get used to.
Honestly, this is what I was going for when looking for a new job. Too many times I have missed things, even holidays, because I worked a retail job that got busy at those times. I've missed a few Thanksgivings, I've missed being able to celebrate on Independence Day and New Years. Me being the huge football fan I am, I have even missed a big chunk of a Super Bowl game. Not anymore. I want to be able to enjoy things with my friends and family like most other people do.
As many people know, I am very flexible. At my old job I worked as early as 5 in the morning and as late as 2 at night. I am pretty good at toughing out different schedules whether they be early shifts or late shifts. I used to say at my old job that the consistent schedules were the ones that bothered me most because I was so accustomed to a variable schedule. I ended up being my store's interim Front End Manager after the previous Front End Manager left for another job, and I ended up working 10-7 five days a week for a good part of six months. That was hard for me to do because it basically took up my entire day and I was too exhausted to do anything after work, such as cook. Now, I get off at 4 and have all evening to relax, spend with my friends, and I have enough energy to cook and/or do some household chores.
I have to admit this new schedule is having some weird effects on me. I am now getting sleepy before even 10 PM. That hasn't happened to me since high school, if not further back. Before working the 7:30-4 grind, I wouldn't get sleepy until 11:30 PM at least. I guess it's a good thing to be on an earlier sleep schedule. Although, while my body is used to getting sleepy early, there is also the counter-affect of waking up much earlier. For starting at 7:30, I do not have to wake up until 6 or so, but my body almost always wants to wake up at 5, if not earlier. Honestly, it's something I can live with; it not only gives me time to watch TV or think about the upcoming day, but I enjoy not being suddenly awakened by an alarm. I've only had my alarm wake me once or twice so far in three weeks of this schedule.
I also used to despise Fridays and Saturdays. Working in retail will make you hate days of the week you're not supposed to, and vice-versa. You'll love days you're not supposed to like Monday and Tuesday. Now, I love Fridays and I am doing my best to enjoy the weekends. And, like that Loverboy song, everybody's working for the weekend, myself included. I no longer have to dread the holidays; at least I don't have to worry about how busy work will be right before them.
Work is a part of life and I think we in western society have established a good routine. Most of us work Monday to Friday with Saturday and Sunday off. I think it was designed that way for a reason; as if on average it takes two full days to recover from five days of work. Anyway, I like this schedule, and it seems like weeks are flying by faster than they used to. Just got to get through one day at a time.
For the first time in my working adult life I am working a typical work schedule. My hours aren't the most common (7:30 am-4 pm), but I am working Monday through Friday. Before, I worked in retail (a grocery store, to be specific), and my days varied. My most common days off then were Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and sometimes Monday. Occasionally I'd get other days of the week off but it was rare. Now they are always Saturday and Sunday. It's taking a bit to get used to. I haven't had Saturdays and Sundays off on a consistent basis since I was in school.
I love having the typical weekends, Saturday and Sunday, off. The main reason being I am off at the same time as everyone else, especially my girlfriend. It's two days in a row off as well; something that really recharges the mind and body. I also love having Sundays off, especially this time of year, because of football. I love watching NFL games, and the day of the week they are mostly on is of course Sunday. I used to miss Seahawks games constantly, and I would resort to watching them later, having already learned the outcome. Not anymore.
Although I am now experiencing the dreg of the typical work week. Often times during my retail job I'd get my days off separated and I'd work only 3 or 4 days before my next day off. I also worked a lot of varying shifts so I may work five days in a row, but I might have one day off at 1 PM and the next day I don't work until 1:30 PM, so in essence it was like a day off. So working the same shift every day in itself is taking some getting used to. My body has basically been accustomed to not having a regular schedule for a long time, so it will take a while to get used to.
Honestly, this is what I was going for when looking for a new job. Too many times I have missed things, even holidays, because I worked a retail job that got busy at those times. I've missed a few Thanksgivings, I've missed being able to celebrate on Independence Day and New Years. Me being the huge football fan I am, I have even missed a big chunk of a Super Bowl game. Not anymore. I want to be able to enjoy things with my friends and family like most other people do.
As many people know, I am very flexible. At my old job I worked as early as 5 in the morning and as late as 2 at night. I am pretty good at toughing out different schedules whether they be early shifts or late shifts. I used to say at my old job that the consistent schedules were the ones that bothered me most because I was so accustomed to a variable schedule. I ended up being my store's interim Front End Manager after the previous Front End Manager left for another job, and I ended up working 10-7 five days a week for a good part of six months. That was hard for me to do because it basically took up my entire day and I was too exhausted to do anything after work, such as cook. Now, I get off at 4 and have all evening to relax, spend with my friends, and I have enough energy to cook and/or do some household chores.
I have to admit this new schedule is having some weird effects on me. I am now getting sleepy before even 10 PM. That hasn't happened to me since high school, if not further back. Before working the 7:30-4 grind, I wouldn't get sleepy until 11:30 PM at least. I guess it's a good thing to be on an earlier sleep schedule. Although, while my body is used to getting sleepy early, there is also the counter-affect of waking up much earlier. For starting at 7:30, I do not have to wake up until 6 or so, but my body almost always wants to wake up at 5, if not earlier. Honestly, it's something I can live with; it not only gives me time to watch TV or think about the upcoming day, but I enjoy not being suddenly awakened by an alarm. I've only had my alarm wake me once or twice so far in three weeks of this schedule.
I also used to despise Fridays and Saturdays. Working in retail will make you hate days of the week you're not supposed to, and vice-versa. You'll love days you're not supposed to like Monday and Tuesday. Now, I love Fridays and I am doing my best to enjoy the weekends. And, like that Loverboy song, everybody's working for the weekend, myself included. I no longer have to dread the holidays; at least I don't have to worry about how busy work will be right before them.
Work is a part of life and I think we in western society have established a good routine. Most of us work Monday to Friday with Saturday and Sunday off. I think it was designed that way for a reason; as if on average it takes two full days to recover from five days of work. Anyway, I like this schedule, and it seems like weeks are flying by faster than they used to. Just got to get through one day at a time.
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