The Real World

Not bad, but not as good as Bloomington’s Mad Mushroom.

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:02:25 -0400

Not bad, but not as good as Bloomington’s Mad Mushroom.

"I had a kind of inner voice that told me, keep searching, keep searching, don’t give up."

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:48:01 -0400

“I had a kind of inner voice that told me, keep searching, keep searching, don’t give up.”

- Sebastian Pinera, president of Chile, via Time. As much of a stretch as this may be, I think this statement applies to the job search. No matter how hard it gets, keep searching.

Have $10,000 to burn? Yea, me too.

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 22:12:37 -0400

Have $10,000 to burn? Yea, me too.

It’s getting to be almost-Fall in Atlanta (which is warmer...

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 21:19:51 -0400

It’s getting to be almost-Fall in Atlanta (which is warmer than actual fall, but cooler than the thick of summer). This means it’s almost-scarf weather. I’ve been wearing a belted green trench coat each day and this floral scarf from J.Crew would be the perfect accent. It would make me feel more grownup than my IU hoodie, anyway.

"Add $2 to that $12 T-shirt next year."

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:03:46 -0400

““Add $2 to that $12 T-shirt next year.””

- CNN Money reports that cotton prices have nearly doubled this year, meaning my favorite clothing staples will become a bit pricier. Time to stock up on jeans and tee’s!

Recession recovery is "painfully slow"

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:39:48 -0400

Recession recovery is "painfully slow":

Oh really?

This graph from The Economist shows the percentage of college...

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:30:46 -0400

This graph from The Economist shows the percentage of college graduates working low-skilled work. The United States is one of the worst counties — a whopping 33 percent of grads aren’t working “skilled” jobs. As for those that are, the average earnings for 25 to 34 year olds is $56,200. If this is accurate, I think they forgot to include journalists in the “skilled” set.

"Beyond $75,000 in the contemporary United States, however, higher income is neither the road to..."

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:10:59 -0400

““Beyond $75,000 in the contemporary United States, however, higher income is neither the road to experience happiness nor the road to relief of unhappiness or stress, although higher income continues to improve individuals’ life evaluations.””

- Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, researchers from Princeton University, via Inc.

Another reason we should all move to Australia

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:44:27 -0400

Another reason we should all move to Australia

"Unless we see some level of turnaround in the economy, it’s likely to get tougher for new..."

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 19:57:28 -0400

““Unless we see some level of turnaround in the economy, it’s likely to get tougher for new teachers to find jobs and for long-term sustainability.””

- Segun Eubanks, director of teacher quality at the National Education Association, via CNN Money. It’s starting to seem like there are no repression-proof jobs anymore.

THIS is how you get a job

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 19:53:46 -0400

THIS is how you get a job

Could I ever justify spending $300 on a pair of shoes?

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:39:41 -0400

Could I ever justify spending $300 on a pair of shoes?

Netflix comes to iPhone and iPod Touch

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:08:55 -0400

Netflix comes to iPhone and iPod Touch:

Now I DEFINITELY need to get a Netflix account.

The Economist writes about bankruptcy filings continuing to...

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:58:52 -0400

The Economist writes about bankruptcy filings continuing to rise.

"Mildly encouraging."

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:52:31 -0400

““Mildly encouraging.””

- Douglas Porter, BMO Capital Markets, via The New York Times. New jobless claims fell for the first time in a month, and Porter says the report is “mildly encourage” but should be treated with caution.

10 steps to employee bliss

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:31:06 -0400

Inc. ran a piece about how to make employees happy after that whole JetBlue incident. Here are 10 things all employees want.

Employees want purpose: Sure, I need that check to pay the bills, but I don’t want to be a zombie just because I’m at work. It’s so important to feel like you’re doing something important.
Employees want goals: And not just, get all your work done before you go home. I need real goals - something to work toward in the long-term.
Employees want responsibilities: Work responsibilities are different than home responsibilities, aka chores. At work, you are part of a team, and fulfilling your responsibilities has a direct impact on your coworkers.
Employees want autonomy: It might seem counterproductive, but giving your employees the freedom to work the way they want to actually helps. This isn’t high school: we don’t need to be told to read from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. Journalism is all about deadlines, and as long as I’m meeting those deadlines, I should be allowed to write on my own time when I am not consumed with writer’s block.
Employees want flexibility: To an extent. If you tell me to come to work by 9 a.m. and leave after 8:30 hours, I will. Again, it’s not high school. There’s no bell ringing at 7:35 a.m. every day.
Employees want attention: Let us know you’re paying attention to what we do.
Employees want opportunities for innovation: Good ideas by employees can make a huge difference in workflow, production and overall productivity. In the spring, the IDS’s editors though long and hard about how to improve work workflow: they came up with a budget blog and a whole new way to proof pages.
Employees want open-mindedness: Listen to your employees ideas, and be open and honest. If the idea sucks, please let me know. If you’ll think about it, please let me know that, too.
Employees want transparency: We want to know what’s going on within the company. Are we doing well? Are we losing money? It helps improve the overall mood and cut down on rumors.
Employees want compensation: Duh.

This is probably the one piece of kitchen equipment I...

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:28:10 -0400

This is probably the one piece of kitchen equipment I couldn’t live without in my new role as working woman. Put all the ingredients in the crock pot before work, come home and eat! Last week I made Loretta’s Spanish Rice from my “Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.” Here’s the recipe:

Loretta’s Spanish Rice

2 lbs. ground beef, browned (substitute ground turkey for a healthier option)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
28-oz. can tomatoes
8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups rice, uncooked

Combine all ingredients in slow cookers.
Cover. Cook on Low 8-10 hours.

Yeah, two steps. That’s it! The only problem was that it made eight servings, and there are only two of us living in this apartment. Therefore I ate it six times in the last six days… so sick of Loretta’s Spanish Rice.

BUT it keeps very well, and it tasted just as good today as it did five days ago.

USA today to reorganize, shed jobs

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:48:28 -0400

USA today to reorganize, shed jobs

"I’m more worried than I have ever been about the future of the U.S. economy. The challenge is..."

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:04:20 -0400

““I’m more worried than I have ever been about the future of the U.S. economy. The challenge is unique: poor and diminishing growth, a sticky unemployment rate, sky-high deficits and a sovereign debt that makes us one of the most fiscally irresponsible countries in the world.””

- Allen Sinai, Decision Economics, via The New York Times.

Salmonella cases, state by state

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:08:44 -0400

Salmonella cases, state by state:

This is what I’ve been working on the last two days. This is also why I haven’t updated my blog the last two days. Somehow, being on the phone with every state’s department of health makes me want to not be anywhere near my computer when I get home from work.

But I gotta say, I love what I do.