When did we get old?

There were hints of it at recent get-togethers, but over the weekend, it finally happened.

My friends and I are getting old.

Long gone are the days when mani/pedis and dinner were the pre-party ritual. Gone are the days when before we had our first drink we had to figure who’s in charge of calling a cab and who’s making sure I don’t take too many shots.

My group of girl friends goes all the way back to high school. Before high school even, elementary school (I met Alisha on my first day of 4th grade). I consider these women some of the best people I know (see, you can make good decisions when you’re a kid) and I’m honored and blessed to have had them in my life for the past 20 years (wow… that’s the first time I wrote that, that’s a pretty big deal).

June 2000 Graduation Day: Me, Chrissy, Laura, Alisha, Nici, Missy

After high school, every time we got together, we were drinking and/or drunk. That was just how it was. There weren’t many events where drinking wasn’t the main focus of our gatherings and many a Sunday was spent recovering. Over the years we’ve gone months without talking but when we get together again it’s like the day after the last time we saw each other.

Recently our girls nights usually consist of dinner and drinks and that’s the night. We don’t close down the bars anymore.

Our last big drunken night out was Alisha’s bachelorette party in August. It was the last time just us girls got together for the sole purpose of getting drunk. It was a great night followed by one hell of a hangover the next day, which was totally worth it, I think.

August 2011 Alisha's bachelorette party: Chrissy, Cami, Missy, Nici, Valerie, me and Alisha

Saturday was manicures and pedicures and dinner.

It was at dinner when we admitted to ourselves that we are getting old. Very little alcohol was consumed, I had one margarita (mostly because we were having Mexican food, and well… that’s what you drink) and we spent more on our nails than we did on our dinner. Our conversations included our favorite TV shows (and explaining to Nici what “Swamp People” and “Storage Wars” are), a very lively discussion about pickled green beans (after which we decided we were going to learn how to pickle things), our families (the run down on everyone, who’s married, who’s having kids, and so on), Ricky Rubio’s eye lashes (they are pretty amazing) and turning 30.

After dinner we sat there and talked for almost another hour. It was 8 pm and most of us were yawning. Then we were laughing about how tired we were so early in the night (I was suffering from a Benadryl hangover and felt kind of crappy most of the day) and how much our nights out have changed over the years.

Overall, it was a great night. One of my favorites, I think. Of course there will probably be the rare “let’s go out and get drunk” nights, but I feel like those days are pretty much behind us now. We did that throughout our 20s and, in my case anyway, the hangovers are no longer worth it. It’s just good to hang out and talk without having to yell over loud music or other people. And again, the hangovers, oye! I don’t miss wasting an entire day recovering from a night out with the girls.

I’m getting old(er). I’ll admit it. I think this weekend really helped me come to terms with how great it is. Sure, our 20s were awesomely fun but I think our 30s will be even better. At the very least, we’ll remember much more of this decade. And I’ll be able to write a blog post in 10 years about how I’ve been friends with these women for 30 years and well… that’s pretty damn amazing.

Adventures in job hunting. Ep: 1

These are my adventures in finding a job. This post is a basic overview of the things I’ve been doing and what is and isn’t working for me, so far.

Recruiters

I used to think recruiters were annoying troll-like people who hassle you and try to put you into any job just so they can move on to the next person. I honestly didn’t know how it all worked, and I never really took the time to. BIG MISTAKE.

I eventually ended up with a recruiter in the most backwards way possible. I had already found the job, but since it was a contract and not direct full-time employment, I was hooked up with an Aquent rep. Now, I’m pretty glad it happened that way. I probably would have never gone out and found a recruiter on my own.

(If you’re looking for jobs in marketing, web design, production, and more check out Aquent.us. I’ve had a great experience with them, and they are really fantastic. But mention me if you do. Disclaimer: I get stuff if you do).

I’ve finally connected with my new recruiter this week, which was great. She gave my resume a good look and then gave me a list of things to change. It was good a relief to have another pair of eyes on it and for someone to say “Ok, lets focus on this and remove that.” My resume looks the best it has in years. Oddly enough, those little changes increased my confidence a lot. The moral of the story: let someone look at your resume before you send it all over the place.

Job sites

I hate to say it but sites like careerbuilder.com and monster.com are like throwing your information into a black hole and hoping that someone somewhere finds it. I’m sure there are people out there that will swear up and down that these sites are helpful. But there’s just so much information that’s it’s really difficult to weed through it. I suppose I shouldn’t complain, it’s not like I don’t have the time to do it. I just feel like I could be using my time more effectively searching elsewhere.

Networking

I was told that LinkedIn is a great way to network with people and find a job. I’ve explained that already in my post about social media sites the other day (read it here). I feel like LinkedIn is similar to the other job sites, except it’s more targeted and easier to find things based on your connections. I’m still working on trying to find a good way to incorporate it into my job hunt. I’ll let you know when/if I do.

I’ve also been doing a lot of reading on using social media to help in the job search. This is tricky for me. I found my last job through a Twitter follower, and that was great. But I don’t want to be that annoying girl that blasts twitter with “HIRE ME, PLEASE!!” tweets. I unfollow those people and would expect you guys to do the same. That’s not effective.

I’ve also been intending to follow more writers and journalists on Twitter. Unfortunately (or fortunately) that turned into me following nearly all of the Minnesota Twins, Ricky Rubio and @chriswarcraft. But I promise, I’m working on it. (If you have recs, feel free to send them my way.) I hope it eventually it leads to a better network of writers and even if I just gain more insight, that’s more than I have going on now.

Freelancing

This terrifies me. Mostly because I have no idea what I’m doing. Also, if you’ve ever looked at a freelance job board, it’s intimidating and slightly scary. Most of the time there are blind posts that will say something like “need a short-term content writer, send your bid” or something similar. I have no idea what site I’d be writing for or if it’s a topic I know I can write about (I probably can’t write about healthy eating without being a liar). Regardless, many of the people seem to be bidding pretty low, and I don’t know if that’s the going rate or if they’re writing in India or if $3.00 for a 1,000-word piece is “reasonable.” I am clueless. So, I’ve been avoiding them for the time being. I will keep doing research and eventually figure it out. I really need someone to explain it to me and show me the ropes because there are so many bad sketchy people out there.

Writing for free

Right now I’m writing for free on this blog. I haven’t come across many opportunities to write for other people lately. I suppose now since it’s an election year I could jump back into poli-blogging, but politics makes me want to kick puppies, and I like puppies. So, I may have to use the wait-and-see approach here. At least for now.

If you have job hunting tips please share. I’ll take all the advice I can get.

Thumbed Up on Pandora

Pandora seems to be the best way for me to find new and awesome music and also old music that I love. So, these are the last 10 songs I “thumbed up” on Pandora, excluding songs I’ve already mentioned in previous music posts. (if you don’t use Pandora, you’re really missing out).

Bon Iver – Skinny Love

The Band – The Weight

The Black Keys – Next Girl

Adele – Melt My Heart to Stone

Alain Clark – Blow Me Away

Needtobreathe – Won’t Turn Back

The Beatles – Dear Prudence

Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower

The Pimps of Joytime – Workin All The Time (One of my favorite band names ever!)

Derek James – One More Day (Live youtube videos blow, but this is the best I could find. You can and should listen to it on Grooveshark)

Twitter vs. Facebook vs. LinkedIn

I love Twitter.

I only kind of like Facebook.

Why should I be using LinkedIn? I don’t get it.

That is my stance on the big three social networks.

I’ll be celebrating my three-year anniversary on Twitter next month and thought it would be a good idea to evaluate how I use these social sites and how I could possibly use them more effectively.

There are tons of people out there who can tell you how you should be using social networks. My opinion has always been that I’ll use them however I see fit, which never seems to fall in line with what the social media gurus are saying.

Twitter.

I use Twitter as my main social network. I have amassed a big enough following (over 3k is enough, in my opinion) to get a pretty wide range of news from nearly all perspectives. It’s fast and easy and there’s no fuss really (unless something drastically changes, then I get annoyed, but I adapt and move on). Twitter is also the site where I keep everything, and everyone, at arms length. Since there really isn’t a way to verify who is following you (I have social media trust issues) I tend to avoid putting a lot of personal details out there. People can be creepy.

But I put enough of me into it that I feel like the other stuff isn’t really relevant. People know I’m a woman from Minnesota with a large Mexican family and a suspected meth-using neighbor. I mean, there’s not much more you need to know.

When I first started using Twitter I used it to follow politics, then I got engulfed in the political hullabaloo and blogged about politics. Now I just bitch about politics and talk about how dumb, yet fascinating, the Kardashians are. I also use it to tweet about my favorite shows and sporting events.

Over the past three years I’ve developed some great friendships with people. I think that’s one of the best things about Twitter. Too many people use it to just shout into the black hole of social media. Never taking the time to interact with the people who take the time to read their tweets in the first place. I’ll admit I’m not the best at responding to every single reply I get, but I aim for a 95 percent reply rate. Sometimes you just can’t get them all (I say that as if my mentions feed is flooded with replies…). I get it. But it’s the interaction that makes Twitter Twitter. Unless we’re talking about spam bots. I don’t respond to those jackasses.

If there’s one way I would use Twitter differently it would be to initiate contact with more people. I have a tendency to not be the first to reach out. It’s not really a conscious decision, it’s just something I’ve noticed. Same with following people. A big chunk of the people I follow are people who followed me first. I need to get better at that.

Facebook.

Facebook was, and still is, my “friends and family” social network. I really just use it to keep up with all that stuff. I’m not, nor have I ever been, a hardcore Facebook user. I still haven’t been able to figure out how people can spend hours on Facebook. If someone can explain that to me, that would be fantastic.

I use Facebook to post the occasional funny news story or status update, but I mostly use it to connect with friends and plan stuff. That seems to be the main way the people in my life (or everyone, I don’t know) is planning events these days. The other day I received an event invite which was asking for my address so someone could send out wedding invitations. Pretty clever use if you ask me. Much better than calling around or trying to track down your mom’s handwritten address book.

About two-ish years ago I decided to cross-contaminate Facebook with Twitter and friended a few Twitter-only friends on Facebook. It was a big selection process and I think it was only about 10 people. I eventually decided I didn’t like that and unfriended people I didn’t know in real life. Will I ever cross-contaminate again? Probably not. Facebook is my inner-inner circle, if you’re not already in it, you probably won’t make it. (Semi-kidding.)

If there’s one thing to change about how I use Facebook it would be to have a little more patience with people. I tend to get annoyed very quickly with the whiny folk of Facebook (should be its own website). Maybe it’s my empathy that needs work. I don’t know, I’ll work on something.

LinkedIn.

I don’t get it. I have tried, really super-duper hard but I cannot seem to see the purpose of LinkedIn. I have a profile and all that jazz but I don’t spend enough time on to to try to make meaningful connections. Sure, I could use to increase my network to land another job, but in all reality, it’s like throwing a dart into a cave and hoping to hit the bulls eye. My current connections include a few friends and an aunt (but I already connect with them on Facebook) and one recruiter (with whom I connect with outside of LinkedIn). Aside from the limited contacts, I honestly don’t think to check LinkedIn for anything. Unless I get an email which entices me to actually login, if I can remember my password, I am never on LinkedIn.

Maybe that’s my first mistake. If I actually spent time on the site, maybe I’d get it. Unfortunately as it stands now, I see no reason to waste time on it.

Goal: figure out if or how LinkedIn could serve a purpose for me.

Ok, here’s the deal

Last week I posted some crap about trying to write every day. And I have, I just haven’t written anything I wanted to post. This seems to be a common occurrence with me. The more I think about it, it’s probably not a disease but instead a symptom of something else.

With nearly every blog I’ve had, only 2 out of every 10 posts ever made it onto my blog. There really isn’t a single reason for it. Some days I just don’t feel like proof reading, or I just don’t think it sounds right, or it’s just a little too ranty, or I just don’t want to post it because… I just don’t. Quit hassling me!

I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that I’m still fairly insecure with my writing. I know I’m not great (that’s not self-deprecation, that’s just reality). My humor is dry and unbelievably dorky and the depth of my intelligence varies daily (however, I am apparently really good at the game “Smart Ass“, which is fitting). But, that’s me. I’m 30 now, I should probably embrace the shit out of it.

Maybe my perfectionist tendencies are getting in the way (of a lot of things, but that’s been an ongoing problem). Maybe once I’m legitimately comfortable with who/what/where I am everything will fall into place. Or I’ll just be one of those people who is never comfortable with who/what/where I am that I will always be evolving and moving and bouncing from one idea to the next never quite able to pick one focus in my life.

Maybe I’m just wired this way. I’ll never be an accountant, but some day I’ll probably be a physicist/author/fast food critic/marine biologist/video game tester/bus driver. Who knows.

Ok, I probably won’t ever be a physicist because I dislike math, but it’s hard to kill a dream.

2012 writing frenzy

My goal for this year is to write daily. Well, actually, I’m starting small, I want to write every day for a week and I’ll go from there. Not only do I want to write daily but I intend to post something somewhere daily; 99.9 percent of the time it will be here, if that changes I’ll definitely let you know. If I really truly expect to be a writer who actually gets paid I should probably write stuff with the intent to post (I’m notoriously bad at writing and not posting, I have about 7 drafts right now).

The problem with focusing on my blog is that it’s not focused on any one topic. It’s random which is both a blessing and a curse. When I had my political blog, I knew what topics were going to be good fodder for the site. Now I have tabs for entertainment, politics, sports, random (which is mostly life stuff) and WTF (the WTF news of the day). So essentially, the options are limitless.

I guess if I’m going to achieve my goal, I’ll just write what I find interesting. I don’t really care if you read it or not. (But seriously, you can read my blog. I don’t mind.) The blog is mostly for me anyway, and the few other loyal stalkers readers who read the stuff I write. Who knows, maybe it’ll even help me find a new future employer.

I guess I’ll be a writer

I never outright said, “I’m going to be a writer.” In fact, that thought never really crossed my mind. I had plans to be a marine biologist, nurse, doctor, therapist, psychiatrist, and life-long student. Clearly, not one of those plans worked out. I didn’t go to college to be a journalist or a writer. I blogged, essentially because Twitter didn’t warrant enough space for my thoughts. That’s it. Eventually, blogging triggered something that spoke to me and said, “Yeah, this is something you can do.” And I’ve been doing it, kind of.

I’m not saying I’m a good writer, because I don’t feel like I am. My grammar sucks at times (however, I can totally blame living in Minnesota for my backwards use of the English language), I overuse commas like a teenager overuses initialisms (I learned the difference between initialisms and acronyms about six months ago), and I ramble. A lot. In fact, if there’s one thing I could change about my writing habits, it’s being more concise. I’m still working on it.

The job I had at MSN this past year really helped forced me to tighten up my writing. The pieces I was writing essentially had to tell a story in less than a paragraph. Including most of the who, what, where, when and whys in as little as 2 sentences. It was a challenge.

The other challenge with that job was I was writing for a massive audience. With my blogs, I was writing for a couple dozen readers, on a good day, who didn’t really care if I screwed something up. It was always a little shocking to hear the number of daily page views in the hundreds of thousands, and monthly views into the millions. It sounds huge, and it was, but I never really thought about it much. I think if I obsessed over the numbers, I wouldn’t have been as semi-successful at my job as I was because the O.C.D. would have kicked into high gear.

Aside from my first “big gig” as a writer, which literally fell in my lap and I am ever so grateful for the opportunity (Stephen, if you’re reading this, THANK YOU!), I haven’t worked as a writer. My first job was huge, I’m not sure I’ll be able to beat that just yet. The simple fact is, nearly everyone can write. Which means that my writing needs to be so far above average to even be considered for most jobs. And in order to get more jobs, I need to get more clips and build up my portfolio. So far, I have a few links to pieces I wrote for MSN and a blog.

I know this is something I want to do, and something I can do. However, I’m not going to lie, it’s a pretty intimidating profession. One in which you have to catch the lucky breaks and run with them because the market is so flooded with really talented writers who are still struggling after being in the business for years and still trying to pay off their journalism degrees. I, on the other hand, will throw myself into the crowded pool of writers and keep writing, occasionally posting on my blog, applying for freelance gigs and going after every opportunity I can get. It may take a while, but I’m OK with that.

Oldies but goodies

Yes, it’s another music post.

Here are some of my “classic” favorites. Everyone knows and loves most of these. Others might be more obscure, depending on if you have good taste in music or not.

Billy Joel – Vienna

Elton John – Bennie and the Jets

Tell me you don’t “rock out” to this song when it comes on in the car. You can’t. Because everyone does.

The Beatles – I am the Walrus

Boston – Foreplay-Longtime

One of my favorite Boston songs of all time.

Frank Zappa – Muffin Man

This is the album version, which is fan-freakin-tastic.

Here’s the live version, which includes one of my favorite mind-blowing & face-melting Zappa solos.

Electric Light Orchestra – Mr. Blue Sky

Stix – Renegade

Led Zepplin – Bron Yr Aur

One of my all time favorite lyricless songs. It’s just beautiful.

Seals & Crofts – Summer Breeze

Here’s another version by Jason Mraz that I love too.

Pink Floyd – Fearless

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun

Interesting note: one of the first songs I learned on the guitar. Of course after the beginning of Stairway, like everyone else.

Music I’m in love with…today

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “music” blog post.

Anywho, this is what I’ve been listening to recently.

The Black Keys.


I know they’re kind of a hipster staple, but I have to be honest, I kinda love these guys. Pandora first played me “Tighten Up” and I looked it up on YouTube and fell in love with the video. Mostly because it made me laugh.

Then Pandora started playing more Black Keys and with every listen, I started to like them even more.


“Psychotic Girl.”



Their latest single, “Lonely Boy” is great. The video is even better.

They’re just the sort of band my Dad would love. If only he’d listen to me.

Dan Auerbach.

He’s the guitarist/vocalist from The Black Keys. Pandora played me “Real Desire” and I was hooked. LOVE THIS SONG!! There’s something of an off-beat throughout the song on the drums, which I picked up immediately and at first, it really irked me, but now it’s one of the reasons I love this song so much.



“My Last Mistake” is another one of my favs.



Fitz and The Tantrums.
This is one of those bands where my dad and I practically said “Hey have you heard Fitz and the Tantrums?” at the same time. I love them mostly because of their ’50s/’60s R&B feel. Sure, their music has mostly been breakup songs, but they’re a blast to jam to. Like seriously, I do a lot of car singing and dancing when I listen to Fitz.

“Don’t Gotta Work It Out” is probably one of my favs. Just an all-around fun song from start to finish.



“Rich Girls” is another great song.



Ryan Adams.

Man, there’s so much to love about this guy. I really just love his voice. He’s been around a while, and I’ve listened to him on and off, but recently started diving more into his music.

“Come pick me up” is one of the first songs I feel in love with. It’s just a great tune. I really don’t have much else to say about it.



I also love his cover of “Wonderwall” by Oasis. It’s just so stripped and raw, I honestly like it better than the Oasis version.



From his newest album, “Lucky Now.” It admittedly has a slight country thing happening, but it’s a classic songwriter song. And I love it.

Mat Kearney.

I’ve had a “OMG I LOVE HIM!!” “Ugh I can’t stand this song” relationship with Mat. But you can’t deny that “Hey Mama” is a freaking catchy song. It’s impossible to not get it stuck in your head. Catchy songs are clearly my weakness.



Foster the People.

My dad actually suggested that I listen to these guys (and Arctic Monkeys, but I don’t like them as much.). Of course everyone who listens to the radio anywhere in America has heard “Pumped Up Kicks” on the radio. And while the song is catchy and the band is very unugly, it’s not my absolute favorite. I like to compare Foster to that music you hear blasting at stores in the mall: Annoying Hipster Crap. But I still kind of dig it.

“Call it what you want” is a great tune. It’s kinda got this weird ’90s pop/dance thing going on. But whatevs. I like it.

WTF internet?!

These are stories that either made me laugh, cry, or fly into a fit of rage.

1) FDA approves does not approve new hangover pill:
The “pill”, called Blowfish which will sell for $2.99, is a combination of caffeine, aspirin and random crap to calm your stomach and works like magic in 15 to 30 minutes. You know what else contains caffeine and Aspirin and stomach calming stuff? Excedrin and tums. Some outlets reported that the FDA approved this magical little pill on Tuesday, however the FDA says they have not approved the pill to treat hangovers and only recently just heard about it. You’re better off sleeping it off and drinking plenty of water and/or Gatorade anyway.

2) Bennett isn’t real:
Last week or so when I was first introduced to “Texts from Bennett” I wanted him to be real. I really did. Mostly because these “texts” are the most ridiculous things I’ve read this month. Unfortunately, the Smoking Gun reports that Bennett is not real. Well, they don’t really say that, but “Bennett” is a pseudonym for David Sheldon’s real friend or something and Sheldon may or may not be making it up. Who knows. They’re still funny, however less so, now that there’s serious suspicion over the realness of Bennett.

3) “Mythbusters” shoot cannon ball into home
I love the Mythbusters. Mostly because they show you that science can be really funny and sometimes (see: all the time) things go wrong. But I really like when they blow up stuff and show how awesome duct tape is. Anyway, apparently something went wrong when the crew was at the Alameda County Firing Range recently: they fired a cannonball into someone’s home. (Wonder if they’ll air that on the episode they were filming.) Police say the cannonball took “a few unfortunate bounces” and ended up blasting a hole in the wall of the home. No one was injured and police are of course investigating.

4) Commie Muppets are brainwashing your children
Maybe it’s just me and my utter exhaustion at everything being turned into a political “Gotcha!” but for fucks sake, the Muppets are not brainwashing your children. I guess if we’re going that route, better keep your kids away from any “Scrooge” stories this Christmas. You know, because Scrooge is really just a substitute for Corporations who are mean cold-hearted entities that only want to make money and say “Screw you Tiny Tim, hope you die!” (Ok, he never says that… but I’m pretty sure you get my point.) Just take things for what they are, people. It’s a movie, based on the same story line used in nearly every single movie ever made: hero, conflict, resolution=hero wins. If you don’t like it, don’t take your kids to see the movie. And if a movie overrides the values you teach your kids, then you’re probably a bad parent.