Springsteen tickets?...no, wait it's for Kindergarten

What does it say about our education system when parents have to camp out to score a coveted spot for their child in KINDERGARTEN? Apparently only 36 spots were available at this Brooklyn elementary school and after that the little ones would be shipped off to another school.

I have so many issues with this that I don't know where to start. So in no particular order:

• Who did the district planning and didn't realize there would be more than 36 kindergartner?
• And if they did, why not hire another teacher?
• Who thinks that 36 five year olds is a good class size? Is this what class size is like in Brooklyn?
• Wouldn't the cost of the busing (and insurance) of however many more kindergartners there are offset the cost of another teacher?
  

I also went digging around to find out more about this and when I did a search for "parents camp out for kindergarten" I was appalled to find other instances of it here and here. GEEZ. What is this country coming to when parents have to go to these measures to get their child into freakin' Kindergarten??

I truly feel for these parents. I don't know what I would do in their place....no, I take that back. Sadly, I'd be exactly where they were.... with my blanket and a chair and hot cup of coffee.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

Today would have been my grandfather's 93rd birthday. He's been gone for nearly 18 years and I suppose I could say that I always think of him on February 28th. But the truth is that I think of him nearly every day.

My parents divorced before I was 2 and mom and I lived with my grandparents for a long time afterwards. So Grandpa was by far the single biggest male influence in my life. We had a very special bond and he always made me feel I was his favorite.

On his birthday, I'm reminded of how many ways he influenced my life and the things I appreciate. He was the one who took me to amusement parks and shared his love of music. He taught me to use a camera, the value of a dollar and how to be grateful for the things you have.

He was one of 11 children and worked hard his whole life. First to help support his parents and siblings in hard times, then to support a wife and 2 daughters. He never owned a house and even in his retirement, got a job working the early shift at McDonald's because after a lifetime of getting up before dawn, he figured he might as well do something.

Grandpa was the first one people called in times of crisis. And even when it meant personal sacrifice, he was quick to give you the shirt off his back.

Grandpa could fix anything. A skill my husband also possesses and it breaks my heart that Grandpa died before they had a chance to meet. I know they would've been great pals.

I miss him every day. Today more than most. It saddens me that he wasn't here to see me get married, to meet my husband, to see the woman I've become and see the birth of his great granddaughters.

I wonder all the time what he'd think of the world today.

What would he think of the choices I've made?

Would he be proud?

I hope so.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa.

10 Weird Things

I've felt uninspired to write lately. Work and life keep getting in the way and to be honest, I've felt more inspired to read and comment on my fellow bloggers sites than come up with thoughts of my own. Sometimes it's easier to chime in than to ring the bell yourself.

But, I can't ignore a challenge... and the Contessa has tagged me for a 10 Weird Things list. So here it is... read at your own discretion. They're in no particular order.

1. I have a weird fascination with the engagement and wedding announcements in the Sunday paper. It's like a little mystery novel. I like to try and figure out how these two people got together.
2. I'm insanely jealous of people who have natural talent (art, music, whatever) because I have none. I can carry a tune and enjoy belting a good song in the car but have been surrounded all my life with people who are far more talented in that arena. So instead, I joke that while they are all on stage, my job is to applaud really loudly.
3. I'm a walking book of useless trivia...movies, TV, historical, you name it. Sometimes even I'm amazed at the junk I remember.
4. I'm fascinated by genealogy and have traced a branch of my husband's family tree back to the 1300's and King Edward III.
5. I have never lived outside of New York or New Jersey.
6. I'm convinced that The Contessa and I were separated at birth...except she can sing and I cannot (see #2).
7. Since graduating from college I have worked at an ad agency, a recruiting firm, a newspaper, a magazine and a textbook publisher... and oh yea...I've also been a Nine West store manager.
8. My favorite song at the moment is Christina Aguilera's Candyman. I love big band music and the trombone at the beginning makes me smile every time.
9. I love having people over to my house which I suppose isn't weird except that I suffer from "mary tyler moore syndrome" No matter how hard I plan, I'm always afraid that no one will show up or that no one will have a good time. (Does anyone else get this reference?)
10. I have never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. REALLY.
    

So there you have it.... tagged next are Word Girl, Crank Mama and Gunfighter.

Watching your language and today's thing to be proud of

First a funny thing...

Just as I pull out the driveway this morning on the way to drive my five year olds to the bus stop, I hear

Daughter 2: "oh, crap"

Me: "What did you say?" (hoping I heard it wrong and trying not to chuckle).

Daughter 2: "I said 'oh, crap'" (innocently as she dropped whatever she was holding on the floor)

Me: OK, let's not say that anymore. It's not a nice thing to say."

Meanwhile Daughter 1 chimes with "What did she say?what did she say?"

Me: Nothing, nothing. She said something that wasn't a nice word and we're not going to repeat it.

Why do these things always happen on the way to the bus stop when I am the only adult in the car?

And I KNOW that I am the guilty party that introduced the phrase into her vocabulary. I obviously try and watch my language around the kids and I certainly don't curse like a sailor but the phrase "oh, crap" has definitely been uttered by me on more than one occasion.

I suppose the good thing is that she used it the proper context, right?

I'm imagining that we're going to get a note home from school if she keeps it up. :sigh:

But on other fronts...
It looks like the family is going on another cruise this summer. It will be my Dad and his wife's (I'm not allowed to call her my stepmother) 40th anniversary and our 12th the week we sail. I'm really excited about it but I've decided that I refuse to be the fat girl in the cruise pictures again. Last time we went... about a year ago, I actually photoshopped myself in a few of the pictures before sending them to the rest of the family. (pathetic, I know). If you saw my perpetually thin husband, father and brothers you'd understand. One brother is a former body builder and my 65 year old dad plays tennis several times a week.

This is the just the motivation I need to stop talking about this and DO SOMETHING. I can diet with the best of them and I've been known to drop 20-30 pounds on everything from Atkins to Weight Watchers. But exercise has never been my strong suit. It's not that I'm lazy (well, maybe it is) it's just that I can't figure out how to fit exercise into my life.

So this morning I got up at 5:30 (set the alarm for 5 but that obviously wasn't happening) and went to look outside. I thought, "maybe, I'll go take a walk" Well, besides the fact that it was 22 degrees outside...it was PITCH BLACK out there! I don't know what I was expecting at 5:30 but it suddenly occurred to me that I live on a street with no street lights. OK, so that obviously wasn't happening.

On to Plan B.

I put on a 35 minute Pilates video from my on demand TV service and did that instead. It didn't have the same exhilarating feeling as going out for a walk in 22 degree weather but at least I did it. And I'm damned proud of myself for that.

Tomorrow I'm going to do it again. (and because I've said it here, it has to be true).

Stay tuned.

Craving human interaction

I work from home two days a week typically. And it’s great to be able to just get up put the coffee on…get my kids off to school and work in my pajamas. Isn’t that the ultimate goal… to work in your pajamas?

And don’t get me wrong… I LIKE working from home. I get some stuff done quicker. And given the nature of my job, it doesn’t really matter in most cases where I am physically, since everything is done by phone and email.

Last week, however, I was home 3 days instead of my usual two. And my husband’s been busy… so by the end of the week I REALLY needed to get out of my house, have some time alone where I was not working and was sans children and talk to someone over the age of 5.

I never realized how much not having live humans to talk to would effect me. I mean especially because I spend all of my working hours creating and managing electronic communication. And much of my own free time is spent communicating with friends and strangers through emails and blogs.

I guess there’s no risk of me becoming a shut in, huh?

But of course that got me thinking… In an age where we are constantly connected, how can we still feel so isolated? I can’t believe that I’m alone in this. It’s so easy to just be connected through electronic means but takes time and effort and coordinating of schedules to actually be in the same room as people you care about.

I feel that there’s this dichotomy of a sense of community (blog or otherwise) compared to this feeling of disconnect because I don’t see and spend enough physical time with some people who are important to me.

I definitely need both. I need to see people, hug them, and laugh out loud with them not just LOL with them.

What is he thinking?

I just got back from a business trip last night so I watched the President's speech the other night from the comfort of my company paid hotel room. And my consideration for my fellow guests is probably the only thing that kept me from screaming at the TV.

I've long since stopped asking myself "what was he thinking" because it's painfully obvious that he just plain...isn't. But thankfully, in our 24 hour news cycle, there are others to remind him and us of what he's already told us.... so in case you had any doubts that King George would rather rewrite history than be hassled to remember what he's said before... take a look at Keith Olbermann's commentary from Wednesday night just before the speech.


And really, what is a surge but George's way of sticking out his tongue and saying "yup, I"m gonna send some more innocent lives in harms way. And you can't stop me." ?

A debate about older mothers

There's a great little debate going on over at Citizen of the Month about the woman in Barcelona who just gave birth to twins at 67. (by IVF obviously).

I, as well as others, fell pretty strongly that this was selfish on so many levels on the part of the mother. But Neil at Citizen of the Month wants to know why it is selfish when no one says anything if a 70 year old man fathers a child.

Double Standard? Yes.

But there are so many realities in place here:

• women are often the primary caregivers for young children (except in my house and a rare few others)
• At 67 it is unrealistic to think that this woman will be a part of her children's lives as long as say, if she were 37.

And having been through the whole IVF thing personally, I want to know what doctor in their right mind agreed to this? Apparently she had it done somewhere in Latin America but REALLY... this doctor needs to have his or her license revoked.

Is there no code of ethics? Did no one think this might not be such a good idea?

But was it her right to do.... grudgingly, I have to say yes.

Others are commenting that she had the right to do whatever she wants with her body and while there are few people who are more Pro-Choice than me... I have to disagree here. She did not do this on her own. They were someone else's eggs (because, let's be realistic here...she is 67!!) And there was a fairly large team of experts making it all happen.

Being pregant with and caring for newborn twins zaps the stuffing out of even the most motivated of mothers...and no one is more motivated that someone who's been through many years of infertility (like me) AND YET... I still can't wrap my brain around setting out on that journey at 67.

What was she thinking??

There are no good answers.

My final word on Resolutions

What is it about turning the calendar to January that inspires us all to want to be better people?

Doesn’t everyone want to lose weight, stop smoking, be more organized, (insert resolution here) all the time?

We could certainly resolve to be a better person when turning the calendar page to…say… Thursday.

And Janaury does always represent that feeling of a fresh start. I get it. But after hemming and hawing about what I’m going to do better this year… I’m finally just resolving to:

Do better

And if I don’t… then tomorrow is another day to:

Do better, now.

And so on.

And in that category of Doing Better… here the things I’d like to be better at:

• Better at eating (actually, I’m kinda great at that now which is part of my problem)
• Better at taking care of myself and those I love
• Better at parenting
• Better at staying on top of things before they become crises

And I want to be a better friend. Life gets in the way, and I’ve found myself losing touch with people that I didn’t’ mean to lose touch with. And I’m not as close as I want to be with some others that I see all the time. I want my children to understand how valuable and precious good friends are.

So today,
And tomorrow
And the day after that

I’m going to do better.

Masquerading as a Stay at Home Mom

I took off from work this week to use up my remaining vacation days and now that the hoopla of the holidays is more or less over, I'm masquerading as a stay at home mom.

With the kids off from school, I have to say it's more than a little challenging. It would be so easy to just let them stay home and play with all the toys they just got but somehow I feel like a horrible parent if I don't have something planned every day to at least give them cause to get out of their pajamas.

Yesterday, a friend of mine came over with her two kids and while she and I got to catch up, our kids entertained each other for a few hours. The day before that, I took the girls to one of those indoor playgrounds. And today we are off to the library and then to Grandma's house for a change of scenery.

Somewhere in all of this I have to manage to run an errand or two with sufficient bribery to keep my two five year olds in check. I can see where this gets old very fast!

But I'm actually kind of enjoying it, I have to admit. And my house is certainly cleaner than it's been in a long time. I think we are going on 4 or 5 solid days with no dishes in the sink and no crap on the counter. A fact I felt I needed to point out to my husband who was less than optimistic that the trend would continue into next week when I go back to work. Hmmm. I think I smell a challenge here.

Next week it will be back to the grind with some new changes at work that will hopefully make my job a little more manageable.

But I'm not even thinking about that now (REALLY). I'm off to the library.

Things I should be doing instead of writing in my blog

It's 12:15AM. The dishwasher is running, the washing machine is running and the dryer is running. I SHOULD be sweeping or dusting or cleaning a bathroom since we are having a dozen people over for christmas on Monday. I'm rationalizing it as...I'm waiting for the dryer to finish so I can get the good comforter out while it is still warm.

And no sense in really cleaning a bathroom when my two 5 year olds will just destroy it tomorrow. right? (Please say..."right")

Problem is that tomorrow is going to be shot. At 10:30 we have to be at my mother-in-law's church for some Christmasy thing they are putting on (not a pageant...I know what those are... said the Jewish daughter-in-law). Then we are going to another christmasy thing over at Digital Father's church to see his kids in a pageanty thing at 3.

Meanwhile, my mind will be on not the spirit of the season but whether I have all the ingredients for everything I am cooking on Christmas Day. (no offense to Digital Father and his kids who we love!)

Oh, and of course, on what questions the kids will ask related to Christmas. I'm kind of dreading that. I have enough trouble explaining the facets of my own faith to five year olds.

The other day, while waiting for the bus, one of my daughters asked me what it means when someone dies. I felt like deer the headlights because it just came out of nowhere. She is the queen of nonsequiters.

OH, and it was 8:15 in the freakin morning!

So I started with flowers and bugs since I know she's seen dead flowers and bugs...and paused while I hoped and prayed that this was all she needed to feel complete.

No such luck.

HER: "What about people? Why do they die?"

ME: "Well, sometimes people die when they are very very old...and sometimes when they've been very sick. (think think think....how can I explain this to her without scaring her or having her think that everyone is going to die tomorrow?) People's bodies are a little like machines with lots of working parts, and when some of those parts stop working and can't be fixed...then they die."

HER: "And then what happens to them?"

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD.....WHERE is that BUS??? I was so unprepared for this conversation and it was on a rare morning that my husband didn't come with us to wait for the bus...so I had NO backup.

And did I mention that it was 8:15 in the freakin morning??

ME: "Well, lots of different people believe lots of different things about what happens after you die. And since no one's ever come back to tell me...I'm not really sure, honey. (yes, I realize this was the coward's way out but I was not prepared to debate Heaven with a 5 year old)

HER: "so they go away FOREVER?"

ME: "Yes, but it's ok. You won't have to worry about it for a very long time.... and look, there's your bus!"

HER: "OK, Mommy...BYE"

And yes, I sat in the car for a good three minutes after wondering if this little explanation was going to come back to haunt me later in life when my daughter needs therapy because I didn't provide her with something to believe in.

I can't wait to see what my girls come up with tomorrow!

The funniest post I've seen in a long time

I stumbled on this blog...as I do most blogs...posted on Babble.com which proclaims itself to be for urban parents (which I am not).

Nonetheless, I thought this post about and the audacity of perfect strangers and the questions they feel are not too rude to ask was so funny that I nearly did a spit-take.

Please read it here but be forwarned that some of the language may not be appropriate if your boss (or child) happens to be reading over your shoulder.

Things I think I could do for 30 days in a row

I've really been thinking about this and the list is pretty lengthy of things I'd like to do to better myself (at least in a 30 day burst) Not that I'm so flawed as to need so much work...well, ok...perhaps I am.

So on the list of things I think I can do for 30 days is:

• Wake up early
• Exercise
• Eat better (as in give up cookies or ice cream or some other item detrimental to my waistline).
• Empty my email inbox (I'm terrible at this now and as a result I constantly get that annoying administrator message at work that says "your mailbox is full").
• And probably a bunch more but these are the ones that make the top of the list.
  

The problem is that I want to do ALL of these things but I'm smart enough to know that doing them simultaneously is setting myself up for failure.

So which one will I choose? Hmmmm.

I think I'm going to shoot for the exercise thing since I know that this is the thing I need most to incorporate into my life.

Stay tuned. I can't really wrap my brain around this until after Christmas on Monday.

December in a dual faith household- Part 2.

The balancing act between Chanukah and Christmas is going pretty well so far. The kids are exicted about the whole candle lighting thing and the fact that they get a little gift each night. Best of all, we found what I am proclaiming the BEST CHANUKAH/CHRISTMAS KIDS BOOK OF ALL TIME.

Really.

I went on a little tirade the other day because I wanted to get my girls a new book for the holiday and of course there are about a bazillion Christmas books covering everything from our old friend Santa to Mary in the Manger...and one teeny little shelf of Chanukah books.

And all of them sucked. Either they were picture books with merely pictures of dreidels and menorahs...or they were detailed accounts of the battle of the macabees complete with all this talk of the destruction of the temple. A little too heavy for my five year olds, if you ask me.

Thankfully, someone read my mind and several days later while wandering through the local Barnes and Noble, we stumbled on a book called "Light the Lights! A story about Celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas" by Margaret Moorman If you know anyone who struggles with the challenges of celebrating both holidays, go out right now and buy this book for them. I can guarrantee they will think it is wonderful. There is nothing preachy about it. It simply tells the story of little Emma who's father is Jewish and mother is Christian and how they celebrate the holidays as a family.

It's exactly what I was looking for.

What can you do for 30 Days?

The guys over at Blogfathers had an interesting post the other day about resolutions….now that New Year’s is almost here. But more importantly, they had a link to Steve Pavlina’s web site which proclaims itself Personal Development for Smart People.

OK. "I’m a smart person, so this is obviously directed at me", I thought.

And boy was it ever.

Read the post at Blogfathers because they did a great job of putting this all in perspective but..He covers everything from How to give up coffee to how to find your life’s purpose. I think the latter is taking things a bit too far but the one that interested me the most was his 30 Days to Success article. The basic premise is you can do anything for 30 days. Want to lose weight? Great, commit to a better diet for 30 days. Want to give up TV ( or watch less)? Great, commit to it for 30 days. I mean who can’t do something for 30 days? It’s not a lifetime commitment. But if it turns into one, then …Great. But if not, at least you have the satisfaction of having accomplished something for 30 days.

Check out his site, and my all means read this guy’s bio because if ever there was someone who was a walking example of someone who turned their life around… it’s him.

I haven’t decided what “resolution” I will test with this little exercise. What can you do for 30 days?

December in a dual faith household

It’s tough to be a Jewish kid this time of year when everything around you is Christmas trees and santa claus. Not to mention the occasional nativity scene. Now that I have kids of my own, I wonder how any Jewish parent gets through the season without their child feeling like a second class citizen. As a kid, I BEGGED my mother for a Christmas tree. “We could call it a Hanukah bush and put a Jewish star at the top. It would be soooo cool.” And every year the answer was a resounding “no, Jewish families don’t have Christmas trees.”

Yes, Adam Sandler, I did feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree.

My act of protest? I married a Christian. So there!

The first Christmas that my husband and I were together, imagine my excitement to finally have a tree. But I quickly learned just how clueless I was to all the pomp and circumstance that goes along with Christmas. Standing in a store with an arm full of 18 different types of ornaments, garlands and bows (oh, my) feeling like “Janey Jew” not having a freakin’ clue what I was doing. Not to mention that neon sign I was sure was blinking over my head that said “JEW”

Bet you Christians out there don’t realize just how clueless we are when it comes to:

• How to Choose a Christmas Tree
• How to hang lights
• How to hang ornaments for a balanced tree
• The difference between indoor lighting and outdoor lighting
• How to take down and store said lights
• How to dispose of a Christmas tree after Christmas is over
  

And so on

Because all we have to know is:

• One menorah
• Eight candles
• One each night
• Light them from right to left.

Hanukah over? Put menorah back in the box until next year.

Aren’t you jealous now? None of this putting up and taking down business. Out of the box…eight days later…back in the box.

My husband (God bless him) gets very into the season. Last week he rearranged the furniture in the living room in anticipation of where the tree will go. He’s hung the lights and a five foot wreath on the house. (A task which he does when I’m not around because he knows it makes me nuts to think he is up on a ladder or hanging off the roof to do it.) No Jewish husband ever fell off a ladder hanging lights.

For my part as half of our dual faith household, I've had to learn about real trees vs. fake ones, white lights vs. colored lights and tree skirts.

The problem now is that my five year olds are old enough to be aware of the holidays. And Hanukah just doesn’t have the same appeal. We have no cool icons associated any of our holidays. Who can compete with Santa Claus? Something tells me that the Macabees, despite their valiant cause and the whole mystery surrounding the oil…are no substitution for SANTA CLAUS.

We need a guy like that. Do you think I can get Hanukah Harry a good agent?

It all comes down to time or money

My husband and I are often puzzled by how frequently we find ourselves saying "why isn't there any food in the house? Am I exaggerating? Maybe just a little… I mean after all, how much food could two five year old girls possibly eat? You'd be surprised.

We feel like we are constantly going grocery shopping. Either him, late at night after the kids are in bed…or me on the weekend dragging two weary 5 year olds behind me. As a rule, I don't mind going grocery shopping, but somehow, by the time I get to the register, I often become a raving lunatic as I've just spent 15 or 20 aisles going…"come on, girls. Walk faster" or "STOP IT" in varying degrees of urgency and volume. So that by the time I actually get out the store, I feel like the world's worst parent and I just want to throw something at someone.

So the last time I was at my local supermarket, I noticed that they were offering a shop at home service where you can order online and then either pick up or have the stuff delivered. The cost is minimal. Ten bucks to order online and an additional 10 if you want them to deliver it. And for me, another "excuse" to be online. (as if I needed one!)

In a nutshell, order online, pick a window of time about 4 hours later to pick it all up, show up at the store and pay for and claim your already bagged groceries.

No wandering the aisles in search of something. No impulse buying. No standing in line behind that person who decides to write a check. Or the one who is arguing with the cashier over the validity of the expired coupon.

Just show up and get your stuff. What could be better than that?

Admittedly, I did forget a few things that I might have remembered if I was walking up and down the aisles. But I certainly found a better use for the time on a Saturday afternoon with my kids.

$10 well spent. Try it if you can.

Technorati

I'm spreading my wings and listing this blog in a bunch of places. You'll soon see me listed on BlogHer and with a profile on Technorati. Technorati Profile

Word of Mouth Marketing


Obviously I’m a bit of a techno geek.

One of my favorite bloggers, Sarah and the Goon Squad had a link on her site not too long ago for a free sample of something. I forget what. Turned out it was a link to a marketing service where you can sign up to receive free samples of stuff. Now, who doesn’t love free stuff? So of course I signed up.

Today I got a little survey from the same site, asking me how I typically decide what to purchase and if I influence others with those decisions. (Do I ever!) They obviously don’t know who they are talking to. I’ve been known to research things TO DEATH! Cameras, phones, washing machines, you name it. I read the expert reviews, I go to epinions and read the consumer reviews, I ask around. I go to a few stores so I can touch and feel the item in question. And I narrow it down to two or three items… Well, you get the picture. And you can bet that if I have an opinion about something, everyone is going to hear about it.

Anyway, there was a link at the bottom of the survey with a logo for WOMMA, which is the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Given the nature of the survey I just took, I feel like I am the poster child for WOMMA. But the stuff I found on their site even made me go “WOW, some of this stuff is brilliant.”

Take for instance the whole concept of Second Life. There’s an article on blogworks (a great marketing blog, by the way), that discusses how advertisers are jumping on the bandwagon with this service and creating brand awareness in this simulated world. Brilliant, except for one thing. Are the people addicted to Second Life leaving their house long enough to purchase these items in the real world? If so, then, yes…this is indeed brilliant marketing. Even the CDC is getting in the act with a place in Second Life for flu prevention and treatment info. The CDC!!? Who’s next? AARP?

(On a little side note, I find it a bit preposterous that people are paying a monthly service to create an avatar and a life for that avatar. But that's just me. I just file it under the same category as Dungeons and Dragons and fantasy baseball.)

Never before in the history of advertising has there been so many direct lines and two way communication between marketers, consumers and even politicians. Obviously, if you are reading blogs, this means YOU. Want to have influence? Too late, you already do.

It used to be that if you really loved…or in most cases, really hated a product or service, you could call a random customer service number and complain to a nameless voice or take out your little pen and paper and write a letter of complaint. Now, not only can you email the company directly but you have the power to influence others by posting to a blog, posting a message on a board, commenting on a site or any variety of other ways. And apparently the marketers are listening. And I’m sure tickled that they needn’t bother as much with those expensive focus groups.

Marketers (smart ones, anyway) are scouring blogs, message boards and services like myspace to see what you think. And better yet, adjusting their marketing efforts accordingly.

I feel pretty powerful knowing that. Don’t you?

What will you do with that power? Who will you influence?

(stepping down off of my emarketing soap box now)

Every decision comes down to these three choices

I’ve been at the same company for nearly 7 years. Longer than I’ve been anywhere. The main function of my job is as project manager for my company’s many many web sites. In a nutshell, my problem is this… the “powers that be” really have no clue what it takes to create these masterpieces, and while they sit around with those “big ideas” SOMEONE, has to actually do the work. So I’m consistently short handed.

My direct supervisor got fed up and just took another position in the company. And the guy who she reported to is not only clueless most of the time about what I do but (more importantly), powerless to help me get some additional resources.

So, I sought the counsel of someone who I used to work for, thinking she might be able to offer some guidance. An hour long pep talk came down to these three choices.

• Suck it up and see where the chips fall
• Work to create a solution to make it better
• Get out

And I left her office thinking that nearly every decision we make in life comes down to these three choices. Think about it…. Don’t like your job? See above. In a bad relationship? See above.

As I see it, each has it’s own pros and cons. If I suck it up, then I can look forward to more of the same. Wonder how much I can take before my head explodes. Or my dept head might actually be able to pull a rabbit out of his hat in the new year…. Doubtful

I’ve already tried the “work to make it better” option and it’s gotten me nowhere.

So that leaves me here… hating my job. Reluctant to leave because of some perks and benefits that I’m fond of. But really having no choice. ACK!

Life is too short to hate your job, right? Guess it’s time to dust off my resume.

Anyone want to hire a hard working Internet Marketing Manager?

I’m sure I’ll have more to say on navigating the job market. I suspect it will suck.

Elections as a sport

Today, I am giddy.

I am not a big sports fan (much to the annoyance of my father and brothers). And I never really GOT the excitement over watching your team win…or the “WE WON” mentality that goes along with being an avid fan.

Today I get it.

Elections, like most Super Bowls, are often kind of dry and very seldom close. Sure there’s the occasional presidential election that goes down to the wire… But most of the time, there are no big surprises, no need for instant replays and not much overtime.

Last night, I stayed up WAY too late watching election results, giddy with excitement that my team was finally edging out ahead. I was not only cheering for my home team but for everyone’s home team. I truly felt like the sports nuts I like to make fun of who can quote the stats of their favorite players. I couldn’t believe I was so engrossed in up to the minute results from states I have never set foot in.

Today, I feel like my vote counted for something.

Go Dems, Go!