When Looking For a Job it is All About Who You Know

When looking for a new job it is important to remember that almost as important as what you know is who you know. My baby sister recently got an AWESOME JOB working for an Internet company with whom I have many interactions. The pay is great. The insurance benefits are some of the best I've ever heard of, there is college course reimbursement, lots of room to move up, stability, and stock options. She heard about the opening because her boyfriend's brother works for the company. She applied but three weeks later had not heard back. When she mentioned this to her "brother-in-law" he made a trip over to human resources and told them they should pull her file. This was crucial in her getting an opportunity to interview for the job. It turns out that she was just one in over a thousand applicants who had applied. With that many applications it is easy to get looked over. Her "brother-in-law" made it possible for her to get an interview, than she used her skills to land the job. It reminds me of my days as a student. There was a job board at our school but it seemed like every job up there had either already been filled or was quickly filled by a friend of someone currently working the job. After six months of looking for a job that's how I finally landed mine. My roommate was an afternoon secretary. When the morning secretary quit she told me to apply. I remember my interview. I went in to meet the department chair. He looked at my resume and said, "So I see you are a zoology major. I'm reading this great book about Jane Goodall." And then we spent the rest of the interview talking about Jane. He never asked me how fast I typed. He didn't question my filing, phone, or computer skills. We simply spent twenty minutes talking about Jane and chimpanzees. After I left he asked my roommate if she liked me. She told him I was great and next thing I knew I had the job. Friends and family are a great resource when looking for work. They can let you know about job openings, they can make sure your resume gets noticed, and in the end they can be your number one reference. Just a reminder on one of your best resources when looking for work.

Blindside

I was watching So You Think You Can Dance (an incredibly embarrassing addiction I have) and noticed a movie preview for The Blindside: Evolution of the Game. I'm not sure how the movie will go, I'm just not a Sandra Bullock fan, but I think the book is excellent, a great read! It is my favorite kind of non-fiction, a great story with interesting dinner conversation facts. The story describes Michael Oher a homeless African-American high school student who is adopted by a white upper middle class family the Tuohys. Michael Oher was a survivor. He was blessed by God with incredible athletic talent and survival instincts but without love, supervision, and support his life was heading nowhere fast. The Tuohy family was blessed with financial security, love, and grace. They saw Michael and instinctively reached out, in the process joining him to their family. If you're curious about his story there is a good video clip here. In between Oher's story is the story of the evolution of the leftside tackle, the position Michael plays, and how it became so important that it's pay grade is second highest, only beat out by the quarter back position. I think this book is definitely worth checking out. I wonder what the world would be like if every forgotten child could find their way into the arms of a family like the Tuohy family.

Sometimes it isn't just about motivation...

So I went back to the gym, two days in a row. The first day I alternated walking and running in two minute stretches for 20 minutes. That ten minutes of running killed me. I thought, am I really this out of shape? Apparently I am because at that point I quit and just walked my last ten minutes before doing the weight circuit. The next day I ran a full mile. Then I quit and walked. It was encouraging. What happened next can only be describe as ironic. My kid got the flu and my foot hurts every time I flex it back. So now I have the motivation to work but can't take the kids to the gym, and even if I could even walking is painful. I think I'll go eat some chocolate chips :(

When I was a kid, an OCD moment

When I was a kid and I would step on a crack with foot A, I would than have to step on a crack with foot B, but with less force so that the feeling I was experiencing on the bottom of foot B would match the feeling I was experiencing on foot A. Sometimes I'd have to step on the line several more times with foot A and B in order to get the feeling "right". When I told Dr. J this last night and asked if he'd ever done something similar he gave me the look that says, "You are a nut ball and do my children have these genes?". What I didn't tell him is that when I said kid, I could have included a year ago...eek! I was thinking about the whole thing because I'd just finished:

Life in Rewind: The Story of a Young Courageous Man Who Persevered over OCD and the Harvard Doctor Who Broke All the Rules to Help Him.

Terry Weible Murphy was the author. Edward E. Zine was the Courageous Man. Michael A. Jenike was the Doctor.

This story was interesting. The writing was decent although the title is misleading. Edward Zine had OCD. It was bad. To find out how bad read the book but for a teaser lets just say a bed covered in green slime. Dr. Michael Jenike started a clinic that deals with OCD. You can tell Terry Murphy thinks he is a saint. Edward and Michael are friend. Michael tried to help Edward. I'm really unclear on what "all the rules were that he broke". I guess the common sense ones? The "establishment"? Well whatever rules, he didn't really help Edward. More like he had to leave Edward because even for him Edward was just to hard to deal with. One day Edward managed himself enough to come back to the functioning world. Both men live intesting lives. The story definitely made me think about mental illness and my own family. The writing is good, but certain things about the organization make me feel just not quite "right" :)

Small Family?

Is a family of five still considered a small family or have they moved on to the realm of a mid sized family? Growing up Mormon has irrevocably altered my perception on these things.

That Magical Age

Today is my birthday. I've reached what my mom calls THE MAGICAL AGE! Why is it magical? It is magical because it is the age that no woman ever goes past. Welcome to 29. How is it possible I have reached this point. In my mind, I'm still 21...which I realize considering all three of my younger sister have passed that point is physically impossible. So it is time to say goodbye to that point. I'm 29. I think back to where I thought I'd be at this point. Am I there? Have I made it? What have I accomplished in my life.

1) I've known my husband now 8 years. Seems like just yesterday he stopped me on the street. Now we are forever entwined.
2) I've pretty much finished my childhood and college scrap books. Now I need to get back to my kids'.
3) I have a bachelors degree in a field I actually like.
4) I've worked on several published studies and am currently working on one of Dear Dr. J's. Maybe someday we will actually finish it.
5) I survived a transatlantic flight with a two year old and pregnant belly.
6) I've seen the pyramids...the ones in Egypt people :)
7) I've learned how to make a perfect loaf of wheat bread.
8) I've been the primary president in two wards. When we move from here I'm going to make a strong push on our next bishop that I'm ready to try something new :)
9) I have three beautiful children, Little E took 38 1/2 hours of labor.
10) G bear had me the skinniest I've ever been in my adult life at five months pregnant.
11) Peach has to survive with parents who have two other children.
12) I've been married over seven years. This anniversary will put us at having the longest first marriage of any of our parents.
13) I survived my first bad parent teacher conference.
14) I taught myself how to sew.
15) I know what a runners high feels like.
16) I've painted my walls colors...something my mother would never allow when I was a child.
17) I've enjoyed hair all the way down to my butt and a pixie cut.
18) I own a mini van and actually love having it.
19) I've been married to a student for almost eight years, which means I know how to get more for my money and what it is like to be a single mom with a boyfriend who occasionally stops by :)
20) I finally joined a cell phone plan.
21) I can cook a cheese cake that is not out of a Kraft box.
22) I've driven 18 hours with three kids, all by myself.
23) I've overcome a shoe addiction.
24) I maintain three bogs...although one is severely neglected.
25) I can braid baby hair.
26) I keep my bathrooms clean.
27) I know what I want to be when I grow up, and Dr. J is finally through school.
28) I love my family and still talk to them at least once a week or more but can survive living on the other side of the country.
29) I actually enjoy the city of Chicago. This took years so it is an accomplishment.

What more do I want to do in my life.

1) I want to go back to school. I want to become something really cool. I'm waiting for Dr. J to finish first :)
2) I want to write a book.
3) I still want a National Geographic article...but since it doesn't really fit with my school plans we will have to see.
4) I want to raise three outstanding citizens of this world who have something to contribute and love each other.
5) I want to always support my husband and for us to always be happy together.
6) I want to figure out all the settings on my Cannon.
7) I want to print my Jordan blog out in a scrap book.
8) I want to learn to make jewelry.
9) I want to make a difference in this world.
10) I want to live somewhere I can pick up an accent.
11) I want to be a vegetarian but just can't figure out how to give up meat...I LOVE IT :)
12) I want to go to Hawaii.
13) I want to learn to wind surf and sail.
14) I want to run again.

Luckily for me I have a lifetime of 29th birthdays so I can get this all done :)

Worth It

Woke up in Denver: 3:30am. Left Denver: 5am. Ate lunch in Kearney, Nebraska: 11:30am. Nursed at some random rest stop in Iowa: 3:00pm. Listened to kids scream for two hours. Ate dinner in Des Moines with old college roommate: 5:30pm. Left her house and bribed kids with candy and donuts: 8pm. Listened to kids complain for two hours. Propped eyes open with coke: 10pm. Got to central Illinois: 1:30am. Unloaded the kids into beds by myself: 1:45 am. Curled up next to my still sleeping honey who had no idea I wasn't staying in Des Moines last night: 2am.....TOTALLY WORTH IT!