Welcome to my blog post about the hippy-dippy things I would do if I ruled the world.
1. Yoga pants and a comfy t-shirt would be an acceptable form of business wear. Anytime, any day, if you don't want to suit up for work or deal with a work uniform, you have full permission to wear comfy yoga pants. Your boss is forbidden from writing you up for dressing "sloppily". Why? Because it should never be wrong to be comfortable. Happiness should never be punishable.
2. While we're talking about laws regarding dress. Crappy shoes are outlawed. No heels. No stilettos. No pointy-toes. None of that! The only shoes anyone gets to wear must allow one to go running at a moments notice. You can run in heels? TOO BAD! I'm just trying to help you to succeed here, you will never win a footrace in heels.
3. One day a week no one gets paid. No one works for money. Of course this means that probably all or most businesses would be closed depending on human generosity. So instead, we would all have to get things by asking to borrow or trade with neighbors. Think of all friends we could make on this one day. We all just take a day off from the consumerism and overworking.
4. Human labeling is disallowed. Any word that places people in a group such as race, sexual orientation, religion, clubs or class cannot be used. Instead of talking about Jeanine being an upper-class, orc-dork, white, Catholic...she is Jeanine and now you have to get to know who Jeanine is to find out what she is about. As you learn about who Jeanine is, you find out she's doing well, loves to play the cello, has light skin that freckles in the sun, dark brown hair and green eyes. She's read the Bible all through once already and is halfway through her second time. Everyone is just whatever it is they are. We'll accept one unique identifier label (first name) and that is all.
You don't get one word to tell you things about people. You get sentences, paragraphs...real descriptions! Generalizations cannot be used to talk about people. You cannot say "All brown-haired people are shy." You cannot even say "the majority" or "most". You just have to talk about people as individuals. Because guess what? They are.
30 January 2014
21 January 2014
Student Loan Debt is not Good Debt
As I've started working on a project for this blog in which I discuss various issues and concerns surrounding our education system here in the US, I've felt a pull to address the pending Student Loan Debt Crisis. Pending? Did I say pending? I meant, the already existing crisis.
While the bubble hasn't formally burst, we already have an issue. I have heard it preached across church pulpits and spoken to young college students as kind parental advice. It is the statement that "student loan debt is an acceptable debt to take out." Or sometimes phrased as, "There are good forms of debt, student loans are a good debt"
False.
Honestly, I wish I had an air horn that I could take and stand up in the chapel pews to sound off when this falsehood is spoken. I wish I could be there for every parent-child talk and say, "Johnny, no offense, but your father is an idiot." As a Finance graduate, perhaps I should take my laptop to dinner parties and when I meet college students I could take their projected potential earnings and match them to their current debt and produce a special chart for every individual and armed with the purest logic, show them they're screwed if they decide to finance their education with debt. This would probably be the best use of my degree.
Since these are not socially acceptable or even possible solutions, a blog post will have to do...and an infogram.
Student loans are not automatically a good idea just for the sake of being used for a "good" thing called "education". Look at the numbers before you get that loan. If you're an art student, social work major or going in to teaching and many other majors...you are not going to earn a lot of money. Do your homework and find out how much your starting wage in your career will be. Here's a good website to get started.
STEM and business majors, I'm looking at you. Don't get off thinking you're special and studying science and math so you're automatically getting high paying jobs out of college. I swear, you nerds are the worst. You think it's six-figures from day one and that you'll love your career if not for the cool science-y stuff or fun with numbers, you'll love the money.
Get off your high-horse and do the research, the math before you get that loan. It is completely and entirely possible to take out more loans than you can pay off. Just because you qualify does not mean it's a good idea.
Get off your high-horse and do the research, the math before you get that loan. It is completely and entirely possible to take out more loans than you can pay off. Just because you qualify does not mean it's a good idea.
16 January 2014
Let Me Eat This!
I'm venting. I'm also warning friends and family who want to have dinner with me.
Do not look at my plate.
If you must look at my plate, don't judge my food. I don't want to hear about how much "rabbit food" I have on my plate. I don't want to hear your commentary on how much I have or haven't eaten.
Considering that over one-third of American adults are considered obese*, you probably don't have too much right to tell me what my diet ought or ought not look like. There is a one-in-three chance you are one of these chubbies who are at risk for preventable forms of diabetes, cancer and heart diseases. You don't comment on my weight and I won't comment on yours.
You know, I'm a smaller person. I'm only 5'3. My caloric intake needs are going to be so different from a 6'3 male. On average, when I go to restaurants what they put on my plate is enough for two meals, maybe even three. This is America, people. You, being a taller individual, maybe you're a bodybuilder or something, you might need to eat that whole plate. I cannot. There is nothing wrong with this! You eat what you need to eat and I'll eat what I need to eat and I'll go home with my little white takeout box to enjoy a later lunch.
Yes, sometimes I opt for just a salad. Have you thought that maybe at that moment a salad sounds good to me? I love steaks and deep fried deliciousness as much as the next person, but every so often I don't want to full-on assault my arteries and I want to eat something in a flavor other than oil.
I really love food. It just hurts that you would suggest I feel anything but love towards delicious food. Food and I have a beautiful relationship. Don't hate on it.
*http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Do not look at my plate.
If you must look at my plate, don't judge my food. I don't want to hear about how much "rabbit food" I have on my plate. I don't want to hear your commentary on how much I have or haven't eaten.
Considering that over one-third of American adults are considered obese*, you probably don't have too much right to tell me what my diet ought or ought not look like. There is a one-in-three chance you are one of these chubbies who are at risk for preventable forms of diabetes, cancer and heart diseases. You don't comment on my weight and I won't comment on yours.
You know, I'm a smaller person. I'm only 5'3. My caloric intake needs are going to be so different from a 6'3 male. On average, when I go to restaurants what they put on my plate is enough for two meals, maybe even three. This is America, people. You, being a taller individual, maybe you're a bodybuilder or something, you might need to eat that whole plate. I cannot. There is nothing wrong with this! You eat what you need to eat and I'll eat what I need to eat and I'll go home with my little white takeout box to enjoy a later lunch.Yes, sometimes I opt for just a salad. Have you thought that maybe at that moment a salad sounds good to me? I love steaks and deep fried deliciousness as much as the next person, but every so often I don't want to full-on assault my arteries and I want to eat something in a flavor other than oil.
I really love food. It just hurts that you would suggest I feel anything but love towards delicious food. Food and I have a beautiful relationship. Don't hate on it.
*http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
03 January 2014
Salute to 2013
Oh blog! I've missed you! It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and there will some catch-up blog posts later. However, currently I am recovering from illness and getting settled back in to life post-vacation.
I didn't set any goals or resolutions in 2013. I had decided that I had more than enough on my plate with my last year of college and finalizing things for my wedding day. That was a big choice because I love goal-setting, but I decided to keep it simple.
Instead of trying to be a full-time college student and marathon runner, entrepreneur, guitar god, whatever, 2013 I was just going to have a wonderful wedding and get married to my sweetheart 10 days in and finish college. The end.
I had my best year ever in 2013. In another week, we will be celebrating one year of marriage. Which, in my current peer group now makes me incredibly seasoned pro at marriage. Go us. Yes, I did graduate from college. B.S. Finance. That's me! Since my university does not do winter graduation...please accept this photo as my graduation photo for now. Maybe in May I'll go prance around in a cap and gown, but in the meantime...
Can I just say it is incredibly anti-climatic to have been in college on and off for the last 5 years, working like crazy and then have to photo shop yourself looking all college graduated? Poorly photo shopped at that...
In short, I've had a life-changing 2013. It's made goal setting for 2014 interesting. I've gotten two major life milestones passed in a single year, and it's the big "now what". I've set my goals for 2014 and I can hardly dare to hope this year could be any better than the last, but anything could happen I suppose!
I feel it appropriate to suggest a reading at this time about fear. I think fear is a topic to address as we set goals for ourselves this year. You can read about my thoughts on it by clicking here.
If you wanted to hear a little more about 2013, my year in a summary has marked the beginning of my return to my love of writing. Also, we enjoyed a lovely trip to Bear Lake. I went SUP boarding and found out how cool it is! Later, a link to my blog about our vacation we returned from just yesterday will be added here. We had a lovely time celebrating my graduation in Southern California, we did everything from SeaWorld to Disneyland courtesy of my incredibly generous parents, I would be nowhere without them.
Later Gators!
However, New Years Eve/New Years Day is my favorite holiday, and it would be wrong to not post a little bit of something in the way of a tip of a hat to 2013.
I didn't set any goals or resolutions in 2013. I had decided that I had more than enough on my plate with my last year of college and finalizing things for my wedding day. That was a big choice because I love goal-setting, but I decided to keep it simple.Instead of trying to be a full-time college student and marathon runner, entrepreneur, guitar god, whatever, 2013 I was just going to have a wonderful wedding and get married to my sweetheart 10 days in and finish college. The end.
I had my best year ever in 2013. In another week, we will be celebrating one year of marriage. Which, in my current peer group now makes me incredibly seasoned pro at marriage. Go us. Yes, I did graduate from college. B.S. Finance. That's me! Since my university does not do winter graduation...please accept this photo as my graduation photo for now. Maybe in May I'll go prance around in a cap and gown, but in the meantime...
In short, I've had a life-changing 2013. It's made goal setting for 2014 interesting. I've gotten two major life milestones passed in a single year, and it's the big "now what". I've set my goals for 2014 and I can hardly dare to hope this year could be any better than the last, but anything could happen I suppose!
I feel it appropriate to suggest a reading at this time about fear. I think fear is a topic to address as we set goals for ourselves this year. You can read about my thoughts on it by clicking here.
If you wanted to hear a little more about 2013, my year in a summary has marked the beginning of my return to my love of writing. Also, we enjoyed a lovely trip to Bear Lake. I went SUP boarding and found out how cool it is! Later, a link to my blog about our vacation we returned from just yesterday will be added here. We had a lovely time celebrating my graduation in Southern California, we did everything from SeaWorld to Disneyland courtesy of my incredibly generous parents, I would be nowhere without them.
Later Gators!
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