You’d think the craving would dissipate when you graduate.
Unfortunately, it only increases.
The culprit? Entry-level jobs. Thanks to face book I’ve discovered I’m definitely not the only one who sits at a cubicle with an unbearable amount of free time on my hands.
Now before you go judging me and thinking to yourself “man julie must have no life and a really crappy job” I am telling you that I am not alone. Don’t be fooled; people will never admit it, but I’ve begun noticing trends.
For instance:
-I feel guilty when I sign online at work, only to notice that almost every single one of my co-workers is also signed on.
-“Chat buddy” friendships evolve out of sheer convenience (I mean hey if your both bored at work then who honestly cares if you aren't best buds)
-Other working folk know an ample amount of information about you. Sometimes they’ll even slip the whole “I saw it on your face book”
-If they aren’t visibly “online”, they’ll send you a message, post something on your wall, or comment on your status. (a-HA! They are ashamed and hiding)
- My daytime newsfeed is clogged with status updates of other youngsters such as myself, bored at their jobs, either
a) discussing their boredom
b) commenting on other people’s newsfeeds
c) proclaiming other random pointless facts about their lives because they have nothing THAT interesting to talk about midday in a cubicle
Why Facebook?
Again, the trend changes after college. It’s no longer a stalker tool. It’s more of a social network.
Here’s why:
-A painfully slow day of work doesn’t seem so bad when you realize your face book chat scroll is filled with people who are in your exact same shoes.
-You are constantly entertained between 8 and 5 p.m. by status updates that you can usually relate to. Believe me, when people are stone-cold bored you’ll be amazed at the intellect that can come out in a status update (as well as the amount of funny entertaining websites)
-You feel connected to the world. It can get awfully lonely in a cubicle.
-If a friend sends a chat message your way it provides a great break from, say, reading the Wall Street Journal online or whatever other incredibly boring activity you’re doing to fill time.
-There’s an unexplainable combination of comfort and empathy that comes from seeing/hearing other people lament about their job situations. (aka it selfishly makes you feel better about your own situation)
Every once in a while, this concept backfires.
For example seeing status updates such as:
"Thirsty Thursdays!"
"What a beautiful day"
"I love sleeping in"
or "business trip to England!"
won't exactly boost your morale. Likewise, daytime stalking is best to avoid if you think you won't like what you see. Because let's face it, in a cubicle you don't have many positive distractions going on. And that clock will start moving slower than you ever though it could.
Also be fair, this definitely doesn’t apply to the whole newly-grad population.
The outliers:
Those lucky enough to stay busy and challenged at their first “grown-up” job
Those whose companies are smart enough to block face book
Those who remain students at grad school, law school, ect.
to the above people: I am very, very jealous of you : )
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
"Take Care"
Everybody says it but not everybody means it. That includes all the doctors and veterinarians out there. Between this awful marathon of my mongo Sinus Infection and Milo’s recent diagnosis of pneumonia it’s been a rough and expensive week for the sickly.
Ironically enough, my rapidly declining health conditions, failed doctor’s visits and my newly adopted financial frugality led me to a gold mine of “Quality of Care”: Walgreens.
How did I stumble across this hidden treasure? For the sole purpose of spiting my primary care physician, who failed to properly diagnose me the first time and left me with the option of either splurging for Friday night “Urgent Care” costs or suffering the entire weekend sans antibiotics.
To my own surprise, I had actually ended the angry phone call with:
“No thanks. I’d rather go to Walgreens.” *click*.
… Holy cow. Did I actually just say that?
Then, the light bulb went off in my head. What if I really did go to Walgreens?
And so it goes. After signing in the computer-automated system, getting my name on the electronic “list” (and Purelling my hands afterward) I resigned myself to a waiting seat alongside screaming babies and other individuals who sounded like they were hacking up their lungs. I grabbed a magazine in an effort to distract myself from eyeing the population next to me or from hearing their germs fly into my surrounding atmosphere. I came very close several times to giving in and going to the Urgent Care. Ironically enough, the tattooed individual next to me told me he just came from the place and there was a two hour wait. So I hung on to my faith and held tight.
Twenty minutes later, I was in. Twenty minutes later, I was out. With an antibiotic. Vwa-la! Now was it really that hard the first time Mr. Primary Care Physician?
Half the wait, a third of the price, and a fourth of the drive it would have taken to go to that Urgent Care. No need to take “time off” from work; they’re open til 7:30 p.m. every weekday. Complete with a follow-up “How are you feeling?” phone call two days later from the "Take-Care. Clinic" themselves. It’s brilliant! I would highly recommend it to anybody.
This particular Walgreens actually won some more brownie points in my book because they were the ones who enlightened me by telling me that a “medicine” my vet had recommended for Milo’s pneumonia was actually a human dietary supplement taken to manage weight control.
...Excuse me!?
What are doctor’s coming to, these days.
Ironically enough, my rapidly declining health conditions, failed doctor’s visits and my newly adopted financial frugality led me to a gold mine of “Quality of Care”: Walgreens.
How did I stumble across this hidden treasure? For the sole purpose of spiting my primary care physician, who failed to properly diagnose me the first time and left me with the option of either splurging for Friday night “Urgent Care” costs or suffering the entire weekend sans antibiotics.
To my own surprise, I had actually ended the angry phone call with:
“No thanks. I’d rather go to Walgreens.” *click*.
… Holy cow. Did I actually just say that?
Then, the light bulb went off in my head. What if I really did go to Walgreens?
And so it goes. After signing in the computer-automated system, getting my name on the electronic “list” (and Purelling my hands afterward) I resigned myself to a waiting seat alongside screaming babies and other individuals who sounded like they were hacking up their lungs. I grabbed a magazine in an effort to distract myself from eyeing the population next to me or from hearing their germs fly into my surrounding atmosphere. I came very close several times to giving in and going to the Urgent Care. Ironically enough, the tattooed individual next to me told me he just came from the place and there was a two hour wait. So I hung on to my faith and held tight.
Twenty minutes later, I was in. Twenty minutes later, I was out. With an antibiotic. Vwa-la! Now was it really that hard the first time Mr. Primary Care Physician?
Half the wait, a third of the price, and a fourth of the drive it would have taken to go to that Urgent Care. No need to take “time off” from work; they’re open til 7:30 p.m. every weekday. Complete with a follow-up “How are you feeling?” phone call two days later from the "Take-Care. Clinic" themselves. It’s brilliant! I would highly recommend it to anybody.
This particular Walgreens actually won some more brownie points in my book because they were the ones who enlightened me by telling me that a “medicine” my vet had recommended for Milo’s pneumonia was actually a human dietary supplement taken to manage weight control.
...Excuse me!?
What are doctor’s coming to, these days.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Money Money Money
Now that I am financially independent, it impacts almost everything I do.
I didn’t realize how true that was until yesterday at work, when I was sick as a dog. (I literally felt like a fat man was sitting on my lungs.) Under normal circumstances I would have dropped everything to drive to the nearest urgent care center. Instead, I signed online to my insurance to figure the cost and decide whether or not a doctor’s visit was worth it.
Because of my hypochondriac tendencies the fact that I pondered price versus doctor visit for an entire hour when I could hardly breathe speaks volumes. For the record, I did end up going. And it ended up only being a $20 copay.
Which brings me to the next part of my rant.
Copay. HMOs. 401k. PPOs. Claims. Point-of-Service Plans.
What the heck.
Is this an insurance website or a vocabulary quiz? I feel like I need to take a class. No wonder it took me that long to figure out how much a doctor visit would cost.
Needless to say, being financially independent can be very empowering but very daunting at the same time. Not only do I have trouble wrapping my mind around insurance, 401k, savings accounts, ect. but I’ve noticed I think about money more now than I have in my entire life.
Here are some examples. Enjoy!
You know you think about money a lot when…
-You’ll bear the cold ride home instead of turning on the car heater. Heat=gas.
-You spend 15 minutes peering into the Bluebell, Edy’s and Breyer’s ice cream freezer doors and trying to figure out the lowest price at which you can get the largest volume of ice cream.
-It feels like Christmas when coupons come in the mail.
-You’ll make sure the only lights on in your apartment are those of the room you’re currently in. -You feel like you’ve accomplished something by spending the weekend at your family’s because you ate for free, didn’t go out, and didn’t drive anywhere.
-You start judging other peoples’ spending habits. That man just spend $14 on a salad!?
-You call shops to make sure they’re having sales before you allow yourself to even look.
-You acquire an uncanny ability to recall every single dollar each one of your friends still owes you.
-You hoard the month’s receipts and double check every single one to the credit card statement you get in the mail. (I would actually recommend this; they mess up and overcharge you a lot.)
-You feel excessively happy when you have a relatively cheap grocery trip.
-You get irrationally angry when somebody steals some of your food. Especially restaurant leftovers.
-You second guess every single bill you get. Did we really use that much water this month?
-You start thinking about what to put on your Christmas and Birthday lists 7 months before either one is happening.
-You think about entering your cat in a photo contest to make some extra money. And you think I'm kidding.
-Your math skills improve. Example: If I make this meal, it is more expensive, but in the end it’s overall less money than this Lean Cuisine because it will make 4 meals instead of one.
I didn’t realize how true that was until yesterday at work, when I was sick as a dog. (I literally felt like a fat man was sitting on my lungs.) Under normal circumstances I would have dropped everything to drive to the nearest urgent care center. Instead, I signed online to my insurance to figure the cost and decide whether or not a doctor’s visit was worth it.
Because of my hypochondriac tendencies the fact that I pondered price versus doctor visit for an entire hour when I could hardly breathe speaks volumes. For the record, I did end up going. And it ended up only being a $20 copay.
Which brings me to the next part of my rant.
Copay. HMOs. 401k. PPOs. Claims. Point-of-Service Plans.
What the heck.
Is this an insurance website or a vocabulary quiz? I feel like I need to take a class. No wonder it took me that long to figure out how much a doctor visit would cost.
Needless to say, being financially independent can be very empowering but very daunting at the same time. Not only do I have trouble wrapping my mind around insurance, 401k, savings accounts, ect. but I’ve noticed I think about money more now than I have in my entire life.
Here are some examples. Enjoy!
You know you think about money a lot when…
-You’ll bear the cold ride home instead of turning on the car heater. Heat=gas.
-You spend 15 minutes peering into the Bluebell, Edy’s and Breyer’s ice cream freezer doors and trying to figure out the lowest price at which you can get the largest volume of ice cream.
-It feels like Christmas when coupons come in the mail.
-You’ll make sure the only lights on in your apartment are those of the room you’re currently in. -You feel like you’ve accomplished something by spending the weekend at your family’s because you ate for free, didn’t go out, and didn’t drive anywhere.
-You start judging other peoples’ spending habits. That man just spend $14 on a salad!?
-You call shops to make sure they’re having sales before you allow yourself to even look.
-You acquire an uncanny ability to recall every single dollar each one of your friends still owes you.
-You hoard the month’s receipts and double check every single one to the credit card statement you get in the mail. (I would actually recommend this; they mess up and overcharge you a lot.)
-You feel excessively happy when you have a relatively cheap grocery trip.
-You get irrationally angry when somebody steals some of your food. Especially restaurant leftovers.
-You second guess every single bill you get. Did we really use that much water this month?
-You start thinking about what to put on your Christmas and Birthday lists 7 months before either one is happening.
-You think about entering your cat in a photo contest to make some extra money. And you think I'm kidding.
-Your math skills improve. Example: If I make this meal, it is more expensive, but in the end it’s overall less money than this Lean Cuisine because it will make 4 meals instead of one.
.... And to think I used to agonize over deciding between the expensive Express jeans or the half priced Kohl's ones. What I would do to go back to those days!!
Thus goes the transition of going from having Mom and Dad as backup to being completely kicked out of the nest, so to speak. I imagine it would be the same reaction whether I were to make $500 per year or $100,000. Rich or poor, being on your own truly forces you to appreciate the value of a dollar.
So I thought I'd share! I'm sure some of you can relate : -)
Monday, October 12, 2009
BRRRR...
Saturday morning was definitely one of those mornings. The ones where you wake up and realize the only heat available is that under the cocoon of blankets you’ve been sleeping in all night. One of those mornings where it doesn’t matter how hungry you are or how badly you have to pee, you will do anything to avoid confronting the cold.
On this particular morning as I chattered my way to the thermostat I realized that not only had our heat failed to turn on but the maintenance man was out on Saturdays. So I headed to the gym for the sole purpose of sitting in the sauna to restore warmth to my frigid bones.
As I sat in there feeling extremely sorry for myself I thought about how much I struggle with cold weather. Last year, it effectively made me think twice about going to class, running errands, going out, going to the gym or even making a grocery store run.
My goal for this year? To prevent the winter from impeding on my everyday life. In an effort to do this I’m going to list out all the positive things about the season change in order to amp up my optimism. So here we go:
Things I like about winter:
Candles: Nothing beats coming home to the smell of Pumpkin Spice.
Scarves: My favorite way to accessorize. I already have 11 different colors but I’m still looking to add to my collection.
Laziness: Because sitting on your butt watching movies all day curled in blankets doesn’t give you the same guilt trip that doing so on a warm summer day does.
Soup: One of my favorite meals. Cheap, delicious and easy to switch up. Although I’ll gladly savor a selection from my giant Campbell’s collection any day doing so in the winter tastes good AND keeps you warm, making it that much better.
The plaza lights: They truly capture the essence of the holiday season.
Cookies: Because it’s more fun to bake when it’s cold out.
Christmas: OK so it’s months away but it definitely adds some cheer to the chill
Star 102: Plays Christmas music for two months which makes car rides more enjoyable
Pumpkin Patches: Hay rides, pumpkins, mazes and , most importantly, homemade donuts… Need I say more?
Milo: Because I can’t WAIT to pose him in pictures with a little Santa hat.
The Nutcracker: One of my favorites.
Football season: Ironic, because I don't even care about football. But something about having a game on in the background on Sundays cheers me up. Tailgating does, too : ) .
Winter Break: Oh wait, I don’t have one anymore.
Oops! before I start getting sarcastic I better end my short list. Hey, atleast it’s a start right?
I would greatly appreciate any ideas as to what YOU guys look forward to about winter, because it will help me stay positive! Thoughts?
On this particular morning as I chattered my way to the thermostat I realized that not only had our heat failed to turn on but the maintenance man was out on Saturdays. So I headed to the gym for the sole purpose of sitting in the sauna to restore warmth to my frigid bones.
As I sat in there feeling extremely sorry for myself I thought about how much I struggle with cold weather. Last year, it effectively made me think twice about going to class, running errands, going out, going to the gym or even making a grocery store run.
My goal for this year? To prevent the winter from impeding on my everyday life. In an effort to do this I’m going to list out all the positive things about the season change in order to amp up my optimism. So here we go:
Things I like about winter:
Candles: Nothing beats coming home to the smell of Pumpkin Spice.
Scarves: My favorite way to accessorize. I already have 11 different colors but I’m still looking to add to my collection.
Laziness: Because sitting on your butt watching movies all day curled in blankets doesn’t give you the same guilt trip that doing so on a warm summer day does.
Soup: One of my favorite meals. Cheap, delicious and easy to switch up. Although I’ll gladly savor a selection from my giant Campbell’s collection any day doing so in the winter tastes good AND keeps you warm, making it that much better.
The plaza lights: They truly capture the essence of the holiday season.
Cookies: Because it’s more fun to bake when it’s cold out.
Christmas: OK so it’s months away but it definitely adds some cheer to the chill
Star 102: Plays Christmas music for two months which makes car rides more enjoyable
Pumpkin Patches: Hay rides, pumpkins, mazes and , most importantly, homemade donuts… Need I say more?
Milo: Because I can’t WAIT to pose him in pictures with a little Santa hat.
The Nutcracker: One of my favorites.
Football season: Ironic, because I don't even care about football. But something about having a game on in the background on Sundays cheers me up. Tailgating does, too : ) .
Winter Break: Oh wait, I don’t have one anymore.
Oops! before I start getting sarcastic I better end my short list. Hey, atleast it’s a start right?
I would greatly appreciate any ideas as to what YOU guys look forward to about winter, because it will help me stay positive! Thoughts?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
A day in the life.
Throughout the past couple months I’ve discovered a new hobby: learning about other people’s lives. I don’t mean it in the sense that I’ve become the “busybody” that knows all and tells all, likewise it isn’t because of the lack of excitement present in my own life; my motivations are purely to satiate my curiosity.
Let’s face it, we are all in transitional phases of our lives. Married, kids, jobs, different cities, schools, ect. Each lifestyle vastly differs from the next thus making it both intriguing and enlightening to see what life’s like on the other side of the fence, so to speak.
In having conversations with people post-graduation it’s very easy to quickly discover what they’re all about. It’s no longer about who they’re friends are, what Greek house they’re in, what bars they frequent, what their major is, and what other mundane differences they might have. Conversations nowadays divulge all sorts of fun interesting facts like what their passions are, what they want to be, who they live with and where, what their job is like, what they do in their free time, what they’re studying at school and why. There’s more meat to it. Granted, I still love to have fun and just relax and hang out, but I’ll never grow tired of an enlightening conversation .
Sometimes it doesn’t take a convo to efficiently portray a lifestyle.
For instance, I went to a loft downtown. I was completely content just visualizing how different daily life downtown would be.
Parallel parking on the traffic street. Keying in a passcode to get in. Passing the security guard. Taking the elevator up to the 5th floor. Watching TV that continuously echoes and reverberates off the cement walls. Sleeping in the same room as the kitchen. Watching the constant chaos of Power and Light District from your window. Where would you even go grocery shopping?
I guess you could say I’m easily amused.
I guess you could also say it’s a sign of maturity, as my thoughts of “different” people have transitioned from judgemental to open-minded. After all, it’s what keep things interesting and exciting!
Blogs are another great way to keep tabs on the ins and outs of peoples' lives. In fact, Megan’s post on marriage inspired me to write this.
So keep the good entries coming!
Let’s face it, we are all in transitional phases of our lives. Married, kids, jobs, different cities, schools, ect. Each lifestyle vastly differs from the next thus making it both intriguing and enlightening to see what life’s like on the other side of the fence, so to speak.
In having conversations with people post-graduation it’s very easy to quickly discover what they’re all about. It’s no longer about who they’re friends are, what Greek house they’re in, what bars they frequent, what their major is, and what other mundane differences they might have. Conversations nowadays divulge all sorts of fun interesting facts like what their passions are, what they want to be, who they live with and where, what their job is like, what they do in their free time, what they’re studying at school and why. There’s more meat to it. Granted, I still love to have fun and just relax and hang out, but I’ll never grow tired of an enlightening conversation .
Sometimes it doesn’t take a convo to efficiently portray a lifestyle.
For instance, I went to a loft downtown. I was completely content just visualizing how different daily life downtown would be.
Parallel parking on the traffic street. Keying in a passcode to get in. Passing the security guard. Taking the elevator up to the 5th floor. Watching TV that continuously echoes and reverberates off the cement walls. Sleeping in the same room as the kitchen. Watching the constant chaos of Power and Light District from your window. Where would you even go grocery shopping?
I guess you could say I’m easily amused.
I guess you could also say it’s a sign of maturity, as my thoughts of “different” people have transitioned from judgemental to open-minded. After all, it’s what keep things interesting and exciting!
Blogs are another great way to keep tabs on the ins and outs of peoples' lives. In fact, Megan’s post on marriage inspired me to write this.
So keep the good entries coming!
Friday, October 2, 2009
When Enough is Enough.
http://consumerist.com/5369759/homeless-american-girl-doll-costs-95
This article explains the specifics of American Girl Doll's newest release: The "Homeless" girl.
Call me crazy but I think this entire ordeal is mildly disturbing. In the absence of any philanthropic purpose what is the point of promoting this kind of activity? Think about the irony of the entire situation. The $95 item is far beyond what a homeless person could afford for their little one to make them feel loved and included in this world. Nor does the profit from the pockets of those who can afford it for their little ones make its way into any sort of homeless organization.
So does this really achieve the goal of benefitting the homeless portion of our population or does it merely rub salt into their open wounds?
This article explains the specifics of American Girl Doll's newest release: The "Homeless" girl.
Call me crazy but I think this entire ordeal is mildly disturbing. In the absence of any philanthropic purpose what is the point of promoting this kind of activity? Think about the irony of the entire situation. The $95 item is far beyond what a homeless person could afford for their little one to make them feel loved and included in this world. Nor does the profit from the pockets of those who can afford it for their little ones make its way into any sort of homeless organization.
So does this really achieve the goal of benefitting the homeless portion of our population or does it merely rub salt into their open wounds?
Think back to those days when you were a little girl. I don't know about you all, but when I was little i wanted to BE barbie. I wanted to BE Felicity Merryweather (for those of you who don't know she was the American Girl who grew up in colonial times). I wouldn't have gotten the doll if I hadn't idolized her.
So does this mean that some little girl is going to try to BE homeless? Instead of playing "House" or "Indians" or "Mermaids" or (insert your favorite childhood activity here), will it be : "Mommy, mommy, i'm living in a box!" ?
I'd be interested to hear any opinions on this one.
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