06.20.08
Posted in News at 12:02 am by Paloma Cruz
Sears gets a new image
The Associated Press reports that Sears is trying to get hip1, and catch a higher portion of the teen customer base. Why? Because, especially in today’s economy, “what’s certain, experts say, is that the chain led by financier Edward Lampert desperately needs to reinvent itself if it’s going to survive”.
An MBA or an MFA, or whatever
In a very timely post (as I continue to wrestle with the idea of going to get my Master’s Degree) Penelope Trunk, Brazen Careerist, gives us Seven reasons why graduate school is outdated:
- Graduate school is an extreme investment for a fluid workplace.
- Graduate school is no longer a ticket to play.
- Graduate school requires you to know what will make you happy before you try it.
- Graduate degrees shut doors rather than open them.
- If you don’t actually use your graduate degree, you look unemployable.
- Graduate school is an extension of childhood.
- Early adult life is best if you are lost.
Footnotes:
1 = Story found on the Houston Chronicle. Article may expire in a few weeks.
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06.03.08
Posted in Finances, News at 1:27 am by Paloma Cruz
The Houston Chronicle’s Shannon Buggs has some great tips on being thrifty:
- Make your home energy efficient.
- Don’t buy gasoline with a debit card.
- Don’t carry balances on gasoline credit cards.
- Plan daily commuting.
- Bring your personal life back in-house.
- Step away from the cutting edge.
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05.04.08
Posted in General at 10:13 am by Paloma Cruz
One of the luxuries I rarely get to indulge in these days is sleeping in. I am not a morning person, never have been and never will be. It’s just a part of who I am. So, sleeping in is something I love.
Unfortunately, it’s a luxury in the truest sense — something that’s often out of reach. Unattainable. And I do miss it.
Today I slept in until nearly noon.
And, since I am an adult who spends her time productively, I feel guilty. I should have done morning pages, gone through my email, or written a blog post. Instead I slept in.
{{sigh}}
Perhaps the days of sleeping in are behind me. Isn’t that a depressing thought?
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05.03.08
Posted in General at 10:13 am by Paloma Cruz
Being up early enough to make a 7 a.m. Breakfast appointment is too early for a Saturday. But here I am, at Taquería Arandas (on Shepherd, near I-10), waiting for my friends to show up. I give them even money that they won’t be here anywhere near on time. But I set the time and place, so I have to be punctual.
Gonna stop typing, once of my friends is here.
********
It was a great day. Breakfast with friends from work. The Dragon Boat Races with friends from work and other friends. Lots of Vitamin D, a mellow mood, a nice breezy sunny day.
After the races we went to the Farmer’s Market in the Heights. It was this cure market with about 10 stalls that had a nice variety of foods and wares. Veggies, grass-fed beef, Indian sauces, and local honey were just a few things on sale. Very cute, but very limited.
I think that I need to try one of the bigger markets next. Or maybe I’ll try the one at Discovery Green. One of the commercials I saw for the new park had a farmer’s market listed as one of the activities they offer. It would be a good excuse to go to the park.
Anyway, had lunch with Mom, little sister and the kiddo. Had a leisurely day after that.
All in all, a very good day.
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04.30.08
Posted in Career, Finances, Health at 10:53 pm by Paloma Cruz
Today is the day I’m supposed to do an end-of-month inventory on my goals. But I won’t, I know it. I’ve been avoiding looking at my status against what I’m supposed to be accomplishing.
I don’t want to know.
I haven’t reached my financial goals, I know without even looking. I haven’t achieved my weight loss goals, I know without even looking. I haven’t reached my professional goals, I just know. I don’t need to see it on a sheet of paper to know that.
I worked really hard to make sure that the goals I set this year were realistic. And I’m still falling short.
What’s my problem? If I had a therapist, this is the part where I’d moan about my counter-productive attitudes, my self-destructive tendencies.
The good thing is that these tendencies never make it into my workplace. No matter how much my personal time is wrecked by my personal foibles, they don’t seep into my job. I get my work done, and done well, regardless of what I have to suffer through to make it happen.
A friend of mine convinced me to start the program through “An Artist’s Way at Work.” I’m finding that the daily pages are getting my creative juices flowing. The words that were stuck in my brain, in my throat, are getting out in the pages of my journal, and now in here.
Unfortunately, I’m being slow in actually posting the words, but I am writing them.
Just losing the weight I have lost required tremendous willpower, especially as the people around me were ever-so-subtly attempting to sabotage my commitment. I don’t know if they were aware that that’s what they were doing, but it is. And I survived it.
Thankfully, the sabotage attempts from family have stopped. They seem to understand that I am fully committed to seeing this through.
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04.29.08
Posted in Health at 10:51 pm by Paloma Cruz
Tired, hungry and short-tempered. I’m indulging today, right now, in a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a diet soda.
Diet be damned, at least for today.
This is my first diet cola in more than six months. It will be my first real bacon cheeseburger in just as long.
I won’t bother weighing myself tomorrow. I haven’t weighed myself in more than a week.
I know that I would lose more weight if I were faithful to the diet. The problem is that that’s not fun. My way, I deviate every once in a while and still lose a pound every week or so. As a plus, I’m not so bored with the diet that I quit altogether.
Today is stress-induced. I know that I haven’t been following my diet lately because of stress. My react badly to emotional factors. And there have been a lot of emotional factors lately.
I wish I were one of those people who get stronger with challenges. I always rise to the challenge, always meet my goal, always do the thing that needs to get done — but I sacrifice my personal well-being in the process. I over-eat, sleep less, keep weird hours, and start forgetting things like daily pages and meditation and yoga, and it all goes to hell in a hand basket.
Is work worth that?
What’s my choice?
I’m sitting in an empty restaurant, having “lunch” at 3 PM. I forgot to pack any snacks, protein bars or anything to tide me over. I haven’t been drinking my water, have had too much caffeine and am too stressed. Surely not conducive to a good emotional being.
Did I mention that my back hurts? Yes, one more thing to add to the list.
My friend says “find your bliss.” I’d love to follow that advice, but I don’t know what my bliss is.
Gonna stop typing now, gotta finish my lunch and go back to the office.
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04.23.08
Posted in Finances at 10:50 pm by Paloma Cruz
I spend far too much money on small things. My budget is sinking, one penny at a time.
Got a text message alert from my bank that an account has insufficient funds. Insufficient funds? Not possible.
I logged into my account and checked against my spending list (that I keep on my PDA). It didn’t add up. Until I realized that I had logged an expense under the wrong account.
Very odd. I don’t do things like that. Is it a sign of other things?
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03.05.08
Posted in General at 3:26 pm by Paloma Cruz
Zen Habits has a wonderful post entitled “20 Things I Wish I Had Known When Starting Out in Life” with great info that, approaching my 40th birthday (not this year, but soon) just makes sense to me. The short lit:
- How to control impulse spending.
- You gotta stay active.
- How to plan finances.
- Junk food will come back to bite you in the butt.
- Smoking is just dumb.
- Fund your retirement, son. And don’t withdraw it.
- All the stuff you’re doing that seems hard — it will be of use.
- Don’t buy that used van without checking it out closely.
- That guy you’re going to sell your car to? On a gentleman’s agreement? He’s not gonna pay you.
- Make time to pursue your passion, no matter how busy you are.
- All that stuff that’s stressing you out — it won’t matter in 5 years, let alone 15.
- The people you make friends with are so much more important than your job or the things you buy.
- All that time you spend watching TV is a huge, huge waste of time.
- Your kids are going to grow up way faster than you think. Don’t waste a minute.
- Forget the drama. Focus on being happy.
- Pay more attention to blogs when you first hear about them. They’re more than just journals.
- Speaking of which, keep a journal. Seriously. Your memory is extremely faulty.
- Tequila is seriously evil.
- Yes, you can do a marathon. Don’t put this goal off — it’s extremely rewarding.
- All these mistakes you’re going to make, despite this advice? They’re worth it.
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03.04.08
Posted in News at 1:33 am by Paloma Cruz
Early Harris County voting for primary turnout ‘unprecedented’
– Houston Chronicle2
More than 230,000 people cast ballots in Harris County during the last
11 days, capping an “unprecedented” early voting period for the
Republican and Democratic primaries.
[snip]
I’m hopeful that the turnout for the primaries is an indicator to the turnouts we can expect in the next few elections. Let’s hope that the national energy continues.
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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02.10.08
Posted in Career, News at 6:21 pm by Paloma Cruz
I know that a lot of us are worried about keping our jobs in today’s economy. Here are five tips on how to do just that, presented by The Five O’Clock Club at HispanicAd:
- Keep your skills up-to-date.
- Take initiative.
- Show only your good character traits (reliable, honest).
- Make yourself visible to those above you in the corporate pecking order.
- Find out what it takes to get ahead. Notice what others who are successful are doing.
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