Act Positive, Become Positive

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 09:17:00 -0600

Telemarketing. Not exactly anyone's dream job, but you wouldn't know it, looking at and listening to those three—laughing and bantering as if they couldn't imagine anything more fun than cold-calling complete strangers.

I couldn't stand these women and their sunny attitude. It was such a stark contrast to how I felt that I almost couldn't believe we lived in the same world doing the same thing. If I didn't need the money so bad, most days I wouldn't have even bothered to leave my apartment, let alone go to work.

It's Up to You

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:36:18 -0500

Lots of us have been there. Stuck in a job that gets us down. You know the feeling. You dread Mondays. You watch the clock, praying for the workday to be over. This can be a recipe for misery. On average, Americans spend 80 percent of their waking hours at work. That's way too much time to be unhappy. Every job has its challenges. Everyone has bad days at work. But if you find yourself screaming, "I hate this job!" once too often, it's time to change your life a little—or a lot.

It's Up to You

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:36:18 -0500

It's Up to You

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:36:18 -0500

Frozen in Time

jnalewicki — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:33:18 -0600

I rushed into work, running to punch the time clock.

“I had to defrost my freezer,” I told my co-workers. “I nearly flooded the kitchen.”

“What does that mean?” a 20ish colleague asked me. “I know what a freezer is, but how do you defrost one? Do you mean you had to pull the plug out of the wall?”

I had a feeling that this conversation was going to make me feel old, and I was right.

How to Create a Positive Frame of Mind

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:17:08 -0600

I feel very blue today," I said to my husband.

"It's the rain," he replied matter-of-factly.

It wasn't. I had no real reason to be down, but I felt as if the light had been switched off in my life. My mother always said, "Keep your bad moods to yourself." So I put on a smile when I got to the office, and went to check my schedule with a colleague.

Shattered Christmas Ornaments

admin — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 06:26:00 -0600

It was a strange Christmas package: a large plastic mailbox.

A present from Susan, a woman I'd worked with. "I didn't have a box or a gift bag, so I packed your gift in that," Susan explained, giving it to me outside my office that morning. I tried to laugh. I could definitely use some cheering up, especially after the night that I'd had.

It was supposed to be the big night for our Christmas tree trimming, and I was determined to make it extra-special this year. My husband had walked out on my three kids and me just a month earlier.

My Studies with Madame Bogo

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:20:32 -0500

You couldn't miss her—a small, gray-haired woman strolling through town with two large dogs, giving them commands in Russian. Her serious demeanor was in keeping with her old-fashioned clothes, but her eyes sparkled and her smile could entrance you.

Her name was Marianna Sergeevna Bogojavlensky, but everyone called her Madame Bogo. She was the founder of the Russian language program at Dickinson College, where I clerked in the library.

Seed Money

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:55:54 -0600

It was 5:30 a.m., my favorite time of day. I was sitting in the family room of our farmhouse in northern California. I like to start my morning talking things over with God. We had been talking about the same thing for quite a while.

The month was May and we were ready to sow our main crop, rice. The fields had been prepared for planting. The problem was, I didn't have any seed. And I didn't have $3,500 to buy it.

For weeks I had been watching my bank balance shrink. Not only did I have to buy seed, but I also had to pay my farmhands.

Now Serving Second Chances

admin — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:18:00 -0600

"Hardworking," "responsible," "years of experience" are phrases most employers like to see on a résumé, but "criminal record"?