Howdy! I know it's been awhile since I've blogged steadily. However I still have ideas and thoughts to share. I think of ideas mostly when I run. You know, when it's most inconvenient to start typing.
I'm spending a fair amount of free time training for an upcoming 1/2 marathon. It's my first ever. I decided last September to start training for it, well, just to see if I could. And I can. I knew once I hit the 8-mile-threshold, that I will make it. I can do this. I got it!
The hardest threshold for me was to run 5 miles several times a week, and then to up that to 6 miles. I never thought I'd be able to walk again after going this far just a couple times a week. My feet hurt so bad and my ankle was not a happy camper. I stuck with it though, and now 5 or 6 miles just feels GOOD. It's a great distance for me.
I went 9.5 miles last weekend, and I'll go 10.5 the weekend after next. I know I can do it, and that makes me happy. I keep breaking personal record distances, and it's an amazing feeling.
I did not always like running. But what changed my mind was the day I realized one simple fact. The first mile ALWAYS SUCKS. There is no way around it. Warming up and loosening up is not fun. Walking, then jogging and getting into a pace just plain sucks until about mile 1. Once I realized this fact, accepted this fact, and expected this fact, I started enjoying running.
I run on a treadmill, and I like it. Most people think I'm nuts. I don't care to run outside. I hate the wind, loathe the sun, and value my ankles more than uneven pavement. I always know what the climate will be. My chances of skin cancer are reduced. There are no mosquitoes. There are nothing but positives to me for running on a treadmill. I don't get bored because I have my tunes and my thoughts. I am my best company.
But I will be at a disadvantage when it comes to race day because I haven't been running outside. But I'm OK with that. I don't have lofty goals. I don't want to run fast. I just want to finish.
And I know I can.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Let's Talk
Let's talk about social media etiquette, shall we?
This is a blog I've been wanting to write for a long time because some things bother me. Some things bother a lot of social-media-savvy people. I've been formulating my social media etiquette rules in my head. Now it's time to write them down.
1. Thou shall not tag oneself in someone's picture, if thou were not there.
Seriously, this is just not right. Why is it not right? Because, you were not THERE. See, when you tag people in your picture, it says they *were there*. I don't want a bunch of pictures that says so-and-so was there, when in fact you weren't. Because it confuses me. It makes me think back to the event, and think, "huh, they weren't even there"... see? If you want my picture to show up in your procession of pics, then take my picture and SHARE it yourself, and then tag yourself in YOUR own picture. That way it doesn't confuse MY history. That's what FaceBook is all about--you can Share anyone's picture. That is a socially acceptable action.
2. Thou shall not scream all the time.
If you were not aware that TYPING IN ALL CAPS MEANS THAT YOU ARE SCREAMING AT THE AUDIENCE, let me share a little secret with you. ALL CAPS = Yelling. It's one of the few ways you have of conveying your feelings through the written word. also, always typing in lower case is the opposite. all lower case is like, whispering. so please, use case appropriately. If you are excited, by all means, SHOUT AT THE WORLD. If you are sharing a secret, whisper all you want... just realize, there is a difference. If you are typing on your phone, I'm going to be very forgiving on this rule. But if I see all caps from you All. The. Time. Then I'm going to skip right past anything you have to say because I can't handle the drama. As long as you know that if you shout, I'm NOT going to read what you have to say, we're all good.
3. Thou shall think about using Spellchecker.
Use it or not, it's up to you. If I had a choice to hear from my friends who do not use spell check, or not hear from them at all, I'd choose no spell check because I want to hear from them. I can be flexible, but please see rules #1 and #2, which I have a very hard time overlooking.
4. Thou shall think about proof reading.
It really does not take but an extra minute to just re-read what you just typed before you click the submit/post button. That damn spell check will get you when you least expect it. But, if you proof read, then you'll catch it before I do. And rest assured that I will. It's just part of my nature.
5. Thou shall not abuse the exclamation point!
Because using it for every sentence! Lessens the impact you mean to convey! When proof reading, just think to yourself if using an exclamation point for every single sentence is appropriate. When excited about a topic, I really have to watch myself on this one. I always re-read a sentence and ask myself if that particular sentence was worthy of the ending. If not, it gets a period. End of sentence. Reserve the ! for the closure to particularly meaningful sentences.
As long as you aren't committing #1 or #2, I can be flexible and understanding.
I just had to get this out there in writing, because I believe some people relatively newer to social media just don't understand some of the unwritten "rules" that more seasoned social-media-savvy people take for granted. And if nobody tells you, how would you know?!? The sad part is that the people I really want to read this probably *never* will, because they don't even know about this little blog. But if any of this helps someone else arbitrarily, then perhaps it is serving a purpose.
If you think I'm just too whiny and your opinions differ, I'm good with that too. Communicating vs. not communicating = It is my opinion that it is better to communicate even while violating the 5 rules above... but that's an entirely separate post for another time to whine about non-communication.
Thanks for reading!
This is a blog I've been wanting to write for a long time because some things bother me. Some things bother a lot of social-media-savvy people. I've been formulating my social media etiquette rules in my head. Now it's time to write them down.
1. Thou shall not tag oneself in someone's picture, if thou were not there.
Seriously, this is just not right. Why is it not right? Because, you were not THERE. See, when you tag people in your picture, it says they *were there*. I don't want a bunch of pictures that says so-and-so was there, when in fact you weren't. Because it confuses me. It makes me think back to the event, and think, "huh, they weren't even there"... see? If you want my picture to show up in your procession of pics, then take my picture and SHARE it yourself, and then tag yourself in YOUR own picture. That way it doesn't confuse MY history. That's what FaceBook is all about--you can Share anyone's picture. That is a socially acceptable action.
2. Thou shall not scream all the time.
If you were not aware that TYPING IN ALL CAPS MEANS THAT YOU ARE SCREAMING AT THE AUDIENCE, let me share a little secret with you. ALL CAPS = Yelling. It's one of the few ways you have of conveying your feelings through the written word. also, always typing in lower case is the opposite. all lower case is like, whispering. so please, use case appropriately. If you are excited, by all means, SHOUT AT THE WORLD. If you are sharing a secret, whisper all you want... just realize, there is a difference. If you are typing on your phone, I'm going to be very forgiving on this rule. But if I see all caps from you All. The. Time. Then I'm going to skip right past anything you have to say because I can't handle the drama. As long as you know that if you shout, I'm NOT going to read what you have to say, we're all good.
3. Thou shall think about using Spellchecker.
Use it or not, it's up to you. If I had a choice to hear from my friends who do not use spell check, or not hear from them at all, I'd choose no spell check because I want to hear from them. I can be flexible, but please see rules #1 and #2, which I have a very hard time overlooking.
4. Thou shall think about proof reading.
It really does not take but an extra minute to just re-read what you just typed before you click the submit/post button. That damn spell check will get you when you least expect it. But, if you proof read, then you'll catch it before I do. And rest assured that I will. It's just part of my nature.
5. Thou shall not abuse the exclamation point!
Because using it for every sentence! Lessens the impact you mean to convey! When proof reading, just think to yourself if using an exclamation point for every single sentence is appropriate. When excited about a topic, I really have to watch myself on this one. I always re-read a sentence and ask myself if that particular sentence was worthy of the ending. If not, it gets a period. End of sentence. Reserve the ! for the closure to particularly meaningful sentences.
As long as you aren't committing #1 or #2, I can be flexible and understanding.
I just had to get this out there in writing, because I believe some people relatively newer to social media just don't understand some of the unwritten "rules" that more seasoned social-media-savvy people take for granted. And if nobody tells you, how would you know?!? The sad part is that the people I really want to read this probably *never* will, because they don't even know about this little blog. But if any of this helps someone else arbitrarily, then perhaps it is serving a purpose.
If you think I'm just too whiny and your opinions differ, I'm good with that too. Communicating vs. not communicating = It is my opinion that it is better to communicate even while violating the 5 rules above... but that's an entirely separate post for another time to whine about non-communication.
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, March 8, 2014
It's A Major Award!
You know I'm not one to talk about work. I keep my personal life personal, and my work life separate. It's just easier that way. (Especially since I worked for that ONE company that ONE time that made EVERYONE hyper-paranoid about saying anything at all about THE company in a social setting. Those people need to lighten up.)
Anyway, I do have something about work to tell you. What a great day I had yesterday! Except for the morning, which pretty much started like any normal stressful day at work with miscommunication, drama, misunderstanding, bla, bla, bla. All the stuff work is made of on a daily basis, except it got better!
I had a delightful lunch out with my hubby (rare occurrence that I didn't just eat at my desk) and had a delicious healthy lunch (unusual for me, I know). Then went back to work for an afternoon full of meetings. If I could just make it to the gym to hit the treadmill, my weekend would start.
In my department wide meeting, something really nice happened. Our HR department started a brand new acknowledgement program so that people can be patted on the back for a job well done. I was the first and only person in my department presented with an acknowledgement award for some work I did in January/February!
While many other people were easing into their new year of work, I had to juggle the daily stuff while focusing on something new, intense, and extremely aggressive. The good thing was that I knew the due date was in late February, so the finish line was short. Also, I had counterparts in several other countries being asked to do the same task.
What is SO COOL is the fact that something I did was acknowledged not only by the boss of my boss, but ALSO by colleagues GLOBALLY as being THE BEST. It just floors me! I mean, I was given an EXTREMELY aggressive timeline to produce something, but that doesn't mean I was going to half-ass it. Which is what I think they expected given that they initially only gave 3 weeks, and we negotiated an additional month. If they wanted it half-baked, they should have asked someone else to do it.
When I thanked the presenter later after the meeting, she told me that I gave management so much to work with, they are really asking tough questions about what they are going to do with the future strategy. SCORE for me!
Now I get a $100 gift certificate to choose from some really awesome prizes in the online store. I think I'll go shopping now!
Anyway, I do have something about work to tell you. What a great day I had yesterday! Except for the morning, which pretty much started like any normal stressful day at work with miscommunication, drama, misunderstanding, bla, bla, bla. All the stuff work is made of on a daily basis, except it got better!
I had a delightful lunch out with my hubby (rare occurrence that I didn't just eat at my desk) and had a delicious healthy lunch (unusual for me, I know). Then went back to work for an afternoon full of meetings. If I could just make it to the gym to hit the treadmill, my weekend would start.
In my department wide meeting, something really nice happened. Our HR department started a brand new acknowledgement program so that people can be patted on the back for a job well done. I was the first and only person in my department presented with an acknowledgement award for some work I did in January/February!
While many other people were easing into their new year of work, I had to juggle the daily stuff while focusing on something new, intense, and extremely aggressive. The good thing was that I knew the due date was in late February, so the finish line was short. Also, I had counterparts in several other countries being asked to do the same task.
What is SO COOL is the fact that something I did was acknowledged not only by the boss of my boss, but ALSO by colleagues GLOBALLY as being THE BEST. It just floors me! I mean, I was given an EXTREMELY aggressive timeline to produce something, but that doesn't mean I was going to half-ass it. Which is what I think they expected given that they initially only gave 3 weeks, and we negotiated an additional month. If they wanted it half-baked, they should have asked someone else to do it.
When I thanked the presenter later after the meeting, she told me that I gave management so much to work with, they are really asking tough questions about what they are going to do with the future strategy. SCORE for me!
Now I get a $100 gift certificate to choose from some really awesome prizes in the online store. I think I'll go shopping now!
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