The glamorous life of a (newbie) blogger

Sep 02
2009
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At 6:30 am my alarm goes off, I lay in bed for a bit and try to remember who I’ve got to take where today.  It’s been warm in the mornings so I usually sleep in a tank-top and guys boxers.  In the effort of modesty, I throw a big shirt on over the top of my ensemble, then slide into the slippers with the big, pink flower on top before heading downstairs .

When I first began working from home I’d shower and dress first thing every morning, reminded of the saying “if you look successful, you’ll feel successful and people will see you as successful” but after a couple months of that I said “ah screw it, I’ll just visualize myself as successful and call it good”.  As a result I haven’t done my hair, worn makeup, gotten dressed or put on deodorant in months…how do you ever get back from that?  Will my family ever again tell me I look nice without preceding it with “WOW!”

Anyway, I make my way to the kitchen, poor myself a cup of coffee, start making lunches and map out the timing of my day, this particular day I have to drive my son to school and go for a run…big day.  Now, it would be silly to change clothes if I’m just going to be sitting in my office all day so I take my son to school in my boxers, a big shirt and slippers.  Occasionally I spruce up a little and throw on some sweats if I know I have to stop for gas or something.

Once back at the house I fill my mug with a second cup of coffee and head up to the office to start my day.  The next couple hours are spent replying to email, TweetDecking, reading recommended articles, commenting on LinkedIn, and writing witty replies to my Facebook friends.

At this point I need to get serious and add some “relevant content” to my blog, cause I’ve gotta build my brand, be an authority, connect, drive traffic and build relationships! But I’m stuck…I’m not feeling relevant or creative at all.  I decide a good run will clear my mind and when I get back I’ll clean up, put on some actual clothes and I’ll be ready to take on the blogiverse.

You would think that taking a shower after a hard run on a hot day seems like the only acceptable thing to do right?  Well, I live in California and we’re in a drought so to be environmentally conscious I wait as long as possible so I don’t have to wash my face before bed.  You gentlemen don’t have the same concerns since you don’t have a 20 minute face cleaning/exfoliating/moisturizing regime morning and night…be thankful!

So before heading back upstairs to the office I make a nice lunch and grab a drink.  This time I’m inspired and write a great article comparing unemployed workers to lepers.  It’s actually pretty funny; we’re all living on this colony together because we’re unemployed and nobody wants to talk to us…

As I’m writing the article though I smell something terrible, I look through the trash and under the desk, smell the cat…nothing.  It’s then that I realize that I’m the awful odor, I’ve been writing for hours, I haven’t showered, everybody’s going to be home soon, the house is a disaster and I haven’t even thought about dinner!  Without delay, I finish up my article, close the 600 tabs I have open on my browser, shower, put on my mom/house Frau hat and off I go.

As I lay in bed that night watching the Daily Show, waiting for sleep to consume me, I contemplate my schedule tomorrow, “coffee, lunches, ride to school, finish my article, finish that business plan, find a Twitter contest so I can win a free Starbucks card… maybe I can mix it up a bit tomorrow, I’ll check my TweetDeck before my email…I dunno, maybe I’ll get really crazy and put on some pants!

Written by Lorann Snow in: Social Networking | Tags: , , ,

No really, it’s not me…it’s you!

Aug 21
2009
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I certainly can’t presume that everyone shares my enthusiasm to be challenged, knowledgeable and excited about their work.  I do however, think it’s fair to expect that employees, at the very least, perform their minimum job requirements…that’s an acceptable expectation right?  Well, perhaps not…

A couple days ago I went to our local city college with my daughter to meet with the “Student Aid Specialist” to inquire about Obama’s education stimulus for the unemployed.  The “specialist” said “our office has never heard of anything like that”.  Well, unless you’re a troll.  Living under a rock.  On an ashram.  It’s beyond me how you could not have heard about the Obama initiatives.  And, if you’re a “specialist” wouldn’t it be in your best interest to be current in the area of which you specialize?  Ya think?

Another head shaker happened when I walked into a store, asked if they had a certain item in stock and the “customer service” (I put that in quotes to emphasize the irony) person said “no, I don’t think we carry that”.  To which I respond “you don’t think you carry it or you know you don’t carry it?”…they didn’t know.

Now, there have been very few people I’ve had the pleasure to work with that have a “do whatever needs to be done” attitude regardless of their job description.  They thrive on a challenge, take pride in their achievements and believe in the moral benefit of work…something crazy I like to call, work ethic.  So what happened to the rest of our American workers?  Are we breeding generations of lazy people who think the minimum is enough?  Do these people they feel that if they do more they’re changing the curve, disturbing the natural order of hierarchy?  Or, are we as employers repressing our employees from flourishing professionally because we fear they will do our jobs better than we can?   Is it just me, or is it them, I really wonder?

I used to work for a large corporation that gave annual company wide reviews and pay raises.  My first review will forever be forged in my mind; my supervisor sat me down and explained that performances were rated on a scale of 1-5 however they’re discouraged from going over a 3 since everyone gets the same 4% pay raise.  Wait…what?  Oh yeah, that’s right, we’ve got a whole new take on it, no more rewarding people for working hard, abolish meritocracy I say, slackers shall rule the world!

Regardless of why workers are lazy and uninspired, there are over 14 million people in America out of work, you would think that just maybe, these minimalist workers would step up to the plate to ensure they have a job tomorrow.   They might notice the company that pays them bi-weekly is struggling just to stay in business and more than ever they need a dedicated hard working staff.  The unfortunate reality is that the majority of workers just don’t get it. Instead of being thankful they have a job they seem resentful because they no longer have Friday barbecues or they have to take an unpaid day off every month.  Well guess what, one day a month with no pay is a whole lot better than 20 and I’m bettin’ there are quite a few people out there willing to trade with you.

Written by Lorann Snow in: Social Networking | Tags: , , ,