Tag Archives: Work

What To Do About SEEKING A NEW JOB

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Applying for jobs gets old real quick. I have been applying to lots of jobs lately and also not so lately… so I know, OH, I know. If you, like me, are amongst the assembly of jobseekers, I am here to tell you to take heart, get hope, and buck up buttercup.

Am I able to tell you this because I have now found the perfect fit and ended my quest as a jobseeker? No, and therefore I think I am all the more qualified to tell you to take heart. I mean, so many people might not be able to identify with you at all and others can identify because they have been through it, but the feelings change so fast and looking back feels different than being in the midst of something like looking for work. Also, if you are able to take heart in the midst of your job seekingness (new word) then you are truly making progress in your quest to actually make something of yourself.

Am I getting sidetracked? No, let me carry on. So maybe you have an idea, a great idea, of what you would like to do and are not currently doing it and the path to doing it seems rather overgrown, hidden, and dark… not to mention the path costs money! You need a way to eat! And sleep! And pay for guides! And you need this all as you walk along this overgrown path through the forest (we are still talking about jobs).

So there you are, here we are, back at the beginning, and you are sending in resum√©s, cover letters, and scouring job boards. Not very fun, and seemingly not very effective. What is effective is prayer… and lots of it. Also, talking to people is mucho mucho more effecto. The more people you can talk to the better.

Another thing you can do, that is very effective, is targeting specific jobs and studying them and showing how it can be done better. That is, you can take an interest in specific companies and show them how much you care by putting time and effort into thinking about what they are doing and improving upon it. Then, instead of sitting at home applying for jobs, you can tell them you will work for free for two to four weeks and see how things work out. You get experience (internship for the resumé), and a possible way in with the company, and they get help.

Also, during your job seekingness (new word), make sure you remain disciplined in a schedule. Place strict time limits on all entertainment venues and distractions (limit TV, video games, social networking sites, etc). While you may have a shifted schedule due to meeting with people and job searches, do all that you can to maintain a schedule and/or a task list.

There is much to say when it comes to seeking a new job, it is almost as if whole books could be written on the subject. Regardless, my hope, our hope, is that you take heart little one, buck up buttercup, do not grow faint or weary. You will make it out alive. (Most likely).

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What To Do About CARRYING A TWENTY FOOT LADDER DOWN NOLENSVILLE ROAD

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It was a nice day. The sky was blue and the air was just starting to percolate with that humidity that says rain is coming. However, it was still early and the humidity had not yet reached the point of making the experience of being outside completely unbearable.

Terry and I just happened to be walking up Nolensville Road to pick up a twenty foot ladder at a friend’s house. Why were we walking 0.7 miles instead of driving? Well, there was the problem of not having a truck to carry a ladder, and there was also the fact that it was only 0.7 miles.

Nolensville is a fun road, and there are no end to places like Latino Tires:
nolensville road latino tires

One of the obvious benefits of walking to pick up the ladder is that it gave Terry and I a chance to talk. We all know what happens when Terry and I have a chance to talk, we get all these crazy ideas. On the walk back, however, we were separated by twenty feet of ladder, and I was yelling back there, “everything all right?!”. I had to keep checking in because it seems my good personal trainer friend was getting a bit winded and I just wanted to make sure that he didn’t need to stop and sit down for a few minutes. I hardly broke a sweat. If I had, I would have made sure it hurt.

Here are a couple recommendations for carrying a ladder down Nolensville Road:
1. I recommend bringing a friend, or a non-friend but willing participant.
2. I recommend, when approaching thugs, to have the ladder act as leverage between you and the thug. This way, you can either use it to shield yourself from any potential blows, or you can throw it down in such a way that it creates an obstacle for the thug as you make a wild dash for safety.
3. I recommend, when crossing the street to have the ladder in front of you, that way if a car is coming you can sacrifice the ladder and allow it to be smashed instead of your body.

In conclusion, I highly recommend carrying a ladder down Nolensville Road. It is an experience that I will cherish and keep in my heart, wherever I go, I will always remember the day I carried a ladder down Nolensville Road. It was such a happy time and the memories are priceless. How can you put a price on such things?

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What To Do About THE DAY JOB

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This article was written by our good friend Devin Bustin. Devin is a talented songwriter and fronts the musical group Asher Lev, his music soothes ears and captures hearts.

My name is Asher Lev. Actually that ºs my band ºs name, stolen from this novel called My Name Is Asher Lev. I write songs and play concerts. Once every few years, I release an album of songs I ºve shaped and re-shaped in my studio, that I ºve trashed and resurrected, obsessed over and grown to hate–that I believe merit people ºs ear time.

And I make frappuccinos. Hard. I double-blend. The city of Wheaton, Illinois owes three pounds of fat per capita to my strawberries and cream smoothies. I go to bed and get up before you can call this morning-breath, to steam milk, gallon after gallon, and I squeeze more bottles of mocha than Willie Wonka.

The Company ladles out the benefits: health-care, tuition reimbursement–a free pound of coffee every week–but I have a degree from the best art school in the country. I should be spooning caviar to my baby girl. The other day, I scratched my eye and my shift manager told me to go fish. I didn ºt have a clue what she meant.

“Go fish? You want me to do dishes?”

“No. I want you to wash your hands. You touched your face.”

I felt like telling her to go fish. Well, not that exactly. Anyway, with four years of partner life behind me, here ºs my advice for survival behind the espresso bar:

1. If they treat you like itʼs high school, remember itʼs a high school job. Look closely at your paycheck. You made more in pizza delivery. Now blast 50 Centʼs “I Get Money” through your car speakers. Wish you could afford better speakers.

2. Laugh about it. Yesterday around 5:15 a.m., a customer wiped toothpaste from the corners of her mouth and asked what was in a carmel macchiato. My store manager said, “Itʼs just like any other latte, except the sots shit on top of the foam.” I turned to the coffee grinder and laughed myself awake.

3. Use the time to get after what you really want. If I traipse to work at 4 am, I can pack a whole day of work in before afternoon arrives. The afternoon yawns wide with practice time, studio time, and, uh, nap time.

4. Tell yourself that service feeds the soul. Manning the helm of the espresso machine while bleary-eyed yuppies await my concoctions, I tell myself I ºm doing something for them, that this is going to make their morning better. I ºm playing them a song, kind of. I ºm throwing something together over five minutes that makes their next five minutes better. Maybe even the five minutes after that. Music works best when I approach it like a gift to those around me. The day job does, too.

They play this song in there sometimes. Itʼs called “Everything is Free,” and itʼs by Gillian Welch. Sheʼs a songwriter I love, one we named our daughter after. Gillian sings about how hard sheʼll work to keep the music close, even when the stuff doesnʼt bring in any scrill. She sings, “Weʼre gonna do it anyway / Even if it doesnʼt pay.” The straight job earns the strum job. Iʼll make the trade.

*You can check out the music of Asher Lev at: www.asher-lev.com

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What To Do About WORK

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This article was written by Todd Dakin, he is one funny guy.

I’m not so audacious as to suppose that I could tell you how to better do your job.  I do however believe that I could tell you how to better not do your job.  You see, a lot of people think being lazy is easy.  Well, that’s because it is.  However, being lazy and simultaneously convincing others that you’re not is an art that few truly take the time to perfect.  Follow these guidelines and I assure you, you’ll be not doing your job better than ever.


First and foremost, it’s important to appear to be the hardest working person in your office.  I’ve found this is actually relatively easy to do without actually accomplishing anything.  The only way to get away with doing less is to act like you’re trying to do more.  First, make sure your desk is always covered with papers boasting big bold letters that say things like, “FAX” or “MEMORANDUM” or “CONFIDENTIAL РTIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL.” About every five minutes or so rustle the papers around like you’re looking through them frantically.  It’s good to always be muttering things to yourself under your breath too.  Now you need to seem stressed out, but you don’t want to be too dramatic… I like to save the real histrionics for a minor meltdown every three weeks or so.  I’ve tried the fortnight meltdown, but it makes you seem too unstable. 

Anyway, here’s how you pull it off: you hang up after a phone call and start complaining in broken sentences.  Be just loud enough so that the people around you can hear, but don’t be disruptive.  Say things like, “I don’t belie…uh…how could there…that’s it.” Then you walk to the water cooler, fill up a cup, take a deep breath, walk back to your desk, look at your computer, and say something to yourself like, “It’s all right.  (Here’s where you enter a cheesy motivational adage) no one can do everything, but everyone can do something.  Here’s the deal Todd (yeah, refer to yourself in the third person) you know what you’re going to do?  You’re going to saddle this horse back up and ride it all the way to success city.”

It’s also good to have motivational posters in your cubicle.  I prefer the kitten on the clothesline because it’s plenty cliché.  Plus, girls always think the kitten is cute which is a total plus.  Remember, always choose cliché over clever… clever people get fired.  Always try to be as machine-like as possible.

Now in regards to that whole, “dress for success” deal: wear what’s comfortable.  Trust me, the only people who can become successful based on the clothing they wear are models… and they can’t even pick out their own outfits.  Or speak for that matter.  Let me put this as politely as possible.  If we ever decide to make any advancements in our mannequin making technology, there are going to be a lot of beautiful people begging for change on street corners.

So what to do about work?  Heed the advice of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe who said, “Less is more.” Nobody likes a showoff.

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