Posts from — April 2008

Google has introduced a new thing called Google Tutor.

Go forth, my friends, and read the damn thing.

And stop calling me to come over and fix your computer in exchange for dinner.

Though I do love dinner…

So I’ve been going to Weight Watchers meetings.  I’m coming out about it.

I’m a little self-conscious about it, but I’ve decided to bite the bullet and just say it. Oy.

My most recent weekly meeting had me a little bit irritated.

The process works if you actually do it. (It works if you work it… keep it simple… one day at a time… they’re all the same…)

I like the group I attend.  I chose it pretty carefully.  On a Sunday morning, so folks who might be inclined to go to church would already be there.  In a town where I don’t know anyone.

I get there early.  Big surprise.

I weigh in… down a bit, which is exciting.

And then I sit down to read the cute little booklet they give you every week.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see three other people in the room.  A woman I think of as The Complainer, and another woman I have never see who I now think of as The Bitch.  The Bitch has a kid with her… probably 12 or 13 years old. A girl.  Overweight, tom-boyish (not that I know anything about that), close to as bitchy as her mother.

The Complainer always has a reason why Weight Watchers isn’t working for her… she can’t eat too much fish because of the mercury.  She can’t exercise because her joints hurt. She can’t have too much water because of her kidneys.  She can’t eat balanced meals because she eats at her workplace.  Lots of excuses and complaining.

The Bitch I’ve never seen before. Their conversation goes something like this (they’re talking about me):

The Bitch: Who’s that?

The Complainer:She’s stoopit. (She has a wicked RI accent.)

The Bitch: I thought you had to be overweight to go to WW.

The Complainer: Yeah.

The Bitch: I just got back from vacation… I need to do something.  I want that scale down NOW.

And on and on and on.  Now, I’m not huge, but I am definitely overweight. 

And really, I don’t go to WW for The Bitch or The Complainer.  I go for me.

It gets better.

Other people arrive.  A woman I call Chatty and The Sister.

Then a relatively fit woman comes in. 

Now remember, if you did WW and lost weight, you can be a lifetime member.

You can go to meetings for free forever. (You have to follow some rules…)

I have no idea if Fit Girl is a lifetime member.  It’s not really any of my business.

The Bitch (to Chatty): Who’s that?

Chatty: She only  has 10 pounds to lose.

The Bitch: If I looked like that, I wouldn’t be here.

Fit Girl (to Chatty): This is why it took me 6 months to actually come to a meeting.

The Bitch: What’s that?

Chatty: This is why she didn’t come before…

And my personal favorite…

Chatty: I started going to the gym… but I put on a half pound. But I’ll see what happens next week…

The Bitch: See, that’s why I don’t walk or exercise.  I don’t want to gain.

Really?  Come on. 

The Bitch needs to get a grip.  Perhaps if she spent some of the time on herself that she is spending making other people irritated and self-conscious, she’d actually see that scale go down…

I have two people in my life right now who want/need new jobs.

One just go laid off.

One hates his screaming employer.

Penelope Trunk has some thoughts for my job-seeking friends in her post, Three tips for job hunting, and one good book.  Her salient points:

There’s one trick to all trick questions.

A thank-you note is too late to express enthusiasm for the job.

No one will tell you that you’ve made a mistake.  

#1 is my favorite… similar to that first (or second or third) date, where your potential love interest doesn’t want to hear about what a cranky, bitchy ass you are by way of endless stories or even short anecdotes about your former love interests, your potential employer doesn’t want to hear about all the shitty shit that happened at your last job.

Don’t be an idiot.  Don’t be negative.  Nobody likes negative.

And please, spellcheck your resume.  And your cover letter. AND your LinkedIn.

I used to be in shape. I don’t remember it that well, but I do know that one day, long ago, I got picked near the top of the list in gym class.

These days, not so much.

I’ve decided to change that.

I’ve been walking.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I had surgery a couple of weeks ago, so the going is a bit slow. But I am determined.

Every day, I’ve been walking a lovely 2 mile loop in my neighborhood.

(If you ever need a handy map of your own, with the ability to plot the distance for whatever you are doing, check out MapMyRun.com)

It is almost silly how long it takes me to do this loop right now.

But it gives me the opportunity to take in the scenery and say hello to the folks I pass… the same folks… no matter the time of day.

The same guy is always standing outside of the barber shop dancing around with his headphones on.

The same guy is always leaning against his car in front of the deli/watch repair shop (???).

The same woman is always sitting on the steps of the perpetually closed toy shop.

That’s one thing you can count on in Olneyville: consistency.

I can’t stand it when people are inefficient.

And I really can’t stand it when there is an assumption that because I don’t have children, the only important thing in my life is work. Or better yet, that time is more precious to folks with kids than those of us who have yet to, or have chosen not to, procreate.

Now, I believe that child-rearing can be a full time job. Some of my favorite people are stay-at-home moms. (Sounds an awful lot like, “I have gay friends,” or, “Some of my best friends are black,” doesn’t it?)

And I believe that I do have more discretionary income than they do. And I believe that I do have more time to myself than they do. Which is why, when I go to Liv and Colin’s for dinner, I try to always clean up. They can populate the earth (with some fantastically adorable children, I might add). I can do the dishes.

Signal vs. Noise has a post about why hiring “family people” is a good idea. They have focused time, they don’t throw hours at projects (or whatever) because they can’t afford to, and they make you figure out if what you’re trying to do is make shit fly or truly something interesting and important. (I don’t mean to take away from the validity of making shit fly…) Read it yourself - Why I love working with family people

If you read the comments, which I didn’t at first, there are some PISSED OFF people. Get a clue. The post wasn’t about discriminating against 20-somethings with umpteen hours a day to spend at work, it was about how folks could stand to be a bit more efficient with their time.

If you think a thing should take 4 hours and it is taking 4x that, STOP. Some things do take longer. Legitamate. But not all things should take longer than you think they should.

Build in efficiencies, and value your own time.

Go for a walk.

When you finally do decide that working 16 hour days is not what you want to do, you’ll have a jump on your contemporaries who still can’t get 8 hours of work done in a 40 hour week.