Hello, Dear Readers. I hope you are healthy, and that your week was a good one. For those of you in the United States, I hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend. I spent my Monday crocheting and quietly contemplating my grandfathers and my maternal uncle, all of whom have long-since passed away, and all of whom were in the military at one point during their lives. I had talked to my Dad, a Vietnam veteran, on Saturday, during what turned out to be a hilarious "first time using video chat on a tablet" adventure for my parents. Mom thought it was perfectly fine to start the call in a dark living room with only the TV on for light, until I let her know I couldn't see her or Dad, and then once they turned on some lights, neither of them could figure out where the camera was, and none of us could stop laughing. Remembering it still makes me smile.
Memory is an important, but odd thing; it is like an intangible muscle in some aspects, that we must work with it in order to remember things consistently. We get so much information every day, every week, that it is so hard to keep up with everything and remember the most important bits. As the influence of fast information via the internet grows, our attention spans shorten and we aren't given enough time to process the information given to us. It doesn't help that 2020 is proving to be an overwhelming experience of information, whether it be from health professionals, or the news, or government entities, or viral videos of what people are doing on the other side of the world for the betterment or detriment of their fellow human beings.
Be good to yourself, and take the time to process all of this mental information. A lot can happen within every news cycle, and between juggling working from home (or looking for work from home) and keeping informed (and for some of you, also taking care of at least one kid), it can be a lot to handle. Take some time away from the screens each day so that you can process everything you've taken in, and take care of yourself; stretch, breathe, drink some water, and remember to eat.
I don't know how long this new normal may last, but we must remember to be kind to ourselves, both physically and mentally. Have a good week, Dear Readers.
-A.M.W.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Self-Paced Personal Improvement
Hello, Dear Readers; I hope you are healthy and have had a pleasant week.
Back in April, I signed up for three continuing education courses online. Get Grants!, A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and Project Management Fundamentals. All of them were self-paced, so I could read through the each course in its entirety right off the bat, and that helped me tailor my learning experience.
I find that self-paced classes are much more in keeping with my learning style; some days I don't feel like logging in to read at all, while on other days I feel like going through three chapters of material, and still others I feel like I've studied enough to take half of the quizzes for the course all in one go.
For these online classes, you have three months from the day you sign up to finish the course. As I was still under a stay-at-home order, it seemed like a way to use the time of both unemployment and obligatory sequestering as a way to improve myself. On Sunday I took the final exams for both Get Grants! and A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and passed them both. On Monday, I took the final exam for Project Management Fundamentals and passed that as well. Three more certificates for my resume, and a nice feeling of accomplishment besides.
Since the stay-at-home order and then the safer-at-home order, I've made time to look for work, take those classes, play video games, watch an abundance of streaming video, and even started crocheting again, to both help with anxiety management and for me to do something with my hands while I'm job searching.
I'm working on a shawl that is turning out breathtakingly fugly, both due to the varigated yarn I'm using and the "haha, follow what pattern, I'll wing it as I go" attitude I've adopted, ensuring that the yarn colors don't stripe nicely together. While the color palette of orange/white/dark grey/dark blue/light blue looks great while it's in the skein, when there's giant patches of orange next to giant patches of light blue, it's actually getting to the point of "so ugly it's cute again", which was not my intention. I still fully intend to use it around the house when it is finished; the yarn is thick and soft and perfect for slightly chilly nights.
Sometimes the projects we use to improve our skills and ourselves aren't the prettiest when they're done, but they served a purpose. I'm using this shawl as a way to practice new stitches that I've been learning from YouTube tutorials, as well as practicing old stitches that I felt I was getting a bit rusty on. I'm working at my own pace, so the end date for the project is not set, but I don't feel rushed; even if I finish this project sooner rather than later, there is always more yarn and there are always some actual patterns for me to try. Pacing myself is important, because I need to know and respect my limits. Many people try to work on themselves in such a regimented way that they forget to be kind to themselves too, and that will inevitably lead to backlash.
Be good to yourselves, Dear Readers. There is enough going on outside that you may feel like you have to do certain things to get ahead, and that very well may be, but do not forget to give yourself a break too. Stay safe, wash your hands, and be kind.
-A.M.W.
Back in April, I signed up for three continuing education courses online. Get Grants!, A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and Project Management Fundamentals. All of them were self-paced, so I could read through the each course in its entirety right off the bat, and that helped me tailor my learning experience.
I find that self-paced classes are much more in keeping with my learning style; some days I don't feel like logging in to read at all, while on other days I feel like going through three chapters of material, and still others I feel like I've studied enough to take half of the quizzes for the course all in one go.
For these online classes, you have three months from the day you sign up to finish the course. As I was still under a stay-at-home order, it seemed like a way to use the time of both unemployment and obligatory sequestering as a way to improve myself. On Sunday I took the final exams for both Get Grants! and A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and passed them both. On Monday, I took the final exam for Project Management Fundamentals and passed that as well. Three more certificates for my resume, and a nice feeling of accomplishment besides.
Since the stay-at-home order and then the safer-at-home order, I've made time to look for work, take those classes, play video games, watch an abundance of streaming video, and even started crocheting again, to both help with anxiety management and for me to do something with my hands while I'm job searching.
I'm working on a shawl that is turning out breathtakingly fugly, both due to the varigated yarn I'm using and the "haha, follow what pattern, I'll wing it as I go" attitude I've adopted, ensuring that the yarn colors don't stripe nicely together. While the color palette of orange/white/dark grey/dark blue/light blue looks great while it's in the skein, when there's giant patches of orange next to giant patches of light blue, it's actually getting to the point of "so ugly it's cute again", which was not my intention. I still fully intend to use it around the house when it is finished; the yarn is thick and soft and perfect for slightly chilly nights.
Sometimes the projects we use to improve our skills and ourselves aren't the prettiest when they're done, but they served a purpose. I'm using this shawl as a way to practice new stitches that I've been learning from YouTube tutorials, as well as practicing old stitches that I felt I was getting a bit rusty on. I'm working at my own pace, so the end date for the project is not set, but I don't feel rushed; even if I finish this project sooner rather than later, there is always more yarn and there are always some actual patterns for me to try. Pacing myself is important, because I need to know and respect my limits. Many people try to work on themselves in such a regimented way that they forget to be kind to themselves too, and that will inevitably lead to backlash.
Be good to yourselves, Dear Readers. There is enough going on outside that you may feel like you have to do certain things to get ahead, and that very well may be, but do not forget to give yourself a break too. Stay safe, wash your hands, and be kind.
-A.M.W.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
This Is Starting To Look Real Familiar
Happy Tuesday, Dear Readers.
I remember with visceral clarity what the job market was like between 2008-2012, which was both time for me to go to grad school and trying to acquire a job. It was hectic and messy, frustrating and rewarding.
I remember the fallout of the mass layoffs in 2008 that happened; companies realized they could get people with decades of experience on the cheap, compared to the salaries they'd been paying just a few months prior. Suddenly all the jobs that we as grad students had been eyeing to apply to when we were closer to graduating were out of our reach, as companies were less interested in our shiny new degrees and more interested in snatching up all the people with 10-20 years' of industry experience.
Only in the past five years or so, have I noticed the ludicrous requirements for jobs have slowly relaxed a bit, to something a bit more sensible for employers to look for and expect from applicants. However, with the mass layoffs of March and April 2020, I have seen a return of higher requirements, including more years of experience in general, more years of experience regarding certain job tasks, more certifications, etc. However, I do not think it will work as well for employers this time.
It worked 12 years ago was because the eldest of the Baby Boomer generation were setting out to retire, and with the layoffs happening in 2008, it mangled their retirement plans to a point that they had to get rehired and keep working. Now though, most people in that age range have either already retired or were at a good place to retire when the 2020 layoffs happened, and I think a lot of them will choose their health over the rigmarole of trying to get rehired during a pandemic.
I sincerely hope that when businesses open up again that people will be offered their old jobs back, and that they are hired back at a non-reduced rate of pay. I sincerely hope that people are able to find a job that they love to go to by the end of all this. I sincerely hope that, when all is said and done, we can learn from what we have experienced and be better people and a better society.
Have a good week, Dear Readers. Take care of yourselves.
-A.M.W.
I remember with visceral clarity what the job market was like between 2008-2012, which was both time for me to go to grad school and trying to acquire a job. It was hectic and messy, frustrating and rewarding.
I remember the fallout of the mass layoffs in 2008 that happened; companies realized they could get people with decades of experience on the cheap, compared to the salaries they'd been paying just a few months prior. Suddenly all the jobs that we as grad students had been eyeing to apply to when we were closer to graduating were out of our reach, as companies were less interested in our shiny new degrees and more interested in snatching up all the people with 10-20 years' of industry experience.
Only in the past five years or so, have I noticed the ludicrous requirements for jobs have slowly relaxed a bit, to something a bit more sensible for employers to look for and expect from applicants. However, with the mass layoffs of March and April 2020, I have seen a return of higher requirements, including more years of experience in general, more years of experience regarding certain job tasks, more certifications, etc. However, I do not think it will work as well for employers this time.
It worked 12 years ago was because the eldest of the Baby Boomer generation were setting out to retire, and with the layoffs happening in 2008, it mangled their retirement plans to a point that they had to get rehired and keep working. Now though, most people in that age range have either already retired or were at a good place to retire when the 2020 layoffs happened, and I think a lot of them will choose their health over the rigmarole of trying to get rehired during a pandemic.
I sincerely hope that when businesses open up again that people will be offered their old jobs back, and that they are hired back at a non-reduced rate of pay. I sincerely hope that people are able to find a job that they love to go to by the end of all this. I sincerely hope that, when all is said and done, we can learn from what we have experienced and be better people and a better society.
Have a good week, Dear Readers. Take care of yourselves.
-A.M.W.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Managing Anxiety During A Plague
Hello Dear Readers. I hope your week has been a good one.
Managing anxiety has become a far more pressing issue in the past couple months than usual. Anxiety hits everybody differently, but for me I can get insomnia, and/or completely lose my appetite, and/or get a headache because I've hyper-focused on something and forgot to drink water, and any combination of these things will absolutely screw me up worse if I don't take care of myself.
I have a plan written on my white board that says the following:
"If you feel like everything is going wrong, or you can't sleep, or your head hurts, or your chest is tight, or your stomach feels like lead, remember to do three things:
1) Drink water - a full glass!
2) Eat something green or lean protein
3) Take a nap, Nerd!
If you've just done 1, do 2 and then 3. If you've just done 2, do 1 and then 3. If you've just woken up from 3, do 1 and then 2. You are more than your anxiety, and you are more than what is posted on your resume. Breathe."
Living during a time of Plague and also Spring is not great for me. Spring and Fall are prime times for me to get sick, and it's usually a throat/upper respiratory cold, which makes the prospect of getting sick that much more anxiety-inducing. I would prefer to not have to play a game of "Regular Spring Cold, or Plague", just because I came home from running an errand, and then a couple days later started sneezing/coughing. I have a mask, but the amount of people blithely running about without one, so convinced of their superiority that they will be immune to Rona's pull, is irksome. I go out as little as possible in response, and manage my anxiety about going outside to run errands as best as I can when I go out to get supplies.
I hope, Dear Readers, that if you are experiencing anxiety, that you are finding healthy ways to manage it. I hope that the world acquires a new normal that is healthier for everybody, but in the meantime, remember to wash your hands and stay safe.
-A.M.W.
Managing anxiety has become a far more pressing issue in the past couple months than usual. Anxiety hits everybody differently, but for me I can get insomnia, and/or completely lose my appetite, and/or get a headache because I've hyper-focused on something and forgot to drink water, and any combination of these things will absolutely screw me up worse if I don't take care of myself.
I have a plan written on my white board that says the following:
"If you feel like everything is going wrong, or you can't sleep, or your head hurts, or your chest is tight, or your stomach feels like lead, remember to do three things:
1) Drink water - a full glass!
2) Eat something green or lean protein
3) Take a nap, Nerd!
If you've just done 1, do 2 and then 3. If you've just done 2, do 1 and then 3. If you've just woken up from 3, do 1 and then 2. You are more than your anxiety, and you are more than what is posted on your resume. Breathe."
Living during a time of Plague and also Spring is not great for me. Spring and Fall are prime times for me to get sick, and it's usually a throat/upper respiratory cold, which makes the prospect of getting sick that much more anxiety-inducing. I would prefer to not have to play a game of "Regular Spring Cold, or Plague", just because I came home from running an errand, and then a couple days later started sneezing/coughing. I have a mask, but the amount of people blithely running about without one, so convinced of their superiority that they will be immune to Rona's pull, is irksome. I go out as little as possible in response, and manage my anxiety about going outside to run errands as best as I can when I go out to get supplies.
I hope, Dear Readers, that if you are experiencing anxiety, that you are finding healthy ways to manage it. I hope that the world acquires a new normal that is healthier for everybody, but in the meantime, remember to wash your hands and stay safe.
-A.M.W.
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