Enjoy!

I love the song. And the video is still one of the best ever!

Work

I have never been a fan of talking about work online. Previously, when I worked at VEGAS.com, I specifically stayed away from chatting about the musing of day-to-day things, primarily because when you work for an internet company, everybody tends to know what you say online. It was just part of the culture.

Now that I work for the county and am a Public Employee, I am even more cautious as to not write about day-to-day things. I have nothing bad or slanderous or juicy to say, but since I have always heard of people being fired due to exposing some company secret that got out onto a personal blog, I figure it is best practice to mind one's p's and q's about work online.

I say all this because I have friends wishing to work for the county and tend to struggle in following through with the application (it is quite lengthy) or think they shouldn’t apply because they might not qualify or think they will never get in because they have no connections.

From personal experience, I offer the following bits of advice and encouragement.

It is true, as in all of life, it helps to know some one. Knowing someone, however, doesn't necessarily mean to have 'juice'. Rather, do you know someone? Really, anyone, for that matter will do. If you know someone, even if briefly, and you strike upon them that you are a good, hardworking person, who is cordial and willing to bust your hump when called to do so, then you have a foot in the door. And the more people 'you know' and the more people who 'know you', all the better.

Now, do understand that you must be qualified for which ever position you apply for. But that should not limit you in applying for positions that you are partially qualified for. Even if you have even the smallest experience with a position, apply for it.

In regards to the online application, here are things to keep in mind:

* The key is to provide as much relevant data to pass the first round which is the scrutiny of HR. After that, your application would go to the actual department that is hiring.

* There are two parts to all county applications: the application itself and then the supplemental questions (most positions have supplementals).

* For the application and the supplemental questions, look at the job description and break it apart into quantifiable sections/categories.

* Regarding each section/category, write down all experiences you have from classes and/or other working positions. There is no need to down-grade your experience by annotating that your experience comes from classes. You need to ‘up-yourself’ by adding that you have taken such classes. In other words, don't think or say, "I only have classroom experience." If there is something that you did in class that matches the section/category, you say so on the app or the supplemental questions.

* Use appropriate profession-jargon under the appropriate areas. Where jargon is not needed, don't put it.

* Pay close attention to the language that is used in describing the position you are applying for. Be sure to mirror the same language in your application appropriately.

* Finally, above all else, be honest! Lying will not help you get and maintain a job. what is said as a blatant falsehood is “open scandal in heaven”. And because of that, the truth will come out.

I’m sure there are a lot of other pointers out there on how to successfully apply for a county job, but this all I can think of at the moment.

A clever way to express observation. Next up, introspection.

So Much ...

Life has been a whirlwind tale of ups and downs, no different than any other person's life. But I suppose that the greatest difference is that it is my life and, my life alone to live. All responsibilities in my life are on my shoulders. However, that does not exclude the acceptance of asking for and receiving help from others.

The last four months have gone by so fast. I remember as kid I used to dislike the thrall of slow days, supposing that I would never reach a certain age, do certain things. But how great was it to revel in placid, long days. Most of my days as a kid were just that way.

MaryAnn and I have put our house up for rent. We are currently residing with my mom, although these days I just call her mom as opposed of the possessive "my mom". Being married has done that to me. Even though I have siblings who are much older than me, I have always referred to my mother as "my mom". It interesting though, because these days I refer to her in third person as "mom". I do so purposefully as a means of including MaryAnn into to the family dynamics, I don't want her to ever feel like she is excluded. But then again, I don't think I could ever make her feel excluded from the Avendano family, her and mom have a very good relationship -- it is a true mother, daughter friendship.

About six months ago mom got really sick. She had an infection in her kidney that became septic. It was a huge deal since it caused her two have two seizures and other related issues. Mom only has one kidney, the other was removed about 15 years ago after being diagnosed with a malignant tumor. Doctors removed her kidney along with a six and a half pound tumor.

Since mom's health has been up and down, but progressively up, MaryAnn and I decided to move in with her. Our utmost intention is to remodel and add an addition to her house, increasing square footage to 1700. We want to do this soon, but due to the sub prime mortgage crisis, lenders are weary in doling out loans to people who don't have a financial vested interest in a property. In order to qualify for a loan, we need to live in the residence for six months and then file a loan application.

Making mom's residence our new home has been exhausting. So much work has gone into down-sizing her belongings. Initially it was a battle to convince her of getting rid of many items. Part of the issue is that many of her belongings have a huge sentimental value, especially those items that remind her of my father or sister. The good news is we have made tremendous progress in this effort. We have not done it alone though. We've had the help of a family friend name Ines. She really is a blessing. Aside from mom's stuff was our own stuff to mull through. For the most part it is quite easy, I have no problem in saying "throw it away." And the good thing with that is MaryAnn tends to be in agreement.

Overall, all three of us are content in our situation. We happy and hopeful for the future. All we need to do now is relearn how to slow down, relax and recharge.