Attitude!
I went to a total body conditioning class at NYSC tonight. My favorite instructors are usually the ones who give a really hard workout but are encouraging and upbeat. They are knowledgeable about exercise and give tips on how to have good form.
And not just in your hair!But tonight? Instructor marched in and said things like:
- Why can't you guys stay on tempo! Listen for the beat!
- Can we please follow the beat!
- Girl in the back is doing her own workout, and you don't want me to get cranky on you!
- I work out from 9-5 everyday so don't expect me to do the workout with you!
This guy seriously thought that he was running a class of experienced professionals at Alvin Ailey and couldn't BELIEVE this group of losers.
I never claimed to be the best goddamn dancer in the American Ballet Academy. But who the hell are you? NOBODY!(If you didn't get that reference, or if you don't hear Michael Jackson playing in your head just from LOOKING at this picture, get thee away from the computer screen and rent Center Stage IMMEDIATELY you FOOL!)
I go to the gym to get a workout, not to get yelled at. Well, sometimes I go to the gym to get yelled at, but I pay good money for that.
What's my point? Here it is: this guy was GOOD. He kicked my butt, he had good music, and he was always surprising me with new exercises.
...and it got me thinking...What's more important, being good at what you do, or having a good attitude?
I used to think that if you do top-quality work in the workplace, your attitude is secondary. From all the career blogs I read, I know that this is patently untrue. However, when you dislike your job, it's very easy to forget this basic thing. Then you think that doing good technical work while sneering at everything as you go is okay. I guess it's not. Seeing this on display in front of me tonight made this pretty clear.
I've got some reading to do.Labels: career
Pictures Time!
It's finally time, one year after our wedding, to pick out our wedding photos.
But don't worry, we agree about everything!350 pictures (we're only half done), 4 beers, and too many "yo momma" jokes later, we picked out our favorites. Here they are:
Me.
The happy couple.
My maid of honor, Sara.
Lucy missed the hora and got rowdy...And finally...
Our honored guests.Oh and one more. This was so weird, but JT got all wet and *then* came to the wedding. Haha! Totally going in the album.
I love you too, JT. But seriously, it was black tie. We're so over.
Okay, okay, I forgive you.
Major Accomplishments
I biked 32 MILES today!!
Me.That's right, for the first time ever, I biked home to see my parents instead of taking a bus or car. My carbon footprint was really small, or zero, or whatever people mean when they say carbon footprint.
Pounds it out for the environment!Right on, Al.
I'm Back... A Year and a Half Later
So my "two week hiatus" turned into about 75 weeks. And seeing that this whole career thing is still not worked out, I will be posting to this blog again!
With Justin's permission and approval, of course.I may not stick to the career topic solely. We'll see how things go. Speaking of non-career things, there is this one thing I wanted to recommend to the blogosphere: it's really really fun to add the word "town" or "ville" to the end of regular places and things. Like, "See you guys, I'm going to Duane Readetown". Or, "I'm so tired! Heading over to bedville". Eh?
Okay, sorry JT, that wasn't funny.I'm out-town.
Turn that frown upside down
No, I didn't find my dream career, or a new job, or a new career to explore... but something is very good:
I'm engaged!!!And no, this won't turn into a wedding blog (gag me). But give me a week to get back on the career wagon. :-)
Pouty
Well, guys, I have to admit. I'm feeling a bit like this about my job search:
Bummed.I haven't heard from a place I interviewed a few weeks ago-- I didn't love the job, but still, I thought I rocked the interview. I suppose I may still hear back from them, but on top of that, my "power technique" cover letter didn't score me an interview at this other job I applied for. Craptastic. But, alas, this is the way of the job search: you try and try and try and try and try again until you find the right thing. You chug along, like the little engine that could.
Oh that is just ridiculous, you know I didn't mean "chug" like that! People take you so literally.Anyway. I do plan on doing some of my own chugging tomorrow, at a bar that advertises having the most extensive martini selection in all of Manhattan, where I will learn about careers in finance from my friend's brother.
The best part is, I already know a thing or two about finance.Let's hope that goes well so that I can get back to my usual Sally Field / Madonna / Republican-mocking posts. :-)
About my last post
So I haven't done too much career thinking today, mostly because I'm so focused on the fact that I am no longer in a tropical paradise, and that instead of spending the day outdoors having fun I sat in front of my computer working on excel spreadsheets.
Waah, waah, cry me a river. I know. Nothing reminds you of how much work sucks like coming back from vacation. Vacations are like new years' for me in that I always make resolutions upon my return. This trip's resolutions are:
1) I
will spend more time outdoors!
2) I
will not return to being an angry New Yorker on the subway and sidewalks!
3) I
will hang on to this amazingly relaxed and unstressed feeling!
(admittedly, 2 and 3 are the same)
...and most importantly:
4) I
will find a job that makes me feel like
me, and not some worker bee who happens to know how to work a spreadsheet.
There you go: my four vacation resolutions. Hold me to them, please! Your support is welcome and needed.
It's nice to know America's behind me on this one!
People are different outside of New York
I'm back from vacation, with fresh insights on my career trajectory. Spending time on the beach, making difficult decisions like which margarita flavor to try and whether I should put on SPF 15 or 30, usually challenges me to think about where I am professionally. Just to give you a heads-up, I look like this after spending hours in tropical heat:
Except that I'm in a jean skirt, not black pants.After enjoying the non-NYC regularities of not lugging all your crap around and paying reasonable prices, I had to evaluate: why is it that I'm so tied to staying in New York?
WAIT! Let me explain.I was sad to realize that I had little to say to non-New Yorkers (read: Southerners) that I met this weekend besides, "oh, it's not like that in New York." I'm not particularly well-travelled. I'd
like to be more well-rounded. Maybe I should be looking for a job where I may have opportunities to spend a year elsewhere (as it's pretty clear that I'm not moving out of NYC anytime soon).
Which brings me to another point, and the reason I decided not to call the yoga studio back after all: I think that I might enjoy working in a big company as opposed to a small one. While I'm attracted to small business so that I can have control over many different aspects of a company, a larger company may be able to give me all the things that I'm looking for-- lots of people to meet / hang out with, exposure to different kinds of careers / positions, great health benefits, and fun perks like a company party or company-sponsored travel. You don't get that with a fledgling company, I think. Maybe my plan should be that for now, I'll look for a bigger company, and then when I get the cred to be an executive (or close to it), I can work in a smaller business (or even my own!).
One fine day, I will open the used CD shop I've always dreamed of!More than wooooords.
212-555-8901
These days, I get really really excited when I see a number I don't recognize on my phone. So today, when I got a call from a 917 that wasn't in my contact list, I nearly jumped for joy. Surely it was the cool job I applied for two nights ago that I'm really interested in, where I sent my
power technique cover letter!
Not so fast, Amanda. Don't jump to conclusions.Well, Condi/Elmo was right. It was the yoga studio, again. They called a second time to offer me a more attractive deal (note: still didn't call them back from the first time).
They like me! They really, really like me!!Now I think I'll probably call them back. Thing is, I still don't have a great feeling about the position. A gut check is important in these situations... as I've been told, and as I've seen in my own experience, if you see red flags, you shouldn't ignore them because they are going to be the thing you hate most about your job. I'm torn about this, but I think I will go in for more information. Learning about the job can't hurt, I guess... especially if I can go in on a Sunday, so that I don't have to race around at my lunch break with a suit jacket in my bag.
Because what I wear to the office everyday won't fly in an interview.Although maybe I should try this outfit on this interview. It's for a YOGA studio!! People? Hello?
Okay fine then. Peace out.
Really testing the cover letter lady now
I know I'm talking a lot about this cover letter book, but it's kinda revolutionizing the way I'm looking at job postings. I wrote my first "power technique" CL last night, for a position that I think is really cool. The cover letter went something like this:
Dear Hiring Manager:
I have tons of experience and am awesome! My skills, x, y, and z, are unparallelled. Highlights of my experience include:
- Developing awesome things for my company
- Managing lots of people and things, to great success
- Baking a delicious chocolate pie
- My university liked me, too
- Knitting without a pattern
Here's my resume. Once again, I'm awesome and will fix everything in your company.
Love,
AmandaI have to say that I'm a little uncomfortable with this method. It's definitely arrogant, but perhaps that's the way to go with these things. One big thing I've learned: it's not about what the company can do for me, but what
I can do for the company, based on my
proven results. That's what the book says, and I fear it might be right.
I always used to think it was really dumb when you'd go on an interview for a job that didn't work out and people would say, "well at least you got interview experience!". To me, that's like saying, "you gained weight? well, think of all the new clothes you'll get to buy!". Not cool. But now I may be seeing the wisdom. Through all of this cover letter writing, I feel like I really am learning something, namely, how to get better interviews for better jobs. It's a slow learning curve, but I think this is just how it goes when you're looking for a new job / career. Unless you're really lucky and have known you want to be a Doctor since you were a kid.
In other news, the party that I waitressed to check out event planning was... interesting. I think if I pursue event planning, it will have to be as a part of a larger role. I need to be doing something in addition to organizing caterers and centerpieces.
Also, I heard back from the yoga studio, they want me back in to meet with their investor... and I haven't decided yet if I'll go in for it. A cliffhanger for my readers!
Lastly, I don't think there are enough pictures of cats in ridiculous poses on the web:
Maybe this "tequila cat" (photographer's caption, not mine) could be my career mascot. What do you think? I could name her... Drunkamelion. Or Limelitter. Cat-tastic? Sir Limely Kitty III? I'll stop now.
