The people that are going to buy our house. I can feel it in my water.
There’s just time to dash off a quick post before I run round like a mad woman beautifying, hiding evidence and generally making the place look desirable.
I’ve got more hight hopes than normal for this lot becasue the agent contacted us a few weeks ago to see if you would be prepared to doa part exchange for a house in Bacup..
“Bacup? *snort* I don’t think so.”
Anyway, against all odds they’ve managed to sell their house and are dead keen to get a look at ours. These are the ones who were desperate enough to want to come during the week when it was dark. I can feel it in my water, I tell you.
Funny. When we bought the new car I said to B, “just watch, as soon as we get a 4wD we’ll sell the house and won’t need it. What are we waiting for, get a new car bought!”
Since then we’ve had a positive stream (well, more like a trickle, really) of viewers.
N has indeed fallen on his feet on the job front. He’ll be leaving home next week to go and work in a live in job in Bolton in a hotel that’s just been taken over by one of his friends. Told you, once things happen, they happen quickly. We’ll sell this house today or I’ll eat my computer!!
On a less positive note: my 50th birthday is getting scarily close. People keep asking me what I’m going to do to celebrate it but I can’t work up any enthusiasm. Sticking my head in the sand and lying about my age seem to be favourite at the moment. Of course when you consider the other what the alternatives to reaching 50 are, I’ll take the birthday, thanks. Just don’t expect me to do it with good grace.
26-year-old Andrew Benton does not expect to hold a traditional 9-to-5 job unless he starts his own business again, and he is not overly concerned on the recession’s longterm effect on his career. Whatever you make of this attitude, Benton is arguably the prototype of the new and perhaps ideal worker in the post-recession economy.
You have to be a bit of an idealist to become an entrepreneur
Most people tend to think realistically or want to reason why they aren’t capable of starting a business. Others take the risk. But do people become entrepreneurs for the wrong reasons? When thinking about starting a business people get stuck to obvious barriers.
What if I can’t get any customers?
If you can focus your resources on the things you like, the only possible outcome is that you become good at what you do. This can’t be ignored by the customers. People prefer services from professionals. But more importantly, people want to buy services from people who love what they do.
I need steady money to pay for my expenses
The steady money is not a real need. People think they need money to maintain a quality of living. You have to understand that quality of living isn’t about money. It is about your happiness and the happiness of people around you. And that can’t be bought.
I don’t like the extra paperwork
None of this matters if you set your target high enough. Think of the energy you have for your job if you can concentrate on the things you like. There really are people who love accounting. If you outsource your accounting you’re helping two people to be happy.
The funny thing is.. When i opened this tab. I knew what i was going to write but when I started my mind just went blank.
Today is a very important day, it could be life changing. It could in the future drive me crazy. I really am not a fan of what ifs so i do everything as they come along and most of the times I don’t let things just pass me by. There may be instances that I may be naive, but i just don’t see bad things or criticize first before knowing what something truly is.
Oh my goodness where is my brain. I have been floating in oblivion and I just stare at the monitor cross eyed. Snap out of it yann! hahahaha I’m going crazy.
I should just end this i think and mentally prepare myself for later. could this be my big break?
(oh about the announcement i guess i’m just gonna have to delay it a few more days March 1 perhaps ?)
The Toronto Star recently ran an article discussing a report released by the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (CFAIA) and the Canadian Labour Congress.
I could critique the usual fear-mongering and misuse of statistics in their report, or postulate on why a labour union was involved in its creation. However, I think a more useful approach is to focus on feminism as a whole.
In their earliest forms, feminism and women’s liberation were noble movements. They sought to give women equality, legal autonomy, self-determination, and freedom of choice in a broad range of topics from reproduction to employment. However, in more recent years, the agenda of feminist activists seems to have less to do with giving disadvantaged women a hand up and more to do with giving them a handout.
Activists wail and beat their drums, blaming everything from men to weapons to government for the plight of subjugated women everywhere. They ignore the fact that portraying women as helpless victims of society undermines the entire concept of feminism. They also ignore the fact that men and women are different. While striving for total equality is noble, it’s also a pipe dream. Men and women are not equal and they never will be. There are very definite physical, emotional and mental differences between the sexes. Some roles in our society are better suited to women, others to men, and no amount of government initiatives will ever alter that fact.
Should women have the opportunity to tackle any societal role that they choose? Absolutely. However, so should men. While there are still traditionally male-dominated areas where it’s difficult, if not impossible, for a woman to break through, the same holds true for men.
This brings up another concept that modern feminist activists refuse to acknowledge: that men suffer too. In their world, violence or discrimination against a woman is a human rights abuse, but violence or discrimination against a man is just normal. The divisive tactics used by feminist activists show that they have another agenda that has nothing to do with bettering the lives of women. If they were truly interested in bettering our society, they would be looking at ways to improve the quality of life for everyone, not just women.
Taking a slightly different tack, in the Star article I mentioned above, wage parity (or lack thereof) in Canadian society is mentioned. I’m not going to touch on the fact that the professor quoted in the article is focussing only on wages as an indicator of quality of life. Instead I’m going to point out how feminist activists, as usual, fail to take into consideration 3 very key issues that cause such a discrepancy in earnings: choice, childbearing and communication.
Many women simply choose not to go into higher paying (and traditionally male-dominated) fields. The reasons are many and varied: it may be a career that is better suited to men, women just aren’t interested, or if they are in the field they’re unwilling to do what’s necessary to earn their place. You see, equal opportunity isn’t something that can come from government handouts or special committees. Like men, women need to push through obstacles on their own and prove that they are capable of doing the job.
I’ve worked in a male-centric field my entire adult-life and I’ve encountered many seemingly “backward” or “sexist” attitudes along the way. I know my male readers are going to love this, but men really are like children They will regularly push the boundaries to see what they can get away with. Women planning to work in a mostly male environment need to learn how to thrive in that environment. There are many tricks and tools that are far more effective than crying “harassment” and seeking disciplinary action. Gaining acceptance isn’t about running to management to complain that your male co-workers aren’t playing nice and trying to demand their respect simply because of your gender. It’s about earning their respect based on merit.
Connected to Choice is the second item I mentioned: Childbearing. In 60% of two-earner families, one partner works full-time while the other either doesn’t work, or works part-time. In 91% of those families, the man is the primary breadwinner. [Source: Statistics Canada, Family Work Patterns] It’s pretty simple. Women who have children work less, which means they have less work experience than their male co-workers, which means they will earn less.
I can already hear people complaining that women are being “punished” for having children. Quite the contrary, it’s actually very equal. Like their male co-workers, they’re being paid based on their recent relevant work experience, rather than being given a handout simply for being female.
My last point is communication. Many a book has been written outlining the differences in communication styles between men and women. In general, men tend to be more direct and ask for what they want. Women tend to use a more subtle approach.
Over the years I’ve seen the following scenario happen time and again, not so much in unionized employment, but definitely in the private sector: Joe and Jane start working in the same job at the same company at the same time earning the same wage. Five years later, they’re both in the same job, but Joe is now earning more than Jane. Another 5 years down the road, Jane is still in the same job, earning only slightly more than when she started, while Joe has been promoted and received a raise…twice!
The modern feminist would have us believe that this is a perfect example of inequality in the workplace. On the contrary, it’s a perfect example of a skill that women need to be taught in order to be successful in the workplace. Why is Joe doing so much better in the company in Jane? Because he asked. Women will toil away at a job for years, expecting their boss to notice their hard work and offer them a raise or promotion. Men will simply go to their boss and ask for it.
Much progress has been made in the quest for women’s rights over the last 200 years. Laws have been made and repealed; cultural norms have been challenged and changed. Government legislation has gone about as far as it can go. It’s now up to women to pick up the flag and run with it themselves.
Instead of undermining their own efforts by portraying women as victims, feminists need to start taking a more positive and proactive approach. Rather than wasting their time and energy lobbying for sympathy and handouts, they should be teaching women the skills they need to succeed.
Another day, I wake with a positive frame of mind, maybe today is THE day.
Some days however really do feel like groundhog day, I get up, the job search begins. Eight or 9 hours later, its the end of yet another unsuccessful day, still no job.
Now I know there are people who will say that I must be fussy, I must be able to get A job, just any job. Well as I have discovered, through a very long and often depressing process. Just ANY job is actually difficult to get. For example, even cleaning jobs I have seen in my area require expereience. What hope is there for someone like me who is willing to take on any form of employment (within reason of course), so I can pay my bills and survive? I refuse to get hand outs in the form of benefits, I believe I am capable of working for my income.
I’ve said it before, this economy blows. The hub owns a business that when he started was crazy, no…INSANELY lucrative.
seriously.
insane.
Anyhoo, we have struggled, we have skimmed by, we have good months & bad and it makes my hair white.
white is not good.
especially when they appear from just below one’s right ear like the one I plucked just yesterday. How cruel is that?
Okay, back to my point…
A job was brought to the Hub’s attention a few weeks ago by a friend. We searched the internet for the possible listing to no avail until today. Today it was there. So you know what I did today? I prayed. Alot. And wrote up a fancy shmancy new resume for my hubby and faxed it on over. (who really faxes anymore…?) So now we wait. There was no time line for when they will be making a decision and I do not know the protocol for this type of thing…do we call? do we visit? do we…..fax?
pray.
That is all I know to do so that is what I will do. Alot. And I pray that THIS is the road I have been begging Jesus to show us. That this is the opportunity that can get us back onto stable ground. That this is the direction that ceases the white hairs from sprouting out of odd places on my head. (in the mean time thanking God for my magnifying mirror)
I sincerely hope that I can follow up very soon with am answer to my prayers. And I really really hope that the answer involves trains. (yeah, I said trains.)
March 1 perhaps ?)
The Toronto Star recently ran an article discussing a report released by the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (CFAIA) and the Canadian Labour Congress.
They will regularly push the boundaries to see what they can get away with. Women planning to work in a mostly male environment need to learn how to thrive in that environment. There are many tricks and tools that are far more effective than crying “harassment” and seeking disciplinary action. Gaining acceptance isn’t about running to management to complain that your male co-workers aren’t playing nice and trying to demand their respect simply because of your gender. It’s about earning their respect based on merit.