Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Highlight of my day
I guess it is a good thing that I already have a highlight of my day and it is 1:34 p.m. That means that the day will just get better, right? I had an informational interview today with a policy representative at the Gates Foundation. She was incredible and gave some great job-seeking advice. She asked me to make a couple changes on my resume and send it to her with a list of my jobs that I have applied for, saying she would help in any way that she could. I drafted an email of at least 8 jobs I have applied for in the past couple weeks. I am completely grateful for her willingness to help me out.
I remember reading and re-reading my email I was going to send her, heaven forbid that it turns out like one I sent a couple weeks ago to a legislative director where I spelled his name wrong (MAJOR faux-pas). I was in the process of getting ready to send when I noticed that in the beginning I said, "Hell (name)," instead of "Hello". Good catch, Lindsey....good catch. The highlight was catching my mistake before it was too late!
I remember reading and re-reading my email I was going to send her, heaven forbid that it turns out like one I sent a couple weeks ago to a legislative director where I spelled his name wrong (MAJOR faux-pas). I was in the process of getting ready to send when I noticed that in the beginning I said, "Hell (name)," instead of "Hello". Good catch, Lindsey....good catch. The highlight was catching my mistake before it was too late!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Learning Doesn't Stop
For me, the learning doesn't stop. I am constantly learning about myself, and what I need to do better in my life. Perhaps some may think I take life a little too seriously, but looking at how I can be better I feel is necessary for my growth, and therefore necessary for my happiness. Tonight, I was struck by an article by Neal A. Maxwell called Patience. Here are some quotes that I particularly liked:
"Patience is not indifference. Actually, it is caring very much, but being willing, nevertheless, to submit both to the Lord and to what the scriptures call the “process of time.”
"Patience is not indifference. Actually, it is caring very much, but being willing, nevertheless, to submit both to the Lord and to what the scriptures call the “process of time.”
Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than his. Either way we are questioning the reality of God’s omniscience, as if, as some seem to believe, God were on some sort of postdoctoral fellowship.
There is also a dimension of patience which links it to a special reverence for life. Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe—rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance.
When we are impatient, we are neither reverential nor reflective because we are too self-centered. Whereas faith and patience are companions, so are selfishness and impatience.
It is so easy to be confrontive without being informative; indignant without being intelligent; impulsive without being insightful! It is so easy to command others when we are not in control of ourselves.
In our approach to life, patience also helps us to realize that while we may be ready to move on, having had enough of a particular learning experience, our continuing presence is often a needed part of the learning environment of others. Patience is thus closely connected with two other central attributes of Christianity—love and humility.
Very importantly, it is patience, combined with love, which permits us “in process of time” to detoxify our disappointments.
God’s attributes of omniscience and omnipotence no doubt made the plan of salvation feasible. But it was his perfect love which made the plan inevitable. And it is his perfect patience which makes it sustainable!
Patience is, therefore, clearly not fatalistic, shoulder-shrugging resignation; it is accepting a divine rhythm to life; it is obedience prolonged. Patience stoutly resists pulling up the daisies to see how the roots are doing!
***
I should have just copied and pasted his whole talk. I am again reminded of the importance of this message. The closer I think I am to being a patient person, the more I realize I am not. From the looks of it, I need to change my attitude about what I think when I hear the word patience. For me the word 'patience' has been a bad word...the hope is that starting now, I will look at the word to be more opportunistic.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Exchange on User Error
I miss cooking for my foodies. I took pride in "experiment Sundays" as I used to call them, where I would find a recipe I had never cooked before and invite a bunch of people over to try it. With experiments over the years came a wide array of cookware. I have come to love the temperware products of yore. Remember those white porcelain, or whatever, dishes that were deep and had ugly orange, puke green, and booger yellow stencils of flowers on them? Yes, those things that your Grandma used to cook in. I HEART the old stuff. I can't tell you how quality the old stuff is. I love it....and I am missing it a little bit.
I decided I wanted to cook for people, so I invited myself over to another foodie's house to host a dinner. When I asked said foodie if he has the necessary cooking ware, he unfortunately could not provide. I scrounged around my temp-home here and could not find the necessary instruments either. That is when I decided it was ok for me to make a purchase.
I have noticed that when I am in the market for something, I can't find it, then a couple months later, I see this item EVERYWHERE. Last year, it was a modest white sundress. The year before it was a desk that pulls out. The year before that, it was a cheap, yet unique-looking entertainment center. And so it goes. This year, it is temperware that I can put in the oven and then put on the stove top without it breaking.
I found this great one at Crate and Barrel. I was afraid to go there at first because I heard rumors about how expensive this place is. Still unemployed and a recovering student, I just have to be careful at kitchen places in general.
I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I settled for a round, deep, glass dish with a lid. I knew I would be able to find multiple uses if it had a lid and was deep enough. It also had grooves on the bottom, which seemed to me to welcome being used on a stove top. I purchased it along with a couple pounds of roast. YUM!
The next day, dinner planning and prep was going splendidly. The other foodies all arrived in a timely manner, and the table was set with its best kitchenware. The roast smell lingered in the house reminding me of the time my family used to walk in our home on Sunday and say "Smells like Sunday!" I unwrapped it, and it was perfect. It was just juicy enough and tender enough that it would fall apart just by looking at it. I then started the gravy. My favorite part about cooking roast the way my dad/grandma taught me is using the leftover juice and burnings from the roast.....yum. It was also perfect. I didn't need to season it at all....
I poured the gravy through a strainer, and viola! I set the glassware in the sink and the next thing I know....EXPLOSION! The thing shattered to pieces. I was so used to my Grandma's temperware roast cooker that I forgot that hot glass on cool surfaces doesn't work. I was sad. I got over it real quick remembering that at least it didn't break before the meal was complete. I enjoyed the rest of Sunday...especially the eating part.
I thought I would go to Crate and Barrel, just to talk to them about options anyway. While I recognized that it was user error, I was also a little confused. The tag said tempered glass...which means it can deal with some kinds of strain, right? So, I went in, told my story. One lady was silently laughing at my stupidity....and I told her how embarrassed I was that I thought that 'tempered' meant what it said. One lady accused me of making things up and didn't want to help me score free product....you should have heard her critical comments. If she didn't feel like I should get an exchange, I would have been ok with a "no, we can't help you." Then the manager came up. I told the story and she also laughed at me. I said I was there just to see if there was a way that I could exchange despite the fact it was user error. She obliged, but then said "Just because it is tempered, doesn't mean it is unbreakable."
I'm not saying that you should go to Crate and Barrel to try out this method of exchange, but what I am saying is that I am one satisfied customer and will most likely do business with them because they were willing to work with 'user error.' BLESS you Crate and Barrel. KUDOS!
I decided I wanted to cook for people, so I invited myself over to another foodie's house to host a dinner. When I asked said foodie if he has the necessary cooking ware, he unfortunately could not provide. I scrounged around my temp-home here and could not find the necessary instruments either. That is when I decided it was ok for me to make a purchase.
I have noticed that when I am in the market for something, I can't find it, then a couple months later, I see this item EVERYWHERE. Last year, it was a modest white sundress. The year before it was a desk that pulls out. The year before that, it was a cheap, yet unique-looking entertainment center. And so it goes. This year, it is temperware that I can put in the oven and then put on the stove top without it breaking.
I found this great one at Crate and Barrel. I was afraid to go there at first because I heard rumors about how expensive this place is. Still unemployed and a recovering student, I just have to be careful at kitchen places in general.
I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I settled for a round, deep, glass dish with a lid. I knew I would be able to find multiple uses if it had a lid and was deep enough. It also had grooves on the bottom, which seemed to me to welcome being used on a stove top. I purchased it along with a couple pounds of roast. YUM!
The next day, dinner planning and prep was going splendidly. The other foodies all arrived in a timely manner, and the table was set with its best kitchenware. The roast smell lingered in the house reminding me of the time my family used to walk in our home on Sunday and say "Smells like Sunday!" I unwrapped it, and it was perfect. It was just juicy enough and tender enough that it would fall apart just by looking at it. I then started the gravy. My favorite part about cooking roast the way my dad/grandma taught me is using the leftover juice and burnings from the roast.....yum. It was also perfect. I didn't need to season it at all....
I poured the gravy through a strainer, and viola! I set the glassware in the sink and the next thing I know....EXPLOSION! The thing shattered to pieces. I was so used to my Grandma's temperware roast cooker that I forgot that hot glass on cool surfaces doesn't work. I was sad. I got over it real quick remembering that at least it didn't break before the meal was complete. I enjoyed the rest of Sunday...especially the eating part.
I thought I would go to Crate and Barrel, just to talk to them about options anyway. While I recognized that it was user error, I was also a little confused. The tag said tempered glass...which means it can deal with some kinds of strain, right? So, I went in, told my story. One lady was silently laughing at my stupidity....and I told her how embarrassed I was that I thought that 'tempered' meant what it said. One lady accused me of making things up and didn't want to help me score free product....you should have heard her critical comments. If she didn't feel like I should get an exchange, I would have been ok with a "no, we can't help you." Then the manager came up. I told the story and she also laughed at me. I said I was there just to see if there was a way that I could exchange despite the fact it was user error. She obliged, but then said "Just because it is tempered, doesn't mean it is unbreakable."
I'm not saying that you should go to Crate and Barrel to try out this method of exchange, but what I am saying is that I am one satisfied customer and will most likely do business with them because they were willing to work with 'user error.' BLESS you Crate and Barrel. KUDOS!
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