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Our first three-day weekend in two months, and ironically enough, it’s a holiday in honor of that which we are not doing on Monday—working. Sometimes it can be awfully difficult to unwind after back-to-back meetings, the stress of commuting, and the anxious daily grind. That’s why I’ve compiled a short lil’ list of seven tips to help you relax this weekend.
Get out of the city. Go to Michigan or Wisconsin or the Indiana Dunes or downstate Illinois (I’ve always wanted to check out Starved Rock). Whatever you do, just get out of here. No more beeping car horns or smelly subways. Just you, your significant other or friends (or go by yourself if you really want to relax), a car, a cabin, and lots and lots of trees. Or hop on the Mega Bus and go visit your family, leaving your unruly dog with your roommate (I am).
Go to the Jazz Festival. If you really think about it, sadly, it’s one of the last festivals before this city turns into a frozen wasteland of wintery yuck. A stroll around Grant Park while listening to some innovative jazz tunes will do wonders for your spirits. Check out the fest from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. September 4 through 6 (that’s Friday through Sunday) in Grant Park. Best part? It’s free.
Sleep alllllll weekend. Yes. Because you deserve it. Sleep will rejuvenate those weary bones. And while you won’t have much to talk about on Tuesday at the office (except maybe your bizarre dreams), you’ll have spent your time wisely. Hey, it’s healthier than drinking all weekend. Your liver will thank you.
Get a massage. If you can afford it, do it. Anywhere will do. Many hair salons and spas offer this service same-day if you’re lucky. Or if you’re feeling a wee bit adventurous, call The New School for Massage, Bodywork, and Healing’s Student Clinic (800 N Wells) now to schedule a $35 55-minute therapeutic massage. I checked their schedule, and they still have openings for Saturday. Jump on it!
Read a book. This isn’t that daunting of a task, I promise you. We’re not talking Wuthering Heights or Nietzsche’s collected works. Just pick up a mystery or what they call a “beach read,” go to the actual beach or make yourself a cup of tea, and go to town. Something with an effortless storyline, a page-turner—that’s what you need to escape.
Laugh. Call up your funniest friend and make plans. Plan a night out on the town with some partners in crime and get into a little “trouble” (not too much trouble, you hear?). Go rent The Big Lebowski, or go see Funny People. A new study shows that laughter reduces pain. Well, guess what? It also helps you chill out.
Act like a kid again. Make yourself some Kool-Aid, eat some Spaghetti-O’s, buy some Play Doh, and resurrect your GI Joes from your mom’s storage closet. Go to Six Flags and get your picture taken with freakin’ Bugs Bunny. I don’t care. Just lighten up, and be 7-years-old again—ah those were the days, when you didn’t know what “taxes” meant and the most important vaccination was a cootie shot.
Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone! We’ll be back in the blogosphere on Tuesday.
Mushroom Risotto
I finally made risotto. Risotto has been on my recipes-to-cook list ever since Paolo, the Italian exchange student, made it in my German host mother’s kitchen years ago. The recipe below is simple but requires time and attention. It is a perfect dish to make for someone special, like I did. And it is completely vegetarian. You can find more recipes like this on my food blog, TangySweetFoodLove. You can click on the pics for a closer view.
Mushroom Risotto
Serves 4
2 C. of Risotto
1/2 Onion, chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 package of Baby Portabello Mushrooms, sliced and cooked
1 C. of White Wine
1 Tbl. of Butter
2 Tbl. of Olive Oil
3 Tbl. of Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbl of Italian Parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Lots of Vegetable Broth
– In a large skillet, melt butter and oil over med-high heat
- Add onions and garlic. Brown in skillet
- Add risotto and slightly brown
- Slowly add in enough broth to cover rice
- Allow rice to simmer and absorb broth
- Again, slowly add in enough broth to cover rice
- Allow rice to simmer and absorb broth
- Again, slowly add in enough broth to cover rice
- Allow rice to simmer and absorb broth
- Add wine and allow rice to absorb liquid
- Continue process until rice is starchy, creamy and fully cooked
- Add cheese, mushrooms, salt, and pepper
- Slowly fold in new ingredients and simmer for a few minutes
- Serve immediately and top with chopped parsley
How To Navigate A Career Fair.
The Emerging Professional
“Know who you want to talk to in advance and have something interesting to say,” plus six more tips on how to make the most of a job fair.
Why Young Professionals Should Work For Small Nonprofits.
Jobs For Change
If you work for a small nonprofit, you’ll most likely gain experience outside of your job description, build stronger relationships with senior leaders, and get a fancy job title.
3 Websites Every Entrepreneur Should Visit.
Visions From A Visionary
SmartBrief, TED, and TechCrunch. ‘Nuff said.
When The Boss Invades Facebook.
Personal Branding Blog
For heaven’s sake, be responsible with your Facebook these days! When your boss finds your profile, you’re going to have to decide if you want to add her or not. If you do decide to add, make sure that you audit your profile so that she can see only the parts you want visible.
Best Interview Answers.
About.com: Job Searching
What would you do if the boss was 100% wrong? What are you passionate about? Questions like these can be tricky to answer. Follow this link for even more links regarding best possible interview answers.
Study: New PR Hires Must Blog, Tweet, Use SocNets.
Marketing Vox
PR hiring managers say that being social media savvy is almost as important as anything else when it comes to skills and qualifications. If you’re wanting a job in PR, you might want to start tweeting.
The Savings Experiment.
AOL News
“Buying cheap fast food, wearing inexpensive makeup, making your own soda at home. Are these money-saving options all they’re cracked up to be? We’re running 10 experiments to see what things really cost, and where the real value is. Watch a new video each week, and get some extra cost-saving advice on the side.”
How To Manage Your Online Life When You’re Dead.
TIME
Okay, it’s kind of morbid, but haven’t you ever thought of this before? Maybe not, till now.
“What’s your weakness?”
This is one of the most dreaded interview questions. Sure, you would love to tell the recruiting director your three strengths. You could go on and on about why you would be the perfect fit for the company or why you stand out from all of the other candidates. Of course, during this interview, you want to put your best foot forward and relish in all your positive attributes, so how do you handle a question that focuses on a glaring weakness?
Unfortunately, the majority of candidates are really weak at answering this question. Twenty-five percent of candidates bumble, stumble, and finally mumble that they don’t really have any weaknesses. Bad answer! If you don’t think you have any weaknesses, therein lies your weakness.
Another seventy percent of candidates give a bogus weakness. Job candidates think they are being clever, and they try to disguise a strength as a weakness: “Well, my weakness is that I’m a perfectionist” or “I work TOO hard.” A recruiting director that has interviewed hundreds of candidates has heard these lines and isn’t likely to smile upon your cop-out answer.
That being said, there is a legitimate way to answer this question. First, actually state one of your weaknesses. Now, this shouldn’t be a red flag weakness like “I tend to get violent when I get frustrated” or “I’m not a morning person; I don’t think my brain actually gets going until about 11:00 a.m.” Those weaknesses may be a tough sell to any employer.
The best thing that you can do is:
1.) State a weakness
2.) Explain why you felt it was important to correct
3.) Tell how you are working on improvement
The key is to state the weakness then focus attention on what you are doing to improve. For example,
“I’ve noticed that one of my weaknesses is that I tend to procrastinate. In the office, I know my procrastination not only effects me but the entire team, so I’ve taken strides to stop procrastinating. First, I recognized that I usually procrastinate when I seem overwhelmed by a project. To help with this, I now break down all of my big projects into smaller tasks that take no longer than two hours to complete. I also set personal deadlines for each of those tasks to be completed. Then I write a to-do list, so I know that every day I am taking strides towards the big, final project. I’m not perfect at the system yet, but it’s really helped me improve upon this weakness.”
Recruiting directors are more interested in how you handle this tough question and how you talk about it. It would have been a different story if you would have just said, “My weakness is procrastinating. I always wait until the last minute to do anything important.” The key is to state the area for improvement then emphasize the ways that you’re taking positive strides to turn your weakness into a strength.
Courtney Pike is author of How to Say It on Your Resume, and she offers more career advice at JobBound.com
If we take a look at our own lives it is apparent that there are several differences between men and women. Some of these differences can be seen in the ways that the respective sexes view the world, relate to others, and especially in the way that men and women tend to express their feelings.
While broad sex generalizations cannot be made and individual differences are always a factor, my experience has taught me that often men tend to act out their feelings, while many women seem to be more comfortable in verbally expressing their emotions. A great current example of this that I have seen in my own practice as of late is related to the economic crisis that we as a nation have experiencing for some time now. Unemployment has been a problem, with many people who have years of experience, fantastic track records and stellar references having trouble finding work that is consistent with their qualifications and expectations. This is difficult financially and emotionally, especially for men who often tie up so much of their personal identity, self-efficacy and self-confidence with being “breadwinners”.
To further complicate this situation, men are often taught to suppress their feelings, particularly those associated with weakness (i.e., fear, doubt, sadness). Because of this, men often act out their feelings instead of verbally expressing them. Whether they are male or female, individuals who engage in this acting-out process to convey feelings generally use emotions that they are more comfortable expressing, or that are more socially accepted and encouraged-thus anger is frequently used in this capacity. This anger is usually directed at the person who the individual is closest to, or the significant other.
In the case of men, many times this person may be a female, and it is here that the sex differences come into play to complicate the situation. A woman may have a hard time understanding why her partner is angry, where this anger is coming from, and why it is being directed at her since it may be difficult to see exactly what has elicited this anger. Whether the target of the anger—or the angry person—is a man or a woman, the bottom line is that this seems unfair and elicits more anger in return. This can set the stage for a downward spiral that can look something like this: increased fighting, fewer feelings of closeness, fewer attempts at understanding the real problem, and increased anger and frustration on the part of the angry person because his/her original feelings of fear and frustration related to unemployment (or whatever the stressor may be) are not being addressed.
This is a vicious cycle that leads nowhere productive or happy for anyone involved. Deeply entrenched and learned patterns of relating to others are hard to overcome—so the person who has learned that it is adaptive to act out feelings of anger instead of verbally expressing more vulnerable feelings of sadness or fear likely does not even realize what they are doing.
If you are an individual who is experiencing unemployment/job-related concerns or any other type of stressful issue and you have seen such arguments occurring in your relationship with your significant other, or you are the recipient of what seems like unprovoked anger from your significant other who happens to be having some type of chronic stress in their life, think about what has been said here. Try removing yourself from the cycle of anger and frustration and ask yourself if this may really apply to your situation based on your past experiences with your loved one and how they seem to handle stress.
If you think that this may at all be applicable to your situation, try talking to your loved one—ask them how they are doing with all that is going on, and state that you do understand how hard this must be for them. Also, you can try to increase their self-esteem by giving them true and genuine compliments and positive feedback regarding your confidence in their professional abilities or any other area that you think they may need a “boost of confidence” in.
If you are the originator of the anger and you think that this may apply to you, start with being honest with your loved one if you can. Let them know that you have been having a hard time and have been frustrated with the stress that is occurring in your life-in any way that feels comfortable to you. Also, you can say that you did not mean to take anything out on them, and that you are sorry if this is what it seems has been happening. Simply removing yourself from the heated feelings and thinking logically about the situation may really help in breaking out of this cycle, bringing you and your loved one close again, and getting the support that you need to get through this time-which is what you really wanted in the first place.
**** These tips do not constitute medical or psychological advice or counseling, please contact a licensed medical provider or therapist if you feel you need help.
We all think we know how to write a great resume. How could we not? Just Google “resume writing tips,” and you’ll be instantly bombarded with relevant links. But in today’s competitive world of employment, it isn’t just about listing your experience, affiliations, education, and skill set. Sure, this information may possibly speak for itself and propel you into the front of the job applicant line. But in the off chance that it doesn’t, here are some surefire ways to differentiate yourself from the rest by having one helluva resume.
Use the right keywords. These days, many employers don’t have time to sift through thousands of resumes for hundreds of jobs. And so they instead use digital databases to search through those gazillion resumes. You probably know to use action verbs when describing your experience, but it turns out nouns are important too. Make sure to enrich your resume with words relating to the position you want. Where to start? Check out Katharine Hansen’s list of Resources for Identifying Keywords.
Do not include “no duh” info. The most common mistake made here is writing “References available upon request.” You’re just wasting a line of space on your resume if you include this. If you actually want a job, you’re obviously going to provide your potential employer with references if you’re asked. Another unnecessary space-filler is an “objective” if you’re applying for a specific job. Well, duh, I think we all know your objective here—it’s to get that job! (An example of where using an objective is appropriate is if you’re posting your resume to a general job bank site.)
Fit it on one page. We live in the world of Twitter’s 140-characters-or-less messages. No one, I repeat, no one wants to spend more than a few minutes perusing your resume. I know you’re proud of all of your accomplishments—those five internships you had in college, even. But the key is to list your most relevant experience, and fit it on one page! (Two pages may be acceptable if you’re older and have a lot of relevant experience, but as young professionals—I say “one page” tops.)
In the spirit of the season, I am posting my Holiday Ham recipe. It is the epitome of TangySweetFoodLove. There is a nice blend of tang, sweetness, and saltiness. Please enjoy the goodness with you and yours. 
Holiday Ham: TangySweetFoodLove-style Serves 8
1 4-Lb. Cured Ham
1/2 C. of Brown Sugar
3 Tbl. of Soy Sauce
3 Pineapple Rings
Approx. 10 of Whole Cloves
- Preheat oven to 365 degrees – Place ham in a casserole dish – Score the top 1/3-inch deep with a knife in a criss-cross pattern – Place a whole clove at each “x” score – Place pineapple rings around the top of ham – Sprinkle brown sugar and soy sauce over top – Bake ‘dressed’ ham in oven for 40 minutes until ingredients on top are caramelized – Slice and enjoy
As an accompaniment to the TangySweetFoodLove Holiday Ham recipe, I wanted to provide the delicious glaze to top this creation. It utilizes the same elements that were used to bake the Holiday Ham. Let this simmer, serve and Enjoy!
Holiday Ham Glaze: TangySweetFoodLove-style Serves 8
3/4 C. of Brown Sugar
1/3 C. of Crushed Pineapple
Juice 3 Tbl. of Soy Sauce
2 Tbl. of minced Onion
- In a small saucepan, place all ingredients – Stir well – Simmer over a low flame for 15 to 20 minutes – Glaze should thicken similar to a syrup
This recipe is derived from two sources. First, from my experience of working at the chain, Chili’s Bar & Grill and secondly, from an Argentinian steakhouse I went to in Fort Lauderdale a while ago. Chimichurri is a type of ’sauce’ used all over Latin America for grilled meats and veggies. It is composed of two of my favorite ingredients, cilantro and lime, and goes well with my version of grilled skirt steak. It also goes well with pork and chicken. Recipes like this and others can be found on my food blog, TangySweetFoodLove. You can click on the picture for a closer view.
Skirt Steak and Chimichurri
Serves 2
1/2 Lb. of Skirt Steak
1 Tbl. of Olive Oil
1 Tbl. of Red Wine Vinegar
3 tsp. of Cumin
2 tsp. of Garlic Powder
2 tsp. of Oregano
1 tsp. of Paprika
1 tsp. of Cinnamon
- Sprinkle all of the spices, herb, oil, and vinegar over both sides of skirt steak
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour
- In a large skillet, heat a small amount of canola oil to high
- Cook both sides of skirt steak until desire doneness
(Can also be cooked on a grill or BBQ)
Chimichurri Sauce
1 Bunch of Fresh Cilantro
3 Cloves of Garlic
Juice of 2 Limes
1 Tbl. of Salt
1 tsp. of Brown Sugar
Olive Oil
- In a blender, place all ingredients and blend well
- Refrigerate for at least an hour
- Serve atop grilled skirt steak…or pork…or chicken
If you’ve got a Blackberry, you most likely have the Brickbreaker application, a game that requires you to go from level to level destroying bricks of varying density with nothing more than a ball and a paddle. It’s a mobile version of the old Arkanoid game for Nintendo.
I’ve been playing this game for years, and I even switched back to a Blackberry from a SmartPhone simply because I missed the game. You might say I have a bit of an addiction. I might say I’ve discovered a new religion. You may be right, I may be crazy…
But here are the facts as I know them, and if you’ve played Brickbreaker at all you’ll see that I’ve uncovered evidence of a higher being at work; there’s no way some of this stuff is simply “programmed”:
1. Sometimes, the little ball just disappears right off the screen, effectively ending your game. This ONLY happens when you’re 15 levels in and have 16 lives. When you’re in the midst of a really awful game, that ball never gets lost. The lesson: Only the good (games) die young.
2. One of the most important aspects of the game are the hidden capsules that drop from bricks after the bricks have been hit with the ball. One of these capsules is “Flip”, which makes your paddle move in the opposite direction until a new capsule negates this syndrome. Getting “Flip” sucks, but you do get 50 important points if you accept the capsule at your own peril. The lesson: “the treacherous are caught by their own greed” (Proverbs 11:6)
3. During the course of a normal game, you have the chance to pick up more chances to play by getting “Life” capsules. These are the most important capsules you can get, as nothing is more helpful to you in trying to reach a high score. It’s important not to squander lives when possibl