Donna, I was always read to before bed as a kid (even as a fetus supposedly), and now I find a book helps me fall asleep, so it may be that you've gotten Angus into that habit. Can he read to himself at all at that age (I have no idea when things are supposed to happen developmentally...)? If so maybe encourage him to read a little story to himself to help him fall asleep so that you don't get trapped back into storytime mode all the time.
oh yeah, and we definitely spent MLK day at school when I was a kid. There was usually a token viewing or reading of I Have a Dream and then back to regularly scheduled programming. But then that was in AZ.
Snow Dog Celebrating MLK Day [img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs786.ash1/167670_1675258895444_1656602450_1587479_872004_n.jpg width 440 /[img]
I must of been the only person not watching Golden Globes huh? Interesting dresses but beyond the red carpet they look a little too fussy to my eyes. Fabrics do invite me to touch.
British humour is typically dry, and heavy on local culture - if it's not something you are exposed to often it's easy to get lost or miss the point of it. And Ricky Gervais is the poster child of British humour. Over the years I've found his work increasingly hilarious. But it took a while for me to adapt.
techno I rarely actually watch TV events anymore - just read the highlights in the net the next day. During the GGs last night I was, typically, working - on my class.
That's precisely it, Donna - I find Gervais totally over the top. For me, it's too obvious / knee-jerk to find funny. I guess I enjoy more subtle humor, which is what I associate with British humor - which is why I said I (personally) feel like his style is more "American" I suppose. More yuk-yuk than subtle - more "insert random over-the-top gay/religious/cultural stereotype joke here". I dunno, maybe that *is* British - there's certainly plenty of examples of that in the British humor lexigon also... Who knows!
didn't watch the GGs either. was busy last night working on a research statement (and now I'm back at it again). At least I managed to get both syllabi wrapped up, the course websites up today, first lecture (for one of the two), and had a great meeting with my TA. feel like I just ran a marathon... Now I need to focus on pulling a lecture (or at least talking points) out of thin air for my 2:30, and then set sights on thursday when I do it all over again.
Donna - need any course materials? (have a few lectures to spare). Is the for the governors school or a different teaching gig?
ProPrac, tk. I'm on semester #3 of it, but I tweak it and personalize it to the class each time as they all have varying degrees of professional experience already.
Gervais was spot on, but then what else would i say? let's not forget, python skewered the upper class twits of GB, pretty much ridiculed the monarchy. so, this humor was not only in-line, but just goes to show how hideously un-funny and how full of shit most of hollywood is.
who gives a flying eff if we see awards? i want to see if these over payed SOB's are human, and whether or not they can laugh at themselves. last night, proved one thing; they can't do either. and, since i pay 10 effing hard earned dollars, to see pieces of shit - i mean, my gawd, Pirates of The Caribbean IV, really? who needs that? - then i aught to be a have a real laugh, with jokes created by a real human.
i think your place looks great snook! very jealous. my wife would be too.
didn't see the awards. love ricky gervais though. he's totally funny. not chris rock funny, but still pretty good.
good luck TK!
i am finished my lecture course next week myself. 30 lectures is i think in the end either not enough or just a bit too much though. starting next week am devoting all time to the new uni and getting the new program into shape. only studio next term which is much easier for prepping. hurray.
I didn't watch the awards either. I went to see the King's Speech instead, which I might add was pretty good, but then again I really like Collin Firth and am a complete history nerd.
I actually haven't watched any awards shows in years. They're just way to drawn out for my liking. I do though, enjoy seeing the highlights the day after.
In other news, my house was broken into on Friday during work. Took all my jewelry and nothing else (the bastards). To make matters worse, the person who answered the phone at the district office sounded completely annoyed that I bothered her with my phone call. The police officer that came out was also completely apathetic. Not only did he tell me I probably destroyed any evidence they probably could have collected (not true) but to some degree he kinda alluded that it was my own fault that I got broken into. I kept thinking to myself... "My hard earned taxes pay your salary and you're really going to treat me like this? Nice." Our police dept. could really use a customer service overhaul.
I want to see that movie too. I did manage to see true gritt last Friday. It wasn't as amazing as I was expecting. Sure, the actors completly became their characters, but the spoke so slowly, at times I felt like they were reading. Oh well.
Day is goi g by quickly. My mentor is head of the whole school's computer dept. He gave me a MacBook to use for my 15 week stay, and is making me admin on it so I can load it up with programs. I'll be sureto keep personal stuff off of it after reading the post about the poor guy and his hard drve.
The students are actually learning computer animation and modeling mostly. A few classes are learning Photoshop and illustrator. I'm thinking that the four weeks that I teach solo I will have them all create some sort of portfolio to either be hired or accepted to college. Anyone know about what schools look for in an animation portfolio?
I listened to the Globes from a distance. The Mrs was watching them in the Living Room. I don't think I missed much....I'm so bad It thought, well I thought some was someone else.
i thought, i thought it was someone else....Katherine Bates...Rosa what ever her name is. The other night I completely missed Matt Damens Boston Side Kick in a movie.
But on the other hand I was looking for health insurance options and in checking out the medical people in the ppo I found the Nurse I want: her name is Mrs Lowbosky. I bet she wears a bowling shirt to work.
first day back teaching... tired, need a beer but thinking to crash out instead. There's alot to do this year (registration, marriage, school, doctorate apps) I need to stay ahead of the curve.
and i find myself wishing for this tragically romantic life, where i work at a bar and live on my tips.
if i had the balls to do it, i would quit everything and go away for a year or more.
im sick of the hours i keep
im sick of the stress and the anxiety driven chest pain that makes my arm numb on occasion.
most of all im pissed off that ive allowed myself to become one of those people that does nothing but eat sleep and work.
that im so worn out at night and on weekends, the only thing i can bare to do is lay on my couch or go to a bar.
dont attack me for the rant... i know very well that all this is par for the course and yes yes im sure everyone out there has it as bad. tonight im just angry
Low moments, maximus. Everyone feels overwhelmed and like they've given up on bigger dreams at certain points in their life. Especially lately most people are trying so freaking hard just to barely get by that the stress is debilitating.
If you don't at this point in your life have family commitments, I'd encourage you to go ahead and take a leap. Or scrimp and save every penny for a few months so you CAN take a leap - that at least gives your endless work hours a concrete goal, rather than feeling like you're just spinning wheels for someone else.
when i was a kid i was in school on mlk day cuz there was no mlk day cuz he hadn't been murdered yet. he was one of the great ones and deserves to be honored.
I happened to catch part of Meet The Press on Sunday and they were talking about MLK. They played a clip in which he appeared on the show back in 1967 (I believe) and what he had to say, coupled with the grave, deliberate, and thoughtful manner in which he said it, truly struck me. His words have been replaying in my mind since, because they are an apt explanation for why I am a progressive liberal, and why I strongly believe that our policies are headed in the wrong direction.
"It's alright to say to people, "Lift yourself by your own bootstraps!" but it's a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps. And it's a sad fact that millions of negroes have been left bootless as a result of poverty, as a result of illiteracy caused by inadequate education and a real lack of educational opportunities, and as a result of centuries of neglect and hurt. And I think the government and everybody ought to see that the Negro can't do this job by himself."
It's ok Maximus, I'm having a ranty sort of day too.
I got denied a raise that my department director recommended, I completely deserved, and the company can afford today because the owner has got it in his head that raises above a certain % are "a thing of the past." Never mind that he's been underpaying and overworking me for over a year now, or that he consistently rates my performance as outstanding and says they couldn't do without me. Never mind that I've worked 24-hour days and come to work directly from the hospital, and become the friend that cancels plans all the time, or shows up but falls asleep while people are talking to me. All that matters is that he kept to his little rule.
Give notice, copper. Make sure you have what you need for your portfolio in hand, and tell them since the appropriate compensation isn't forthcoming, not due to the quality of your work and work habits but due to a concept that has nothing to do with you, you're giving notice. Have a letter saying so in hand.
If you're that valuable to the company, as it sounds like you are, they'd be stupid to let you go.
I know confrontations are awful, but you can be zen-like about it and do it. You KNOW you're in the right. And if you stay you'll be stewing, resentful, and still overworked, which is a recipe for a heart attack, and you still won't have the pay you deserve.
I'm sorry, I know this isn't very helpful advice, but if you DO decide you want to give them an ultimatum, know that the scenario I described is totally legitimate and that we're all here backing you.
I'm typing from the "new" mac. So far, the things that are bugging me are the single click issues. I'm a double clicker, and macs don't seem to like that. WHen I double click a file, it closes, and I have to start all over. Argh!
Couldn't figure out how to tab browse in safari, either, so I downloaded Chrome.
donna - ok -this is getting weird - I don't mean to post the exact same comment you make just phrased differently - you are hitting submit before I do, then I hit submit and I'm like "holy shit, donna just said the same thing!"
not on TC, btw... - on a couple other recent threads... maybe I spend too much time around here and all of our brains are starting to meld into one brain and we're all thinking the same way even when we're not on TC...
maybe we're all converging on the Truth through this collective consciousness...
why not start looking for another job and quite when you find one.
a lot of what makes a businessman successful is a willingness to walk away from a deal. we see it all the time with our clients - their instincts are really quite amazing. you need to be ready to take a deep breath and hold it though.
architects don't seem to be as willing to do that. is it our training or a personality type kind of thing....?
I've often wondered the same thing, jump. There's a lot of the kicked-puppy-still-running-after-his-master's-heels thing in our profession. I've seen so many firms hold onto bad clients even though they know the bills won't get paid. Why?! This used to drive me insane as a PM because I was stuck running these projects & dealing with these awful clients and knowing they were going to stiff us, and yet having to smile through it without the power to do anything. I know it's "to keep our reputation" and because "they might have friends who want work too" but I don't remember anything good ever coming from those kinds of toxic contacts. If the friend ever DOES walk in the door chances are he wants the same deal that the shyster client got.
Is there a big split between what you were asking for and what they were willing to give? This is something to keep in consideration. Then take a long hard look at Taxes. Sometimes making a wee bit more money means your giving it back to the State and the Feds in additional percentage of income taxes. So you be taking home the same amount of money or nearly the same amount of money.
Owners in this economy are going to be reluctant to give out big raises, even to hard working people. This is most likely because they themselves are digging themselves out of a hole. This meltdown has not been friendly to many people, so do keep that in mind.
Next time raises come around well just as for a piece of the pie...who knows they might just give it to you because you ask for it and no one else has.
Aside from this advice, you should put Donna's thoughts into action as a backup.
jump I agree that successful business people need to be prepared to walk away when they have to. Like Dan Pink said:
Most people are more frightened of failure than of mediocrity. It should be the reverse.
Failure is a broken leg — painful, but easily fixed. Mediocrity is a creeping disease — invisible and insidious — that disables so completely that there’s often no recovery.
A spectacular failure every now and then is a great, great motivator!
at least dress up in interview clothes and tell the boss you have a "doctors" appointment and have to leave early. oh and have something that looks like a portfolio with you.
Thread Central
Donna, I was always read to before bed as a kid (even as a fetus supposedly), and now I find a book helps me fall asleep, so it may be that you've gotten Angus into that habit. Can he read to himself at all at that age (I have no idea when things are supposed to happen developmentally...)? If so maybe encourage him to read a little story to himself to help him fall asleep so that you don't get trapped back into storytime mode all the time.
oh yeah, and we definitely spent MLK day at school when I was a kid. There was usually a token viewing or reading of I Have a Dream and then back to regularly scheduled programming. But then that was in AZ.
Snow Dog Celebrating MLK Day [img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs786.ash1/167670_1675258895444_1656602450_1587479_872004_n.jpg width 440 /[img]
sorry about that untangling fingers and trying again.
Snook, don't feel bad, your fingers were probably frostbitten.
I must of been the only person not watching Golden Globes huh? Interesting dresses but beyond the red carpet they look a little too fussy to my eyes. Fabrics do invite me to touch.
British humour is typically dry, and heavy on local culture - if it's not something you are exposed to often it's easy to get lost or miss the point of it. And Ricky Gervais is the poster child of British humour. Over the years I've found his work increasingly hilarious. But it took a while for me to adapt.
techno I rarely actually watch TV events anymore - just read the highlights in the net the next day. During the GGs last night I was, typically, working - on my class.
That's precisely it, Donna - I find Gervais totally over the top. For me, it's too obvious / knee-jerk to find funny. I guess I enjoy more subtle humor, which is what I associate with British humor - which is why I said I (personally) feel like his style is more "American" I suppose. More yuk-yuk than subtle - more "insert random over-the-top gay/religious/cultural stereotype joke here". I dunno, maybe that *is* British - there's certainly plenty of examples of that in the British humor lexigon also... Who knows!
didn't watch the GGs either. was busy last night working on a research statement (and now I'm back at it again). At least I managed to get both syllabi wrapped up, the course websites up today, first lecture (for one of the two), and had a great meeting with my TA. feel like I just ran a marathon... Now I need to focus on pulling a lecture (or at least talking points) out of thin air for my 2:30, and then set sights on thursday when I do it all over again.
Donna - need any course materials? (have a few lectures to spare). Is the for the governors school or a different teaching gig?
ProPrac, tk. I'm on semester #3 of it, but I tweak it and personalize it to the class each time as they all have varying degrees of professional experience already.
Gervais was spot on, but then what else would i say? let's not forget, python skewered the upper class twits of GB, pretty much ridiculed the monarchy. so, this humor was not only in-line, but just goes to show how hideously un-funny and how full of shit most of hollywood is.
who gives a flying eff if we see awards? i want to see if these over payed SOB's are human, and whether or not they can laugh at themselves. last night, proved one thing; they can't do either. and, since i pay 10 effing hard earned dollars, to see pieces of shit - i mean, my gawd, Pirates of The Caribbean IV, really? who needs that? - then i aught to be a have a real laugh, with jokes created by a real human.
rant oot.
damn canadians.
i think your place looks great snook! very jealous. my wife would be too.
didn't see the awards. love ricky gervais though. he's totally funny. not chris rock funny, but still pretty good.
good luck TK!
i am finished my lecture course next week myself. 30 lectures is i think in the end either not enough or just a bit too much though. starting next week am devoting all time to the new uni and getting the new program into shape. only studio next term which is much easier for prepping. hurray.
This is it. Student teaching starts today. I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck.
off to class. gonna show a few of my hollywood stills to get them excited.
off to class. gonna show a few of my hollywood stills to get them excited.
darn the school network is sloooooooooow today.
best wishes Sarah, Jump, Donna, all all the other teachers on TC!
I didn't watch the awards either. I went to see the King's Speech instead, which I might add was pretty good, but then again I really like Collin Firth and am a complete history nerd.
I actually haven't watched any awards shows in years. They're just way to drawn out for my liking. I do though, enjoy seeing the highlights the day after.
In other news, my house was broken into on Friday during work. Took all my jewelry and nothing else (the bastards). To make matters worse, the person who answered the phone at the district office sounded completely annoyed that I bothered her with my phone call. The police officer that came out was also completely apathetic. Not only did he tell me I probably destroyed any evidence they probably could have collected (not true) but to some degree he kinda alluded that it was my own fault that I got broken into. I kept thinking to myself... "My hard earned taxes pay your salary and you're really going to treat me like this? Nice." Our police dept. could really use a customer service overhaul.
melt i totally want to see Kinds Speech. It sounds quite good.
Had my a 7am class this morning and working all day (unusually until 9pm). Woohooo.
I love Gervais, personally. Anyone here seen the Extras show. Same sort of painful, over the top/yet somehow not obvious humor.
beta yeah i mean what was up with Gervais dissapearing for an hour and then playing it mor etoned down???
I didn't watch entire globes but did manage to see amongst other things the kid from Glee who one for best suporting actor.
I want to see that movie too. I did manage to see true gritt last Friday. It wasn't as amazing as I was expecting. Sure, the actors completly became their characters, but the spoke so slowly, at times I felt like they were reading. Oh well.
Day is goi g by quickly. My mentor is head of the whole school's computer dept. He gave me a MacBook to use for my 15 week stay, and is making me admin on it so I can load it up with programs. I'll be sureto keep personal stuff off of it after reading the post about the poor guy and his hard drve.
The students are actually learning computer animation and modeling mostly. A few classes are learning Photoshop and illustrator. I'm thinking that the four weeks that I teach solo I will have them all create some sort of portfolio to either be hired or accepted to college. Anyone know about what schools look for in an animation portfolio?
I listened to the Globes from a distance. The Mrs was watching them in the Living Room. I don't think I missed much....I'm so bad It thought, well I thought some was someone else.
i thought, i thought it was someone else....Katherine Bates...Rosa what ever her name is. The other night I completely missed Matt Damens Boston Side Kick in a movie.
But on the other hand I was looking for health insurance options and in checking out the medical people in the ppo I found the Nurse I want: her name is Mrs Lowbosky. I bet she wears a bowling shirt to work.
first day back teaching... tired, need a beer but thinking to crash out instead. There's alot to do this year (registration, marriage, school, doctorate apps) I need to stay ahead of the curve.
That's where we all are, techno, at least I am - trying to stay ahead of the curve! Whooof I'm exhausted.
EEK! Sorry to hear about the break in, *m. Fortunately, it happened while you were out of the house.
Hi all.
sitting here listening to
only in dreams
and i find myself wishing for this tragically romantic life, where i work at a bar and live on my tips.
if i had the balls to do it, i would quit everything and go away for a year or more.
im sick of the hours i keep
im sick of the stress and the anxiety driven chest pain that makes my arm numb on occasion.
most of all im pissed off that ive allowed myself to become one of those people that does nothing but eat sleep and work.
that im so worn out at night and on weekends, the only thing i can bare to do is lay on my couch or go to a bar.
dont attack me for the rant... i know very well that all this is par for the course and yes yes im sure everyone out there has it as bad. tonight im just angry
Sorry max.
sorry to hear max
morning all
Low moments, maximus. Everyone feels overwhelmed and like they've given up on bigger dreams at certain points in their life. Especially lately most people are trying so freaking hard just to barely get by that the stress is debilitating.
If you don't at this point in your life have family commitments, I'd encourage you to go ahead and take a leap. Or scrimp and save every penny for a few months so you CAN take a leap - that at least gives your endless work hours a concrete goal, rather than feeling like you're just spinning wheels for someone else.
when i was a kid i was in school on mlk day cuz there was no mlk day cuz he hadn't been murdered yet. he was one of the great ones and deserves to be honored.
I happened to catch part of Meet The Press on Sunday and they were talking about MLK. They played a clip in which he appeared on the show back in 1967 (I believe) and what he had to say, coupled with the grave, deliberate, and thoughtful manner in which he said it, truly struck me. His words have been replaying in my mind since, because they are an apt explanation for why I am a progressive liberal, and why I strongly believe that our policies are headed in the wrong direction.
"It's alright to say to people, "Lift yourself by your own bootstraps!" but it's a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps. And it's a sad fact that millions of negroes have been left bootless as a result of poverty, as a result of illiteracy caused by inadequate education and a real lack of educational opportunities, and as a result of centuries of neglect and hurt. And I think the government and everybody ought to see that the Negro can't do this job by himself."
Video here.
It's ok Maximus, I'm having a ranty sort of day too.
I got denied a raise that my department director recommended, I completely deserved, and the company can afford today because the owner has got it in his head that raises above a certain % are "a thing of the past." Never mind that he's been underpaying and overworking me for over a year now, or that he consistently rates my performance as outstanding and says they couldn't do without me. Never mind that I've worked 24-hour days and come to work directly from the hospital, and become the friend that cancels plans all the time, or shows up but falls asleep while people are talking to me. All that matters is that he kept to his little rule.
Give notice, copper. Make sure you have what you need for your portfolio in hand, and tell them since the appropriate compensation isn't forthcoming, not due to the quality of your work and work habits but due to a concept that has nothing to do with you, you're giving notice. Have a letter saying so in hand.
If you're that valuable to the company, as it sounds like you are, they'd be stupid to let you go.
I know confrontations are awful, but you can be zen-like about it and do it. You KNOW you're in the right. And if you stay you'll be stewing, resentful, and still overworked, which is a recipe for a heart attack, and you still won't have the pay you deserve.
I'm sorry, I know this isn't very helpful advice, but if you DO decide you want to give them an ultimatum, know that the scenario I described is totally legitimate and that we're all here backing you.
Here Here!
I'm typing from the "new" mac. So far, the things that are bugging me are the single click issues. I'm a double clicker, and macs don't seem to like that. WHen I double click a file, it closes, and I have to start all over. Argh!
Couldn't figure out how to tab browse in safari, either, so I downloaded Chrome.
We will see!
Funny enough copper but the employee you just described is exactly the employee that consistently gets stiffed on things like raises and promotions.
I know you know this already but it's worth being reminded of at times like these.
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY second Donna's advice.
donna - ok -this is getting weird - I don't mean to post the exact same comment you make just phrased differently - you are hitting submit before I do, then I hit submit and I'm like "holy shit, donna just said the same thing!"
you're freaking me out.
No, you're freaking ME out!!! ;-)
Couldn't have said it better even if I tried, Donna. You deserve a whole hell of a lot better copper. Get out and get out fast.
not on TC, btw... - on a couple other recent threads... maybe I spend too much time around here and all of our brains are starting to meld into one brain and we're all thinking the same way even when we're not on TC...
maybe we're all converging on the Truth through this collective consciousness...
wait - something's coming to me....
42
arg!!!
that sucks copper... i'd second donna's suggestion, if only there was a better job market...
sarah, you will get used to it quickly... after a week or two windows will seem really clunky...
i agree with Donna et al.
Morning all.
Donna's advice is RIGHT, of course. But be ready for them to accept the resignation...
hm, could go wither way couldn't it.
why not start looking for another job and quite when you find one.
a lot of what makes a businessman successful is a willingness to walk away from a deal. we see it all the time with our clients - their instincts are really quite amazing. you need to be ready to take a deep breath and hold it though.
architects don't seem to be as willing to do that. is it our training or a personality type kind of thing....?
I've often wondered the same thing, jump. There's a lot of the kicked-puppy-still-running-after-his-master's-heels thing in our profession. I've seen so many firms hold onto bad clients even though they know the bills won't get paid. Why?! This used to drive me insane as a PM because I was stuck running these projects & dealing with these awful clients and knowing they were going to stiff us, and yet having to smile through it without the power to do anything. I know it's "to keep our reputation" and because "they might have friends who want work too" but I don't remember anything good ever coming from those kinds of toxic contacts. If the friend ever DOES walk in the door chances are he wants the same deal that the shyster client got.
Copper,
Is there a big split between what you were asking for and what they were willing to give? This is something to keep in consideration. Then take a long hard look at Taxes. Sometimes making a wee bit more money means your giving it back to the State and the Feds in additional percentage of income taxes. So you be taking home the same amount of money or nearly the same amount of money.
Owners in this economy are going to be reluctant to give out big raises, even to hard working people. This is most likely because they themselves are digging themselves out of a hole. This meltdown has not been friendly to many people, so do keep that in mind.
Next time raises come around well just as for a piece of the pie...who knows they might just give it to you because you ask for it and no one else has.
Aside from this advice, you should put Donna's thoughts into action as a backup.
Been Snookered Before!
jump I agree that successful business people need to be prepared to walk away when they have to. Like Dan Pink said:
Most people are more frightened of failure than of mediocrity. It should be the reverse.
Failure is a broken leg — painful, but easily fixed. Mediocrity is a creeping disease — invisible and insidious — that disables so completely that there’s often no recovery.
A spectacular failure every now and then is a great, great motivator!
at least dress up in interview clothes and tell the boss you have a "doctors" appointment and have to leave early. oh and have something that looks like a portfolio with you.
unfortunately many offices' typical response to a broken leg on their staff is to shoot the horse.
so anyone get their "architect" mag today?
you tell it orhan!
well, i seem to have my brain wires crossed...
i was in aia publications s/hit list for a while there.. hehe...
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