Friday Feeling

 

All week, you look forward to Friday. The week may be good or bad, but it's always exciting to open your eyes on a Friday morning, feeling groggy and remember that TODAY! Today is Friday! It puts a little pep in my step, knowing that a little extra free time lies ahead.

This weekend I'll be celebrating several birthdays, doing a little bit of wedding dress preparation.

I tell everyone I know, but if you're planning a wedding, skip the hassle in bridesmaid dress shopping and go straight to Alfred Angelo. Their team here in Columbus have been a complete dream.

Tonight we're having dinner at Hofbrauhaus to celebrate Lynn's birthday.

Tomorrow, we're celebrating Holly with a little DIY and wine party!

My other big plans for the weekend are to take my car to the car doctor. I'm working from home today because my car battery has died three times in 24 hours, and it wheezed pathetically at me this morning when I tried to get to work.

I hope you're enjoying this first official day of spring and International Happiness Day! A holiday I've never heard of, but I see no issue with making an excuse to choose happiness!

This is Career Habit #1

Do you use StumbleUpon? If you're in your 20s, with lots of super-important interests and too much time on your hands, I'm sure you do.

StumbleUpon directed me to this little item called 30 Habits that Will Change Your Life. Quite the claim, but I looked it over. Among things like "drink water!" and "clean up after yourself!" I spotted something of potential value:

Well, lookie here! I already did that! But my question is, will a personal blog actually help my career? I tend to think not. In fact, if anything, I feel like it could be the opposite (especially since my boss "caught" me writing this post...hm).

Another question comes to  mind: Is blogging so essential to creating a strong career path? When did that happen? (If the answer is 1994, don't tell me.) Plenty of people blog and "get noticed" because they have a unique viewpoint, therefore establishing a blog-based career. Several of my friends have blogs that feature their career accomplishments and portfolio projects. But am I convinced that the habit of blogging will develop a stronger employee- especially if my blog is about stuff like what I did last weekend, vampires, and love-life dramas?

What I do think I can gain from blogging, in a career sense, is an honest perception of my personality. As an employer, one would have the privilege of getting to know my interests and communication habits by reading my blog before hiring. "Will she fit in here?" (yes). It also helps me practice my writing skills...and this writing may seem silly, but as someone who is practiced in the art of AP style, journalism, news writing, and business-speak, I like having another style and audience in my repertoire.

Plus, it helps me practice editing. Spelling 'n grammar 'n stuff

And getting back to the beginning of this post, who DOESN'T know to drink water and clean up after themselves? The Internet is always providing me with such useful information. Additionally, if you (somehow) don't use StumbleUpon, but you have time to read this blog (and in turn, probably lots of other blogs) you may want to check it out.

Happy Hump Day!

Oyster World: An Inspired Day

Today I'm hopped up on Coffee and feeling like the world is my oyster (despite the horribly glum weather outside, and last night's tornado warning). Several weeks ago, I started following this woman on Twitter, and her schtick is that she's an HR specialist for college students and young people starting in the workforce. A lot of what she talks about isn't quite up my alley (what I wish I knew when I started college, how to land a job before graduation) but some of her things talk about setting goals, how to take advantage of new opportunities and tips to improve your character during a job search or interview. A lot of what she tweets are articles written by other people, and are just as helpful (if not more) than anything she puts out herself (hehe, she puts out). Twitter: @heatherhuhman Website: www.HeatherHuhman.com Check her out, especially if you're a 20-something like me. You might find a little inspiration to amp up your career objectives. A lot of what I've read is relevant in my daily interactions. Some of it is great to store away for later, and I've even printed a few "15 reasons" or "Top 10" lists to keep posted at my desk for inspiration! Another reason for my upbeat, go-getter day is Columbus Monthly magazine. My director has subscriptions to all kinds of things to keep us up on current events, and today's read had babies on the cover! Six babies, actually, the first set of sextuplets born in central Ohio. The mag also had beautiful, kajillion-dollar houses, restaurant reviews and Alli from The Bachelor in the fashion section.

Columbus Wins, Like Charlie Sheen

Way 2 Go Columbus. Rackin' up the population numbers.

"Data for Ohio show that the five most populous incorporated places and their 2010 Census counts are Columbus, 787,033; Cleveland, 396,815; Cincinnati, 296,943; Toledo, 287,208; and Akron, 199,110. Columbus grew by 10.6 percent since the 2000 Census. Cleveland decreased by 17.1 percent, Cincinnati decreased by 10.4 percent, Toledo decreased by 8.4 percent, and Akron decreased by 8.3 percent." -via

Let's not talk about the fact that Ohio lost 2 seats in Congress, and that the increase for Columbus doesn't account for the big perentage losses in other cities. I'm just saying that Columbus is where it's at.

Jake and I are either going to Hound Dogs and The Big Bang Bar tomorrow with friends, or to a play at the Wexner Center with each other. We'll see which option wins (I'm hoping for the play, because it's Fancier and I'm a snob). For now, you can be in suspense about what sort of exciting weekend I might have ahead of me!