A Pristine Home

I saw some pictures of a relative’s home and it looks incredible.  It’s sparkling clean and part of the reason is she’s getting ready to sell it.  I’m told with 3 kids they still keep everything neat and tidy.  It looks so pristine and could probably be on the cover of some home decor magazine.

Which brings me to my condo which is ahem… the opposite.  It’s not a slum but I won’t exactly call it guest ready.  If you want to stress me out, just tell me you’re in the neighbourhood and would love to drop in.  The other day I had a video call.  I cleaned up up my place the night before so it won’t look too bad.  I even checked to see what my laptop’s camera could see.  Whew…. close call.

I think if I won the lottery, I would buy a second home.  One for the sloppy me and one when I need to entertain.  I think I need counseling.  Or a maid.

In a Heartbeat

Some of you have probably seen this.  It’s a short, animation film that’s won quite a few awards.  I hope you like it.

Spirits?

He’s a 5 year old boy – a member of my extended family.  He also has some psychic abilities.  His parents noticed orbs floating around his bed when he was just a baby.  A family friend explained to them what they were.  When the child could talk, he would sometimes point to an empty spot in the room and say “he’s there” and then “he’s gone”.  His parents have been very calm about his ability and don’t make a big fuss out of it.  The other day, his parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday.  They expected him to say another Lego set.  Instead, he told his dad “I want God to bring your grandfather back.”

His father was puzzled and asked if he meant the kid’s grandfather.  He said “No daddy, your grandfather, not my grandfather.”  His parents aren’t religious and he hasn’t been exposed to any religious teachings.  The father’s grandfather passed away years before the kid was born.  After a brief chat with their son, the parents find out the dad’s grandfather “visits” frequently.

I thought his ability would diminish as he gets older but maybe it won’t.  His grandmother also has some of these gifts.  It’s her father who is the one “visiting” his great grandson.

These things have always intrigued me so I find all of this fascinating.

 

Uhm, No – I Don’t Dance

I meet with a group of people from my job counseling firm every week.  We update each other on our progress and discuss issues, setbacks, good news etc…  Lately we’ve been practicing networking.  There’s one lady who is recovering from an illness and I’ve met with her separately a few times.  She does very well on her practice interviews but she feels very insecure.  She provides good advice to everyone but tells us she wishes she can follow her own advice.

But … she lavishes praise over me for spending extra time with her and credits me with helping her a lot.  She’s done this several times to our group.  To be honest, I was just there to listen and prod her here and there.  Yesterday we were working on practice networking meetings.  When she gave her feedback to our group, she told everyone we were like dance partners moving in sync.  She said she wished it had gone on longer than our 10 minute time limit because it felt so natural.  The other 2 people looked at me.  I looked at my notebook.  She kept going on about how wonderful it felt and how strong of a connection we had.  When one person asked a question about how we connected, she became like a mama bear defending “us”.

This is getting very awkward for me.

It Will Probably Be a Long Lunch

I just got off the phone with an ex-colleague.  It was a very long call – over 90 minutes.  She called me earlier in the day while I was walking home but I missed it.  The odd thing is that I was thinking of her yesterday.  She called again when I got home.  We always got along very well at work but we have never met each other.  We did eventually meet for lunch and had a wonderful time.

She asked me how I was doing and I gave her a quick update.  Her voice though sounded a bit slurred.  Was she drinking?  Then she told me that when she went in to check on her migraines, they told her she has an unruptured brain aneurysm.  Because of where it is in her brain, it is very difficult, if not impossible to treat.  The doctors said it could rupture in a week or a year, there’s just no way to tell.  So she’s been running around trying to settle her affairs.  I listened as she calmly went on talking about the doctors, the insurance forms, work, her family, her funeral plans and her dog.  She spoke about her life, her parents, her brother who passed away at 18 in a car accident and all the questions she still had about life.

She told me while she was doing all of this, she heard her guardian angel reminding her to connect with old friends.  So I was one of the people she called.  As we were winding down, I asked if there was anything I could do for her.  She asked to have lunch with her and so that’s what we’re gonna do in a couple of weeks.

Growl

I just submitted a job application and won’t you know it, I goofed up.  I did a bit of digging and figured out the name of the hiring manager.  But the job posting on LinkedIn didn’t have the hiring manager’s name or title.  In various drafts, I had the name in but I finally took it out at the end just in case I was wrong.  So I used the dreaded “Dear Hiring Manager”.

After I submitted it on the company’s website, I noticed who the job reported to.  It didn’t have the name but her title.  Of course, the title was for that person’s name that I had.  I had even gone on her LinkedIn.  What ticked me off was that I went through the posting a few times but missed this.  I’m just kicking myself now.

The job is at one of my target companies but it’s only a 1 year contract.  And the salary is a lot lower than what I used to make.  But I need to get my foot in the door.

2 Simple Things

Here are 2 simple things that has make me feel better during this long job search.

1.  I make my bed in the morning.
2.  I wash and clear the sink of any dirty dishes and cutlery before I go to sleep.

I don’t remember where I first read about this.  At the end of a long day when things haven’t gone your way, you need a good night sleep.  It just feels better to get into a bed that’s been made.  You don’t want the unmade and messy bed to remind you of chores you should have done.  Making your bed in the morning is also a very simple way of crossing a task of your to do list.

When you wake up, you also don’t want to face a sink full of dirty dishes.  It’s easier to get on with your day without first doing dishes.  I just want my coffee and breakfast.

Now I have to admit, I don’t do this all the time. But I always come back to these 2 things and it seems to put me in the right frame of mind.