Successful Rejection/Attempting Zen

DAMN!  My life is a little crazy right now.  And if you’re wondering if I’m over-reacting…the answer is YES.  Honestly, my life kicks ass.  But I’m always attempting to make it better and I really do try to work on being a better person. 

Blah Blah Blah….

First of all…I DID NOT GET THE JOB I WANTED!!!!!  Have you ever read a rejection email?  Here…you can read mine:

Dear Julie

I appreciated the opportunity to interview you for the XXXXXXX position with the Houston office of the XXXXXXXX.

Although your qualifications are very good, we have made the difficult decision to pursue another candidate whose particular combination of skills and experience more closely fit the position.

We want to convey our appreciation for your interest and wish you
success in your future career endeavors.
Sincerely,
JANE DOE

At least they were kind enough to reject me via email.  That way I totally avoided that phone conversation where I pretend to be cool with the rejection, but have to fight the shaky voice and the desire to throw my cell phone directly into the pavement.  Thank goodness for the Internet.  So yeah…that sucks balls.  After I read the email I was totally upset/pissed/everything all at once.  I was attempting to find a private spot at work today so that I could break down and cry, but I couldn’t.  There were old people frickin everywhere.  So I put on my big girl panties and got over it!  That’s a major accomplishment.  Normally, I would have broke down into tears for like three hours, but I didn’t!  And I’m moving on.  I will be going for a second interview with the other place that I had interviewed with last week (less money, not quite the position I’m looking for) so I’m hoping that it goes well.  It’s a huge non-profit organization and I think there will be room for advancement there.  I’ll keep you posted.  Good news or bad…

Oh…did I mention that I had to clean up puke today at work?  Yeah, that was awesome.  The lady had eaten tuna casserole for lunch.  I was riding along on a trip to Hobby Lobby with the old people when she got car sick and puked all over herself and the bus.  Again…I put on my big girl panties and helped clean her and the bus up.  And I don’t do puke well.  That was fun.  And yes, I was totally chill and made like it was no big deal and made the lady feel better about the situation.  I’m good like that.  

And the big news of the day is…*drum roll*

I am in the process of putting an offer on a killer house.  I went with a Realtor last night and looked at three houses that T and I had picked out via the Internet/driving around.  The cheap house that was a foreclosure had obvious structral issues from a tree root that was making its way under the house.  The most expensive house of the three was way over priced and had a ridiculous layout.  You entered the house from the garage and walked right into the hallway by the bedrooms.  And the master bedroom was right next to the kitchen.  Not a good think for my sleepwalking/sleep eating.  Kidding.  

Once I saw the last one (the price was in between the cheap one and the expensive one) I knew that it was the one!  Lots of new things (appliances, floors, carpet, siding, etc.) and we will still have some room to fix it up a bit. 

So as I type this the realtor dude is writing up our offer.  T will check it out today (thank you Jesus for email) and then we will send it to the seller.  YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  How freakin’ exciting!  And although I miss my T more than anything, it’s sort of cool to be like doing it on my own.  And I felt totally cool when I said, “I’d like to make an offer.”  It was so HGTV House Hunters.  Minus the camera crew.  I’ll keep you posted on the house thing.

*High pitched scream of relief* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

And to wrap up today’s post and the recent chaos…take a look-see at this article.  It’s from one of my new fave websites www.zenhabits.net 

The stuff he writes about is great for those of us who want to lead good, calm, meaningful, fun, simplified lives.  But he writes it in a nice non-celestial/yoga/fru fru way.  I dig that it’s not so “out there.” 

This is one of my favorite recent posts that he has written.  I think the questions are so “duh” but are those things that I normally forget about.  Ya know…the really important things.  Take a few and read…

 

6 Questions to Ask Yourself to Get the Most Out of Life

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

I love reading lists of things to do before you die, but after reading several of these lists, I’ve realized that each list is a very personal thing. It can only apply to the writer of the list, and not to all human beings in general. No such list can do that.

And think about this: if you’re trying to follow a list of things to do before you die … trying to check things off the list, just to say you’ve done it … what’s the point, really? To be able to tell people you’ve done it? To follow the life prescription of some writer?

I won’t try to tell you what to do before you die … but I will suggest some questions to figure out how to live … right now. Each and every day.

Because you never know how much time you have left, and trying to cram a list of things into that unknown time can be futile. Instead, live every day to the fullest. Get the most out of life.

1. Who do I love, and what am I doing about it? When someone dies (two of my kids’ grandmother just died, so I’ve been thinking about this a lot), you realize that you never know how much time you have with the people you love. They can go at any time — as can you. And so you must make the most of this time.

If you aren’t spending time with the people you love, change that. If you are holding a grudge against a family member, let it go and reconcile. If you’ve done something to hurt a loved one, ask for forgiveness. Drop the pride, and make up. If you haven’t seen someone in awhile, call them now to set up a date.

2. Am I pursuing my dream, or is fear stopping me? What have you always wanted to do? Maybe something you dreamed of as a child but have given up as unrealistic? Maybe something you still want to do but are afraid of failing? What fears are stopping you? And what would be the worst that could happen if you overcame those fears and pursued your dream?

If you’re already pursuing your dream, pat yourself on the back. You’re doing awesome!

3. Am I doing something that matters? There’s a difference between doing work, and doing work that really matters. Much of the time, we use up the few days we have on this earth with busy-work, stuff that doesn’t make much difference, and that’s sadly a waste of our lives.

Recently on Dumb Little Man, writer Ali Hale suggested you ask yourself, “Will this matter in five years?” I think this is a great question. It helps you distinguish between trivial busy-work that will take up all of your time but not matter in a few years, and tasks and projects and goals with high impact that will make a difference, in your career, in your life, in the lives of others.

4. What am I doing to help others? Kind of ironically, you get the most out of life not just by taking what you can for yourself, but by giving to others. What have you done lately to help people out? Have you been kind to people? Have you been compassionate? Have you been there for anyone? Listened? Volunteered for those in need? If you’re not doing anything to help others, this is a good time to figure out one thing you can do for someone, and put it into action. Ask this question on a regular basis, and you’ll make kindness a habit.

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein

5. Am I as good a person as I want to be? I ask this of myself all the time. Sometimes, when I’m impatient or selfish or less-than-helpful, I think back on what I’ve said and done and realize that I could have done better. Instead of beating myself up about it, I endeavor to try harder, to remember to allow my better angels to guide me, to rise above the trivialities of life to a higher plane.

It’s not easy to be a good person, at least not all of the time. It’s easier to be selfish, without thinking about it. But is that how you want to be remembered? Is that how you want to live your life? Give it some thought, and act accordingly.

6. What am I doing to live life with passion, health and energy? You can do all the right things, and yet live a life that’s dull and sluggish. If you let your health go, you will have little energy and you will waste the minutes you have left on illness. Instead, learn to live a healthy life, with good foods and exercise. This will lead to more energy in your life. And then direct that energy into something you’re passionate about. If you haven’t found that passion (or passions), start looking. You’ll thank me. 🙂

 

*Isn’t that a nice article.  I’m sharing this stuff with you because A:  I think you’ll enjoy it and B:  I can’t come up with such insightful stuff on my own. 

Have a great day everyone!  I LOVE YOU ALL!  😉

J

How to Be Mentally Insane

Sometimes I think that I’m insane.  At work, I tend to have flashes of insanity at least once a day.  Insanity in our lives can stem from a lot of things (kids, work, money, alcohol, traffic, etc.).  And I don’t think we need to pay a therapist $100.00 an hour to tell us that we are in fact, insane. 

I’m offering this list of “Ways to Be Insane” or at least “Things to do to make people think you’re insane.”  I’m bogged down with these job applications and today I actually have a sort of interview.  I’m calling it a pre-interview interview.  So I spent most of last night researching the organization and practicing my spiel about my level of awesomeness.  I’m nervous but confident.  I’m so ready for a challenging job.  I will try to be normal and not talk about things like, Penis Hats, Breastfeeding, my fur children, and Bingo.  Honestly, in real life-I think that I come off as a rather normal person.  I think. 

DO SOMETHING INSANE TODAY!

19 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

*I realize that random words are capitilized.  That in and of itself is a little insane.*

1.   At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars.   See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom.   Don’t Disguise Your Voice.

3.  Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4.   Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label it ‘In’.

5.   Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks  Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6.   In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ‘ For Smuggling Diamonds’.

7.   Finish All Your sentences with ‘In Accordance With The Prophecy’.

8.   Don’t use any punct u ation

9.  As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10.  Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11.  Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is ‘To Go’.

12.  Sing Along At The Opera.

13.   Go To A Poetry Recital.   Ask why the poems don’t rhyme.

14.   Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area and Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15.  Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can’t Attend Their Party Because You’re Not In the Mood.

16.   Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17.   When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream ‘I Won!  I Won!’

18.   When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling ‘Run For Your Lives!   They’re Loose!’

19.  Tell Your Children Over Dinner, ‘Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.’

My faves are:  #2, 9, and 10. 

Thank you T for passing this list on to me.  Are you trying to say something?  Like I need to be more insane? 

I can do that. 

J