Category Archives: Opinion
When the Rules Get Ridiculous
Working for any company, regardless of size, rules are going to be there. In my experience, smaller companies have fewer rules and the larger ones like to have these massive handbooks of things by which we must abide. The Employee Handbook. The bible of how one is expected to conduct themselves. Most of it honestly comes down to common sense. Conflicts of interest: don’t. Sexual harassment: don’t. Insider trading: don’t. When they start edging the rules into your personal space however, that’s when I start to take issue.
This particular one gets under my skin to the extent that I’ve vehemently spoken and acted against it: no smoking or vaping in your vehicle while on company property. I beg your pardon? I quit smoking nearly 3 years ago but I do still vape. How do you get off telling me I cannot vape in my own vehicle? If this were coming from some type of business like a hospital, I might understand. But let’s be honest. I work for a call center. This is not a business that deals in person with medical practices, we do not have customers coming in and out. The building does not have a smoking section nearby. It’s a 10 minute round trip walk – breaks are 15 minutes – to the edge of the property, at the edge of a pond (alligators included), with no shelter from rain or sun. There is no separate vaping section for those of us who have quit smoking and now cannot stand to be around it.
When I worked on-site, I would retreat to my vehicle on lunch and breaks, not only to get a break from people (call center work is very high stress) but to seek shelter from 90+ temperatures, pouring rain, etc. And I would vape. I was not bothering anyone. No one had to smell my horrible strawberries and cream or cheesecake clouds. There were no ashes, no cigarette butts, just me and my nicotine Zen. To tell me that I am going to be written up (and to actually do so) for vaping in my own vehicle is far overstepping the bounds of realistic and practical rule-making. I feel like it punishes me for quitting smoking and wanting my privacy and quiet time.
Thankfully due to Florida’s stay at home orders issued in March I was able to start telecommuting to work and no longer need to deal with such nonsense. I was only reminded of this when a mass email was distributed this week reiterating this ridiculous rule because apparently others who still work from the office are still breaking it. Good on you, my peers! Keep breaking those rules that stifle your personal freedoms in the few minutes you get to yourself each day to decompress in the privacy of your own car.
What’s Your Story?
Following my book launch in January, I quickly re-discovered that self-marketing is a major undertaking. Writing a book is one thing. Actually selling it is quite another! With hundreds of thousands of books and new authors cropping up on Amazon and other sites every year, how do you stand out? You’ve got to have friends in the right places. You need a solid network of creative professionals on your team. And you’ve got to keep at it.
One way to push your networking as an author is to join a local writer’s guild. One exists in my area however in speaking to some of their authors at their Farmer’s Market booth one Saturday, I learned they have some requirements that are a bit out of my reach at this time. Firstly, their annual dues are upwards of $300.00. Not something I can produce right now! They also require their members be previously published through a traditional publishing house. In the world of indie authors and self-pubs, also not possible.
My question to you is: Have you considered joining your local writer’s guild? Or have you already? I’d love to hear your pros and cons about them, no matter which way you’ve opted. Tell me your experiences! Your input will help me (and others) decide if a guild would be a worthwhile venture when the opportunity arises. Sound off in the comments below, and thanks for reading!
Oh, and when you’re done, please do check out the first in a sci-fi trilogy that artfully blends Tech and Kinetics. It is the first of three lovechild creations of myself and fellow creatives Charlie Barbin (10/7 Productions), Ray Wade Jr. (Midian Entertainment Group), and David Rex Bonnewell (Wickedly Written). LOOKER: Lydia Branson, Book 1 is available on KINDLE and in print for a stupid-low price. Click HERE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLYN1ZX
Election 2016 Afterthoughts
That Kitten Sprawl (Perblog 5-27-13)
Four gruesome months of unemployment finally came to a close in May when I started a job as a Paralegal. It pays very little (net has been about half what I need to meet my bills, which have already been trimmed down to the bare minimum) and it’s practically out of town for me, but it’s work. I’m only hoping that I do well enough for the promised raises to come through as indicated when I started otherwise I don’t know how I’m going to make it. Well, the truth is, I’m not. So hopefully those raises come through!
I’ve started a 9-part pre-RCIA line of coursework with the Catholic Home Study Service in preparation for my RCIA classes starting in October. William has been a wonderful guide to me in my studies though I quietly wish he’d give me a little more crap when I don’t go to mass. No nun-pun intended, but I’ve got to work harder on getting into the habit. It would be easier if my church had services on Sunday nights, but there’s really no excuse for me to miss the 10AM mass. I’ve slept in the past two Sundays though. Shame on me.
A couple weeks ago, a new kitten came into my life, a very friendly little long-haired silver kitty. We named her Bellamina – the name is bigger than she is, but not bigger than the ball of energy that she brings into the house. She’s a bit codependent which is fine by me as she lays sprawled across my lap as I type, hugging my leg and just purring away. The big silver and white pouf of a tail reminds me of a squirrel, all fluff that constantly looks as if it’d been rubbed by a balloon and static took over. The cutest thing about her is when she’s being petted, she blows kisses. It’s not a post-weaning suckling kind of thing, she literally just smacks her lips and blows kisses as a person does when calling a cat. It’s more of a mimicry, and I’ve never seen another cat to do that. She’s also got enormous paws which give her a comical lope during play, like a puppy who hasn’t grown into his feet yet. She truly is a treasure.
This Memorial Day, I’m not sure I’m doing anything. It would be nice to have a cookout or something but I don’t have anyone to invite or join at one. Going to the beach would be a full on nightmare with the traffic. I tried in vain yesterday, couldn’t even get close. Actually had to back my car out of a parking lot because there wasn’t even enough room to turn around where all the spots were full and people had parked in non-spots essentially gridlocking the entire lot so that no one could pass through or out.
We’ll see how this day pans out. I’d hate to spend it just doing housework!
Evo-Creationism (Or “When Good Threads Go Bad”)
So I’m just going to drop this thread straight into this blog post – it’s too entertaining to edit (save for removing some names to protect privacy). In a nutshell, I watched the videos of the meteorite exploding over Russia this morning and immediately thought of North Korea’s nuclear threats because it literally looked – and sounded – like a bomb going off when the meteor broke up upon atmospheric entry. So I made a quick quip onto my Facebook wall. Then a friend of mine – well, an ex-friend now apparently – decided to add his own twist to my words a few responses in and that sparked a huge debate over God vs Science. Actually, it wasn’t much of a debate. Once I dug my heels in, he went and un-friended me. That’s fine. It was like trying to explain to Schrödinger’s cat directly why it was dead.
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GRB Imagine if it landed in YOUR city.
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Heather Noel It would be a welcome wipe-out. -
Heather Noel I think God just needs to get rid of this world and start over. Again.
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GRB It’s easier to blame a higher being instead of doing ones best to be better people.
Also, I’m not sure what this discussion is involving into. -
Heather Noel Well, no blame was mentioned by me so I’m not sure you’re following the discussion.
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GRB Hey, you’re the one who started to get all apocalyptic here.
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Heather Noel Wasn’t anything remotely about “blaming a higher power” though.
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GRB “I think God just needs to get rid of this world and start over. Again.” ?
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Heather Noel What about it?
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Heather Noel Do I need to post the story of Noah and the great flood?
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Heather Noel God got tired of the world, wiped it out and started over. That isn’t “blame,” that’s Bible.
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Heather Noel Just saying, we could use another clean slate.
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GRB Yeah, cause, y’know, that happened.
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Heather Noel Yeah, cause, y’know, there is hard geological evidence that it did.
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GRB And a man built a giant boat with hundreds of animals inside of it.
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Heather Noel There are at least 18 occurrences of evidence of either massive flooding and erosion, extremely rapid layering of strata, or direct evidence of a Worldwide Flood. Such evidences are found in numerous places on virtually every Continent. Reference: http://www.earthage.org/EarthOldorYoung/scientific_evidence_for_a_worldwide_flood.htm And if you want to get into a “discussion” about the translation of time as pertains to Creation vs Science as it pertains here, I offer 2 Peter 3:8 “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” and Psalm 90:4 “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”
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Heather Noel God and Science DO coincide. It’s just that most of us little glorified apes lack the mental capacity to make the comparisons in conjunction with thousands of retranslations of the original works put to scroll in an attempt to try to correlate something we then had no way of understanding to the research that we do have the ability to do now to get a real, scientific understanding of what was written so long ago.
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Heather Noel So let’s do the math, we have Creationist theory that man (as we know him) was created only 6,000 years ago, yet the Bible gives us a ratio of 1000:1, so if we take that 6000 Creational years time the 1000 represented years there’s 6,000,000 years and what? First human ancestor walks upright: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320183657.htm Now let’s take that biblical day:year ratio of 1:1000. Using God’s logic…1=1000. Let’s go out on a limb and say the earth is biblically 10,000 yrs old. That would be 3,650,000 days. 3,650,000 X 1000=3.65 billion years. Pretty darned close to that of which science is presently aware and can measure.
A shape comparison of the most complete fossil femur (thigh bone) of one of the …See More -
Heather Noel LOL He actually un-friended me for standing my ground. Weak.
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Heather Noel Sad part is I was defending his scientific viewpoint as well as my own religious viewpoint… oh well. Small minds.
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BB what a jerk, they expect you to understand their atheistic and scientific beliefs but whoa nelly if you pull the God card lol. i agree hun. i’m a Christian-esque person myself and believe god should start over. if you’re another religion, your god should start over and if you atheist, then the earth needs to start over just wish we didn’t have to worry about your little girl and my niece. -
Heather Noel Thing with me is, I pull the God card and the Science card in the same debate and show how they work together and then people REALLY go “whoa!” …Annnnnnnd usually just run away like that. Why are we so afraid of different theories?
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Heather Noel Oh wait – I remember now: The quest for knowledge is what got Eve in trouble and cursed all of humankind forever.Fun Stuff.
Working For Free – Oyster Reef Volunteer
Having been out of work for some time now, the cabin fever was setting in pretty hard. Between having no income yet still spending gas to get to job interviews, there was no gas to just get away for pleasure, a break from the monotony and certainly no funds for entertainment. I needed to feel useful again, productive. That is when I came across a request in the local paper for volunteers to help that coming weekend on a project to build an artificial reef in the area. I’m a nature lover and have always been interested in (and often active in) conservation efforts – how cool was that?
After e-mailing the listed contact for details, I was excited to get to work – even if it was for free. I let a friend of mine know about the project and he was on board as well. That Saturday, he picked me up early and we went out to Harbour Pointe on the inlet where several tons of oyster shells were ready in large barrels and on sheets of plywood in huge piles.
About 20 other volunteers showed up and we were given a brief primer on the task at hand. We organized ourselves into each area – shoveling, bagging and tying off. I shoveled shells into smaller buckets while my friend bagged and tied them. They were then loaded onto a truck to be moved to their final resting place in Wildcat Cove.
During a break in which bottled water and other drinks were provided, the leader of the operation and a colleague commended us all on our efforts which far exceeded their expectations. In just about 2 hours, we’d already assembled about 400 20-pound oyster bags for deployment. My friend and I stayed for a 20-minute informational lecture about oyster reefs, their local benefits, lots of statistics and zoological info as well. We broke for lunch then and would meet up at low tide a few miles up the coast at Wildcat Cove.
Upon arrival at Wildcat Cove, we found the oyster bags in a neat pile in front of the canoe launch. Another 100 bags had been assembled and brought up in two deliveries. It took a little brainstorming as to how we were going to get the bags to the reef area, but one adventurous girl with her own kayak said she could pull floating tubs of about 30 bags per load out to the location. There was some interesting trial-and-error in getting the system going, including one thankfully good-humored man getting impossibly stuck in the thick muck at the bottom of the river. It took more than ten minutes to get the river to release his legs and he lost a shoe, but we got him back safely! Note to self: Don’t go into the water without a boat here!
Once we got the production line going, the rest was – pardon the pun – smooth sailing. Bags were floated out to a mangrove area where a 4-foot high oyster “wall” was built staggered around the mangroves. Once settled and cemented, these artificial reefs will provide settling places for new oyster spawns, as well as providing habitat for young fish and feeding grounds for birds such as herons, ibis, loons, cormorants, anhingas and more.
I remain in contact with the organizer of this effort who works for the county in coastal restoration and he is helping me network with other people in the field so that I may actually find work in conservation or a related field. Even if it is a desk job, it would be a great opportunity (and has been) to do something productive in a field I really enjoy. Another reef build is coming up in two days. This time my daughter will also be involved, getting her hands dirty and having a positive impact on our local, unique and delicate ecosystem.
Pardon Me While I Go Postal
Disclaimer: If you’re one of those sensitive types who get all uppity about people who bitch about their government benefits (likely because you’ve never been in the position to need them yourself) then turn back now because this is about to get ugly.
As a statistical introduction, I will say that I am a single mother with shared custody of my child. Due to 5 years of swindling and dishonesty on the other side, I am the one who ended up having to pay child support to my ex (who enjoys a new house, two new vehicles and all the home amenities one could want). I lost my job of almost 7 years when my boss passed away on December 28th, 2012 and the company subsequently closed as of January 1st, 2013. Before this time, I had only required assistance for about 4 months out of my life when I first relocated to this area and was looking for work. When I lost my job this year, I immediately applied for unemployment and food stamps and started looking for a new job. My unemployment and food stamps were approved and even though it is hard to feed myself plus a growing pre-teen on $200 a month, I was making it work.
Once my unemployment benefits kicked in (roughly 50% of my usual salary), Child Support decided they were going to take an additional 40% of that. Pardon my cadence, but that is fucking criminal. I was already struggling on a normal salary, but to cut my half salary further in almost half? Bullshit. My food stamps for February were late and I was out of food. Upon calling 72 hours after they were supposed to hit, I get a message that due to “increased income,” my benefits will be cut from $200 to $16 effective March 1, 2013. WTF? Increased income? Try decreased! I look on my card this morning expecting to see $200 on there and they’ve only deposited $16. What… the fuck. To add insult to injury today I get a letter in the mail confirming that my benefits will be cut from $200/month to $16/month – again – in writing – EFFECTIVE MARCH 1, 2013. *looks at calendar* Gee, this is still February. Where the %^&* are my food stamps that I need to feed a frikken pre-teen 4 days a week until I find work again??
The State of Florida is trying to fuck me sideways and I am NOT going to stand for it. Tomorrow morning warrants a very nasty call to these “ACCESS” people to get this crap straightened out immediately. $84 over the course of a month for food is nothing to most people but when you’re in my situation, it’s the difference between a family going hungry or not. Try to cheat me? You WILL get bitchslapped. Screw Florida. Time to take action.
Oregon City and Newtown
This past Tuesday, someone very close to me sent me the following text:
“No idea what’s going on but Clackamas Town Center is literally surrounded by police w/medical and fire on hand en masse.” 4:02 PM PST Dec 11
He was right there, trying to get through the chaos, texting me as it happened:
“Units still arriving, all agencies, well over 100.” 4:03 PM PST Dec 11
I’m pacing at this point, wondering what the hell is happening. He’s in Oregon City, I’m 3500 miles away in Florida and helpless to do anything to follow my first instinct to get him out of there (not that he’d have needed my help, that’s just the way I am). Dreading what I’d see, I turned on the news…
http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/index.ssf/2012/12/masked_gunman_unleasheas_fusil.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2012/12/live_updates_on_clackamas_town.html
This was hitting way too close to home as someone I love was THERE.
Then Friday… Newtown, CT… I could not believe what I was hearing as I was listening to the reports coming in on NPR. As the count rose of all the children senselessly taken from this quiet community at a place where they are supposed to be safe, all I could think of was my daughter. She was at school here and at that moment all I wanted to do was hold her, protect her, from anything and everything. But that’s impossible.
We are coming into a time where people are becoming so desperate that they are more and more often resorting to more violent means of crying out for help, for getting their points across. Only two emotions can remain after such attacks in our own communities: Anger and Fear. The anger will only progress into rage and more calculated killings. The fear can only drive innocent people away from public places, into their homes afraid to go out in public anymore. No place is immune from someone snapping and opening fire. Temples, churches, schools, malls… I think if we really come together as communities and pay attention to what is happening around us, pay attention to the signs that others are giving, we may be able to prevent some future attacks from occurring. If we can catch warning signs earlier that someone is hurting, perhaps we can direct them to help, or get help to them. I don’t know – I don’t think anyone does. There is no one solution to the growing problem and definitely no easy one. I do think however we can all start by caring a little more, reaching out, pulling together. We are our brothers’ keepers.
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