If you love you, the rest will follow

This is for all the people out there who are constantly in & out of relationships....always looking for 'the one', and always seeming to find nothing but duds & drama. The quote below was from an advice column, in reply to a woman who had cheated on her partner & was trying to decide whether or not she should tell him. Below was the last paragraph of the advice...and I think it is something that quite a few people could learn & benefit from. Then temporarily make yourself a man(woman)-free zone. Chill: Listen to music, spend time with friends, family, throw yourself into work and travel, if you can. But get to know and like yourself first before diving into another relationship. by Sherry Amatenstein

I'm a thief

Tell me something you want me to know. Make it a true thing. Comments are screened; I will not be unscreening them unless you ask me to.

My Reply to PP

Behind the tag are my replies to the questionairre from Planned Parenthood. 1. Annual salary for the position will fall in the $35,000 to $45,000 range, depending on skills and experience. Would this meet your salary requirements? I am currently making $37,295 per year. I would prefer to not take a pay cut at my next place of business. 2. What makes you want to change your current situation to come to work for Planned Parenthood at this time? I am looking for new challenges and opportunities for growth and advancement. I have also been very interested in the promotion of honest and useful human sexuality programs, and I would be happy knowing that in some way, I was affiliated with a company that was doing their best to do that. In addition, this line on the Careers page of your website, Persons of color, men and others of traditionally underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply, leads me to believe that you value a person more for whether they are capable of performing at their given jobs. This is something that is important to me. I’ve always believed that the quality of a person’s work is more important than whether the person has tattoos, or is leading an alternative lifestyle. Nearly a year ago, I moved from Fairfield to Hayward. At that time, I didn’t think the commute from Hayward to Concord would be too bad. As time has gone by, I have come to realize that the traffic problems I encounter nearly every day are just going to get worse. Since you are relatively close to the Civic Center BART station, commute-wise, working for Planned Parenthood would be a lot better for me. 3. Planned Parenthood Golden Gate offers reproductive health care to women and their families. Our services include contraception and termination of pregnancy. What are your views on the services we offer? If I wasn’t pro-choice, and a firm believer in the concept of a woman being able to have total control over her body and whether or not she goes on to have children, I would have never applied in the first place. I started going to Planned Parenthood many years ago, and I can honestly say that I learned a great deal from the different centers I had gone to over the years, things that in one way or another had a positive impact on my life. Thank you very much for taking my resume under consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon. Heather Cary

Well Color me Wrong

I seem to have spoken too soon. Planned Parenthood sent me an email & questionairre today. See behind the tag. Hi Heather, Thank you for your interest in working for Planned Parenthood. I've looked over you resume and I'm impressed. Please open the attached, answer the questions and return to me via e-mail. Thanks, XXX XXXX Human Resources Generalist XXX-XXX-XXXX Dear Heather Cary: Thank you for your interest in our HR Assistant position. Your resume presents some interesting qualifications and it may be worthwhile for us to explore your candidacy further. However, before we do so, I’d like to get your written response on some key issues: 1. Annual salary for the position will fall in the $35,000 to $45,000 range, depending on skills and experience. Would this meet your salary requirements? 2. What makes you want to change your current situation to come to work for Planned Parenthood at this time? 3. Planned Parenthood Golden Gate offers reproductive health care to women and their families. Our services include contraception and termination of pregnancy. What are your views on the services we offer? Thank you for taking the time to do this. Please email your response to me at dtanaka@ppgg.org. If I don’t hear back from you, I’ll assume you no longer have an interest in the job. Sincerely, XXX XXXX Human Resources Generalist

On Submitting

Resumes that is. So...I'm looking for a new job. However, since I am working, and am not in danger of being terminated or blowing my top & just leaving....I figure I can take the time to be picky & only apply for jobs that I feel will be a step up, or are for companies that I think I could be happy working for. In the last few weeks, I've submitted resumes to 4 places. I've got my pacbell email account set up to deliver return receipts when my email has both reached the recipient and has been displayed on their screen....so I know that my resumes has not just gotten lost in the ether. What I don't get...is why none of these 4 businesses can even be bothered to acknowledge that they've received my resume. Hey, I understand that I'm not what every company is clamoring for...but still, some little canned blurb saying that my resume is under review & that I'll be contacted if my skills match their job.... Since I've taken over the initial steps of my companies recruiting process, I make sure that each & every resume I receive (and sometimes it's been 30 a day) gets either an email acknowledgment or a pre-printed card sent by snail-mail. Even if we don't call someone, at the very least they'll know that we did get their resume.....which, in my mind, is just a basic courtesy. These people went through the trouble to make their resume suit our job opening & then send it to me. The least I can do is let them know that it has been received and is being reviewed....

Pride Weekend

Judging from a few looks & veiled comments I've received over the last few weeks....I seem to be a traitor to 'the cause', so to speak. What do I mean? Well....here I am, a poly, kinky, queer identified female.....and I'm not doing anything poly, kinky, or queer related on this major weekend of Pride celebrations. What am I doing? I am celebrating my 11th wedding annivesary. Sunday the 26th to be precise. I'm taking this coming Friday off & we're spending Friday in Santa Cruz & then driving to Monterey and spending the rest of the weekend there. So....I'm missing Pride.....but the way I see it, I have every weekend, hell, every day even to celebrate being poly, kinky & queer. It's only fair that I mark my wedding anniversary with a little something special, since it's not every day that relationships last this long.

Finger's X'd

I just sent in a resume to the Golden Gate Planned Parenthood....they are looking for a HR/Payroll position, and the ad seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. It's right off of a BART line....and I think working for Planned Parenthood might be more in line with my eventual life goals....as well as most likely being a more casual atmosphere as well as a queer positive one.....going by their website which strongly encouraged 'women, minorities, LGBT people to apply'

Arrr - A Pirate I Be

Your LiveJournal Pirate Crew LiveJournal Username Fifteen men on a dead man's chest! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!Ew... How unsanitary.*dances a jig on a dead man's chest* Cutlass or pistol? CutlassPistolTorpedoHeat vision What is the name of your pirate ship? Where is your secret pirate base? Jolly Pirate IslandTreasure IslandPleasure IslandIsland of DoomGilligan's IslandWindfall Island What kind of loot do you prefer? Pieces of eight!Bling!Babes!Booze!Crowns and scepters!Target giftcards! What do you and your crew prefer to be called? Freebooters!Swashbucklers!Corsairs!Seadogs!Desperados!Pirates, of course! Parrot or monkey? ParrotMonkeyUnicornKittenT-Rex Argh! Ahoy, matey!Avast!Shiver me timbers!I'll see you to Davy Jones!Argh! Ack! Gah! *thud* Your capable first mate kshandra Your bumbling cabin boy with a heart of gold rhodesrose The aloof, yet honorable, pirate with a mysterious past boot_slut Is always the first one into the fray dr_moni Is the naval officer who ruthlessly pursues your ship dr_moni Is the comical pirate who is always drunk on grog spring_pony Is currently in Davy Jones's locker dafydd The amount of money you make as a pirate $91,840 This Fun Quiz created by Lynn at BlogQuiz.Net

Aries Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

July Fusion - July 9

So, my 35th birthday is on 7/27....Rik said I should do something different for my birthday...I'm not sure why. I've considered 16, 18, 21, 40, 50 to be the 'special ones'.... Fusion always seems to be a good party to have more unusual types of fun at....I'm not sure where the July party will be, but Vicki is in discussions with a potential homeowner in the Santa Cruz area. But anyway....the point of this....few ladies and I have been discussing turning my chest into edible artwork. 1 person has volunteered to be the artist....the medium is chocolate sauce. Possibly caramel & other types of dessert sauces that are easy to draw with, depends on what I can find at the store. The last time this was done, the artist & and 1 other woman helped lick my boobs clean. Both have determined that that was WAY too much sugar for 2 people.... So....that's where this post comes in. The only people who can see this are people who I would like to participate. Some other people may be welcome to partake too....the rules are though that they must be females that I like and trust....not just any random people. If you want to invite someone, please run it past me 1st. :) Ok....so.....any takers?

So, that job thing

My Boss has been on vacation for 2 weeks. Below is an edited version of some conversations I've had with the CEO throughout this week. Tuesday CEO - How's recruiting going? me - Ok I think. I'm just reading the resumes & making notes on them. I'm not really experienced enough to do much else. CEO - Have you gotten any good resumes for the HR positions? me - (thinks to self.....um....yeah what the fuck be honest) Well....we're not advertising for HR at all. CEO - Why not? I still want to go forward with getting a clerk and getting you off the front desk. me - I do too, but Sandra said that she thinks we will be fine with a 2 person department & that hiring anyone else just isn't in the budget. (CEO looks rather surprised at this comment) CEO - (she makes some comment about my Boss retiring and that we need to get things moving to be able to have things transition smoothly to a new Boss) me - I kind of snickered and said that I didn't see the retirement happening anytime soon. (being brave again) To be honest, I really feel that as long as she (my Boss) is here, I will be here (pointing to my reception desk). I also said that I felt that my Boss was holding me back by keeping me up front and that I felt I had a lot more to offer to the company. CEO said that she agreed. Then I said that I was less than thrilled that I had a 'clear the air' talk with my Boss (see posts in March), and that it seems to have gotten me not much of anything or anywhere. That was pretty much the big stuff. later CEO - I need a report of all the terminations since October 1, the reasons they left and copies of all their Exit Interviews. me - um.....we haven't really been doing those. CEO - WHY? me - I don't really know...I just have my own opinion, which means absolutely nothing. CEO - ok... me - well, based on my observations for the last 3 years.....I think that Exit Interviews are not being given to people who might have something negative/bad to say. CEO - that's not the point, we need these things so that we can make changes and improvements. me - I know..... Wednesday CEO - I need the Worker's Comp file for XX. me - I'm not sure if there's a separate file for that. I know where XX's personnel & medical files are.... CEO - (asks for a bunch of Worker's Comp details on XX that I have NO clue about) me - Um, I'm sorry, but I just don't know anything about that. CEO - Why? me - Boss never kept me in the loop with the Worker’s Comp stuff, that was always left to the other HR person. CEO - It would make more sense to have you do it, since you do Benefits & FMLA stuff. me - (shrug) I don't know, Boss just never wanted me involved with it. CEO - well can you go through the file and find me A-B-C? me - sure, give me about 5 minutes. Thursday Our ADP Payroll sales rep stopped by for a moment. I told him that the whole upgrade thing was still stalled on my Boss's desk, but that the last I heard was that the CEO did want to go forward with it. We talked some more about features & timelines, and I told him that since my Boss was out, I'd just go straight to the CEO and see where things stood & that I'd call him later with an update. me - Just thought I'd let you know that our ADP guy was here a few moments ago. He was just stopping by since he was in the area & wanted to see if we were still interested in upgrading. CEO - YES WE ARE. (we talk more about different aspects of the new system) CEO - I also want to look into automating all of HR. Get the personnel files online, tie into our benefits & 401(k), and have all of our evaluations online. me - ADP has all of those things. Do you want me to call our guy back and have him put together a proposal for us? CEO - yes. later me - Ok, he'll send us something by Monday at the latest. He's recommending HRProfile, which is $500.00 to install, and then $1.25 per employee, per month. CEO - That's all?? me - Yeah.....I always thought you weren't interested in this. CEO - How so? me - Well for the last 2.5 years, Boss has been telling me that you didn't want to get this automated. That we couldn't afford it, and that we were too small for such a sophisticated system. CEO - ..... me - I think this is the way to go....cutting edge so to speak. It's what made PeopleSoft such a valuable company. We don’t' need something on THAT scale, but I know we can definitely do everything you want to through ADP. me - I really feel uncomfortable saying this but....I think if you want to go forward with this, and have everything up & running by 1/1/06...it might be best to leave my Boss out of the loop. CEO - well I want her to be able to use everything... me - of course CEO - Well when she gets back, I intend to have her solely focused on recruiting.... me - Ok, well then....I think the next step after seeing ADP's proposal is to set up an appointment for the full presentation, do you have time for something like that? CEO - yes, I want to go forward with this. me - Ok, when we get to talking about that, I'll see when you're free. yet later I did some research on www.salary.com and found some job descriptions for some HRIS positions & basic pay scales for the Concord area. HRIS Clerk III Performs routine administrative tasks in support of the HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) group. Inputs data into a computer processing system and reviews output for accuracy. Generates standard reports for Human Resources or managing personnel. Alters query variables in order to generate more complex or ad-hoc reports. Requires a high school diploma or its equivalent and at least 5 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of complicated tasks. May lead and direct the work of others. May report directly to a supervisor. $43040 - $56235 HRIS Analyst III Evaluates, analyzes, designs and maintains company Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS). Identifies new HR needs and the software products to fulfill these needs. Makes alterations to existing programs to gather and report data as necessary. Requires a bachelor's degree in a related area and 4-8 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of complicated tasks. May lead and direct the work of others. May report directly to an executive or head of a unit/department. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. $65697 - $83202 HRIS Supervisor II Supervises the HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) platform and maintenance of data. Reviews data input and output reporting for accuracy. Monitors and improves data collection and reporting procedures for efficiency. A level II supervisor has authority for personnel actions and oversees most day-to-day operations of group. May require a bachelor's degree in area of specialty. Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on extensive experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Typically reports to a manager or head of a unit/department. $62904 - $86197 I gave this to the CEO, w/o the pay scale, and told her that if she was serious about wanting to make things more automated & online, that this where I would like to see my position develop towards. I mentioned to her that my Boss thinks I'm lacking in "people-skills", and that this would be a perfect career path for me when you take my 'lack' into consideration. She asked if I was 'up' to learning more technical programming type stuff, and I said for *this*, yes. She wrote on it "Heather's Wish List", put it on her desk and said "we'll see." So.....that's been my week in a nutshell. My Boss comes back tomorrow......and we'll see what we see.

I have lots & lots to say about my job....but it's too damn late to write the novel. Condensed version now, more tomorrow night. Boss is on vacation. CEO has been asking questions about a lot of things and giving me special assignments. I've given very blunt & honest answers....and followed up by pointing out discrepancies between what CEO says that she wants for the Company & what my boss has said that the CEO wants. If I can gut it out another 6-12 months, my job may change from being HR/payroll to being HRIS & payroll....which is higher on the food chain...more IT oriented, less people oriented and it could possibly lead to being some sort of Supervisor or Manager.....or if nothing else, I learn enough to not look stupid & then jump ship. Base pay for an HRIS clerk is $48K.....which is about 10K more than I make now.

Creationism

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" And Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled. And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14. So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast. God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food." God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds. Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds. God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes!And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest. God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created HMOs. Thought for the day ...... There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

Weight Update 1

When I re-started my DietPower program on the morning of 2/28/05, I weighed 270.5....and joined Curves that same evening. So on 2/28/05 my measurements according to Curves - (around 630PM) Bust - 44.75" Waist - 42" Abdomen - 52.5" Hips - 55" Thighs - 32.5" Calves - 19.75" Arms - 16.5" Weight - 271 lbs Body Fat - 43.7% On 5/27/05 my measurements according to Curves - (around 9AM) Bust - 43" Waist - 38" Abdomen - 49" Hips - 52" Thighs - 30.75" Calves - 20" (Got bigger because of more muscle mass) Arms - 15.75" Weight - 256 lbs (actually weighed 253 when I woke up. Curves was w/ clothes & after drinking a slim-fast for breakfast) Body Fat - 40.8% Total Losses according to Curves - 16.75 inches 15 pounds 13.98 fat pounds (guess this is a measurement that uses inches and body fat % as factors, instead of just regular weight loss) Today - weighed in at 252. My goal was to lose 20 pounds (according to MY scale & morning weigh-ins) from Feb. 28 - May 27.....I actually lost 17.....which isn't a bad start at all. My next goal is to lose another 20 pounds by Sept. 23 (Folsom weekend)...starting date was 5/31 and starting weight was 254 (only gained 1 pound during a convention weekend - yay me!).

...Is worth 1000 words?

1. Think of the first word that comes to mind when you think of me. 2. Go to: http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&q= and search for that word. 3. Reply to this post with one of the pictures on the first page of results* (but do not tell me the word). 4. Put this in your own LJ so that I can do the same.