Are You Relevant?

Posted by random olio

I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago. The idea of: “Are you relevant?” came up. I am not that old, but I have started to feel like being relevant is now very crucial to staying fresh and current in the workplace. Things change every single day. Most of these changes have to do with technology. Do you have the latest smartphone? Does it have the newest apps? Do you know how to use your smartphone? Have you had it for a few years and are still learning how to use it?

If you are like me there are constantly new things to learn about your smartphone. There are new things to learn about the apps. New technology and functionality. What about all the different social networking options? Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. They each are constantly evolving so that your experience is never the same. They constantly update, redesign, reconfigure your viewing experience. Are you able to keep up with all the changes that happen? Do the social media platforms alert you to the changes, or do you just learn to adapt, or you ask your networking community how they have maintained their composure while they navigate the changes?

I often feel I cannot keep up. I want to be in the know. I want to understand how to pace myself and decide which social media platforms meet my needs, but I find that they are all so varied and that I sometimes cannot keep up with technology and all its evolving, fast-paced, time sucking powers. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, or another platform, do they really do for us what we think they do? Would we be better served by just having face-to-face conversations?

Would that make us all more relevant?

Pepsi and saving my pennies…

Posted by random olio

Yesterday was my grandma’s birthday. She would have been 102 years old. I was talking about her over the weekend with a good friend and Chris. She passed away over 9 years ago and she still has such an overwhelming place in our lives. I have written blogs about her quite a few times (just type Granny Smith in the search box for a few past ones). Sometimes she reigns in our thoughts because of her funny sayings, sometimes in conversations and experiences we had with her, and sometimes I am reminded about the times she was not there for me in the way I needed her. It is funny, Chris only knew her for about a year and yet he still has such fond memories of Granny Smith. What a lady. (In the photo below, she is wearing my graduation cap.)

granny smith at my college graduation…

I think I take after her in some ways. She ate the same meals over and over again. She had Total cereal every day and a glass of orange juice. For lunch some strange sandwich concoction that had ham in it. Sometimes just ham and cheese, and sometimes ham, peanut butter, and pickles. In addition to her sandwich, she had Pringles and a Pepsi. Always a Pepsi. She would never drink a Coke. Like my Granny Smith, I tend to be routine with my eating. Green smoothie for breakfast and a salad for lunch. No Pepsi for me.

I also learned a lot about saving from my Granny Smith. She lived every day like it was 1920. Then other days she would splurge and dote on us. She was not into “change.” She kept her finances just as her father set them up for her. You can imagine what that might have meant if she was around in our recent financial crisis. Having said all that, I learned a lot about being frugal.

She lived within her means, and was not incredibly extravagant. She also approached money as though it would not be there later. I think I have taken this ideal from her. I am working on looking at money in a new, none “depression mentality” way.

It makes me think about how we impact others in our lives. Do you have friends, colleagues, professors, bosses, etc. that you will never forget how they impacted your life? The ones that push you and challenge you to look at life differently. The ones that do not let you get away with your crap. The ones that are there for you when you need it the most. Or, the ones that were just there when you had no one else.

Happy Birthday Granny Smith!

Poofy sleeves, dresses, and guilt…

Posted by random olio

Do you remember times growing up when you told adults what they wanted to hear? Why did we do that? In our youth we should have felt free to say exactly what was on our mind.

I remember my grandma would buy my sister and me a dress each Easter. It was our Easter Sunday dress. Usually I hated it. I would wear it on Easter Sunday and then hide it in the back of my closet in hopes that she would never remember that she purchased it for me (or that I never wore it again). As I got older my mom encouraged me to just tell my grandma that I did not like it and that I would like to return it. It was always hard for me to tell her. I felt awful. I always thought I was hurting her feelings. Bummer, right?

a smile for the smurf cake, not sure about that dress though…

So…I wonder…what is it that makes kids feel they cannot be upfront? What made me just want to hide the dress and not discuss it with her? Partly I think it had to do with my dad who often would shut us down if we ever got the guts to confront him (which was rare). I think it imbedded into my thick skull that confrontation and speaking my mind was a bad thing. I was being disrespectful to my elders.

Something shifted inside me in college, almost to the opposite extreme, where now it is hard for me to keep my mouth shut. Now, that does not mean that I do not hold back. It also does not mean that I just steamroll everyone. I am pointed and thoughtful about my confrontation, but I feel less and less uncomfortable with saying what needs to be said.

What if we were able to raise children that had no fear of taking risks? Of speaking their mind and confronting their elders rationally? Does that teach them how to continue in their life with strength, poise, and determination? Sounds better to me than putting on that balloon dress to avoid confrontation.

What do you think?

Don’t let the f**kers get you down…

Posted by random olio

Yesterday was a rough day. I wonder if it was just in the air due to the election. If the results made some agitated and others gloriously happy. I am dismayed by some of the comments on Facebook that were just so negative towards President Obama. I dislike the hatred I see. There should still be respect for the office of the President.

My day felt like a boulder was laid on me as the hours turned from morning to afternoon. I struggled. I got mad. I vented. I felt put in an unfair position. Then I went for a run. I felt better. Then the nagging voices came back. Tears came to my eyes (which does not happen too often). I felt overwhelmed. Stressed. Uninspired. I took a hot, hot shower after my run. Why does that always help to solve problems? Okay, so maybe it does not solve any problems, but it helps to wash them away for a short period of time.

What kept coming to me while running, while showering, while driving home was gratitude. It is often that word that comes to my thought when I am frustrated. When I do not see an answer to a problem. Gratitude for what is. Clearer thoughts tend to come when I focus on gratitude: I am trying too hard. I need to take a step back and breathe and enjoy the moment. I need to learn to say no. I need to learn to ask for help. I cannot do everything, and I cannot make everyone happy.

I do not like certain decisions made, but they have been made. I do not appreciate the value they express, but that is not mine to decide. In the words of a print I purchased from a local artist: “Don’t let the f**kers get you down.” When I show my reaction, I have let them in. I have shown the signs of wear and tear.

My next steps are to repair, communicate, and move on. My inclination is to close up and not let those back in. Why do we often react in that way? Why do we live so often like a snapdragon, and open only to catch our prey, and then close back again?

I need peace of mind, freshness of direction, and that clear voice that tells me I am on the right path. I am ready for my answer. I am ready to feel at peace.

This is a f-ing crazy job application…

Posted by random olio

When I came across this Fast Company article titled: “Are you a social strategist? Can you make your mom a star on Twitter? Wieden + Kennedy wants you.” Wow. Wieden + Kennedy is savvy. If you have not heard of them they are a local and famous ad agency. As I read over the job description I was dumbfounded. While it would be such a forward movement for a career to work for Wieden + Kennedy, I think reading this job description made me feel old.

You might not be able to read the article entirely unless you subscribe, so I will do a short recap so you understand a bit of the context. Wieden + Kennedy is looking for a social strategist for their Old Spice campaign. They are looking for someone to “shake things up in the social sphere.” Below are the options someone could try when they apply, with my additional notes after each:

Challenge 1 – Create the best original Pinterest board dedicated to the sport of inline speed skating (NOT roller-hockey). Um. Inline speed skating. Not my thing, so no interest there to create the best Pinterest board. Sorry folks.

Challenge 2 – Create and post an original piece of content to Reddit that then receives the most upvotes in a single week. Wow. I think I might be starting to break a sweat.

Challenge 3 – Create and upload to SlideShare an original, in-depth competitive analysis of the Ed Hardy social media ecosystem. I would have no idea where to even start on this one.

Challenge 4 – Get the most people to friend your mother or your father (or a parent-like figure in your life) on Facebook in a single week. My mother and father are no longer living. Not even remotely interested in this one.

Challenge 5 – Create an original (new) Twitter account and then use it to get the most followers in a week using any verbs you like, but only the following nouns: “BLUEFUDGE,” “HAMMERPANTS” and “GREEK YOGURT.” Um. Seriously. I would love to see results from this challenge.

Challenge 6 – Create an original YouTube video that then receives the most plays in a single week using this script verbatim:
#1: “Wait. What are you doing?”
#2: “Trust me. This will be fine.”
#1: “Ok. Go ahead.” No comment.

Challenge 7 – Get recommendations on LinkedIn from at least three other people trying to get this job. I think this one could top the charts if successful.

Challenge 8 – Create the most reviewed recipe on allrecipes.com in a single week using cottage cheese as an ingredient. The reviews don’t have to be good. I’m in! Food bloggers unite!

Challenge 9 – Upload the most pictures of your armpit(s) to Instagram during the course of this challenge. The pictures must have your face in them to verify your identity and include the hashtag #mypits. Um. Gross. Especially since I started sweating reading Challenge 2.

Challenge 10 – Using Quora, give thought-out, meaningful answers to as many dream catcher-related questions as possible in a single week. How many could there really be?

Whew. I am exhausted. Are you? So if you wanted to be the social strategist for Wieden + Kennedy which challenge would you pick? Cottage cheese? That one seemed like the easiest and I do not even cook. Job searches, resumes, and online applications have been taken to a whole new level. What will be next?