Sometimes I give myself "what if"s. I know, terrible time waster. But it's an interesting way to fill that time you aren't really sure what else to fill it with. So lately I've been thinking a lot about finances. Maybe because I'm trying really really really hard to get to college. Really hard. And it's kinda freaking me out that I probably won't make it without student loans. And so most of my current idea scenarios deal with money. It's a bad habit, sorry.
What if...I was able to work 30 hours a week? I could make $2,262 (after taxes) before I left for college! That, added to my current savings, would bring me to a total of about $3,500. This would still not get me through a year without taking out student loans, but it would still feel pretty good to know I had some of it under control.
What if...I got a second job? Like, an easy one. One where I could make $500 a month without hurting myself. I mean, it would only be $1,500 from that until I leave, but that's second semester tuition easy. I just need to find a way to work 30 hours a week AND make $500 a month, right?
What if...I sold my autograph on eBay? I wonder who would buy it...and how much it's worth...But tell me that would not be awesome!!! I think I'm going to do it. Just because I can. I mean, it would be like the cheapest shipping in the world (like what? 50 cents these days?) and I could like try to sell it for like $50. I wonder how many times I could do that before it got old...And if people would even buy it. Or maybe like draw things with crayons and sell them on eBay. Or paints. I really wonder if that would be a legit investment. I may actually try that. I hadn't really thought about it in depth before, but that would so be worth a shot, right??
What if...I had one million dollars?
That's my favorite one, I think. I had it all planned out once, but I feel the need to revise. First, I would put $50,000 aside for college. And college only. So I really only have $950,000. And $100,000 of it would go to tithing for church. So I have $850,000 to work with. I would then probably be selfish and put aside $200,000 for a future home, and like $20,000 for a car (anything not used to buy it would be saved to later fix it LOL I know my stuff, cars don't last forever). So I'm like down to $630,000. And I would totally donate $100,000 to charities because I would feel so unbelievably lucky to have the random million dollars.
And half a million dollars would be for family. My parents, help get them out of debt. My children, raising them, college funds, the whole nine yards. My siblings, small amount to save or use or whatever with it, because I'm generous like that. But first, let me tell you, I would pay for college. >.< And/or a time machine.
What if...I could stop time? I could use my paused time to be efficiant and effective at work, be impressive, huge bonuses. I could use it to help other people. Without them knowing. Old lady drops her groceries, I could totally pause time, go help her while she is all frozen, then walk away and start time again. She would have no idea who helped her and she would be legit happy. I could use it for a few extra moments in the day to blog or to write. I could finish my novel(s), learn to draw, learn a new language, use it to make myself better. I think that would rock.
What if...I knew the future? I could know exactly what I needed to know, I could know what people needed before they needed it, how to best use my time to prepare for said future...I would know exactly what I needed to do now and never second guess myself.
What if...I could read minds? I would probably get the hint that my blog posts are long-winded. ;) But also, I think I could know how to help people again. I would want to be able to turn it on and off at will, of course, because I don't need to know everyone's thoughts, but...I could be helpful and also a great tool for other people.
What if...I had another moment? Another day? Another month? More time...I always feel like I'm running out. Would I use it right? Would I know what to do with it? Maybe not blog all day... xD But you know what I mean-
What if.........?
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Excuses
THREE WEEKS WENT BY??? I could write up a bunch of excuses or I could just get on with inspiring the world and keeping everyone satisfied with their daily dose of my wit and charm...
Excuses it is.
I work. I work a lot. I worked 44 hours in two of those weeks. Subway loves me. Or maybe just Sandy, my boss. Because the store hates me. Every time I turn around, I drop something, run into something and bruise badly, or cut myself on something. I am really a klutz. And sometimes I have really stressful days. For example, my morning shifts are always a little rough because I'm still kinda tired and it's just me and Sandy and I'm always on edge like I have to impress her every second. Even though I've been working there for a month and so I can't really make her hate me at this point. I mean, she has taught me how to close, bake bread, prep any and all foods, pull bread and other frozens, cash out...it's not really hard to work anything there. The only things I can't do are manager presponsibilities. Like recording waste or inventory. Which actually come to think of it, I helped with inventory the other day...
Alright, so 44 hours in two weeks. That doesn't account for everything. Just wait. I got a second job. As a sales rep at Olan Mills. I was getting paid commission to walk around Meijer and sell picture packages. Which was a LOT of rejection, a LOT of walking, and a LOT of time I couldn't use at Subway. I could have been getting 5 and 6 hours closing shifts at Subway but I instead I was getting commission-paid 4 horus shifts that left me sore and frustrated. It wasn't worth it, so I actually quit. Yes, I got a job and quit since I last posted...
It was an epic fail job. Trust me.
Excuses it is.
I work. I work a lot. I worked 44 hours in two of those weeks. Subway loves me. Or maybe just Sandy, my boss. Because the store hates me. Every time I turn around, I drop something, run into something and bruise badly, or cut myself on something. I am really a klutz. And sometimes I have really stressful days. For example, my morning shifts are always a little rough because I'm still kinda tired and it's just me and Sandy and I'm always on edge like I have to impress her every second. Even though I've been working there for a month and so I can't really make her hate me at this point. I mean, she has taught me how to close, bake bread, prep any and all foods, pull bread and other frozens, cash out...it's not really hard to work anything there. The only things I can't do are manager presponsibilities. Like recording waste or inventory. Which actually come to think of it, I helped with inventory the other day...
Alright, so 44 hours in two weeks. That doesn't account for everything. Just wait. I got a second job. As a sales rep at Olan Mills. I was getting paid commission to walk around Meijer and sell picture packages. Which was a LOT of rejection, a LOT of walking, and a LOT of time I couldn't use at Subway. I could have been getting 5 and 6 hours closing shifts at Subway but I instead I was getting commission-paid 4 horus shifts that left me sore and frustrated. It wasn't worth it, so I actually quit. Yes, I got a job and quit since I last posted...
It was an epic fail job. Trust me.
I've also been going on dates. Yes, that's right, my boyfriend and I do things together. For example, we had a bonfire at his house. And we go to church activities. And he visited me at work once. And we fingerpaint. Well...I fingerpainted. Like on paper. Pictures. And designs. Mostly just designs. And he...uhm...well...
...He finger painted on my face...
...So I got him back...
Which was actually pretty okay to me (obviously... ^check out my grin^ lol), but it really brings me back to my childhood. I think I wrote about this for the chalk drawings, too. It's pretty amazing. I find myself forgetting my cares so much. Not forgetting life, but...worries I guess.
Let's see...OH! And I babysat these adorable boys. :) Tate, Terik, and Tueller Jenkins. They are 10, 10 and 11, I think. And they are so much fun for me. But let me tell you, Wednesday especially was an interesting one to handle...
Needless to say it's a hectic bunch. ^_^ Yeah, the picture was posed, but these things were actually happening. Nathan (the super attractive one hugging me) was actually trying to be a boyfriend rather than help, Donavan and Tate (Donavan is actually my brother, not someone I was babysitting, but he came over one day) were being kinda loud, Tueller was mostly just there. He was the only posed one, but I wanted him in the picture. And Terik, the one on the left (my right) had a lot to say. He was the one who helped me most of the time with anything I needed to know. He's the youngest, but he is certainly the biggest help. And Tori was behind the camera trying to do a picture for photography class.
I love my hectic life, but sometimes I forget about time. How much I have. How much goes to other people. How much goes to me...
Somehow, even when it goes to other people it goes to me. Because let me tell you, without Subway or babysitting or blogging or anything else I do, I wouldn't quite be me. Time makes us who we are. Kangeroos need time to learn to stand on their own, Birds need time to learn to fly, and Butterflies need time to become beautiful.
And I need time (and work) to do all three. :)
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The End of Time
Well, I don't want this to sound totally depressing, but my ideas today spout from something that happened at work. And it's more about what time is worth...or what money is worth in relation to time... It's hard to explain.
As I was filling some orders, I found myself trying to figure out when to wear my gloves and when to take them off and when to wash my hands...let's just say I was a little frazzled. Especially since it was just me and the manager today and she was letting me sorta take things my way so she could see how I'd react to the stress while she was gone. It slows down and I take off my gloves (almost like a relieved removal really), and these two older women come to the counter. One lady says "How much is a bottle of water?" Sandy says "It's $1.79 after tax." and the woman looked a little surprised (I was, too, really. That's a little much, but whatever). Then Sandy clarified. "If you want fountain drink water in a cup, we can give that to you for free." And the woman looked horrified. She said "I didn't want to pay so much for water, but I don't want it for free either!!" So we gave them each some water assuring them it's totally fine, ice water in a cup is free and we didn't mind. The woman took her's and her friend's drinks and threw two dollar bills on the counter. "One for you, and one for her," she said to me. Sandy, my boss, says, "You don't have to do that! It's free water!" and the lady said "You deserve it. And we'll be back for refills."
Now, compare that to earlier in my shift. A woman sends her two children up, the older of the two not even 15 yet by the looks and sounds of him and the younger was probably 4 or 5. They order a footlong and a kid's meal, but he wants them on seperate orders. Confused (because they are OBVIOUSLY together), I fill the orders as instructed. The mother of these two walks over, starts shouting that I made her younger son's sandwich wrong, and freaks out at her older son for filling them seperately. After her shouting and carrying on was over, she explained that she wanted them together so she could use a coupon that would save her somewhere in the vicinity of $4. She then came to the front of the line again and asked for the same thing- a footlong and a kid's meal. She had another coupon. She then sat down with her children and starts scolding the older one for not doing it properly. Over a $4 coupon.
Story #3, this one a little closer to my heart. I have started a Facebook group and a blog for my new idea, Sixty-Five Pennies. (For more information go to http://www.65pennies.blogspot.com/ or find us on Facebook). It's basically asking for less than a dollar from 15,000 people over the next few months to help me to get to college. You would be surprised how many people won't donate this small amount. Just 65 cents! Besides my close friends, the youngest person to donate is over twenty. And the top two donors are over 35 (one of which was actually grandmother, but she still counts!!).
This has made me think a lot lately about what money is worth throughout our lives. Now, we obviously don't throw it away whenever possible, not even when we grow older. But when we age, we start to realize there are more important things. Education, a good cause, your family, a smile, or an extra little bit for someone who may need it...these are all worth it. But when we are younger, we hold on to our money and spend it on little items for ourselves. Not that there is anything wrong with selfish purchases- I have made several in my life- but there are so many things out there that are worth it more.
The value of various factors in our lives seem to fluctuate as we grow older...With age comes wisdom, it's true. Every second you live, your mind and your heart starts to slowly change, slowly become something more selfless, slowly understanding VALUE more than WORTH. Isn't that interesting?
As I was filling some orders, I found myself trying to figure out when to wear my gloves and when to take them off and when to wash my hands...let's just say I was a little frazzled. Especially since it was just me and the manager today and she was letting me sorta take things my way so she could see how I'd react to the stress while she was gone. It slows down and I take off my gloves (almost like a relieved removal really), and these two older women come to the counter. One lady says "How much is a bottle of water?" Sandy says "It's $1.79 after tax." and the woman looked a little surprised (I was, too, really. That's a little much, but whatever). Then Sandy clarified. "If you want fountain drink water in a cup, we can give that to you for free." And the woman looked horrified. She said "I didn't want to pay so much for water, but I don't want it for free either!!" So we gave them each some water assuring them it's totally fine, ice water in a cup is free and we didn't mind. The woman took her's and her friend's drinks and threw two dollar bills on the counter. "One for you, and one for her," she said to me. Sandy, my boss, says, "You don't have to do that! It's free water!" and the lady said "You deserve it. And we'll be back for refills."
Now, compare that to earlier in my shift. A woman sends her two children up, the older of the two not even 15 yet by the looks and sounds of him and the younger was probably 4 or 5. They order a footlong and a kid's meal, but he wants them on seperate orders. Confused (because they are OBVIOUSLY together), I fill the orders as instructed. The mother of these two walks over, starts shouting that I made her younger son's sandwich wrong, and freaks out at her older son for filling them seperately. After her shouting and carrying on was over, she explained that she wanted them together so she could use a coupon that would save her somewhere in the vicinity of $4. She then came to the front of the line again and asked for the same thing- a footlong and a kid's meal. She had another coupon. She then sat down with her children and starts scolding the older one for not doing it properly. Over a $4 coupon.
Story #3, this one a little closer to my heart. I have started a Facebook group and a blog for my new idea, Sixty-Five Pennies. (For more information go to http://www.65pennies.blogspot.com/ or find us on Facebook). It's basically asking for less than a dollar from 15,000 people over the next few months to help me to get to college. You would be surprised how many people won't donate this small amount. Just 65 cents! Besides my close friends, the youngest person to donate is over twenty. And the top two donors are over 35 (one of which was actually grandmother, but she still counts!!).
This has made me think a lot lately about what money is worth throughout our lives. Now, we obviously don't throw it away whenever possible, not even when we grow older. But when we age, we start to realize there are more important things. Education, a good cause, your family, a smile, or an extra little bit for someone who may need it...these are all worth it. But when we are younger, we hold on to our money and spend it on little items for ourselves. Not that there is anything wrong with selfish purchases- I have made several in my life- but there are so many things out there that are worth it more.
The value of various factors in our lives seem to fluctuate as we grow older...With age comes wisdom, it's true. Every second you live, your mind and your heart starts to slowly change, slowly become something more selfless, slowly understanding VALUE more than WORTH. Isn't that interesting?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Hour by Hour
Well, I'm trying to tie in "time" with what I plan to blog about now. Maybe I'll map it out hour by hour (or something to that effect) and then be inspired.
7:00am- Tori enters my room. I told her to wake me at 7 and make sure I was standing up before she left or I would go back to sleep. She only waits until I make a full sentence to respond to her wake up call. Then, she leaves. I roll over and just to spite her tried to fall back asleep. She didn't follow directions very well...
7:03am- Okay, well, that's not going to work. I found a shirt but wore my work pants and shoes. I would have time to quickly change this morning, but I didn't think I'd be home for very long after I dropped Tori off.
7:15am- Breakfast time. I almost had a croissant thing with meat and cheese in it. But I was going to be working part of a breakfast type shift at Subway...it didn't seem appetizing. I made a bowl of cereal.
7:27am- Pack up the car and head over to Annie's house. She lives right down the street, so it's not a far trip.
7:30am- Headed to the High School. Ahh memories of driving this route every day with my mom and sister (sometimes just my sister), desperately couting the number of folders I had in my back in the back seat while trying to operate the mini van from the driver's seat...all those mornings of sharply turning into a spot because that girl who hates me in english class was about to get it...every time I entered those doors and had to hope I had my ID in my bag...
7:40am- Now I'm looking for my friends who were in lower grades than myself last year who are still there. We meet in the same place, just without the old and gone class of 2011. I was tackle-hugged by one, squished hugged by another. I ended up tackle-hugging and squish hugging two others later. It was a huggy morning. Mocked a few people I didn't like (or who I normally teased in the morning).
7:55am- heading towards the doors to leave. Everyone else is heading to classes. Smiling smugly. I drive home and watch sorta half-interested while my youngest sister gets ready for school. She's the only one up this late anymore, so she just sorta wakes up with the rest of us. It gives her a good half our or more in the mornings to just chill. Bus is to come at 8:35...which is when I want to leave. Good timing.
8:28am- The bus came early. Now what do I do with all this extra time??? 7 minutes of NOTHINGNESS!!! Especially since my mom was driving me to work today (and picking me up. *facepalm*). So eventually we left.
8:45 (and some seconds)am- I clocked in. Started making sandwiches, preping food, cleaning things, doing dishes, making more sandwiches, preparing bags for a soccer team, made lots of sandwiches...The basics.
1:00pm- I will spare you the boring details of working besides just saying it was one of the greatest days of working so far! My parents showed up at the end of my shift. I relieved Sarah and said I would take care of them. So I did, from making sandwiches to ringing them up. Then I got a sandwich for me, clocked out, and ate lunch with mom and dad.
1:20-ish pm- Headed over to the bank to transfer money into my checking account because I need to apply for housing tonight. They need a $175 deposit to get a contract. Then I headed over to Meijer because my mom saw that Olan Mills was hiring over there. Heck yes, another job!!!
1:45pm- walk into Meijer...Olan Mills is closed. Go figure. So I head home. Going to do some laundry and clean my room.
2:20pm- Forget the room, I decide laundry and mowing the lawn is a good idea. That way I'm benefitting others, too. So I look for some headphones, kinda lounge myself outside and meander over to the mower.
2:36pm- Mower out of gas. Tore my pants. Babysitting for tonight was cancelled. Need to blog. Need to blog NOW. >.<
So there. That's my day thus far. It was going to be way more busy than this, but apparently Olan Mills is closed and Emily doesn't need me to babysit anymore. I don't know what to do with all this energy and all this free time.
So maybe this one is a brainstorming thing...what can I do that's worth my time? I now have an idea about what time is worth, but what is worth time?
Work, chores, helping others, fixing my pants...those are all worth it. But why? Because they accomplish something. But also, spending time with Nathan is worth it, too. That accomplishes nothing.
Or does it?
Am I really spending my time to get to know him better? Get to know myself? Enjoy myself?
I need to go do something, I'm going stir crazy. Until another free moment, your truly (except not really),
Ariel the sandwich-maker/laundry-doer/lawn-mower/babysitter... xD
7:00am- Tori enters my room. I told her to wake me at 7 and make sure I was standing up before she left or I would go back to sleep. She only waits until I make a full sentence to respond to her wake up call. Then, she leaves. I roll over and just to spite her tried to fall back asleep. She didn't follow directions very well...
7:03am- Okay, well, that's not going to work. I found a shirt but wore my work pants and shoes. I would have time to quickly change this morning, but I didn't think I'd be home for very long after I dropped Tori off.
7:15am- Breakfast time. I almost had a croissant thing with meat and cheese in it. But I was going to be working part of a breakfast type shift at Subway...it didn't seem appetizing. I made a bowl of cereal.
7:27am- Pack up the car and head over to Annie's house. She lives right down the street, so it's not a far trip.
7:30am- Headed to the High School. Ahh memories of driving this route every day with my mom and sister (sometimes just my sister), desperately couting the number of folders I had in my back in the back seat while trying to operate the mini van from the driver's seat...all those mornings of sharply turning into a spot because that girl who hates me in english class was about to get it...every time I entered those doors and had to hope I had my ID in my bag...
7:40am- Now I'm looking for my friends who were in lower grades than myself last year who are still there. We meet in the same place, just without the old and gone class of 2011. I was tackle-hugged by one, squished hugged by another. I ended up tackle-hugging and squish hugging two others later. It was a huggy morning. Mocked a few people I didn't like (or who I normally teased in the morning).
7:55am- heading towards the doors to leave. Everyone else is heading to classes. Smiling smugly. I drive home and watch sorta half-interested while my youngest sister gets ready for school. She's the only one up this late anymore, so she just sorta wakes up with the rest of us. It gives her a good half our or more in the mornings to just chill. Bus is to come at 8:35...which is when I want to leave. Good timing.
8:28am- The bus came early. Now what do I do with all this extra time??? 7 minutes of NOTHINGNESS!!! Especially since my mom was driving me to work today (and picking me up. *facepalm*). So eventually we left.
8:45 (and some seconds)am- I clocked in. Started making sandwiches, preping food, cleaning things, doing dishes, making more sandwiches, preparing bags for a soccer team, made lots of sandwiches...The basics.
1:00pm- I will spare you the boring details of working besides just saying it was one of the greatest days of working so far! My parents showed up at the end of my shift. I relieved Sarah and said I would take care of them. So I did, from making sandwiches to ringing them up. Then I got a sandwich for me, clocked out, and ate lunch with mom and dad.
1:20-ish pm- Headed over to the bank to transfer money into my checking account because I need to apply for housing tonight. They need a $175 deposit to get a contract. Then I headed over to Meijer because my mom saw that Olan Mills was hiring over there. Heck yes, another job!!!
1:45pm- walk into Meijer...Olan Mills is closed. Go figure. So I head home. Going to do some laundry and clean my room.
2:20pm- Forget the room, I decide laundry and mowing the lawn is a good idea. That way I'm benefitting others, too. So I look for some headphones, kinda lounge myself outside and meander over to the mower.
2:36pm- Mower out of gas. Tore my pants. Babysitting for tonight was cancelled. Need to blog. Need to blog NOW. >.<
So there. That's my day thus far. It was going to be way more busy than this, but apparently Olan Mills is closed and Emily doesn't need me to babysit anymore. I don't know what to do with all this energy and all this free time.
So maybe this one is a brainstorming thing...what can I do that's worth my time? I now have an idea about what time is worth, but what is worth time?
Work, chores, helping others, fixing my pants...those are all worth it. But why? Because they accomplish something. But also, spending time with Nathan is worth it, too. That accomplishes nothing.
Or does it?
Am I really spending my time to get to know him better? Get to know myself? Enjoy myself?
I need to go do something, I'm going stir crazy. Until another free moment, your truly (except not really),
Ariel the sandwich-maker/laundry-doer/lawn-mower/babysitter... xD
Thursday, August 18, 2011
What is it Worth?
I have been spending the past few days working, which is my one and only excuse for not blogging since like last week. No, I don't have an official job, I've been doing a lot of babysitting for other families.
Tuesday, babysitting Tori and Megan from down the road, I had a lot of fun! It was 7:35am when I started walking over to their house. By 7:55am, Jennifer left for job training and her first day of real official work. At around 8:30 is when it hit me that I had about 6 hours of entertaining girls to do. I brought my sister along, which helped a lot, but it was still a lot of on my feet and having fun. After lunch, I did the dishes (which I heard from my mom was a nice touch), and I got to thinking...
What is time worth?
I mean, no mother of two who is getting the second job in the house is going to start paying babysitters minimum wage to watch her girls...that's ridiculous! I ended up getting paid just over $4 an hour, which outside of the babysitting force is slave labor. But it was the most I'd gotten paid in a long time. After my babysitting job (which I got home from around 3:00pm), I had to shower and get dressed for a bonfire at my friend's house. We were celebrating moving on from high school and going to college.
Well, one semester is worth upwards of $10,000 some places. So, what? 4 months? Averaging $2,500 a month? That's around $83 a day. That's some nice money, considering most people only actually attend about 6 hours of classes a day. At most, that puts us at paying $13 an hour for education. Interesting, idea.
Then, on Wednesday, I spent a few hours watching two of my best friends here in Indiana, Rachel and Becca. They are totally sweet and fun and exciting. And also both under the age of 4, which put me at a younger age group mind set than the day before. There I was paid about $3.50 an hour. Which isn't me comparing at all or talking money (because people don't like me doing that), but I will say this:
Child care is worth somewhere in the vicinity of $4 per hour, an education is worth about $13 an hour (or less), and burger flipping is worth about $8 an hour. How is it our mindless jobs are worth twice as much as being a caring person in a child's life? And how is it we allow people to charge us $13 an hour to read to us our text books and make sure we are doing what we are supposed to? It's almost the same job, requires almost the same amount of energy, and requires knowledge of a specific subject.
I consider myself a cheap college proffessor for children now. And I'm also about to head to an interview at Subway, where I will be paid more per hour than I would for my teaching and learning postion as a babysitter.
So what is time worth exactly? And how do you make your time worth more? Something tells me there is no way to put an exact measure on how much time is worth.
Maybe it's worth about one blog post an hour once a week... Quite the job upkeep, really. ;)
Tuesday, babysitting Tori and Megan from down the road, I had a lot of fun! It was 7:35am when I started walking over to their house. By 7:55am, Jennifer left for job training and her first day of real official work. At around 8:30 is when it hit me that I had about 6 hours of entertaining girls to do. I brought my sister along, which helped a lot, but it was still a lot of on my feet and having fun. After lunch, I did the dishes (which I heard from my mom was a nice touch), and I got to thinking...
What is time worth?
I mean, no mother of two who is getting the second job in the house is going to start paying babysitters minimum wage to watch her girls...that's ridiculous! I ended up getting paid just over $4 an hour, which outside of the babysitting force is slave labor. But it was the most I'd gotten paid in a long time. After my babysitting job (which I got home from around 3:00pm), I had to shower and get dressed for a bonfire at my friend's house. We were celebrating moving on from high school and going to college.
Well, one semester is worth upwards of $10,000 some places. So, what? 4 months? Averaging $2,500 a month? That's around $83 a day. That's some nice money, considering most people only actually attend about 6 hours of classes a day. At most, that puts us at paying $13 an hour for education. Interesting, idea.
Then, on Wednesday, I spent a few hours watching two of my best friends here in Indiana, Rachel and Becca. They are totally sweet and fun and exciting. And also both under the age of 4, which put me at a younger age group mind set than the day before. There I was paid about $3.50 an hour. Which isn't me comparing at all or talking money (because people don't like me doing that), but I will say this:
Child care is worth somewhere in the vicinity of $4 per hour, an education is worth about $13 an hour (or less), and burger flipping is worth about $8 an hour. How is it our mindless jobs are worth twice as much as being a caring person in a child's life? And how is it we allow people to charge us $13 an hour to read to us our text books and make sure we are doing what we are supposed to? It's almost the same job, requires almost the same amount of energy, and requires knowledge of a specific subject.
I consider myself a cheap college proffessor for children now. And I'm also about to head to an interview at Subway, where I will be paid more per hour than I would for my teaching and learning postion as a babysitter.
So what is time worth exactly? And how do you make your time worth more? Something tells me there is no way to put an exact measure on how much time is worth.
Maybe it's worth about one blog post an hour once a week... Quite the job upkeep, really. ;)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
To Go Back in Time
Ahhhh to be a kid again is one of my biggest wishes.
Yesterday, after enjoying one of those more "adult" days (yes, I mean I actually had to be responsible...idk), I spent some down time with this super wonderful, attractive, sweet, and fun boy I know (yes, I mean my boyfriend, Nathan). And guess what we did.
[On my driveway]
[Local Elementary School]
Yeah, that's right, we colored with chalk. Bubble letters to welcome my sister home and the chalk outlines to color in. On an elementary school playground and everything! Then at home, we played with Play-Doh!! The only thing to complete the night would have been fingerpainting...unfortunately, I don't own fingerpaints and my shirt was white. But regardless, the night was wonderful. And I experienced being a child again...but maturely. ;) Also at my house, we listened to music (what better thing to do for a youtube junkie like me and an OFFICAL music major at BYU-I like him to do? LOL). Innocence by Inside Out was probably my favorite song of the night.
"Innocence, simplicity of youth/ Not a care in the world but more charity than you could ever ask for/ I wanna run and I wanna shout and I wanna play your game/ I wanna know what you're about, will you please stay with me/ 'Cause I feel like a child again, and you are my best friend/ And I know that we can live forever, stay with me there's no end."
So, my challenge this time is not a thought-provoking one, but rather the opposite. Stop thinking. Stop freaking out over your job or your family or your dinner you almost burned or your thousands of projects. Stop pondering hidden questions of the universe and stop trying to figure out ways to feel satisfied. Take a moment and be a child again. Walk around outside in your bare feet, pick a weed and put it in a vase, color with crayons- outside the lines of course- or chalk, play with play-doh or mud...get dirty, throw a fit, go to bed early but hide a flashlight under the covers so you can stay up later secretly. Be a child. We all need another chance at that. :)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
86,400 Seconds
I know, I know--I'm a failure as a blogger. But I'm still learning! I'll get the hang of this sometime. Maybe it's because I'm seriously the busiest person that I've ever been lately. Juggling a boyfriend, my job hunt, family, friends, church meetings (mostly for the adult group, but I've been with the youth a few times lately, too), church responsibilities, writing several stories that need some work, and of course time for myself, I've learned what "bitten off more than I can chew" means. And, sadly, this is just the normal stuff. I don't even have a job, I don't play sports, I don't have any major vacations...I don't even go to school yet. It's been a little intense, I guess is the way to put it.
This one is going to be more about how much time we have. I think I'm a little inspired by my father and my Poppy today when it comes to what I want to say. I've probably written about this sort of thing before, but I want to emphasize.
86,400. That's how many seconds we have every single day. (I didn't do the math, I actually stole it from a song, Live Like We're Dying by Kris Allen) Now, when you consider the fact that it takes you 4 seconds tops to read this sentence, that's a big deal. 4 is nothing compared to 86,400 (actually its .00463% aproximately, but who's counting?). So, I must ask--how do we spend our seconds?
I've learned that a minute is longer than we think. One minute at a red light gives you all sorts of ideas on what you can do for that whole minute. Running downstairs to grab shoes takes probably less than that, bt in the moment it seems like an eternity until you get to go shopping. Yet, while I'm sitting here spending several minutes typing, the minutes seem to fly by. Maybe it's how we spend our time.
About 5 days ago, my Poppy had a stroke. I'm not here for a sob story, so push the drama to the side. I'm simply stating fact. In this moment, I had to wonder if he was satisfied with his life. Did he spend all 86,400 seconds each day the way he wanted to? Or the way he should, I should clarify. If he had 86,4000 more seconds to have full use of his left side, what would he do with it? Would he hold someone's hand, would he write a novel (my grandfather is left-handed of course), would he simply make a sandwich and feel satisfied with his expertise in the matter? I think sometimes we take for granted the seconds that we have when we are comfortable, whole, and in the presence of those we care about.
My father is another good example of that. Today my little bother (typo...?) had an open house for the new school he will be attending in 11 days. My mother was, of course, to accompany him and figure out his classes and his new exciting life. He would be changing classrooms and spending time with new faces. My father, swamped at work and trying to figure out some new project (I don't fully understand his job) took the time to go with. Sure, it was a couple hours--probably only 7,200 seconds I would bet--but he joined his son in a new experience. Tonight he will not be home until bedtime because he took this time this morning, but we will probably wait up for him to spend a good 600 seconds together before we retire for the night. Those 7,800 seconds that my father dedicated solely to his family will be in my memory for more time than it took for him to make the decision. Tomorrow he will spend all day driving to Kirtland, OH to pick up my sister who spent a portion of her summer with my grandparents, which means he will be in the office a lot of Saturday. The hours he is spending to go retrieve my sister and to spend time with her coming home...now, isn't that probably what my Poppy wishes he could do today?
So let's consider how we spend our seconds. Some seconds we owe to the world, to our work, to our health. And that's okay. But the remainder of our seconds are what make the biggest impact. Of our 86,400 seconds, we spend half of them at work or asleep (that's assuming 8 hour work day and 6 hours of sleep--not healthy, but probably accurate). So with our remaining 43,200 seconds, what do we do with our time?
I think today I will spend a couple seconds thanking God for my Poppy's recovery to this point, and mowing the lawn to thank my daddy for caring enough about his family to attend what may have been a crowded, stuffy, and almost intolerable open house. And maybe I'll spend some seconds finding ways to give others a change to take a second and thank me. Cuz a few seconds can really change a person's attitude, and potentially their day. You hold your 86,400 seconds in your hand...how can you affect someone else's?
This one is going to be more about how much time we have. I think I'm a little inspired by my father and my Poppy today when it comes to what I want to say. I've probably written about this sort of thing before, but I want to emphasize.
86,400. That's how many seconds we have every single day. (I didn't do the math, I actually stole it from a song, Live Like We're Dying by Kris Allen) Now, when you consider the fact that it takes you 4 seconds tops to read this sentence, that's a big deal. 4 is nothing compared to 86,400 (actually its .00463% aproximately, but who's counting?). So, I must ask--how do we spend our seconds?
I've learned that a minute is longer than we think. One minute at a red light gives you all sorts of ideas on what you can do for that whole minute. Running downstairs to grab shoes takes probably less than that, bt in the moment it seems like an eternity until you get to go shopping. Yet, while I'm sitting here spending several minutes typing, the minutes seem to fly by. Maybe it's how we spend our time.
About 5 days ago, my Poppy had a stroke. I'm not here for a sob story, so push the drama to the side. I'm simply stating fact. In this moment, I had to wonder if he was satisfied with his life. Did he spend all 86,400 seconds each day the way he wanted to? Or the way he should, I should clarify. If he had 86,4000 more seconds to have full use of his left side, what would he do with it? Would he hold someone's hand, would he write a novel (my grandfather is left-handed of course), would he simply make a sandwich and feel satisfied with his expertise in the matter? I think sometimes we take for granted the seconds that we have when we are comfortable, whole, and in the presence of those we care about.
My father is another good example of that. Today my little bother (typo...?) had an open house for the new school he will be attending in 11 days. My mother was, of course, to accompany him and figure out his classes and his new exciting life. He would be changing classrooms and spending time with new faces. My father, swamped at work and trying to figure out some new project (I don't fully understand his job) took the time to go with. Sure, it was a couple hours--probably only 7,200 seconds I would bet--but he joined his son in a new experience. Tonight he will not be home until bedtime because he took this time this morning, but we will probably wait up for him to spend a good 600 seconds together before we retire for the night. Those 7,800 seconds that my father dedicated solely to his family will be in my memory for more time than it took for him to make the decision. Tomorrow he will spend all day driving to Kirtland, OH to pick up my sister who spent a portion of her summer with my grandparents, which means he will be in the office a lot of Saturday. The hours he is spending to go retrieve my sister and to spend time with her coming home...now, isn't that probably what my Poppy wishes he could do today?
So let's consider how we spend our seconds. Some seconds we owe to the world, to our work, to our health. And that's okay. But the remainder of our seconds are what make the biggest impact. Of our 86,400 seconds, we spend half of them at work or asleep (that's assuming 8 hour work day and 6 hours of sleep--not healthy, but probably accurate). So with our remaining 43,200 seconds, what do we do with our time?
I think today I will spend a couple seconds thanking God for my Poppy's recovery to this point, and mowing the lawn to thank my daddy for caring enough about his family to attend what may have been a crowded, stuffy, and almost intolerable open house. And maybe I'll spend some seconds finding ways to give others a change to take a second and thank me. Cuz a few seconds can really change a person's attitude, and potentially their day. You hold your 86,400 seconds in your hand...how can you affect someone else's?
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