Email Forwarders Be Warned!

My Dad called my Mom today - a CDOT employee may be terminated due to sending around an inappropriate email.  The email was a picture of President Barack Obama shining the shoes of Sarah Palin and the caption said "Looks like he finally found his niche."  There is an investigation that is going on as this email was forwarded at work, using work email, to fellow co-workers.  For more information please check this link. 

This is just a reminder to be mindful of emails you forward, my personal practice is to copy paste and send to my friends in my personal account - saving it as a draft and emailing it later.  Just remember that everything can be traced, and employment is at will.  Hopefully my Dad's former coworker learns her lesson & we all learn our lessons.

Emergency Supplies

It's officially winter & I've been thinking about what 'Emergency Supplies' I need for my car & remembered that I kind of keep the same stash at work. So here's my lists of things to keep in your car & at your office for those moments that you might need them.


Car
Sweat Pants - Sometimes I wear skirts or dresses to work. If I ever get stuck somewhere & it's -40 degrees outside these are key.


Blanket - Because sometimes sweatpants, jackets & boots still won't keep you warm enough.


Socks & Boots - Heels are not the most efficient way to go to &  from work. Most days I wear my Uggs to work & back from work. Some days I forget & thus I keep some winter boots & thick winter socks in my car.


Heavy Winter Jacket - I bought a really nice down jacket from Abercrombie & Fitch last year. It was on clearance (rare for them I know) & I keep it in the trunk of my car. I usually take a jacket to & from work anyways, but if it's super cold & I need to layer this is great.


Flashlight - Just in case your car battery dies & it's dark, you can then see.


Book - Again, if you're stuck for a long time it passes the time. Other great ideas include Sudoku books or Crossword books but remember to pack a pen or pencil!


Contact Solution & Contact Case - Even if I don't bring my glasses with me, if I have to spend a lot of time waiting & my eyes are irritating me it will feel even longer.


Snacks - Couple of granola bars (I replace these often, whenever they have a month left before going bad I put new ones in & take these to work), bag of chips, & a few bottles of water.


Baby Wipes - I keep a few sample baby wipes in my car. I also have Purell with me, however if you need to wipe something off Purell does jack crap for you. This way you don't have to wipe it on your clothes or your car.


Phone Charger - Make sure you keep on in case your phone is about to die.


Ice Scrapper - Seems natural right? Well I'm talking about a spare one. Whenever schools hand them out I grab one or five. I keep them in my car as an emergency & even more important in case someone needs one I can just give them one.


Medicine - I'm not telling you to pack a pharmacy, but it might be a good idea to keep a spare Advil or Tylonel sample or five in your glove box. Being stuck in the cold with no room & no pain meds is never fun.


Gum - How long are you stuck? Do you really want smelly breath when someone comes to help you out? Gross.


Windshield Wiper Fluid - I now carry at least 1.5 bottles of windshield wiper fluid and 0.5 bottles of Anti-freeze. My Dad wishes I would have done this last winter when he was driving.


Gas Gallon - Ever run out of gas? Well I have so I keep the thing you bring to a gas station in my trunk. Hopefully it will never happen again, but it has happened to me. Ironically I was actually on my way to get gas that very second.







Cash - My Mom & Dad always have emergency cash hidden everywhere. In their wallets, in their car, etc. They pretend they don't have it unless they've spent all their cash & they realize they forgot their credit card at home or something. They keep one underneath the visor held in place by the garage door opener. My Mom tucks fives, tens, & twenties in places in her wallet. It's a good practice to get into just in case. I keep a spare ten hidden somewhere in my car. I've emailed myself the location just in case I forget (I have a habbit of placing things and then forgettting where I put them.)


I'm sure nothing on this list comes as a surprise to anyone, they are all relatively simple. However, the workplace offers some interesting situations for which I have prepared this list for.


There have been many times when I was caught unprepared and even surprised at the items I would need. So for any first time employees this might be a good list to take note of.


Snacks - You'd be surprised how often you will get hungry between breakfast & lunch. I keep granola bars at my office if I am running late and need to eat breakfast. Fruit snacks and mini bags of microwaveable popcorn are for my snacks. I even keep an extra thing of soup or two in my cupboard in case I forgot to pack a lunch. We have a freezer in our breakroom & I usually steal the bottom drawer for whenever Lean Pockets or Lean Cuisines are on sale and just stuff them in there. Many coworkers have 'borrowed' one from me & then bought me a meal in return. Well worth the investment!


Contact Solution, contact case & Saline - You'd be surprised how many coworkers have asked me for eye drops, contact solution etc. I always come prepared. Whenever my bottle at home is on the emptier side I bring it to work. There's not a lot left in there but I rarely use enough between bottles so it's the perfect amount. If something gets in my eye I can bring my solution to the bathroom, wash my hands & rinse it off. This has saved my eyes more times than I thought.


Lysol Wipes - Someone in your office is sick. Better start dysinfecting. I dysinfect my entire phone (especially the mouthpiece & the buttons) my keyboard, my mouse, stapler, & any handles that I may touch.


Purell or Alcohol Dysinfectant - My office is a great deal away from the bathroom or kitchen sink. I can't get up and wash my hands every single time I cough or sneeze. This helps minimize my sick days.


Advil/Tylonel - There's a first aid kit with Aspirin in the kitchen that has been there since who knows when. I always like to have some handy in case of headaches, cramps, etc.


Allergy Meds - The dust in an office building is more than you think. Seasonal allergies can have me sneezing a ton. We keep a pack of Claritin 24 & I just take one in the morning when my allergies are bad.


Personal Products - I keep female products in my desk drawer in case I'm caught off guard. I keep perfume, breath mints, bronzer, chapstick, lotion, facial lotion, hairspray, hair ties, bobby pins, etc. in case I'm running late and look like a mess. Can't have clients walking in and looking like a homeless person now can we? My boss even keeps mouthwash & a toothbrush with toothpaste in his drawer.


Car Key - I always keep a spare car key in my desk drawer. We can lock our drawers so I know it's kept safely. Just in case I lock myself out my boss can drive my key over to me if need be. It's funny that I haven't had to use it yet, I think that's because I have it, if I didn't I would undoubtedly have a problem.


Heels - I keep a set of black heels at work. If I am going to wear a different color I bring them with, otherwise I can just wear flip flops, ballerina flats or Uggs back to my place. Having to walk to find my car on street parking is not as quick when in heels. To assure I won't forget them I just leave them here.


Stockings & Trouser Socks - I leave a new pair of each here in case I get a run in my stockings or forgot trouser socks when I am coming to work.


Tide To Go Stick - This is a great help for getting some stains out, other stains I wouldn't recommend it on.


So here's my list of things you may need. I hope it helps someone in some way. Besides, you never know when that cute coworker might invite you out for Happy Hour and you have no time between work & HH to freshen up.

The Art of Social Media

It's a delicate line between being out there & available in social media and being OUT THERE in social media. In age where we can access conversations between friends (Facebook), pictures of the President in intimate meetings (Flickr), and just about every schmuck has a blog, a twitter, and a facebook profile, where is the line drawn between respectable and harmful to one's professional and personal reputation?




As we should have learned from Watergate scandal one should never keep or allow anyone to record or keep any 'evidence' of information they would not want aired out in front of others. We've all learned this lesson, yet we continue to allow others to obtain our dirty laundry. Take Josh Duhamel for example. He supposedly had an affair with another woman, he denies it. However, the woman has text messages to prove their relations, dirty text messages, known to those hip cool people as sexting. There's no faking those messages, because even if he never sent them and she planted them in there, what was she doing with his phone?? How about Tiger Woods? He is up a foul smelling creek without a paddle. His biggest mistake was probably leaving evidence via voicemail. Speculation is hard to prove, but leaving evidence that you know will get turned over to the papparazzi, that's asking for trouble.


Here are some words of wisdom from my Father regarding Twitter, Facebook, & Blogs:
- NEVER complain about work. Current employers can find it, future employers can find it. It makes you seem difficult to work with, and in this economy it makes you seem ungrateful.
- Everything can be cached, just because you delete it doesn't mean it's gone.
- Public access to your Twitter and Blog mean your Grandma or your employer could be reading.
- Private access isn't really private, employers can ask for access and are given it, my father has done it when researching candidates for job positions.
- Delete any picture of you holding a beer bottle, red solo cup, or looking intoxicated, privacy means nothing. I now make it a common practice to ask everyone in the picture to put down their drink. Even if we're at a restaurant (not a rager) I find it inappropriate to put up pictures in my office if there is alcohol present.

A friend once told me, when it comes to social media and casual hook ups "don't discuss anything heavy." If you do discuss such topics tread lightly. While freedom of speech still exists today, most employment is at will. Meaning they can terminate you at any point for any reason. Discussing the health care bill? I like to do so all the time. However, bashing of any side is unnecessary. Encouraging others to read articles you find - approved. I highly encourage you to read the opposing sides articles as well, if they suggest it, you should know it.

In essence, save your deepest, most personal thoughts for those that have earned your trust and respect. Or, follow in the steps of President Barack Obama or Senator John McCain when it comes to social media. Both politicians 'tweet' if you will, but they discuss politics, send well-wishes and refrain from most personal things. Although, Senator McCain did let us know he recently purchased an iPhone. However, I'd hardly say that poses a political problem for him in the future by releasing that information. All in all just make sure if your Grandma reads it, she won't have a heartattack from your posts. Keep it clean, keep it smart. Happy blogging, tweeting, & facebooking.

Culver's For A Cause

Tonight, Tuesday, March 24, 2009 the Culver's off of highway 94 and Ruth Street (right by the first Sonic in MN) is giving Merck 10% of all proceeds between the hours of 5-7 pm. Merrick Community Services is a non-profit agency which helps people develop skills to obtain and retain jobs. If you are unable to attend but would like to help this non-profit out in other ways, they are looking to collect any business professional clothing you are not wearing.

Leave a comment for further information on the donation. Remember, they need suiting and interview appropriate clothing for all shapes and sizes and for both genders. If it's just sitting in your closet anyways.....

Technologically Advanced?

Yesterday Brian's bookkeeper came in to do expenses and what not on my computer. Which meant I lost my computer for about two and a half hours. I dread being away from my email, my ability to look things up for clients, and of course, my blog and gmail. The two and a half hours went by quicker than the entire rest of the day. I took a stack of paperwork I had been slightly putting off and went to town, resolved issues with other companies (who had previously been avoiding my phone calls) and contacted several clients for meetings. While it seems trivial I think back to the days of sophomore year at UST.

My sophomore year I put my subwoofer behind my monitor. It started to have these green stripes across it and look funny and then one day, kaput. Gateway informed me that I was the dumb*** who stuck a subwoofer behind the monitor so no it was not covered under my warranty. Crap! What was I going to do without a monitor? Well, let me tell you what I did. First, I did my homeworkk out in the hall and went to the library to do essays. And my grades were the highest they have ever been in college, 3.8 (although to be honest I only got the one B+ because I was writing a paper dellusional due to the flu and lack of sleep.) Second, I brought my monitor home in my suitcase, somehow they let me carry it on the plane, and then had a friend look at it. My parents gave me their screen and purchased a new one for themselves. I proceeded to carry my monitor on the plane again and was set. And ever since then my grades were not 3.8's. They were good and I can't complain. However, this has led me to wonder, what's so advanced about computers?

I get that they can find things at lightning fast speed, making searching for things easy, and are all around fun. However, in my experience it seems that certain individuals (i.e. me) are less productive when I have a computer at my disposal. I can find a billion things to do other than my school work. It was so easy to procrastinate. And then I would stress out about not having enough time to do anything when in reality I had wasted so much time on the computer it was sickening.

So my question is, do you think computers have helped us more or hurt us more? People send emails instead of snail mail, video chat and online date instead of meeting people in person, etc. Have they hurt personal relationships or strengthened them? Have they helped increase productivity or decrease by causing distractions?

Trainwreck

Yesterday I met a woman who seemed to be a trainwreck. I met her at a company meeting, and she was a prospective rep, looking at joining our company. When I first met her I thought she was weird, but I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

First she started telling us about her divorce, her children, and her job search. Things were going smoothly. I left and talked to a few other people and came back to hear her describe her sexual escapades. This mother of three was sleeping with one guy, becoming exclusive with another guy, and online dating a third guy. This is not why I feel she was a trainwreck, what she wants to do in the privacy of her home is none of my business. However, her attending this meeting was part of the interview process. Every word, every mannerism is seen by the recruiters, the company, and most importantly the boss.

Now I would never tell my bosses what I've done with any guy on a date. I would probably not even tell them that I had a date. But here she was blabbing about hooking up with this guy the day after she had become exclusive with this other guy. And our head boss was walking around and talking to people within earshot. How do you tell a woman, much older than yourself, that her stories are completely inappropriate for an interview?

My friend and I were discussing common sense, and it seems like these days people don't have any. There are things about life that seem so cut and dry to most of us, that apparently are not to everyone. Everyone I am friends with knows it's inappropriate to be referring to men as booty calls and describing the sex on an interview. And my friends are in their twenties, not their late thirties. Oy.