Work at home means not working?

Why is it that so many people think that if you’re working at home that you’re not really working. It really does seem to be a very common thought.

My first encounter was when I was working in corporate America but was working from home b/c of some health issues. Perhaps that comment was meant as a joke as it came from a co-worker who also worked at home. She mentioned something about working from home and then added the “wink wink, nudge nudge” to the end of her sentence. It may have been her own frustration b/c she had encountered the same resistance and resentment from management and co-workers.

Just over three years ago, I left corporate America and went into business for myself. I’ve been doing it from my house. No reason to find me an office for one person. At first it was my dad who thought I wasn’t working. I could kind of accept it. He was older and didn’t quite ‘get’ the concept of making a living out of my house with a computer.

But recently, I’ve had several encounters that told me that a lot of people don’t think of me as working. First there was the friend who thought I was retired. (Yes, I took early retirement, but I never really said I was retiring.) Then another friend thought that my web site business was more of a hobby than a business. And just last week, I was talking to a friend that is a school teacher. She mentioned that she would be out of school starting next week and suggested we could get together and go here and there. And she ended with “I won’t be working.” And I replied, “Well I am.” Her reply was that I was, but not really. I think she meant that I could set my own hours. But it sounded more like she thought I didn’t really work. Don’t tell that to the guy who just hired me to build his web site.

Do you know someone who works from home?

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Are You a Cyber Crime Victim?

I just read this article from BBC called “What makes a cyber criminal?” Cyber crime is seriously on the rise. While it may seem there’s little you can do about, the article actually hints at things you can do.

This is what one Brazilian cyber criminal had to say: “I buy small things - mobile phones, cameras - so that people don’t even know I’ve been using their credit cards.”

The article also says:

Fabio works on the rational principle that only a minority of credit card holders check their statements carefully.

Even if they did, they might think twice before reporting a minor theft to the police. And he also knows it is highly unlikely that the police will have the resources to pursue him.

I happen to be in that minority. When I get bank statements, I check every entry against what I know I have spent. Nothing gets past me. I even refuse to download information from my bank to Quicken because it would make it too easy for me to miss something.

It really surprised me to learn that other people do not do this. I’m married to one. He insists he can track it in his head. Maybe, I know I couldn’t. And, I once had a co-worker who would go online to her bank to know how much money she had. Never once did she track what she actually spent - either through checks or debit cards. Just what cleared the bank. To me, that is living dangerously.

I get really anxious if I don’t get a receipt, too. I keep track of all those pieces of paper. That’s why it irritates me to see the bank card commercials where they want everyone to just swipe their card. No signature, no receipt. I totally disagree with that. As I also disagree with the no signature for charges under $25. Some petty criminal could steal a card and run up a lot of charges, keeping just under the $25 limit.

What about you? Do you track your expenses? Would you notice an extra $25 charge on your account? How about $50? Would you report it?

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Back to High School

Recently, I had an opportunity to tour the Engineering & Technologies Academy (ETA) at my former high school - Theodore Roosevelt High School in San Antonio, Texas (TR). The occasion was a tour that the Academy’s director, Bill Sturgis, offered to the TR Brunch Bunch.

The TR Brunch Bunch is actually an organization of former teachers from TR. I never taught at TR, I was a student. But a couple of years back, the TR Brunch Bunch extended an invitation to the members of TRx to join them. TRx is made up of TR alumni, faculty (present and former) and friends, community leaders, parents and so on. Basically anyone interested in supporting and giving back to TR.

TR is currently under mega-construction - it is basically being rebuilt. ETA recently moved into their new home in Sabre Hall. I was told that it was in the general vicinity of the old “A Wing”. I vaguely recalled the A Wing, it had been a while. But, we were greeted in the parking lot by helpful ETA students who directed us to our destination.

ETA has a number of programs in areas such as Geographical Information Systems, Information Technology Applications, Tech World Manufacturing, Bio-Engineering and Bio-Technology. In our tour we learned that students completing the program are far ahead of other students entering college. ETA provides a solid foundation for students interested in engineering or technology.

Mr. Sturgis told us that some of his students actually work on computers within the school district. And that there is follow up to determine how the service was. Not only are they learning technology, but also customer service.

I was in awe of all that ETA had to offer. It was incredible the number of computers I saw. Some of which students were actually building. When I was at TR, there was a six-week period my senior year when we had a single terminal that connected to Trinity University’s computer. As far as I knew, that was the only computer on campus. If only I could have known how the world would change, I would have paid more attention to that computer.

It was a revelation to me that there were programs like this available for high school students. And it was encouraging to see such a caring faculty. The TR Brunch Bunch had taken up a collection and present Mr. Sturgis with a $500 check to be used for the ETA programs. It took Mr. Sturgis a moment to compose himself after receiving that check. It was an indication of his level of caring.

Lunch was at the Rough Rider Inn. That’s something else that wasn’t there in 1972. The Rough Rider Inn is run by Pat Porter. They have a kitchen that is very much state-of-the-art. The food was delicious and the service was wonderful. Except for Pat Porter, the rest of the restaurant ’staff’ were all students. It was clear that they were being trained in all aspects of a restaurant, not just the cooking. The food was delicious and the service was excellent.

During lunch, someone actually asked me why I had come on the tour. I suppose a student from 36 years ago seemed strange. All the former teachers had spent many more years there than the 4 years I attended. I guess he couldn’t understand why I would want to come back. I suppose it is because I have a lot of memories of that place. Some because of friends. But a lot because of what I learned.

I realized that there are 2 types of teachers that you remember. The really bad, and the really good. And of my 4 years at TR I have many more good teachers than bad that I remember. And I have good memories because of that. Much of what I’ve done since then was influenced by my years at TR.

After lunch, we went to the brand-new, still-smells-strongly-of-paint auditorium. From there they were heading to the English Department and such. I departed after the auditorium. As I was walking to my car I realized the song that had been running through my head since I got there. It was our Alma Mater:

Hail to thee, Roosevelt High,
Hail to the Red, White and the Blue.
Hail to these hallowed halls,
Alma Mater true….

It was both a nostalgic trip back in time as wells as a visit to a brand new world. Those hallowed halls still had an effect on me, even if nearly all of the halls were different than the ones I walked for four years.

So, Salute to you, TR High School - Students, Faculty & Staff. And a big salute to Bill Sturgis and Pat Porter. Bully for you!

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The Last Lecture

It’s common for professors to give talks titled “The Last Lecture”. A lecture that they give as if it were their last. To ponder their demise and talk about what they feel matters most. But for Randy Pausch, a Computer Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he didn’t have to imagine the end of his life. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly, Randy’s days are quite numbered.

On September 18, 2007, Randy Pausch delivered that lecture. And now it can be watched online, downloaded. And now there’s a book:

I heard about “The Last Lecture” from my sister, who had seen a piece on TV. I watched the first 30 minutes of the video (when I should have been working) and was mesmerized. I went to Randy’s web site to find the video. But, it’s on YouTube and available for download as well. I also watched his video on Time Management, also available from his web site.

The book has proven a bit hard to find. When I first asked at our local bookstore, they had none and had a long list of people wanting a copy. My first check at Amazon said they expected it to be in stock in early May. Friday I was at another bookstore asking about something else when I spyed a copy. And grabbed it. A few minutes later, I heard someone else asking about it. But I had grabbed the last one. I had one on order at the first store, but had no idea when that one would come in. Turns out, it came in yesterday so there’s hope if you’re looking for it. I let them know that they could sell the copy I reserved.

I suspect the printer is now working overtime as this book that was released on April 8 is already a Number 1 Bestseller!

Go ahead - take a peek at the video. It’s amazing the vitality this man, who knows he is dying, has! We could all learn from him!

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
–Randy Pausch

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How Does Stress Affect You?

Do you know the signs that you’re over-stressed? We don’t always feel stressed even when we are. It requires some thought about how you react at times to realize the impact of stress.

Starting in the Fall of 1999, my body started a particularly strange stress reaction. It started as tiny little bumps that looked like blisters. Only on the palm of my right hand. They were very small, no more than about 1/16th of an inch in diameter. But there would be more and more of them. When there got to be a lot of them, they sort of merged into one large sore. It got so bad that I could barely use the hand to grasp anything. There were so many things that I couldn’t do.

I saw a couple of doctors about it. The first one had no real answer for it, but gave me a cream that had only a marginal effect. The second doctor diagnosed it as a “menopause-related” rash. That was sad, his nurse saw me first to get my history, reported to him, and he had his diagnosis BEFORE he ever saw me. I really wish I had walked out on him. I think 30 years ago he probably would have prescribed Valium.

That rash started at the same time that my husband decided to take early retirement and become a contractor. It continued for a while as I changed jobs, we sold 2 houses, we bought a house and moved from Houston to San Antonio. I’m not 100% sure when it went away. It lasted at least a year and then just faded. At its worst, it was miserable, but it did get me out of doing dishes for quite a while.

Well, last Fall it came back, sort of. It started after my father fell and broke his hip. An injury he ultimately didn’t recover from. And being his executor, I had a lot on my plate. This time it is different. It starts on the little finger of my left hand. More on the side where the skin isn’t quite so tough. In bright light you can see the blisters, but mostly it starts by turning red and hurting. I looks and feels like a burn. It spreads down that finger and up my ring finger. When it’s at its worst, I can’t even wear my wedding ring. Eventually it stops hurting and then a week or so later it peels. And the cycle repeats. It had stopped for awhile, but came back recently as we were preparing for the military service at Fort Sam Houston.

I haven’t been to a doctor about it this time. I’m not sure they would have any better answers. It’s much more tolerable where it is now, though I wish it would just go away. I even gave it a name - I call it a strash. That’s short for stress rash.

Another way that stress affects me is that I can become immobilized. I can sit at my desk w/ a million things to do and can’t even decide what to work on. If this is due to too many things to do, it usually helps if I prioritize things. Some things turn out to be not as important as I first thought. I’ve also found that having a “To Do” list helps. But other times, I become immobilized because of other stress factors. At those times, I just have to work through it, somehow. Ironically, even realizing that it is stress that has me immobilized can help to relieve it.

Not everyone recognizes stress though. When I lived in Houston, I worked downtown. I worked with a woman who drove over 20 miles one way to work each day. If you know anything about Houston, you probably know that the traffic is horrible. Freeways or surface streets, it doesn’t matter. The HOV lanes help, but you have to have a passenger. She didn’t. She drove it alone. And she always insisted that it caused her no stress. Then she would also talk about how she was always so tired, how she would generally go to bed at 8:00 pm. But she never put the tiredness and the driving together.

I have a dear friend who has MS. She has never let it slow her down, although there may be times when she should. She’ll tell me that she doesn’t feel stressed with all her activities. But, whenever she gets very, very busy, her MS nearly always flares up.

Our signs of stress can be telling us different things. It might be telling us we have too much on our plate, or that the stress of our activity is wearing us out. Perhaps we need to slow down, or it could be that we need to find a healthy outlet for our stress. What is that outlet? Only you can answer for yourself. It might be taking a break, talking about what’s on your mind, slowing down, getting more exercise. Whatever it is, you need to listen to your stress.

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What’s Next?

A Self Serve Shredder - Close inspection tells us you get two minutes for $1.00. I wonder how many minutes it would take before you could just buy a shredder? We have enough to shred to justify the expense of an actual shredder.

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On My Reading List

After reading MamaGrizzly’s 2008 Reading List, I was inspired to post my own list.

And, it is quite a varied list. I’ve always had at least one book that I was reading. I read for many reasons. Used to be, I read almost exclusively for entertainment. It helps me relax. Puts something between the real world and dream land at night. Helps with boredom while waiting. I don’t wait well, but if I have a good book, I can wait for quite a while. Now I also read as part of my work. I’m pretty much self taught in web design. A lot of that reading occurs each morning while riding my stationary bicycle. Without books, riding that bike would seem too much like waiting. Here’s my list:

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson - Found it at my dad’s house and am currently reading it.

The Art of War for Women by Chin-Ning Chu - It’s not really about war at all. The subtitle explains: “Sun Tzu’s Ancient Strategies and Wisdom for Winning at Work.” This is another book I’m currently reading. I anticipate two readings on this one.

The Search Engine Marketing Kit By Dan Thies - This is a book that will actually require a good bit of work to make it worthwhile. I was working on this book last fall, but unfortunately it was pre-empted by this one: The Executor’s Guide - Settling a Loved One’s Estate or Trust by Mary Randolph. I’ve finished reading that one, so I can more on to Search Engines.

Lyrics by Sting - This is more like reading poetry. I like what I’ve read so far b/c I’m always asking what people were really thinking when they wrote a song.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - Years ago, someone I knew told me that these books weren’t for me. He implied that they were too deep for me. That is reason enough for me to want to read them. Recently, I found a volume with all of the books - at a really decent price. Oh, and by the way, that guy really didn’t know me very well at all.

Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 by Scott Kelby - This one requires reading and work. You can’t just read this book by itself.

Adobe Camera Raw For Digital Photographers Only by Rob Sheppard - Another book that will require work.

Pillars of the Earth and World Without End - both by Ken Follett. World Without End (2007) is the sequel to Pillars of the Earth (1989). This will be rough as it’s a commitment to 2,000 pages! Will probably take me forever. (My hubby is reading the first one now and is nearly finished. He’s a fast reader and can abandon pretty near everything when he’s reading a book!)

Homes That Heal ( and Those That Don’t ) by Athena Thompson - This is the only one on my list that I don’t own. I’m still kind of debating it.

And here’s a couple I’m considering, after perusing them in the local book store:

Purple Cow by Seth Godin

What the Customer Wants You To Know by Ram Charan

That isn’t actually all of my list, just the top books.

So many books, so little time…

What’s on your list?

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How Are Your Resolutions?

I’ve only kept one New Years Resolution in my life. I don’t recall how long it has been, but I made one that said I would no longer make resolutions. And I haven’t. And I’m none the worse for it.

It’s not that I don’t have goals or work to improve. I just don’t tie them to the calendar. I don’t have to wait for January 1st to start working on them.

Which probably explains why I had trouble with New Years Resolutions. If I already had things I’m working on, then having to come up with more for January 1st was just too much.

What about you? Do you do New Years Resolutions?

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Happy New Year!

Here’s a couple of pictures of a truck we saw in a nearby parking lot. No, it wasn’t on New Year’s Eve, it was last Saturday night. Probably just a truck owner showing off. Still, it looked kind of funny and gave me a chance to test the night time, no flash limits of the camera in the iPhone that Santa brought me this year! (Yay for Santa!)

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Adios 2007!

There are years. Then there are years.

There are hard things to do in life. Then there are hard things that try you to your very soul.

There are things you have to do where you say “That was rough!” Then there are things you have to do where you say “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do!”

The really hard years *are* when you say that.

I’ve said exactly that since 2001 about quitting smoking. But, 2007 made quitting smoking look like a cake walk.

Adios 2007! You won’t be missed.

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