Thank you!

Thanks, fellow Kaplan students, for sharing in creating this fun little digital piece of me. I have had so much fun interacting with each and every one of you. 

Thank you also, Professor Pape, for allowing me creative freedom; for not restricting me to a particular topic or type of post. And, of course, for giving me a fresh start after I failed out of your class last semester! ((blushing))

I also want to thank all of you, my selected friends and family, that I've chosen to be my human guinea pigs - asking for feedback, ideas, and sharing this gift of a terrible last year! LOL. 

This is my parting gift to you - have fun! No matter what life throws at you - be willing to laugh it off. 

There were many days last year when I wanted to go sit in a dark corner and melt into the floor, but with the help of some very good friends and a (largely) positive attitude....I chose to laugh and smile through my tears. 

Hope you stick around and become followers, because this party's just gettin' started! WOOT WOOT!

Ciao - for now!

Vicki

Basic Jewelrymaking

*Basic* Beaded Bracelet

Hi everyone. This is Vicki Busseno. I am going to bring you Basic Beaded Jewelry Design.

These are some of the pieces that I bought at Michael’s. Ah, not all of these items I bought at Michael’s, but these are the basic supplies that we’ll be using today.

These little silver things right here, those are called crimp beads and you just squash them together at the end to your bracelet or your necklace. In this case, it’s a bracelet.

This little piece right here is called a soldered ring. This is gonna be the end that your lobster clasp goes through. And these right here are what I’m talking about when I say lobster clasps.

This is the wire we’re going to be using. It’s called Accu-Flex. Ah, it is a little bit more expensive. The stuff that you’re going to wanna use when you first start is called Tiger Tail. It is a lot less expensive and you’re going to go through a lot of it.

These are your beads and they are temporarily strung on what’s called a hank. A hank is the cheap plastic cord that they put the beads on. In this case, you can see that it’s actually two strands.

So here I’ve taken all of the beads off of the hanks and they’re just individual beads right now.

These particular beads are called hematite and hematite is iron oxide. It’s called hematite ‘cause hema means blood and when it comes out of the earth, like all iron, it’s this rusty red color. It’s only when they polish it that you get this beautiful silver-black color.

These little beads right here that I’m just pushing around, the little rounds, are silverplated rounds. When you start that’s what you’re going to want to use. If you continue it, as you get better, you’re probably going to want to use real semi-precious stones, like the hematite – and sterling silver.

These beads right here are called Austrian Crystal. If you watch Dancing with the Stars, a lot of the times, the gowns have Swarovski crystals hanging on them – that’s what these beads are – only they’re a much smaller version.

So let’s get started!

Okay, so here I’ve laid out my pattern. Ah, on the bead board, it gives you dimensions. So we can see that this pattern is approximately 8 inches, if I move my fingers out of the way. There we go. I am a heavier girl so I need an 8 inch bracelet. Most women are a 7 ½; smaller women can be 7 to 6 ½ inches. Now I’m just going to run the string through it and we’ll see the final result.

Okay, this is to show you what it’s going to look like before we crimp it. See if I can’t get that close to the camera. I just strung the lobster clasp with a crimp bead right here and the cord is kinda running through it and now we’re just gonna crimp it.

Okay, so now it’s all crimped – it’s kinda squashed looking.

So here’s our finished bracelet – all done – looks gorgeous! You can wear that with green or blue or black. It’s kind of an all-purpose bracelet. So I’m just going to put it on so I can model it for you. There it is. There’s our clasp. All done! And that was….really very simple.

That concludes my podcast. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed showing you. Ah….thank you very much. Have a good day. 

Third Temp Position

After the email debacle at the furniture showroom, I begged Jason to find me work.....*any* work. What I discovered about this specific temp agency was that once you had 1,000 hours, vacation and sick time began accruing for you. So....the temp agency wasn't too eager to find me work....there were newer people they could hire to whom they wouldn't have to pay benefits to.

Having figured out why Jason was no longer taking my calls, I began applying at the other temp agencies in town - Kelly and TempForce. TempForce was the first to call me back, so I went to interview with Lou, their top employment specialist. I laid it all on the line - the job that ended in April, the struggle to find work, and lastly, the email scandal at the previous temporary position. Lou told me she appreciated my honesty - it made her job soooo much easier. I immediately liked her - she didn't play games, act coy about open positions, or play favorites - I found her to be the one person who really told me "like it is" in the temporary job world.

Up to this point, I had survived largely on the overabundance of food I stored. I own a standalone freezer, which I used to store meat and frozen veggies that I had bought from Sam's Club. I would routinely buy large quantities of ground beef, turkey, cheeses, and lunchmeat, separate them neatly into smaller servings in freezer bags, then put them in my freezer. It was a habit that served me well in those lean days, a habit I acquired from my Depression-era grandmother. Her cabinets were always overflowing with canned food and her two freezers always had frozen meat, leftover meals, and the fixings for a feast. So I was able to make good meals from my pantry, going through and finally eating the stuff on the bottom of the freezer - the stuff that's so frozen, you wonder what in the heck it is! After a time, my income became so limited that I could no longer afford to restock my supply, so my pantry thinned greatly. 

Desperate, I went to a church food bank for help. Once there, I was asked to fill out forms stating that I needed the help, after which I was interviewed and once again asked as to why I needed the food. They gave me meals for 2 days and told that I'd have to wait a month to come back for more food. And do you know what food I got? A jar of peanut butter, 1 packet of oatmeal, 1 can of turkey, 1 can of corn, and 1 bottled water - I kid you not! That food was supposed to last me 2 whole days!!! If nothing else, this experience has taught me to be less judgmental of those in need - it is not as easy to scratch and crawl out of financial troubles as we are led to believe.

After 3 weeks of no calls from Jason and 2 weeks of no calls from Lou, I called Lou tearfully and told her that I was so broke that I had gone to a local food bank. When Lou heard that, she really sprung into action. That afternoon, she called back and said she had a position at the county shelter and asked if I was interested. *Yes!* I would be interested!! Then she told me how little the job paid....it was a full $6.50/hour less than my last temp position. I thought about it like a millisecond then said that I didn't care -  I still needed a job, so yes I would take it because I had to have income. And that, folks, was one of the best decisions I made last year because I met 2 totally wonderful kind, caring individuals who became pivotal in my survival...Kathi and Janet.

When I said that I was lucky enough to find 4 people who were willing to help someone down on their luck - well, 2013 was my jackpot. Here's how that list shook out: Janice was first, followed by Lou, Kathi, and last, but by no means least, Janet. Those wonderful women refused to let me give in to my anger, tears, or mounting depression, and indeed, set in motion the *fortunate* series of events that led to my current permanent position earning a higher rate of pay than when I lost my job in April 2013.

Bottom Line: You really *can* teach an old horse new tricks. 

In a Pinch, Some of the Best Things in Life are Free...

I remember as a kid, going to the library weekly, and reading Nancy Drew, later The Hardy Boys, and the last series I remember reading was Tolkien's The Hobbit. I took it as a personal challenge to read as many books as I could in a week - even if that meant I had to read with my flashlight under the covers. LOL

With last year being such a challenge, I had to find ways to be creatively frugal with my money. Since I had no internet, I had to find other ways to get online. And in the process, I rediscovered my public library. I had gotten a library card, way back when (20 years ago) when I moved to Florida, so of course, I had to update my records. 

I found myself pleasantly surprised at the amenities offered at my local library. Of course, they offered free wi-fi, which was nice for my smartphone and therefore, my wallet. They also offered desktop computers with access to printing (you did have to pay for that, but the fees were completely nominal). I knew that most libraries had them, but this was my first chance to use one. They weren't brand new computers, by any stretch, but they were decent, virus-free, and, the best part, free for use. The number of computers offered surprised me, too. It wasn't just 10 or so, there were 35. You checked out a computer for an hour and could use the Internet or any of the Office applications loaded on it. There was a timing application that showed how long you had before your hour was up and if you got close and needed more time, you could, from the desktop, log it out for another hour. After two hours, you had to give up your seat, but you could just go back and sign up for another computer at that time and wait until one freed up. It was a pretty decent system.

And for entertainment, the library now offered CDs and  DVDs for rental. The music and movies weren't brand new, but they did present a multitude of titles to choose from. Not just classical music and classic movies (think Marlon Brando), but a real plethora of options - and, you got to rent them out for 3 weeks! It wasn't Amazon or RedBox, but it didn't claim to be - and the best part was - *it was all free.* 

I rediscovered my love of reading by borrowing a few novels a week. I also found that I enjoyed reading with some soft music on, so I did rent some of those classical CDs. And movies - well, I partook of some really-out-there titles and just had fun with it. 

That's not to say it was an ideal situation - it wasn't. I am not in a major metropolitan area, so my library's hours were limited. Since I am an online student, I missed an entire semester of classes because the library closed at 8:30 pm (and my classes started at 8 and ran until 10 pm). A few times, I did go to a Starbucks, buy a bottle of water, sit outside, and partake of their free wi-fi by using my earbuds and my laptop. But that was 1) cold, it was wintertime and 2) problematic, because sometimes loud people sat by me and I had difficulty hearing my professor. 

The moral of the story is.....if you are down on your luck and need access to a computer, a CD, a DVD, or a printer -- visit your local library. And be sure to let 'em know who sent ya'! 

Above image and quote from:

     Hughes, John. (Director). 1986. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. (Motion Picture). (Available from Paramount Pictures. 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90038).

What You Absolutely Must Have, What You Can Totally Live Without, What Got Me Through, and What I Learned About the World

Are we there yet?

The following lists are some hard-won lessons. Feel free to comment. ; )

What you absolutely must have

Blood pressure medication

Food in your fridge/cabinets

Current cable bill (internet)

Current power bill

Current car payment

Current car insurance payments timely made

Dishwashing / laundry detergent

Dog food and treats; cat food and cat litter

What you can totally live without

Acryllic nails

Regular Haircuts

New clothes, shoes, jewelry

Netflix

Movie channels (on cable)

A contract cell plan

Really nice smartphone

Doctor visits

Health insurance

What got me through

Blunt honesty

Complete lack of options – financial or otherwise

Old friends listening nonjudgmentally

New friends offering suggestions

Good co-workers

Being willing, open, and able to process/absorb new ideas

The public library

Pawning items I didn’t use every day (TV, digital camera, old cell phones, and silver jewelry)

What I learned about “the world”

You might as well go into it with a good attitude because at least you’ll have somewhere to go.

You are going to hear “no” exponentially many more times than you will ever hear “yes”

Most people really want to help someone who is down on their luck; I was lucky enough to find 4

*Everything* costs money; when you have none, it is a brutal realization

Public assistance is not designed for short-term use

If you remain the squeaky wheel, you will eventually be oiled. It will not be quick, fast, or painless….but it will happen.

The Backstory

After I unexpectedly lost my job – though, truth be told, I had been unhappy with the unfolding drama with my supervisor for at least a year (probably closer to a year and a half)….I was hurt, embarrassed, angry, and….sad.

The other stuff I could wrap my brain around pretty quickly, but the sadness surprised me. What was it, specifically, that made me sad? I think that I can say with some confidence it was that my supervisor, who had been past parts motivator, friend, goader, ambassador…..had given up on working through the issues that had come up of late. That is not to say that I wasn’t at least half responsible for it, also – because I was equal parts troublemaker, prodder, passive-aggressive jabber, and concerned friend.

The next day, I got up early (those of you who don’t know me, that means before noon) went online immediately and started signing up for job sites. It became apparent pretty quickly that I was going to have to write down emails/usernames/passwords. Rifling through my top desk drawer I found 3 x 5 lined notecards – remember those from school, anyone? – and wrote down the site name, username, and password. I’m looking at my cards now – why, I must have 35 of them! Just a smattering….Shands, EmployFlorida, Taleo, HCA, Job Diagnosis, People First, LinkedIn…..

I went into Word and printed my resume. Printed it; read it. Tore it up. Started over again. Rewrote entire job descriptions. Started over again. After 4 hours of this, I was finally satisfied. I began posting said resume to all those websites.

I was diligent about my job search; I logged on and searched every day, still feeling hopeful. 

After a week, I began to wonder why it was taking so long. Geez, couldn’t these people see I was well-qualified for the position?!

By two weeks, I had torn off all my acrylic nails and bitten my real nails down to the quick.

Finally, after 3 grueling endless weeks of unemployment, I had a bite. An employment agency in town had seen my LinkedIn profile and wanted to interview me. At first, I was suspicious. Who were these people? Did people really scour that free site where you could post an online resume? Was this for real?

So….I did a little checking. I checked them out online before I responded to the call. They were a reputable business, I found from an ordinary Google search. As I found the owner’s names, I googled them also and found testimony from former employees and clients.

Once I realized it was a legitimate business, I called back, set up the interview, and mentally got myself ready for the interview. I pulled out my business suit – the one I’d worn to the last interview I’d been on – my former employer. I stood in front of my bedroom mirror and rehearsed what I was going to say to all the hard questions. Part of me felt silly; part of me was excited and the rest was just plain nervous.

All my preparation paid off; the interview was a breeze. That is not to say that they didn’t ask hard questions – they did – but I knew how I was going to answer them, so it was easy in that respect. When I walked out the door, I knew I had the job. I just knew it.

Sure enough, an hour later, I got the call that they were going to send me on an interview with their client. I felt as if my aspirations had been realized; this whole nightmare was going to end.

I went to the interview the next day and met with Stephanie, a young woman whom I immediately felt at ease with. She seemed very down-to-earth, unpretentious, and spunky. I liked her. And she liked me, I could tell. There was just one more thing I had to do…..there was a test for me to take. She gave me the test and left me in the conference room. It was a nice conference room; the furniture was new, comfortable, and very ergonomic. After a time, she came back with a man, David. He was the owner of this company, a very funny, friendly, Southern gentleman. I liked him, too. He was hard to read, though; I couldn’t tell what he thought of me. I passed the test, they both told me with a smile. Then it was mostly jokes and filler conversation.

As I walked out the door, I called the employment agency and asked to speak to Jason, the person I had interviewed with. He was on another call, so I left a voicemail saying that I thought I had the job. Immediately, he called back. Yes, I had the job. Yes, they wanted me to start right away.

My first temp position was for a furniture showroom. I was the “sales administrator,” an administrative assistant who supported two full-time sales people, Mike and Buffy. When I say supported, they would bring me orders and I would input them into the [proprietary] software and price it for them. Said pricing depended upon whether the client was governmental or private-sector, what current campaigns were running, and a number of other equally-important factors. All this is to say that it was not, by any means, cut and dry.

Stephanie, my boss, had been with the company 6 years; my other co-worker, Cyndy, had been there 9 years. When you come into a job where there are “long-timers,” you expect some flexibility. 

This leads us into the last post..... (The Good The Bad and The Really Ugly)....

The good, the bad, and the really ugly

At my first temp position, I met Janice. Janice worked in our Ocala office, so we communicated through email. She wrote funny emails and was a hoot. I liked her. We began emailing each other jokes and funnies daily.

In the meantime, I was busy fielding phone calls and trying to learn the ins and outs of selling furniture. Oh, and trying to keep up with my incredibly busy – hardly ever in the office – sales people, Mike and Buffy.

One of the many times I was left to “fend for myself” – literally, the lone admin answering phones and entering orders – I emailed Janice a question. She responded right away, answering my question quickly and in an in-depth way, so I understood why. It was great – my boss, Stephanie, usually just told me how to make the software work – I never really got the why part of my question answered. So I started asking Janice the “whys” more often. I began to get to know Mike and Buffy’s routines and started to feel a bit more comfortable.

Mind you, I was still regularly being left alone. If Stephanie wasn’t there, I couldn’t ask Cyndy, my other coworker. She would never take the time to answer a question for me, no matter how simple it was. Her response? It wasn’t her job – I heard, quite a few times. So I either tried to figure it out on my own, asked my sales people (when they were in), or emailed Janice. Janice became my rock: she was always there, she was patient with me, and she always had an answer.

This job was temp-to-perm after 90 days. At 60 days, I felt I was going to be hired. Stephanie seemed happy with my work, if a bit preoccupied. I chalked it up to being a mom – she had 2 kids – a girl and boy – and *always* seemed to be taking them somewhere. Cyndy had an ADD/HD son who frequently acted out which, being a single parent, forced her to take off work to go get him.

At some point, Janice mentioned that she had noticed how often I was alone, manning the phones. Where was Stephanie? Cyndy? It became something that Janice and I bonded over – her salesman frequently was out of the office, leaving her alone in the Ocala showroom for long stretches of time. She would joke with me – “What, no Stephanie? Cyndy’s out *again*?”

Something had changed in the office – Stephanie was now visibly cooler with me. I would come back from the bathroom to find Stephanie and Cyndy whispering, only to stop when they saw me. It was like high school all over again.

At day 75, I made a comment to Stephanie about how close I was getting to permanent status. The next day, I had a call from Jason at the agency saying that I had to complete 1,000 hours before I was eligible for permanent status. This new requirement would push me into month five (or 120 days)! Frustrated, but willing to go with the flow, I shared with Janice what had happened.

Janice told me that she’d made a comment to Stephanie about “how great I was doing.” Stephanie concurred, Janice said, so that was good news, right? Further, Stephanie had indicated to her that my sales people were happy with me. So I felt buoyed that this permanent position was becoming a reality. Sick days, vacation days, benefits.....all things I didn’t have while a temporary worker.

At the end of the second month, I again mentioned to Stephanie that I was excited about nearly being perm. Again, I got that coolness from her and later that afternoon, she went to talk to David, the owner. For an hour. In his office. With the door shut. It was unusual, to be sure. She ended up leaving early that day. David came to see me with just 30 minutes left in the day.

I was excited! This was it – he was gonna offer me the position!! “Vicki, we really like you…” he began and then as I listened, it dawned on me – I wasn’t being hired – I was being fired!! “….there are just too many emails flying around….” Wait – what did he just say?!

“David, you don’t like my work? I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from Mike and Buffy….”

“Vicki, we really like you, but we don’t feel you’re a good fit for our office.” As it hit me, I started crying. I tried to stop it but the harder I tried the harder they fell. He continued, “You’re right; Mike and Buffy really aren’t very happy with me right now because they both really liked you and were happy with your work.”

HUH?!

“Well, Vicki, it’s just the emails flying here and there. You’ll find something. You’re smart and have a lot going for you. In fact, Jason says he has another position for you.” (Jason was my employment agency contact.)

Have you figured out why I was fired?

Because my supervisor was getting blind-carbon copied on every one of my emails to Janice. Including the ones where it was mentioned how often Stephanie and Cyndy were out. And not even my sales people could save me from the wrath of Stephanie.

The good … was meeting Janice. She and I have remained friends, going so far as to meet in Ocala and cook together. She has been the best “cheerleader” a person could ask for; a tireless reminder that even in the darkest of days, the sun shines. Had I never met Stephanie, I would never have met Janice.

The bad …. was being left alone to fight for myself, figure it out.

The really ugly … realizing my supervisor read every one of my emails.

Bottom line: Some bonding is best left to the professionals.