Seeking Employment

MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST: 1-2 years experience. This is what I typically see when I apply for jobs in my field of study. I am curious as to how one is suppose to get experience when no one will hire you? Kind of like a dog chasing its tail, getting nowhere fast. At times it can get a little depressing, but I refuse to give up just yet.

I am building contacts so I can network, researching positions and the companies that offer them, and asking everyone I know "if they hear anything..."

I never had to look for a specific job before now. In my younger days, I took whatever job paid halfway decent, or fell into a job. Now that I have a bona fide education I need to find a career that makes my education and thousands of dollars in tuition worthwhile.

I'm very rusty at this whole thing having spent 20+ years being a stay at home mom off and on. I will never look down upon stay at home motherhood, it's the most important job in the world and not just because I did it for so many years (still doing it now). It's a real job with better pay than any corporation could ever give. I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything.

So, like it or not, this is the life I've been thrown into...job hunting so I can raise my youngest child to adulthood as well as I did with my oldest children. Maybe even better than I did with my oldest children. The future is as bright as I make it. Wish me luck!

Can you ever really know someone?

I used to think that I could read people well, especially the men in my life. You talk with someone intimately for enough time and you get to know them really well. You live with them for long enough and you know them even better. Spend a lifetime with someone and you really begin to think you know them inside and out. But do we ever truly know someone? We all have walls that we put up, walls that we hide behind, even the most open among us have these walls. I like to think I'm about as open and honest as you can get, and yet there are parts of me that are saved just for me.

If you're like me and watch a lot of true crime shows, you would've heard countless times that the people closest to some pretty sick individuals really had no idea there was this side to them. I was watching this show the other day, "The Devil I Know", I think it was. There was this woman who was married to this sweet and gentle man. He wasn't perfect, but seemed as normal as the next person. It turns out he was a serial killer who preyed on young women. His wife and step daughter really had no idea. There was a time when I would have thought the woman had to be pretty darn stupid, but not anymore.

All we ever really know about anyone is what they let us see of them. Some people hide more than others, but we all hide something. I think it's necessary to keep certain parts of ourselves where no one else is allowed, it keeps the sense of self. And let's face it, if most of us shared every single part of us with the world, we'd likely be institutionalized.

There are some things that can alert us to what a person is truly like, the warning signs. But for one reason or another, usually being in love, we talk ourselves out of those warning signs. Being in love is a heady experience, I know, I've been there a time or two, thought I was in love even more times than I care to admit. Even worse, and it's usually us women who do this, we see the warning signs but think we can change this flaw we've seen in a man. I never went into any relationship with a man thinking I could change him. I was one of the ones who saw warning signs and talked myself right out of them. I'm sure many of us have. There's truth in the old adage, "love is blind." I like to people watch, particularly those in romantic relationships. Ever seen someone you know who is in love with totally the wrong person for them but they can't see it because they're in the height of being in love? You can see it's a train wreck waiting to happen. Even if you said something they likely wouldn't listen to you anyway. It would be great if we could step outside of ourselves and see the other person we're in love with the way that others do, wouldn't it? No, most of us walk around like we're on crack when we're in love, blind to the bad part of it and only wanting the high of it all. Despite having been burned by not really knowing someone many times, I still wouldn't want it any other way. I choose to believe that most of us are basically good and we shouldn't let the few bad ones color our view of the good ones. Besides, if you truly never know someone completely, you'll spend a lifetime of learning about them. Like anything else in life, sometimes there's sorrow that comes from being in love with the wrong person. But there's a lot of joy in getting to know someone.

So it's voting time...

Are you voting tomorrow? I'm not a particularly political person, it's just that some of the things I'm passionate about happen to fall into the political arena. Some of my views have gotten me de-faced* from some lists on Facebook. For instance, I'm not "politically correct." I just find the whole idea of being politically correct tiring, pointless and an attempt to censor our thoughts and beliefs. I grew up in the United States, Freedom of Speech, right? Not freedom of speech unless it offends someone's sensibilities. Let's face it, no matter how hard you try, you're going to offend someone somewhere, somehow. I think this whole idea is just another way for the powers that be to separate us into neat little controllable groups. I live a life where I don't go out of my way to hurt anyone, 'nuff said. But I digress, back to the topic of voting...

If anyone asked me, I think most politicians are as crooked as the Rio Grande, but we have to work inside the system we have...that is until we change it. We can't change anything unless we vote. I think if you don't vote you pretty much lose your right to complain about how things are done in government. I am amazed at how many of my friends and family either do not vote or have never registered to vote. Even more astonishing to me is the amount of people who vote and do little to no research on what they are voting for or against. U.S. citizens are very well aware of their rights, why not exercise one of those rights by voting?

Yes, I am voting tomorrow.





*de-faced: A term I coined to express being taken off a friend's list on Facebook.

Has it really been since.....

January for my last post? I guess I wasn't too interested in keeping it going lol. Anyway, I'm here to complain! I just finished up my final exams for College Keyboarding II and Pharmacology & Laboratory Medicine. Keyboarding went great, got an "A", but Pharmacology I don't have any idea how I did. Since there was not an immediate grading of the exam like every other exam I've taken, I won't know until September 20th what I got on the exam!!!! This really stinks!

Hmmmm, I might start writing on this thing more often...I'm excited about taking Psychology next term (starts in a week), but not too excited about taking Medical Transcription....those dam doctors talk like they have marbles in their mouths, not to mention they rattle papers, move away from the mic, and have accents at times. It should be an interesting next term.

My Last "Required" Post

Now that my second term of Composition is under my belt, it's time to write my last "required" post on this blog. It's been a tough 10 weeks, but interesting. The scientific research paper gave me a bit of trouble. I love to write, but me and science just doesn't mix. I ended up writing about raw milk, more specifically the dangers of consuming raw milk products...fairly scary stuff. Of course, I got points taken off of my term paper for misuse of commas. Not sure what that means,,,,, lol I must have done fairly good on the APA guidelines because it wasn't mentioned in the critique my professor gave me. I think I finally many have gotten the hang of APA guidelines.

My advice to future students of this class...start early, choose something fun to research, plan your time wisely, listen to others advice in class, and don't give up!

I've gotten better at APA (at least I think so) and my creativity has improved a lot with this course. I honestly didn't think I was going to make the deadline last week, but I did (part of that "don't give up").

I want to thank my classmates and professor for all of their useful input in class. I really appreciate it immensely. I hope everyone of you go on to succeed and be Blessed with good health...and of course good grades!

Research Papers, do we need them?

Obviously we have to write research papers for coursework in college, but is it really necessary? With the amount of work we have to do for each course, I at first felt that writing a research paper was a waste of energy that could be used on, say, studying anatomy. However, since having to write my first research paper many months ago, I have found that not only is it necessary, but also an important tool to learn how to effectively communicate with others. While I am just plain exhausted from having to do so much research this term, I am also satisfied with having completed, or almost completed, the assignments.

The 11:59 p.m. deadline on Tuesday is looming large in my head as I write this blog post. So much to do and so little time to do it in. I am both nervous and excited about this term drawing to a close. One more week after this and an Anatomy final exam to go. I need to do very well on my research paper for this class as my grades are not up to my standard. Oddly enough, I'm maintaining an "A" in Anatomy & Physiology while struggling to maintain a "B" in this class. Oh the irony! I've always had little trouble with writing and science has always been my Achilles heel. I guess things change.

All in all, I have enjoyed this class.

Issues, issues, issues...whose got issues?

Do I have issues? Not a lot, at least not with school...now my family?...that's another story. Usually my only issue with college classes is time or lack of it. Perhaps it's just me? I try very hard not to come at my studies like I do my Christmas shopping, at the last minute possible. Ah, but with the holidays of the past two weeks, I did put off doing class work until the last possible moment. So here I am typing away at my blog, trying to fill this blank space with something half way decent to read. Who am I kidding? No one reads this stuff, do they? Well I do get a few comments, mostly from my professor, but she has to read it, no? lol

Actually, I thought this blog writing stuff was going to be another pain in the rear, but I have found it to be quite fun. It's kind of like a journal, only one that the whole world can see. Better not write about that dream I had about Gerard Butler...or was that Brett Butler?...never mind. Seriously, I rarely remember dreams and that are worth sharing, unless they're funny, which they usually are.

Do I plan to keep this blog going after this course? Not bloody likely! Though I just might, if I can find the time.... ;-) It has helped my writing and creativity tremendously. Though others may not share that opinion with me! I'm tired and babbling so I think I'll.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz