What do you get when you stay up until four in the morning and wake up at almost nine in the morning?  You get a Hobbit Hangover.  It’s really just a headache.  The movie was good, but the next day side effects aren’t.

Okay.  The headache really isn’t as bad as I’m making it out to be.  Now I’ll get to the movie….

That’s strange.  My Muse is not responding.  I’m guessing that she’s still sleeping.  With that, I guess I’ll make this another Short and Sweet.  We’ll discuss the movie when she’s awake.  I promise.

Today’s high is going to be 22 degrees and the silver lining will be getting paid today.

To all of you who have experienced next day headaches,  I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

Muse:  *snore*  No….Smaug…..Stay away…..AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

For those of you who don’t know, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug begins tonight.   I have a double-feature pass, meaning that I’ll be seeing both the first and second movie, back to back.

Muse:  Aren’t you excited?  I surely am!

Yes.  I’m very excited!  To hold me over, I’ll get some jalapeno chips from Chip N’ Wich at the mall.

Muse:  I even dressed up as an Elf.  Don’t I look good?

Yes.  Very.  A very nice Galadriel.

Muse:  Thank you.  I will camp out by the theater while you’re working.

Go ahead and do that.  As for later, there will be a brief discussion about this movie, followed by a full movie review the next day.  So stay tuned for that.

Today’s high is going to be 18 degrees and the silver lining is seeing The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug tonight.

To all of you who like seeing a good movie, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  I even brushed up on my Elvish, and I’m pretty good at it!  I’m such a nerd….

With Christmas just two weeks away, I still have one gift to buy, and a couple more gifts to wrap.

And with the cold weather still around, the chances of a White Christmas are pretty good….

 

Muse:  Have you watched any Christmas movies yet?

I haven’t.  I will be seeing the 1955 version of the Miracle on 34th Street tonight.

Muse:  I’ve already seen 30 Christmas movies.  I just keep watching them, one after another.

That also reminds me.  I will need to look at my past Christmases on home video.

Muse:  And The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is tomorrow tonight!  Have you re-read the book?

No, but I’ll be skimming it.

Muse:  That’s cheating.  I’ve recently re-read the entire book, cover to cover.

Well, it’s time that I don’t have, okay?  With two weeks left, there’s a lot to get done.

Today’s high is going to be 18 degrees and the silver lining is tonight’s second to last episode of Survivor and the movie afterward.

To all of you who are starting to get into the Christmasy mood, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  Time for the next one!  The Santa Clause….

You are not going to believe this.  Just yesterday, I made an astounding discovery that will blow your mind.

When I logged into my Monster.com account yesterday, I realized that I haven’t updated my resume in five years!  The most recent current position that was listed was “Volunteer at United Way”.

Now am I still a volunteer at United Way?  Unfortunately, no.  That only lasted a month, since I wanted to get paid for my time. Since that time, I worked five more jobs.

If you are reading this,  I am going to ask you the same question that I asked on Facebook.  Based on what you know about me, what skills do you think I possess?  This question will be harder to answer if you have never met me before.  In the comment link below, please leave me a comment.  I am looking for honest and thoughtful feedback, and anything you suggest will be very much appreciated.

The reason why I’m asking this question is because I need validation pertaining to the skills that I possess the greatest strength in.  In my job search, I am trying to find jobs that use these skills on a regular basis.

So far, I was told that I possess the qualities of commitment and dedication.  To group these words together, I would use the word tenacious.  I don’t take no for an answer.  If I am rejected in one place, I will continue until I find a place where the answer is yes.

While tenacity is a really good work quality, I am going to need some others if I am to know what specific jobs that I am to look for.  And by jobs, I don’t mean the job that I have right now.  I am referring to jobs that are linked to a career path.  Jobs that offer potential for growth and the opportunity to thrive.

So far, I have my career narrowed down to business writing.  I know that I want to write for a business, but I don’t know what kind of degree you would need to do this.

My next target is CareerBuilder, where I will update my information there.  And then the long and arduous search for a career begins.  I will cast my net into the sea of opportunity and see what I get.  Someone will have to give me a chance,  sooner or later, considering my experience and what I can offer them.

 

Muse:  Good luck!

Is that it?

Muse:  Yes.  I don’t want to interrupt your job searching.  Good luck!

Thank you.

Today’s high is going to be 20 degrees and the silver lining is having today off.  The day is ripe to look for work, and I hope to find something very soon.

To those of you who are currently unemployed or underemployed, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  His ship will arrive.  It’s only a matter of time….

As I said yesterday, it started snowing when I left work.

With it snowing last night, it’s pretty obvious what I had to do this morning.

But I didn’t shovel it right away.  First, I shoveled my grandparent’s driveway.  After that, I used the snowblower on the driveway, shoveled off all the decks, shoveled the walk and shoveled the back driveway.

 

Muse:  Did you just finish?  I finished my driveway early.  After that, I started playing in the snow.  I have such fond memories of doing this when I was younger….

I imagine.

Muse:  In fact, I’m going inside now.  I’m making myself a nice big cup of hot chocolate.

That sounds good. I might have to do that myself.

Muse:  It looks like you had way more snow to shovel than me.

I know, but I’m master at handling snow.  It was “snow problem”..

Muse:  Referencing the title?  How original.

Why not?  I haven’t done so in a while.  Anyway, I need to get ready.

Muse:  I’ll say!  *wolf whistles*

Um,   don’t say anything else about that!

Muse:  Just get in the shower!  You’re in nothing but your undies….

I said stop!

Muse:  Sorry….I couldn’t help myself!  Besides, you look kind of cute in them…

Well, I’m not modeling Calvin Klein here.  Enough.  I’ll get a shower.

Muse:  And I’ll get my hot chocolate!

After you get your shower?  You’re kind of sweaty in all those clothes….

Muse:  Fair enough.  We’ll both get showers.  Bye….

 

Well, I have today and tomorrow off, so I’ll finally be able to take a breather.  The snow is all shoveled, so I don’t have to worry about that.

The high today is going to be 29 degrees and the silver lining is having today off.

To all of you who like being finished with shoveling snow, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  Why does he get all defensive when I talk about his underwear?  I thought it was cute and funny, but I’ll stop for his sake.  There.  All clean.  Time for my hot chocolate!

I really need to stop making these at night, or this happens.

Anyway, after five days at the pizza pit, I finally get two days off.

When I left work, it started snowing.  More about that tomorrow.

 

Muse:  Another short one?  Come on!

I’m burned out tonight.  I’ll be more energized tomorrow.

Muse:  Oh alright….

Today’s high was  23 degrees and the silver lining is getting the next two days off and it snowing.

To those of you who love having days off from work, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  There’s so much snow!  I think I’ll play in it tomorrow after I shovel it.  After that, I can warm up with some nice hot chocolate….

Keeping it very short, I went to Grand Rapids to see Ryan Avery, worked at the hell hole job that I hate, got dinner and came home.

That’s it.  I still have a headache and I’m not going to write anymore.

Today’s high was 22 degrees and the silver lining was going to Grand Rapids.

To all of you who hate getting headaches, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  I hope that he feels better, and that he gets the outpouring of love that he so desperately needs….

What more can I say?  I work all weekend long.  I worked today.  I work tomorrow.  And guess what?  I even work on Sunday!

Part time jobs suck.  Making 130 dollars a week sucks.  Not being able to have any sense of independence sucks.  Heck.  I work too hard to get paid so little.  Friday started out slow, but when dinner came around, it hit where it hurts.  Why should I be slaving around at this pizza pit?  I’m better than this!  College educated, I’m more goal-oriented than half of the people there.  Granted, some of them are working on their college degrees but I’m done with mine.  Where is my ship?  Where is my opportunity?

Let me make this very clear.  I am sick on my frickin’ job!  I hate working there, making the same damn pizzas over and over again!  Hell.  The only one who really benefits from this at all is the franchise owner, who makes WAY more than the store manager.

Last night at a Toastmasters meeting, someone coined the 22nd Irrefutable law of leadership, adding to John C. Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – The Law of Urgency.

Just how urgent is my situation right now?  I have been out of college for six years and I am still working at a stupid dead-end job.  Why do you think I joined Toastmasters?  Yes, it was to learn to communicate better.  Yes, it was to learn better leadership skills.  But there is also another reason for it.  And that is the most important one for me – networking.  This is how you get jobs.   This is how you get leads.  By knowing people.

So what good is it if I’m coaching a struggling club with the highest award in communication, with a handful of leadership experience?  Hell.  The people at the pizza pit could care less if I got my DTM.  They don’t even know what Toastmasters is, let alone what a DTM is.

This brings me to a point that I have managed to proven.  Toastmasters is made for careers, not jobs.  Toastmasters is where leaders are made, not grunts flipping burgers somewhere.

What good is advancement if the only ones who recognize that advancement are ones within the organization?  To outsiders in the world of food service, their only concern is filling the dinner orders.  There’s no advancement.  Maybe just a dime raise to spit in your face.   But other than that, it’s just a pat on the back and the common closing – “See you tomorrow”.

To any of you who have a REAL job and are in Toastmasters, you are currently reaping the benefits.  I am not.  If any of you have seen any degree of improvement in your career track, congratulations.  Enjoy that cozy raise.

Now Toastmasters does mention that table topics can help improve interviewing skills.  I think that they included this to justify the audience of unemployed and underemployed who are not thriving in their career-focused program.  I have had an interview a few months ago, and I did not get the job.  I didn’t even get a call back.  Was I lacking in any experience that they thought that I didn’t have?  It must have been, because I was very good at the interview.  Was it my body language?  Whatever it was, I just wasn’t given the chance.

What I have right now is two worlds.  In one world, I am a great leader.  I have gained a lot of useful experience from an organization that has given me so much.  And some leaders have gone out of their way to grant me the success that they think I deserve.

If only Toastmasters could pay me for such experience!  I have done just about everything that they have to offer in their Educational Program.  And have I received any form of payment?  I haven’t.

In the other world, I am a slave.  A slave to a cruel and indifferent machine that demands continuous production of gluten laden pies, consisting of tomato sauce, cheese and meat.  I am paid a pitiful pittance, and I am miserable there.  My sanity is tested to its very limit and I often think to myself:  “Is there something better than this?”

And that’s the conflict.  The two worlds don’t match.  It’s like Spiderman and Peter Parker.  In one world, he’s this amazing hero.  In another world, he’s just an ordinary guy, scraping a living by taking pictures for The Daily Bugle.

How do I eliminate the world that I so loathe?  I am sick of minimum wage and it sucks.  It kills my morale and my sanity is constantly tested.  Especially on Fridays.  What I need is a chance, and someone needs to give me that chance.

I am not talking about Toastmasters.  Toastmasters is giving me all kinds of chances that no one else is giving.  Can any employer see the same kind of potential that a leader in Toastmasters is able to see in me?  Do these employers even exist?  I’m just wondering, because I am a quasi-guru in Toastmasters leadership, and I have no other place to practice this.

So everyone with those careers, enjoy those raises that Toastmasters is able to provide for you.  In the meantime, I will be pondering, thinking, hoping and praying.  Praying that someone doesn’t see their world as too small to include a few more.  And I’ll be working on my New Year’s Resolution – Moving out of my parent’s house.

 

Muse:  Just give it a chance.

Be quiet!  I am trying and you’re not helping!

Muse:  But….

Shh!  Today’s high was 25 degrees and the silver lining was getting some shopping done.  To all of you who are content in your careers, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  If only he could see the great things that await him…. *sigh*

With this being so late,  I’m going to keep this short.

I worked at Little Caesars and attended a Toastmasters Meeting in Saginaw afterwards.  Having been recently appointed as a club coach, I will be working with the club to get their membership up and improve the club’s overall quality.

 

Muse:  Sounds good.  I have a whole district to train….

Today’s high is going to be 39 degrees and the silver lining was attending the club meeting tonight.

To all of you who have experienced long days before,  I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  Coaching a club?  Try coaching a brand new Intangible district!  It’s not easy.  This will take a while….

Yes.  You heard me right.  That’s what I had for dinner tonight.

Now before you go and order one for yourself,  let me advise you.  Chicken is not a topping that we have on the menu, and neither is custom sauces.  This is my own special creation.  The sauce consists of 3 tubs of buffalo Caesar Dips and 2 tubs of ranch Caesar Dips.  Cheese is added, of course.   But now comes the question.  Where did I get the chicken?

I dissected 8 Caesar Wings to get enough chicken for a large pizza.  I sprinkled a little bacon on it, and added some onions.  And there you go.  A custom creation that was absolutely delicious.  I guess there is ONE advantage to working at the pizza pit.

Another thing that you might be wondering is “What’s next?  A food blog?”  Well it’s turning into one, but it’s not going to stay that way.

 

Muse:  I was just about to ask that.

I don’t know.  What do you think?  Should I make this a food blog?

Muse:  I don’t think you should.  You should stay with writing your books.

Writing, yes.  But this is my daily life.  Whatever happens during the day is fair game for this blog.

Muse:   Fair enough.  Last night’s Toastmasters meeting was a success.  All the leaders are ready to start their own Toastmasters club, and a lot of other members enjoyed it.

Well, I’m glad it turned out so well.  What was the turnout?

Muse:  There were at least 100 Intangibles there.  We ran out of chairs so the rest had to stand.

Wow.  That’s really bulging at the seams.

Muse:  It is.  Why are you looking at the clock?

Well, Survivor is coming on, and I don’t want to miss it.

Muse:  A reality show?  Alright.  We’ll talk later about this, okay?  Bye….

 

Getting back to the pizza, it was pretty good.  I also got another one, which I’ll be eating some of tomorrow.  It’s a normal one with pepperoni, bacon, onions and light pineapples.

Today’s high was 46 degrees and the silver lining was having the delicious pizza.

To those of you who like company perks, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  Survivor?  I would rather read than watch a reality show!  Seriously….

In summary, my day has been pretty productive.  I got some Christmas shopping done and I cleaned the bathroom.  My next project?  I’ll give you a clue.  It involves this.

 

Muse:  So you’re going to decorate the house in wrapping paper?

No!  Of course not!  I’m going to be wrapping some gifts!

Muse:  Relax.  I was just joking!  I already got started on that yesterday….

And I better get started.  I only have about an hour before I leave for the meeting….

Muse:  That reminds me.  The first Intangible Toastmasters meeting starts tonight!  A few other leaders are there, so that they can learn how to lead their own meetings at the clubs that they want to start.

Sounds like a plan.  For a motivator,  I have recently achieved this two weeks ago….

Muse:  ACG?  Wait….Don’t tell me….Advanced Communicator Gold, right?

Correct.  That is the highest award that can be obtained in the Communication Track.

Muse:  And the other one on your badge is Advanced Leader Bronze.  You are still working your Advanced Leader Silver, which will be the highest award that you can get for the Leadership Track right now…..

Wow!  I’m impressed.  You really know that material well…..

Muse:  Well, of course I do!  If I’m going to be District Governor, then I need to learn everything about Toastmasters.  Since there has never been any Intangible leaders before me, I really need to jump in and learn all this myself.  Oh, and my plan?  Get my Competent Communicator in three months.

And how are you going to do that?  You’re only in one club!

Muse:  Wrong.  I’m in four different clubs.  And each one meets a different day.  I have five of my ten projects planned, and I’m working on the next five.

And the leadership?

Muse:  I’m Club President in the Intangible Founders Club, and I’m serving different roles in each club.  In the next six months, I will have my Competent Leader as well.

But it will take a whole year for you to get your Advanced Leader Bronze.

Muse:  No it won’t.  One of my clubs elects new officers every six months, so within six months, I will have that award too.

I’m impressed!  That will qualify for a…..

Muse:   Triple crown award.  I know.  With my drive, motivation and dedication to excellence, I am sure to get the first ever Toastmaster of the Year at the first annual Intangible Spring Conference.

And who’s setting that up?

Muse:  I am.  No one else knows how, so I have to train everyone.  And before you ask any other questions, we don’t have a Realm President for the Imaginary Division of Toastmasters International.  Within the next two years, I will be elected into that role, once the Intangible Division has more structure.

Okay.  I can imagine things being all over the place with Toastmasters being new to Intangibles.

Muse:  It is.  Within two years, I will have my ACB, ACS, ACG and ALS, giving me my Distinguished Toastmaster Award.

Now that’s motivation.  Anything else on your list of goals?

Muse:  I plan on entering the Realm Speech Contest and winning the title of Realm Champion of Public Speaking.

Realm?  Why realm?

Muse:  The Realm of Imagination doesn’t consist of countries.  There are no nations.  Just different areas around the realm.

Okay. Good luck with tonight’s meeting!

Muse:  I need to prepare for tonight’s meeting anyway.  Thank you!  Bye….

 

Distinguished Toastmaster in two years?  I wonder if she will try for Accredited Speaker too?  That’s very hard to get.

Today’s high was 37 degrees and the silver lining was getting all this work accomplished.

To those of you who like to be productive, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  President, Toastmaster of tonight’s meeting and District Governor.  Man, is tonight going to be busy!

For tonight, I’m going to keep it short.

For dinner, I had some of the Colonel’s Secret Recipe.

 

Muse:  That looks pretty good!  What else did you have?

I also had a boneless version of the original recipe, a biscuit with honey, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese and baked beans.

Muse:  Nice.  I just had some delicious ideas….

Well, that’s about it.  Today’s high was 36 degrees and the silver lining was having KFC.

To all of you who had a good dinner tonight, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  That chicken does look good.  I might have to go and get some….

Out of the forests, tree farms, home improvement stores or closets and into your house.  We have an evergreen conifer to decorate.

Or do you?  If not, you will soon.  And if you’re not the kind that keeps a Christmas tree in your house, chances are you know someone who does.  Or they know someone.

With just 24 days left until Christmas, the race has begun.  Deck those halls.  Deck the outside of your house.  Deck the lawn.  Deck the kitchen.  And whatever you do, don’t forget to deck the tree.

And while there’s plenty of shopping to do (we’ll get to that another day), we’ll focus on the tree for today.  For me, getting the tree has been a tradition that goes all the way back to my childhood.  And even before that, the tradition of decorating trees has been around for hundreds of years.  Ever since the pagan Europeans practiced tree worship long ago.  But having survived the conversion to Christianity, the trees were then used to scare away the devil.

Getting back to my tradition, I have always enjoyed getting a tree as a kid.  For a number of years, I can remember going to Beards Lakeview Farm with my brother, younger sister and parents.  We would get out and begin searching for the perfect tree.

The search would pretty much go like this.  One of us would find what we think to be the perfect tree, until a flaw is pointed out in it.  A spot may be bare, or it might be too small or too tall.  This would continue on and on for several trees.

And finally, by some miraculous event, we come across the perfect tree. At that point, the tree is ready to be cut down, right?  Wrong.  It’s picture time.  Stand in front of the tree in the freezing cold and get your picture taken, so that grandma and grandpa could see the tree that you got this year.  At the age that I was at back then, it didn’t matter.  There was snow everywhere and I was standing in front of the tree that would go in our living room.  I loved it.

For the first few years, mom and dad dragged the tree to the needle shaker and wrapper.  But when me and my brother were old enough, dad made us drag the tree all the way back to get de-needled and wrapped up in twine ropes for the truck.  As the years went by, it got easier and easier to do.

Looking at this year, it was quite easy to carry the tree back.  But like all the other years before, it wasn’t easy to find.  There were several candidates, but the winner wasn’t decided until we got to the edge of the property.  It was the last area of Christmas trees that Beard’s had to offer.  A lot filled with Frasers. Most of them had a defect.  Too short.  A bare spot.  And any tree that was perfect was not for sale.

But we did it.  The tree was cut down and I went home.

And if you’ve been following the 12 Pains of Christmas, I got the first thing done.

As for the other eleven, they will all come in due time.  Well actually nine, since I don’t drink or have any children to worry about.

 

Muse:  Got your tree?

Yes.  I was just about to end this, actually.

Muse:  Well, before you do, I have some good news.  I found the perfect Christmas tree!

Nice.  Your tree looks just like ours do in the real world.

Muse:  I know.  Christmas has gotten really popular among me and the Intangibles.

So did you cut it down?

Muse:  Of course I did!  And it’s all decorated too.

Well, that was fast!  That still needs to happen with my tree.  I will definitely want to help with that.

Muse:  Well, being Intangible does have its advantages.  Plus, I want to get some reading done.  Now you can end it.  Farewell!

 

*sigh*  Intangibles always get the best trees.  Well, I guess that makes sense since they’re all imaginary.

The high today is going to be 36 degrees and the silver lining was getting the Christmas tree.

To all of you who love the tradition of keeping a Christmas tree in your house,  I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  The star on this tree is so beautiful.  To be perfectly honest, I could stare at this for hours….