**Gen X and Gen Y in the Career Field

Due to our lack of orginizational skillz, we are posting the Ghost Blog on Thursday, rather than Wednesday. Our apologies. Please read our latest Ghost Blog, and let them know what you think on this topic! ~Nomz and Sazaran

I’m Gen X. I like to lead there because it tells you a lot about me. My parents divorced. My mom went to work. I was told to never, ever answer the door or the phone unless she was home. Oh, and I’m really good at navigating the messiness of life. I need a plan. I love plans. So it only makes sense that I’ve mapped out an inter-generational career plan, right?

My parents are Baby Boomers. They certainly were doing better financially when they were my age. They lived on one income, for example. I can’t imagine raising three kids on one income – my income. Yet, my parents did it and were called “middle class” when they did.

My parents are much more understanding of how housing, education and even food costs have exploded since they were my age. My grandparents, members of the GI Generation, are not as able to put it together. They don’t have a real-time understanding that wages haven’t kept up with costs.

A product of the Great Depression, they depress me with all their talk of my multiple address and job changes and lack of thousands of dollars in liquid savings. They claim to understand things cost so much, but fail to realize that my parents, for as well as they were doing, didn’t pay my way through college. Of course, my grandparents paid $300 a semester for my dad’s education. My tuition bills were $1,300 a semester, a bargain in the mid-90s. So I borrowed money for college. I borrowed money to buy a decent car. I paid for stuff on my credit card. And still, I don’t have $10,000 in savings nor do I have any chance of paying off my mortgage before I retire. Or die, probably.

My grandparents’ first home: $5,000. Mine? $52,000. Yep. In just two generations.

I love my grandparents. They know what it is to be financially solvent, believe that is wholly possible, and we all know that comes with sacrifices. I resent my parents’ generation, making me an even more typical Gen X. They recognize how expensive life is today, but don’t seem to adequately appreciate how good they’ve had it for so long, and that even now, in an economic downturn, they get to keep the best paying jobs they’ve ever had to secure an even better retirement for themselves. (And who can blame them? Life isn’t free for retirees, as my grandparents can attest.)

As a result of all that mixing of medical science and economic downshifting, this is the first time all four generations are sharing the work environment. The GI Generation and (their slightly younger counterparts) the Silent Generation aren’t retiring. Work gives them purpose, and they require that. Boomers aren’t retiring because they simply can’t afford to (or because they don’t dream about retirement in the same fun framework Gens X and Y do). That means Boomer values feature prominently in any workplace policy and they might not be so keen on Gens X and Y and their voice in the workplace.

It’s not surprising Gens X and Y might feel entitled to affect policy. After all, we played T-ball. We worked in small groups in elementary school. We voted on lunchroom policy. Our parents assured us we were very, very special kids.

We heard by a generation that wasn’t heard by their parents.

My goals at work aren’t the same as the generations that came before me, and I have little hope of retiring at 65 years old, the “traditional” retirement age. I bring that perspective to work with me every day in my hip pocket, and I realize those differences aren’t necessarily a bad thing. If I let them creep into my brain, those career-terrorizing thoughts can ruin my day, my workweek, and eventually, work is no place I want to be at all. That’s an even sadder thought considering Gens X and Y need to be part of a community. We just don’t see community the same way older generations do. Some of us use Internet and Community interchangeably, because doesn’t it feel that way?

All of these generational differences and generational togetherness add up to some serious differences in workplace style. In my years in the workforce – 10 in newsrooms and now three in state government –I’ve learned a few things.

-You believe your 2 cents is welcome in any policy or practice discussion. The Others believe you need to work your way up the ladder (Boomers) or stop pestering and just accept the things you cannot change (Silents, GIs).

-You believe information should flow freely, after all, we’re on the same team here. The Others believe you need to appreciate the hierarchy (Boomers, Silents, GIs).

-You believe the way the company shows its appreciation for you is to invest in you, making training your workplace currency in trade. The Others trade in information. Withholding it secures their place on the company ladder, which Gens X and Y can hardly even see because they’re so busy moving from one organization to another in search of more opportunity and better pay and better benefits so they can see their kids’ school plays, act as parent aides in the classroom or coach their kids’ youth soccer team.

Big differences, no?

If you’re to grow in this environment, and I hope you do want to grow your career, here’s what you need to do: Find a way to partner with one of the Others on a project. They’ve got a lot to teach you. They’ve been around a while and have tons of insight into how projects have failed or succeeded in the past in similar or completely different environments. They know how stuff works.

And then remember you have a lot to teach them. Like, voicemail and e-mail aren’t the only way to communicate on work product and Google Docs is a plethora of fantastically free project management tools.

A failure to buy the popular idea that Gens X and Y just might be the “Most Self-involved Generation” is a great first step in launching your own career, no matter how measure success.

**Ghost Blogger

♫ Orianthi-According to You

I need a place to put this song. The blog is officially getting it.



Orianthi-According to You

I'm stupid
I'm useless
I can't do anything right

According to you
I'm difficult
Hard to please
Forever changing my mind
I'm a mess in a dress
Can't show up on time
Even if it would save my life
According to you
According to you

But according to him
I'm beautiful, incredible
He can't get me out of his head
According to him
I'm funny,irresistible
Everything he ever wanted
Everything is opposite
I don't feel like stopping it
So baby tell me what I got to lose
He's into me for everything I'm not
According to you

According to you
I'm boring
I'm moody
You can't take me any place

According to you
I suck at telling jokes cause I always give it away
I'm the girl with the worst attention span
You're the boy who puts up with it
According to you
According to you

But according to him
I'm beautiful,incredible
He can't get me out of his head

According to him
I'm funny, irresistible
Everything he ever wanted
Everything is opposite
I don't feel like stopping it
So baby tell me what I got to lose
He's into me for everything I'm not
According to you

I need to feel appreciated
like I'm not hated
Oh, no
Why can't you see me through his eyes?
It's too bad you're making me dizz-ay

According to me
you're stupid
you're useless
you can't do anything right

But according to him
I'm beautiful, incredible
He can't get me out of his head

According to him
I'm funny, irresistible
Everything he ever wanted
Everything is opposite
I don't feel like stopping it
Baby tell me what I got to lose
He's into me for everything I'm not
According to you [you, you]
According to you [you, you]

According to you
I'm stupid
I'm useless
I can't do anything right




Yours Truly,
Nomz

♥Just Say No.

I have a bone to pick (surprise, surprise).

It seems that out of nowhere, the availability and tolerance of pornography has erupted and left its mess all over our country. I do not watch porn, nor do I agree with those who think it is harmless. Here is why I must take a stand against such diabolical entertainment:

Pornography victimizes women and children. The stories that I have heard, which will not be shared on this blog, are ones that force nightmares for weeks. They are the stories that leave such a lasting, horrific image in the mind's eye that ignorance is impossible. Why would one human being take another and force their will on them- a will that is so disruptive and degrading? Not all women and certainly no children volunteer to be molested, violated and cheapened for entertainment. Entertainment? Really? We should be ashamed.

Pornography causes an unrealistic view of "perfection". How could a normal woman, especially one who has borne children, see a porn star and think she could ever measure up? Her breasts are not shaped as such, her lips are not falsely plumped, her stretch marks are evident and her attitude is not "do anything you want to me- moremoremore". A man who watches pornography is sending his girlfriend/wife a message that says, this is what turns me on. Once a woman realizes that she is not enough, her entire idea of pleasure, intimacy and trust are compromised. It ends up being a violent domino effect- not one good thing will result from trying to be like "her".

Pornography is the root of all sexual crime. In my opinion. I have no proof to back this up. However, each case that I have come across in my personal life has a common denominator: porn. It starts off innocent enough: a little peak here and there; then it escalates to more, hard-core, nothing satisfies. It ends with a rape, or a pedophilia desire.

Pornography perverts the mindset. Have you ever been around someone who just cannot get their mind out of the gutter? They seems to slip a "that's what she said" joke into every little window of opportunity- be it appropriate or not. Sure, at first it's something to snigger at but after a while, a gutter-mind can be exhausting.

Pornography is expensive. Now, I know nothing about the actual costs of it. I do know this: people go into debt. Quickly. "In this economy" we have higher priorities.

"Pornography intensifies an individual's drive to serve oneself, rather than serve others." It's all about how can you fulfill my desires? And not let us enter into this together and share an experience that we will both enjoy.

Whether it is porn for personal pleasure, education or entertainment I want to beseech you to stop the band wagon and proclaim purity. Sex is a personal and private act that should be between a man and a woman who have committed themselves to one another. No one else is permitted to be an audience to such intimacy. Parents, set standards and control the avenues to pornography. What perception is available for an adolescent who knows nothing of the complications of intercourse? How will he/she be ready, when the time comes, to have a right attitude about an act meant only for a mature mind?

Philippians 4:8
Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].

♫ Random Monday-1/4/10

Title: What Goes Around, Comes Around. <- - Listen to the song in this blog.

Happy 2010! Where in the world has time gone, and how it already the fourth of January?

I’ve made several resolutions to myself for this New Year, not so much goals, as a change in complete outlook on things. To keep things consistent, I’ll lay mine out similar to Sarah did in this here Random Monday blog: Sarah's Randomness

#1. Zen. Balance. While it’s nearly impossible to survive a relationship with somebody when they live over an hour away, we get two days a week to accomplish it, making it nearly impossible to have any kind of balance at all. My goal: Make that relationship stronger, find a way to balance that one, with personal time with friends and family. I have a goal to spend more time with each and every one of you, prepare yourselves.

#2. Go back to school. Again. Only this time, for a completely different degree that is in no way related to the one I’ve almost got. It’s going to be a challenge, it’s going to be expensive. I don’t plan on finishing anything this year, but a start is on the list of goals.

#3. Honesty. I loathe confrontation, but it’s officially time to grow a pair. So…I'm aiming to be more honest when asked to be, and I'm going to try to bust out some pretty serious closet-skeletons that have been mine all mine for a long time. We’ll start with semicolons. I’m going to be honest…it’s the only thing in English that I did not grasp; and therefore; I have no idea; where to put them;. Help me. Also, for my skeletons, I dedicate this song:



#4. Money. This year I will start my very own bank account, with nobody else on it. A basic savings account. And it will have money in. it. I’m a big girl, I’ve had bank accounts, but I’ve been dumb enough to share every single one of them and lose my ars on them. New beginnings mean fresh starts. I will save money, and I will not be at the end of my rope every single month, ever again. I’m also going to start paying off back-debt.

#5. Pray. Every; single; day. With my girls, so I can teach them to pray. I didn’t mean to copy Sarah on this one, it was actually a goal. I started a journal a few days ago and everything. If you need proof that prayer works; try it. Every single one of you should copy this idea.

There you have it, my goals for this year. If I stick to two of them, I can still consider myself an optimist.

Time for Teh Randumz.

*~With the exception of what I said above about semicolons, I am a bit of a grammar nazi. And, thanks to being friends with some hard core grammar nazi’s, I’ve developed a grammar twitch.

*~I don’t believe in necessarily sugar-coating, but truth in moderation is completely legal. Especially if it spares somebody pain.

*~I have this boy, that loves me. Proof:
#1. He gives me all of the green Sour Patch Kids.
#2. He lets me work the remote as long as football isn’t on. And puts up with my Law&Order marathons. And pretends to like them.
#3. He’s amazing with my kids. He actually worked through a toddler tantrum this weekend like’s he’s been doing it for years.
#4. He carried my bags, and my kids, while I shopped this weekend.
#5. Eggnog icecream. Nuf’ said.

*~When I get stressed, I clean. It’s genetic, thanks, mamma. This weekend? The ceiling fans got washed, then dusted. THEY SHINE.

*~Over this last break I got to see a friend that I haven’t seen since 5th grade. To age myself a bit, that’s like…14 years. And we still have this amazing connection. Reminds me of that quote that says something like…If a friend of your past doesn’t make it to your future, there’s a reason for it. She’s in my life to serve a purpose…and she’s really quite amazing. And short. I envy her lack of tall.

*~I’d like to thank the people that have been commenting on this blog. While some of the comments seem a bit redundant, our blog traffic has doubled. We appreciate your interaction, and lets’ face it, raising hair a bit. I do ask that you remember the following:
#1. No matter what the blog says, we’re the blog authors, and have the right to disagree with you. Or push your buttons.
#2. WE are the blog authors. Meaning there is two of us. With different opinions. We have a lot in common, but assuming we’re the same person isn’t fair either.
#3. We love your comments, even if they are mean. Secretly, we like the challenge of figuring out exactly who you are. ;)
#4. We allow anonymous comments to provide a safe haven for you to put your opinion out there. Period. Not for you to be mean.
#5. Our blog rocks. You think so too, or you wouldn’t read it. ;) Orrrrrr, you really enjoy arguing. Either way, feel free to stick around. And play nice.

*~We’re going to try to be organized in 2010. We’re going to try and post one guest blog a week until we run out. Email us if you’d like to be published!

*~Has big stresses in her head that won’t come out until resolved. Like:
#1. Where am I going to be living forever? My kids start school, like, this year.
#2. If I lock every door in my house, why do I still dream that somebody wants to harm my kids while they sleep?
#3. ^ Probably because of Law&Order marathons. I should find a less scary show to love. House makes me develop Hypochondria though. Bad.
#4. Child support. growls.

Quote:

“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”

Pictures: My New Year’s Eve in a nutshell!







Yours Truly,
Nomz

♥Randomz

* So, I've been thinking. Usually, I'm not one for New Year's resolutions. But, I might make an exception this year: it's time for the big girl panties. I'm comfortable with this because it's general enough to cover one thing or many things that I need to change or work on. For example, I also have a To-Do list for the next twelve months.

1. Get a car
2. Wean Malachi... I think a whole year is plenty of time for this, right? ;-)
3. Go to school and/or figure out a better way to provide for myself and Malachi.
4. Learn ASL.
5. Go.to.Greece. Who wants to join me??

* Lately, I have been feeling very discouraged and morose. Yesterday, at church, they had prayer for anyone feeling especially down over the last couple months and after a few minutes of trying to convince myself that all is peachy- I shuffled to the front where I cried and cried. I'm talking black-tear-streaks-of-sweet-relief. A good cry every now and then helps, a great deal. When said cry is wrapped in the comforting arms of The One who will never leave you or forsake you? It's beyond words. I feel a world of difference.

* Which sorta leads me to number 6. of my list: quit making excuses for not diving in head-first. I blogged last year about my wanting to make a resolution of praying every.day. I failed. So, this time, I'm not going to put a specific time requirement on it. I'm just going to purpose in my heart to be a serious lover of Jesus. It's so easy to "play" Christian and pretend that your walk is exactly where it needs to be-- but I want to be real. Am I perfect? HAHA.no. Do I struggle? More than I let on. Is that the very reason I need to be closer to Jesus more than ever? YUP.

* After all... "faith that costs little will accomplish little." Good word, Pastor Rick!

* I've been compiling a list of "awesomely-bad" break up songs. They surely do help get my angst out: Never Again, Gives You Hell, So What, Already Gone, White Horse, Fighter, Take A Bow, I Do Not Hook Up, Irreplaceable. Psssst, if you know of any other good ones, share!

* I just realized that my dad's computer has a webcam. Skype, anyone??!

*My home-town newspaper has a little section dedicated to people who like to gripe to each other: it's called Miscellany II and it's so much fun to read. This is my favorite submission of the week:

"To those who try to invoke it: Karma is not real. It is not a god. Don't you know that it rains on the just and the unjust?"

Bring on the comment craze....

♫ The Story of Two Wolves

When we feel attacked, we've got to remember that we can only choose our own paths, our own reactions, and our own karma...not that of others. Never argue with an idiot, that's dropping to their level-and letting them win.



"One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed.""

While we pride ourselves on open-mindness and healthy discussion on this blog, when it turns from constructive or honest, to mean, it changes things drastically...and will not be tolerated. We are touchy about a few issues, obviously. That doesnt make us wrong, that makes us different. Reading our blog is an option, not an obligation.

Yours Truly,
Nomz

♥My Laotong

Ours was a friendship crafted in the very fabric of love. We listed our every common bond from the first day we met. Adventures were ours to be had and, boy, did we have 'em.

A few words to describe the unique, once-in-a-lifetime kinship that we shared are: bosom buddies, best friends, laotongs. Laotong means "old same" or kindred spirits. In old China, young women would be matched together and form laotong relationships. These are lifelong intimate friendships that offer emotional support throughout all of life's ups and downs. Though we weren't matched by our parents, we were meant to be inseparable... for a season, anyway. And, we were.

Some of my bestest memories include this lovely lady. We once made up a fantasy story about a hidden, magical pond; wrote it on paper soaked in tea, wrapped it up, slid it into a bottle and threw it with all of our might into the very pond we imagined to harbor other-worldly creatures.

Our stories of adventure included many close encounters with death (or what we thought would surely end in our demise), secret hideaways and animals that were smarter than they let on. Skinny-dipping was not something we only joked about; lighting followed us; boys envied us; angels surely had their work cut out for them.

And then, life got in the way. For what seemed like half a lifetime, nothing could taint our affinity. Not distance, life's struggles or boys. But, all things have their time and all relationships go through the refiner's fire. I don't know what caused our hearts to be broken or why. Looking back, it wasn't any one thing that split us apart. The only thing I am for sure of: it was harder to "get over" than any boy. It was as if part of me had been ripped away- a pain in my heart that would not ease.

Then, a miraculous event. I became pregnant. A life was created and he became the bridge that kick-started our mutual forgiveness. This is how I see it, anyway. It crushes me to think of all the time we lost in each other's lives. The stories we could have shared, the strength we could have lent to one another. "Elle est ce qu'elle est." or "it is what it is". What's important is that we put aside our tender hearts and found peace with one another. It feels so good to have my laotong back!

My Point: No friendship that has fed you in your life, has been more than a moment of joy or a history of precious memories is ever worth the pain of losing. Things may change, impressions may be lost or opinion may be presented in unorthodox ways- but what remains is love.

Now, I am overjoyed to say that my laotong and I are there for each other, as we always were. Our common bond (stronger than any previously, superficial bond) as mothers is a gift from The Lord above. We do snot speak everyday but what is stronger than ever is our respect and admiration for each other- at least it is in my heart.