filing for unemployment: Haziran 2012

27 Haziran 2012 Çarşamba

What I'm Giving Up

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Unemployment is a time to consider what's essential. Last year when I was laid off, I had a really generous severance package and with lots of job prospects, I felt pretty secure with moderate adjustments. I reduced my gym membership to a restricted hours plan. I cut my allowance in half. We ate out less.

This time around, I'm not quite as confident. For starters, it's possible I'll be out of work longer than the 3 months it took me last time. And without severance, things get real pretty fast. I'm erring on the side of caution and giving up as many non-essentials as I can stomach. In particular, my entire allowance and entire gym membership. If you read my entry about working out for less then you know giving up the gym is not a big deal. I'll run and lift weights at my house for free.

Allowance is the real sacrifice. When my husband and I first got married, we opened a joint checking & savings account, but also opted to each keep a private checking account. All individual purchases come out of this account: clothes, shoes, haircuts, makeup, dining out, classes, entertainment, gum, magazines, books, music, etc.

Luckily, I had a bit of reserve saved up before becoming unemployed, which should get me through the next couple of months if I'm frugal. In the meantime, it's a fascinating study in what is and isn't essential to spend money on in the short run.

Clothes: I shouldn't need to buy new clothes. I have enough suits for interviews and jeans and t-shirts to wear around the house. Nonessential

Hair: My hair is really short right now, but no job = no bob. I'll need one last trip to the salon to get things evened out and ready to grow. Semi-essential

Makeup: I don't wear very much, but I stockpiled the expensive stuff at a Christmas sale. All the rest, I buy at the beauty bodega down the street for less than $6 a piece. Semi-essential

Entertainment: First, DC's full of free museums and many lovely parks. Second, my bedside drawer is stacked with books I haven't read. Third, we've got NetFlix, TiVo and various online viewing options. Nonessential

Eating out: This is both an easy & hard one. It's extremely easy for me to eat what's in the house. On the other hand, one expense that's always worth it (especially in unemployment) is connecting with people over lunch and drinks. Essential

All told, this is a pretty lush life. And while I guarantee there will be times when I am lusting after some object...be it shoes, clothes, or gadgetry...I'm going to try very hard to keep things in perspective and wait. I know what it's like to have credit card debt, and I don't want to experience that again.

Researchers' Symosium December 3

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Sharon Jaskula, VALF Advisory Board member, is inviting you to the following free workshop.

The Florida Literacy Coalition, the Jacksonville Public Library, and the Literacy Council of Jacksonville are proud to host a Researchers’ Symposium focusing on Workplace Education, Writing Strategies, Comprehension Skills, and Transitioning Learners to Post-Secondary Education. Researchers from universities across the country will be on hand to share best practices and new approaches.

Please join us on Saturday, December 3 from 1:00-5:00 for this free event at the Jacksonville Public Library (Conference Level Auditorium). Registration is required; the registration link to the pdf with a list of presenters and session descriptions below.

For more information, please contact the Florida Literacy Coalition (800-237-5113) or visit www.floridaliteracy.org

For more information and to register...

We're still here, I promise... just busy little bees.

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So much has been happening and going on in our house hold that I really just don't know where to begin.

We both turned 26... survived mothers day... & I've been working my tail off getting Relay For Life moving and shaking since its NEXT MONTH! Oh man where did the time go?

We are both trucking along and growing together as a couple. Its weird to think that in 7 and a half weeks we will be hitting our one year anniversary!

Just to briefly update, tomorrow SCB will try and sell his pens, bottle openers, and letter openers at the local farmers market so cross your fingers for us because I think SCB has run out of benefits for Unemployment and we can't get through the phones or anything to see if we can extend his benefits (they litterally hang up on you and tell you the lines are full) so we are hoping this can take off and really work out into something great. Who knows, maybe we can branch out to some other farmers markets in the local area?

Wish us luck!

Farmer's Market Run Down...

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Hubby selling at his little stall :)

I'm happy to report that we had a good turn out for our first event!

It was really funny setting up next to the other vendors because we only had one table and all our supplies fit in a small box with wheels and it literally took us 20 minutes to set up (including the EZ up) and it took everyone else a good hour and a half plus. We also have no idea how long it took everyone to tear down because SCB was gone 15 minutes after they closed up the market to shoppers.

What's also funny, the other vendors didn't move much product at all and I think we sold more then then anyone else (but we weren't sure about the Jewelry lady cause SCB didn't talk to her).

Pen in progress!

We ended up selling 7 pens (he had 10 made) and one letter opener (it matched a pen and sold as a set). We were surprised that the bottle openers didn't sell at all and we thought they would sell better then most items since we live in Orange County and people like to drink so we were a little bummed since SCB had made 7 of them and none of them sold. They were also priced $5 more than the pens because the materials cost more then the pen kits, so they may have been just too high. He also made 7 letter openers as well and other then the one set that sold, people weren't too interested in those. We may have to try and lower the price if they don't sell next month just to get our initial money back from them and drop them as a product item. The other possibility it to do matching pens and pencil sets with the letter openers and try and sell them as "executive packages or sets."

We were REALLY glad we had set up the SQUARE account to collect Credit Card transactions because only one person paid in cash. With pens at $15.00 a piece and the letter opener that went for $20.00 so we sold $125.00 in merchandise before the sales tax we collected (so we collected $134.69). Which isn't so bad for our first showing and about 4 hour of sales on the first weekday they offered arts and craft vendors (Word hasn't really gotten out yet). As Summer rolls around the corner I think more people will come out to the market and we might be able to tempt more people.

We spent $20 for the stall, $3.25 in credit card transaction fees, and will be remitting $9.69 back to California for sales tax, so we walked away with $101.75.

Most of these items weren't actually sold
at the market, and went to friends as gifts...
but it gives you an idea of some of the stuff
he makes :)

With Graduation and Father's Day around the corner we are going to take the gamble and apply to be a vendor next month to see if Friday's success was a fluke or not.

Since all the really nice pens sold, we are going to pour our profits from this last sale back into the business and order more supplies and focus on pens. Additionally we are going to order some wine corkscrews and bottle stopper combo sets to see if that resonates with the public better that the standard bottle openers. If we can't move these items at the next farmers market we can always gift them to friends for Christmas and we can always donate some to Child Share to put with their silent auction items (Booze Baskets and Walls of Wine are always large sellers with them and those products would compliment them and give us some business exposure.) We might also be able to sell some items for them in November to some really high end lifestyle people who have lots of money!

Farmer's Market Run Down

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Last Friday SCB did his second run at the local farmer's market and we are proud to say he did better than last month.... but boy were we worried.
The weather wouldn't cooperate and stayed grey and uninviting so business was really slow in the beginning. It took 30 minuets into the market for him to sell a single item... one bottle opener (which went for $15 since we knocked the price down $5 since none sold last month).
Then it took almost 2 and a half hours down the line for more action to start happening. This worried us because last month all the action happened the first few hours and he didn't sell anything after 11:45am... but thankfully this was just the opposite! In the last hour and 15 minutes he sold:
4 pens to one lady...
Then 2 bottle stopper corkscrew sets....
then another pen....
and another...
then 3 more pens before closing up shop

None of the matching letter opener/pen sets sold, despite dropping the price down $5 to $30 for the set... and our $5 "support the artist" key chains didn't move either, but those don't cost us much since we use the blanks from broken pens so it only costs us the small kit.
But i'm very grateful that he ended up selling 10 pens, one bottle opener, and 2 of the corkscrew bottle stoppers for a total of $195.00 before any fees.
Most people paid in cash this time too which was very different from the first market with only one person paying cash.
After the $20 stall fee and the $2.66 in credit card fees, we walked away with $172.34 for the day (not including the $14.63 we collected in sales tax that i'll remit to the state at the end of the month).
Unfortunately not all the money we earned will be able to be re-invested in SCB's business. We noticed the day before that our petty cash box didn't have the correct amount of money in it to start the sales day. It took a few minutes for us to figure out what happened to it, but we had taken some money out of it after the market last month to get change and forgot to put it back in there.... so it just stayed in SCB's wallet and we just assumed it was pocket money and whittled it away here and there over the course of last month/this month.... so we used some of the profits to "fix the till" after our showing.
But just like with last time, we will be re-investing the money on more inventory... and we are sticking just to pens since they sell more then anything else and are the least costly item to make. It's our hope that we might be able to get a spot in the holiday boutique around Christmas time and really do some great selling because they get a few 1,000 people to come out to it every year... only problem is that the stalls are $90 a pop and we would need a few hundred pens because you need to have inventory to cover both days.... which would mean some serious investing in the company... like dropping a grand on supplies. It's not out of the question, but we are taking it slow and using the farmer's market as a test site for what sells and doesn't sell.
Also, since we are hands down their easiest drama free vendor, the gal who runs the market said she would try and squeeze us in next month is someone cancels last minute or if they re-configure the set up so they can fit more vendors... So who knows, we might be back in a month to sell again! :)
So, since we sold 10 pens, we ordered enough supplies to make 20 more pens from our two main suppliers and SCB will get to work for our August showing if not one for July.
I'm hoping by the end of the year that we will be able to break even on the business and possibly start pulling money out once we have a sizable inventory all geared up and ready to go.

No more Unemployment

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Well, its official. We got a letter in the mail saying SCB was no longer eligible for unemployment extensions because the income he could use to qualify was not significant enough to garner an extension in one of the federal programs.

Amazingly, it actually took us 26 weeks to clear out the funds we were awarded in the Unemployment bank because there were 2 weeks (the weeks we did the farmer's market) where we didn't get our weekly check because we made more money then was brought in with the unemployment... that and our last check paid out to us was $1.00

All in all we received $1,905.00 in Unemployment... and i'm glad we took it. It allowed us to get our emergency fund finished and in place and it gave us some start up funds for SCB's pen turning business. It also gave us some good time to readjust our budget and spending to where we are now.

If we had applied for benefits in November when they had laid him off, we would still be getting unemployment payments because there's some rule about getting to use an unfinished claim when a newer one runs out or something like that... So my advice to anyone else out there--- apply the nano second you get laid off... no matter how temporary the situation may be.

But, its water under the bridge and hindsight is 20-20 and i'm not going to fester over something that just isn't worth my time.

25 Haziran 2012 Pazartesi

Monthly Spending

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After this weekend my life should go back to "normal" since Relay For Life will be gone and passed. I'll know what free time is and i'll truly be soaking it up!

No more crochet flowers for fundraisers... after hour runs to the storage building... and trying to cram too much in before the day is done.

SCB has been busy running around getting things set up for his next farmer's market appearance (2 days before fathers day) so we will market his pens as the perfect father's day gift and see if there really is a market for them. If there is, we will be branching out to other farmer's markets in the area to see if we might be able to get more exposure. We got a letter in the mail from the Unemployment office telling SCB that he has an on the phone interview with them about continuing his benefits... No idea what that is about... We find out tomorrow.

But now, monthly spending reports because I haven't had the time for weekly updates in awhile...

1-May

$17.24 VictoriaSecret

2-May

$15.00 Dr.Visit
$5.00 Prescription Refill

3-May

$126.00 Giving-American Cancer Society
$7.80 - Ralphs (Groceries)

4-May

$32.08 Target(New Dress Shoes- SCB)
$13.95Chipotle (Date Night)

5-May No Spend 6-May

$45.15 Freshand Easy (Groceries)

7-May

$44.85Electricity
$808.18Mortgage Payment
$10.50Ebay (Mother's Day)
$ 7.99Ebay (Mother's Day)

8-May

$8.59 Walmart
$12.12Subway
$52.00Elephant Bar (Birthday Dinner)
$53.55Gasoline
$ 2.00Movie Theater
$5.00magnet pen@the beach.

9-May

$53.75 Walmart(stuff for my bike)
$ 6.93USPS (Mail mothers day stuff)
$25.00Red Robin (Date Night)

10-May

$5.34 Walmart(Stuff for my bike)
$11.11Home Depo (Peg Board/ Bike Hooks)

11-May

$13.95 Chipotle

12-May

$38.98 Costco(Groceries & mothers day flowers)
$12.36Sprouts
$44.33Gas for SCB

13-May

$13.80 Walmart
$ 7.68Ralphs

14-May

$67.27 Walmart(EZ up & yarn)
$10.00perscription
$15.00doctors visit

15-May

$19.98 Woot Shirt
$10.00Church giving

16-May

$5.85 Ralphs

17-May No Spend18-May

$13.95 Chipotle(Date Night)
$ 8.63Target (House items)

19-May

$6.23 Sprouts (Groceries)
$137.73Cell Phones
$30.37Costco (Groceries)

20-May No Spend21-May

$35.87 Target(Water filters)
$362.51Car Insurance-SCG
$198.59Car Insurance- SCB
$262.50HOA

22-May

$6.15 Subway
$62.32Gas

23-May

$20.00 Prescription

24-May

$20.00 AmericanCancer Society

25-May

$1.00 Ralphs
$22.47Pei Wei (Date Night)
$26.68Staples (Work Expenses)
$ 1.00Ralphs (Groceries)
$10.51Sprouts (groceries)
$12.55Fresh & Easy Groceries

26-May

$4.98 StaterBro's (Groceries)

27-May

$10.48 Walmart

28-May

$6.96 Fresh &Easy (Groceries)

29-May

$35.14 Internet
$3.37Ralphs (Groceries)

June Budget

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Looks like a few new changes for us this month. We have decided that since i'm regularly attending SCB's church that we will resume trying to give despite his lack of job at the moment and our unsure basis with unemployment. It just feels like we have been missing something not doing it the past few months so while it means our budget is going to get tighter, its something we feel like we need to do at this point in time...

I'm proud that we were able to rein in some of our spending last month to help prepare us for the changes happening this month. We spent 66% less on eating out this month then we did last!

As for ongoing items, We still need to get SCB to the dentist and therefore have not touched our $2600 slush fund. We are hoping that this month we will finally be able to get it taken care of!

After the dental is done, we'd like to replace the fan/vent in the bathroom, finish the trim and paint on the laundry room door we installed 6 months ago, get that car fund to $1,000.00, set aside gas money to go out to Utah over the holidays ($300), and toss a few extra bucks at the mortgage if we are able.... Mind you that all comes only after we max out my Roth IRA.

We have amphibious goals... and to be honest, they are a bit daunting at the moment.

Here's our June Budget:

Paycheck #1:

Mortgage (P&I, Property taxes, MIP): $808.18
Giving $120.00
Groceries & Food: $250.00
Prescriptions/doctors appointments: $21.22

Paycheck #2:

Giving: $120.00
HOA: $262.50
Insurance (2 Autos, earthquake, homeowners) $143.00
Utility Bills (2 Cell Phones, Electricity, Internet): $230.00
Prescriptions/doctors appointments: $10.00
Gasoline/Auto: $150.00
Christmas: $50.00
Date Nights/ Spending Money $80.00
Roth IRA $153.90

So if you can do the math, our Roth IRA is going to come up short by 114.82 a month (assuming we dump $1,000 of each "extra check" I get into the Roth this year).

We also lost our birthday savings fund ($50 a month) and we really reduced our gasoline/auto monthly allotment.

So any overtime and extra windfalls will first go to the Roth IRA to catch it up before its applied anywhere else. We will see how it works next month. I know I will have holiday pay and overtime on a paycheck or two in June so that will help if we run a bit off with the new budget.

I'm also getting three paychecks next month so the Roth IRA is going to get some serious MONEY!!!

How we spent our Money Last Month:

Groceries/House Supplies: $217.29
Eating Out: 107.59
Gasoline: $160.20
Car Repairs/Other: $561.10 (insurance)
Giving: $156.00
Prescriptions: $35.00
Housing: $1,070.68
Re-occurring Bills (Cell, Electricity, Internet): $217.72
SCB's Wood Turning/Business: $213.79 (not including the EZ Up cause I lost that Receipt)
Gifts/birthdays: $121.66 (my birthday + Mother's day)
Clothes: $52.06
Other: $170.33
Medical/Dental/Vision: $30.00

How we spent our Money thus far in 2012:

Groceries/Household Supplies: $1,211.13
Eating Out: $794.87
Cars

Gasoline: $764.05
Car Repairs/Smog/Registration/INS: $798.01

Giving: $544.84
Prescriptions: $103.00
Housing: $5,352.99
Re-occurring Bills

Cell: $685.12
Electricity: $204.72
Internet: $185.12

SCB's Wood Turning: $650.93
Gifts/Birthdays/Holidays: $436.18
Medical/Dental/Vision: $318.95
Vacation: $516.57

Utah

$85.52 Shopping
$168.88 Gasoline / Tolls / Transportation
$119.98 Food/Eating Out

Disneyland: $142.19 (Parking, Food, & Shopping)

Clothes/Other: $634.56

Car insurance update!

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Over the course of this past year, we have been making an effort to eliminate and get rid of some of our annual bills since SCB does not have a regular job anymore. (See Here & Here for some cuts we already made)

After receiving our 6 month car insurance premium bills an idea came to mind. I called and asked if we could get a discount on SCB's insurance since he was no longer driving to work and maybe only filled up his car once a month.

Turns out, we could!

I just received a refund check for $42.92!

So, his 6 month car insurance bill is now only $155.67! Mine is $362.51 still since I still drive my car to work and my car is newer and i had that one stop light issue that hasn't gone away yet.

Since these bills are paid every 6 months we take the amount we pay and multiply it by 2, then add our earthquake annual premium ($322) and our homeowners annual premium (261) and then divide by 12 figure out how much we need to set aside monthly to cover all our insurance bills.
Looks like we only need to set aside $135.00 a month to cover our annual insurance bills instead of $143.00.

Weekly Updates

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We had a fairly busy week this week. I worked 7 days straight, teaching two lifeguard in-service/training days for our staff before the summer season hits just next week... and we wrapped up our farmer's market visit. I'll write a whole post for that topic in the coming days, but i'm happy to say we did better then last time :).

We got a slew of BOGO coupons for Chipotle, and since its walking distance from our place, we used one this week for a cheap date night... and I really proud of our weekly spending this week. We didn't buy anything we didn't plan on getting! It was a week of just groceries, gas, and one date night! After our prior weeks and months of stress spending, i'm glad we are starting to get things under control again.

I got paid on Friday and got the holiday pay from working Memorial Day weekend on my check. We will keep this money in the budget for 2 weeks and if we don't dip into it, we will transfer it to savings when my next paycheck drops in at the end of the month (since its a 3 paycheck month!!!).

We were able to transfer SCB's extra $100 from his vacation pay out to savings, so our car fund sits now needed $730.42 to hit $1,000.00. Sadly, this little account will take a hit next month most likely since my car will be hitting 70k miles on it and i'll need to take it in to be serviced.

And gas.... Under $4 a gallon!!!!!!

Weekly Spending

9-Jun	$12.52 Gas
	$15.16 Costco (Sliced Cheese, buns, Roast Chicken)
	$30.83 Fresh & Easy (Groceries)
10-Jun
11-Jun
12-Jun
13-Jun	$7.22 Chipotle (Date Night) Woot for BOGO Coupon
14-Jun	$3.92 CVS (Posterboard for farmers market)
15-Jun

Money Goals

2012 Roth IRA SCG: $1,387.63 / $5,000.00 (27.75%)
Paying Extra on the House: $45.77 / $1,301.28 (2 additional mortgage payments) (3.51%).
$1,000.00 Car Fund: $269.58 / $1,000.00 (26.96%)
2nd Roth IRA: $0 / ? We're just aiming to put 15% of what SCB earns in this account. Unemployment doesn't count as income... so I think we have to wait until his business turns a profit.

Farmer's Market Run Down

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24 Haziran 2012 Pazar

Workout for less

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Gym memberships have been on my mind lately. Last year when I was laid off, I had just joined a high end fitness club: individual TVs on all the equipment, towel service, good shampoo, and disposable razors (not that all of my time was spent in the shower, but you know what I mean). And it was the one luxury I could not give up. Instead, I switched to the "matinee plan" which basically meant my hours were restricted to the times when the gym's empty (11am-4pm weekdays, 1-8pm weekends) and that suited me just fine for the months I was without a job.

A year later, I'm starting to rethink the gym membership. For starters, I rarely go anymore -- but not for the reason you're thinking. I don't go because it's more convenient and enjoyable to workout from home. After months of exploring classes, doing circuits on the machines, and trying really hard to enjoy the elliptical, I honed down my workout to two activities: weight lifting and running. The funny thing is, both require next to no equipment.

Dumbbells
Lets talk weight lifting first. In December, I bought this book: Men's Health Ultimate Dumbbell Guide by Myatt Murphy. I bought it because I wasn't seeing results with the weight machines at the gym and I didn't feel like shelling out money for a trainer. I also bought it because the instructions, routines and equipment were simple. The pictures were uncluttered and showed both men and women doing the exercises. As someone who has never been formally trained in dumbbells (or any other weight lifting) this was *so simple* to understand. Total investment was about $30 for dumbbells and $19.95 for the book. Results? AWESOME! In just 2-3 sets per week of the beginner routine, I saw major changes in the first month. Far better than the months of machine work that yielded next to no results.

Running
Next, running. Well, I love running. I'm very slow (11 minute mile, people), but it's one of the most satisfying activities to do outside. It relieves stress and burns calories like nothing else. Plus, there's not too much you need to know, aside from a few good stretches at the end. Investment here was $50 for running shoes and $50 for an iPod shuffle (I need music to run.) Again, outstanding results in a short period of time. Just about all of my pants are loose after a few months of running for 30 minutes 2-4 times per week.

Annual Cost vs. Benefit
My at-home workout of weight lifting and running, which yielded noticeable results, totaled $150. My gym membership, on the other hand, cost $960 for the year, and didn't have much of an impact. So, if you're in the middle of a layoff, or just trying to cut back, I suggest doing a cost/benefit analysis of your exercise expenses versus results for the year. You might discover that it's not much of a sacrifice to ditch the gym membership.

For some additional ideas on how to workout for less, check out this article from the San Diego Union Tribune: "Survival of the Fitness".

Strangers Lend a Hand

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Yesterday when I was reading a Wall Street Journal article on strangers helping strangers find jobs an incident from several years ago came to mind. I was at a diner in Georgetown and had just finished my meal when I realized, to great embarrassment, that I'd forgotten my wallet at home. As I started to explain to my server what had happened, a gentlemen seated further down the counter offered to pay for my meal. I will never forget my feeling of gratitude towards that man for his simple act of kindness.

Having been unemployed several times, the experience transfers. At first, there's a sensation of fear, realizing you no longer have income. Then, you're explaining your situation to people (networking with strangers). And, seemingly out of the blue, a person hears you -- really listens to you -- and offers to help. It never ceases to amaze me that it happens every time. How friends of friends extend their network, former colleagues, spouse's colleagues, neighbors, acquaintances from daycare, old friends from high school and college, and now even virtual acquaintances via Twitter, LinkedIn and the rest.

It's made me realize that I was never truly alone at that diner in Georgetown, and you are not alone either. That this hidden network has always existed, sitting silently on all sides, waiting for the word to step in and help out. That people are pulling for you. That they want you to succeed.

So, if you're unemployed right now, let the shock wear down, start telling people your story, and eventually you will find someone who's listening, someone who has been, in fact, waiting to hear your story.

And if you're employed, open your ears to the conversations around you. Need surrounds us in small ways and large. When we open ourselves to hear the message, we can create better outcomes for everyone, whether it's buying someone lunch, offering a smile, or actually helping a stranger find a new job.

Unemployed, again

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Time to get real. Today is my last official day in the office. A couple of weeks ago, my boss and I began a discussion that has ended in a decision to part ways. It's been hard not writing about this, but I needed to keep it confidential until the details were confirmed.

Transitioning into unemployment is both very similar and very different than it was a year ago. Last year my initial reaction was shock, heart-break, confusion. I didn't see it coming. But I also had lots of help: severance, a job outplacement consultant, and a network of untapped resources for informational interviews and job prospects.

This time around, I knew it was a possibility that things wouldn't work out. And when it came time to part ways, it felt right. Of course, it's still been difficult. This time there's no severance, no professional help, plus the awkward situation of telling former colleagues, friends, and acquaintances that I'm on the market...again.

All the old, familiar fears have floated up out of the woodwork like animated ghouls: "You'll go broke! No one wants to hire you! You're a looser! You'll never get a job in this economy!" Oh, and all the paperwork! Filing for unemployment. Transferring retirement accounts. Canceling...anything that can be canceled to save money.

And yet, there is also the calm, steady voice from within with its reassuring counter: "You're going to be okay. This part of your life has ended, but a new part is about to begin! You are one step closer to realizing new goals, new dreams, a new life."

So, I will go into the office today. I will pack up my picture frame, shoes, and extra coat. My bowl and bamboo utensils. The stapler I bought with my own money. I'll hand over my files, my key pass, my laptop. And I'll say goodbye to the dedicated, amazing souls that made working there a pleasure.

Then, I'll walk down the stairs, into the lobby that I first entered almost a year to the date. But this time, when I walk through the door, it will not be to an office and coworkers and business. It will be to a cool spring breeze, new flowers, blue skies and the old steady magnolia tree in its glory once more. And I will be okay.

Social Networking and The Organic You

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It strikes me how completely different the start of my job search is this year than last year. For starters, social networking. I know there have been a million blog postings and articles about this already. But it's one thing to read about it, quite another to experience it.

Where as last year, I sent an email announcement to friends and colleagues that I was looking for work, this time I put it in my status on Gmail and Facebook. I Twittered. I blogged. And the responses came in, just the way they did last year. So what's changed here? Different methods. Similar results. Well, yes...and no.

Getting leads is about the same. But the process after that is different. This time, I'm prepared for employers to follow me on Twitter, read my blog, friend me on Facebook, join my network on LinkedIn. They will have access to my hobbies and pastimes, causes and interests, past jobs, current thoughts, future aspirations.

And, there's something very organic and lovely about that.

Because, after all, humans are not very good at describing themselves. I could write you a novel about who I am, but you would get a more accurate view by:

observing my interactions with friends;
seeing how I align myself to causes, interests and ideas; and
reading my thoughts about topics other than myself.

That's why a cover letter and resume only tell a very small part of the puzzle.

I'd like to think that this "organic me" available online is a better representation of my potential as an employee. That if a company takes the time to see me in my native surroundings, they will know pretty quickly if I'm in alignment with their company culture and ultimately a good fit for their team. And that's what I'm really searching for in the next job, the ideal alignment of my interests, goals and aspirations with that of my employer.

So, if you're thinking of hiring me: thanks for visiting. This is me -- the organic Katie Kemple.

If you're looking for a job (like me), I suggest embracing your organic online self and be active!

Showcase your interests: Blog, Tweet, and comment about things you love and care about. What's important to you and when is the last time you sent a link, posting, or comment about it?

Increase your interactions: Show future employers how you collaborate with others, lend support, and share ideas. Are you a team player online? Do you comment on other people's posts? Do you offer help?

Follow prospective employers: Read their blog posts, follow them on Twitter. Discover who they are organically online. Do they have a similar hobby? Are their work ethics and philosophy in alignment with yours?

What I'm Giving Up

Clothes: I shouldn't need to buy new clothes. I have enough suits for interviews and jeans and t-shirts to wear around the house. Nonessential

Hair: My hair is really short right now, but no job = no bob. I'll need one last trip to the salon to get things evened out and ready to grow. Semi-essential

Makeup: I don't wear very much, but I stockpiled the expensive stuff at a Christmas sale. All the rest, I buy at the beauty bodega down the street for less than $6 a piece. Semi-essential

Entertainment: First, DC's full of free museums and many lovely parks. Second, my bedside drawer is stacked with books I haven't read. Third, we've got NetFlix, TiVo and various online viewing options. Nonessential

Eating out: This is both an easy & hard one. It's extremely easy for me to eat what's in the house. On the other hand, one expense that's always worth it (especially in unemployment) is connecting with people over lunch and drinks. Essential

23 Haziran 2012 Cumartesi

What I'm Giving Up

Clothes: I shouldn't need to buy new clothes. I have enough suits for interviews and jeans and t-shirts to wear around the house. Nonessential

Hair: My hair is really short right now, but no job = no bob. I'll need one last trip to the salon to get things evened out and ready to grow. Semi-essential

Makeup: I don't wear very much, but I stockpiled the expensive stuff at a Christmas sale. All the rest, I buy at the beauty bodega down the street for less than $6 a piece. Semi-essential

Entertainment: First, DC's full of free museums and many lovely parks. Second, my bedside drawer is stacked with books I haven't read. Third, we've got NetFlix, TiVo and various online viewing options. Nonessential

Eating out: This is both an easy & hard one. It's extremely easy for me to eat what's in the house. On the other hand, one expense that's always worth it (especially in unemployment) is connecting with people over lunch and drinks. Essential

Welcome to our New VALF Members

To contact us Click HERE

Broward County Library Learning Services

Community Learning Center

DeSoto County Literacy Council

Hillsborough Literacy Council Inc.

Hope Community Center

Library Literacy Friends, Inc.

Literacy Council of St. Petersburg

Literacy Council of Upper Pinellas

Literacy Volunteers of Gadsden Co., Inc

Literacy Vol. of Big Bend

Martin Co Library Center for Reading & Literacy

Palm Beach Library Adult Lit. Project

Bay County Public Library Volunteers for Literacy

Library Snapshot Day November 2, 2011

To contact us Click HERE
Make sure you literacy program is recognized in your public library's snapshot day. Talk with your library to see if they are participating. If so, coordinate with the library to show library partnerships with literacy programs. Ask the library to make sure they snap a picture of a tutor with a student working together in your library. Of course, get the permission of the pair first. Other ideas for pictures-- your literacy program manager browsing the library's adult literacy collection, photo of a tutor talking with the reference librarian about his/her needs for topics to use in lessons, student taking his family to story time or using the instructional programs on the computer .... or --come up with your own brainchild for a photo and share with VALF too.
Plan Your Florida Library Snapshot Day on
November 2, 2011 With These Simple Steps

Are you thinking about participating in the Florida Library Snapshot Day- November 2nd - but are not sure how? Just follow these simple steps:

Step 1 - Visit our website to learn more about the event and talk to your co-workers, supervisors, and friends about this initiative and get them motivated!

Step 2 - Stay in the loop and connect with other libraries by visiting FLA Snapshot Day on Facebook or Twitter and let us know your library is participating by emailing your library name and website address to: snapshotfla@gmail.com

Step 3 -Visit the Florida Library Snapshot Day website in October to get ideas for planning events, promo materials, and the data collection, photo permission and comment forms you will need to collect on the day of the event.
Step 4 - Participate on November 2, 2011 (or whichever date you’ve selected) by taking photographs and collecting statistics and patron/customer comments
Step 5 - Collect and submit statistics, photographs, comments and more by November 16!

Step 6 - Use the results to your Library’s advantage! Check out these 16 easy ways to Make Snapshot Success Work for Your Library

Still have questions? The FLA Public Relations Committee is here to help you, so please contact us if you need any assistance.

FLA Snapshot Day is sponsored by the Florida Library Association and the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services.

Tutor Inservice for Adult Literacy in Tampa on October

To contact us Click HERE
Register today for the October 22, Saturday, workshop in Tampa, the Fast Track Reading System: Exploring the Relationship Between Sounds & Syllables. It's an essential skill many adult literacy programs fail to teach. It is a method that helps adult learners see immediate results and encourages them to stay in programs longer. This training is for adult literacy tutors and for those who want to learn strategies to help teens and adults who have learning differences.

Sharon Jaskula will provide an overview of a curriculum developed by the Jacksonville Public Library with the support of a Library Services and Technology Act Grant administered by the Florida Division of Library and Information Services. This curriculum focuses on using syllable division and syllable types as a way to strengthen the word attack skills of new readers. Discover the piece that your students have been missing and open up a whole new world.

Location: Hillsborough County Public Library
              Town 'N Country Regional Public Library,
              7606 Paula Dr., Suite 120,
              Tampa, FL 33615-4116
              Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Lunch is being provided by the Hillsborough Literacy Council To register email DouglasJS@hillsboroughCounty.org by Friday, October 14.

VALF stands for Volunteers for Adult Literacy in Florida.
OUR
MISSION
The mission of Volunteers for Adult Literacy in Florida is to enhance and promote the abilities of individuals and organizations to provide direct and indirect literacy instruction to adults and families in need through volunteer service.

OUR VISION
The ability to read, write and speak the English language shall be provided in all 67 counties of the State of Florida by trained literacy volunteers. These volunteers will equip adults and families with the tools necessary to solve the literacy problems encountered in daily life.