#but the other is like 15-25 hrs a week on top of my 25-50 hrs i average for my main job so

[cerbreus]

ngl 3 jobs at the same time was not my wisest decision but it is a decision i must live with now

[365-money-diary]

DAYS 43-49

DAY FORTY-THREE

7:30 AM - Up a little early so I can close on my house. The process is pretty easy and I feel safe about it and such. We do it on the front porch with 6 foot folding table.

8:30 AM - I need to re-caulk the side door trim before I can start painting so I do that while I make my chemex. This is fun (not) because I don’t own a caulk gun. 

10:30 AM - Eat a plant yogurt

12:00 PM - Snack on chips and salsa – damn the salsa I made is so good this time. Also make salad for lunch. I’m set up in the kitchen today which is clearly a bad scene because I keep going to the pantry for more snacks. Relocate to the bedroom.

2:00 PM - I really should get my barre class out of the way today. I have a 4PM happy hour and I know I won’t want to work out after that, so I do a 10 minute low impact ride and then start class.

4:00 PM - I get done with most of the class and hop on zoom. Make refried beans in the instant pot for dinner while we chat.

5:00 PM - Finish the zoom and knock out the last 10 minutes of barre. I don’t like to split the classes up like that but oh well. 

6:00 PM - Finish making the beans as well as rice and jackfruit for burritos. K isn’t hungry so I watch an episode of The Challenge before making the burritos.

7:30 PM - Ok these are really good. Dang! I don’t want to drink tonight so I open a La Croix and try to hydrate.

DAY FORTY-THREE TOTAL: $0

DAY FORTY-FOUR

8:00 AM - I’m awake and I feel really good. K is still pretty conked out and I get the idea to go to Cartel. I haven’t been in a few months because cases were super high but now seems like a good opportunity. This is the one thing I do behind K’s back. It’s contactless and it’s super safe so I don’t really consider it to be a risk but I know he isn’t ready to drink things directly out of containers they’re served in on the same day you buy them so let’s just leave this between us. Buy a hot oat milk latte and tip $10. $17.57 

10:00 AM - Make a chemex so K doesn’t suspect anything. Hang with him on the couch for a bit and then start moving around the furniture in the kitchen to start taping.

11:30 AM - Take a break to cook breakfast - tofu/egg tacos with field roast sausage.

12:15 PM - Back to taping. It takes forev, but I think I did a good job.

3:45 PM - First coat done. Watch an episode of The challenge before I apply the second.

5:30 PM - Done with the second. Watch more of the challenge.

7:00 PM - Dinner tonight is pozole. I take my time making it and drink a glass of wine while I cook.

8:00 PM - Dang this is so delicious.

DAY FORTY-FOUR TOTAL: $17.57

DAY FORTY-FIVE

9:00 AM - Woah I am SO SORE. What the hell? My quads. Make a chemex and work on putting the kitchen back together, but I run out of time and have to meet with S and her BF on zoom. K joins me and it’s a really good time. 

11:15 PM - Ok back to tape removal. 

12:15 PM - Done! / Looks good! Make more tofu tacos for breakfast.

2:00 PM - My boss is applying for citizenship in the US and she asked me to help build her a website. I have totally spaced it over the past two weeks and get cracking on it today. Make some good progress and send her what I have.

4:00 PM - Watch some episodes of The Challenge. For whatever reason this feels like the first time I’ve actually relaxed this weekend and I am here for it.

6:00 PM - We drive to a bar I DJ at on the reg during non-pandemic times to do a pick up of their Valentine’s Day special. Neither K or I are big V Day fans and we feel like this is good enough to “celebrate.” We get two veggie dogs, fries and a bottle of wine to take home. J (my friend who owns the bar) runs my card for $31ish and I tip $20. K insists he pays and he venmos me $50. $1.89

7:00 PM - I haven’t had fries in like… a year. And these ones are really delicious! The wine is good too. Spend the rest of the evening catching up on my blog. I haven’t felt very motivated to work on it this month.

8:00 PM - Get a charge from Amazon… S is buying movies again. Make a venmo request for $16 and she fulfills it. $0.19

DAY FORTY-FIVE TOTAL: $2.08

DAY FORTY-SIX

8:30 AM - WOW I am still sore WTF. Make a chemex and notice my tea kettle has a rust spot. Damnit. At this point, I would rather just buy an electric kettle with a gooseneck spout to get rid of both of my kettles, but I’m trying to stick to my budget this month. I’ve been covering K’s groceries throughout the pandemic and he owes me around $2k at this point. Because of this, I’ve kind of cut back on clothing and other frivolous purchases until he starts to pay me back so I can still save money every month. But rust is rust and I don’t want to get sick. Buy a Stagg EKG kettle with a nice wood handle. $160.62

10:00 AM - plant yogurt, a clementine and Pure Barre weekly charge. $15

12:00 PM - It’s salad time but I’m kind of out of tempeh and am a little burnt out on the miso Asian vibe anyways. Toss together some greens, bell pepper, onion, carrots, snap peas, cucumber, and a frozen Quorn spicy chicken patty and top it with cashew ranch. It’s honestly really good. 

4:00 PM - Call M to wish him a happy bday. Tell him either next Sunday or the Sunday after that we will do a lunch thing together in his backyard to celebrate. Drink a nuun while we chat.

5:15 PM - I do a pure barre workout but make the mistake of doing it on my work computer at the post-workday slacks are coming in hot this AM. My body’s HR doesn’t really pick up but I still feel proud of myself for pushing thru the soreness.

7:00 PM - K and I eat big burritos for dinner with jackfruit, beans, rice, lettuce, tofutti sour cream, cheeze, and jalapenos with chips and salsa. They’re so good and I am sad that we’re out of tortilla chips and salsa now.

8:00 PM - Since dinner was kinda big and I had fries yesterday, I spend the evening hydrating instead of drinking wine. K and I watch a 4 part docuseries on Elisa Lam & the Cecil Hotel. At some point he goes off to work on some stuff and I wrap up this website I’m building for my boss who is working on getting her green card.

DAY FORTY-SIX TOTAL: $175.62

DAY FORTY-SEVEN

9:00 AM - Make a chemex. Finish the site and send it to my boss who approves. Hopefully I don’t have to actually post it for her. I hate dealing with hosting and such. 

10:00 AM - I don’t really want yogurt today and find a small portion of tofu scramble leftover from Sunday. Heat that up and top with truffle hot sauce.

12:00 PM - Kill the rest of the salad ingredients today by making the same dish as yesterday but with peas instead of red bell peppers. Review the site I made for my boss. She sends me a $100 amazon gift card! How sweet.

5:00 PM - Get sucked in a meeting and am not able to leave until 5:30. I’m not interested in exercising this late so I zone out on the couch for a bit and snack on some gf pretzels. Start a new season of The Challenge. Drink a glass of wine.

7:00 PM - Heat up leftover pozole for dinner. Eat with K while we “watch” a hockey game. 

8:30 PM - Pour another glass of wine and chat on the phone with Q. I end up feeling super antsy halfway through our conversation and decide to take a walk. I do a nice loop down to the lake and back to my house. Next time we decide that we will walk together.

10:30 PM - I check my phone after our conversation to see 100 slack messages from various team members. Looks like there is something going on which will affect the report I have to give tomorrow. Read thru, ask some questions and feel good about what I have to change.

DAY FORTY-SEVEN TOTAL: $0

DAY FORTY-EIGHT

8:15 AM - Up a little early today so I can adjust my report. Make a chemex while I pull numbers.

9:30 AM - Present the info. It’s good stuff! My boss is out of town so I think today should be pretty chill. Get a note from my bank that the wire of leftover funds from the mortgage stuff has been transferred to my checking totaling $1250.39. 

12:00 PM - Make broccoli fried rice for lunch. Things turn chaotic for the rest of the day and by the time I know it, it’s 4:00 PM

4:15 PM - Decide to cut out early today and take a live barre class. 20 minutes in (10 minutes before 5), I get a message from my teammate asking to hop on zoom. She has computer issues so I’m actually able to finish the class before she’s ready. 

7:00 PM - Finally done working. Rinse off and make pasta for dinner. Drink 3 glasses of wine. 

9:30 PM - K and I play Mario Kart for a while before turning in.

DAY FORTY-EIGHT TOTAL: $0

DAY FORTY-NINE

8:30 AM - Today has to be more chill than yesterday… It just has to be. Make a chemex. See that my hair dresser is selling shirts for her shop. Venmo her. $25

12:00 PM - Prep chicken seitan shreds. Broccoli fried rice for lunch with seltzer. 

1:30 PM - Finish making the seitan, eat an apple, gf pretzels and carrots. I realize I forgot to eat breakfast this AM. Ugh.

5:00 PM - My butt is super sore from yesterday but I do my barre workout anyways. It’s so nice to not be interrupted. My cal burn is low but I don’t even care. It’s just nice to move.

6:00 PM - Rinse off and prep dinner. We make buffalo chicken sandwiches with roasted potatoes. They turn out pretty good and I’m excited to eat them over the next few days.

8:00 PM - Drink a glass of wine. I google if I can have more since I’m getting the COVID vaccine tomorrow and it seems like one is ok but maybe not more so I decide against it.

DAY FORTY-NINE TOTAL: $25

[pearlsnowflake]

2010′s

2010’s Thinking about this last decade and there are so many amazing milestones, losses, triumphs, memories, successes and more. This decade provided the following memories 2010 - I dropped out of college, one semester short of graduation. My first job (Wendy’s) promoted me to a shift supervisor. I moved in with my boyfriend and his family. We went on my first cruise and my first international vacation. I swam with sharks and hand fed a scarlet macaw Jamaica, fed green turtles in Grand Cayman and petted Ernest Hemenway’s cats in Key West 2011 - I quit my job at Wendy’s and took the summer off to relax and revaluate my priorities. My parents moved out of the home I grew up in and moved to a one-bedroom apartment in the next city over. I took a weeklong vacation to Lincoln, New Hampshire. I went to the top of Mt. Washington and saw six moose on a moose tour. 2012 - Six weeks after getting a job at Catherine’s plus sizes as a supervisor, I was promoted to Assistant Manager. At the age of 24, I was the youngest manager in my district. (All of New England). I was also top in sales for the state of Massachusetts. I went to Niagara Falls and enjoyed every moment of it. I never got tired of seeing the waterfalls. 2013 - Quit my job as an Assistant Manager at Catherine’s when my boss was screaming at me in front of customers because I didn’t catch a small mistake made by another employee. I broke up with my boyfriend of seven years. Our relationship and our lives weren’t moving forward, and he didn’t see a problem with it. Therefore, I moved back in with my parents at 25. I traveled to NYC with my parents to celebrate their 30th anniversary. By the end of the year I was a Swing Manager at McDonald’s working 50 hrs a week. 2014 - Easter Sunday was my first Sunday off in six months. I was bored and downloaded Tinder. Within 10 minutes, I matched with Chris. We spent the next five days texting and on the phone with each other. On April 25th, I traveled five hours on two busses, 2 subways and a commuter rail to get from Lowell to Hartford to meet Chris at the bus station. We went on our first date to Mooyah in New Britain. Six months later, I quit my job at McDonald’s and moved to Connecticut and into our first apartment. I had lived in Massachusetts for 23 years and it’s the only state that I ever remember living in. 2015 - Chris and I traveled with his parents to New Hampshire and saw the Ice Castles. That March, we found out that I was pregnant. I was on the Depo Provera shot. When we went to the Planned Parenthood two days after we found out, the pregnancy was deemed high risk as my HCG levels were about 3 times what they should have been for six weeks along. We spent an entire night and day at St. Francis Hospital to be told by three OB/GYN’s that I had a “unviable pregnancy of unknown location”. A week later we went back to St. Francis for another ultrasound and they found the sac and a heartbeat. The Radiologist said that everything looked normal and my due date was 11/22/15. I refused to believe it, but after three weeks of terrible all-day sickness, the pregnancy was gone. I was 9 weeks, 3 days along. I couldn’t work for an entire week after that. Chris and I have never spoken about it again. After that, I revaluated what I wanted to do with my life. Just not sure what I wanted to do, just that I wanted something that I could help people and that wasn’t a dead end job. That June, Chris was laid off from his first job after graduating college. We had to move in with his parents. I threw myself into working as much as possible. My job at the time was at Panera Bread as an Associate Trainer. That August, I signed up for real estate classes at Manchester Comm. College in Manchester. It took me three months to complete the course, but I passed the final exam with flying colors and looked forward to leaving the restaurant industry behind. Chris and I spent Thanksgiving moving into a two-story townhouse in Ellington. 2016 - I passed my national and state real estate exams on my first try in January. I signed up with Keller Williams in East Longmeadow. My license was issued on February 16th. After a few months, I switched to Keller Williams in West Hartford. I interviewed with several teams. However none of them were the right fit for me. I was still working at Panera but was desperate to leave. That November, I saw a Facebook post on the Keller Williams West Hartford that the Blake Team was looking for a Transaction Coordinator. I responded with my resume immediately and Amina messaged me back within five minutes. Five interviews later, I landed the job and my start date was 1/2/17. After two years at Panera Bread, it felt incredible to put in my two weeks’ notice. 2017 – Started my first “real” job in January in Wallingford. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to learn from. Everything I know about real estate is from this team. While I enjoyed a job that kept me busy. (Our team was the #1 Individual team at Keller Williams in New England that year) I knew that I wanted to go back to school to finish my bachelor’s degree. That May, I applied to Central Connecticut State University and I was accepted. I started in August as a general business major as I didn’t really know what I wanted to major in. It was intimidating to sit in classes of 20-year-old students at nearly 30 years old. Especially after being out of school for nearly nine years. I would work 8 am – Noon, M-F as an ISA on the team and then go to CCSU from 1 PM – 10PM, Monday – Thursday. First semester didn’t go as great as I wanted to, but I kept going. After months of illness, my nana passed away on Nov. 25th. I had visited her two days prior on Thanksgiving, it was heartbreaking to see her like that. 2018 - I continued my education and kept working in real estate. I went back to handling the transactions for the team that August. I did not want to give that up as I’ve worked hard to get my license and to earn a spot-on Amina’s team. Due to financial reasons, I went back to Panera Bread as an Associate Trainer. So along with taking 15 credits at CCSU, working in real estate, I was working at Panera, my only day off was Saturdays. That May ended up declaring my major as Hospitality and Tourism with a minor in Business Administration. Professor Kreeger, who is the head of the department, was the first professor that I met that cared about my education. He took transfer credits that CCSU initially refused to take. Thus, allowing me to graduate a semester early. My grandfather passed away October 1st, he was my last surviving grandparent. 2019 – I started my last semester at CCSU in January and continued to go to school full time and work two jobs. I’m still not sure how I handled it, but I ended up graduating with a 3.6 GPA in my major and a 3.0 overall. That June, I quit Panera Bread again and took on real estate full time again. In September, Amina asked me if I was willing to take BOLD that year. At first, I was hesitant as I had preconceived notions that it was just cheerleading for agents and a scheme for KW to make more money. After seven weeks on the “Untouchables” team, I was hooked. The energy and momentum were more that I was expecting. I even got my first listing appointment while taking BOLD. I’ve already asked Amina if I can take it again in the Spring. As I look back on the past decade, I first saw failures, from relationships, education, jobs and myself. However, I never gave up, I kept going until I reached my goals. Am I where I thought I would be at 32? No, but I am working to get there. There isn’t a timeline for when things need to happen. I’m going at my own pace.

[lesbianshera]

One of my biggest dreams that only a handful of people have ever heard about is the Homelessness Transitional Program I want to start one day, especially here in Chicago.

Basically, it would be a home where people can register to move in and work at. Ideally it would be a large building downtown that is easily accessible to people who would have to walk or take the CTA. I would love to house as many people as I could, the main focus would be with Youths but nobody would be “too old” to join. Many programs here end at 25 years of age. 

Playing with some numbers, lets say I could one day afford a building downtown that has 50 floors to it. The top 30 would be the living quarters, the highest 10 would be for youths. Then 10 would be for families. 5 for the elderly. And 5 for the in between ages. 

Age Ranges would be:

Youths: Anybody 25 and under. Families: Any age, 2 or more people arriving together. In between: 26 - 55 Elderly: 56+

The floors would be set up as so for youths: 

5 floors for exclusively girls (taking into consideration girls running from abusive hetero relationships, girls with a fear of men due to trafficking, assault, abusive parents, etc. Also taking into consideration trans girls who want to surround themselves with a more feminine environment.)

5 floors would be co-ed.

All 10 floors would have “All Gender Restrooms/Locker rooms” as most LGBTQ youth centers here have. The idea is very accepting and gives easier access to many trans and non-binary youths. Also available would be private bathrooms with showers for anybody who isn’t comfortable being the restroom or shower near/with others around the way many locker rooms are set up. 

All floors are set up kind of like dorms, 4 people to a room, 2 sets of bunk beds in each room, 4 wardrobes and 4 desks in each. All rooms are handicap accessible of course and people can request the bottom bunks if needed. Ages would of course be taken into consideration, all roommates would be within 1-2 years of each other. Especially with the younger kids. 

The floors for families would be set up like:

Like apartments. They would have 1-3 bedrooms. Families with only 2 people (whether it’s a couple, a single parent and child or another situation) would get 1 bedrooms only. The bedrooms would be adjusted to have one bed or two beds upon request. Families with 3-5 people (whether it’s 2 parents with 1-3 kids or a single parent with 1-4 kids or another situation) would be allowed a 2 bedroom. Each room could be adjusted in the number of beds, kids would be allowed only a twin sized bed. Families with 6+ people would be allowed 3 bedroom apartments, number of beds would be adjusted as needed. The one and two bedroom apartments would have 1 bathroom and the 3 bedroom apartments would have 2 bathrooms. Each floor would also have a public use restroom/locker room on each floor. 

The floors for the elderly would be set up like:

Apartments as well, all would be 1 bedrooms. A connected restroom with shower for every 2 apartments. 

The floors for the in between ages would be set up like:

Pretty much like the youth rooms, with shared living spaces, the 5 floors for 26-55 year olds would be the 5 just before the youth spaces. Whenever the number of youths is lower, we would allow for more “older” people to use their floors, ages and gender would still be factored in. All youths would still be kept together, nobody over the age of 26 would be allowed to room with anybody 25 and under. A whole floor from the youths could be converted to an adult level if needed. Any runaway youths, orphans or kids kicked out of their homes that are 18 or younger would only be allowed to room with other youths 18 and under. 

The bottom 20 floors would be where most activities then occur. The first floor would be our lobby with a few offices for initial interviews. 

The second floor would be the public hanging space with access to computers for job searches, apartment searches or fun if wanted. There would also be a few rooms with tv’s and coaches for bonding and getting to know others within the program. A small library as well in one room, an art room for anything creative and a board game room. This level would be accessible to not only those living in the building but also for youth who need a place to go and hang out. Those not living within the building however would have to be 25 and under, still need to do an intake and would have a curfew of 7:30pm. The open hours however would be from 10am to 7:30pm, Monday - Fridays. Saturday and Sundays it would only be open to those living in the building. 

The third and fourth floor would each have a large kitchen and large cafeteria, each floor would also have smaller dining areas where anybody who requires a quieter setting would be allowed to go. 

The fifth floor would be our clinic where all initial health intakes are taken to make sure everybody coming in is vaccinated and in good health. Any medications that are needed would be offered as well, insulin, hormones, antibiotics, etc.

The sixth floor would be our mental health rooms. Where we would have offices for around 10 licensed therapists, 4 of whom would/should have a specialty in youth care. We would also have 10 suites for sessions on this floor and a break room for the staff on that floor. 

The seventh floor would be where our case managers work from, hoping for at minimum 20 case workers, these would be the people who help with finding jobs, finding affordable apartments, figuring out where your primary health care provider and dentist will be once you leave the program, etc. This floor would also have a break room for the staff on that level.

The eighth, ninth and tenth floor would all have classrooms where we would teach basic skills such as budgeting, cooking, cleaning, sewing, math, and more. The rooms could also be requested by anybody in the program who wishes to teach something. 

The eleventh floor would be our public laundry room where people could be and do their laundry for free, detergent and such would be given as well. 

The twelfth floor would be our closed laundry room where we would wash all sheets, towels, etc between people staying in rooms. As soon as somebody is moved out their sheets and towels would all be replaced and cleaned etc. 

The thirteenth floor would be where all cleaning supplies would be kept for the building. We would have 50 carts set up as well to be taken and used on each floor each morning. Our large dumpsters as well to be taken around the floors to collect all trash. 

The fourteenth floor would be theater sort of set up with multiple purposes. One of which being for talent shows (primarily for fun and done every 4 months to allow for happy moments with all the staff and program members and open to the public with donation boxes set up.), open to be rented as well by the public for funding purposes. 

The fifteenth floor would be where fundraising gala’s would be held, so it’d be like a large ballroom with a stage, large windows with a view (rich people who donate like the view).

The sixteenth floor would be our HR since the building would be “run” by those within the program. (Expanded on lower in this post)

The seventeenth - nineteenth floors would be closed private spaces for those living within the building. These floors would have mini kitchens with snacks, living room set ups, computers, a gym for physical activities, jogging, volleyball, etc, not accessible to the public. 

Then twenty+ would be the living spaces.

The rooftop would also be used. It would be fenced off for safety reasons but it would have a garden, a few bonfire set ups, it would be a nice little space for people to just go up and get some sun. 

We would have 6 elevators for those within the program, all requiring key/badge access. All people accepted into the program would receive a badge with their photo and name on it, that key would be programmed to give them access to their bedroom and all floors allowed to them. 

We would also have 3 elevators for public use that would only stop on the first, second, third, and fourth floor during regular hours. During event nights they would also stop on the fourteenth and/or fifteenth floor. There would also be one express elevator that stops only on the first, fourteenth and fifteenth floors. That one only accessibly during event nights. 

As I mentioned earlier, the building would be run by those within the program, to elaborate, anybody 16 years or older would be required to have a job within the building. They could help in the kitchen with food prep, serving, dishes, etc. Another job would be housekeeping, where they’re assigned a floor and would have to go around and clean, collect trash, etc. Another job would be programming, where they would run groups such as art, supervise movie nights, give mini lessons, etc. Another job would be those who help in the closed laundry rooms. Another would be to provide child care for those who are staying there with children and who have to go to job interviews, go to their new jobs, apartment viewings, etc. All jobs within the building would pay $15/hour, would pay weekly and have a minimum requirement of 12 hours a week and a maximum of 20 hours a week so as to not prevent the people within the building from working jobs outside of the building. This would also provide those within the program a way to buy work clothes and shoes and start a savings account to move into their own place. Bus passes would be provided as well. 

People could stay within the program anywhere from a few days to four months maximum. By four months you should have an apartment and job set up, exceptions can be made however. 

All staff would be paid relatively well, anywhere from $22/hour+ depending on their role and level of experience. Holiday pay, overtime, vacation and insurance would all be given. Staff would be allowed to partake in special events, would be allowed to eat dinner with the programmers, etc. I would 100% want to make sure they all feel and know how appreciated they are. We would also accept interns and volunteers in the building. 

How would this get funded? It sounds expensive? I know. It’s a dream, but something that any billionaire, maybe even a millionaire could accomplish. I would be living within the building myself so as to make sure everything is running smoothly at all times. I would probably invest in real estate and buy several apartment buildings throughout the city and make sure all rent is affordable. The spaces would primarily be rented out to those within the program once they’ve secured jobs. Those buildings would then be paying for themselves and any income from the rent that’s left over would be put towards the primary building itself. There would of course be several events throughout the year for rich people to attend and donate. I would probably try to strike up investment deals with several companies as well. Basically, they would invest/donate/fund by providing either money, food, clothes, shoes, supplies, etc and in return they would be provided with resumes of those within the program. For example a retail store provides us with maybe 200k a year, in return they get access to all the resumes and could higher anybody in the program. Maybe a phone company gives us a money donation and even donates cell phones for those who need them, then they set up interviews with anybody in the program. Maybe a grocery store provides us with money, food and hygiene supplies, they then have access to resumes. Maybe an airline donates money and funds special events, etc. It would be a win-win situation for big company donors that way, it would also give them a good reputation with the public and would more than likely bring in more business. We would also apply for government grants, which from how big of a program it is and how many it would help, we would probably receive a lot of government funding.

What would the rich people donating receive? Their name ingrained on the “Wall of Heroes” that would span throughout the gala room. And if we were ever to run out of space in there then it would be expanded to the theater level.

I realize my idea probably sounds so expensive and so out of reach but I’ve always had big dreams and this is one that I want to one day accomplish. Even if I’m 60 by the time I can start something like this up I’m gonna try. Honestly I just want to do whatever I can to end homelessness, every day I see so many people out on the streets. I work at 7am most days so I’m on the train by 6am to get there on time and I see people sleeping on the train, sleeping at stations, on the streets out in the cold and it breaks my heart. I see people begging for left overs outside of restaurants, I see people struggling just to make it one more day and I just don’t understand how so many rich people can turn a blind eye to that. How can people have hundreds of millions of dollars and not do a damn thing about it. I just don’t understand how people can earn anywhere from 10 million+ a year and just hoard it all or spend it so selfishly. What kind of family of 4 needs a 25 bedroom home with a home theater and indoor swimming pool? 

I might be naive and I might dream too big but I swear, I will get something like this started one day in all big cities within the United States. I’ll advocate for affordable housing, for universal healthcare, for a living wage, not just a survival wage. I’ll do everything in my power to make this world better, I’ll make my voice heard about the environment, about our wildlife, about our humanity. I’ll do what I can in the time that I can.

[yournewapartment]

So I'm a Canadian who will be moving to Scotland later this month for university and I'm wondering: Do you have any tips for getting settled in a new country? This will be the first time I'm buying my own groceries and not using student loans so budgeting advice is also welcome.

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for like at least a month... I’m so sorry! Some posts take more time to write then others. I actually have about four asks that are all essentially this same question, so I’m going to just combine them all into one post. 

As for budgeting... here’s my two cents, in terms of Minimum Wage.

Budgeting on Minimum Wage

Overview

The average minimum wage in the US is $7.25/hr. Even working full time at 40 hours a week, that’s only a profit of $290 before taxes. This is not a fair living wage! You are worth way more than this amount! I strongly encourage you to start looking for another job that pays better, look for something around the $10-$15 range.

While $7.25 is atrocious, thousands of people around the world support families on much less. If they can do it while supporting children, so can you! To live off a minimum wage budget you need to declare yourself independent. If your parents are still claiming you as a dependent YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO THIS. I also recommend that you have the highest amount possible taken out of your taxes so that you get money back from your state at the end of the year, instead of being in debt to them.

What I’ve done is come up with a budgeting plan based off some made up factors and my own personal experience.

Housing

1. City life. Forget about the city! Apartments located in cities can be three times as expensive as apartments in small towns or villages. On top of the extra expense, they’re much smaller and have less amenities included. I’d much rather live in a one bedroom apartment with a dishwasher and a conveniently located Laundromat, than a literal closet with no windows on a fifth floor walkup. Look for apartments twenty minutes to a half hour outside of your closest city. Now you have the close conveniences of a city, with none of those pesky city prices that your budget can’t handle.

2. College towns. Shop around and look at apartments by local colleges. Large colleges with have apartment complexes within walking distance of the school grounds. Landlords know that college students have less money (you might even be a college student yourself) and adjust their prices accordingly. Even apartments next to ivy league schools are priced this way, so don’t be discouraged by the institution’s “prestige”.

3. Locale. Your safety is more important than your bank account. It doesn’t matter if you live in Section 8 housing or in an affluent suburb. Some apartment complexes and neighborhoods are just safer than others. I live in a heavily populated and upper middle class suburb, and the first year I moved in, a drunk woman tried to throw a beer bottle at my car. Thankfully this is the only time this happened to me, but it made me feel unsafe in my environment. Before signing a lease, walk or drive around your prospective home’s neighborhood at night. Take in the atmosphere, and make sure it’s one where you could comfortably run to the local supermarket at 10:30pm and pick up toilet paper.

4. Roommates. Living on minimum wage requires that you find one or two roommates to help split the rent. The more the better! Get together with your more responsible friends, so at least you’re living with people whose company you enjoy. There are lots of “roommate wanted” forums and message boards for you to browse on the internet, but always bring a responsible adult with you before meeting a stranger. Please. Bring your mom if you have too.

Food

1. Low-spoon food. I created this post a few months ago which offers lots of suggestions about cooking and shopping on a budget.

2. Online recipes. Here are some of my favorite online Tumblr cookbook resources.

- College Student Cookbook. Click here.

- Meals On The Go. Click here. (Not a cookbook, but super helpful)

- Broke College Kid Masterpost. Click here.

- Cooking on A Bootstrap. Click here.

- Good and Cheap. Click here.

- Budget Bytes. Click here.

3. I also regularly update my cooking on a budget tag.

Misc Expenses

1. Gas. Shop around and find the cheapest gas in your area. Avoid gas stations next to colleges, highways, and in touristy areas. Look into getting as gas rewards card from your favorite supermarket. I get 10 cents off a gallon with Stop & Shop every time I do a big shop.

2. Dollar store. Get to know your local dollar and bargain stores. You can buy everything from pots and pans to bed sheets there. These stores often sell bulk ramen for $1 and large cans of crushed tomatoes for 75 cents. That’s enough food for you to live off of for several days. When shopping, I make three grocery store stops to ensure that I spend the least amount possible on my pantry needs. I go Dollar Store, Stop and Shop, and then to my local organic grocery store. I’m going to make a list of things that I buy at Dollar Stores and things that I don’t buy at Dollar Stores soon!

3. Cable. We are living in the digital age- you don’t need cable television. Use Netflix or Hulu or whatever. It will save you tons of $$.

4. Internet. As far as internet speed goes, if you’re living with roommates you will probably need a higher speed. Living by yourself, choose a lower one. Most internet companies offer large discounts to new subscribers. These typically only last a year, but will save you serious money. Make sure to take note of when this discount expires, and contact the company before it does. If you don’t, they’ll begin charging you the full amount without notice.

5. Verizon. I just want to take a moment to talk about how much I love Verizon because they have literally saved me so much money in the three years I’ve been with them. After you sign a contract with a new internet company, they charge you a bunch of ridiculous fees like “activation fees” and “installation fees”. I called Verizon and was like “I’m a poor college student, I can’t afford this” and they were like “don’t worry, we’ll waive the fee”. I signed a two year contract with them that saved me $80 on a high-speed internet bill per month (my price being only 50.99 a month). After the contract expired I call them and they put me on a month to month, keeping the price absolutely the same. TLDR- get Verizon if you can.

6. Utility. Get on a monthly budget with whatever utility company services your new apartment. Although it may seem like the cheaper option, paying the actual amount of electricity you spend per month is the more expensive. It’s also unpredictable, and a minimum wage budget won’t allow for it. See this for more info.

7. Amazon. I buy a lot of my beauty, cleaning, and cat products online. Amazon offers Prime shipping free for a year with a student email address, and then offers it at a greatly reduced price after the year. If you are a student, snap up that free deal ASAP. If it’s in your budget, I’d greatly recommend investing in Amazon Prime.

8. Saving money. It’s so important to attempt to break way from the “paycheck to paycheck” vicious cycle. Living this way does not allow for emergency expense money, and trust me, sometime soon you will need emergency expense money. Your cat might get sick or your car may die, whatever it is, it’s always smart to have at least $500 squirreled away. I’m gonna level with you, things have been tight for my budget and I haven’t been able to save anything for the past three months. But this month I will!

Example Budgets

Full Time

Working with the $7.25/hr and 40hr/week model, here’s an example budget for living on minimum wage. That’s $1,160 a month without taxes.

Housing: Let’s say you’re sharing an apartment with two close friends, the rent being $1,500 without any amenities. That rent split three ways is $500 each.

Gas I commute twenty minutes every day, and I drop about $20-$25 a week on gas. That’s $100 on gas a month.

Food: I do one big shopping a month with my boyfriend. We drop around $180 and that’s including toiletries and soap and stuff. So maybe you’ll spend about $100 a month on all your shopping needs.

Cable/internet:  Hopefully you took my advice and skipped cable. Let’s say you’re paying around $50 per month for internet. Split three ways that’s $17 each.

Laundry: Hopefully you’re not like me and are only spending around $20 on laundry per month.

Random expenses: Because there always are some. Let’s just tack on another $100.

With everything added up, you still have around $290 left before taxes! That money can go into a savings account, and after several months, you’ll have that $500 worth of emergency money saved.

Part Time

Working with the $7.25/hr and 25hr/week model, here’s an example budget for living on minimum wage. That’s $725 without taxes.

Housing: In this case, you need to look for apartments in the $800-900 range. In my area, one bedroom apartments go for around $1000, so you may need to get creative with your roommate (I don’t think you could have more than one roommate in this situation). Buy dividers to split the bedroom or studio in half! Let’s say your rent is $850 with nothing included, that’s $425 each.

Gas You’re still looking at a large gas bill per month, so it may be more inexpensive to ride a bike or use public transportation. Let’s say you use public transportation, and spend around $50 a month on that. Or maybe you and your roommate can split gas expenses and share a car?

Food: Pinch those pennies! Use some of those budget cookbooks I linked above to help you cook healthy and delicious meals for under $4 each. See if you can only spend $80 a month on groceries.

Cable/internet:  Hopefully you took my advice and skipped cable. Let’s say you’re paying around $50 per month for internet. Split two ways is $25 each.

Laundry: Hopefully you’re not like me and are only spending around $20 on laundry per month.

Random expenses: Because there always are some. Let’s just tack on another $100.

That leaves you $25 to put in your bank account, if that. This is a paycheck to paycheck situation, and you will probably need to get another source of income to feel secure. But you can still do it!

[u2shops]

Wedding Savings Revealed

am fed up with them.  All of 'em!  At first, I thought of it as only a job, but I just couldn't do it anymore!  I simply could not let brides and grooms be victims of overpricing, "take every penny if I can", wedding planners...It all started one afternoon when I was helping the bride plan the events that were going to take place at the reception.  We had gone over every detail, from the beginning to the very end.  After we had completed everything, I was to give the itinerary to the wedding planner for her to go over it and make sure we had everything in order. What she told me completely blew my mind! She said that in order for us to make the most money out of this "project", as she called it, we had to strike up deals ourselves with the DJ, caterer, the lodge where it took place, and with the photography studio.  Why?  So we could cut back costs with them, and put the *extra* money the bride gave us and put it in our pockets rather than saving the soon to be married couple all the money we were "supposed" to be pocketing. I could not believe what I was hearing!  I asked her if she had done this before, and she told me that she's been doing that for over 15 years, and that's how she makes an extra $8,000 PER MONTH!  That just struck the wrong nerve with me. I mean, weddings are already expensive enough as it is!  Why in the world would anyone want to take advantage of soon to be newlyweds?  As a matter of fact, I quit that very same day, told the bride all about it, and decided that I should help others save money on their weddings too.. On Average, A Typical Wedding Will Set You Back Roughly $22,000... You know, many people don't really comprehend how much money it takes to have that breath-taking wedding. There are so many things that are involved that goes into creating a beautiful wedding. In fact, many end up spending their entire budget on nearly 75% of all things that are needed to make their wedding glow before they even get to 3 months before the big day.  Don't let this happen to you! Some of those VERY important things include: * The Location of Your Wedding and Reception * Wedding Rings (For Both Bride and Groom) * How to Create the Most Perfect Cake * Music Selections That Are Diversified For Everyone * Where The Reception Going To Be * What Kind Decorations Are Going To Be Used * What Kinds Of Flowers, And How to Arrange Them * Do You Have A Trustworthy & Reliable Minister * Are you Going To Videotape Your Ceremony * What About A Photographer * When And Where Is The Rehearsal Dinner * Finding Dresses And Tuxes For Everyone in the Wedding * Are Your Going To Hire A Caterer * Where Is Your Honeymoon Going To Be * What's The Transportation Going To Be Like And what's even more important than all of those things, is how easy it can be for you to get every single item listed above for a fraction of the cost You will learn to save more money on your wedding than you ever thought possible, I guarantee it! Quickly Discover How You Can Have An Unforgettable Wedding.. And Save Thousands of Dollars In The Making - Guaranteed! o you know the most common mistakes nearly 95% of all couples make when budgeting for their wedding?  If you make these same mistakes, it could end up costing you thousands of *extra* dollars! Do you know exactly how to save up to 67% on your wedding photography? Do you know how to jump-start your reception so that every single guest is up dancing, laughing, and having the best times in their lives? Do you know exactly where to begin and how to start planning for your dream wedding? If not, you soon will! You'll also learn money saving tips about how you can plan your wedding at a fraction of the cost, and learn things that you never even thought imaginable! You'll quickly discover some of the very best money saving tips, ideas, and wedding resources that will save you hundreds and thousands of dollars on your wedding. The day you get married will be a very special day for you and your significant other. There is absolutely no reason to carry the burden of the wedding costs going to your honeymoon! Here are just a few hidden jewels that you'll discover with "Wedding Savings Revealed"!   Discover the what the most popular time to get married is..  (pg. 22) Learn how to save $100/hr. on your wedding videography & photograpy (pg. 42) We reveal what percentages you should GIVE to maintain the perfect budget!  Forget this and you might spend thousands MORE!  (pg.11) Can you think of more than 10 flowers for your wedding?  We list over 310 AND their meanings from you to choose from!  (pgs. 32-40) Want more than just the "traditional" wedding?  We scoured the 'net and found 8 from you to choose from!  (starting at pg. 14) Discover how you can save hundreds of dollars on your wedding cakes, and guest goodies!  It's not hard, but you'll be thankful you did it!  (pg. 18) Follow this tip and save up to 70% on the Groom's tuxedo!  (pg. 25)   Discover why the "time of day" can MAKE or BREAK your reception.  (pg. 27) Don't forget to do this one week before your wedding or you'll REALLY be sorry!  (pg. 55) Learn the 8 areas you can save the most from on your wedding.  (pg. 8) Why fork-over an extra 15% to your wedding planner when we show you how to do this...  (pg. 10) Going for a traditional themed wedding?  These 3 are the top favorites!  (pg.13) Learn how you can get a wedding dress for FREE...  Is it even possible? (pg. 24) Use this tip and save up to 20% on your entire reception bills!  (pg. 30) Be sure to get the pictures you want at your wedding!  Follow this 40 point checklist, and you'll not only save, you'll get what you want!  (pg. 43) Get married on THIS DAY, and you'll cut your costs by nearly $500, every single time!  (pg. 7) Why planning your wedding around your honeymoon just might save you hundreds and even thousands of dollars!!  (pg. 48) Learn how having a three ring binder, notebook paper, and tabs could end up saving hundreds of dollars on your wedding..  (pg. 11) Why pay your travel agent commissions for your honeymoon trip?  Use this resource and save those extra hundreds!  (pg. 47)   Did you know you can skim your reception music bill by 50% if you use this little tip?  (pg. 31) If you follow this rule of thumb, you can save a ton of money, all because of the people you invite to your wedding!  (pg. 9) Discover how to get your reception liquor 20% cheaper than buying it at Wal-Mart, of even having it catered!  (pg. 28) Choosing colors for your wedding might be hard...  Use the huge "flower" guide and you'll match and glow on your wedding day!  (pg. 40)     Read the full article

[dazombi3fari3]

Morning dolls. How are you doing today? I woke early in pain today… It’s pouring outside and my pain level is through the roof. I started to think, I’m just going to take it easy today. Maybe I wont do my makeup today and I’ll just do a hair mask and a face mask today…. Then I thought but doing my makeup always makes my spirits happy… so I jumped in the shower and sat down and did my makeup….

I’m low on spoons today so I couldn’t wash my hair …. I’ll do it tonight before bed …. so I used my trusty Batiste Dry Shampoo ($8.99 at Ulta) and a mess of hair spray to do my hair today.

As a Fibromyalgia sufferer we only have a limited amount of energy, and that energy decreases so much when we are having a high pain day…. we often have to cut corners or just skip something in order to just get by for that day…. Today is one of those days.

Well on to the face of the day ….

BASE: I’m trying to use up my It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Primer ($38 on their website) so that’s what I used today. I woke up with so much darkness under my eyes that I really had to pack on the Tarte CC Undereye Corrector ($25 at Ulta) in Light-Medium. I was a little dry around my eyes today so I stuck with my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($30 at Ulta) in the color Medium 1 Custard. Because I am low on spoons today I chose a foundation that I know always works up easy… Hourglass Seamless Finish Foundation Stick ($46 at Sephora) in the color Buff. I set my whole face with the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Skin Perfecting Micro-Powder ($45 on the Beautylish website) in the color 2 Medium. I again chose a bronzer that needed little effort to work in to the skin … I chose Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel ($50 on the Chanel website) in Universal Bronze.

EYES: I started to skip out on doing my eye shadow but I was looking very pale today so just chose to do a simple low key look today. I primed, as always, with my Tarte Shape Tape ($25 at Ulta) in the color Light Medium Honey. I picked my BH Cosmetics Ultimate Matte 42 Color Shadow Palette ($28 on their website) as my palette today since the shadows work up so fast and easy. I set my Shape Tape with the first color of the 3rd row (a medium pale cream matte). As my 1st transition shade I chose the 2nd color of the 3rd row (a pale coral peach matte). I chose the 4th shadow of the 1st row (a deep orange coral matte) as my second transition shade. I deepened my crease, outer v, and outer 1/3 of my lid with the 3rd shadow of the 4th row ( a medium true brown matte). I added a bit of definition to my outer v by  mixing the 6th shadow of the 5th row (a dusty true mid toned brown matte) with the last color of the last row (a dusty true black matte). I skipped liner today and I skipped doing a drop shadow on the lower lash line, instead I just added a bit of definition on the lower lash line with the 3rd shadow of the 4th row (a medium true brown matte). On the inner 2/3 of my lid I used Hikari Cream Pigment ($15 on the Hikari website) in the color Honey Dew and for my inner corner highlight I used Urban Decay Single Shadow ($20 at Ulta) in the color Midnight Cowboy. I did my brows the same way I’ve been doing them this week …. I used Professional Brow Powder ($10 at Oh La La Brow Bar) in the color Dark Brow and ELF Wow Brow ($4 on their website) in the color Dark Brown. I highlighted my brow bone with the BH Cosmetics Studio Pro Brow Highlighter ($5 on their website) on the matte side and set it with the 1st shade of the 1st row of the BH Cosmetics Palette (a vanilla white matte). I had left my favorite mascara in the other room so I just picked out the one I forgot I purchased when I did my full face of NYX products…. NYX On The Rise Volume Liftscara ($7.70 at Ulta) in the color black.

CHEEKS and LIPS: I already had my BH Cosmetics Classic Blush 10 Color Blush Palette ($12 on their website) at my makeup desk so I chose the 3rd color on the 2nd row (a soft pinky coral matte). I chose the NYX Born to Glow Highlighting Palette ($25 at Ulta) and chose the 2nd color on the 2nd row (a pale gold shimmer highlighter). I highlighted the tops of my cheeks, temples, brow bone, and cupid’s bow. I picked Loreal 6 Hr Infallible Never Fail Lip Liner (6.99 at Walmart) in the color Coral (a true toned coral) and I filled my full lips with this liner. Then I chose NYX Butter Gloss ($5 at Ulta) in the color Creme Brulee (a milky pink coral gloss).

Final Thoughts….

Hourglass Seamless Finish Foundation Stick: A+++                                                                 This foundation comes in shades with 9 dedicated to deeper skin tones. You get .25 ounces of product, but a little goes a long way with this one …. like 1 swipe for each cheek and the forehead …. and that gives enough extra for the rest of the face and neck. It’s billed as a full coverage that is water proof and long wearing. This is 100% my favorite foundation! I forgot I had it in my collection. It fell off my foundation shelf when I was looking for a low maintenance BB cream and I remembered how simple it was to use this one. It’s a demi matte foundation with great coverage ( I would say it’s more a medium full coverage) The color is spot on my tone. This foundation doesn’t set down , you do need to use a powder to set it , but it leaves the skin looking so succulent, so healthy looking that I don’t mind needing a bit of powder. I remember this was the foundation I chose every time I traveled anywhere. It was the foundation I used on very important days too.

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel: A+++!!!                                                                                                   I gush over this bronzer every time I use it I know… but I can’t help it! This bronzer is that good!! It’s the perfect tone. It’s a cream to powder formula (normally I hate cream products but this one melts into the skin so flawlessly that it’s a joy to use.). This bronzer warms up the face so wonderfully… it’s the only bronzer I’ve ever used that looks like a tan, not like makeup. If you want to spurge on something special for yourself , consider making this your high ticket product., you wont regret it.

BH Cosmetics Ultimate Matte 42 Color Shadow Palette: A++                                                       I love that there is a palette out there that can handle any look you want to do. This palette has all the best of the neutral world and has great pops of color. For a drug store palette these highly pigmented mattes are creamy, finely milled, and blend like a dream. Unlike other palettes, this palette’s mattes can be layered on top of each other without loosing the color payoff of each color… in other words … they don’t muddle together.

Hikari Cream Pigment: A++                                                                                                                 I don’t own many cream products, I hate the way they look on me, but this cream pigment is amazing!!! It’s very creamy but applies like a powder. It’s the perfect shade for a lid or inner corner highlight. There are 21 shades to chose from … ranging from dewy to smokey …. and the price tag isn’t bad for the quality you get with this pigment.

Urban Decay Single Shadow * specifically Midnight Cowboy *: A-                                            If you have been reading my blog for any period of time you know by now I HATE GLITTER. But Midnight Cowboy is such a beautiful color that I just deal with the glitter in it. Urban Decay single shadows come in 63 colors, of which I own two, Midnight Cowboy and Loaded ( a deep emerald I use around Christmas time … some matte, satin, and shimmer (with glitter). A little of this shade goes a long way and it really brightens up any look.

NYX On The Rise Volume Liftscara: D                                                                                               I really hated working with this mascara. It left my eyelashes crunchy and lifeless. I also hate the applicator brush… it’s one of those plastic bristle brushes, I can’t stand the way it applied…  I’ll try to use it up but I more than likely will be throwing this one away.

NYX Born to Glow Highlighting Palette: B-                                                                                        I love the color of these highlighters but once again …. GLITTER!!!! It’s finely milled, not chunky like other highlighters, but again I just don’t like glitter… and this highlighter picks up every imperfection of the cheeks. It’s still pretty in color tone so I’ll use it up but I wont repurchase.

Loreal 6Hr Infallible Never Fail Lip Liner: A+                                                                          This color comes in 8 shades… of which I own 1… Coral. This liner is the perfect consistency… It’s not too waxy not too creamy …. it’s a perfect mix of both. I normally use it to fill in my lips or contour my lips and then I use a gloss over top … It lasts a long time too. I am thinking of picking up a couple of back ups of this shade …. I don’t really like any of the other shades.

NYX Butter Gloss: A+++                                                                                                                  This gloss comes in 32 shades. I own 5. I use to own them all but when I de-cluttered my stash when we were moving I passed them on to my niece. I am going to pick up more shades shortly… It’s the perfect formula… not at all sticky, not at all greasy feeling… it doesn’t travel outside the lip line…. the pigmentation is a medium pigmentation so you still see a little skin underneath so if you want more of a color payoff you will need to cancel out your lips by using a foundation, concealer, or face powder. This is a great little lip gloss.

Well that’s all for now babies … Tomorrow’s and Wednesday’s Face of the Day may be posted on Thursday …. Not sure if I will have the time to post before the Holiday Memorial tomorrow, and I may be out of spoons on Thursday …. but I will try and post them as soon as possible….

Remember … Save a spoon for a bit of makeup ….

XOXO

  Coral Face of the Day Morning dolls. How are you doing today? I woke early in pain today... It's pouring outside and my pain level is through the roof.

[siva3155]

300+ TOP DIABETES Objective Questions and Answers

DIABETES Multiple Choice Questions :-

1. A patient arrives at the ED with a blood sugar of 578, serum osmolarity of 300, pH of 7.3, severe thirst, dehydration, and confusion. The patient is breathing rapidly and has a fruity breath smell. This patient has symptoms of...... A. Diabetic ketoacidosis B. hyperosmolar hyperglycemic noketotic coma C. Hypoglycemia D. diabetic neuropathy Ans: A 2. What are the micro vascular complications of uncontrolled diabetes? A. Delayed gastric emptying (Missed. B. Diarrhea C. Glomuerular injury (Missed. D. Bleeding of retinal caplillaries (Missed. E. Numbness of feet F. Impotence (Missed. Ans: B,E 3. The newly diagnosed diabetic patient asks the nurse why he needs to check his feet every day. The nurse's best response is.... A. To prevent leg amputation. B. To check for any cuts, sores, or dry cracked skin so they can be treated early to prevent infection or gangrene. C. To see if they hurt. D. You just need to do it. Ans: B 4. What are Macro vascular complications of uncontrolled diabetes? A. Pain in lower legs B. Hyperlipidemia (Missed. C. Impotence D. Ischemic heart disease (Missed. E. Aortic disection Ans: B,D 5. The nurse enters a patient's room and sees the patient breathing rapidly with a fruity breath smell. This is known as... A. Trousseau's B. Cullen's C. Kussmaul's D. Bitot's Ans: C 6. A patient with severe hypoglycemia arrives at the ED unconscious by ambulance. The nurse would first... A. Give regular insulin by IV B. Give NPH by IV C. Give 10-15 g CHO or Orange juice D. Give 1 mg glucagon Ans: D 7. The diabetic patient's lab work comes back with a pH of 7.4, serum blood sugar of 950, serum osmolarity of 460, pCO2 of 35, HCO3 of 25. The patient is confused and dehydrated. This patient is showing signs and symptoms of.... A. Diabetic ketoacidosis B. hyperosmolar hyperglycemic noketotic coma C. Hypoglycemia D. diabetic neuropathy Ans: B 8. The nurse enters a diabetic patient's room at 11:30 and notices that the patient is diaphoretic, tachycardic, anxious, states she is hungry, and doesn't remember where she is. This patient is most likely showing signs of what? A. hyperglycemic B. hypoglycemic C. diabetic ketoacidosis D. hyperosmolar hyperglycemic noketotic coma Ans: B 9. The nurse's first action upon finding a patient with mild hypoglycemia is to... A. Call the rapid response team B. Give 1 mg of glucagon C. Give 10-15 g of CHO or Orange juice D. Give insulin Ans: C 10. What is the number one complication of diabetes? A. Diabetic ketoacidosis B. Obesity C. Hypertension D. Cardiovascular disease Ans: D

DIABETES MCQs 11. A urine test in an undiagnosed diabetic may show........ A. glucose and ketones in the urine B. glucose and high amounts of bilirubin in the urine C. ketones in the urine D. ketones and adrenaline in the urine Ans: A 12. If a person has a fasting plasma glucose of 6.8mmol/L and a two-hour postprandial plasma glucose of 11.6mmol/L, should this person be suspected of having diabetes? A. Yes B. No C. Cannot decide Ans: A 13. A woman has a fasting plasma glucose of 5.9mmol/L and a two-hour postprandial plasma glucose of 7.6mmol/L. Are these values normal? A. No. B. Yes, according to the American Diabetes Association guidelines C. Yes, according to the World Health Organisation guidelines Ans: C 14. If a person has a random plasma glucose of 8mmol/L, is it normal? A. Yes B. No C. Not possible to tell Ans: C 15. There are a range of glucose values called "impaired glucose tolerance". What is the significance to a person who has impaired glucose tolerance? A. The person has an increased risk of developing diabetes B. The person has an increased cardiovascular risk C. Both the above D. None of the above Ans: C 16. Can the onset of new diabetes be prevented or delayed? A. Yes B. No Ans: A 17. Are there any laboratory tests to distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes? A. Yes B. No Ans: A 18. Which statement below is CORRECT regarding initiation of long term insulin therapy in diabetes? A. Patients with Type 1 diabetes should be initiated on basal insulin alone B. Patients with Type 1 diabetes should be initiated on prandial insulin alone C. Patients with Type 2 diabetes should be initiated on basal insulin alone D. Patients with Type 2 diabetes should be initiated on prandial insulin alone Ans: C 19. Which statement below is TRUE with regard to these two insulin preparations: 1. Insulatard Insulin (NPH insulin. 2. Mixtard insulin (a pre-mixed combination of short acting and long acting insulin. A. Insulatard insulin and Mixtard insulin can be given at bedtime without the need for a bedtime snack B. Mixtard insulin can be given at bedtime without the need for a bedtime snack C. Insulatard insulin can be given at bedtime without the need for a bedtime snack Ans: C 20. Which of the statements below is true when initiating insulin in a Type 2 diabetic who is already on Metformin and Glibenclamide? B. Metformin must be stopped or the dose reduced C. Glibenclamide must be stopped or the dose reduced Ans: C 21. A patient with diabetes on Metformin and Glibenclamide is scheduled for a coronary angiogram. His diabetic control is good. Which of the statements below is TRUE? B. Metformin must be stopped before the procedure C. Glibenclamide must be stopped before the procedure D. No changes need to be made. He can undergo the procedure. Ans: B 22. Which statement below regarding the use of intravenous insulin for treating diabetic ketoacidosis is TRUE? A. Insulin should be given IV until the blood sugar is normal B. Insulin should be given IV until the acidotic state is controlled C. Insulin should be given IV until the patient is well hydrated Ans: B 23. What is the best method of controlling blood sugar in a diabetic who cannot take orally? A. Fixed dose insulin according to body weight given subcutaneously B. Insulin given subcutaneously according to a sliding scale C. Insulin given intravenously along with dextrose and potassium Ans: C 24. Is this statement true or false? The glycosylated hemoglobin value is a useful parameter when making decisions regarding the need for insulin in a Type 2 diabetic. A. True B. False Ans: A 25. Which type of diabetes is more common in children? A. Diabetes I B. Diabetes II Ans: B 26. Mickey's insulin gives her the lowest CBG 5 hrs after injection. Which insulin is Mickey taking? A. Novolog B. NPH C. NovologR D. Lantus Ans: D 27. The nurse has to give the pt HumologR. The nurse understands the medication when the nurse states the peak time is: A. 1-3 hr B. 2-4 hr C. 4-12 hr D. 5 hrs Ans: B 28. Ben comes into the ED with blurred vision. He has polyuria and complains of pain in his legs. Labs show that he has elevated insulin levels and high triglyceride levels. Ben also complains of always being thirsty. What type of Diabetes does Ben have? A. Diabetes I B. Diabetes II Ans: B 29. The nurse understands NovologR and when it ends by stating it ends: A. 3-5 hrs B. 3-6.5 hrs C. 5-7 hrs D. 18-24 hrs E. 24 hrs Ans: C 30. Can an infection cause a rise in GLU? A. Yes B. No Ans: A 31. Tony has to check his BG 5 days a week before breakfast and periodically at other times. He notices a rise of BG when he is sick. What type of diabetic is Tony? A. Diabetes I B. Diabetes II (Missed. C. Insulin Dependent D. Non Insulin Dependent (Missed. Ans: A,C 32. Ted is taking NPH insulin. The nurse knows Ted understands his medication when he states: A. It can start working in 10-30 minutes B. It can start working 1-2 hours after injection. (Missed. C. Peak action is 4-12 hours (Missed. D. It stays in the system 18-24 hrs. (Missed. Ans: A 33. Which type of insulin cannot be manually mixed in a syringe? A. Novolog B. Humolog C. NPH D. Regular E. Lantus Ans: E 34. The nurse understands Novolog when the nurse states the end time is: A. 3-5 hrs B. 3-6.5 hrs C. 5-7 hrs D. 18-24 hrs Ans: B 35. Nick was given Novolog insulin. The nurse knows that his breakfast should be available to Nick how many minutes after taking his meds? A. immediately to 2.5 hrs B. 2-4 hrs C. 4-12 hrs D. 5 hrs Ans: A 36. Mary has a skin infection that wont go away. Her BP is 135/90. She has dark amber urine. She also reports that she has reoccurring vaginal infections. Her GLU comes back at 135. What type of diabetes does she have? A. LADA B. Diabetes I C. Diabetes II D. Pre Diabetes Ans: D 37. NIDDM acounts for 90% of diabetics. What are some thing that a NIDDM diabetic could do to help their disease? A. Avoid exercise B. reduce body fat by 5% (Missed. C. maintain excellent skin health (Missed. D. Rub lotion in their feet, but no in between their toes. (Missed. Ans: A 38. Lucy has just given birth. She had gestational diabetes and did not have to take insulin. She is very concerned that will now have to take insulin for the rest of her life. What does a nurse say to educate Lucy about her condition? A. Proper instruction of foot care. B. 25-50% of women will eventually develop type 2 diabetes. (Missed. C. Losing the baby fat will help. (Missed. D. Education on what type of insulin she will need. Ans: A,D 39. Bill is in the ED presenting with a BP of 60/45 and is responsive to painful stimuli. His Na is 180 and BUN is 65. His wife states he is a type 2 diabetic but has been sticking to his diet. His insulin lab came back low. What is wrong with Bill? A. Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic Nonketoitic Syndrome B. Diabetic Ketacidosis C. LADA D. Hyperglycemic Ans: A 40. Ana is a long distance runner with diabetes. She understands her need for testing when she states: A. i should test before and after exercise (Missed. B. I should test after exercise C. I should test before and after each meal and bedtime D. If I feel like my BG is low, I should test (Missed. Ans: B,C 41. Cynthia is getting NovologR. The nurse knows that Cynthia needs more education when she states: A. I need to check my BG throughout the day. B. I need to be consistent with insulin usage. C. I need to eat a large meal before taking my insulin D. My insulin can be in my system for 5-7 hours. Ans: C 42. Manifestations of hypoglycemia would entail: A. Anxiety (Missed. B. Hyperactions C. Tachycardia (Missed. D. Confusion (Missed. Ans: B 43. Insulin is measure in: A. Ml B. Dl C. units D. Tsp Ans: C 44. Which is most dangerous? A. hypoglycemia B. Hyperglycemia Ans: A 45. Nathan's AIC comes back at 9%. The nurse understands this value by stating to the pt: A. Your diabetes is under control. B. Your diabetes has shifted to Diabetes I. C. Your diabetes needs further intervention. D. Call the coroner and make an appointment if you don't plan on taking this more seriously! Ans: C 46. After giving insulin, what is the most critical observation that needs to be made? A. Tachycardia B. Bradycardia C. Hyperglycemia D. Hypoglycemia Ans: D 47. The nurse understand NPH when the nurse says NPH ends: A. after a heavy meal B. 18-24 hrs after injection C. 12 hrs after injection D. When HumologR has been injected. Ans: B 48. What risk factors increase diabetic foot problems? A. Sensory neuropathy (Missed. B. PVD (Missed. C. Smoking (Missed. D. Alcohol Ans: D 49. Humolog begins to take affect: A. 15 min B. 10-30 min C. 30-60 min D. 1-2 hrs E. 1.1 hrs (Your Answer. Ans: A 50. Linda is taking Lantus. She understands her medication when she states: A. it can start in 1.1 hr. (Missed. B. peaks 4-12 hours C. it ends in 24 hrs (Missed. D. it cannot be mixed with other insulins in the same syringe. (Missed. Ans: B DIABETES Objective type Questions with Answers 51. Lupe is in the ED. She has anorexia, abdominal pain, acetone breath, polyuria and is confused. She has ketones present in her urine. She is pre diabetic with a glu of 650. What is Lupe's problem? A. She was misdiagnosed and should be a type 1 diabetic. B. Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic Nonketoitic Syndrome C. Diabetic Ketacidosis D. LADA Ans: C 52. Gladus is in for her physical. She is a 54 year old woman with a lot of energy. She is mildly overweight. Her BP is 130/85. As part of her physical, the doctor discovers her GLU is 350. He orders a fasting plasma glucose and her levels come back 130 the first day and 275 the second day. What does this indicate? A. Diabetes I B. Diabetes II C. LADA Ans: B 53. Nicole is a chronic alcoholic. She drinks a bottle of wine every night and hard liquor on the weekends. She has been fatigued and has blurry vision. The doctor tells her she now has diabetes II. She doesn't understand how she could have diabetes as it does not run in her family. What education would the nurse give to the patient? A. Explain that the alcohol caused her diabetes. B. Insulin will not be affected by her drinking C. Encourage her to attend AA meeting even though she doesn't want to. D. Using therapeutic communication, help her to see that this is her fault and must accept she has ruined her life. Ans: A 54. Neuropathy occurs only in type 2 diabetics? A. Yes B. No Ans: B 55. Pat is a 45 year old female presenting with 83/60 BP, and elivated BUN and a GLU of 879. She reports that she is not on a diet but has been losing weight rapidly and has fatigue. What type of diabetes does she have? A. Diabetes I B. Diabetes II C. LADA Ans: C 56. NPH insulin has been prescribed to the pt. The nurse understands NPH when the nurse states: A. NPH acts quickly. B. NPH peaks at 4-12 hrs (Missed. C. NPH is a mixture of rapid and slow acting (Missed. D. NPH low CBG will most likely be around 5 hrs. Ans: A,D 57. Hypoglycemia is related to : A. reduced insulin and increased glucose B. increased insulin and reduced glucose (Missed. C. may occur when very high blood glucose falls too rapidly (Missed. D. failure to eat (Missed. Ans: A 58. The nurse understands NPH and how quickly it starts when the nurse states: A. 10-30 min B. 30-60 min C. 1-2 hrs D. 1.1 hours Ans: C 59. HumologR has been given to Melisa at 13:30. When would Melisa need her snack or lunch? A. 14:30 B. 16:30 C. 15:30 D. 14:00 Ans: C 60. Keith has just been diagnosed with diabetes. His diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. He has lost 15 lbs in two weeks and has polyuria. His BP was 75/45 on admission. What type of diabetes does Keith have? A. Diabetes I B. Diabetes II Ans: A 61. What substance is found in the blood and urine of an undiagnosed diabetic? A. insulin B. adrenaline C. ketones D. bilirubin Ans: C 62. A normal FASTING blood glucose in a non-diabetic is A. 80 to 110 B. 40 to 80 C. 120 to 150 D. 150 to 200 Ans: A 63. Hyperglycemia is when...... A. the blood sugar is too low B. the blood sugar is normal C. there is sugar in the urine D. the blood sugar is too high Ans: D 64. If diabetes goes untreated for a long time, what disease can develop? HINT:patients must be hospitalized for successful treatment of this condition A. hypoglycemia B. diabeticketoacidosis C. ketosis D. hyperglycemia E. ketourina Ans: B 65. What are the three most COMMON symptoms of diabetes? A. headaches vomiting constant illness B. intolerable thirst constant urination weight loss C. double vision infections constant urination D. tingling of the feet slow healing wounds weight loss E. intolerable thirst vomiting heart burn Ans: B 66. What is one cause of diabetes? MORE THAN ONE RIGHT ANSWER A. virus (Missed. B. antibody mistake (Missed. C. too much sweets D. genetics (Missed. E. bacteria Ans: C,E 67. Name both types of diabetes SCIENTIFICLY A. Type 1 and Type 2 B. Old Diabetes and Young Diabetes C. Juvenile Diabetes and Adult-Onset Diabetes D. Brittle Diabetes and Insulin Dependant Diabetes Ans: C 68. Can diabetes kill you? A. Yes B. No C. Only if you're a certain race Ans: A 69. An insulin pump's site must be changed...... A. once a week B. never C. every three days D. every day E. every five days Ans: C 70. Aspart insulin is also referred to as...... A. long acting insulin B. short acting insulin C. intermediate acting insulin Ans: B 71. Why does a Long-Acting-Insulin shot hurt more than a Short-Acting-Insulin shot A. Because it is a bigger shot B. Because Long-Acting-Insulin has preservatives in it to keep it working the full 20 to 24 hours C. Because you use a different needle to deliver Long-Acting-Insulin Ans: B 72. If a person does not like the insulin needle or pump, they want might to try the...... A. syringe B. moniter C. pen D. inhaler Ans: C 73. About how many Americans have diabetes A. 5 million B. 47 million C. 21 million D. 16 million E. 33 million Ans: C 74. What food can make you have a high blood sugar? A. nuts B. water C. yogurt D. pizza E. bread Ans: D 75. A urine test in an undiagnosed diabetic may show........ A. glucose and ketones in the urine B. glucose and high amounts of bilirubin in the urine C. ketones in the urine D. ketones and adrenaline in the urine Ans: A 76. A slice of bread has about how many carbohydrates? A. 5 carbs B. 30 carbs C. 15 carbs D. no carbs E. 25 carbs Ans: C 77. Which is not true about Diabetes? A. the blood sugar may go out of control B. the person may be hospitalized if they are not treating the diabetes C. Diabetes can be completely cured D. diabetes can be associated with nausea Ans: C 78. When you are sick, the blood sugar may....... A. be normal B. very low C. higher than usual D. lower than usual Ans: C 79. In a newly-diagnosed patient who is in the hospital, their first major goal is to..... A. have their blood sugars go back to normal B. clear their ketones C. get an insulin pump Ans: B 80. Ketones are produced by......... A. not having insulin B. a high blood sugar C. fat breakdown D. passing urine with sugar in it Ans: C 81. What are the 3 main factors to success with diabetes? A. food exercise insulin B. food insulin ketones C. exercise ketones insulin Ans: A 82. People with diabetes can lead normal lives? A. Yes B. No C. Only some Ans: A 83. Diabetes is a world wide disease A. True B. False Ans: A 84. Which of the following is a symptom of diabetes? A. Pregnancy B. Mood Swings C. Blurred Vision D. Loss of Hearing Ans: C 85. What is the medicine that is injected into your body by a needle? A. Insulin B. Sugar C. Glucose D. Diabetic Solution Ans: A 86. What is a test you can get at the doctor to see if you have diabetes? A. Blood Test B. X-ray C. MRI D. Diabetes test Ans: A 87. How many different types of diabetes are there? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 5 Ans: B 88. 1. Secretory product associated with pancreatic alpha cells: A. A. insulin B. B. proglucagon C. C. somatostatin D. D. pancreatic polypeptide E. E. insulin and somatostatin Ans: B 89. 1. Major manisfestations of diabetes mellitus: A. A. inappropriate hyperglycemia B. B. disordered metabolism C. C. both D. D. neither Ans: C 90. 1. Type I diabetes: A. A. most often presents in adults B. B. anabolic metabolic disorder C. C. circulating insulin is virtually absent D. D. glucagon levels are low E. E. ketoacidosis is rarely seen Ans: C 91. 1. Extrinsic factors which may affect pancreatic B cell function: A. A. mumps virus B. B. toxic chemicals C. C. coxsackievirus D. D. mumps virus and toxic chemicals E. E. mumps virus, toxic chemicals and coxsakievirus Ans: E 92. What is prediabetes? A. When blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for diagnosis. (Correct Answer. B. When your diabetes is in submission until you turn forty Ans: A 93. Type 1 diabetes was previously known as what? A. Endrino diabetes B. Juvenile diabetes Ans: B 94. What is the most common type of diabetes? A. Type 1 diabetes B. Type 2 diabetes C. Pre-diabetes Ans: B 95. There is always symptoms when you have diabetes. A. True B. False Ans: B 96. Type I diabetes is characterized by: A. resistance to insulin B. autoantibodies C. complicated by HHS Ans: B DIABETES Interview Questions and Answers pdf Download Read the full article

[trauma-13]

All the numbers!

You got it! :)

1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? Probably. 2. You talked to an ex today, correct? No, no, no, no. 3. Have you taken someones virginity? Yes. Two people actually. 4. Is trust a big issue for you? Not unless given a reason. 5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently? No. That’s a little difficult to do currently. 6. What are you excited for? I’m going to a baseball game this weekend with my best friend. 7. What happened tonight? Uh, nothing excited. 8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted? Considering I am a female, and sometimes I get wasted…no I do not. 9. Is confidence cute? Yes, definitely. 10. What is the last beverage you had? Sprite. 11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? Like…3 or 4. 12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? Maybe. I’d have to look honestly. I have way too many jeans that I never wear. 13. What are you gonna do Saturday night? I work. 14. What are you going to spend money on next? I’m not sure. 15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed? Nope. 16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? Probably, people change daily, my dear.17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? @brooglethenerd @siouxzie-queue @firstduebox @nursebrett @car-one-responding @mursejesse and a few friends not on tumblr. 18. The last time you felt broken? Daily occurance. 19. Have you had sex today? I have not. 20. Are you starting to realize anything? A few things. 21. Are you in a good mood? Currently, yes I am. 22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks? Hell yeah! 23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s? No. His are dark blue, mine are brown. 24. What do you want right this second? Somethings I cannot have. 25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? Depends on a few things. 26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? Far from it. 27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? No.28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? Probably something on here. 29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now? Yes. Every single day. 30. Does everyone deserve a second chance? Not necessarily 31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to? “talking to” in what sense- as in friend wise? no, last one I talked to is my best friend. “talking to” as more than friends, no i do not hate him. 32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? Yes he does. 33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? I’m literally drinking soda right now. 34. Listening to? Shameless. 35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore? Sometimes, yes. 36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is? I don’t. 37. Do you believe in love at first sight? Lust, yes. Love, no. 38. Who did you last call? My madre. 39. Who was the last person you danced with? Well there was some obnoxious song playing at the store the other day that I was dancing to while my best friend and I were shopping, but he just stared and laughed at me…sooo no body? 40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? Because I wanted to. 41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake? Last week 42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? No. They live 3 hrs away from me. 43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush? Probably haha44. Do you tan in the nude? Dude I’m white as fuck, I don’t tan at all. 45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss? No. 46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? Yep. 47. Who was the last person to call you? Red Cross. 48. Do you sing in the shower? Always. 49. Do you dance in the car? Yes I do. 50. Ever used a bow and arrow? I have before. 51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? Dip-shit ex and I had pictures taken last year. 52. Do you think musicals are cheesy? No, I love them! 53. Is Christmas stressful? Can be.54. Ever eat a pierogi? A what-i?? 55. Favorite type of fruit pie? Cherry or apple. 56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Firefighter. 57. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes, completely. 58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? Yes I have. 59. Take a vitamin daily? No. 60. Wear slippers? No. 61. Wear a bath robe? No. 62. What do you wear to bed? Usually underwear and a t-shirt or tank top. 63. First concert? It was a festival, there was tons of bands. 64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Target. 65. Nike or Adidas? Uh, I don’t wear either brand. 66. Cheetos Or Fritos? Both! 67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Sunflower seeds. 68. Favorite Taylor Swift song? Uh…… 69. Ever take dance lessons? When I was a kid. 70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? Something similar to me…nursing/ems/fire/etc… 71. Can you curl your tongue? yes. 72. Ever won a spelling bee? fuck no, I can’t spell to save my life. 73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? Yes, when I got into nursing school. 74. What is your favorite book? I can’t narrow it down. 75. Do you study better with or without music? With music. 76. Regularly burn incense? Candles yes 77. Ever been in love? I think so. 78. Who would you like to see in concert? There’s way too many bands to list. 79. What was the last concert you saw? Florida Georgia Line, Nelly, Chris Lane, and Russel Dickerson. 80. Hot tea or cold tea? Both 81. Tea or coffee? Depends 82. Favorite type of cookie? Snickerdoodle83. Can you swim well? Yes, very well actually. 84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Yes. 85. Are you patient? Yes. 86. DJ or band, at a wedding? Uh, I don’t know, never thought about it. 87. Ever won a contest? Yeah I have. 88. Ever have plastic surgery? I mean i technically got a nose job. 89. Which are better black or green olives? Black! 90. Opinions on sex before marriage? Get laid all ya want! Or don’t, it’s everyone’s own opinion. 91. Best room for a fireplace? Living room. 92. Do you want to get married? Maybe. Maybe not.

[modernmorrigan]

30 Questions Tag!

Source: @sensorys I was tagged by @fondwitch thank you so much for tagging me, I only saw it now xx

Rules: Answer thirty questions, then tag twenty blogs you would like to know better. 

1. Nicknames: I get Franzi, mostly from german speaking folk. A few english speaking friends call me Fie though 

2. Gender: Female

3. Star sign: Aries

4. Height: 5'2" (160cm)

5. Time: 6:50 PM

6. Birthday: March 8th

7. Favorite bands: Rise Against, Muse, Enter Shikari, The XX, Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, alt-j...the list is a lot longer but I don't want to bore you 

8. Favorite solo artists: Paolo Nutini, Paul McCartney, Hozier, James Bay, George Ezra...

9. Song stuck in my head: Juggernauts by Enter Shikari

10. Last movie watched: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 

11. Last show watched: The IT Crowd 

12. When did I create my blog: 2-3 weeks is my best guess, but I've been around tumblr for quite some time now

13. What do I post: Bit of music (mostly Muse, Arctic Monkey, Casabian and maybe some Enter Shikari) and gentle treads into witchy things (which btw I'm only starting to understand)

14. Last thing I googled: Idilia Dubb (a 17-year old girl that supposedly died in a german castle some time in the 1800s after the staircase collapsed behind her)

15. Do you have other blogs: @peregrintookofficial but I dont really hang around there much anymore

16. Do you get asks?: Ha ahaha ha no.  17. Why did you choose your url: it sounded interesting

18. Following: 67 blogs 

19. Followers: Like four or something because I don't ever tag anything 

20. Favorite colors: a really nice dark blue or going by my wardrobe blacks and greys

21. Average hours of sleep: 5-7 hrs

22. Lucky number: 3 

23. Instruments: Does the recorder count because I'm quite alright with that, other than that I pretend that I know how to play bass, though I'm really not good at it 

24. What am I wearing: leggings, a really floaty top and the cosiest jacket from asos 

25. How many blankets I sleep with: just one

26. Dream job: Acting really 27. Dream trip: At the moment a hinking trip to Mount Snowdonia, but I'd love to go to Iceland one day 

28. Favorite food: sweet potato fries, indian food in general, also lasagna 

29. Nationality: German

30. Favorite song now: "Pencil Full of Lead" by Paolo Nutini, because it takes me back to being in Blackheath again earlier this year :) also shameless plug for a mixtape I made 

I tag: @annotherdeer@xxmoon-sistersxx @citiznerased and  @joestrummershowl 

[behardonyourself]

My Ironman Training and Nutrition

As I have mentioned numerous times here on this blog and in my social media profiles, I am training for a full Ironman 140.6 in November, and I am doing so on a plant powered diet.  Recently, I have been asked quite a bit about what that entails and what does a typical day look like for me.  I am going to set up a full training log that’ll be easy to navigate, but here I am going to lay out my outline, strategy, and mindset.

First, a little background about me.  Like many, I have a family:  My elementary school teacher wife, coach, and therapist Lisa, my 14 year old son Peyton, and my 9 month old daughter Ava.  In June, it was only me and Lisa and our pets, Knox (coon dog that barks entirely too much) and Izzy (Juliana piglet that thinks he is a human).  Ava was born in July.  Of course, adding an infant to the mix drastically changes any family.  Peyton came to live with us full time in October.  So our empty nest became a full nest seemingly overnight.

Of course, I have the challenges that any parent has:  Get Kid A to Point B at Time C.  Make sure homework is done, kids are fed and bathed, the animals are walked, the house is taken care of, bills are paid, etc.

I also have a very rewarding, yet very demanding career.  I am in new homes sales here in the DFW.  My schedule is very demanding, requiring me to work 8 hour days a couple of days during the week, a 10-12 hour day on Thursday for training, and a minimum of 25-30 hours on the weekend, every weekend.  Similar to most retail jobs.  I am also involved in the mortgage and financing portion of the job, and assisting clients with becoming ready to buy a new home.  Even if I’m not at work, I’m typically doing something work-related.  I am typically REQUIRED to be at the office 55-60 hours per week and spend another 4-6 hours per week when I’m “off” meeting clients for loan applications, closings, or on the phone providing whatever service they need.

I give you my background NOT to have a pissing contest with people that do more or less than I do, but to make a simple point:  THIS IS LIFE.  On the surface, TIME is not easy to come by.  But training and reaching the goal of becoming an Ironman is a top priority to me, so I don’t look for time:  I make time.

Sometimes I wake up at 3:30am for a run or a ride on the Peloton or to hit the rower.  

Sometimes I get in a session at 6pm.  

8pm.  

10pm.  

It isn’t the perfect “routine” that so many people strive for - but it is what it takes for me to get what I need to do done.

A few questions that I probably should answer now.

First:  What the fuck IS an Ironman 140.6?

An Ironman 140.6 is a Triathlon that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run (a full marathon) which equals 140.6 miles.  They are completed in that order, consecutively, with little to no break in between.  Competitors have 17 hours to complete the race with cut-offs for each of the 3 events during the race.

What is a plant powered diet?

Plant powered is exactly what it sounds like.  In short, I don’t eat foods that come from animal products.  This includes all meat, seafood, and dairy.  Initially, I shifted to being plant powered because I just felt better.  I’ve never felt like I could perform optimally on a typical bodybuilder style diet, and the immediate improvements that I felt completely sold me on this lifestyle.  

In short, I eat what would be considered a “Vegan” diet.  I don’t like that label for a few reasons, but I’m not going to get into that here.  I do know that a lot of people think of vegans as scrawny, spindly types and I am obviously not that.  In fact, more and more pro athletes are shifting to this style of nutrition and are able to maintain (and even increase) lean body mass without issues.

Hell, I’m still a bad ass and have a lot more muscle than those guys chugging down protein shakes, slamming steaks and consuming 1g-1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight.  I’m just able to run a lot further than they are...

But how do you get your protein?

The same way a motherfucking silverback gorilla gets his - by eating fucking plants!  Beans, seeds, nuts, veggies, grains - they provide more than enough readily absorbed and useful protein to provide us with what we need to fuel and recover.

What is your training program?

Unless you are planning to compete in an Ironman, my training should not matter to you.  I do a lot of shit.  Although I hadn’t done much in the previous 5 years, I had 20 plus years of training experience prior to that and thankfully, my body quickly remembered life before I became a fat ass.  Yes, I lost 60lbs in under 4 months.  But if you are untrained and looking to mimic what I did/do, you may fucking die or get seriously injured.

With that being said, my training is very specific.  To become a better runner, one must run.  To become a better swimmer, you gotta swim.  To become a better cyclist, you have to put the bike miles in.

In October, running 1/2 mile almost killed me.  I own a Peloton and had ridden it frequently (even fat and drinking every day), but I had never been on a good road bike.  I hadn’t swam a meaningful lap since Air Force Pararescue training in 1995.  Needless to say, I was starting from ground zero.  Hell, I was in the basement.

One important thing to realize is the actual breakdown of the Ironman.  The water is about 10%, the bike about 50%, and the run is about 40% of the race.  Now, we obviously need to focus on our weaknesses.  If I can’t swim 1/4 of a mile without drowning, nothing else matters.  So there is a minimal level of competence required.  But I do focus a lot on the bike, because a) I have a Peloton in my home and it allows me to get miles no matter the weather, my schedule, etc. and b) the bike is the lion-share of the race, c) cycling is low impact and tends to help me increase training volume without increasing injury risk while also facilitating recovery and d) I am actually not terrible in the water or as a runner.

My training typically runs about 15-25 hours per week.  Yes, that is a lot.  I view my training cycle as a two week breakdown vs one week, because that gives me a better picture for assessing where I am at and how I am doing.  I mix in a couple of “accessory” training days to focus on overall strength (resistance training), variety (I love the row machine), core, etc.  Here is a typical training breakdown for me.  

Know that I walk my dog nightly (1-2 miles) and sometimes do that weighted with 65-75lbs of weight.  My days off change every week, so I’m listing everything by Days 1-14.  Days 6-7 and 13-14 are weekends (since those never change) and days 4 and 11 are Thursdays, which also never change.  The other days may change depending on what time I have to work or get off, but my Thurs, Sat, Suns are fairly consistent.  These are days I’m typically up at 4am. 

Current Benchmarks: Last week I ran 20.2 miles right at a 10 min per mile clip.  I was fine and could’ve run 20 more miles, but my goal was 20.  

My swims are usually 1200-2000 yards.  I am not swimming until complete fatigue, just staying comfortable in the water and focusing on technique.  Once it warms up a bit, I will be swimming in open water at Lake Ray Roberts.

I feel that I am becoming a very good cyclist.  100 mile days don’t hurt me much.  

Day 1 Light Peloton (20-30 minutes, hr +-115) Long ride (Currently 40-50 miles)  Short run (1-2 miles) Intensity is low here (10 min mile) Yoga/Stretching (30-90 minutes)

Day 2 Moderate Peloton (40-60 minutes, hr +-140) Swim (1250-1500 yards) Resistance Training (full body) Optional short run Yoga/Stretching

Day 3 Light Peloton Long Run (8-20 miles, 10 min miles, hr < 140) Yoga Stretching

Day 4 Long Peloton 60 min+ (hr depending upon how I feel post-run) Yoga Stretch Optional swim

Day 5 Light Peloton Medium Ride (20-30 miles) Short run (6 min miles, 1-3 miles) Stretch/Yoga

Day 6 Medium Peloton ride (45-60) Resistance Training + Rower (20ish minutes) + Core work Optional Short run (10 min mile pace) or Hill runs Yoga/Stretch

Day 7 (Active Recovery Day) Medium Peloton Ride Yoga Stretch

Day 8 Light Peloton Bike ride (20-50 miles) Optional short run (inversely intense based on the ride - short ride, hard run, long ride, slow run) Stretch/Yoga

Day 9 Medium Peloton Resistance Training + rower Short Slow run Yoga/Stretch

Day 10 Light Peloton Long Run (8+ miles) Yoga/Stretch

Day 11 Long Peloton Short Slow run Yoga Stretch

Day 12 Swim Med-Long Cycle Yoga Stretch

Day 13-14 (repeat Days 6-7, may throw a moderate run in on Day 13 if I’m feeling it).

A couple of notes: -I do yoga and stretch every single day, a minimum of 30 minutes per day.  Sometimes my stretch sessions are over an hour.  Sometimes, I stretch 2-3 times per day.  Nothing affects my recovery more than my stretching - if I skimp, I feel it in my hips and legs.  

-90% of my showers are ice cold.  

-I sleep at least 7 hours per night

-I monitor and chart my resting heart rate, my sleeping heart rate, and my body temperature as an indicator of how well I am recovering.  (That is a lengthy post in itself).  

Once I start logging the actual training, the above schedule should make a bit more sense to you.  For those that think they could never do an Ironman, well, you can if you decide to.  It’s 100% between your ears and has little to do with the current condition your body is in.  

One bit of advice I’d give is to find something, pay for it, and start fucking training for it right now.  My initial catalyst was a simple 3.5 mile obstacle course race on June 22.  I didn’t want to die doing it, and I talked a bunch of friends into doing it with me, including my son Peyton.  Once I started training (not actually doing the races, simply fucking training for them) and seeing how I was progressing, I simply said “fuck it” and got the bug.  Just the fucking IDEA of doing something new changed my entire life’s trajectory.  That is all it took.  

Now my race schedule is: -June 22 - 3.5 mile OCR Texas Stadium, Arlington, TX -Aug 10 - 8.5 mile OCR Boston, MA -Oct 22 - 50k OCR (yeah, 50k motherfucker) Dallas, TX (this race will complete my Spartan Race Trifecta) -Nov 24 - Ironman Tempe, AZ

Is it smart to run a 50k a month out of Ironman?  Probably not.  I don’t know, and I don’t really give a shit.  I do know that when I put my credit card down for each of these events I was scared to fucking death and at that time I had no idea how in the fuck I’d ever be ready.  That was before I had remembered that I am not a pussy and I am one bad motherfucker, just like you are.  So stop being a pussy - it is holding you back more than you’ll know.

[axou-den-mporw]

get to know me tag

RULES: ANSWER THESE 88 QUESTIONS AND TAG 20 PEOPLE (mini rant: why do these thing always request 20 people to tag. i dont even know ten people pls let me breathe) **I keep the rant cause seriously I don't even know 20 people irl not in the tumblr world**

tagged by @in-theory (and im really sorry for being so late, like a month has passed but well okay im doing this lol)

tagging : @vxplln @anastassiamlt @teh-panda @itsthewonderfulworldofsu @inkyblacksky

THE LAST:

1. DRINK: water probably it's summer lol

2. PHONE CALL: my dad

3. TEXT MESSAGE: κλαιω ήθελα να πω (greek)

4. SONG YOU LISTENED TO: My Neighbor Totoro ending song

5. THE TIME YOU CRIED: I don't even remember. I think last weekend watching the Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

HAVE YOU:

6. DATED SOMEONE TWICE: not even once

7. KISSED SOMEONE AND REGRETTED IT: nah

8. BEEN CHEATED ON: everything here is going to be a no, ( I keep this answer by @in-theory cause seriously gurl I feel the same)

9. LOST SOMEONE SPECIAL: idk what you mean by that. So im gonna answer yeah

10. BEEN DEPRESSED: hell yeah what I was doing the whole winter? 

11. GOTTEN DRUNK AND THROWN UP: im not sure abt getting drunk but I haven't thrown up from alcohol. Alcohol is my friend

TOP 3 FAVORITE COLORS

12. That's tough

13. seriously though

14. I can't even tell them apart at times, but I like the colors of sunset

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. MADE NEW FRIENDS: AHA AND IM HAPPY ABT THAT

16. FALLEN OUT OF LOVE: nah prob. I haven't fallen in, how can I fall out?

17. LAUGHED UNTIL YOU CRIED: seriously I don't remember. I remember this time. I couldn't breathe from laughing too hard. I had just discovered a new laugh which was like HIHIHIHIIHIIIHIHHIHHIHHHHIIIIIIIIIHIHIHIIHI and I didn't even remember what I was laughing at cause everyone (included me) just laughed with my new laugh lol. But idk if it was this year. Maybe some other time that i don’t remember now cause well i have the memory of a fish

18. FOUND OUT SOMEONE WAS TALKING ABOUT YOU: what

19. MET SOMEONE WHO CHANGED YOU: maybe???idk

20. FOUND OUT WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE: im still through that tbh

21. KISSED SOMEONE ON YOUR FACEBOOK LIST: what is even a fb list?

GENERAL

22. HOW MANY OF YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS DO YOU KNOW IN REAL LIFE: welllllllllll it depends on what you mean know irl

23. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS: I wanna get a doggo but I only had fishes till now and they all dead now so yeah prob gonna delay getting the doggo till I get a house that would be comfy for him

24. DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME: tbh I didn't really like that as a kid. And I would like to change it if I become an artist of any form of art

25. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOU LAST BIRTHDAY: my sis got me presents and we went to a nice café-bar, and some other time we got some pizzas with ma friends

26. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP: eight o’ clock 

27. WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT: watching the Russian boy who looked like a real-life anime dancing folklore and I tell you he was fineee

28. NAME SOMETHING YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR: life

29. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR MOM: before 3 hrs or something

30. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH YOU COULD CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE: my character. And my hobbies. Like sometimes I really wish I had been in some athletic team or dance team, be a little more sociable a lil stronger. ANyway

31. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Put My Hands On You by Dean ft. Anderson Paak (please do babe, i want that too)

32. HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO A PERSON NAMED TOM: Nah

33. SOMETHING THAT IS GETTING ON YOUR NERVES: people, me included

LOST QUESTIONS

34. MOLE(S): everywhere but I think the ones that come more to my mind is a huge one that is above of my left ear and thankful my hair cover it, then one in my right wrist and one left of my nose

35. MARK(S): stretch marks everywhere

36. CHILDHOOD DREAM: ha I prob changed them every week, but I think that actress was the final one cause I found out as a kid that in this way I could be everything I wanted and change profession with every different movie/series I got myself into

37. HAIR COLOR: brown 

38. LONG OR SHORT HAIR: now short

39. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE: *laughs* what’s a crush **(sorry babe gonna keep that as well cause yeah same)**

40. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF: i’m confident at my dreams and goals

41. PIERCINGS: nah 

42. BLOODTYPE: A I think 

43. NICKNAME(S): squidie, agg, ang, bro

44. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: IM SINGLE af 

45. ZODIAC: cancer but who cares

46. PRONOUNS: she/her

47. FAVORITE TV SHOW: Friends (American), It’s okay that’s love (Korean) (UGGHHHH THIS IS HARD OMG REPLY 1988 TOO OKAY?) and Είσαι το ταίρι μου (Greek)

48. TATTOOS: nah, how could i decide where to put it and what to write/draw, nahhh

49. RIGHT OR LEFT HAND: right

50. SURGERY: not yet

51. HAIR DYED A DIFFERENT COLOR: no

52. SPORT: does eating count?

53. VACATION: Nisiros-10 and Skopelos D-24

54. PAIR OF TRAINERS: got me some converse and a pair of vans but converse is next level I tell ya 

MORE GENERAL

55. EATING: haven’t eaten since i woke up probably won’t eat until noon

56. DRINKING: more water lol

57. I’M ABOUT TO: Watch a movie prob or go for a walk

58. WAITING FOR: Awesome summer to start even on August

59. WANT: to travel back in time and become friends with Bogey and Bacall 

60. GET MARRIED: who knows what life has for me? im too young to know

61. CAREER: nobody knows, maybe i will become a millionaire,maybe i will become another jobless person, maybe i will sell tomatoes and pancakes and cookies in flea market

 62. HUGS OR KISSES: Both actually

63. LIPS OR EYES: heart, sorry i never (after middle school, cause we don’t speak of the time before shhhh) really cared abt specific characteristics on people. I mean, he could have the most beautiful eyes/lips i have set my eyes on and i could be not attracted by him. Idk im weird

64. SHORTER OR TALLER: taller cause well im 1,64 m, and idk i just need his height to tell me HUG ME IM A HUGSIE PERSON (I know im weird, that’s why i have few friends)

65. OLDER OR YOUNGER: now older. but idk generally i don’t think i would have a problem with younger people

66. NICE ARMS OR NICE STOMACH: i’m a hoe for arms oh dear God mercy

67. SENSITIVE OR LOUD: loud people because i am quiet and reserved so yeah this is abt what person i am or which kind of people i like? well it doesn’t matter cause well idk abt sensitive, but im not and neither im attracted to loud people

68. HOOK UP OR RELATIONSHIP: relationship

69. TROUBLEMAKER OR HESITANT: im 10000% hesitant and i would like a troublemaker to have a lil fun sometime

HAVE YOUR EVER:

70. KISSED A STRANGER: no

71. DRANK HARD LIQUOR: no

72. LOST GLASSES/CONTACT LENSES: like 8737918731432867 times

73. TURNED SOMEONE DOWN: well. . . maybe?im not sure abt that

74. SEX ON THE FIRST DATE: no

75. BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART: no

76. HAD YOUR HEART BROKEN: does elementary school count?

77. BEEN ARRESTED: no

78. CRIED WHEN SOMEONE DIED: yes

79. FALLEN FOR A FRIEND: i don’t think i have male friends (like real friends, to talk at least once a month and really care abt each other) and i never actually had

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

80. YOURSELF: im a magic fairy, who doesn’t believe in them? my specialty is to make everyone sad lol

81. MIRACLES: yes

82. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: okay im still not over that ice cream, why do you keep reminding me of that *sobs* it was my first love *tears fall* when we set our eyes on each other *mess* *somebody sto0p me please*

83. SANTA CLAUS: well i believe in Santa Claus in the way i believe in all other Santas

84. KISS ON THE FIRST DATE: is this something to believe in?

85. ANGELS: yes

86. CURRENT BEST FRIENDS NAME(S): anastassia, maryam, i think that’s it

OTHER

87. EYECOLOR: dark brown

88. FAVORITE MOVIE: Mamma Mia (2008) (judge all you want but it never fails on making me happy), Philadelphia Story (1940) (come on this movie is just amazing i love it). Im not sure abt favorite, but i really liked It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), cause it made me rethink my priorities in life and it certainly demands a re-watch. In abt a month i think many many more will be added to this list hopefully

OMG I DID IT YEY

[yournewapartment]

I've been looking around for a while and I don't know if minimum wage would be enough to get an apartment, buy food, and take care of all my cats and it's just generally stressing me out and now I'm wondering if I should even think of living alone

Take a deep breath! While not ideal, living on minimum wage can be done. My advice to you would be to look for some sort of roommate situation as opposed to living on your own. You could also rent a room in a house which would be significantly cheaper than a one bedroom apartment. Your cats shouldn’t cost you more than $50 extra a month, and they will give you such relief and comfort. Moving out of your parent’s house and living on your own can be stressful and feel overwhelming- you’ll want your furry friends by your side!

Budgeting on Minimum Wage

Overview

The average minimum wage in the US is $7.25/hr. Even working full time at 40 hours a week, that’s only a profit of $290 before taxes. This is not a fair living wage! You are worth way more than this amount! I strongly encourage you to start looking for another job that pays better, look for something around the $10-$15 range.

While $7.25 is atrocious, thousands of people around the world support families on much less. If they can do it while supporting children, so can you! To live off a minimum wage budget you need to declare yourself independent. If your parents are still claiming you as a dependent YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO THIS. I also recommend that you have the highest amount possible taken out of your taxes so that you get money back from your state at the end of the year, instead of being in debt to them. 

What I’ve done is come up with a budgeting plan based off some made up factors and my own personal experience.

Housing

1. City life. Forget about the city! Apartments located in cities can be three times as expensive as apartments in small towns or villages. On top of the extra expense, they’re much smaller and have less amenities included. I’d much rather live in a one bedroom apartment with a dishwasher and a conveniently located Laundromat, than a literal closet with no windows on a fifth floor walkup. Look for apartments twenty minutes to a half hour outside of your closest city. Now you have the close conveniences of a city, with none of those pesky city prices that your budget can’t handle.

2. College towns. Shop around and look at apartments by local colleges. Large colleges with have apartment complexes within walking distance of the school grounds. Landlords know that college students have less money (you might even be a college student yourself) and adjust their prices accordingly. Even apartments next to ivy league schools are priced this way, so don’t be discouraged by the institution’s “prestige”.

3. Locale. Your safety is more important than your bank account. It doesn’t matter if you live in Section 8 housing or in an affluent suburb. Some apartment complexes and neighborhoods are just safer than others. I live in a heavily populated and upper middle class suburb, and the first year I moved in, a drunk woman tried to throw a beer bottle at my car. Thankfully this is the only time this happened to me, but it made me feel unsafe in my environment. Before signing a lease, walk or drive around your prospective home’s neighborhood at night. Take in the atmosphere, and make sure it’s one where you could comfortably run to the local supermarket at 10:30pm and pick up toilet paper.

4. Roommates. Living on minimum wage requires that you find one or two roommates to help split the rent. The more the better! Get together with your more responsible friends, so at least you’re living with people whose company you enjoy. There are lots of “roommate wanted” forums and message boards for you to browse on the internet, but always bring a responsible adult with you before meeting a stranger. Please. Bring your mom if you have too.

Food

1. Low-spoon food. I created this post a few months ago which offers lots of suggestions about cooking and shopping on a budget.

2. Online recipes. Here are some of my favorite online Tumblr cookbook resources.

- College Student Cookbook. Click here.

- Meals On The Go. Click here. (Not a cookbook, but super helpful)

- Broke College Kid Masterpost. Click here.

- Cooking on A Bootstrap. Click here.

- Good and Cheap. Click here.

- Budget Bytes. Click here.

3. I also regularly update my cooking on a budget tag.

Misc Expenses

1. Gas. Shop around and find the cheapest gas in your area. Avoid gas stations next to colleges, highways, and in touristy areas. Look into getting as gas rewards card from your favorite supermarket. I get 10 cents off a gallon with Stop & Shop every time I do a big shop.

2. Dollar store. Get to know your local dollar and bargain stores. You can buy everything from pots and pans to bed sheets there. These stores often sell bulk ramen for $1 and large cans of crushed tomatoes for 75 cents. That’s enough food for you to live off of for several days. When shopping, I make three grocery store stops to ensure that I spend the least amount possible on my pantry needs. I go Dollar Store, Stop and Shop, and then to my local organic grocery store. I’m going to make a list of things that I buy at Dollar Stores and things that I don’t buy at Dollar Stores soon!

3. Cable. We are living in the digital age- you don’t need cable television. Use Netflix or Hulu or whatever. It will save you tons of $$.

4. Internet. As far as internet speed goes, if you’re living with roommates you will probably need a higher speed. Living by yourself, choose a lower one. Most internet companies offer large discounts to new subscribers. These typically only last a year, but will save you serious money. Make sure to take note of when this discount expires, and contact the company before it does. If you don’t, they’ll begin charging you the full amount without notice.

5. Verizon. I just want to take a moment to talk about how much I love Verizon because they have literally saved me so much money in the three years I’ve been with them. After you sign a contract with a new internet company, they charge you a bunch of ridiculous fees like “activation fees” and “installation fees”. I called Verizon and was like “I’m a poor college student, I can’t afford this” and they were like “don’t worry, we’ll waive the fee”. I signed a two year contract with them that saved me $80 on a high-speed internet bill per month (my price being only 50.99 a month). After the contract expired I call them and they put me on a month to month, keeping the price absolutely the same. TLDR- get Verizon if you can.

6. Utility. Get on a monthly budget with whatever utility company services your new apartment. Although it may seem like the cheaper option, paying the actual amount of electricity you spend per month is the more expensive. It’s also unpredictable, and a minimum wage budget won’t allow for it. See this for more info.

7. Amazon. I buy a lot of my beauty, cleaning, and cat products online. Amazon offers Prime shipping free for a year with a student email address, and then offers it at a greatly reduced price after the year. If you are a student, snap up that free deal ASAP. If it’s in your budget, I’d greatly recommend investing in Amazon Prime.

8. Saving money. It’s so important to attempt to break way from the “paycheck to paycheck” vicious cycle. Living this way does not allow for emergency expense money, and trust me, sometime soon you will need emergency expense money. Your cat might get sick or your car may die, whatever it is, it’s always smart to have at least $500 squirreled away. I’m gonna level with you, things have been tight for my budget and I haven’t been able to save anything for the past three months. But this month I will!

Example Budgets

Full Time

Working with the $7.25/hr and 40hr/week model, here’s an example budget for living on minimum wage. That’s $1,160 a month without taxes.

Housing: Let’s say you’re sharing an apartment with two close friends, the rent being $1,500 without any amenities. That rent split three ways is $500 each.

Gas I commute twenty minutes every day, and I drop about $20-$25 a week on gas. That’s $100 on gas a month.

Food: I do one big shopping a month with my boyfriend. We drop around $180 and that’s including toiletries and soap and stuff. So maybe you’ll spend about $100 a month on all your shopping needs.

Cable/internet:  Hopefully you took my advice and skipped cable. Let’s say you’re paying around $50 per month for internet. Split three ways that’s $17 each.

Laundry: Hopefully you’re not like me and are only spending around $20 on laundry per month.

Random expenses: Because there always are some. Especially when you have cats. Let’s just tack on another $100.

With everything added up, you still have around $290 left before taxes! That money can go into a savings account, and after several months, you’ll have that $500 worth of emergency money saved.

Part Time

Working with the $7.25/hr and 25hr/week model, here’s an example budget for living on minimum wage. That’s $725 without taxes.

Housing: In this case, you need to look for apartments in the $800-900 range. In my area, one bedroom apartments go for around $1000, so you may need to get creative with your roommate (I don’t think you could have more than one roommate in this situation). Buy dividers to split the bedroom or studio in half! Let’s say your rent is $850 with nothing included, that’s $425 each.

Gas You’re still looking at a large gas bill per month, so it may be more inexpensive to ride a bike or use public transportation. Let’s say you use public transportation, and spend around $50 a month on that. Or maybe you and your roommate can split gas expenses and share a car?

Food: Pinch those pennies! Use some of those budget cookbooks I linked above to help you cook healthy and delicious meals for under $4 each. See if you can only spend $80 a month on groceries.

Cable/internet:  Hopefully you took my advice and skipped cable. Let’s say you’re paying around $50 per month for internet. Split two ways is $25 each.

Laundry: Hopefully you’re not like me and are only spending around $20 on laundry per month.

Random expenses: Because there always are some. Let’s just tack on another $100.

That leaves you $25 to put in your bank account, if that. This is a paycheck to paycheck situation, and you will probably need to get another source of income to feel secure. But you can still do it!

[maritzaerwin]

Is Virtual Teambuilding Effective?

Skilled workers going remote are now at 50% and counting. I wonder why. Groceries are considered safe when they give off a mild antibacterial fragrance. Facemasks are an accessory without which fashion is no longer haute couture.

Countless Zoom chats later, your average line manager frantically searches for a realistic set of virtual team building activities in the hopes of keeping his or her team responsive at the upcoming conference call. Remote is the hipp new norm. A recent survey by Deloitte seems to suggest so.

The shift from downtown real estate to a mix of virtual TelCo infrastructure is already here. Facebook and Twitter made news announcing permanent work from home plans, but if you ask me, the real headlines belong to giants like Nationwide Insurance. Based out of Ohio with close to 100 years in business, their brand image isn’t synonymous with disruption or any other fancy silicon valley jargon.   

Server bandwidth vs. a monthly lease reduction isn’t the only advantage either. While board members and executives pioneer decisions across real estate or infrastructure, line managers are the ones left picking up the tab on the hidden costs of the new remote wave.

Tasked with building virtual teams from scratch they are often forced to do so with no prior experience. All the while watching their quarterly targets grow ever more ambitious and keeping performance KPIs in check.

Despite understandable ambivalence after putting together, in many cases their very first, remote team in just under nine weeks of time, 44% of middle management personnel label their direct reports to be more productive; to the utter delight of the board and the executive team, it seems.

“Companies shifted almost their entire office workforce to remote work as the virus spread in the US, and 73% percent of executives say it was a success.”

Have we, unknowingly so, stumbled upon something extraordinary? According to NPR’s recent interview with Kate Lister, who is the president of a workplace consulting firm that measures and champions remote work —yes, we have.

“The biggest holdback against remote work for the past 20 years has been middle managers who didn’t trust their employees to do it…and the biggest difference between managers who support it and those who don’t is those who have done it.”

Can My Team Walk Out on Me?

The flip side of the coin on these positive numbers is efficiency. 29% remain ambivalent about being on a remote team. They are less sure about being productive. For Lister, reporting structure and organizational procedures are a critical part of remote employee productivity.

“One of the top reasons for high employee turnover in remote workers is the lack of understanding in managers on how to properly set up a remote team…especially when they do so for the first time”.

In other words, it’s one thing to surrender a lease on your office space and download Zoom — but building out effective processes that both deliver results and keep your team from churning, is not so simple to do without prior experience.

Doing anything for the first time is bound to come with a learning curve. According to an estimate from SpotMe, a company whose business of building event apps has been transformed by the pandemic: “66% of event and meeting planners have never hosted a virtual webinar”. If you ever hosted one, think of how productive it was on the first attempt and how many of the attendees were ecstatic at the prospect of a second round.

And if you are not thinking about employee churn rate, reasoning that the current economic climate should act as a deterrent from changing jobs, think again. I am not only referring to traditionally introverted IT units who are well paid and in many cases have an existing culture of remote work.

I mean divisions like marketing, sales, or customer service who are always in demand and have now spent an unprecedented amount of time working from home. Can you really be sure that in between conference calls they aren’t looking for what else is out there?

And if joining a potential competitor just isn’t something you have envisioned for most members of your organization, what about the spirit of entrepreneurship? How many countless hours of life coaching ads should your average marketing manager or customer service representative watch before they decide to start some sort of a side gig on YouTube?

France 24, for example, recently ran a segment on the state of affairs for french startups & entrepreneurs that register them. The government channel reported the number of new business registrations to be at their historic high when compared, seasonality wise, to any other fiscal year on record. Blomberg backs up the state media channel by data from Insee.

(Source)

A spokesperson from Cloutboost, a marketing agency that consults its clients on how to find gaming Youtubers, backs up the conclusion that these numbers are driving at. “We have seen a 25% increase of new talent joining our network throughout the lockdown period.

The growth hasn’t stopped since and we are confident that these numbers will continue to increase in the coming months.” This makes sense because those sales, marketing, and customer service reps thinking of going off to start their own business are more than likely college grads, often armed with a Masters’s degree and enough disposable income to invest into their next, perhaps small, yet still entrepreneurial venture.

And if their savings aren’t enough, various stimulus packages and furlough schemes are there to help.

The Brave New World

Whatever your position on churn, employee turnover can be a risky metric to neglect. Companies with headcounts of 150+ full-time employees rely on HR to mitigate this risk. Large multinationals traditionally rely on HRBP’s (Human Resources Business Partner) to be the stewards of employee experience 

Dave Ulrick attributes the mitigation of this risk to what has colloquially become known as a culture workplace process. If this sounds abstract, don’t worry, it is.

Seemingly quoted by every authority on the topic of HR, Dave’s work boils down to what we’ve all known to be true yet lacked the vocabulary to say out loud. Human Relations and departments designated to deal with them have been rapidly evolving for quite some time. Responsibilities of HR in the early ’90s differ from those today. 

Classic HR functions are out the window. Perks, bonus structures, off-site retreats, and quarterly happiness surveys have long been the new norm. I recently consulted for a startup that invested in an unknown French HR management software.

Their HR department – a brave army of one executive assistant tasked with recruitment, client billing, and facilities management – needed support when the team expanded beyond 15 full-time employees. The first message displayed in everyone’s inbox once the software went online – rate your happiness on a scale 1 – 5.

My point is that a day spent without a reminder of the important role that people culture plays in an organization’s efficiency, is a day spent under a rock. And I’ll be the first in line to admit that my worst day in 2020 beats anyone’s best day in an era when recruitment specialists advised against wearing short sleeve shirts to an interview or urged applicants to disclose their height, weight, and whether or not they own a home. 

The fact that HR is preoccupied with making sure that the office cafeteria is stacked with ingredients for soybean frappuccino lattes is nothing less than a dream come true.

To the best of my knowledge, the fact that a company is not considered progressive unless someone on their LinkedIn is titled Happiness Manager does resonate with the young, millennial, creative workforce they aim to attract. It certainly resonates with me.

Whether or not this trend is financially sustainable to maintain for small startups in a market for cheap HR management software is a separate topic entirely. But the likes of Google or Facebook don’t get a choice as superb office spaces and friendly HR staff have become nothing short of the industry standard.

Lines separating facilities and recruitment should be blurry. Because the fog tends to make future tendencies all the more pronounced. Through personal interviews of over 400 HRBP’s Gartner predicts 4 main trends that the role of an HRBP will entail between now and 2025. Trend #2: HRBPs become stewards of the employee experience

“HR functions will shift from expanding support for what employees need at work to expanding support for what employees experience at work. This shift will require HRBPs to identify the experiences employees value most and help eliminate the work that’s least valuable to employees.”

June 2019, Gartner

What should then HR do in the age of public quarantine and social distancing? Keeping a team happy and motivated when public venues are open is hard enough. Keeping them happy and motivated through a living room crawling with kids or a distant coworking facility is even harder. Add to that the stress of indoor confinement and you got yourself something I would call an HRBP dilemma.

Is Teambuilding Effective?

Well, this will have to depend on which camp you are in. Beating the drum of proverbial ivy leaguers, team building is an essential component of success. Especially in trying times of confinement and social distancing. Corporate culture is the DNA that codes how your employees will perform.

“At Mars, we learned that to get people to work together, we had to let them figure out how that would actually improve results.”

HBR, Sep 2018

In marketing, we have a funny metric called Return On Ad $ Spend (ROAS). The amount of revenue earned by a business for each dollar it spends on advertising. Market, industry, or channel type aren’t really relevant. What is relevant is the bottom line. Especially when it comes to human resources in the digital age.

But this should not come as a surprise. MIT’s Human Dynamics Lab proved the notion of ROAS in HR as far back as 2012 with Professor Sandy Pantland and his collarbone sensor experiments with Bank of America.

In collaboration with Sociometric Solutions, Pantland’s lab put the strength of team building to the test by analyzing behavioral patterns of call center employees across 30+ multinational corporations. Measured through an indicator referred to as “account handling time” (ACH), Pantland was able to empirically prove the effects of team building on an organization’s bottom line.

Even then the hypothesis that increasing employee break time will increase annual turnover sounded seductive. Who would think that enabling customer service reps to mingle by the water cooler will have an indirect impact on an organization’s cash flow?

Well, Pantland’s hypothesis was correct and the implementation of his techniques boosted ACH by 8%. And when MIT checked in a year later, their pilot got implemented across 25,000 call center units worldwide. Forecasting to yield $15M in RAOS by year-end.

There will always be someone to argue that revenue is a poor metric for gaging emotions. After all, what else is a happiness manager supposed to manage if not employee emotions? I can relate to this argument and direct its proponents to Pantland’s earlier 2007 collaboration.

Together with the Center for Collective Intelligence, they take on a German bank. One would think: what could be more disciplined? The marketing department is divided up into multiple groups across separate rooms and floors. Germans aim to measure how this layout affects work satisfaction. Armed with prototypes of location-based sensors Pantland and his team go to work.

Sensors hang on the collarbone, tracking which way a participant faces when talking. Over 2,000 hours of data on everything short of the actual conversation are recorded over a 30 day period.  Voice patterns, speed of speech delivery, agitation, flirtation, anxiety – you name it. Needless to say, results underscore the social nature of human beings. On average, respondents who report more frequent interactions are happier.

Interaction in the Era of Virtual Teams

So if interaction with one another is the foundation that forms a happy team, and at its core happiness equals RAOS, then the HRBP dilemma is solved. Make sure the team is engaged; the more the merrier, and ideally several times a day. And therein lies the answer to making them perform. 

Although before tackling how it may be prudent to, at least briefly, take a crack as to the why. After all, we are only in our 5th month of confinement. Meaning that your average line manager may not have yet learned all that he or she should – at least as far as remote work is concerned.

According to Melanie Pinola at Zapier – unplugging is the culprit. The top 3 challenges of a remote employee in 2020 relate to overworking. And again this isn’t quite in with the new but rather out with the old – the same old data going as far back as 2019 before the world had gone remote.

22% out of 2,471 respondents report not being able to distance themselves from their work. Poor work-life balance, depression, and ultimately decreased productivity are factors to blame. In an age of multinationals whose most valuable assets are employees – not listening to this is just bad math. Employee productivity will take a nosedive without proper motivation. And if that nosedive isn’t properly addressed turnover spikes may inevitably follow.

Virtual Teambuilding Costs (How Much?)

13 years since the German bank, team building has been proclaimed to be a measurable component of the bottom line. Recent polls point to people having real issues connecting while being remote. It’s safe to assume that by not practicing remote team building – you may be looking at a hit on your balance sheet.

How much exactly this hit may cost depends on obvious factors: the size of the workforce that is remote, the time zones between which it’s dispersed, the role that it plays in your organization, and a range of other things that go beyond the scope of a single article on this topic.

The good news is that the manual on how to avoid incurring these potential costs is ubiquitous. From IBM all the way to a mom and pop operation, if you’ve got wifi – you are in.

All that you, your HRBP, or your line managers have to be willing to do is put in the time. A few hours of dedicated planning will always lift team spirits. Choose among hundreds of fun and engaging activities enabling your team to bond over zoom. Games, quizzes, bucket list challenges – you name it. Whatever you choose, invest yourself in making this special for your teammates.

The entire sectors of our economy are shutting down. How bad can a few incremental gains through a fun video session with your teammates really be?

The post Is Virtual Teambuilding Effective? appeared first on CareerMetis.com.

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[biofunmy]

The Great Recession Broke The American Economy. We Still Haven’t Fixed It.

Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Thousands of Wisconsin teachers, state workers, and union members protest Gov. Walker’s legislation, in the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, Feb. 18, 2011.

At 6:30 a.m. every weekday, Ethan Floerke wakes up for his full-time job teaching language arts to 100 seventh graders at Lake Mills Middle School in Wisconsin. Almost nine hours later, at 3:05 p.m., he sets down his books and puts on a uniform. It’s time to deliver pizzas, many of which go to the families of his students. Floerke works the part-time job about 25 hours a week.

It’s an exhausting grind, but it’s still not enough for the 29-year-old to pay his loans and bills while also setting aside savings. In the summer, Floerke teaches summer school, delivers pizza, and also works for the parks department as a security guard on the public beaches. “I am working 70-plus hours a week during the summer,” he told BuzzFeed News.

This is Floerke’s sixth year teaching. One of five children, he graduated college in December 2013 with $30,000 in student loans and began teaching at a salary of about $32,500.

After working for over a year, he bought a used 2010 Jeep Patriot, taking out a $14,000 loan. Two months later, it died. He bought another car, and within a few weeks, his debt for cars alone had skyrocketed to $30,000.

“That one decision, that terrible car decision, and I’m $60,000 in debt. It was terrifying,” he said.

Thus began Floerke’s adult life.

Lauren Justice for BuzzFeed News

Ethan Floerke at home in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, Dec. 6. James works multiple jobs in an effort to pay down debilitating student debt.

On the other side of the country, in New York, another young man was starting his life. He’s asked to be called Tom for this story, to protect his privacy.

Floerke and Tom have many similarities. Both are well-educated millennial American men born who grew up in low- to middle-income families. But they differ in one respect: Floerke’s income puts him in roughly the 40th percentile of American income. (That is, 60% of the country makes more than he does, 40% makes less.) Tom’s base salary, which today is $210,000 a year, places him in the 92nd percentile.

And on this one difference, an entire decade turned.

Nothing has been felt more profoundly by Americans over the last decade than the widening gulf in wealth. The gap between the richest and poorest Americans is at its highest levels in 50 years, according to the US Census Bureau. The wealthiest 10% of Americans now hold two-thirds of all household net worth, and everyone else — the other 90% — share the other third.

In 1986, roughly when Tom and Ethan were born, the Gini index, the standard measurement of income inequality, stood at 0.375 in the United States. In 2018, that number reached 0.49, the highest measurement ever recorded in this country. (0.0 means a perfectly equal distribution of income, while 1.0 means a single person would receive all the income.)

Only a very small number of potential items on the national agenda actually come to dominate our political life. And at the opening of the decade, it looked unclear that economic inequality would be one of them. In 2011, the Occupy movement came and went — an inchoate venting of collective anger that seemed to disappear without a trace. Yet it shaped the Dickensian lens through which we viewed the rest of the 2010s.

Inequality has become the centerpiece of American national politics.

Ethan Floerke was in high school, his older twin siblings in college, when his father lost his job. His mother, a nurse, would soon face with her own health problems. “That’s really when the credit cards started coming into play,” he recalled. “For the last 10 years, [my dad] was so negative: ‘Oh, I’m never going to be able to retire. This is this is my life now.’ And he was exhausted, just completely stressed and wrecked.”

Meanwhile in New York, Tom graduated from law school in 2009 with six figures in student loan debt. “The most my mom ever made was, like, $30,000,” he told BuzzFeed News. A job offer from a law firm, where he worked as a summer associate, evaporated when the economy crashed, so he was working as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant, earning $150 on the rare good day and $35 on a bad day. But Tom had married the daughter of a doctor and a lawyer. He didn’t know it yet, but that would change his life.

The soil in which the two men were planted was the Great Recession, an 18-month period from late 2007 to mid-2009 when the economy slowed, the housing market collapsed, joblessness rose to levels not seen since the ’80s, stock markets crashed, and the financial industry was thrown into turmoil.

David Mcnew / Getty Images

A fence surrounds a site where new home construction has been suspended in El Centro, California, March 12, 2009.

Just one month into his presidency, President Barack Obama’s plan to help people facing foreclosure — the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan — drew outrage from CNBC editor Rick Santelli, who ranted on Squawk Box that the government was promoting bad behavior and subsidizing “the losers’ mortgages” and proposed a Chicago tea party where “we’re going to be dumping some derivative securities” into Lake Michigan.

Within hours, OfficialChicagoTeaParty.com was live. The media dubbed it the “rant heard around the world.”

In Wisconsin, the recession led to deep cuts in state government spending.

“The recession has hit Wisconsin harder than most state governments, especially when it comes to lost tax revenues and the size of the hole in its budget,” according to a Pew report in 2009. “On top of that, unemployment is climbing as the state’s largest sector — manufacturing — sputters. Wisconsin’s history of budget shortfalls and pattern of borrowing frequently to cover operating expenses, among other measures, made it poorly positioned to weather the most recent severe economic downturn.”

Floerke was pursuing a degree in education at the time. “I remember teachers that have been teaching for 20-plus years telling us, ‘You need to do something else. This is not a profession to get into right now.’ And you would hear these stories every single day,” he said.

When Republican Scott Walker became governor of Wisconsin in 2011, he proposed Act 10, the “Wisconsin budget repair bill,” which called for major cuts in state aid to school districts, increased the amount employees paid for their health insurance and pensions, and eliminated many collective bargaining rights for public employees.

Teachers and other state workers protested for months in 2011. Tens of thousands of them swarmed Madison on Feb. 16, chanting “Kill the bill” and “Hey hey, ho ho / Scott Walker has to go!” On March 12, after Walker signed the bill, the crowd outside the Wisconsin State Capitol swelled to 85,000 to 100,000 people, bigger than the protests in Madison during the Vietnam War. Farmers drove in 50 tractors to participate in the protests. “This is what democracy looks like,” people cheered.

“We had teachers and professionals from all walks of life across state lines that would come and help advocate with us,” Floerke recalled. Among education students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, “everyone just decided, in solidarity, we were going to walk out of class.”

In Washington, DC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — an agency authorized by the 2010 Dodd–Frank bill but originally proposed in 2007 by then–Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren — launched in July. “This agency is ready to be a cop on the beat for American families — and I couldn’t be prouder,” said Warren, whom Obama had named a special adviser for the bureau.

Emmanuel Dunand / Getty Images

Occupy Wall Street participants stage a protest on Times Square in New York, Oct. 15, 2011.

Then on Sept. 17, 2011 — three days after Warren announced her candidacy for a Massachusetts Senate seat — the Occupy Wall Street movement took off. After a call for action by the Canadian magazine Adbusters, nearly 1,000 people, who had organized on social media, staged a demonstration in Zuccotti Park in Manhattan’s Financial District. Signs floated amid the crowds with messages like “People Not Profits” and “End the Oligarchy.”

Demonstrators set up sleeping bags and tents. They did mass yoga. Soon, there were drum circles. Crosby & Nash did an acoustic performance. The protesters were largely affluent, white, and highly educated, according to a study by the City University of New York. Anthropologist and activist David Graeber described them as “young people bursting with energy, with plenty of time on their hands, every reason to be angry, and access to the entire history of radical thought.”

The New York protesters remained in Zuccotti Park for two months before they were ousted by police. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the “health and safety conditions became intolerable.”

Tom, who had tried to start his own law firm “with very little success,” was waiting tables during Occupy. “I was trying to get a job, and my view on it was, man, these people aren’t even fucking trying to work and I’m busting my ass up here,” he said. “Quite honestly, I thought, I bet you’re going to tip me poorly later.”

That fall, Tom received a call from his wife’s uncle, offering him a job at the same law firm that wasn’t able to hire him after graduation.

Amid protests against the 1%, capital rapidly accumulated on the West Coast, as American tech recovered from the dot-com bust and began its incredible decade. Instagram had just launched its iOS app. Apple exceeded ExxonMobil as the most valuable company in the world in August. Uber commenced its expansion from a San Francisco–based service to cities around the country and, by December, had made its way to Paris.

In 2012, as the country prepared for another presidential election, Facebook pulled off the largest-ever tech IPO in May, raising $16 billion. At age 28, Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth shot up to $19.1 billion, making him the world’s 29th richest person.

Mladen Antonov / Getty Images

A woman watches Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaking in a promotional video ahead of the company’s IPO, in Washington, May 8, 2012.

But the unemployment rate was still above 8%, and it was already time for another election. In his campaign kickoff speech, Obama said, “Too many of our friends and family are still out there looking for work. The housing market is still weak, deficits are still too high, and states are still laying off teachers, first responders. This crisis took years to develop, and the economy is still facing headwinds. And it will take sustained, persistent effort — yours and mine — for America to fully recover.” He went on, “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and we’ve been through too much to turn back now.”

His Republican opponent, business executive Mitt Romney, had his own take on what the US needed. Weeks before the election, Mother Jones released a video in which Romney told a closed-door meeting of donors that he believed that 47% of Americans are people who “are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”

“[M]y job is is not to worry about those people,” said Romney.

Inequality continued to worsen in Obama’s second term. According to a report by the economist Emmanuel Saez, the incomes of the richest 1% of households increased by 31.4% between 2009 and 2012, representing 95% of all new income gains, while the remaining 99% of households captured the other 5%.

Floerke graduated from college in December 2013 and worked as a substitute teacher before taking a job at Lake Mills School District. “I quickly realized just how far $30,000 actually goes.” After paying his bills, he usually had $20 to $30 left in his bank account at the end of the month.

To keep costs down, Floerke rented a one-bedroom unit in an old farmhouse for about $600 a month. “At first when I started living there, I’m like, oh, this looks so cool because it was old. I’ve got this room off my bedroom and I call my Narnia room because it’s got a really small door that opens up behind a bookcase. But it’s lost its charm after six years,” he said. “I’m freezing at night because the heater unit’s in the middle of the apartment and that’s the only place where heat comes out, so it’s really cold in the bedroom.”

In 2013, Tom and his wife bought an apartment in New York for $225,000, borrowing the 10% down payment from her parents. “We bought in an up-and-coming neighborhood. And then the neighborhood came,” he said. Two years later, they sold it for $402,000, allowing them to repay her parents and buy a two-bedroom apartment, where they are now raising their children.

The next year, Warren, now a senator, shared a stage with the economist Thomas Piketty, who was touring the United States to promote his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, to discuss income inequality. “The game right now in America is rigged. It is rigged so that those at the top keep doing better and better, and everyone else is under increasing pressure, is under increasing economic strain,” Warren said.

As concerns about rising inequality grew, there were also signs that the economy was turning a corner. People began buying houses again, fueled by low interest rates, falling unemployment, and improved consumer confidence. But as confidence rose, so did debt. Total mortgage debt climbed to $8.17 trillion in the first quarter of the year from $7.93 trillion during the same period in 2013, according to data from the New York Federal Reserve. Student loans, meanwhile, continued their steady ascent. Students’ average debt at graduation rose 56% from 2004 to 2014, from $18,550 to $28,950, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. The class of 2014 was dubbed “the most indebted ever.”

“There was no clear, good decision of what to do next because there was uncertainty everywhere,” said Floerke. “There was a lot of criticism about people going back and living with their parents. And older generations might have criticism about millennials not taking responsibility for their lives. But the reality is, they are trying to start their lives in the most uncertain, difficult times. No wonder that they’re their back home with their parents — because they can’t make an actual run of it yet.”

Reuters

Parade participants protesting against high student loan burdens are preparing to take part in the annual 4th of July parade at Ashland, Oregon, July 4, 2015.

In July 2015, Amazon’s market value exceeded Walmart’s, fueled by the boom in third-party marketplace sellers on the platform. In October, former Amazon Prime Now drivers sued the company, claiming they should have been classified as employees rather than contractors. It was just one of several labor classification lawsuits filed against tech companies that expanded using contract workers, dodging the need to offer consistent pay, benefits, and other worker protections.

“Amazon is not significantly different than Walmart: Its workers are a resource, and resources are expected to maximize output at the lowest possible cost,” the New Republic wrote. “There are some reasons to feel good about this—no company is more committed to making it easier for consumers to buy things—and a lot of reasons to be troubled.”

That year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ net worth shot up by nearly $30 billion to $58.4 billion.

The economy had been growing for years, but the distribution of wealth had become more unequal. “In 2016, the median wealth of upper-income families was seven times that of middle-income families, a ratio that has doubled since 1983,” according to Pew.

By 2016, it was clear that millennials — especially older millennials — were still struggling with the impact of the Great Recession. “Wealth in 2016 of the median family headed by someone born in the 1980s remained 34% below the level we predicted based on the experience of earlier generations at the same age,” according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Older Americans, meanwhile, experienced a stronger recovery. “On balance, wealth has shifted away from younger families toward older families,” the St. Louis Fed reported.

Donald Trump — who pegged his own net worth at more than $10 billion — had his own angle on inequality, blaming the “leadership class in Washington, DC,” during a campaign speech in Wisconsin: “Aren’t you tired of a system that gets rich at your expense? Aren’t you tired of big media, big businesses, and big donors rigging the system to keep your voice from being heard? Are you ready for change?”

It would be Trump’s bleak message of American carnage that would win over America’s rust belt and suburbs, its farmers and older voters — not Bernie Sanders’ or Hillary Clinton’s. In his own way, the poor man’s idea of a rich man was himself a product of American inequality as much as Warren.

In August, on the campaign trail for the Democratic nomination for president, Warren laid out her case. “More and more working families today are hanging on by their fingernails in a country with an economy and a government that works only for those at the very top,” she said. “This crisis didn’t start when Donald Trump walked into the Oval Office. And it won’t just magically disappear the day he walks out of it.”

Warren talked about the fight for the middle class: benefits for full-time, part-time, and gig workers, the Fight for $15, protecting unions, childcare and universal pre-K, affordable health care, and debt-free college.

“This fight is our fight!” she declared to a standing crowd, noisy with applause.

In 2019, Tom’s base salary is now $210,000. “If you’re born poor, you have to have a lot of things really go right in order to get out of it,” he said. “I wouldn’t say there is necessarily a ceiling to how high you can go — I’ve seen some people get very, very wealthy. But you have to have so much go right. And truth be told, I’m one of those people.” Those who are born wealthy, on the other hand, he said, “have a floor that they can’t really get below. They can fuck up and still be perfectly fine.”

And although Floerke hasn’t fucked up, he is far from fine.

In Wisconsin, the median compensation for teachers fell by 12.6% in inflation-adjusted terms during the five years after Act 10 was passed. Floerke fell ill in 2017. “I couldn’t breathe. I was working late at night and my colleague had to call an ambulance for me. I was put on a stretcher and rolled out of the school. I needed my gallbladder removed,” he said. Even with the school’s health insurance, he owed thousands of dollars. When he recovered, he started delivering pizza, a job at which he earns $8.25 an hour plus tips.

Floerke’s teaching salary finally crossed the $40,000 line in 2018, a fifth of what Tom makes, not counting the pizzas. “Without these part-time jobs, I would be living paycheck to paycheck because I’m certainly not making enough teaching to put money away,” said Floerke.

As Floerke drives around Lake Mills to deliver pizza, he sees “the income disparities every single day.” Many of their families seems far worse off than he is. “I feel guilty talking about my situation because it’s nothing compared to what these families are dealing with. And I think, My goodness, how are they making it?”

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[godlessgeekblog]

How To Grow Youtube Channel From 0 Subscribers

If you wish to increase your outreach with internet video content, YouTube is undeniably the area to become. Greater than a billion people use YouTube. That’s 1 / 3 from the entire global population of online users. The recording-discussing platform keeps growing in an astounding pace development in watch the years have leaped 50% annually within the last 3 years.

But there’s a drawback too greater than 300 hrs of video are submitted towards the site every minute. Consider that as it were. Your video is simply one small droplet inside a deluge. You will not stick out in the crowd with no solid plan.

What else could you do about this? A great way would be to grow a powerful funnel having a dedicated client base. If it can be done, you are able to concentrate on producing engaging content that appeals straight to your supporters. After that, you are able to expand until finally you achieve the stage where you’ve got a shot at going viral.

Regardless if you are completely new to YouTube or you’ve been on the website for some time, we’re here to assist. Within this guide, we’ll take you step-by-step through the steps to develop a YouTube funnel on your own.

Is The Dream To Begin A YouTube Funnel?

Yes No I have Considered It! I’m Here Studying & Understanding How To Find My Answer

1. Conduct researching the market to recognize fans

You need to begin beginning with working out where your audience is spending some time online.

Here are a few general statistics concerning the users list that could appeal to you:

The consumer base includes a fairly even distribution of men and women users.

Men spend 44% additional time on YT than women every month.

YouTube has several users in each and every age group, the 65 category. Still, the biggest percentage is incorporated in the 25-34 age group.

What’s also helpful to understand is the fact that there’s a gender breakdown by groups. Men dominate the next groups when it comes to viewership:

Sports

Gaming

Bodybuilding

Cartoon and graphics

Women meanwhile dominate these groups:

Cosmetics

Skin and nail care

More evenly divided groups which appeal broadly to both women and men include:

Dogs

Pop music

East Asian music

Weight reduction

This really is one good reason it is important to choose the best groups for that videos you upload. Besides this make sure that your videos rank greater for relevant searches, it helps the best demographic to locate them.

Whatever your products, you should think of a marketing persona. This is just a thumbnail from the typical buyer or audience member for your niche.

Say for instance that the method is Let’s Play videos like individuals by PewDiePie, YouTube’s top celebrity. You are able to really use census from PewDiePie’s funnel to construct an advertising and marketing persona for yours. Based on these details, the typical Let’s Play viewer is:

Male (Though this can be a quickly growing category for female viewers too. Strangely enough, female viewers also spend a little more time on every gaming video than male viewers do typically)

Ages 13-16 (But there’s a large distribution, see source link above)

Not really a serious gamer (surprisingly, only 37% of the Google Consumer Survey group who viewed Let’s Play videos reported they considered themselves as “gamers”).

Here is definitely an example marketing persona:

Tyler is really a 15-year-old boy who plays a few occasions per week on the PS4. Regardless of this, he isn’t dedicated to begin thinking about themself a “gamer.” Sometimes he needs ideas for coping with an especially challenging in-game task, and wishes to understand what other gamers did. Most occasions he just enjoys the humor. His girlfriend, 14-year-old Linda, isn’t an enthusiastic gamer either, but she’s beginning to consider a pursuit. She plays once in a while, as well as watches lots of Let’s Play videos for his or her entertainment value. She’s selected on numerous Tyler’s subscriptions.

Knowing why users enjoy your videos is essential. Knowing that users are mainly jamming for walkthroughs, you are able to concentrate on supplying helpful strategies. Should you uncover they’re jamming mostly for the spontaneity, you are able to focus more about just being funny.

Now that you’ve got a far more solid concept of what you are targeting, you are prepared to fine-tune your marketing efforts.

One factor that’s important to indicate here’s you need to concentrate on fans who’re really participating in YouTube. Mix-promoting may be beneficial, however, you cannot think that you you target on Facebook, Twitter, along with other sites are participating in YouTube too. They might be people of the identical target demographic, but that doesn’t be certain that they will help you increase your YouTube funnel.

2. Optimize your profile and funnel branding

Whenever you open your YouTube account, the very first factor you will wish to accomplish is optimize your profile and funnel branding.

Your funnel is just your homepage online. You will find three primary elements you have to setup:

Your funnel art

Your icon

Your about section

So let’s take a look at PewDiePie’s funnel for example.

PewDiePie shows how you can grow a YouTube funnel

Across the top page, you can observe a sizable banner. That’s PewDiePie’s funnel art, that is presently a campaign for his Virtual Reality In Public Places video. It’s best to regularly improve your funnel art. This prevents your page searching fresh also it draws focus on your latest videos, products, or projects.

You will observe social networking links within the lower right-hands area of the funnel art. Within the upper left you can observe PewDiePie’s icon. Your icon represents you throughout YouTube. Choose something which displays well small or large.

Next, optimize your “About” section. Here you are able to input an account of the funnel and supply contact details and links.

If you’re mix-promoting by yourself website, Facebook, Twitter, etc., make sure to use consistent branding. Make use of the same fonts, colors, designs, and logos. You would like everybody to understand instantly they have showed up at the best place.

3. Organize your funnel using sections

When you were looking at PewDiePie’s funnel, you most likely also observed he is doing an incredible job organizing his content using funnel sections. Having a section, you are able to group together related videos. This can help your audience to locate content that will interest them.

PewDiePie for instance includes a featured video along with listing of recent uploads. Below individuals, you’ll find the next sections:

The Most Recent Hot Videos To Look At

Mirrors Edge Catalyst

All Finished Playthroughs

Scare PewDiePie

Weird Stuff Online

Fridays w/PewDiePie

PewDiePie Montages

PewDiePie Animated

HTC Vive

how you can grow a youtube funnel with section

You can observe how this will make it very simple for users to locate what they’re searching for. If you wish to see a completed playthrough, click the All Finished Playthroughs section. If you wish to watch a chapter of Scare PewDiePie, you’ll find all of them immediately for the reason that funnel section.

Contrast by using the mess you discover on channels that do not have organized sections. Nothing’s more unpleasant than getting to skim through videos which come in upload order with no further categorization. With simply what they are called and thumbnails to put into practice, it may be difficult to locate what you would like. Oftentimes, users give in frustration.

So organize your funnel! You may create as much as 10 custom funnel sections.

Note: If you’ve been online for some time, you might know sections with a different name: playlists. YouTube has lately altered their lingo. This is usually a bit confusing initially, but they’re the identical factor.

4. Comment and fasten

When I discussed formerly, your target audience is online. But you have to target active users within that group. How can you do this? Where are you finding them? The reply is to go to videos which act like yours and draw exactly the same audience.

To locate active users, you have to search lower videos which are getting lots of real-time engagement. The easiest method to do that would be to operate a look for lately-submitted videos inside your niche. Search for individuals which are getting lots of viewership and activity. These videos are now being viewed at this time.

Comment and answer other peoples’ comments. Be polite and don’t junk e-mail really take part in real conversation and say something significant.

Should you choose this, viewers inside your target audience who’re positively watching the videos might find your comments. They might wish to follow your links watching your videos next.

How come the process above works very well for growing your YouTube funnel? You’re in essence piggybacking on videos and channels which are already effective.

However that doesn’t need to be an impersonal process. Should you uncover those who are effective in individuals same audience you need to do, you might be able to collaborate together. This provides you use of their audience. Should they have already labored along with other YouTubers, that’s a very good sign they might be receptive for your proposal.

There are many forms that YouTube collaborations may take. You may create a brief comedy sketch together, or simply a shared review. Also try this is to create a video entirely by yourself and host it in your collaborator’s funnel. Your lover may then create a video for hosting on yours. You may also make videos in which you respond to each others’ videos or products. Or interact to create an incredible how-to video. There literally isn’t any limit towards the great ideas you are able to develop utilizing a little creativeness. Place your heads together and you’ll develop much more awesome options.

YouTube comes with an excellent guide on Collaboration here.

One other way that you could use other YouTubers is to setup your Featured Channels section. Add channels here that you would like to advertise.

Listed here are PewDiePie’s Featured Channels:

Organize YouTube funnel with sections

A great spot to market your buddies and collaborators. For instance, PewDiePie is rolling out his girlfriend’s funnel here, CutiePieMarzia.

A great chance to advertise your competition too. That may seem weird, however the idea is to develop a connection involving the funnel and individuals inside your niche that are already effective. This way you detect a few of their authority (and hopefully their supporters).

Ensure that you always tell other YouTubers whenever you add these to your Featured Channels. You won’t obtain a response each time, but may you will notice that this can lead to further collaboration and mix-promotion. They might also choose to incorperate your funnel for their Featured Channels. At that time you’ve got a great working relationship which could really increase your audience.

Simply how much growth are you able to receive from collaborating along with other YouTubers? There’s an excellent situation study Zoe Sugg, a.k.a. Zoella. In 2014, she increased her subscriber-base in one million to 5 million users. During this period, she produced typically one collaboration video each month. Each was featured on another user’s funnel and incorporated a proactive approach a subscription to her funnel. Each and every video brought to some spike in new subscribers.

6. Request subscribers

This is actually the simplest tactic on the planet, but numerous YouTubers forget to use it. If you would like individuals to sign up for your funnel, you have to keep these things get it done!

Online users are well known for his or her short attention spans in addition to their inclination to merely move along. They’ve already enjoyed your videos, but they’ll most likely simply click from their browser and end up forgetting in regards to you unless of course you help remind these to follow you. Exactly what a waste that might be.

For this reason you need to add annotations for your videos. With annotations, you are able to layer all sorts of helpful information over your articles. This could include links, text, and hotspots.

You are able to invite users a subscription at any time on your videos, but it is best to remember to get it done in the finish. Personally request subscriptions, after which layer around the connect to subscribe. Users click on the annotation and effortlessly can follow you.

7. Buy plays, likes, and subscribers

Should you follow all the suggestions above with diligence, you need to progressively start to see results. But it will take a lengthy time for you to grow a funnel organically on your own. However , users who click on for your funnel review your statistics and find out that it’s not necessary many subscribers. Due to this, they might avoid seeing you as particularly relevant. Consequently, then they look away watching another thing.

Whenever your funnel provides extensive plays, likes and subscribers, you’ve something referred to as Social Proof, meaning people your figures and see that you’re already popular. This creates a bandwagon effect, where they would like to jump onboard and find out what you are offering.

Your established competition is already way in front of you when it comes to likes and subscribers. It isn’t an amount arena. Buying likes and subscribers is an excellent method to trap up fast.

If you choose to buy subscribers, make certain that you simply decide on a service that drip-feeds new supporters from aged accounts. This way the development looks organic, though it isn’t. Otherwise, buying subscribers could easily backfire for you. As long as you select an excellent provider, you need to see excellent results.

Need assistance locating a quality provider? Read our listing of the very best 10 places where one can buy YouTube views.

Conclusion

YouTube is really a arena of abundant chance. With more than a billion users, almost every target audience imaginable includes a presence around the massive video-discussing platform. Targeting active users could be a challenge though. It’s also hard to generate visibility on the site that’s constantly flooded with fresh content.

That’s why you ought to possess a solid growth arrange for your funnel. To examine, listed here are the steps:

1. Conduct researching the market to recognize your fans. Understand your fans’ lifestyles and habits, especially, why they be careful about your videos. Make certain guess what happens groups to upload your videos to to be able to achieve the best demographic.

2. Optimize your profile and funnel branding.

3. Organize your funnel using useful sections. This will make it easily for users to locate videos that interest them.

4. Discuss lately submitted videos which act like yours and becoming lots of attention from active users.

5. Collaborate along with other YouTube users and utilize Featured Channels.

6. Request subscribers. Embed calls to action inside your videos using annotations.

7. Buy plays, likes, and subscribers.

YouTube success won’t happen overnight. It will take many several weeks of sustained effort to achieve an amount of visibility where you’ve got a shot at going viral. Creating a strong funnel however provides you with a core audience of dedicated subscribers. These devoted fans will keep you afloat and can help you get the word out. You never know-eventually you can end up being the next PewDiePie!

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