When you get busy or not busy enough, the mind can accomodate by making you short on words. “Not enough to say” is a symptom of the brain being busy processing information.
Cooking is similar for me. Sometimes creativity and inspiration flow freely, other times I can stare blankly at a pantry full of spices and ingredients and come up with no inspiration whatsoever.
The answer, I presume, is in the intricate balance of brain chemicals that drive us. Which ones though? That’s what I want to know. Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinepherine are all players in the motivation game. There is so much more. Just like that full pantry of ingredients.
Science must not ignore small ingredients when it makes assumptions about how our brains and bodies work.
There is not enough time today to delve deeply into the topic.
More to come.
Caffeine is the main motivator today.
For a good cup of coffee try Starbucks Casi Cielo with a little raw sugar and a splash of milk. It should get the mind going and taste good too!
Deeper, less superficial content to come on another day.
How many frustrated job searchers out there would like to put their Real thoughts on the job search world into print, but are so caught up in watching what words go down into cyberspace that they essentially have tried multiple times to reinvent themselves?
Here’s a satirical somewhat cynical commentary on the possible contents of a resume of someone who many people might know. Someone who is really this way. It may be you, your parent, Aunt, Uncle, Neighbor, The person in the McDonald’s Drive-Thru at the register, Your Wal-Mart Greeter, Your mall Janitor, Your Grocery Store Cashier, Your Convenience Store Clerk, Your Maid, Your Nanny and so on.
Middle Aged or Older Job Seeker Ready to Return to Full Time Career so that Life Goals and Dreams That Were put on Hold in Order to Take Care of Other Things can be Partially Realized. Nick Name “SAM I AM”
Crazy Notion : Job seeker wants to rebuild what was lost during recession, pay off debts, buy a home, save for retirement, and take the financial worry and strain off of spouse whose stress level is too high. Is it too selfish to want these things?
Career Objective: To convince you to eat “Green Eggs and Ham”
Would you like to try Green Eggs and Ham?
Get hired to Earn at least what you would pay an entry level college graduate into the market place with only my education.
But wait, you really don’t even know what you are actually looking for. You contradict yourself!
Career Goals: Let’s start with getting hired, then move on with the dreamy fluff stuff because, you know what? I need to get paid! ( more than a measly drop in the bucket for 12 hours a week)
Relevant Skills: Let’s see, read, write, use computers, use calculators, can use fractions, decimals, metrics, thermometers, take photos, draw, paint,can do math, drive a vehicle, am not an addict, am not a criminal, love my family, love animals, practice hygiene, can walk, talk, see, hear, alphabetize, push buttons, cook, clean, fold clothes, buy groceries, move, pack, unpack, pay bills, schedule appointments, fight traffic, maintain my car, care about the world, have a masters degree, Nursed family members to health, took care of sick people, filled prescriptions, argued with insurance companies, spent countless hours on hold with service providers, comparison shopped, couponed, stretched dollars, juggled schedules,scheduled travel, researched prior to purchases, clean toilets,clean bathtubs, clean carpets, mop, grow plants, know nutrition, know cleaning products, use the internet, use social media, use a variety of software, expert on Diabetes, Cancer,Heart Disease, Mental Health,Broken Bones, Band-Aids,Medicare,Dog Baths,Diapers,Bedtime Stories,IEP Meetings,Gift Buying, School Conferences,Banking.,has buried multiple loved ones, still wants to live life and hasn’t shriveled up into oblivion.
If this stuff is not multitasking,problem solving, negotiating,coordinating and handling multiple projects, what is???
If someone doesn’t fit your Human Resource job description but they Graduated High School. Got a Bachelor’s Degree and Got a Masters Degree , and have managed adult life enough to still be employable and have enough motivation to keep trying to find jobs even though they know that they are possibly ten years or more older than whoever is doing the pre-screening of candidates or even the hiring, maybe there’s something wrong with the criteria you establish for candidates.
If you actually read their resume, then scheduled an interview, then told the person that they aren’t what you are looking for. It makes the candidate wonder if you really know what you are doing! The resume got the interview. If you didn’t see a Mandatory element on the resume why did you even call? If your company knows exactly what it wants, then find a cookie cutter person.
If you are a hiring manager or PHR are you interested in getting quality people for your organization or in meeting a set of hiring criteria that might just be keeping you from getting some real gems of employees?
So there are very few people who are as straight forward as a Michelina’s Microwave entree from the freezer section.
We are not Pre-packaged Frozen Dinners
There is no recipe for the perfect employee. Just some ingredients.
Some of the best recipes are the ones you’ve never even tried, or have ingredients that you would never expect to taste so great.
Imagine being the grumpy guy from Dr. Seuss’ Sam I Am, The job seeker being Sam I Am. There are many great people out there who you woud be surprisingly great if people who hire would just give those “Green Eggs and Ham” a try!
If you are the frustrated Job Seeker, Keep that “Sam I Am” energy and drive alive. Eventually, someone, somewhere will want what you have to offer.
We all know what multiple cloudy days can do to people. Many get the blahs. Others just don’t want to wake up. Time seems to creep along when the sun is obscured by clouds.
It is widely known that lack of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere during winter months can lead to people becoming deficient in Vitamin D. Some people get clinically depressed. So, how besides light therapy and taking Vitamins do we stay motivated? Modern medicine prescribes exercise as a beneficial part of ones’ day. Nutrition Fanatics preach Organic Food and Non-GMO. Repeatedly in the media we see advice to get more sleep, eat right, not smoke, not drink alcohol among other healthy behaviors.
There is not much publicly mainstream news though, about how to get motivated when it is cloudy and cold. There may be some obscure studies with a sample size of 10.
I’m going to take the liberty to make a few non-scientific suggestions:
1. Reward yourself for getting out of hibernation mode by doing something that you like to do. This means do something small for you.
2. Play your favorite songs or playlist as loud as you can.
3. Turn on the lights and open the curtains or blinds.
4. Call someone or, even better, go see a friend you can laugh with.
5. Look at pictures of sunny places that make you forget how dismal it is outside.
6. Dress warmly enough.
7. Drink warm beverages, but also stay hydrated because a lack of water can actually make you feel sluggish.
8. Vacuum or scrub even if the house doesn’t need it. Not because you are OCD or bored, but because getting the blood flowing can actually get your blood flowing and make you feel more energized.
9. If all else fails, bake some cookies.
These suggestions are non-scientific, but maybe they give a little boost to the next time you feel cold, sluggish, and unmotivated on a grey winter day!
I took a chance today. It will either pay off or it won’t, but the lesson is that it felt great! Often, during the past several years, since leaving my teaching career, I have felt completely at a loss as to how to “sell” myself to potential employers. I’ve been employed since, but have not yet found that new career landing spot. I have had multiple first interviews, even second interviews. Then a slew of the dreaded letters, phone calls or e-mails that tell me what I already knew in my gut. They selected the other candidate. So, I threw away the advice that all of the recruiters give. Instead of tailoring my resume to fit a job, I selected a few jobs, and I sent “me”. The Career jobs, the temp jobs, the attempts at self employment, the minimum wage work. I now realize that I forgot to add everything great about myself. I didn’t include every teeny tiny bit of information that probably could have been relevant to the positions. I also didn’t over-edit who I am and what I’ve been doing . If all goes well, I will not find a “cookie cutter”job. There definitely is no cookie cutter version of myself. Whoever hires me from this resume will know that I’m an artist who loves science, who has a Master’s of Public Health, who has worked with disabled people, and who likes to make food. I like to use my mind, be creative, be respected.I’m happy to say that even though I haven’t been hired, yet, I have a telephone interview because a company I liked and applied to, wanted to talk to me. Not the strictly stifled to fit a piece of human resource software version of a resume. So tonight’s lesson in creativity is to follow guidelines, but be yourself when you do. Everyone is an original.
When it comes to cooking, experiment. Sometimes if other people’s recipes don’t work exactly for you, make your own.
Chili
2lbs Chili Beef, 1 yellow onion diced, 4oz worchestershire sauce, 1pkg chili powder from Aldi, 28oz can crushed peeled tomatoes, 1 can kidney beans. Brown the beef and onions together. Drain fat away. Add other ingredients. Simmer about 30 minutes.
Tastes great alone or with pasta and topped with shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
If you have some other favorite seasoning or ingredient, add it!
Have you noticed that time is so important yet meaningless? Right now, I don’t have my site set to the correct time zone. So it’s both today, tomorrow, and yesterday depending upon where you reside and when you read.
When you doing something you enjoy, you lose track of how long something takes. When you are bored or trying to finish some mundane, necessary task 30 seconds can seem like an eternity.
Thank goodness for clocks that keep track of measured time for all of us. I’m sure that they have settled many disagreements and have prevented many burnt cookies since their inception.
I wonder. Do some of us innately keep track of the passage of time more accurately and consistently than others?
Which part of our brain controls this specific perception? I have read many,many articles about the brain and its function, but can’t recall specific attention given by any studies about the passage of time. Maybe there is, There’s a lot to read out on the web.
Creative time telling is the act of “guesstimating” how long something actually took or will take. There is zero logic or actual science to it. It is completely as subjective as beauty in the eye of the beholder. Hopefully this felt like a five second glance, not a million year stare!
Some people may say that they are not creative at all. That’s an awfully broad statement. I’d rather hear someone say that they don’t know how to cook, prefer no to sew, or are uncoordinated with paint.
Sometimes I feel creative in the kitchen or with artwork. Those are the times that concoctions or unusual combinations of ingredients lead to amazing palate pleasers or flavor abominations. Other times, I’m cooking because I have to and feel zero inspiration. Same goes with painting. I cook pretty well . That’s a skill. Painting is also a skill. Some things, I don’t know how to do something at all, like build a thirteen loop multilevel forward and reverse roller coaster ,but I imagine how cool it would be if someone else would make something out of whatever I’ve imagined. I’m not an engineer, physicist, or able to make a lot of things I think would be really awesome.
When you are imaginative, but don’t have all the answers, time, energy, or know-how to dive full throttle into every possible idea that pops into your head, I believe it is good to at least put it out there.
Most of the time in this blog, I’ll just be sharing a little bit about Art or Cooking. Don’t be surprised if the topics will drift over to just random stuff.
Peanut Butter Custard can be made easily!
Combine in a saucepan:3/4 c creamy peanut butter, 2 eggs already whisked, 1 1/3 cup milk, 14oz can sweetened condensed milk . Bring to almost a boil, not quite. Once peanut butter has dissolved, add one box jello vanilla pudding, stir with whisk for about 5 minutes. reduce heat or remove pan from burner. Then, pour into either a precooked pie shell, graham cracker shell, or pyrex container. Cover, refrigerate until cold. enjoy.
Ariane's Creative Stuff 