Important Letters

As life progresses I've learned that respect and consideration are some of our most powerful and best tools for proceeding. While in the heat of the moment you may not want to sugar-coat your message it is commonly accepted that less is more in various business settings.

I have been blessed with an exceptional education, but it has not prepared me as well as it should have for life in the business world. I recently discovered this when attempting to terminate my business relationship with a long-time employer.

When I was struggling with my resignation letter I discovered there are quite a few letters young people haven't been taught to write, let along make their own. A quick internet search will reveal dozens of templates; in my next few posts, I'll present my examples for different letters.

Cover Letter
Interview Follow-Up/ Thank you
Resignation/ Two Weeks' Notice
Donor Gratitude
Apology

How I Met Your Mother

     A couple of years ago my friends introduced me to How I Met Your Mother and I continued watching until it ended. At first, I was upset it would be over, but they'd reached a point where ending it was better than hoping you could continue talking about a partying forty-something group of friends, especially when they were already slowly going their separate ways.
     The show definitely mirrored my college friendships: We were unbelievably close in school, but now that we're out and about on our own we develop different friendships and value different things. All of us are working on re-building that friendship but sometimes it's time to let go.
     That said, I found an article that pretty much sums up my opinions on the ending. The series worked to diligently to build a relationship between Ted and Robin which is more than that of most exes. The last season was a cop-out: Ted and his children's mother had a few short years, but the writers killed off the mother (she's such a brief character I don't even remember her name). How they did it was heart-wrenching, but Ted turns around and, as his children point out, finds solace in Robin.
     Ted's entire journey is to find the love of his life, but he found her at the beginning of the show and we, the audience are jerked emotionally from girlfriend to girlfriend only to come back to Robin. I enjoyed the show, but it would have been perfectly acceptable to end when Ted meets the mother at Barney and Robin's wedding.

Herd Immunity

Until a few months ago, the idea of Herd Immunity wasn't really something I'd considered, yet it was, and continues to be, something which protects me from more than simply Polio or Diphtheria. Herd Immunity is something which protects us all from more dangerous forms of diseases such as Chickenpox or the Flu. 

     The theory is that enough people are immunized against the disease or illness that those who cannot get vaccinated are protected through the people around them. With all the 'conversation' in the media about having children vaccinated, I decided to take a deeper look at what exactly Herd Immunity is.

     The TED Talks folks have posted a video of Dr. Romina Libster's presentation to the TEDxRiodelaPlata conference. Her video is in Spanish with English subtitles (more languages are available at TED.com), and explains the evolution of H1N1 in her hometown. Dr. Libster is a medical researcher who looks at respiratory viruses and looks for ways to prevent their spread. 

     While less entertaining than the video by Penn and Teller, Dr Libster's presentation makes a complex idea more bite-sized and palatable. 

Just a thought...

Stephie

Does the Major Matter?

I get a lot of flack for having chosen English in college, as opposed to Education or Biology or Mathematics, but especially in comparison to Business. Most people aren't too surprised though--I'm very vocal about my love of reading. Recently, though, I've spoken to several former classmates and they're usually stunned when I tell them it doesn't matter what your degree is in, as long as you can sell it to an employer. 

     Now, I don't mean that someone with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature should be performing open-heart surgery--definitely go get your medical doctorate and specialize in cardiology, then have at it. I mean that for most positions I've come across, the degree itself is what matters. There will always be jobs and positions where a specialized degree is helpful, but just as important is the ability to sell your degree to the employer. 

     Recently I came across an article that explains (somewhat sarcastically) why humanities majors should be considered--with our indirect specialties and rounded curriculum--and why you're "An Idiot" if you don't hire from the humanities. More helpful was a webpage I discovered when I was looking for work--while it didn't help directly with finding a job, it gave me a jumping-off point for my search. 

     My point, I guess is that so long as you're hard working, passionate, and can apply what you do it doesn't matter what your degree is in, so long as you finish. But please, if you want to become a medical doctor or work in a field that requires a specialized degree, go get that specialized degree. 

A Dumping Ground for Whims?

     I'm in a reflective mood today, and there's something intriguing about being on the internet and knowing that there is so much information out there about me. Part of that is the basic terror of "someone could find me and use this information to harm me" and another part is a "what if..."

     For those of us who grew up as the internet became popular there were the usual internet stranger-danger lessons: don't talk to anyone you don't know in real life, don't give anyone your information including your real name and age, don't do this, don't do that. But now that we're all adults the world wants us to give out all that information and live our lives in the virtual realm. There are even sites devoted to sharing everything from your name to what you ate for breakfast to a picture of that breakfast. 

     Personally, I don't understand the desire to share what I ate for breakfast, or a picture of it, with the world (for those of you asking: cinnamon toast and apple juice). But there are times when sharing something is appropriate, like friends posting about their engagements and asking for help with wedding ideas. But where do we draw that line?

     Should  we be posting on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest all the details of our every moment, or should they be reserved for thoughtful or intentional shares? Is the internet, the archive of our present, a place to record the development of our thoughts and ideas or a dumping ground for our every whim?

Just a thought...

Stephie

New Obsessions: BBC America

     This last week was Spring Break for my university so I've had some free time on my hands, actually I've had a lot of free time on my hands. I started watching Doctor Who this evening--it's the first new episode since Christmas--but got caught by the new shows that followed.
     Orphan Black and The Nerdist were interesting: Orphan Black is about a woman who watches someone who looks just like her jump in front of a train. She takes on the woman's identity and strange things start to happen in the dead woman's life. The Nerdist is about all things nerdy. The host, Chris Hardwick, described the show as a place where any thing that people can obsess over, talk about, argue about, then talk about more can be explored and talked about. I thought it was an accurate description of being a nerd; it's also a description John Green used when talking about nerds and nerdiness in his vlog. But it's also an accurate description of Tumblr, so The Nerdist is Tumblr in a television show.
     It looks like we, as a society, are becoming more interested in talking about our interests in an informal and impersonal manner. What happened to book clubs and other organizations where people meet up in real life and talk about things?
     I know I'm a culprit of this same anti-social mingling; I am, after all, talking to you from my computer while you're out there on your computer or smart phone, but what happens outside of these glowing boxes? Will we revert to finding meeting places and talking about things just as people have started writing letters again? Or will we stay tethered to the magic box that allows us to travel to an alternate world where all the other people are traveling to talk about their obsessions.

Just a thought....
Stephie

Thyroid Cancer Prevention?

     I was talking to my grandmother recently and she was reading one of those forwarding e-mails, I don't know how true it is, but it sounds plausible. The info originated on Dr. Oz or some such television show.
     When you go to the dentist and get X-rays most people don't realize that your thyroid is right below your jaw. We're told that constant exposure to radiation can cause cancer and it makes sense that regular exposure to radiation at the dentist (or during mammograms for women) can increase your risk, or cause cancer. But there is a guard to protect you; a flap on the apron at the dentist's office and a "thyroid guard" to wear during mammograms are available, but most people don't know about it or don't use it.
     Why don't we know about it? I don't know, maybe it's just a lack of information. If so, let's spread the word.

Just a thought....
Stephie

Sequester: Air Tower Closures

     I was stunned to learn that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is closing down several of their locations because of the sequester. I went searching for information and according to a Forbes article even though air traffic makes up only 20% of the Department of Transportation's budget, it is taking 60% of the cuts to transportation. I would like to see some reasoning behind this--Why is the FAA getting the lion's share of the cuts?
     The cuts will close 149 air traffic control towers that are run by subcontracted employees, meaning that the controllers are employed by outside companies rather than the FAA itself. Out of 250 towers nation-wide, the FAA originally planned on closing 189 towers but changed the plan because of "national interest."
     My shock was mainly at the scale of the closures. The 149 towers are in 46 states, they are in small towns and the outskirts of large cities alike. But the closures aren't really closing down the entire facility, instead they're pulling the air traffic controllers and closing the towers. Some "have likened the tower closures to a city suddenly losing its stoplights. It doesn't mean that crashes will happen, but pilots will have to be that much more vigilant" the article said. 
      As someone who travels to small towns and has family and friends in aviation, the closures are concerning; there are ways to deal with an empty control tower, but a location that has been functioning with personnel will be handicapped at least initially by these decisions. I just hope we don't have to hear about a tragedy because of the FAA's cuts. 

Just a thought...
Stephie

Lizzie Bennet Diaries

     Lately a lot of my friends have been talking about several different vlogs, my favorite has been the "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" which is produced by Hank Green. (I'm fascinated by pretty much anything Hank or John Green make--even though I haven't gotten to the books--right now.) The premise is that Elizabeth Bennet is a graduate student making a video diary of her life, it essentially follows the arc of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the modern communications field.
     The episodes are between two and eight minutes long and a new one comes out each Monday and Thursday morning. Recently they released the 94th episode, but there are rumors going around that the series will end on the one-hundredth episode. One friend and I are following the story pretty closely and we are a little confused how so much of the book will be squished into only six episodes. Yet, if they boil it down to the essence of the story, all they'll have to do is get Lizzie and Darcy together, and they'll be done.
     I'm super stoked about the next few episodes, but will be sad to see such a good show go. I wonder if the producers will be willing to continue with other classic books?

Just a thought...
Stephie