MIA Apologies

Posted on May 4, 2012 8 Comments

Sometimes the week just gets away from me.  This one got caught up in paperwork, unfortunately. Between renewing my passport, my license, misplacing my checkbook, and a host of other personal and work-related matters, I haven’t had much time for writing.

I have, however, been reading a lot during my commutes. So, while I get my act together over here, I’m going to share a few articles with you that are worth reading.

  • For the graduates: 10 Things You Won’t Hear at Commencement (original article in The Wall Street Journal)
  • and the follow up from NPR 
  • For the under-employed: Kiplinger’s Advice for “Girls” (it’s advice for the characters in the HBO show, and it’s pretty solid)
  • For the career-minded: Again from Kiplinger, this one on How to Ask for a Raise
  • And finally, an article that speaks volumes about where we all are right now… “Generation Now on Hold” from the Chicago Tribune. Can I relate to the folks they’re talking about? Uh, yeah. Me and all my siblings are “on hold” right now. Some of us a little closer to goals than others, but all four of us “on hold” in some form or another.

I hope you enjoy the reading, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the articles if you get a chance to share.

Separately, you guys? If you can, would you mind saying a little prayer for me? I don’t want to get into too much; I’m sure I’ll write about it later, but at the moment our household could use some positive energy. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

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Category: Life

One Wish List Item Bought

Posted on April 26, 2012 6 Comments

For those of you following my Selfish Little Wishlist, it’s now one item shorter.

Catalog Photo of My New Wetsuit (Once it Gets Here)

I bought a wetsuit!

If you can believe it, renting one can cost anywhere from $40 to $65 for an entire weekend. I was kind of surprised by this, since you can rent them right outside my office on Lake Michigan for just $10 for an afternoon swim.

Once I saw that renting would cost up to $65 for my June race, I started looking into buying a discounted used suit, but nobody had my size on Craigslist (not in Illinois or Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, nor in Houston or any Florida cities) or on Beginner Triathlete (and I’ve been looking frequently for weeks). I asked some friends to borrow theirs, but nobody had my size.  I checked several “wetsuit warehouse” type sites, but I couldn’t find anything in my size for under $150.

Finally, after much frustration, I found a discount code for a wetsuit in my size from XTerra for $127 plus free shipping, for a suit originally priced at $300. Score!  For those of you keeping track, that’s the equivalent of two race rentals. And now I can swim in the lake whenever I want.

My only dilemma now is where to put it. Hmm. Perhaps I’ll finally get rid of some of those old bridesmaid dresses I’ve been keeping around and make way for something more useful.

 

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Category: Money
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A 15-Year Reunion Amidst 11 Years of War

Posted on April 24, 2012 1 Comment

Jazz hands, yearbooks, and nametags, oh my.  Make way for the class of 1997.

My 15-Year High School Reunion

Spirit fingers waving, I attended my 15-year high school reunion this weekend with a small crowd of fellow classmates. We roamed the halls of the school — which sort of looks like Hogwarts, as you can see from this photo — catching up on everyone’s careers, families, and relationships, and reminiscing about our past lives as scholars, athletes, dreamers, and schemers. I went to a remarkable private school in Chicago, St. Ignatius College Prep, thanks to scholarships, loans, and work-study programs, and frankly, I still can’t believe I had the privilege of attending such an academically rigorous, spiritually caring, and well-credentialed, well-rounded school.

I’m simply in awe of my fellow classmates — one works in a high-profile White House position,  and loads more work in Washington, D.C.; several have doctorate degrees or are on their way to them, and at least one has a professorship at an Ivy League school. Others are writers, entrepreneurs, finance professionals, teachers, doctors, and lawyers. They are a humbling group to be around, and I feel proud to call them my peers. Read more

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Category: Career
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How Not to Handle Your Student Loans

Posted on April 19, 2012 4 Comments

Last week the Chicago Tribune posted an article on the ticking time bomb that is student loan debt. They called it the next “economic doomsday scenario” and then they profiled a 2007 grad who is having trouble paying her student loans and keeping her financial commitments.

Congrats! You graduated!

For those of you graduating this year, I want to first say CONGRATULATIONS. You have worked hard to earn your diploma, and I hope you get some time to celebrate and enjoy the accomplishment. Go to dinner with your friends or family, get a cake from a local bakery, and relish your well-deserved achievement.

Note, I did not say buy a plane ticket to Vegas or Europe, or splurge on bling (are we still calling it that?), or adopt a pet, or rent a yacht. While you might feel like you deserve this level of celebration, and lots of your friends will be doing things like this, the reality is that graduation, for most US graduates, also means that you owe somebody a lot of money, more than you can imagine.  Read more

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Category: Money
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A Diagnosis, at What Cost?

Posted on April 17, 2012 10 Comments

I *might* have celiac disease.

I am definitely sensitive to gluten.

The treatment for both of these conditions is a gluten-free diet. The diagnosis for celiac requires a specialist visit and an endoscopy, an invasive procedure that requires anesthesia. My physician says that based on my family history, she doesn’t need a celiac disease diagnosis to tell me to go gluten free, I just should do it. However, she said if I need to know whether I am celiac or not, I could see a specialist. But the end result would not be different; I would need to avoid gluten either way.

What a pickle.

After years of digestive testing that started in high school, it’s come to this.  How much do I want to know? How much do I need to know? What will a diagnosis do for me that a probable cause will not?    Read more

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Category: Life
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