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Happy Holidays!

Email/Text Manners...

My daughter was looking at my phone and noticed someone had sent me a text message and I hadn't responded to it. She said, you need to respond because if you don't respond, its rude. My first thought was "wow, I did something right with her"...then it hit me. I was being rude.  Since then, I've started noticing it more and more.

Now when I email someone [especially those that are connected to a computer/blackberry everyday] and they don't respond within a week it makes me angry. Its always in the back of my mind, why didn't they at least make an effort to respond...Are they sooooo busy they can't find a mili-second to respond with a short, snippy "Will do" or "Got it" response. It's difficult to know whether they're just rude, stupid or just don't feel the need to respond. And these people are people I know personally and professionally.

Now for the people i don't know...its hard to tell whether you'll get a response or not. If you do its usually days, weeks and sometimes months before someone will respond, if ever. Sometimes you have to send a follow up email politely asking them the same question again. They usually respond very quickly after the follow up email. Why? I don't know.

I've emailed CEO's of major corporations and received an immediate response while on the other hand I've emailed Directors of State Government programs and never received a response until a follow up email was sent. You really never know who will respond and if they will ever respond.

Bottom line. If you don't respond to emails/text then it makes people angry. Just respond, okay? Because we all know how busy and important you are...here's some responses for you to make it a little easier:

[Will do]  [Got it]  [Thank you, I will follow up as soon as possible]  [Thanks, I'll let you know something soon]  [I'll find out for you] [Don't know yet but will let you know when I hear something]
The point is any response is better than no response at all.

Job Search Breakdown

I'm in the middle of a job search breakdown. I live in North Carolina and I've been searching for a job for about 8 months now. I've had two interviews and at the time I just knew I had the job. Unfortunately I didn't have the job and I was left wondering why.

I've done exactly what HR professionals tell you to do. I've written cover letters specifically tailored to the job and highlighted my experiences. Created a professional email account, created a linkedin account, a facebook account, a monster account and have a great suit to wear. I have a bachelors degree and I can't even get an office job.

I've also recently applied for jobs through the NC Employment Security Commission without a call. Has anyone noticed that there are lots of new Job Recovery websites that direct you to the same old job sites? I'm starting to second guess myself, starting to become paranoid and starting to think that I'll never find a job.

Anybody else out there have a job search breakdown?

An Easy Diet That Works!

I finally found a diet I can truly live with. I can eat anything I want...it's fantastic it doesn't seem like I'm even on a diet. It's called the "Every Other Day Diet" or EODD. I can't believe how easy it is to lose weight. Personally, I'm not even following the exact diet and I'm still losing weight. It's great, I can eat anything I want. I don't have to even think about dieting....its great! I know what you're thinking, Debi is completely crazy you can't possibly lose weight and still eat Pizza, Cheeseburgers, Fries and Candy. Yes you can! I know it sounds crazy but this diet really works and you can still eat ice cream, cake or whatever else your little heart desires. Just give it a try and let me know what you think about it...I love it, I'm going to put some of my before and after photos on this blog to prove to you that this diet works. So, try the "Every Other Day Diet" you don't have anything to lose except weight! It shouldn't be called a diet at all...it's amazing. Email me and let me know how much weight you lose.... Click Here for More Information!

Where are the Manners? Where's the Control?

Have people forgotten manners or were they just raised in a barn. From yelling during public forums, name calling, to sending emails in all caps, the lack of manners and etiquette is disturbing. We as a society demand people act in a respectful way. Do they? No, they don't. If we don't demand that people act respectfully then we get what we deserve, a country full of angry individuals who do what they want, say what they want and don't really care about the consequences.

Most children who behave disrespectful suffer some type of consequence whether it be no television, computer, video games, no phone calls, etc. Consequently, adults who behave disrespectful should also suffer consequences of behaving badly.

We need to demand manners? What Joe Smith, South Carolina did during President Obama's speech was an embarrassment to all of us. He is an elected official and he, of all people, should remain professional at all times. If he had an issue with what the President was saying he should have waited for a more appropriate time to call him a liar. These outbursts need to stop. What about Mr. Smith's consequences? He apologized for the outburst however, that doesn't make what he did okay. What makes a person, especially a person that is an elected professional, just lose it. Where's the control? Where's all this anger coming from?

Why did he call the President a liar? Is the President lying? What did he lie about? We'd like to know who's lying? Between the bad behavior and the lying, honestly it makes me uncomfortable and I'm seriously beginning to think that some of our elected officials are just ordinary barn-raised individuals without any intelligence, upbringing or couth.

New York Skank Site Smells Skanky

What about that "Skanks of New York" blog? Liskula Cohen sued google for a $3 million defamation suit for the release of the name of the blogger who had photos of her on the "Skanks of New York" blog. Then people went directly to the site to see what it was all about. I have to admit I was one of them and what I saw wasn't pretty. A picture tells a thousand words...If it looks like a skank and it acts like a skank — it's pretty much a skank. [Just google the word skank and search images-you'll see what I'm talking about].

Anyway, the photos posted on the site were of Liskula Cohen obviously at someone's apartment. She was partying with, what looked like, friendly-friends if you know what I mean. Think about it when was the last time you went to a party and danced with men while someone took photos of you and you couldn't remember? Would you remember the apartment? Would you remember who was there? Would you remember who you were dancing with? Would you remember who was taking photos?

Anyway a judge ruled in favor of Cohen and ordered google to release the name of the blogger. It turns out that the blogger was an acquaintance of Cohen's, Rosemary Port. Cohen has since dropped the defamation suit against her but now Rosemary Port is suing google for $15 million in damages for releasing her name according to nydailynews.com.

This story smells a little like "skank" to me. Are people going to sue every time someone calls them a name? In my opinion that "skanks"......

My Secret Happy Place

When I was a little girl my Mother told me, "no one can make you happy sweetie, happiness comes from within" and pointed to my heart. As a young child, I was a little confused but I took what she said literally. I thought and thought but couldn't find my happy place. Over the next couple of days, I continued to think about my happy place, and then I found it! I guess I convinced myself that I'd found it because I jumped up and ran to tell my Mother I'd found it. She said, "I knew you would." I was so happy, I'd actually found the happy place.

It might sound like a child's fantasy, but I've used that happy place my entire life. If I feel myself getting angry, upset or feeling bad about something..I go to my happy place and convince myself that I'm happy and I will not allow situations or people upset me and then I'm fine, I'm happy. Its similar to taking 10 deep breaths before you say anything when you're angry. The happy place makes me feel better and I can better understand the situation, and solve it or just let it go. I suppose that therapists would have a field day with me but, hey, its always worked for me.

I know you're probably thinking to yourself, Wow she's a wacko...but if you try it for a couple of days-it will work for you too! So the next time, something upsets your day—Stop and visualize a happy moment in your life, visualize a cute, cuddly puppy, feel the puppy, love the puppy. Then think of something you're thankful for in your life, tell yourself your a wonderful, happy person and then smile, really smile. That's it...that's really all you have to do. You'll feel your mood slowly change and then you'll be able to go about your day happy!