2. The other person in your department who has the same skill set and experience that you have is paid $30K more.

3. The person who is paid $30K more than you do leaves. The boss looks outside the company instead of asking you if you want to assume his position.

4. You aren’t asked for you input, or asked to even see the resume of the person who is ultimately hired to take over the position even though you are supposed to work closely with this person.

5. You negotiate an unpaid vacation so you don’t eat into your PTO time. After you leave, your boss tells the HR manager to dock your PTO time anyway.

6. You suddenly find out most of your coworkers (at least the ones in equivalent or higher positions) have annual reviews of their job performance, accompanied by raises, promotions, etc. You’ve been there over a year, and never heard of any such thing.

7. At Christmas time, your ‘appreciation’ card has a $20 gift certificate to the pizza place, instead of a $100 check.

8. At Christmas, you’re the only one who’s “Secret Santa” forgets to buy them a gift.

9. You request vacation time four months in advance, and get turned down after bugging HR for two months. Later you find out the *new* guy requested time off during the same month, but he was approved, even though he put in his request only a week before you got turned down.

Peru opened my eyes. I saw people who struggle for every bite they eat, and yet, through all of it, they were genuinely happy people. It took a long time for my western mind to understand: I have been raised in the “more is better” culture.

Now, I’m not saying that I’m going to give up everything I have, but I will certainly be more grateful for what I have, and I will make future decisions based on what will make my heart happy instead of getting more more more.

In other words, I really finally understood that life is a journey, not a destination. If you don’t enjoy the flowers along the way, then there isn’t much point to it all.

I participated in shamanic healing ceremonies thinking the entire time I’d never get my butt kicked or have to face any demons from my past. Boy, was I mistaken. I not only saw those demons, I had to reach through the fear and forgive myself. I had to figure out what God meant to me and shed all the bullshit excuses and lies I’ve told myself for years.

I didn’t think I felt much different going through this process until I got home and saw my life as I had left it. It was as though I was looking from the outside in. The person living in my apartment isn’t me now. Much of the internal chatter that has plagued me for years and years is gone. I can actually live in the moment, and see a situation just as it is, and not with all the stories I’ve told myself. I feel lighter. Happier.

Right now, I’m in the process of making some decisions for myself that will change the course of my life. It may take me some time to get where I want to go, but for the first time in a long time, I have a plan. Big changes will happen in this next year.

And, I got a cool new hammock!

Order: Coleoptera
Family: Carabidae
Genus and species: Calosoma scrutator Fabricius

‘

The coolest thing though, was when I looked down and realized that this bug obviously has good taste. I happened to be wearing my favorite green corduroy jacket and sparkley metallic pink scarf.

Another interesting thing we have in common: the ‘laymen’s’ name of the Caterpillar Hunter is the ‘Fiery Searcher.’

I can relate to that…

2. They will allow me to sit with my dog, Sebastian, on the patio.

3. They are 1/2 block from my house which means I can walk there.

Add all of that up, and that means that I’m just going to have to be a regular. And that is a very, very bad thing. I’ve got enough bad money spending habits, I don’t need to add Nico’s to the list. But I might just have to. Because the margaritas are *that* good. Add to it the fact I can take my dog there, and well…I just can’t resist.

And for my German readers, let me explain: margaritas are not considered a ‘girly’ drink in Texas…no no. Margaritas, in and of themselves, are a reason to party. We, Texans, drink margaritas the way German’s drink beer. We order them by the pitcher and share them with friends. They are a reason to get together and shoot the shit, blow off steam, socialize. No man who drinks a margarita is considered a ‘girly’ man…not at all. It it a uniquely ‘Texan’ thing.

And one, that I believe, I will have to partake more of.

Damn you, Nico’s.

Who knew you could teach history with exploding food?

I was actually fairly impressed with iListen. IListen was the product before Dictate. But, I have to say, that dictate blows I listen out of the water. I think the most difficult thing when using a dictation software is not pausing in weird places. It’s not like a magic talking to anyone. The more natural and make my conversation with the software, the more accurate it is.

I started looking for a dictation software few years back when my wrists gave out. I had Cuba O’Connell syndrome in my arms so bad that I literally could not hold a glass without shaking. I could not type for longer than maybe two minutes. When your keyboard is your form of communication with the world, and your wrists get out, you’re pretty much screwed.

I think one of the most cool things about this software, is that it works with nearly any program. Right now, I’m dictating directly into my WordPress. Hey that’s pretty cool, even capitalized WordPress correctly. I can also use voice commands to go to the file system. Literally, I don’t have to touch the keyboard to do any of this. How cool is that?

Now I know that not everybody uses a Mac. But the software is made by the same people who make the Dragon NaturallySpeaking. So if you have a PC, you can get something similar.

I even like that can cuss at the software. Bitch. Dammit. Thought that. Okay, I guess I can’t say the word FTC K.