Individual Blog Post #3 - This Read is Easy to Digest

Recently, I discovered that Readers Digest doesn't just do magazines. In fact they do a lot of stuff, but my new favorite thing is their select editions. It is a series of four condensed stories in one book. You can sample four books in the time it may take you to read one. It allows for you try out new authors you have never heard of, but at the same time authors that have been selected for their adept story telling. These books also feature well known authors such as Marry Higgins Clark and Nicholas Sparks.

The authors are often surprised at how well the story stays true to form despite the amount of information that was removed. Nicholas Sparks comments, "the editors of Reader's Digest Select Editions continue to work their magic, their treatment of my novels couldn't be better." For instance, I just read the book Whiteout by Ken Follett. If you read the book in its entirety it would be 396 pages long, while the story I read was only 165 pages. At first I was skeptical, if I want to read a story, I want read all of it, find out all of the character idiosyncrasies, and the get to experience all the details of the story. But as I read it, the story moved quickly; it was suspenseful and interesting. I didn't feel like anything was missing. When I read reviews of Whiteout, people said it was a mediocre story that moved too slowly. I was surprised to hear the review, but it makes you realize that Readers Digest took out all the extra information that can drag down a book. We've all been there; where a good story can drag on and on because unnecessary details and information impede the flow of the story.

There are just so many great books out there, and never enough time to experience them all. These books offer such a great solution! The books are short in pages to begin with, but the way they are edited makes them fast paced and quickly/easily read. I would recommend these books to anyone who feels like I do, too many books, not enough time.

Fish Out of Water

One of the biggest rivalries in sports history is between the Red Sox and the Yankees; not to worry, I am of course on the side of the better team, the Sox.  I've been a fan through thick and thin; I rioted the campus of UNH when we lost the division and I screamed until I lost my voice when we won the World Series   It's a roller coaster ride with those boys, but I wouldn't chose any other team to be mine.  

A Red Sox game is always intense, but never more than when a game against New York roles into town.  Fenway is sold out, the crowd is fired up, and no matter what happens at the end of the game, we'll still remain ever faithful.  Unfortunately, the only time I have ever had the opportunity to experience the electricity of a Red Sox-Yankees game was in New York.  There are always some Sox fans no matter where you go, but one definitely feels out of place inside the Yankee Stadium, where your rivals completely surround you.  

We took our seats, in the mob of New Yorkers, dressed in their pin stripes and "Red Sux" shirts and not so easily watched the game.  You feel so awkward and uncomfortable; you don't even want to really cheer for your team because of the glares and comments you get from the people around you.  Perhaps if I had gone with a larger group of people, I would have felt a little more confident, but in our small group of three girls, I wasn't feeling so sure.  It is a surreal feeling to go through the opposite emotional spectrum than the rest of the crowd.  Every time we strike out Jeter or Matsui, I want to jump from my seat with a surge of excitement, but instead I am deafened by a roar of boos; and just about the time I am ready to throw my beer at the Ump, everyone else is screaming in approval.  You are so out of place, and reminded with every pitch and swing of the bat.  You are the outsider.  You are the odd man out, and in this riotous crowd, that is not really who you want to be.  By the end of the game you are only quietly cheering to yourself in order to escape the scowls and comments of the people around you.  You are excited to be watching one of the most extreme rivalries in sports, but cannot fully enjoy it because you are uncomfortable in your own skin, or in this case, your baseball hat.

We ended up losing the game, which seemed like an even larger defeat as we walked out among fans cheering in elation.  People around us were all talking about the game, about the quality of their players and about the lack of ours. Of course we were heckled and teased about our boy's performance that night, but in the end this was probably better.  I think I would have rather been teased by happy fans, than pushed around by sore losers.  I never hope for a loss, but in this case, it was probably for the better.

Individual Blog Post #2

They keep saying that now is the time to buy, so I did.  With a little help from my mom, and decent down payment I had saved, I was able to get into a 1600 square foot, three bedroom, two and half bath home!  Just in time to start my life in the real world. The price was right, graduation is around the corner, and it seems my future is starting off on the right foot.  Now the only problem is filling this new house.  I'm pretty much out of money, and all I have is a bed and a desk.  That's not much furniture for a house that big; can you say craigslist?  Even if I don't have much money to spend, it's still fun to look, and I must admit, it has become quite a distraction as far as school work is concerned.  Hmm, write on my blog, or look up new stuff to buy for the house?  It is taking a serious amount of restraint as I type this now not be searching for new furniture, decor ideas or adding stuff to the registry.

James, my boyfriend, and I hope to be in before Christmas so that we have something special to look forward to, as presents are not in the picture this year.   We've already started the cleaning extravaganza and minor fixing, but there is still a lot to be done.  What's interesting is that I've never had so much fun putting in 14 hour days of cleaning.  I guess it's different when it's yours and you know how much money you just spent to get it.  

The whole process has been very interesting, from the excitement of finding the home, the anticipation of the offer approval, and the work to make it your own.  James and I have had a lot of fun so far picking out things and building our home together - we're just lucky we have the same taste!  

The downed economy has had its benefits for us young first time buyers; as the market were a few years ago, we would not be able to get into a home for many years.  This is an opportunity we are very thankful for. People are losing their homes, their jobs and their families over this crisis we are facing. On a more positive note, that does James and my conscience good, the house we bought was a conventional sale, not a foreclosure or short sale. We are not directly gaining from someone else's loss.

  

Individual Blog Post #1

I think it may be time to reevaluate my career choice, or at least Ad Age thinks I should.  According to a recent article, the advertising industry is losing the best and brightest recruits because of lack of compensation.  The average starting agency salary is $32,000, and in California that isn't much.  That is actually 20% lower than the average starting pay of a librarian.  That's insane.  The types of people they are looking for are opting for jobs in the FBI or consulting firms, where the average starting pay is $88,000.  It seems I definitely need to reconsider!  The biggest problem with this situation isn't for the starving ad exec, but for the advertising firm itself.  When the industry can't compete for the best talent, the industry slows, loses the ability to be innovative and in turn only looks less and less attractive to up and coming talent.  

Apparently ad firms feel the luster of the glamourous lifestyle that advertising provides is enough of an incentive to take the lower pay.  It's that whole love your job versus living above the poverty line paradox.  Of course the potential to move up in the firm is always a possibility, and with it comes better pay, but how long is one willing to wait?  If you are a young 20-something who can still live at home until you move up in your career and salary level, or at least until can afford to live on  your own, then this is a no brainer.  On the other hand if you have a mortgage and kids, this choice may not be so obvious, or may not even be a choice at all.  

This all seems a little depressing, but the reality is if you want the job of your dreams sometimes you have to make some sacrifices including low pay and late nights.  And in this economy, you better take what you can get!