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We recently evaluated LOOP-PRO against a variety of tuning tools and used LOOP-PRO to tune several interactive PID loops that would go unstable when outside a narrow range of operation. The results were evident: LOOP-PRO handled these difficult loops and allowed us to quickly stabilize control and to implement our MPC strategy. Additionally, LOOP-PRO cut tuning time by two-thirds, utilizing a repeatable and effective tuning method.

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Our Most Recent Blog Posts

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No surprise - advanced diagnostic tools like PlantESP constantly crunch data in order to uncover important trends and provide actionable insights. As the automation market’s leading controller performance monitoring solution PlantESP typically performs complex [...]

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Pradeep Kumar Sharma, . Designation Director at .
Bina Sharma, . Designation Director at .
Located at 5, SHIV KRISHNA DAW LANE KOLKATA Kolkata WB 700007 IN, , West Bengal. .

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Mansarovar Vinimay Private Limited was registered at Registrar of Companies Kolkata on 15 November, 2007 and is categorised as Company limited by Shares and an Non-govt company.
Mansarovar Vinimay Private Limited's Corporate Identification Number (CIN) is U51109WB2007PTC120363 and Registeration Number is 120363.

Mansarovar Vinimay Private Limited registered address on file is 5, SHIV KRISHNA DAW LANE KOLKATA Kolkata WB 700007 IN, - , West Bengal, .

Mansarovar Vinimay Private Limited currently have 2 Active Directors / Partners: Pradeep Kumar Sharma, Bina Sharma, and there are no other Active Directors / Partners in the company except these 2 officials.

Mansarovar Vinimay Private Limited is involved in Trading Activity and currently company is in Strike Off Status.

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CIN U51109WB2007PTC120363
Registration Date 15 November, 2007
Registeration No. 120363
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State West Bengal
Registered Address 5, SHIV KRISHNA DAW LANE KOLKATA Kolkata WB 700007 IN, West Bengal
Category Company limited by Shares
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Authorised Capital Rs 200000.0 INR
PaidUp Capital Rs 0.0 INR
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Last Annual General Meeting Date 01 January, 1970
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Monthly Archives: February 2016

2015 in Reflection

For years I have taken a photograph almost every day. This capturing delves deeper than photographing an object simply because I feel obligated to take a picture. Almost two years ago my dad had a stroke. During those first hours and long months after my daughter, my sister, my mom and I followed the stretcher into the emergency room, I began thinking differently about capturing moments.

Capturing moments has become a significant part of my journey. Curating and sharing has become a significant part of my journey as well. Over the December 2015 winter break, as I began to compile images and videos of the past year, I realized how much the process of capturing moments and of returning to savour them has been a healing space for me.

My previous year in review videos have been different. At times they have been out of duty to document a year. Last year I was so filled with gratitude my video paid homage to those who helped, who stepped in, who listened, and who understood the effects of such change on my family.

My video this year though is for me. It is my year-end visual reflection, my visual year-end take-away.

And oh, I learned so much.   Hope. Love. Family. Change. Strength.

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“I am just an actor upon this stage.”

From the English coastal suburb of South Shields, located not far outside of Newcastle, comes the moodily beautiful and eclectic indie folk stylings of Minotaurs. I am mindlessly excited about this band. After forming in the 2006, and garnering some critical acclaim from Guardian columnist Laura Barton and the release of their Anyone Who Had A Heart EP, the band is gearing up to drop their beautifully crafted debut full-lenth on July 1st. The record, Eat Yr Hate, comes courtesy of Cottage Industries and it is worth far more than the current 6.99 GBP pre-order offer…

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My Answers to Uber’s Creative Writing Test

Job hunting is hard. And job hunting can be mind boggling when recruiters are vague upon rejecting your application.

I recently did a phone interview with Uber. I was extremely excited when the recruiter told me that she liked my ideas and hell, Uber would be an awesome place to work at. Following the phone interview, I was asked to take their creative writing test (which was supposed to take several hours).

After 5 hours of tears and sweat, I submitted my creative writing test only to be informed that my test results weren’t “quite where we needed them to be”. When I asked for a copy of acceptable answers, I was told that they couldn’t “pass along other candidate’s work”.

It is unfortunate and frustrating when companies sweep candidates under the rug without blinking an eye. Is it so hard to ask for a little feedback? It seems to be the case.

With that said, I would like to share my answers to Uber’s creative writing test. I’m quite proud of my work and I hope you enjoy it too:

Section 1: Marketing

“Category 1: A promotion focused on acquiring users for our low-cost option, UberX”

UberX Marks the Spot

Aloha from UberX! We love hearing from our fans so we want you to send us an online postcard of your favorite getaway spot. Through our Facebook event page, upload a photo of you and your Uber X and tell us why this destination holds a place in your heart. The top 5 postcards with the most likes will win awesome prizes. Good luck and bon voyage!

“Category 2: An on-demand promotion similar to Uber Ice Cream our Uber Chopper.”

Uber Presents Its First Blood Drive

Uber is partnering with the American Red Cross and Kara’s Cupcakes this week! Support this great cause by donating blood. If you donate, we’ll give you awesome Uber swag and a cupcake. Let’s make this the gift that keeps on giving.

“B) Laundry List: Create a laundry list of marketing ideas, whether an event/promo/etc. Include a 1-2 sentence description for each, topped off with a creative & catchy blog post title for that idea.”

Life in the Uber Lane
We’re offering a once in a lifetime ride in our sexy sports car. Sit back as our world renowned sports car driver speeds through the hills of San Francisco. Buckle your seat belt, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Treat Yourself to an Uber Shopping Spree
Retweet this post and the person with the most RTs will be our lucky winner! We’ll pick you up in our UberSUV and take you to the Stonestown Galleria where you can spend $500 on whatever your heart desires. You deserve it to be pampered.

Fall in Love with Uber
Share your love story and you could win a getaway for two to Napa. We’ll send you in style with UberLux and you’ll be whisked away on a romantic hot air balloon ride. Love is in the air.

Uber Bus Double Decker Fun
The xth user will win a sponsored party on a double decker bus. Invite 10 of your friends for a fun night on the town, Uber style!

“C) Practical: Find a bar or restaurant in your city that you believe would make a good partner for Uber. Talk with the owners and managers of that bar. How would they want to partner with Uber? What do they want in return? How would you structure this partnership to be most beneficial for Uber?”

Based on previous research experience, I would need at least a week or two to correspond with the owners and managers of the bar/restaurant (especially if the correspondence is done over email). My prospective locations included:

I called each location and was either told to send the manager an email or that the manager would get back to me. Here are the questions I have written up:

1. Are you familiar with Uber? (Any restaurants that were familiar with Uber would be given first priority).
2. If you could partner with them, what would your bar/restaurant be able to offer?
3. What would you like in return?

Section 2: Support

“Driver turned a two mile trip into an 8 mile trip. No way I’m paying this. Expect a chargeback and some posts through my social media channels.”

Hi (customer_name),

We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused.

Our team will look into this issue and if we have any additional questions, we will contact you directly.

Thank you for using Uber.

Your Uber Team

“Hey Uber, I had a really strange interaction with my driver yesterday. First, he was a bit terse and distracted when trying to figure out my pickup location. Then, when I finally got in the car, he got into an accident. I know these things happen. But the reason he got into an accident was that he was insisting on passing a water bottle to me in the backseat. I didn’t even ask for one.

The worst part was that he wouldn’t let me out of the car after the accident. The child locks were on. I asked to be let out but he said “No. It will only take a minute.” I asked one more time to open the doors, but again he said that he would be done in a minute. I felt uncomfortable at this point, so did not ask again. Could you explain how this behavior could come from one of your employees?”

Hi (customer_name),

We sincerely apologize for the recent accident.

If you are unhappy with your recent Uber trip, please contact the Transportation Provider as they handle official complaints and are able to take appropriate actions.

As stated on our Legal page:

“The quality of the transportation services requested through the use of the Application or the Service is entirely the responsibility of the Transportation Provider who ultimately provides such transportation services to you. Uber under no circumstance accepts liability in connection with and/or arising from the transportation services provided by the Transportation Provider or any acts, action, behaviour, conduct, and/or negligence on the part of the Transportation Provider. Any complaints about the transportation services provided by the Transportation Provider should therefore be submitted to the Transportation Provider.”

For further information, please visit:

We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause and thank you for contacting Uber.

Your Uber Team

“Uber made my engagement last night! I was proposing to my longtime girlfriend, and I knew I needed that special touch. I ordered an UberBLACK for the occasion. I could not have asked for a better driver. He really made the event feel special. Thanks Uber!”

Hi (customer_name),

We are ecstatic that we could help you with your engagement! Congratulations to you and your fiancé. If you are happy with your recent Uber experience, please feel free to mention us on Twitter or Facebook.

Thank you again for sharing your story with us and we hope you continue to use Uber.

Your Uber Team

Section 3: Analytics

“Which promo should we use and why?”

Option 1 –
1000 attendees
$10 off trip
1% redeeming promo
$20 average trip
10 rides/year
25% margin for Uber

10 people are redeeming the coupon * ($20 average trip – $10 off trip) = $100 for promo * 25% for Uber = $25 profit
10 people * ($20 average trip * 9 remaining trips) = $1800 * 25% for Uber = $450 profit
Total profit: $475

Option 2 –
1000 attendees
$15 off trip
2% redeeming promo
$20 average trip
10 rides/year
25% margin for Uber

20 people are redeeming the coupon * ($20 average trip – $15 off trip) = $100 for promo * 25% for Uber = $25 profit
20 people * ($20 average trip * 9 remaining trips) = $3600 * 25% for Uber = $900 profit
Total profit: $925

Option 3 –
1000 attendees
$20 off trip
5% redeeming promo
$20 average trip
10 rides/year
25% margin for Uber

50 people are redeeming the coupon * ($20 average trip – $20 off trip) = $0 profit
50 people * ($20 average trip * 9 remaining trips) = $9000 * 25% for Uber = $2250 profit
Total profit: $2250

Option 3 is the best promotion.

“If we want to return a profit on each rider within 6 months, what is the max amount that we would give on a promo?”

6 months = 5 trips per person
5 trips * $20 average trip = $100 total

Uber can create a promotion of up to $100 but they will not make any profit during this period.

“How would you think about increasing conversion? [“promo conversion”?]”

If a user spends x amount on a ride, Uber will match the amount in credit.

“Unrelated to the above table and questions:

Youʼve noticed that average trips/signup has gone down:

What could be causing this?”

Decrease in advertising spend or everyone already knows about Uber. Other possible causes: holidays or weather.

“How might you increase it?”

Increase advertising spend.

Holidays: Promotions for people staying in SF for the holidays/visitors

Weather: Appeal to people’s likes (e.g. if it’s hot out, air conditioned vehicles; if it’s cold out, heated vehicles, etc).

To view Uber’s creative writing questions, click here: CM Marketing Focused

To view my answers, click here: Uber Creative Answers

Thanks for reading!

15 thoughts on “My Answers to Uber’s Creative Writing Test

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  5. Here’s a bit of insight on why I believe you weren’t hired: First off, I LOVE some of your promo ideas- super cute, and AWESOME wording (ie; love is in the air for the hot air balloon ride).

    The issues you ran into were the part about contacting bars- you just didn’t go out of your way to touch base with anyone, and though your excuse may be valid (no one got back to you), they want to see that you have drive. If you couldn’t touch base with two bar owners, you should have gone to more. Not just via email/phone, but bang down the doors- go the bars themselves. Seriously, every bar until you speak to someone. This conveyed laziness to me.

    Also, the customer response emails weren’t acceptable- Uber is known for being SUPER friendly and relatable. These sound like really generic, canned answers. That’s not who uber is. Especially the one about the accident. If I received an email back like that, I’d be REALLY annoyed, as I would get the impression I was brushed off and not cared about.

  6. I love the ideas! I agree with Melissa, though, that you didn’t do enough work on this. I also think that you didn’t fully complete the first portion per Uber’s instructions. For each of the first two categories (a promotion for UberX and Uber Chopper, respectively) you were supposed to write a full project plan with a LOT of detail. You only wrote a couple of sentences for each:
    For each project plan, include:
    ●What are your goals? What are you looking to accomplish?
    ●What is your audience for this promotion?
    ●A comprehensive outline of how a potential rider would interact with your promotion
    ●How you will you message this promotion? Social media? Email? Third party?
    ●What will be messaged to the public? Write a paragraph or two of copy that explains the promotion and engages your audience
    ●What possible pitfalls do you see in organizing this promotion? How you will get around those pitfalls?
    ●How will you measure the efficacy of these promotions?

  7. You lost the opportunity to grow an awesome relationship with someone who loves Uber more than anyone.

    You could use his testimonial everywhere and ask him to do lots of things with you… also, you could do something with the driver, lots of opportunities there.

    I also agree, you’d really get me Infuriated with that “none of my business response”

  8. Great work Cristina, Thanks to you I finally have an insight on how the pattern looks like and I can surely say, this post is helping thousands of Uber aspirants to prepare better. ♥♫♪

    -A fellow uberite ☻

    • “You learnt about recently?”
      One comment above, you are the CEO of and a comment below you are referring to an Udemy course Instructed by “Coursetake Course Marketplace”.!
      What a coincidence and such a great credibility! No, thanks…

  9. @Christina – super useful, many thanks! I cannot reach to your link “To view my answers, click here: Uber Creative Answers” The link gives 404 error. Could you look into that and let us know when this is fixed?
    P.S. Kudos for your time and energy spent on creating this! You are helping a lot to those of us who are still trying their chance with them! xx

  10. Great post. I learned about Uber Analytics Test, while developing a complete training system for it.
    I have looked at numerous tests and questions, I have been reading material on UBER for weeks and consider myself an expert user of Microsoft Excel. And I still believe it will be a hard test to ace, if I ever decide to take it.
    All of us that worked for this training system, put a lot of effort in it, and are really proud for the outcome.
    During my research for UBER I have found numerous pages and posts on the test and from people looking on some help and advice on it. Among them yours as well.
    The company I work for, decided to offer this training system, COMPETELY FREE, at least for now.
    I never post anything that I consider to be spam or advertisement. I don’t believe this is either, since the product is offered for free from TEST4U and I only post it in places who have shown interest on the UBER Analytics Test.
    In case any of your readers are interested and if you approve I pridefully present to you:

    TEST4U UBER Analytics Test v.3.1 & v.6.16
    It offers:
    Variety in exercises for UBER Analytics Test with incorporated Video-lessons
    Unlimited Tests with immediate evaluation of answers
    A presentation explaining the interview process
    A presentation with a glossary for all UBER services and Vocabulary
    A Presentation with 20 sample Essay Questions.

  11. Hey Cristina,

    Thanks so much for posting this, I was uber-interested in checking out the test even though I haven’t applied for any of the roles!

    I’ll give you some feedback on where you fell short:

    1) The answers you provided to the analytics questions were wrong. The drivers don’t work free, so you have to factor in and absorb the costs of fulfilling the initial offer.

    Check out this:

    You approach it in 2 parts and then explain it in your answer so even if you (or I) get it wrong they see your methodology. In maths exams at school you get points for the answer + the method.

    a) The free promo, factoring in the cost to Uber is the driver costs
    b) The 9 remaining trips of the year
    c) The P&L based on estimated redemptions

    2) The answers you gave to the customer questions were incredibly corporate and unhelpful, showing no signs of thinking outside of the box or going the extra mile:

    1) We’re so sorry, I’ve ALREADY investigated this for you and refunded your trip, and here is $10 off your next trip and I will speak to the driver to ensure them such instances are not how we do things at Uber, please continue to have faith in our service!

    2) [Not really sure, express how sorry I am for it and how I will work to identify what happened myself and get back to them by X date with our resolution]. Throwing legal terms and conditions at them is absolutely unacceptable response to give to such a situation – the customer was locked in the car by an Uber driver, come on!

    3) Congrats on getting married! Would you like to refer all your friends with a special voucher code so they can all get to your wedding day
    or maybe even ‘can we come and do a video about your great experience for our youtube?’
    or maybe even send them an engagement card in the post

    4) NEVER EVER EVER in an interview for a marketing role, when faced with a scenario of falling acquisition, offer a solution of ‘increasing spend’. No no no! If falling acquisition AND retention, it’ll likely signal arrival of competitors into the market place that weren’t there before (example Lyft, Gett, etc) so you would need to benchmark their marketing activities (see what new customer promotions they are offering, compare prices and services) and optimise your existing campaigns accordingly BEFORE you increase spend.

    Hope that helps,

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Quick Beet Soup

Summer soup, perfect for one of those ‘cleaning out the fridge’ days ahead of going on vacation. This soup is incredibly light and velvety smooth, and can be made vegan and/or gluten-free. I hope you like it as much as we did. 🙂

Picture of soup in a bowl

Velvet smooth beet soup

Serves 2 as a main dish, or 4-6 for starters

1 tablespoon Vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 Small carrot
1 thin slice Ginger root
Several Beet stems (tops without the leaves)
2 Small leftover cooked beet roots, with cooking liquor
2 cups Stock (I used vegetable stock from the fridge this time.)
2 slices Stale bread, crumbled (optional)

  1. Heat oil in medium saucepan.
  2. Peel ginger root and chop finely; clean and chop beet stems and carrot.

    Picture of vegetables to be use in the soup

    Some leftover veg, and some raw waiting to be used

  3. Saute raw veggies until fairly soft.
  4. Chop leftover beets roughly; add to hot veggies, along with at least a cup of the well-coloured, full-bodied cooking juice and the 2 cups of stock.
  5. Bring to a boil, cover and allow to simmer 15 minutes.
  6. Blitz in the pan, using a hand blender. (Or remove to a glass-jar blender to liquidize, and return to pan.)
  7. Add crumbled bread if you’re using it. This is to add body to the soup, but isn’t enough to make it heavy. (To thicken a gluten-free version, use cornstarch.)
  8. Heat through for another 5 minutes, which will soften the breadcrumbs. Blitz again.
  9. Keep hot until ready to serve.

    Picture of soup in bowls

    These bowls hold over 14 ounces each!

We added a spoonful or two of yogurt at the table, and ate this with fresh crusty bread.

I'm an American living in the UK, combining rural Mid-west ideas about food with a suburban coastal British reality. It's fun!

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Posted in Kitchen Economy, Recipes, Summer
One comment on “Quick Beet Soup
  1. Gale Wright says:

    Jeff LOVES beets and I am sure he would love this soup as well!

    Liked by 1 person

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What’s Creative Economy in the Kitchen about?
Sharing a lifetime of experience of kitchen challenges. Respecting food and making the most of what's available. Read more on my About page.
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Monday, December 12, 2016

December Pinch Me Box {Review}

Hey Gals and Guys!

Just a quick post on what I received in the mail! Pinch Me really sent some great products out this week. I think it's the best box I've gotten to date. Don't have an account yet? It's free to sign up and receive items. All you have to do is let them know how you like the products in a short survey on the site. Since I've signed up I've gotten 10 boxes!

Here's the items that I received in this box of goodies:
  • COVERGIRL Lipgloss (full size)
  • Olay Ultra Moisture Shea Butter Body Wash (trail size and coupon)
  • Carbona® Color Grabber™ (8 pack trail size)
  • Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth (full size)
  • COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner (full size)
  • COVERGIRL TruBlend Foundation (color swatches)
  • COVERGIRL So Lashy! Mascara (coupon)

Question to all my friends out there. Are you signed up for Pinch Me? If so what products have you received so far?

Happy Monday!

Disclosure: I received products for the purpose of an honest review. I did not receive any form of monetary compensation. All opinions are 100% mine

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The Genre of Literary Fiction (and Other Oxymorons)

I had to share this article which James Beamon posted the other day:

Fantastic Rant

It was written a couple of decades ago, but still holds true. It neatly sums up everything I’ve always found frustrating about the elitist distinction between literary fiction and genre fiction. I found its brief history of the literary movement especially enlightening. I think attitudes are beginning to change, possibly because popular culture has never been shared as freely as it is today. Genre fiction has always been popular, but I think it’s beginning to get the credence it deserves, if only because the people that like it are now as vocal (even influential?) as the people that don’t.

I’d rather like to frame and display this quote in particular, which sums up what really distinguishes a great story from a mediocre one:

“A story that fascinates is better than one that bores. A story that is eloquent is better than the babboon [sic] howlings of the verbally damned. A story that is profound, that transmits valuable insight, is better than one that is pedestrian or that is opaque. A story that speaks to many is better than one that speaks to few. A story that is beautiful in form is better than one that is inelegant, rambling or clumsy. A story that transports me to another world or that transmits experience is better than a story that leaves me sitting alone and troubled in my reading chair. A story that artfully moves me emotionally or intellectually is better than one that leaves me emotionally or intellectually anesthetized. A story that promotes understanding and creates a community of fans is better than one that seeks to isolate or divide.”

Hear, hear, I say – but take a look and see what you think.

Rare Insight

It’s a shame when something incredibly helpful also happens to be incredibly rare. The personalised rejection is one such thing. If personalised rejections were a species, they’d be on the critically endangered list. Personalising a rejection turns a slammed door into a gently closed one, leaving you with that touch of hope that the next door might actually open wide and invite you in. Not only that, it can give you an insight into what prevented that editor inviting you over the threshold, and that can make all the difference.

I had one such rejection this week. I’ve got a story that’s been doing the rounds for a while now, and I finally had it rejected with more than just a ‘Sorry, this isn’t quite right for us’. The personalisation was brief – a single line, actually – but it was something. And when I’d thought about it for a while, I realised it wasn’t just a token gesture of usefulness, it actually was useful. It made me look at the story again. I saw my opening paragraph in a new light, and revamped it as a result. It’s not radically different, but it’s stronger and more intriguing. There’s no question it’s better now than it was this time last week, and all because of one single line that gave me an insight into why one particular editor chose to pass on it.

It’s clear why personalised rejections are lesser-spotted beasts. The very few publications I see that promise something personalised over a form rejection are usually fledgling ones that have yet to be jaded by the amount of time involved in replying individually to every submission they receive. You see plenty that apologise for their lack of personalisation, often stating they used to offer more than a form rejection in their early days, but time constraints have taken over. It’s completely understandable, but it’s still a shame. We writers need all the help we can get to rise above the slush. One tiny piece of insight can make a world of difference.

Enter Title Here

I love it when I know a story’s title before it’s finished. Sometimes I even have the title before I have the story to go with it. My most recently completed story was like that. I had the title weeks, even months, before I knew what it was about. It was kind of fun coming up with something that fit, and when I found it, it was like meeting someone you know by name but have never met. “Oh, you’re Mr Tod! So nice to finally meet you!” Cue sly grin and whisker-licking on his part (yes, I have been thinking about Beatrix Potter lately). I knew the name. I knew the story existed somewhere. And discovering it was like reuniting two parts of something that had been separated but belonged together.

It’s great when that happens. Unfortunately, I find it to be very much the exception rather than the rule.

At the time I was writing that story, I was also racking my brains for a title for another one. In the exact reverse scenario, I had the completed story but I didn’t know what the heck to call it. Total mind blank. I didn’t even have one or two possible ideas to tweak. Nothing. And what do you do with a story that has no name? It exists. It’s complete… it has characters and plot and a setting that deserves summing up in a neat little title. But it’s not finished. You can’t submit it like that. Editors do have a habit of changing titles anyway (my last published piece, ‘Rule of Five’, was originally called ‘Five’ until the editor suggested the alternative), so there’s not much point in getting too attached to a title. It just seems wrong to send it out into the world without one. Like waiting until your child’s first day of school before settling on her name, and then just hoping the teacher will come up with something suitable because you still can’t decide what she’s called. It doesn’t bode well for your writing (or parenting) ability if you can’t think of a title to stick at the top of your manuscript (or on your child’s name labels).

The story in question finally has a semi-working title that I thought of before drifting off to sleep the other night. I’m not 100% sold on it, but at least I can send it out respectably until I think of something better or the title grows on me. But it’s been almost four months since I began its first draft. Four months without an inkling of what to call the poor thing, whilst the other one sits smugly next to it on my hard drive, all ready and titled before I even wrote the first sentence.

Titles are important. No, they’re not the meat of the story and you certainly don’t want them to be the only memorable thing about it, but they’re the first point of contact a reader has. How many of us pick up a book or choose a story based on an intriguing or unusual title? You want your title to engage people instantly; to make them want to know more. The first sentence is the hook, but the title should be your bait. It should lure your readers in before you snag them with that urgent first line.

That’s why it’s so gratifying when you know your title right away, and so frustrating when you just can’t grasp it.

First Aid

Injuries are inconvenient. Yeah, okay, they’re also painful, sometimes debilitating, and occasionally life-threatening. But for the purposes of this post, they’re mainly inconvenient. If you break your leg, hobbling around on crutches for weeks with no free hands to even carry your cup of tea from the kitchen gets old really fast. Having an arm in plaster means you have to relearn everything one-handed. If you’re lucky, that’s your dominant hand. You get a new perspective on what it’s like to live with a permanent disability, and new respect for those that do.

But even minor injuries are a pain (no pun intended). A paper cut makes it virtually impossible to slice lemons without working out a weird, awkward way to hold the injured finger out of acid’s way.  A scratch on your arm has to be avoided while scrubbing yourself in the shower. A painful bruise can make it awkward to lie on your preferred side to sleep. You just have to put up with it until the thing’s healed and you can go back to taking minor everyday activities for granted.

I guess we all know this. If you’ve ever sprained your ankle right before going on holiday or badly bitten the inside of your cheek on the day you’ve got reservations for that excellent restaurant you booked weeks ago, you know how inconvenient hurting yourself can be. But I’ll bet you’ve never read a book where one of the main characters gets injured and thought ‘Argh, how inconvenient for the author!’

When you injure your protagonist it sucks for them. But it also sucks for you, as the writer. Because now you have this character with some form of limited activity that they didn’t have prior to the injury and you have to be aware of it constantly. It’s very easy to forget that your protagonist has an arm in a sling once the initial injury and its aftermath has been dealt with. But unless he’s got superhuman healing abilities, you’d better be prepared for him to be below par for weeks. He can’t suddenly greet his girlfriend with open arms or hop on his bike to run a quick errand or fight off his antagonist with amazing karate moves. He’s going to be limited and awkward and inconvenienced at every turn, and so are you. Sometimes it’s merely a matter of continuity – making sure he only hugs his girlfriend with one arm, aware of the awkward immobile arm in the way, for example. But other times it can create entire plot changes as you have to re-plan something you hadn’t foreseen would be impossible before you injured him.

Sometimes injuries are useful ways of directing the plot; sometimes they’re crucial to it. But even on occasions when you’ve totally planned for this injury and the story’s outcome depends on it, you’ve still got to be aware that injuring a previously hale and hearty character makes a rod for your own back as well as theirs.

It’s a relief when they finally heal.


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August WPI inflation rises to two-year high of 3.74%

Not like deceleration in the buyer price directory (CPI) equal, the actual Wholesale value directory (WPI)-based rising prices rose in order to two-year most of Three.Seventy four per cent within August from three.55 percent inside Come july 1st. Even so, nevertheless the idea remained below retail price index-based rising cost of living with Your five.05 percent which had decreased from Half a dozen.07 % within Come july 1st.

This is the 5th straight thirty day period regarding WPI rising cost of living following carried on deflation more than annually.

The contrary craze inside the heading quantities was even though food India Business News the cost of living in both the particular spiders rejected. This was since the foodstuff catalog offers reduce weightage well over 14 % within WPI in opposition to above 45 percent in CPI.

This provides diverse photo for RBI brand-new governor Urjit Patel for any monetary remodelling throughout October. However, the truth that WPI inflation is still sub-four per cent hands some conveniences to the main lender in case it desires to minimize the insurance policy charge in order to spur decreasing fiscal expansion.

The particular WPI meals rising prices fell to eight.23 percent within the month through 11.82 percent within July. The CPI-based foods rising cost of living decreased to.Ninety one percent via 8-10.35 % around today.

Nonetheless, inflation throughout pulses in terms of WPI continued to be raised in 34.Fityfive percent throughout September even with moderate control through Thirty five.Seventy-six percent within This summer. Exactly the same was the case with CPI inflation in impulses. Presently there the idea decreased to 25.09 per-cent coming from 27.53 per-cent.

Even though WPI inflation throughout carrots went up by for you to Sixty six.48 percent throughout August coming from 59.81 per cent in Come july 1st, don’t forget the onions transformed more affordable from higher price involving Sixty-four.20 % via 36.29 percent.

Rising cost of living within created items, constituting practically Over 60 percent of the WPI, rose to 2.44 % in Augusts through One particular.82 % inside July.

Below processed foods also observed increased the cost of living in 12.35 per cent against 12.Nineteen percent.

Energy and power saw rising prices with One particular.Sixty two per-cent versus deflation at 1 %.

August WPI inflation rises to two-year high of 3.74%

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gemstones and crystals

gemstones and crystals

Go To Your Shopping Cart

      Infinite Stone Meaning and properties; Tumbled Infinite Stone

Home     Gemstones & Crystals     Gemstone Jewelry     Symbols     Astrology     Color Meaning

approx. 1"

Infinite stone

ships within 48 hours

Shipping fees

Approx. Size:

dark green to light green and many shades in between

Root, Sacral Hara, Solar Plexus, Heart

Earth Element

Power, Protection, Healing, Love

Infinite Stone

Infinite is a tradename for a variety of green serpentine (mixture of Serpentine and Chrysotile) found in South Africa. It's energies are believed to be superior to those of other serpentines and it has come to be known as the "Healer's Stone".

  • Repatterns the auric field
  • Increases the potency of reiki and other energetic healing methods
  • Activates kundalini energy
  • Provides a nurturing energy from the Base Chakra to the Heart

Infinite stone is a powerful earth element stone that renews energy and aligns one's energy with the Earth.

Use a small piece of Infinite as a worry stone, put a larger piece next to or under your pillow for more restful sleep, and try using extra large pieces as massage tools.

The unique energy of Infinite works on all levels of the self. It stimulates physical, emotional and spiritual healing and makes an excellent tool for the healing of loss, separation and betrayal. It is a beneficial grief stone. This stone also aids in the connection to the Angelic realms.

Sources of Infinite

This stone is found in South Africa.

No claims are made. These alleged powers are gathered from writing, books, folklore and various sources.


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Tongji Students Win, and Credit CTX:BRACE for Help Working Together

Catherine Chen, Global MBA 2015, Leading CTX: BRACE through her Case Competition Methodology

I am sitting in class during our Management Strategy Course final presentation day, watching each group present a company, and a highly developed strategy for moving into a new market. Of course, some more developed than others, but nonetheless recommendations for corporate entities to be proud of.

A year ago this would have seemed foreign to me. A group of twenty and thirty-somethings presenting world-class professional recommendations on PPTs, having compiled them after moving through data figures, government policies, analysis of leadership, product innovation journals…

And then it hits me, this is impressive. But I am starting to take it for granted how good these are. Presentation after presentation, week after week. Even Ali Akil’s questions are sometimes equally as impressive as the presentations themselves. (More on Ali’s questions in a future article.)

Then later that night as I sit down to treat myself for a great presentation of my own, eating MAI LAI, a soup dish comprised of vegetables, potato, noodles and hot soup-broth to keep cold in the Shanghai approaching winter, I get a message from one of my colleagues, Catherine Chen. She says that her case consulting competition group has moved into the final round of a competition sponsored by Volvo that spanned all of mainland China. I thought to myself,

 “It is so impressive how I am surrounded with people winning Case Competitions week in and week out. They would be the fourth or fifth team to advance to a round two just this month.”

Their project included a presentation of new ways for Volvo China to sell its products in Eastern markets, something it has been struggling to do over the last several decades. Typical western company, trying their business model in China without tailoring it to the needs of the Chinese. Clever of them to employ Chinese MBAs for this type of research-

But still, while I was extremely excited for my friend and her team including Martin, Linda and Vivienne (All Global MBA students, might I add), I had a feeling that this is becoming commonplace around the Global MBA building and my network of friends: constantly our groups placing in 3rd, 2nd or 1st place in Case Consulting Competitions and winning quite large sums of money.”

And the next piece came as a positive shock that broke up the monotony of studying and group projects as we trudged into the dauntingly demanding workload of finals week: the members of the group messaged me to say “Thank you Michael for the help of CTX:BRACE.”

Several weeks ago the members of Catherine’s team presented to our group, and got suggestion from CTX:BRACE for 45 minutes after they had the floor to get our help. I had invited them to use our club to get actual suggestions from our members. And that they did. They put us to work that afternoon.

I remember Martin scribbling down voraciously as Pramod Kamath, Gaurav Kumar, Arniv Gupta, Ali Akil, and of course Rishabh Jain made specific and pointed recommendations for reconsidering the highly concentrated number of computer science and design Ph.Ds in Beijing, China – a number that rivaled Silicon Valley.
Pramod Kamath, seeking clarity and making suggestions related to Beijing’s concentration of Volvo’s possible future

Among other things recommended, I remember thinking, “How did the Chinese students not think of taking pride in their Beijing concentration of engineers, designers and computer scientists? How did they miss this asset? was it something cultural? How could they not include this in their report?”

But it did not matter why; it was the fact that we had Chinese from all over the country, Americans, a Colombian, a Nigerian and ten members of the club from India working in tandem to help our Chinese classmates succeed.

The stress was intense. CTX BRACE did not take it lightly that their cohort members had taken the time to fill a slot in our weekly sessions. Even after an exciting meeting with Deloitte Consultant Adam Foley, the group provided great support and harsh critique of their argument.

But I am clear in my mind that it was the diverse range of competencies in the room that afternoon that made that meeting so successful.

We should be proud of both CTX BRACE and for the dedicated members that have been making these meetings happen for the past two months. What started as a journal and business review club has turned into an outlet for Real LIfe Consulting matters, having ten of our members place in the top three in International competitions based out of India and China, and many more that have walked the road of participating.

I admit, I felt proud when Catherine messaged me that afternoon. I remembered the times when there was doubt about starting the CTX BRACE club. Many were not sure of its direction, or if it would even be feasible while we were abroad. Where would it go? What would it do, realistically?

But I knew, if we put good people in the same room and created a disciplined approach to furthering our learning, we would create meaning in the work. If we could take a little criticism in order to mold the clay into something very powerful, we were destined to succeed.

While I personally am not taking credit for their advancement in the competition, I do take pride in knowing that something we did together has improved their level for success.

Congrats guys, we all know you deserve it.

 J. M. Tasse


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brookies n milk

Aka Brownie Cookies, my family latest baked goodies obsession. Its crunchy but soft in the middle, very chocolatey and the best part, its Gluten Free! I’ve baked loads of them in the past few days, tweaking my recipe into perfection and trust me, it’s absolutely delicious. One happy baker here ❤

If you are in Manila, these yummy Brookies are available on Saturday, March 18, 2017 at BSM 3rd Gymnastics Spring Meet Competition at the food corner from 8.30 am until stock last. Very limited offer, first come first serve.

See you there!

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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘contemporary’ tag.

A close-up of watercolors tortured in the name of art.  More anguished work in my gallery of CURIOUS PAINTINGS.

OLD & IN THE WAY: no, not me, the flowers! Wrinkles are a good thing, especially in flowers.
Wrinkles mean you worry a lot. Or someone left you out in the sun and didn’t water you enough. The former has me worrying a lot; about the tide not returning, sun not coming up, about the Pats’ chances in the Super Bowl, no snow, Pats’s chances, too much tide and about what’s for lunch. As for the latter, as a painter, I’ve got a subject matter with character (more than can be said for myself. I’ve got “cranky,” but you can’t paint cranky.) that demands a somewhat focussed rendering, usually with painfully tiny watercolor brushes, sizes #3 – 7 (which begs the question: how come as the brush gets smaller, requiring fewer camel hairs, it gets more expensive? What, the camel trying to drive up demand?) and a massively big bottle of ibuprofen.
Combine that with a sense of patience that often times leaves your (poor, long suffering) wife suspecting you’ve passed away at your desk because you haven’t twitched a muscle in 4-5 hours, and you’re ready to render wrinkled flowers!
To learn more about aging gracelessly, visit my gallery of CURIOUS PAINTINGS

So what happens to a flower once it passes its prime? Does it do a Jack Nicholson and show up courtside only at Lakers’ games? Hide in Florida with the pink flamingos? Rose Pondering Retirement demonstrates a different approach to aging gracefully by turning a bit crinkly, with its once saturated primary color red maturing into a multitude of muted, complimentary hues. Sort of like me except, instead of crinkly I just get cranky.

More warnings of advancing wrinkles and bad temper at my Curious Paintings.

BARKING UP the WRONG MUSHROOM. Here it is, the middle of Spring already, almost Summer, and I’m sending artwork of Autumnal decline. How perverse.

Perhaps it’s the arrogance of middle age, but I didn’t think I could get lost anymore. I don’t mean lost on the interstate and stopping at the next gas station to get directions, but Hansel & Gretel lost where you start wondering what it’ll be like to sleep under a pile of leaves. And whether your death by wolves will be quick and what do those little red berries taste like? Never mind if your kids will even notice, much less care, if you’re missing.
But enough of this therapist’s couch stuff. We tried walking a new, recently opened Trustee’s Reservation trail and got lost. Which provided me plenty of time to collect foresty-stuff, an AUTUMN ASSORTMENT as it were, for either future painting or that evening’s dinner.
More survivalist’s art at my CURIOUS PAINTINGS site.

Posted via email from briancody’s posterous

Another November return to Appleton Farms, this time equipped with a collecting bag, rewarded me with even more forest stuff suitable for painting. Dead leaves, pygmy pine cones, anonymous killer mushrooms and bumblebee flowers were the standouts from this trip. Similar yet different from my collection of CURIOUS SEASHORE paintings, where an assortment of clamshells, seaweeds, mussels etc. have been rendered more or less in situ, I get to play with these forest elements until an interesting composition shows up. Or a couple of monstrous centipedes come slithering out of something, sending me squealing out of the studio in search of body armor and serious weaponry. More tales of art heroics at

Posted via email from briancody’s posterous

Starfish are an anomaly on coolish Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA. Colorful starfish even rarer. Perhaps this one was chilled, inducing colors ranging from hot orange to a deepish purple, after a summer of cloudy weather and more rain than a duck would care for. I was fortunate to stumble across Jefferson Starfish (sorry, bad, old age-appropriate pun,) the seashore residue of two late summer hurricanes, tossed well up onto the beach. Luckier still that the sun was pulling a Woodstock (sorry again, bad habit.)

For even more bad jokes, and fair art, visit my collection of CURIOUS PAINTINGS.

Asked to choose a single, simple phrase to describe the Summer of ’09, a local duck replied “Too much damn RAIN!” Yet despite Boston’s weather behaving more like Seattle’s, there have been moments of sunshine, even heat. The day I captured this Hot Summer Seaweed (“captured” only in a manner of speaking, it wasn’t actually trying to escape) was a scorcher, with the sun punishing anything left up on the beach.

For more tales of seashore outrage, be sure to visit my collection of CURIOUS PAINTINGS.

HA! And you thought I was going to chat about a family member?

No, more a watercolor-and-pencil rendering of a mum, one that almost got away from me from a detail point of view. Lesson learned? When choosing subject matter for a painting, choose a flower with no more petals than fingers on two hands.

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Tag Archives: yum

Insight to Indian Life

13 Mar

This text is brown, just like me.

I’m a teenage girl who was born in the United States from two Indian immigrants. Some immigrants have stories of great accomplishment or terror; my parents have neither and that is something to be thankful for.

I have many things to say on the topic of Indians, so I’m going to limit this as an introduction; not to my culture, but to me. I can understand my parents native language of Hindi, but I choose not to speak it. For one, any accent I may have had has faded, making me sound absolutely ridiculous when I speak. Another is that a lot of people can’t understand what I’m saying anyways, and there may have been a traumatic childhood experience of my grandmother laughing at me when she couldn’t understand a word I was saying. (My grandmother doesn’t speak English). I can’t read or write Hindi but I may slowly learn later.

I eat Indian food almost everyday and I know how to make a decent amount of things. If you gave me flour, water, and yogurt, I could make a full meal, albeit simple.  I love watching Bollywood movies; it annoys me when they’re too corny/silly but it’s always fun. I have many things that I don’t like about Indians, and I also have many things I’m proud of. That can be saved for a later time though.

If anyone happens to be reading this or any of my other posts, let me know by leaving a comment. I would love to hear everyone’s input and opinions about my blog so far. Also, I feel like I should have a little closing catchphrase…the only thing that comes to mind is Natalie Tran’s “Stay well, eat fruit, and remember…” I’ll have to think of something.

12 Mar

For some unknown reason, I’ve had a recent obsession with Snickers bars. I never used to be particularly fond of them; I actually didn’t like them at times. But when I was doing homework the other day I saw a full-size bar in my pantry and decided to be a rebel; I opened it even though I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like it. Now we had the mini sized bars too so there was no reason to potentially waste a large one, and yet I did. Now my fellow Asians know that wasting food, or doing anything stupid in general, leads to all hell breaking loose. So I’m not really sure why I chose to open it, and yet I did.

Sorry, I’m getting off topic. In fact, this post is completely meaningless so I doubt it matters. But anyways, as soon as I ate that bar I was hooked. It didn’t take long for me to devour the entire bag of them in my pantry; I think I was eating at least one daily. However, they’re now almost gone and we probably won’t be getting more. It comes as a relief that this onset of Snickers will soon be gone and over with.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and maybe you just realized that I have wasted a few minutes from your day in which you literally read about a candy bar. (:

Hi There

12 Mar

I just wanted to say a quick hello to the total of 0 people who are probably reading this blog as of now. I made this blog to serve as an outlet for my feelings so it’s basically going to be a jumble of my random thoughts. I also don’t plan on sharing this with anyone I know so this is private; how ironic that the word private in this sense means that it’s open for any stranger to read yet my friends will never see it. Anyways I’ll keep this short and sweet and I hope you will get to know me and enjoy reading the ramblings of my mind. As one last note, if you couldn’t already tell from the title I’m of Indian descent.


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Category Archives: Addicted To Shopping

Why You Need to be Shopping

6pm shipment arrived!

Anyone who knows me knows I have a bit of a shoe fetish.  Anyone who works with me can you about my 15+ pairs of shoes under my desk….which are just “work shoes” & have nothing to do with the mounds I have at my apartment. feeds that addiction quite nicely. (same parent company as has amazing deals.  The site features an array of designer brands and boasts prices up to 70% off retail.  They have “daily deals” on their homepage every day highlighting some of their best sales.  They specialize in shoes, but have bags, sunglasses, apparel & an array of other items.

They (like many savvybrands) are on Twitter & provide their followers with ADDITIONAL deals I often find even more appealing & even better then what I see on their site.  The recent tweet that caught my attention?  KORS Michael Kors on sale for $24.95. A. Maze. Ing.  They had other deals that day, as well, so here’s what I ended up with:

KORS Michael Kors wedges: $24.95 from $185 :)

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Filed under Addicted To Shopping, Loves It

It’s Still Winter: Don’t Neglect Your Skin!

BLISS Spiff Upper Lip set of 2 $30 from $76

Have you used Bliss Spa products?  They have everything you want to keep you skin looking & feeling fabulous.  Great for pampering yourself or for everyday routines.  Love, love, love.  Something they aren’t, is cheap.  Some of their products tend to be on the pricier size & not exactly recessionista-friendly.  They have a great Web site for ordering online I like to peruse for sales – here are some of this week’s finds.

Tip:  their site doesn’t have a specific “sale” section, but if you type “sale” into the search option, their sales come up. :)

Their Spiff Upper Lip set (above) is designed to plump your lips and fill in lines.  Especially helpful in the winter, right?  It’s designed to help “aging” lips, but, like many products with this claim, can (&, in my opinion, sometimes should) be used by women of all ages to not only keep your skin in good condition, but as a sort of preventative measure.  My lips re ALWAYS dry and cracked in the winter & this is a good remedy option.  The set of 2 retails for $76 but is currently on sale for $30.  Would I pay $76 for the set?  my budget says no.  $30?  Much more likely.

BLISS Problem Salved $9 from $18

Their Problem Salved balm (left) is designed as a sort of all-in-one “fix it” balm.  It’s great for slightly irritated skin, like if you just got your brows waxed, just shaved, are sun burnt, have chapped wind-burned skin….the list goes on.  I’ve used it on my eye brows after getting them waxed & it works well to sooth what is usually very red, irritated skin.  Truly, I think I have the most sensitive brows ever.  Regardless, this is one of the few things that helps.  This retails for $18 but is currently on sale for $9.  9 bucks.  Good stuff.

Also – as I was surfing their site – I was reminded every order ships free.  Love that.  I hate it when I think I have found a great deal on something only to find out shipping costs another $10.  Shipping should be just that: the cost of shipping.  Not shipping plus lattes for the Web site staff. Am I right??

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Coupon Code: White House Black Market

I love White House Black Market.  They have beautiful, chic dresses & amazing jewelry, among other things.  Right now they’re offering $25 off your purchase of $125 or more & $50 off your purchase of $200 or more.  Both these offers end 3.21.10.  They’re also offering free shipping through the end of the week when you purchase $125 or more.

$25 off your purchase of $125 or more coupon code: 9019

50 off your purchase of $200 or more coupon code: 9018

Happy shopping!

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All About Asymmetry

I’m seeing asymmetrical dresses popping up everywhere.  Whether it’s a one-shoulder frock from American Apparel or an angled hem from Alice + Olivia, asymmetry is in.  It makes even a seemingly “standard” dress more exciting.  Here are a few I’ve found & love – priced from low to high:

Olivia Rubin One Shoulder $37.93 from $129.32

Olivia Rubin One Shoulder dress: $37.93 from $129.32

I love the fun pattern & flirty sleeve on this Olivia Rubin dress.  Adorable, right?  It retails for $129.32 but is currently on sale on for $37.93. :)

American Apparel One Shoulder Dress: $42

American Apparel is known for soft, comfy, fitted basics.  This cotton American Apparel is just that: it can be dressed up or down.  It retails for $42 – not too shabby. Continue reading

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Get Outfitted for Under $100

I love sale-perusing.  Using, I found some fun items for spring. :)
It’s always good to be on the lookout for items that are fun together and (of course) on their own.  Below are some leaning-towards-spring items I found via Shop It To Me that look great together but are also versatile enough to be mixed & matched with tons of items you have in your wardrobe already – making them that much more valuable & the deals that much more worth it.
I created the image below using  You can click the images for larger details about each of the items.

This outfit would look great with some light pinks & greens mixed in with the accessories or makeup tones.  I could see a fun pink or green ring or green-rimmed shades completing the look.

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Colored Stems

I loooove fun tights.  Not only are they practical for (seemingly) 3/4 of the year in Boston, but they’re so CUTE & add style & fun to any outfit.  They also allow you to wear lighter, more spring inspired dresses (or shirt dresses, right???) throughout the year, giving you more “bang” for your spring-dress-buck. :)  Throw a pair on under any fun dress & you’re good to go.

My friend Courtney alerted me to some cute Hansel from Basel tights yesterday & Beyond the Rack has some brightly colored options from We Love Colors.  It’s worth noting both these brands will be donating percentages of sales to Haiti relief funds throughout February.  Hansel from Basel will be donating 15% & We Love Colors will be donating 5%. (*note: I don’t know if BTR sales count towards the 5%…*).  Here are some of my pics from each line:

We Love Colors Olive & Charcoal

Don’t be scared of green!  Green tights can add color to your gray or black dress.  Also, they’re just plain fun. :) These We Love Colors tights retail at $30/pair, but are on sale at Beyond The Rack until February 11 (tomorrow!!!) for just $10.  Loves it.

We Love Colors Vertical Jagged Striped Tights in Brown & Neon Blue

Again, color is key here!  As someone who’s wardrobe is roughly 80% black (& 10% grey or navy…or at least it seems it), I love adding splashes of color whenever I can.  These We Love Colors tights also retail at $30/pair, but are now on sale at Beyond The Rack for just $10.

Hansel from Basel Pebble Black & Purple Tights

These look so soft!  These Hansel from Basel tights would, again, be a great complement to any skirt or dress & great for work or play. :)  They retail for $42/pair.

Hansel from Basel Snow Snow Burgundy and Cable in Gray

Save the best for last, maybe??  I love these!  They scream “Look at me, in my dress being warm all winter!”  They’re something I would want to put on those cold mornings when it’s snowing & you just wish you could crawl back into your warm bed (but can’t….).  Also from Hansel from Basel and retail for $42/pair.

What do you think?  To tights, or not to tights?

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Spring Trend/My Current Obsession: Shirt Dresses

So shirt dresses aren’t “new,” but I’m seeing a number of fun new styles & ways to wear them all year long.  While I’m not quite ready to retire my winter shirt dresses (including this one from NY&Co.), I’m excited to start looking for new ones to add to my spring/summer wardrobe. YES.  I KNOW it’s only February & I live in New England…. Can’t it just be spring already????  Here are some I’m loving right now; priced from low – high:

Gap Shirt Dress

This is also cute: the drawstring & different color lining are great details.  This shirt dress is on sale at for $59.50.

Bebe Shirt Dress

This Bebe shirt dress is proof these dresses can be for day or night.  The deep-V neckline and ruffled sleeves make this shirt dress great for a summer evening out.  Currently $119 at

Marc Jacobs Shirt Dress on

Love this!  This Marc Jacobs shirt dress is currently on sale on  It’s a shirt dress yet fitted.  Also love the collar and buttons. :)  Current price: $179 (original price: $298).

Moschino Shirt Dress on Zappos

On the pricier side, this ADORABLE Mochino Stretch Shirt Dress on has fun, flirty ruffles cinched at the waist & above the hem.  LOVE this dress, but don’t love the price at $364.

Looking forward to see what else I see for late winter/early spring, & am really looking forward to some fun, bright summer dresses once the time comes. :)

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Posts Tagged ‘bands’

The 8th Annual Beerwah show is being held on the 22nd October 2011 at the Beerwah Sports Ground, Jones Road –  Beerwah between 10am and 6pm.

You can expect a tattoo show, dyno shootout, cars & bikes, burnouts, tuffman, arm wresting, bands, market stalls and even kids rides!

Admission is $25 for an adult or a family is $30 (Kids under 13 are free).

For more info check out their Facebook Page:!/pages/Beerwahs-Annual-Bike-Burnout-and-Hotrod-Show/114835058579747?sk=info


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Archive for October, 2008

It’s no secret that I avoid activities that involve math like Sarah Palin avoids answering direct questions <jab>.  If you need me to add, subtract, multiply, divide, find the mean, median, or mode, I’m your gal.  It’s beyond this point where math sends me into a spiraling depression that rivals the fits of sadness felt by Sylvia Plath, the Hemingways, Van Gogh, or Mozart—only their depressive bouts arguably inspired great peaks in creativity and productivity.  Mine, however, cripple and debilitate me in ways I never thought possible.  I can’t write, or focus on anything that has academic weight, or, heck, has an associated due date.  I have a book review/report due on Wednesday night for a book I’ve not read, and I’m also the discussion leader for the other book due that evening, which I’ve also not read.  In fact, I’ve not read a single book for this class (at least one book due per week) from cover to cover.  I’ve managed to cheat my way by skimming the book and reading parts that stimulate my interest, and then make sure I speak on those points during the discussion.  I still learn quite a bit from the discussion, but I’m not being a true scholar by pretending to read critically.

The math to which I am referring is basic statistics.  If I were learning about basic statistics as concepts, as in what a Z score is used for when doing research, what a T score can be used for to show trends in data, I’d be much more secure in my inability to calculate such numbers by hands.  I may be able to calculate these things based on my notes and hours of help from Tyler, but I don’t know what any of it means or how to apply it to real data.  I’m missing the entire point!  I think I’d be hard pressed to find someone who has sat down in the candlelight, with a quill and ink well, and hand-calculated percentile ranks or Z scores or what percentage of scores lie between 63 and 80.  Hard. Pressed.

The disturbing part of this situation I’ve put myself in is that this course that I’m taking is a PRE-REQUISITE to the three statistics courses I am to take to complete my core PhD courses.  Fortunately, I am able to take the stats course in another part of my school, and I get credit for it as an elective rather than paying for a course for which I don’t get credit.

My thoughts are wandering towards “If this is what research really is, and what this program expects me to do, I don’t think I really want to do this”

Which leads me to question my entire trajectory and what I’m doing, and if I really want to do it.  It’s hard to put your heart into something, even if it’s “just” coursework, when you don’t know if it’s what you really want.  Frankly, it isn’t *just* coursework anymore.  Every moment of every class is dedicated to preparing me for quals and a successful dissertation, and a long career in this field. These courses shouldn’t be moments in time that I just have to get through to get to the next stage, the next course to just get through, to get the degree.  It’s so much more than that, but I don’t feel as if it all means that much to me.

I didn’t enjoy my master’s degree.  The one shining moment came during my capstone/internship at the end of the degree where I worked with a school food service director to design a program to increase fruit and vegetable intake at school.  It was fun, and I really enjoyed the topic.  Which is why I have tentatively decided to focus my efforts towards learning more about school food environments.

But is that really what I want?  Am I trying to make something I’m passionate about, food, fit into a field that I have little patience for, and little desire to really devote the rest of my faculties to?

These are the questions, and I fear I have no answers.

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Hello Everyone,

Did you ever have just a little bit of time and want to deviate and do something different?  I did on Thursday!  I had just two hours and I decided to make these cute little "pods".  These seem to be all the rage at the moment and I must say, I can see why!

A quick little project to make for yourself and to giveaway as little gifts.  They are so much fun and don't require much to make.  I must say that Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs is a bit of a genius when it comes to bags.  I have made many of her other bags and love her technique.

The little Sweetpea Pods that I made, I decided to use black and white and brights.  The result really makes me smile.

I loved using the bright zippers and changing out the color of the pull.  So much fun.  My friend Lisa said they look like fortune cookies and I think she is right.  They do don't they?

I know you probably want to know if I sell the pattern... sorry I don't at the moment.  But you can go here to Joan's website to find out who does sell it.

Also, I should let you know that Joan has a great Craftsy class too, Zip It Up!... which I took and absolutely LOVED!  You can make 3 different bags in her class.  Just click on this link to read the info on her class and maybe enroll.  If you do, I am sure you will love it!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Until Next Time...

Jackie Kunkel
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Meet Jackie

Jackie Kunkel

I am a quilter, online quilt shop owner, Nationally Certified Judy Niemeyer Instructor and Certified Shop, designer, author, podcaster, mother, and wife. I have been quilting since 1993 years and in business since August, 2000. I love networking and having fun doing anything quilty! Learn More…

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jit.vcr patch problems

    Dec 20 2012 | 9:04 pm
    So, I know that jit.vcr is full of problems and weird idiosyncrasies, but I was wondering if anybody has any advice for this problem. I have jit.vcr working in my patch in max, but when I build it as an application, jit.vcr stops working. I've tried directly sending it a "write 30. jpeg normal" message and it doesn't do anything. I don't know of any parameters that have changed, so I'm confused as to why it would work in Max but not as a standalone. Any advice or ideas would help, thank you!

    • Dec 20 2012 | 11:03 pm
      are there any error messages in the max window?
      my guess is that you can't really use relative paths in standalones. you need to provide the full path of the file to the write message.
    • Dec 22 2012 | 6:46 pm
      There weren't error messages before, but I'm actually getting a "DSP must be enabled before writing" error. I tried sending a '; dsp start' message to max, but I got the same error. I feel like I have seen people complain about this before, is there an easy fix?
    • Dec 22 2012 | 7:37 pm
      I played around with it some more and now I'm getting a "no midi driver folder or default driver", "MSP/ad: no ad folder", "Core Audio: No such object" and then a few from spigot~ that I'm guessing are because of those first three errors. Where do I make these folders?
    • Dec 22 2012 | 8:22 pm
      Okay, I managed to get a pretty kludgy-feeling solution by just copying over the entire "msp-externals" folder from the Cycling '74 folder. It seems to work regularly now for the most part. Also, turning on "audio support" in my standalone object ;)


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George a 5th round pick to the Jets

Earlier this week, Jeremiah George told that he thought he would be taken anywhere from the fifth to seventh rounds of this weekend’s NFL Draft.

Chalk this up as a best-case scenario for the former Cyclone linebacker. George, who led the Big 12 in tackles as a senior, was taken with the 14th pick in the fifth round Saturday by the New York Jets.

“He plays hard," ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said about George. "He’s not a striker as a tackler but is a very reliable tackler in space. He does all of the little things right."

George marks the fourth Cyclone to be drafted in the last five years. In New York, he will join fellow former Cyclone Jeremy Reeves who was signed by the Jets earlier this offseason.

As of 2 p.m. on Saturday, former Cyclone punter Kirby Van Der Kamp had not been selected.

Chris Williams

Chris was hired as Cyclone Fanatic’s publisher in the fall of 2009. He is Iowa State football's postgame show host on the Cyclone Radio Network and can be heard daily from 4-7 on Des Moines' top-rated sports station, 1460 KXnO. Williams, a 2007 graduate of Iowa State’s Greenlee School of Journalism, is the former publisher of the old ( He has also written for the Des Moines Register, the Ames Tribune, and is the former sports director at KMA Radio. When Williams isn’t working, you can usually find him doing something outdoors with his wife Ashley, daughter Camryn, and Golden Retriever Dierks. He enjoys golfing, boating, country music, the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Braves and is passionate about any and all motor sports so finding Williams at a local dirt track is very common.


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Cynical Synapse

Sat, 19 Sep 2009

Michigan Holds the Lead for 40 Months; Unemployment Hits 15.2%

Filed under: Budget, Detroit, Economy, Government, Life, Michigan, Politics, Unions — cynicalsynapse @ 3:08 pm

Michigan’s unemployment rate is back up to 15.2%, the highest in the nation. In fact, Michigan unemployment rate has led the nation for 40 months! That’s almost 4-1/2 years!

In August, Michigan lost 42,900 jobs, including 15,000 in manufacturing. In all, Michigan unemployment exceeds 3/4 of a million people!

If you live in Michigan, chances are pretty dang good you know someone affected by this. That is, if you’re not affected yourself. In my case, my brother took a buyout from his employer due to economic conditions rather than risk a layoff. And my friend Bob, who works for one of the Big 3, isn’t sure. His job is up in the air at the moment. So, yeah, the economic crisis has ramifications right here in the neighborhood.

Areas around Michigan are in particularly dire straits. Metro Detroit’s unemployment rate was 17.3% in August. The rate in Detroit itself is nearly 30%: 28.9% for August! Even the Church is affected!

Why do you suppose the city’s unions think Mayor Bing is out to get them? Didn’t they learn basic math in school? Maybe they just find a word problem too confusing.

  1. the tides have to turn
    far too long with crashing waves
    and worrying so

    Thank You.

    May All Beings Be Happy.

    Comment by blissbait — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 @ 8:41 pm

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Born: 1961 USA. Raised in Rome, Italy. Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS AND INSTALLATIONS: * indicates solo exhibition)
Window Installation, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA (forthcoming)*
Peace on Earth Exhibit, MOAH (Museum of Art and History), Lancaster, CA (forthcoming)

Migrations, (solo) International Museum of Art and Science, McAllen, Texas  (forthcoming)*

Ox Pull Along the River, Frogtown Artwork/CURRENT: LA Water Biennial, (commissioned one-night illuminated installation)
Cynthia Minet:Avian, Vita Art Center at the Bell Arts Factory, Ventura, CA *
Pack Dogs, installation for Gyre:The Plastic Ocean, Natalie and James Thompson Gallery, San Jose State University (Feb-April)

Ox Pull Revisited, Valley Performing Arts Center Gallery, California State University, Northridge *
Beast of Burden, USC Fisher Museum of Art, University of Souther California *

Pack Dogs, installation for Gyre: The Plastic Ocean (travelled)
David J. Sencer/CDC Museum, Atlanta, GA, (Jan-June)
USC Fisher Museum, Los Angeles, CA. (Sept-Nov)

Pack Dogs, installation for Gyre: The Plastic Ocean, Anchorage Museum, AK (curator: Julie Decker)
The Elephant, Gensler, Los Angeles (October-March)

Packing (caravan), solo installation, Los Angeles International Airport*
Funded by Los Angeles World Airports/ LA Department of Cultural Affairs

Cynthia Minet’s Unsustainable Creatures, Sculptures of Plastic and Light *
University of CA/ Riverside ARTSblock/Culver Center for the Arts, in conjunction with the City of Riverside Festival of Lights

Unsustainable Creatures III, 24-Hour Gallery, Pasadena, CA*
Unsustainable Creatures II, The Wedge, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA *

Unsustainable Creatures, PØST, (Kamikaze one-night exhibitions), Los Angeles, CA *

Hybrids, SolwayJones, Los Angeles, CA *

The Disappearing Frogs Project, Frank Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC
Entangled, The Animal Museum, Los Angeles, CA

In partnership with The Other Toy Story, Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, NC
Post-Waste, South Bay Contemporary, San Pedro, CA (curator: Tracey Weiss)
Dark Nights/LA LIVE, LA LIVE, Los Angeles, CA (one-night only), (curator: Melissa Richardson Banks)
Bird!Muzeuum, Los Angeles, CA  (curator: Mishelle Moross)

MAS Attack, Santa Monica Art Studios, (curator: Max Presneill and others)
Aqua Art Fair, with Coagula Curatorial, Miami, Fl (curator: Mat Gleason)
Luminosity, Pasadena ArtNight 2014, DayOne/LightBringer Project, Pasadena, CA
American Trash, EarthWE Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA (curator: Marina Debris)
Transcending Trash: The Art of Upcycling. Muzeo, Anahem, CA (curator: Matthew Leslie)
LA Luz, Gensler, Los Angeles (curator: Tess Logan)

Arranged Art, Hudson|Linc, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA (curator: Nick Lisica)

Escape from the Landfill, Huntington Beach Art Center, CA (3 person with Joyce Dallal and Olga Lah) (curator: Darlene DeAngelo)
Space Oddity, SCube Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

AIGA ReExtravaganza, (exhibited artist), Natural History Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Markers 8: Mapping 2011, ArtLife for the World, Venice, Italy (curator: Doron Polak)

Increments, installation/group show selected by GATE Projects, (Glendale Area Temporary Exhibition), Glendale, CA

Unleash the Beast, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (curators: Milo/McLean)
99cent Ontario, Los Angeles World Airports/Ontario Airport, Ontario, CA (curators: Barry Markowitz and Stu Rapaport)

Souvenir Art Venice 2009, Scala Mata, Collateral Event of the 53rd Biennale of Art, Venice, Italy, (organized by Doron Polak and the International Artists Museum, Israel )

Animal Magnetism, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA (curator: Mat Gleason)
Reaching Out, Studio Channel Islands Art Center, Camarillo, CA

W.O.P., The Brewery Project, Los Angeles, CA (curator John O’Brien)
HAUS/Guests, The Brewery Project, Los Angeles, CA (curator: Nena Amsler)
PillowTalk, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (curator: Merylyn McCorkle)

With Strings Attached, Ruby Green Art Center, Nashville, Tennessee (curator: Leslie Kneisel)
Labirinti, Biennale Di Arte Tessile Contemporanea III, Archaeological Museum of Amelia, Umbria, Italy (curator: John O’Brien)
From America, Museum of Contemporary Art, Minsk, Belarus (curator: Mela Marsh)

double take, the Brewery Project, Los Angeles, CA  (co-curators John O’Brien/Cynthia Minet)
Making Art, Atrium Lobby, Hall of Administration, County Government Center, Ventura, CA
Glass Sky, Celluloid Moon, Peggy Phelps Gallery, Claremont Graduate University, CA

Shelter/Miklat/Maljaa’  an international exchange exhibition: co-organized by Cynthia Minet and Jill D’Agnenica
The Brewery project, Los Angeles, CA (March)
Limbus Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel (November)
The New Gallery, Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem, Israel (October)

2+2, Gallery 2211_SolwayJones, Los Angeles, CA
OutAuction 2002, Butterfield’s, Los Angeles, CA
City of Angels/Gates of Hell, Advocate Gallery/Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, Los Angeles, CA

Mapping, Works/San Jose, CA  (curated by Jennifer Starkweather)
Spazi di Pace/Art for Peace, International Exchange Exhibition (co-organized by Cynthia Minet and Jill D’Agnenica , Ricki Puch and Secondo Sannipoli)
Coagula Projects/I-5 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Projective-Artists Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
Spazi di Pace/Art for Peace, Palazzo dei Consoli, Gubbio, Italy (2000)

Peace Fountain, Collaborative Public Art Piece with Jill D’Agnenica and Matthew Chase-Daniel, sponsored by the Gubbio Arts Council, Gubbio, Italy Psych 2000, POST, Los Angeles, CA
Apron Strings: Ties to Identity, El Camino Community College Art Gallery, Torrance, CA
Extreme, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
OK To Touch, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA

2014 Aqua Art Fair, with Coagula Curatorial booth, Miami, Fl (curator: Mat Gleason)
2004 Scope International, New York, SolwayJones booth, New York, NY
2002 The Stray Show, Raid Projects booth, Chicago, IL

Davis, Genie. “The Grand Opening of the Animal Museum”, Art and Cake, Jan. 5

DRAIN: A Journal of Contemporary Art and Culture , Junk Ocean (Vol:12:2)
Cynthia Minet: Oceans of Junk (art project) editors: Celina Jeffery and Ian Buchanan
Davis, Genie, “Post Waste at South Bay Contemporary: Nothing Wasted”, Art and Cake, September 21

Zellen, Jody. “Cynthia Minet at the USC Fisher Museum of Art, ARTILLERY MAGAZINE, November_2015 Reviews
MEMORY AND DREAM, 2015. The Album of the 6th Beijing International Art Biennale (catalog)Foreign Languages Press
Camli, Selim. “Beast of Burden at USC Fisher Museum”, Based/Istanbul, Sept, Vol.1
Cynthia Minet: Beast of Burden, Nela Art News (review, front page) 6 Sept
Powers, Summer. “Past, Present and Futuristic: 3 Recycling Artists in Los Angeles (Noah Purifoy, Marina DeBris, Cynthia Minet) The Culture Trip, Summer 2015
Campodonico, Christina, The Beauty of Awareness: Artists shape plastic ocean debris into visual messages, The Argonaut, Sept 16
Fallon, Clare. “Stunning Art Exhibition Captures the World of Plastic Trash, The Huffington Post, September
Stafford, Jeff. "Artists Sound the Environmental Alarm in "Gyre: The Plastic Ocean",, Feb l8
Willer-Allred, Michelle. "Of Bards and Beasts: Moorpark School Hosts Hybrid Art Event", Ventura County Star, Apr 16

Chang, Richard. "Museum Showcases Trash as Art”, OC Register, May 28
Discovery Channel Canada, feature on Daily Planet's Weird Planet (March 21, 2014)
Kehe, Jason. "Beautiful Glow-in-the-Dark Critters Born From Dumpster Diving", Wired Magazine (online) Feb 13
Martinez, Francisco. “Pack Dogs, Manada de Perros”, Catalogodiseno, (online), based in Santiago, Chile. Mar 5
Estes, Adam Clark. "These Glowing Dogs are Made From Rubbish Pulled From the Ocean", Gizmodo (UK), Feb 16
NOAA's Response and Restoration Blog, "Gyre: The Plastic Ocean exhibit puts ocean trash on display in Alaska", Feb 21
Dunham, Mike. "Museum exhibit explores pollution as art". Anchorage Daily News, January 31

Bingham, Lisa. "Taking Flight: Cynthia Minet on Art in Airports", FORM Magazine Web Extra, Dec 9
Jao, Carren. "Animal sculptures at LAX shed light on household trash", Los Angeles Times , July 27

Solis, Jaime. "Unsustainable Creatures", Inland Empire Weekly, December 27
Barton, Dave. "Excavating America's Future With 'Escape from the Landfill'", OC Weekly. August 2, 2012
Senn, Evan. "Escape from the Landfill, Cultural Sanctuary in Surf City", KCET Artbound, July 13, 2012

Daichendt, Gary James. “Creatures of the Night are Wildly Fun, and Political”, Pasadena Star News, Nov 22
Rosoff, Libby. “Seduction, revulsion in L.A.–Studio Visit with Cynthia Minet”. theARTblog, June 22
Celada, Luca. TG1 Focus: Mostre e Eventi, RAI Television, April 19

Maddox, David. ”With Strings Attached”, Ruby Green, Nashville, Numbers: 58, Winter 2007

Myers, Holly. “Hunger Meets Mere Consumption”, Los Angeles Times, April 22, E2

Panelist, Gyre:The Plastic Ocean, Natalie and James Thompson Gallery, San Jose State University, CA

Artist Selection for the 6th Beijing International Art Biennale, The National Museum, Beijing, China
Guest Lecturer, Eco Art Summer Course, Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Presenter, Bards and Beasts, (collaborative art and poetry), Walnut Canyon Elementary School, Moorpark, CA
Co-Organizer (with Erika Lizee) of panel discussion for the Year of Myth and Reality, Moorpark College, CA

Recipient of Pasadena ArtNight Minigrant, sponsored by LightBringer Project/DayOne, Pasadena, CA
Selected for Pre-Qualified Artist Pool, Metro Art, LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Organizer/Curator of Planet: An Ecological Symposium and Exhibition, Moorpark College, CA
Artist Lecture: Gyre: The Plastic Ocean, Anchorage Museum, AK

Panelist, in conversation with Peter Frank and "Space Oddity" artists, SCube Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Panelist, in conversation with Sue Carpenter, OC Register, and other artists in "Escape from the Landfill": Joyce Dallal and Olga Lah
Workshop facilitator, "Re-using Trash", with kids' summer camp at Huntington Beach Art Center in conjunction with "Escape from the Landfill", Huntington Beach Art Center, CA

Artist’s Residency, International Ceramic Research Center, Guldagergaard, Denmark
Master Artist for Ventura County Award, Focus on the Masters 2008, archive and lecture

Artist’s Residency, Stichting Kaus Australis, Rotterdam, Netherlands

2000-  present
Professor, Studio Art, Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA
Teaching Fellow, Foothill Consortium/Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico
Professor, Studio Art and Art History, Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, CA
Visiting Professor, Sculpture, Tyler School of Art/ Temple University Abroad, Rome, Italy

1987    MFA, San Francisco State University
1983    BA,   University of California, Santa Barbara
1981    Tyler School of Art/Temple University Abroad in Rome, Italy


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Posted in Family, fatherhood, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized

Words hurt!

“Words hurt daddy!” That quote is from the movie Hall Pass, and I’m sure it’s been used throughout many schools, and homes before that movie was ever made. It’s repeated a couple of times in the movie, and although it was funny at the time, the words could not be more true.

Growing up with a big sister was tough. Sibling rivalry was no different in our house than in any other household, I’m sure. It doesn’t really matter if you have a big sister, little sister, big brother, or little brother. In fact, I don’t think it really matters if you had a sibling at all. Riding the bus to school, sitting in classrooms, and playing at the local park allowed most of us to at some time experience sibling rivalry. Names were called, hits and pushes were handed out on the regular, and sometimes the occasional curse word slipped through our young mouths.

I still remember the name of the kid that taught me how to cuss. We were in fourth grade, and he had been held back a year. He sure was smart when it came to foul language, though. Jimmy Buckner was his name, and in a small way, I suppose I owe him a bit of gratitude for teaching me these oh-so-powerful words.

To be honest with you, I haven’t really heard my kids use foul language yet. I don’t really expect to…It’s just that I wouldn’t be that surprised. I refrain from using curse words in front of my older kids, but not so much in front of the younger ones. It’s not that I don’t think my younger ones can pick up on it (in fact, they’ll probably start repeating those bad words in the next week or two since I’m writing a blog about words). I’ve had my share of uh, awkward moments with the older girls when a song comes on the radio and they start to sing it (including curse words), but quickly silence their voices when that part comes on.

My topic of words hurting refers to name-calling more so than the curse words. I hate it. In fact I dislike using the word hate. I dislike calling people names no matter how old you are. Why, you ask? Well, to be perfectly honest, because words really can hurt!

Over the last couple of months, while getting on to my kids, they have figured out a way to get me to pause and stop yelling for a minute. They throw out just downright mean words to me. And I’m their DAD! I don’t appreciate when my kid all of a sudden calls me a “freak.” I don’t like being called a “jerk.” I could be alone in this, but I really don’t like when my kids use this ploy to disrupt their getting in trouble for something totally different. I honestly cannot stand when they “forget” they have younger, impressionable sisters in the vicinity and they yell at me to get away from them, while they call me a name, and run up the stairs.

It’s hard raising four little girls to be “good.” It’s even harder to expect myself to be able to stop all name-calling, all insults, and all hurtful words. I understand kids will be kids, and they are not perfect, and neither am I. I was watching the movie Grown Ups the other day, and one of the characters has married an older woman. He says he loves her because she just “gets it.” I know I’m only 31 years old, but sometimes I feel like I just get it too. When I hang around younger people (not just my kids), or when I hang out with older people who have no kids and no idea the daily struggles us parents go through, I struggle with my responses to their behavior, their actions, and their judgements of me and my family.

My wife and I are trying very hard to raise four girls and two of them are only here part-time. In the grand scheme of things, I hope for all four of them to be respectful of all other people (not just their elders). I want them to realize that they really should treat people how they would like to be treated. I hope they realize that what they say, and how they say it can either make a person feel really good on the inside, but it can hurt people just the same. I hope they have lots of friends and very few enemies.

In the meantime, while I am still growing up, I’m going to have to stop over-analyzing every little thing that is said in my house. I’m starting to realize that life goes on, even after an eight year-old calls me a jerk.

Hello. I'm a 37 year old installation specialist, former bartender, husband and proud father of five children (all of which are girls).

One thought on “Words hurt!

  1. Jimmy Buckner! Talk about a blast from the past.
    Back to the topic…I agree that words hurt. As adults we can (sometimes) choose to ignore stupid or hurtful comments, but it’s much harder as a child/kid/teenager.

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