01.21.10

Oh come on, you are not even trying!

Posted in Miscellaneous at 9:00 pm by PsychicDonut

Today I received this lovely scam in the mail. Hence, I am issuing another friendly reminder to NEVER click on links you receive in your email, unless you really know the source!!!

This one is very sad. The grammar and spelling is so atrocious that I can’t believe anyone in their right mind would click on this. I also like how I “really need digial goods, like a motorcycle!” *sigh* DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK!!!!!

Dear friend:
  Heya,happy new years. how are you doing recently ? I would like to introduce you a very good company which I knew.
  Their company homepage is www.crazy-digital.com.
  They can offer you all kinds of electronical products which you need, such as motorcycles, laptops, mobile phones, digial cameras, TV LCD ,x box, ps3, gps, MP3/4, etc. Please take some time to have a look at it, there must be something you ‘d like to purchase.
Hope you have a good mood in shopping from their company!
Regards

07.29.09

What NOT to Wear to Work!

Posted in Miscellaneous at 7:56 pm by PsychicDonut

Yesterday I saw this article on Yahoo’s homepage about what not to wear to the office, if you are a woman and want to get promoted. Again, the “Obvious Police” struck, telling us things that none of us knew…NOT!

Sometimes I am not sure if one should laugh about these tips and tricks or simply be insulted! Then I wonder why I don’t get paid to state the obvious. Ask any of my friends, apparently I am excellent at it :-D

So, here are the things one should NOT wear to work if one expects a promotion:

1.  Shirts with too much cleavage, also known as shirts where your boobs hang out
2.  Shirts or pants that reveal your bra line, pantie line, or are see through, so one can see the bra or pantie
3.  Mini skirts that are way too short, or for those who don’t get it, skirts that end right under your ass
4.  Beach attire, i.e. spaghetti strap tops and gladiator sandals, or worse, flip flops!
5.  Clothes that are too sexy, or club clothing, period

Who knew!? Who would have thought that one will not be taken serious, or let alone promoted when one shows up looking like a teenager or slut? I am desperately trying to find a better word than slut, alas, I can’t think of one.

Now, I can’t be a hypocrite here and have to seriously admit that I have been guilty of ignoring business attire rules most of life. No, I haven’t crossed the lines of showing off my bra, underwear, boobs or ass, even when I did have the body to do so, and no, I have definitely NEVER worn flip flops. As we know, I have a huge aversion to flip flops and Crocs. I also found that there are some other common rules that were missing from this list, so I am going to add them here for your convenience. Of course, these are my own:

1. I don’t see anything wrong with wearing open toed shoes, especially not in a casual environment. BUT, if you DO insist on wearing those, at least make sure you have nice looking feet. I do not want to see chipped off toe nail polish, or otherwise scary looking feet peaking at me from sandals or open toed shoes, period. As we know, I also have a strange aversion to feet, especially male feet. Which brings me to rule number 2.

2. Men NEVER get to wear sandals or flip flops to the office….EVER! Especially not when being paired with a button up shirt and slacks or designer jeans!

3. Crocs are forbidden for all, male or female. If I see you with garden clogs, I will either make fun of you, or beat you up.

4. Leggings are out! Leggings under miniskirts or shorts are also out, even if you do have a decent body.

5. Khakis or Dockers – unless you want a permanent douche bag stamp from me.

Look, I honestly don’t really care what people are wearing to work. I have always paid more attention to personality, intellect, capabilities, experience and character and I have never been dazzled by a fancy suit. However, I am also very, very aware that this is NOT how the vast majority of business executives are seeing things. I made the decision years ago that I would not sell out. Meaning, I would not wear things that were uncomfortable and a blatant violation of my being, just so I could get that title or promotion. It was a decision I made for myself and I sure as hell don’t expect others to make the same decision.

The truth is that looks DO matter! What we wear and how we present ourselves does have a fairly big impact on others and there are common rules even I don’t break. For me these rules are obvious, such as not flashing my body parts at work, or wearing things that are so flashy that they barely qualify for club clothing. I am also aware that my idea of cool is not necessarily an executive’s idea of cool. Yes, there are certain areas in which one can dress in creative, casual ways and one’s progress is not hindered. Gaming is one of them, Internet companies, such as Yahoo, another. But even within those worlds are rules, such as dressing the part when one meets with vendors/clients, or represents the company at a conference, meeting or otherwise.

Why these obvious ways of being, or ways to conduct oneself are not clear to everyone is beyond me. I find it sad that certain things need to be explained or said out loud. Apparently not everyone has common sense. But unfortunately how we appear leaves an impression. I am saying “unfortunately” because there are entire studies done on how “pretty” or “good-looking” people get further in life. On how a thin person is viewed as “more capable” than an overweight person. While I do NOT even remotely buy into crap like that, it is clear that those of us who do not look “conventional” will have to make a decision sooner or later about just how far we are willing to stay true to our “freakishness.” And if we choose to do it all the way, then we cannot be too shocked if we don’t end up at the director, VP, or senior VP level of a company.

The vast majority of corporate America is still ruled by the khaki sporting overlords. And fighting that won’t do you any good. But a bit of common sense and a bit of compromise DOES get you pretty far. If you ask me, it gets you far enough :-)

06.25.09

Gaming – Nerdness 101

Posted in Miscellaneous at 7:18 pm by PsychicDonut

I realized today that I haven’t played WoW in a good three months. I am probably kicked out of any guilds and can’t even remember how many characters I have on how many different realms. Apparently, my subscription also ran out on June 11th.

It seems as if gaming is something only a certain breed of people really gets into. I used to think it was people like me. I was the nerdish, definitely not so cool kid in school, I liked keeping to myself and I had a slightly addictive/OCD kinda personality. I could get into things that involved a lot of imagination for hours. I never played D&D, but come to think of it, I’d probably been awesome at it.

It used to be a dirty kind of secret to be a gamer. One would immediately get the stamp of “total loser” attached to it, unless one looks kind of cool, in which case you’d be elevated to “total geek.” I never really did care to be part of the cool crowd and I was very proud to be the only female in my Diablo II Hardcore guild. 

I am honestly amazed to see what gaming has become. The graphics on some of these games are absolutely stunning. The ability to get totally lost within another world, pretending to be some kind of hero or cool being, especially when life isn’t all that great in reality, makes it a perfect escape for some, and an awesome pastime for others. I have been both, the one who needed an escape and the one who liked to have a fun pastime that did not include driving (driving in Los Angeles IS a total nightmare), going to bars, clubs, or other “social” places (for reasons I don’t even care to get into) and leaving the comfort of my home. 

I wished more people would game, although I DO know how addictive it is for some. I HAVE lost with past men when it came to spending time with me, or spending time with the game of their choice. But there is something to be said about healthy, harmless running about, being someone else. Maybe what I am trying to say is that I wished that more of us would still have the ability to be a kid without hurting ourselves or others. 

I think I will still be playing some kind of game when I am old and gray!

06.18.09

Survey Says!

Posted in Miscellaneous at 2:51 pm by PsychicDonut

I’ve listened to the advice from my friends who live in, or near Hollywoood and sampled Trader Joe’s versus Pavilions. It turns out, even here in Hollywood Trader Joe’s is considerably cheaper! My beloved raw almonds, priced at $7.99 at Pavilions were $3.69 at Trader Joe’s. I compared numerous items, including potato chips, filet mignon, vegetables, milk and dairy products and found that Trader Joe’s was at times not only cheaper, but a mere half of what Pavilions charges for the same item, the same brand and the same size!

I have therefore made the decision to rather drive a few blocks further and spend half the money, versus shopping two blocks away and being ripped off. I guess location is not the only factor when one goes shopping for groceries. Store brands also play a huge role.

Apparently there is a Ralph’s not too far from here that is also very cheap, but I think for the time being I’ll stick with Trader Joe’s. I wished I could open my own business. If I only had a good business idea/plan, just to offer some decent prices for something, versus ripping off people in a messed up economy. Turns out, one CAN survive this shitty economy, as long as one does some research and puts some effort into finding cheaper solutions.