m2h blogs by Marcia Hansen

I’m loving my work these days. I love that I can:
–be super productive and help move projects forward
–work with others and troubleshoot/resolve issues
–take initiative and be trusted to manage details
–work on visible projects
–work on social media and community building projects (more on this in the coming weeks)

At the same time, I have to confess that I’ve been a little nervous because the job that I have is a contract position. This is the first time in a long while that I’ve worked as a contractor. To be honest, some things I wish were different:
–there’s no guarantee that it will go permanent
–no paid holiday or vacation time
–no paid medical benefits

Although, because of these issues, there is also more opportunity for me to believe in the abundance of the Universe–the right and perfect job, home, colleagues, money, etc. always shows up at the right time. One of the other things that I’ve thought about doing is starting my own business, so perhaps working as a contractor is preparation for that kind of work some day. Who knows? I just have to believe.

I have to say, it just feels better to give up the fear-based thinking such as that above. And, why not, reach for the thoughts that feel better?!!

I was listening to Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention today in the car. He talked about Rule #6: Don’t take yourself so damn seriously!! He urged listeners to remember Rule #6 whenever they felt stressful thoughts coming on. (and, despite it’s number “6″, there are no other rules!) It’s easy to forget that stress is usually self-created.

I’m learning — Life and work don’t have to be stressful and drain my energy. I can choose differently and reach for the thoughts and opportunities that feel better (in every moment). Then, always choose again when that small voice inside urges me to do so.

It’s all good.

As the holidays approach, I hope everyone out there is doing well and reaching for the thoughts that feel better.

Sorry for the long time without writing. I’m still alive. My job is great. Life is good.

More to come (soon, I promise!)

So I figured out how to mark all feeds as read in netvibes (just click on the red number and a popup appears asking for confirmation to mark them). It was easy enough once I figured it out!

I’m really enjoying the netvibes interface. I’ve been a long-time Bloglines user and I use Google Reader for some feeds, but I think netvibes is especially good for monitoring feeds from traditional media outlets.

Other features that I enjoy are the tabs at the top where I’ve created different pages to monitor different topics such as seo, social media, online community management, as well as completely different topics such as news and feed on food and recipes and new books that are coming out.

Once you click to the specific page, then instead of a plus sign with a drop down menu, all of the various types of content can be arranged in a multi-column layout. If you try it out, you’ll see it’s a very visual layout.

I also like that I have the ability to add bookmarks, monitor pop-based email and add other nifty widgets. It reminds me of Pageflakes, but I like it much better.

If you’ve used netvibes or you decide to try it out, let me know what you think!

I stopped at the Apple Genius Bar today at lunch. Trev replaced my keyboard in short order (the letters were fading/off completely from some of the keys) and it was covered under the warranty. Can’t get much better than that!

My email situation is horrendous . I can’t access it at work and haven’t had time to check it in the evening. Maybe tonight. I’m thinking about getting a smartphone with a qwerty keyboard (I’ve tried texting on a regular keypad and it’s too much work!). I’d love to have an iPhone, but I just can’t justify spending the $$. I think a centro might be the cheapest option. I’ve fulfilled my contract and so I can switch plans, but it’s so time consuming trying to figure out the best phone and plan combo.

I’ve been trying out netvibes for RSS feeds. It’s quite nice. I like the ability of adding the different services/apps to the different pages, although it’s not quite as quick to mark all as read when time to read becomes scarce.

That’s all for now. Hope you’re all doing ok.

Dad went home from the hospital yesterday. What a relief!!!

I’ve noticed that at what could be the most stressful part of my commute home, when traffic is backed up for miles, and we’re all inching forward only a yard at a time every few minutes, there are sunflowers planted on the right hand side of the freeway.

Every night I look over at those sunflowers and smile.

Then, tonight on the way home, while I was “parked” next to the flowers, I found an oldies station (late 60’s and early 70’s) on the radio. I had a good time singing along (the car and the shower are my only venues) and trying to just make the best of it.

…just reaching for the positives, right?!

It’s Monday evening and I’m so tired. I’ve been getting up at 5:00 a.m. every day and Dad is in the hospital again. It’s just difficult right now. There are some things I really want to blog more about but random bullets will have to do.

• the air in hospitals is stale. It hits me when I first walk on the patients’ wing. I didn’t notice any obvious odors of death or human fluids, or even smells of toxic cleaning products. The air is just heavy and it’s hard for me to breathe for the first two hours I’m there.
• illness emphasizes certain personality traits and it’s really irrational to expect different behavior.
• Silly girl, pepper and Mrs. Dash are not welcome substitutes for SALT! Where’s the salt?!?
• They have new robotic technology to repair arteries near the heart, and they’ll be trying it out on Thursday.
• I’ve noticed that nurses are able to disagree with patients and never raise their voices–even when provoked. Amazing. I want to develop this ability.
• An orange triangle taped to a patient’s door means they are at risk of falling over if they try and walk unassisted.
• There is a dispenser filled with hand sanitizer by the door and every time a doctor, nurse, or aide exits the room, they get a squirt. I wonder if so much of it hurts their skin.
• Ladybugs can somehow travel up to the 4th floor.
• Patients blood work is digitally monitored and tracked down to the smallest detail.
• Patients are given a drug I can’t remember the name of because they’re at risk for blood clots from being in the hospital.
• All of this makes me think that I’d want an advocate with me at all times to monitor and approve all of the routine tests, pills and injections. Are all of them really necessary??

There’s more, but it’s time for me to sleep.

Well, the job situation is solved for the time being. I interviewed today for a web project manager position for a large national company in the Chicago area and she hired me on the spot! It’s a 3 month contract position with more possible. The job really sounds like it will be a good match for my skills and experience. I start tomorrow afternoon!

The downside is, it will be a LONG commute until I find a place to live that is closer in. I’ve been checking out the roommate wanted ads in the Northwest Suburbs on Craigslist. Some ads sound like ok situations and others sound sketchy. It worries me a little trying something like that, but it might be doable. Any readers out there who have done it? Things to watch out for?

Other than the fact that I don’t have a job yet (and that has more to do with my wanting a good match and not just any old job), things are good. I’m grateful for all the good flowing into my life.

+ I asked my online bank to send me deposit slips because I’ve used all of the ones at the back of the book of checks (and rather than order checks with a temporary address). When the deposit slips arrived, I discovered they also sent postage paid envelopes. How cool is that!

+ I ate lunch with family at Pizza Hut today. The caesar salad was empty at the buffet. They usually only make 1 a day, according to the waiter. But, he whispered (in a totally nice way): I’ll make one just for you.

+ I finally put a few things up on ebay last week and as soon as I did, I felt this incredible sense of relief. It must be good from a feng shui perspective! (BTW, I have one new item up this week. if you’re looking for an almost new laptop/book bag, see here for an eBags Firewall Laptop Case in Orange and Black.)

+ I got to pick out pumpkins with a two year old today. So much fun!

+ I didn’t get any complaints when I asked if we could go around the block again so I could take a picture of this great house with purple shutters, old stone masonry, and a beautiful garden.

I’m a winner! I was just notified via email today that I won the Mizzou IT Teaching with Technology Award in the GTA category. I am so happy! Plus we had another winner from the English Department in the undergraduate teaching category!

Now, the question: on what educational-related technology do I spend the $500? your thoughts?