Monthly Archives: May 2009

28 May 2009

Book Review – The Green Teen: The Eco-Friendly Teen’s Guide to Saving the Planet

By Nicki

I remember being an “eco-friendly” teen when I was growing up.  My friends all thought I was crazy.  Now I am finding more and more teens realize that they need to take an active role in helping to ensure there is a planet for their later lives and their children’s and grandchildren’s lives.


the-green-teen

Jenn Savedge’s new release, The Green Teen:  The Eco-Friendly Teen’s Guide to Saving the Planet (New Society Publishers, ISBN 978-0-86571-649-0), not only explains to teens what they can do, it speaks in languages teens look to and understand.

Each chapter of the book is followed by web sites that teens can visit.  There are suggestions for nudging your parents to a more green life because, after all, what teen doesn’t like to know more than his or her parents.  There are also codes that can be text messaged so you can receive harmful chemicals and other environmental items on your mobile phone.  This is particularly helpful when you are at the grocery or other store and want to make a “green” purchase.

My favorite part of the book, and one that I am sure will appeal to teens and their parents, is the various interviews with teens who have made a difference.  These Green Teen profiles range from an Ohio teen who helped in the effort to keep local streams clean so clean water flows into Lake Erie to an Alaskan teen who built an electric car to a New York teen who organized a group to help raise money to put CFL’s in low income homes to help with energy costs to a teen who planted trees at his old elementary school.  There is also the profile of a teen who organized her high school’s first environmental club which went on to organize a Green Assembly for her school of 1900 students.  The final teen profile discusses a teen who took on a major international conglomerate by educating her classmates and her town.  While all of these profiles will inspire teens, there are many lesssons that can be learned by parents and other adults.

Savedge also includes a reading list at the end of the book which includes both classic environmental works like Sand County Almanac and Silent Spring as well as more current works such as An Inconvenient Truth.

I have a copy of this book to giveaway.  Please leave a comment and I will do a random drawing on June 12.

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27 May 2009

Parenting Long Distance

By Nicki

I know that most of my friends think parenting is something you do with young children.  By the time you send them off to college, the job is done.  Well, I have found out otherwise.  Actually, I always thought otherwise.

 

I have one child who goes to school at the University at Buffalo.  I love the school as does he.  Unfortunately, his health has suffered while there.  His first semester at UB, as a transfer student so not his first time living away from home, he ended up with bronchitis.  This was a minor inconvenience as it prevented him from playing club lacrosse.

 

Last year he spent the summer in Amherst.  He had an internship at a business in Niagara Falls.  The end of July he had appendicitis.  Thankfully, his twin was in Niagara Falls for the summer so she went with him to the hospital.  His appendix was out and he was in recovery before I made it to Millard Fillmore Suburban.

 

In November, upon giving blood, it was pointed out to him that his blood pressure was rather high.  His father has had high blood pressure since his teens.  Our local doctor took care of this over Thanksgiving and the end of the semester break.  He is now on medication for his blood pressure.

 

Yesterday, he IM’s me.  He has been running a fever, has a cough and runny nose.  He keeps telling me that there seem to be a lot of cases of swine flu in Erie County but I am not sure why.  I tell him to go to Health Services.  While he is not in class for the summer, he is still living on campus and doing an internship again.  I was not impressed with the quality of what he was told at Health Services.  This was the first time I ever questioned Health Services.  First, he was prescribed an antibiotic even though he was told he probably didn’t need it.  I asked multiply times if he told the doctor he saw that he was on medication for high blood pressure.  Yet, the doctor told him to get some “Advil Cold and Sinus.”  I asked him to please discuss this with the pharmacist as I did not think this particular type of medication was intended for those with high blood pressure.  

 

His fever continued, even with acetaminophen, to climb until it reached 103F last evening.  At that point, I told him to find a walk-in and to go there and see a second doctor.  I told him to take his blood pressure meds and the prescribed antibiotic with him.  The doctor told him that he didn’t need an antibiotic.  He didn’t have strep and didn’t seem to have the flu.  He was given an alternating dosage of acetaminophen and ibuprofen to take to reduce the fever.

 

Some parenting never ends!

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in Family, Just my Thoughts

27 May 2009

North Korea

By Nicki

I am finding that the one issue I wish people had paid more attention to during last year’s presidential election has come blasting to the forefront of foreign policy issues.  I also looked at the most recent missile test by North Korea as an ironic event as it took place as Americans were remembering and honoring those who had died in service to our country, including the over 54,000 American service men and women who died in the Korean War.

 

With a little over 27,000 American service personnel based on the Korean pennisula, the fact that North Korea is testing nuclear missiles is disturbing.  It is even more disturbing that today, May 27, 2009 – almost 56 years since the armistice was signed that ended the Korean War, North Korean officials announced that they were withdrawing from the armistice and the pennisula would again be at war.

 

My concerns are on multiple fronts.  I have grave concerns for who a nuclear-armed North Korea would sell such technology to and what they themselves might use it for.  I also have concerns for the Americans who are now in harms way on the pennisula.

 

My biggest concern is that this is happening in an administration that is not ready for such a foreign policy test.  While the Secretary of State has been in the public eye for many years, she has not had to deal with issues on the level that this test is going to require.  The President has no idea, in my humble opinion, of what to do.  Worse, I still look back to happenings prior to Bush taking office and fear that Al Qaeda will also test the Obama presidency soon (see postsYemen:  Ignored or Deja vu and  Yemen Again ).

 

I am concerned that in a State Department briefing the Secretary still feels that North Korea can be brought back into compliance with UN resolutions if there is a unified and strong voice against what they have just recently done.  I do not believe trying to negotiate with those who have been thumbing their noses at the rules of the game for several years – which ultimately is what sanctions and then talking with the regime in North Korea is – helps those 27,000 plus Americans who are living and serving on the Korean pennisula.  It also does not send a strong enough message to others who look to harm the United States and its citizenry that we will not allow that to happen.

 

The Obama administration has to realize that it is in over its head – collectively and individually.  There needs to be some time spent on North Korea and a definitive path of response designed.  This “punish and they will talk with us” attitude needs to reviewed.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Just my Thoughts, Politics

27 May 2009

Memorial Day Parade – Maine, NY

By Nicki

Every year the hamlet of Maine, in upstate New York, holds a Memorial Day parade that begins at Maine Memorial Elementary and ends the Maine Cemetery.  The parade is a little over a mile and a quarter and includes Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, fire departments and the Maine Community Band.  At the cemetery, there is a ceremony honoring those who have lost their lives protecting our freedoms in wars.  Below are pictures from the 2009 parade.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in Family, Just my Thoughts

27 May 2009

The Dollar Flip Flop

By Nicki

No, I am not talking about a political change of mind.  I am talking about those staples of summer that you see on almost every teen foot going – the flip flop.

flipflop

Last Saturday, Old Navy had a dollar flip flop sale.  There were a few perimeters – only five pairs per person, only solid colored flip flops.  I was ill prepared for what I faced when I showed up to meet my sister and our niece and nephew with my 22 year old daughter.  My daughter kept saying this was a big deal.  I kept saying what is the big deal about a dollar flip flop.

 

After having experienced the dollar flip flop sale at Old Navy, I can think of nothing to compare it to but Black Friday shopping.  I am not sure if I have ever stood in a line that wrapped through an entire store.  I spent an hour plus in a line for $5 worth of flip flops.

 

I will never again underestimate the draw of the dollar flip flop.

2 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Family, Just my Thoughts

20 May 2009

Attention! What do you freelancers do?

By Nicki

I have had fairly steady work through one or two different companies and publications over the past five years or so.  I love freelancing but with the economic downturn, it is getting harder to guarantee work or worse, guarantee payment.

 

So, all you freelancers out there, let me ask you a few questions.  Do you miss getting a weekly paycheck?  Maybe you never had one but I have in the past.  I have also worked on commission selling personal computers before everyone had one.  I know what having income on a regular basis is like.  I also know that I hate the “have to get up and get out of the house every day” routine that goes with “real” jobs.  Is the payoff of setting one’s own hours worth the lack of a weekly paycheck?

 

How much time each week do you freelancers spend finding new work, new clients?  This is a precarious balance as you need to produce income but you also have to look to the future.  This balancing act  may be the hardest part of being a freelancer.  I am constantly looking.  I do find, though, I get complacent when I think a client is going to work out for some period of time.  Do you pay yourself by constantly looking for new clients, new gigs?

 

Finally, how do you handle those clients who agree to one contract and then do not follow the contract in the end?  I have one client that I enjoy the work but it is an absolute hassle to get paid.  The agreement is work for one week is paid at the beginning of the following week.  That is great, even if the weekly pay may not be much as one week may not have much work to be done.  The problem is that the payment does not come as agreed upon usually.  Do you enjoy the collection aspect of working for yourself?  This particular aspect of being a freelancer is the one thing I hate.

 

So, all you freelancers out there, what do you do?

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in Just my Thoughts

13 May 2009

Spring Sun

By Nicki

In upstate NY, spring could mean a 10-15 inches of snow as much as beautiful sun and temperatures in the 70′s or 80′s.  I was reading outside in the sun after a recent spell of great, too close to summer-like weather.  I looked up and the clouds were beautiful.  Below, some pictures I took on several of these days.

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13 May 2009

Awards Time – BCC Foundation Student Awards

By Nicki

This time of year not only do April showers bring May flowers, they also bring May awards ceremonies.  June ceremonies, too, come with time and are more geared to the high school population.

program

So my first stop on the awards circuit was the BCC Foundation 2008-2009 Student Awards REcognition Reception.  The reception and awards ceremony started in the student center.  The initial awards given out were all-campus presentations.  After that, divisional awards were given out in separate areas of campus.

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As we headed to Titchner for the Business and Public Services Presentations, my daughter was talking about where she might be going to college next.  The final award of the night for this group was one for Hotel and Restaurant Management, presented by coordinator Rey Wojdat.  Two awards were given out, both monetary that will be included in the student’s financial aid package.  One award went to an “older” student, meaning one that has been in the program; the other to a newer student, most likely first year.  Neither is based on grades but more on involvement.  My daughter Susan received the award for the “older” student.  The award is the Cooperative Association of Food Enterprises Workers’ Compensation Trust Scholarship.

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11 May 2009

Book Review: 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea

By Nicki

I have had Suzy Welch’s new book, 10-10-10:  A Life-Transforming Idea (Scribner, ISBN 978-1-4165-9182-5), for a few weeks now and have been reading it diligently but knew that the review was going to get written today, whether I had my personal example for you all or not.  I wanted to truly try the 10-10-10 process before recommending the book to anyone.  I could see it working in any life decision, especially with the personal examples that Welch gives in the book, but wanted to be sure.

Book Jacket

Book Jacket

I immediately sympathized with Suzy Welch at the beginning of her book as she was trying to balance way too much work, way too much motherhood.  It is a position I think all mothers get in, with or without thinking.  We want to be sure that our children see what we value in life so we spread ourselves so thin that the next decision may literally push us over the edge.  Welch has a method for making decisions that should prevent us from that reaching that precipice.  The same process can be used in making business decisions and can be taught to our children to prevent them from making the mistakes – or learning life experiences, as I once called some of the mistakes – we made in finding our way.

In the decision making process that is the heart of 10-10-10, one should look at decisions through a multi-tiered lens.  How will life be ten minutes after the decision?  How about ten months?  How about ten years?  Now, as Welch says, these are arbitrary times but represent now, the close future and the distant future.  In some decisions, this may be 10 minutes, 10 days and 10 months which is the way I dealt with my decision.

I had been presented with a new client.  My gut instinct was that I could not do what the woman was looking for in a virtual assistant.  Then, I allowed myself to be talked away from my initial reaction.  I suggested to the potential client – who was really not looking to pay me my worth for the projects she was proposing – that I try a small project for her so we could both see if we were a fit.  Upon finishing the project with a few difficulties but nothing unsurmountable, I let the potential client know I was done.   In the course of two days, I had suddenly received eight emails from her.  I knew I needed to take a long look at what her product was and what her project was.

Should I take on this client? was the start of my 10-10-10 process.  Because I knew that the client would not last ten years, I processed through the lens of 10 minutes, 10 days and 10 months.  In ten minutes time, I would be fine.  Not much would change but in ten days time, I anticipated the expectations of myself and my new client would exceed the monetary value of the project.  In ten months time, I was sure I would be disgusted with myself for having taken on the client as I needed the monetary relief and I would not be working as well as I should due to my dislike of the project.  My decision was made.

I started working for myself to have control over my time and my life.  This project would not fit in my area of expertise nor in the time frame I am looking to work.  I may not have come to this conclusion without looking at the project through this lens.

I strongly recommend that you all think about purchasing Suzy Welch’s 10-10-10:  A Life-Transforming Idea.  If you click the book above you will be taken to Amazon.com and how to purchase the book.  If you want more info on Suzy or the idea, consider checking out Suzy’s YouTube channel or following her on Twitter.  The links are below.

Suzy Website

Suzy on Twitter

Suzy’s You Tube Channel

2 comments   |  tags: , | posted in Book Reviews, Family, Just my Thoughts

6 May 2009

Police Week

By Nicki

This week is Police Week in the Southern Tier of New York.  My father, prior to his death in March, was an active member of the Memorial Committee of the Southern Tier Law Enforcement Memorial Association.  Yesterday morning was their annual Memorial Breakfast to honor those comrades who had fallen in the line of duty.

 

Little did I realize when my step-mother called me to ask me to attend the breakfast that, in addition to honor those police officers who had died in the past year, my father would be receiving a posthumous award.  As the breakfast was held at The McKinley in Endicott, I did not even give it a second thought before saying I could attend.  This cause was important to my father, although at the time I did not realize how important, so it was important to me.  I took half a day off my work schedule for the week and got dressed for a breakfast.

 

I had the distinct privilege and honor of sitting with the parents of slain Broome County Sheriff’s Officer Kevin Tarsia and the daughter of Binghamton Police Officer William F. Holbert, Jr.  The Tarsias and I talked for quite some time prior to the breakfast and agenda starting.  We talked about children and their son Kevin.  We talked about my father and his reporting of Kevin’s death.  Tracy, Police Officer Holbert’s daughter, and I talked about her “addiction” to Diet Coke and my father’s same affliction.

 

Renee Rossi, widow of Port Dickinson Police Officer Aldo Rossi, spoke after the breakfast portion of the program was over.  She talked about meeting Aldo and how their lives evolved as he became a police officer.  She spoke of how she got through each day, sure that he would return home after his shift.  She also spoke at length of the community and support that is among the various departments in the area and how much that has meant to her since last July.

 

Two local businesses received awards for their support of law enforcement in the area.  Endwell Greens Golf Course received one for its support and as the location for the tenth annual golf tournament during Police  Week.  Oakdale Endodontics also received an award.  In this particular case, the business opened in the Southern Tier after being located in Syracuse.  The owners have, every year since, donated to the Southern Tier Law Enforcement Memorial Association.

 

I accepted, on my father’s behalf, an individual award for all that he had done as a reporter with the local newspaper for 43 years.  My father made sure that all the events of Police Week showed up in the paper each year.  He worked a police and fire beat, as well as being a volunteer firefighter, and knew that the public needs to know the sacrifice these public servants make each day.

1 comment   |  tags: , | posted in Just my Thoughts

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