Most of you know that I started a new job about three weeks ago. One of my good friends is moving to Florida and therefore, leaving her position open. She had asked me back in June if I was interested and at first, I said no, thinking how happy I was at my then current job. Then I thought a little bit about it and realized that the best part about my current job was the people. The rest was just stress, stress, stress. So, I went back to her and said, "you know what? I am interested. Tell me all about it!" And over the course of two months, I turned in my resume, was called in for two separate interviews, and was offered the job of Accounting Manager for Park Tudor School. And no, I'm not going to be teaching any classes or taking over the former AM's job of Volleyball Coach. That would just be bad news for everyone!
I was ecstatic! Everything about the job seemed perfect with the exception of a longer drive. But, hey, it is mostly interstate and not at all bad. I broke the news to Heartland and gave a little over two weeks notice. My first day at PT was Monday, Sept. 12th. I was so excited and nervous at the same time--just like the first day of school. :) Everyone I met was awesome and I was settling in great at my first day. The only problem was that I had to tell the CFO of my pregnancy. Yep, I didn't say anything during the interview process as I didn't want that to sway the decision in any way. I knew I'd be perfect for it, pregnant or not. So, on my first day, I broke it to her that I was 14 weeks along. It went a little something like this (speaking very quickly)..."So, I'm not really sure how to say this, but this isn't how I wanted to start, but I'm 14 weeks pregnant." Whew! She was very understanding and understood that it was going to happening sooner or later, just a little sooner than expected. All in all, it was a good conversation. And it just so works out that part of my leave is expected to be over spring break, which is two weeks.
I've been there three weeks now and things are going very well! Not only are the people extremely fantastic, but I have almost two months learning the ropes from the person who has done the job the past couple years. It also helps that we are super good friends. Thanks so much Sarah! Without her help, easing into the job would not have been as smooth as it has been. Also, without her, I wouldn't have a had this opportunity in the first place. I owe it all to Sarah and can't say thank you enough!! I'm just going to be sad when she leaves :(
To all of you looking for jobs, I hope you're as lucky as I have been and have something fantastic fall in your lap!
Happy Job Hunting!
--Am
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
How To Twitter...or Is It Tweet?
Two months ago, I broke down and joined the Twitter using the name @AmberCharkov. Not even a week after that, I had jumped on the HootSuite. I was very apprehensive to join because I just didn't understand it and didn't think I needed another form of communication. I mean, I had Facebook. Wasn't that enough? I had no idea what I was missing out on!
One Allison Ackmann (@AllisonAckmann) (a friend and coworker) has been saying I needed to get on it. It started at subtle hints and ended with her going to get the entire office on Twitter if it was the last thing she'd do. So, one slow week at work, I took the last half hour of the day to get myself signed up on the Twitter. The first weekend I had Twitter, I was obsessed! I had to read every update that came across my screen. If I missed any, I would go back and read them to catch myself up. This was fairly easy, as I wasn't following many people. OCD much? YES! It's just like the blogs I follow. Right now, I follow enough that I could catch up on a week's worth of missed blogs during a Saturday. So, I become a little tentative to add many new blogs. I feel like if I don't see everything, I'm going to miss out on something. Geez, what did I do before I didn't join this blogging and tweeting world? However, with the twitter world, I've realized that I'm not going to be able see everything and that half the stuff out there isn't that important. I can let pieces of twitter information slide.
I did realize that it's a great way to communicate and to get your voice out there. You can post anything from what you ate for breakfast to an article on abortion. It can be as laid-back or as serious as you want it to be. I started by mostly replying to treats or re-tweeting (RT) what others wrote. This made it easier to get into the swing of things and took off some of the pressure. The hashtag (#) was something of a mystery to me, but it's really quite simple to use. You use it when you have a certain topic you're talking about or something you want to get across. A good example would be: Nothing will ever be as good as Veronica Mars. #KristenBell #VeronicaMars #ilovetv. See?! I also find you get more followers by following more people. It helps make connections and get your name out there.
I opted for the HootSuite because it was easier to re-tweet than using the original platform. I can't compare it to other platforms because I have no experience with them, but it works well for me. I like that I can see people who have mentioned me, re-tweeted me, sent me a message, and my tweets in addition to the tweets of my followers. I would definitely recommend it!
All in all it's a great tool for information and can be a good way to stay up-to-date. Of course, you should only follow those people that you want. And if someone turns out to be annoying (ie tweeting a shit-ton), then you unfollow them. It's impersonal enough that no one's feelings get hurt. However, here are some of my fave tweeters: @ClairBrsoman, @AllisonAckmann, @BellaTrella26, @NicoleWTHR, @David_Boreanaz, @RIPorSOL, @MS_Living, @threadless, @HeartlandTMP, @TheMommyologist, @TheChrisAngel, @WestCoastTacos
Don't forget to start following me--@AmberCharkov!
Happy Following!
--Am
One Allison Ackmann (@AllisonAckmann) (a friend and coworker) has been saying I needed to get on it. It started at subtle hints and ended with her going to get the entire office on Twitter if it was the last thing she'd do. So, one slow week at work, I took the last half hour of the day to get myself signed up on the Twitter. The first weekend I had Twitter, I was obsessed! I had to read every update that came across my screen. If I missed any, I would go back and read them to catch myself up. This was fairly easy, as I wasn't following many people. OCD much? YES! It's just like the blogs I follow. Right now, I follow enough that I could catch up on a week's worth of missed blogs during a Saturday. So, I become a little tentative to add many new blogs. I feel like if I don't see everything, I'm going to miss out on something. Geez, what did I do before I didn't join this blogging and tweeting world? However, with the twitter world, I've realized that I'm not going to be able see everything and that half the stuff out there isn't that important. I can let pieces of twitter information slide.
I did realize that it's a great way to communicate and to get your voice out there. You can post anything from what you ate for breakfast to an article on abortion. It can be as laid-back or as serious as you want it to be. I started by mostly replying to treats or re-tweeting (RT) what others wrote. This made it easier to get into the swing of things and took off some of the pressure. The hashtag (#) was something of a mystery to me, but it's really quite simple to use. You use it when you have a certain topic you're talking about or something you want to get across. A good example would be: Nothing will ever be as good as Veronica Mars. #KristenBell #VeronicaMars #ilovetv. See?! I also find you get more followers by following more people. It helps make connections and get your name out there.
I opted for the HootSuite because it was easier to re-tweet than using the original platform. I can't compare it to other platforms because I have no experience with them, but it works well for me. I like that I can see people who have mentioned me, re-tweeted me, sent me a message, and my tweets in addition to the tweets of my followers. I would definitely recommend it!
All in all it's a great tool for information and can be a good way to stay up-to-date. Of course, you should only follow those people that you want. And if someone turns out to be annoying (ie tweeting a shit-ton), then you unfollow them. It's impersonal enough that no one's feelings get hurt. However, here are some of my fave tweeters: @ClairBrsoman, @AllisonAckmann, @BellaTrella26, @NicoleWTHR, @David_Boreanaz, @RIPorSOL, @MS_Living, @threadless, @HeartlandTMP, @TheMommyologist, @TheChrisAngel, @WestCoastTacos
Don't forget to start following me--@AmberCharkov!
Happy Following!
--Am
Saturday, June 11, 2011
How To Etch Glass
A little over two months ago, I bought everything you would need to etch glass. It's not much really, just glass, contact paper, stencils, exact-o-knife, and Armor etching cream. All these materials sat upstairs until I finally decided what I could do with them. I originally got the idea from one of my sister's coworkers, Megan. She etched a beautiful name plate for my nephew and sent me the skinny on glass etching. Like most everything in my life, I got real excited and decided to hurry up and wait. So, here we are, two months later, and I found a reason to etch.
My fabulous friend and coworker (yes, I have friends at work!), Claire, is turning 30. To celebrate her birth, she's throwing a little shindig. I didn't want to show up empty handed and bringing only a bottle of wine felt like the easy way out. Good thing my bag of glass etching goodies contained two circle pieces of glass that would make perfect coasters!The stencils I had picked out would also fit her personality. Since she's very organic and earthy, I went with fern-like shapes. Now, it's time to get started. Here's what to do:
- Clean the glass with soap and water. Dry it with a clean cloth.
- Apply contact paper on the glass. Make sure there are no bubbles.
- Using your stencil, trace the design onto the covered glass.
- Take the exact-o-knife and cut around the tracing.
- Peel off the contact paper that was cut-out.
- Thickly apply Armor etching cream with a paint brush and wait five minutes.
- Wash off cream with water and peel off contact paper.
- Spray glass with glass cleaner and wipe clean. And there you go!
stenciled on
stencils
etching cream applied
the finished product
It's not the most fancy gift, but it was fun to make and very easy to do. I'm sure Claire will appreciate it!
Happy Etching!
--Am
--Am
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
How To Take Your Lunch To Work
As usual, I was running late this morning. I was going to workout, but decided to postpone it and sleep in. I can always workout tomorrow, right? I eventually got up an hour and fifteen minutes after the original alarm went off. Went through my usual getting ready routine and made it downstairs by 8:22. I need to leave by 8:35 to get to work on time. Sounds like plenty of time. Well, I still had to take the dogs out and pack my lunch. I started with the dogs. Daisie and Dodgy were good, but Diego was poop-hunting (courtesy of the neighborhood rabbit). It was hard to keep him focused on the task of taking a poo. I was outside with him until 8:33. Pain in my neck! So, I have two minutes to grab breakfast, brew some coffee, and make my lunch.
I recently attended a class that gave guidelines on how to eat better and prepare your body for the "future." In preparation for this, we had stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies. With that, I knew I wanted to have a fancy salad! Oh the wonderful, colorful ingredients that are to be included. We have green peppers, tomatoes, mini cucumbers, avocados, spring lettuce mix, chick peas, and sunflower seeds. As you can see, many of those items need chopped and diced. That would take forever! With time on my mind, I grabbed one pepper, six tomatoes (the size of cherry tomatoes, but not cherry tomatoes), one cucumber, an avocado, the boxed lettuce, a can of chick peas, and the full can of dry roasted sunflower seeds. I throw in a knife, baggie, cutting board, empty tuperware, and bowl. Let's not forget some dressing! I make my own using olive oil, red wine vinegar, and greek seasoning, then throw it in the bag. Since I had prepared to make my lunch at the office, I thought I could spare a few minutes to cut up some fruit (which I didn't even eat). Honey dew was sliced and combined with raspberries and blueberries. It will make for a good snack. And so will the flax seed crackers, nutella (for my almonds already at the office), greek yogurt, which made their way into the bag o' food. Yep, I took the whole pantry and fridge to work today!
With my decaf and banana in hand, I put the dogs in their cages and headed towards work. By now it's 8:49 and I'm definitely going to be late. Oh, it was worth a try. After I snacked most of the morning, I was finally ready to eat at 12:27. I trekked downstairs and started dicing. Mind you, I didn't want to bring a fancy knife with me, so I grabbed a steak knife. Not the best idea I've ever had, but it did the trick. :) All the extras went into the tuperware (pepper, tomatoes, cucumber) and baggie (half the avocado). The remaining chick peas will be mixed up tomorrow with the leftovers (sans the lettuce), and it will be tasty! Everything was thrown in the bowl and sprinkled with chick peas and sunflower seeds. Once back upstairs, I'm ready to eat my fabulous salad. Doesn't it look delish?
I recently attended a class that gave guidelines on how to eat better and prepare your body for the "future." In preparation for this, we had stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies. With that, I knew I wanted to have a fancy salad! Oh the wonderful, colorful ingredients that are to be included. We have green peppers, tomatoes, mini cucumbers, avocados, spring lettuce mix, chick peas, and sunflower seeds. As you can see, many of those items need chopped and diced. That would take forever! With time on my mind, I grabbed one pepper, six tomatoes (the size of cherry tomatoes, but not cherry tomatoes), one cucumber, an avocado, the boxed lettuce, a can of chick peas, and the full can of dry roasted sunflower seeds. I throw in a knife, baggie, cutting board, empty tuperware, and bowl. Let's not forget some dressing! I make my own using olive oil, red wine vinegar, and greek seasoning, then throw it in the bag. Since I had prepared to make my lunch at the office, I thought I could spare a few minutes to cut up some fruit (which I didn't even eat). Honey dew was sliced and combined with raspberries and blueberries. It will make for a good snack. And so will the flax seed crackers, nutella (for my almonds already at the office), greek yogurt, which made their way into the bag o' food. Yep, I took the whole pantry and fridge to work today!
With my decaf and banana in hand, I put the dogs in their cages and headed towards work. By now it's 8:49 and I'm definitely going to be late. Oh, it was worth a try. After I snacked most of the morning, I was finally ready to eat at 12:27. I trekked downstairs and started dicing. Mind you, I didn't want to bring a fancy knife with me, so I grabbed a steak knife. Not the best idea I've ever had, but it did the trick. :) All the extras went into the tuperware (pepper, tomatoes, cucumber) and baggie (half the avocado). The remaining chick peas will be mixed up tomorrow with the leftovers (sans the lettuce), and it will be tasty! Everything was thrown in the bowl and sprinkled with chick peas and sunflower seeds. Once back upstairs, I'm ready to eat my fabulous salad. Doesn't it look delish?
thank you to Allison Ackmann for the picture!
I poured on the dressing and devoured it! There's nothing like fresh produce, and I'm a true believer that avocado makes anything taste better. Delicious! Good thing I did all the chopping today, so tomorrow it will be easy.
Happy Salad Making!
--Am
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
How To Use Skype
If someone could teach me (and some of my cohorts) how to appropriately use Skype, it would be much appreciated. We just spent fifteen minutes trying to get four of us to conference in. Since Adam didn't have a mic, he was going to join via chat, while the remaining three (Ray, Kristi, me) would talk.
Here's how it went: Adam could hear me (and Alex having a discussion about taxes), but I couldn't hear him (no mic as mentioned above). Adam could hear Ray. Kristi was having mic problems and Adam was the only one that could hear her at one point. Great! This skype thing is really working for us...NOT!
Ray had to restart his computer a couple of times. Kristi was a little late in joining, while I was way early. It was probably about 5 minutes into when the call should have started that it was actually started. Since nothing was really working, I started playing around with my settings and thought maybe I needed external speakers. Alex to the rescue! He had a headset that consisted of earphones and a microphone, so I looked like a telemarketer or phone-in customer service rep. Very stylish! But hey, it worked. With this in, I could hear Ray. A small step for some new Skypers.
the headset (please don't mind my make-up-less face)
Since Ray and I could now chat, Adam would call me and I would put him on speaker and Kristi would call Ray and put her on speaker. BAD IDEA! There was lots of echos, similar to when you stand between two mirrors and it looks like you go on forever. It was like that only with sound. Does that make sense? After 30 seconds of that and realizing it was not going to work, we decided to scrap using skype and just meet first thing tomorrow morning. Whew!
Although it didn't work out, Ray and I were able to video chat with each other after it ended and he got to see little Diego. I hope that made his day!
Happy Skyping!
--Am
Sunday, January 9, 2011
How To "BE"
I must apologize to all of you because this is an extremely long blog, but I didn't want to leave anything out. Some of you may know that I have been at a life coaching seminar for the past five days. Before I say anything else, I will tell you that I did this at the request of my boss. It was explained to us by this coach that the training was of a leadership nature. Leadership? Ok, that can't be too bad. I was a bit apprehensive when it was first mentioned, but thought I would try to make it a positive experience.
It occurred at a location on the northside of Indy. Meeting times were as follows: Wednesday 6pm to midnight; Thursday 6pm to 11:45pm; Friday 6pm to 12:40am; Saturday 10am to 8:25pm; and Sunday 10am to 5pm. That alone makes it enticing, right? I can barely stay up later than ten, so it's going to be a challenge at that. In addition, we had to sign a waiver prior to starting the class. Basically, if you are pregnant or have physical limitations, then you shouldn't take this class.
On our first night, I'm driving up and thinking that if there are only 15 to 20 people, I'll be ok. Oh no, there were more than 70 people at this training. Are you kidding me? I was a nervous wreck. I'm not a fan of big groups, and I hate talking in front of people, especially people I've never met. We sign our waiver and get to gettin'. We start with the ground rules: 1)Be on time; honor your word. 2)It is encouraged to talk about your experience (to gain more "followers"), but you cannot talk about other's experiences. Makes sense, since it's all confidential. 3) And a whole bunch of other stuff I don't remember. It all doesn't seem to bad, we start with a lecture and do some trust exercises. The main goal of the evening is to learn about core values and trust and how you can bring it to every relationship. Ok, I'm not sure I agree, but I'll play along. We also create small groups (with a coaching leader), which can't contain anyone you know. I really feel comfortable in my group and able to talk to people. I would love to tell you about the rest of my group, but I can't (confidentiality). They are awesome in their own ways! After group, we get our homework and set up a time to call our leader the next morning.
Second night we talk about being the cause vs the effect and being a victim. We discussed the difference between having to do something vs wanting to do something. It's all about perception and the opportunity that's created by looking differently at a situation. Oh yeah, all situations/events are neutral. We bring our own feelings and focus our thoughts on the situation, meaning we can determine if the experience it to be positive or negative. We talked about playing the victim, and it's really forced me to look at how I tell stories and why I tell them. Do I tell them to get a response (payoff) or do I tell them with the straight facts and don't try to get someone to feel sorry me? Some food for thought. Again, this is more stuff I can apply to work and my personal life. I gather more homework and have another call.
Now it's Friday. Oh what was Friday again? I remember doing an exercise where we had to get from point A to point B in a different manner than anyone before us. Don't remember what that was supposed to teach us, but it was fun. Loved looking for different ways to get from A to B! Oh, I think we may have also talked about intentions this day. Don't get me started on intentions. Apparently your results are what you intended. I don't agree, but there were a lot of people that jumped right on it. Later in the evening, we split into 2 teams and played this game called "Through the Looking Glass." It was frustrating. I found myself giving up pretty easily when my thoughts weren't being heard. Oh, but what does that tell me about myself. I don't care!! Since no one figured this game out the first time, we played it a second time. This took us to later than midnight (approximate end time). And after a discussion on what it meant if you were playing to win or playing not to lose, we were forced to listen to two random songs. Our homework was to sit in silence back home and reflect on something or rather. Are you kidding me? I need to sleep! So, I slept.
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. Talk about the day of visualizations. Now that I think about it, there was one on Friday about walking in a field and tearing off armor. Yeah, I thought of the movie Gladiator, my parent's cabin, and this game I played on the computer once. I didn't think about tearing off armor. But Saturday was worse! We had to find a partner (I cheated and worked with someone I knew). We had to yell, "What matters?" at the other person while they yelled back what mattered to them. This went on for way more than it should have. It felt like it lasted 45 minutes. We reversed roles. While all this was going on, the coaches were walking around yelling, "What matters?" so LOUD…talk about obnoxious. This was supposed to get down to the core of what mattered to us. Yeah, good luck with that. Yelling just makes me shut down. We switched partners (again I cheated and worked with someone I knew). In this exercise, we had to pretend to talk to our parents, then pretend to be our parents and talk to ourselves, then be ourselves and ask for forgiveness. Oh, that's a lot of role play that I was not signed up for. Now, I love my parents and have forgiven them for things that might have happened in the past (long ago or recent). I don't feel they didn't love me or anything for which I would need to make them aware. This was awful.
Additionally, we had a visualization that we were looking at film (past memories) and discarding those. Then, we were on a sailboat that somebody else was supposed to be driving. This somebody was supposed to be the one that had power over you. And who was that person for me? It was me! I'm assuming that to mean that no one has control over me and that I am in control of my life. We also sat one on one with someone and picked a story to retell to that person and ask for forgiveness to the person that we were angry/upset with. I didn't cheat in this one because we could meet with someone that knew us. I did, however, cheat by using a situation for which I had already forgiven myself. I couldn't think of another one. We had lunch with our small groups. That lasted for about two hours. This was a great lunch because I hadn't eaten a real meal in about four days. (I only ate breakfast and one other meal for each day we were in this training.) After lunch, we had to tell people what we thought was unattractive about them, and not by their looks but by what we've experienced with them. When you only talk to people you know, it's difficult to tell someone you don't know something unattractive (or attractive) about their soul. We also got to tell people what was attractive about them (agin via experiences and not looks). Then it was on to the hugging. Lots and lots of hugging…big people, small people. I didn't mind it (even though I was slightly caressed by an extremely large man). I did mind that my neck was about to break or my calf muscles cramp up for too much time on my tippy toes. There are lots of tall people in this world…and by tall I mean 5'8 or taller. :)
Sunday was our marketing day. It started with a bunch of people sharing and then with the push to get everyone to sign up for the second level and to have their friends sign up for the first level. Most everyone was eating this up. I felt like I didn't belong in this group. I wasn't ready to drink the kool-aid like so many others. I felt betrayed, duped, exhausted, and ready to be done. Oh but wait, there's one more exercise. We had to get in a group (this time it actually had to be with people you didn't know) and tell them about your vision (which is the ultimate goal). We also had to assign three of the members a limitation to this vision and choose one as a coach. I must say that I got to be a coach twice (I'm that awesome or that good at giving advice). The limitations were yelling at you and you had to yell back at them how you were going to overcome that limitation. That exercise was somewhat fun. At the very end was the celebration, where you friends and family could come and congratulate you (if it was a big deal to you).
I don't want to make it sound like this is not a good thing or a something that someone could get something out of, because there were people getting things from it. However, it's not something I felt I was ready for. Much like a person with an addiction has to want to be helped to actually be helped, you have to want to BE there and experience it whole-heartedly to get a life-altering change out of it. If you'd like to join an expensive cult (thanks Tim) or a pyramid scheme (thanks Regs), then this is for you! If not, keep on truckin'!
Happy BEing who you are and loving it!
--Am
It occurred at a location on the northside of Indy. Meeting times were as follows: Wednesday 6pm to midnight; Thursday 6pm to 11:45pm; Friday 6pm to 12:40am; Saturday 10am to 8:25pm; and Sunday 10am to 5pm. That alone makes it enticing, right? I can barely stay up later than ten, so it's going to be a challenge at that. In addition, we had to sign a waiver prior to starting the class. Basically, if you are pregnant or have physical limitations, then you shouldn't take this class.
On our first night, I'm driving up and thinking that if there are only 15 to 20 people, I'll be ok. Oh no, there were more than 70 people at this training. Are you kidding me? I was a nervous wreck. I'm not a fan of big groups, and I hate talking in front of people, especially people I've never met. We sign our waiver and get to gettin'. We start with the ground rules: 1)Be on time; honor your word. 2)It is encouraged to talk about your experience (to gain more "followers"), but you cannot talk about other's experiences. Makes sense, since it's all confidential. 3) And a whole bunch of other stuff I don't remember. It all doesn't seem to bad, we start with a lecture and do some trust exercises. The main goal of the evening is to learn about core values and trust and how you can bring it to every relationship. Ok, I'm not sure I agree, but I'll play along. We also create small groups (with a coaching leader), which can't contain anyone you know. I really feel comfortable in my group and able to talk to people. I would love to tell you about the rest of my group, but I can't (confidentiality). They are awesome in their own ways! After group, we get our homework and set up a time to call our leader the next morning.
Second night we talk about being the cause vs the effect and being a victim. We discussed the difference between having to do something vs wanting to do something. It's all about perception and the opportunity that's created by looking differently at a situation. Oh yeah, all situations/events are neutral. We bring our own feelings and focus our thoughts on the situation, meaning we can determine if the experience it to be positive or negative. We talked about playing the victim, and it's really forced me to look at how I tell stories and why I tell them. Do I tell them to get a response (payoff) or do I tell them with the straight facts and don't try to get someone to feel sorry me? Some food for thought. Again, this is more stuff I can apply to work and my personal life. I gather more homework and have another call.
Now it's Friday. Oh what was Friday again? I remember doing an exercise where we had to get from point A to point B in a different manner than anyone before us. Don't remember what that was supposed to teach us, but it was fun. Loved looking for different ways to get from A to B! Oh, I think we may have also talked about intentions this day. Don't get me started on intentions. Apparently your results are what you intended. I don't agree, but there were a lot of people that jumped right on it. Later in the evening, we split into 2 teams and played this game called "Through the Looking Glass." It was frustrating. I found myself giving up pretty easily when my thoughts weren't being heard. Oh, but what does that tell me about myself. I don't care!! Since no one figured this game out the first time, we played it a second time. This took us to later than midnight (approximate end time). And after a discussion on what it meant if you were playing to win or playing not to lose, we were forced to listen to two random songs. Our homework was to sit in silence back home and reflect on something or rather. Are you kidding me? I need to sleep! So, I slept.
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. Talk about the day of visualizations. Now that I think about it, there was one on Friday about walking in a field and tearing off armor. Yeah, I thought of the movie Gladiator, my parent's cabin, and this game I played on the computer once. I didn't think about tearing off armor. But Saturday was worse! We had to find a partner (I cheated and worked with someone I knew). We had to yell, "What matters?" at the other person while they yelled back what mattered to them. This went on for way more than it should have. It felt like it lasted 45 minutes. We reversed roles. While all this was going on, the coaches were walking around yelling, "What matters?" so LOUD…talk about obnoxious. This was supposed to get down to the core of what mattered to us. Yeah, good luck with that. Yelling just makes me shut down. We switched partners (again I cheated and worked with someone I knew). In this exercise, we had to pretend to talk to our parents, then pretend to be our parents and talk to ourselves, then be ourselves and ask for forgiveness. Oh, that's a lot of role play that I was not signed up for. Now, I love my parents and have forgiven them for things that might have happened in the past (long ago or recent). I don't feel they didn't love me or anything for which I would need to make them aware. This was awful.
Additionally, we had a visualization that we were looking at film (past memories) and discarding those. Then, we were on a sailboat that somebody else was supposed to be driving. This somebody was supposed to be the one that had power over you. And who was that person for me? It was me! I'm assuming that to mean that no one has control over me and that I am in control of my life. We also sat one on one with someone and picked a story to retell to that person and ask for forgiveness to the person that we were angry/upset with. I didn't cheat in this one because we could meet with someone that knew us. I did, however, cheat by using a situation for which I had already forgiven myself. I couldn't think of another one. We had lunch with our small groups. That lasted for about two hours. This was a great lunch because I hadn't eaten a real meal in about four days. (I only ate breakfast and one other meal for each day we were in this training.) After lunch, we had to tell people what we thought was unattractive about them, and not by their looks but by what we've experienced with them. When you only talk to people you know, it's difficult to tell someone you don't know something unattractive (or attractive) about their soul. We also got to tell people what was attractive about them (agin via experiences and not looks). Then it was on to the hugging. Lots and lots of hugging…big people, small people. I didn't mind it (even though I was slightly caressed by an extremely large man). I did mind that my neck was about to break or my calf muscles cramp up for too much time on my tippy toes. There are lots of tall people in this world…and by tall I mean 5'8 or taller. :)
Sunday was our marketing day. It started with a bunch of people sharing and then with the push to get everyone to sign up for the second level and to have their friends sign up for the first level. Most everyone was eating this up. I felt like I didn't belong in this group. I wasn't ready to drink the kool-aid like so many others. I felt betrayed, duped, exhausted, and ready to be done. Oh but wait, there's one more exercise. We had to get in a group (this time it actually had to be with people you didn't know) and tell them about your vision (which is the ultimate goal). We also had to assign three of the members a limitation to this vision and choose one as a coach. I must say that I got to be a coach twice (I'm that awesome or that good at giving advice). The limitations were yelling at you and you had to yell back at them how you were going to overcome that limitation. That exercise was somewhat fun. At the very end was the celebration, where you friends and family could come and congratulate you (if it was a big deal to you).
I don't want to make it sound like this is not a good thing or a something that someone could get something out of, because there were people getting things from it. However, it's not something I felt I was ready for. Much like a person with an addiction has to want to be helped to actually be helped, you have to want to BE there and experience it whole-heartedly to get a life-altering change out of it. If you'd like to join an expensive cult (thanks Tim) or a pyramid scheme (thanks Regs), then this is for you! If not, keep on truckin'!
Happy BEing who you are and loving it!
--Am
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