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Asian, latino, Negro?

Posted by Tiffany A. On May - 6 - 2010

Apparently using Negro is still OK in the 21^st century.

The Census is using Negro as a category. Imagine going door to door and asking a black family, “Do you consider yourself asian, latino, white or negro?” Would a door slam suffice as a proper response to an outdated and offensive term? Perhaps a replacement of black or African American on the Census would be more productive.

Despite living in modern and progressive times with our first black president, I guess progress needs to include a team effort. Any sociologists or culturally and race-sensitive folks in the house?

I suppose even if these people aren’t around, there’s always common sense. According to a friend of mine who works in the census, “ I’m not going to use negro. I’m going to ask if you are black or African American and I’m sure other people will know better to do the same.”

Not too sure about that, especially since it appears are still confused about the differences between race, ethnicity and nationality. When people are still asking, “Why is latino considered an ethnicity?” a crinkled forehead might just be the only appropriate response one can muster without feeling a pitiful dread of America’s doom.

If this kind of ignorance continues to circulate, we shouldn’t be surprised when laws are made targeting certain groups.

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WHIRR WHIRR Helicopter Parents on the Loose!!: Moms quit jobs for their child’s college dreams – CNN.com

Posted by Ebony J. On April - 27 - 2010

"please let me live my life!" he thinks while they fly above...

Moms quit jobs for their child’s college dreams – CNN.com.

According to Wikipedia: “Helicopter parent is a colloquial, early 21st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her child’s or children’s experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. The term was originally coined by Foster W. Cline, M.D. and Jim Fay in their 1990 book Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility^[1], although Dr. Haim G. Ginott mentions a teen who complains, “Mother hovers over me like a helicopter…” on page 18 of the bestselling book Between Parent & Teenager published in 1969. Helicopter parents are so named because, like helicopters, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach, whether their children need them or not. In Scandinavia, this phenomenon is known as curling parenthood and describes parents who attempt to sweep all obstacles out of the paths of their children. It is also called “overparenting”.”

And if you want a prime example of this phenomenon, see the article above. Feeling lazy? Here you go: Moms quit jobs for their child’s college dreams – CNN.com.

In this article you can find the picture, perfect example what a helicopter parent is. Once again, I feel the need to apologize and insist that I am not being a hater…but this one was just too juicy to resist.

I mean really. Reading this article took me back to my high school days and I got chills going up and down my spine. Honestly, some students who go to high school these days are really just victims of ambitious-elitist-academia-by-proxy, due to their parents childish and ridiculous hold on their lives. Oh my the damage these helicopter parents do.

From a personal perspective, I have always had a really close relationship with my mother, she really helped me during my high school years to figure out the big bad world of college admissions…but quit her job to do it? Really? And quit her job to schedule my entire life around mind-numbing activities, so I can go to some for-profit disguised as a non-profit institution filled to the brim with helicopter parent products?

No thank you, I’m good.

In today’s society it seems like the culture of overbearingness is deemed normal. I just don’t see how putting such intense pressure on your children to attend SAT tutoring, tennis lessons, fencing lessons, and Oboe society sessions has to do with their well being. Most of the time they are just going along with it, running from appointment to appointment with their head spinning. Does anyone do anything anymore for the pleasure of it? Because it is their passion? College admissions and resume fodder is what drives the youth of today!

And unfortunately it does not seem to get better with age. Even in college I witnessed incidents of people doing things just to say they did it, and this is a habit that will no doubt follow these particular individuals for the rest of their lives.

I actually had a conversation today with two women about another form of helicopter parenting: the athlete version.

The women were mentioning how the swimming team in my area for 5-6 year olds were so competitive…that they make the children go swimming 4 o’clock in the morning. Every morning…..

WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON.

If you look at many of the most famous athletes, many of them had at least one helicopter parent…Venus and Serena, Tiger, Michael Phelps…all had helicopter parents that pushed them to the limit…

Yes it is the main reason they are where they are today, but at what price? Can you imagine 5 and 6 year olds forced to wake up 3:30 in the morning to go swimming? I don’t even want to think about it.

But I digress…basically Moms all over the country are abandoning their personal goals and dreams to dictate the academic moves of their children…

Would you quit your job to ensure the success of your child’s college admissions? And that be your primary goal? Would you let your child do what they want to do? When and where do we cross the line????

If you want some additional food for thought, and a great counterargument check out TIME’s article on helicopter parents:

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting

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Randomness of the day: “What would you do if you were a billionaire for five hours?”

Posted by Ebony J. On April - 2 - 2010

I would like to thank Suntrust for their generosity in this matter....

Oh dear.

Perhaps I should ask a Mr. Paul Fischer, who was a billionaire for exactly 5 hours…

long story short–you can find the long version of it here–Paul checked his account one day, and he had $88,888,888,888.88 billion dollars in his account.

$88,888,888,888.88 billion dollars

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Oh and it gets even more ridiculous…he had the nerve to ask the bank, if he could move the money to “an interest-bearing account until it was reclaimed and donate the interest to charity. Total interest: more than $7.3 million.”

Ha ha! They told him it was not possible…that’s pretty hilarious that he wanted to move around money to make interest on it…when it’s not even his….I know, I know, he wanted to donate it to charity…”The Mr. Paul Fischer foundation” no doubt…

Please excuse my cynicism but this is just so bizarre. Stories like these make you think….what mayhem would he have gotten into with all of that money?

What if he had quit his job (quite unreasonable) because he thought he made it big? Or went on some insane shopping spree??

What would you do with a billion dollars…for five hours???

Disclaimer: Probably nothing. Supposedly if you had spent even a dime, you would have had to pay it back/have the items repossessed! But at least you would have a great story to tell.

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JOBOCIDE: Fire Unhappy Employees? Womp womp.

Posted by Tiffany A. On March - 31 - 2010

I can't help looking sad. I'm a stick figure.

Debate of the day: Should bosses fire unhappy workers?

I stumbled upon a post in the New York Times called ‘The Secret to Having Happy Employees’ by ‘Your the Boss’ blogger and Chicago entrepreneur Jay Goltz. His solution was to fire unhappy employees to achieve a happier and, therefore, more productive workteam.

Besides my initial reaction of “Oh boy, another insane fanatic who doesn’t care about managerial accountability,” I found the reader’s comment more incredulous. Some zealously wrote, “Fire Away!” and were completely gung ho about getting rid of unhappy workers. One reader, who I assume has some kind of high position, said it gave her “hope” in future hiring processes.

If the world was run by people who just got rid of unhappy people, they are committing a big sin of JOBOCIDE, which is UNHAPPY WORKERS + GENOCIDE = WIPING OUT THE UNHAPPY. Depending on the day, that could be you. Or everybody. But thank goodness Aristotle’s lessons of reason still exists.

Readers that were a little more logical and constitutional, brought up the illegality of firing unhappy people and whether an unhappy employee is the reflection of the boss instead of the worker. And others said that firing unhappy employees only leaves you with fake people pretending to like you and the company, when in actuality they are operating in fear.

A counter article called ‘Fire Unhappy Employees? Wait a minute’ by John Hollen, writer for Chicago Business, spelled out all things wrong with firing people for unhappiness, my favorite being:

This reminds me of the Monty Python skit where all the people of the kingdom in The Happy Valley are happy because anyone that was unhappy was put to death under the Happiness Act. May all your employees be hung by the neck until they cheer up.”

How productive is this Macchiavellian approach to managing people? In this recession, I can imagine that a lot of people are unhappy at their jobs, are being poorly treated and taken advantage of because of the crisis and aren’t being recognized for their value. I mean, there are no laws to protect exempt employees, meaning executives, anyone dealing with business operations (kind of vague), and administration from working “reasonable” overtime (again, kind of vague).

Obsolete When All Are Employed WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Speak up for your rights!

Love,

Tiff

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Occupation: King

Posted by Ebony J. On March - 17 - 2010

Ms. Bartles counting money...

I had the chance to read The Washington Post Magazine this weekend, and boy oh boy was it a good read!

“These ridiculous men really have no idea who they’re dealing with..”

This weekend, the magazine featured an article “All The King’s Men” which is about a woman by the name of Peggielene Bartels…

Ms.Bartles came to America from Ghana’s Cape Coast, more or less 30 years ago. And she was working quite hard at The Embassy of Ghana as a Secretary…working hard for the money! She even lived close to where I live now…I may have bumped into her on the train for all I know…

Well, little did she know her time to be king was going to come! You see, Bartels Mother was the sister of the King of Otuam, a small, population 7,000 village in Ghana. And she knew this, so it wasent like, Anne Hathaway-the princess bride-kind of thing. She even used to visit Otuam, but she never, ever imagined that she would be considerd in line to be king one day.

Literally one day, the elders of the village called her and was like: “Your uncle, our king has died. We had 25 next of kin who maybe king, you included, and in a ceremony, YOU were chosen. You are now king of Otuam.”

Talk about a promotion.

I just can’t get over this article. Can you imagine going from being a secretary, which is very humble work, to being a king? A King?

And a female king no less? Fascinating stuff folks.

“Sometimes I think they wanted me to be king because I am a woman, and they think I will be weak, and I live far away, so I won’t be watching them most of the time…”

How wrong were they. According to The Washington Post Magazine, Bartles basically led her kingdom into a new era. She opened the first bank, investigated and began the process of fixing the rampant corruption among the elders in her court, and basically made everyone do their job. She practically brought martial law on their heads, but in a really good way.

If that is possible…anyway, she is depicted as very stern, justice seeking, but compassionate as well. She is my new hero…

I WANT A PROMOTION!

But I guess I need a job first huh??? Working on it….

Ebony J.

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Human-Flesh Search!

Posted by Tiffany A. On March - 4 - 2010

WHERE IS THAT CHEATER? I'll get him fired, that b********

The Chinese are now using the Internet as a means to search for Human Flesh. That is, if anyone in China posts something offensive on-line, mostly at anonymous on-line forums and readers are inflamed, they will track down your IP and try to defame you, get you fired from your job, expose your secrets and those involved, and harass you publicly.

One woman’s video showcased her stomping on a cat. The video inflamed many Internet viewers and the Human Flesh search began. Avid searchers tracked her down, circulated her video in an amateur investigation and eventually found her. Then, they informed her boss and got her fired and prevented her from ever getting an “iron rice bowl” job (the government positions that keep you monetarily secured until you die.) She ended up moving away.

The same Human Flesh revenge happened to another man, Wang, cheated on his wife causing her to commit suicide. Her sister published her suicide blog on-line, which detailed his wrongdoings and her sadness, which inflamed readers to track him down in the same manner.

Wang is still in hiding and was unwilling to meet me, but his lawyer, Zhang Yanfeng, told me not long ago: “The human-flesh search has unimaginable power. First it was a lot of phone calls every day. Then people painted red characters on his parents’ front door, which said things like, ‘You caused your wife’s suicide, so you should pay.’ ”

Wang and his mistress, Dong Fang, both worked for the multinational advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. Soon after Netizens revealed this, Saatchi & Saatchi issued a statement reporting that Wang Fei and Dong Fang had voluntarily resigned. Wang’s lawyer says Saatchi pushed the couple out. “All the media have the wrong report,” he says. “[Wang Fei] never quit. He told me that the company fired him.” (Representatives for Saatchi & Saatchi Beijing refused to comment.) Netizens were happy with this outcome but remained vigilant. One Mop user wrote, “To all employers: Never offer Wang Fei or Dong Fang jobs, otherwise Moppers will human-flesh-search you.”

WARNING TO ALL INTERNET USERS! BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUT OUT THERE … IF THIS IS HAPPENING IN CHINA, COULD THIS BE HAPPENING AT HOME?

Thoughts? Comments? Do you think that the Human Flesh is appropriate? Who has the right to punish? Does this reflect the power of the internet or moreso the Chinese culture in dictating how people live their life?

Is vigilante justice right? Batman did it and the populous seems to love him …. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

READ : Full Article here

Obsolete When All Are Employed

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WHEN NETWORKING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG

Posted by Ebony J. On February - 26 - 2010

Networking...right...

“How long has it been since you graduated?”

“Oh, since last May. I decided to return to the Washington DC area to look for a job.”

“Oh that sounds great! You are doing so well for yourself! You should consider applying to my last place of employment…by chance have you ever heard of THE WORLD BANK?”

“My goodness! Yes! You worked there!?!”

“Oh yeah! you would like it…this is what you do…go to www.worldbank.com…”

::Ebony rolls her eyes, then faints::

FIN

———————————————————————————————–

“So, College social night! In DC! At some random Pub in Northwest! Oh rapture!”

“Quite, quite. What have you been up to since graduating and coming back to the area?”

“Oh me? Well I have been looking for a job, trying to start my career”

“Oh yeah? What are you interested in? Would you be open to an internship? My job has great opportunities involving international development, ::alum reaches for business card, pulls it out::, global health and other fields…what’s your major?”

“Oh that sounds great! I would be open to that! My major was Art History..”

“What? really? Nevermind!”

Now imagine Ebony change the subject awkwardly, and then at the end of the night throw away the Alum’s business card behind the pub with the beer cans and the bums.

END SCENE

———————————————————————————-

Yield! Networking ahead...

The reason that I mention these specific incidents is more because they so absurd, and less because they were my most horrific networking moments.

Oh yes, it gets worse.

Am I the only one experiencing this? I can’t be. I refuse to be. Since graduating last year…my networking skills have all but died a fiery death in networking hell.

Between the people who make fun of my major, to the folks who tell me to go to an over saturated website, filled to the brim with resumes from thousands of people, my networking tales are the stuff of horror.

And why am I classifying them as such? Because! Networking should be able to get you somewhere…anywhere!

Not nowhere!

If you are having a conversation with someone at a networking function, and it leads to nowhere, it has gone wrong. And sometimes it goes horribly wrong.

I guess when I network with people, I am hoping to either offer something in return of something, or help the person reach their goal. Or gain some information for myself! This is what the game of networking is all about. But when someone tells you something you already know, how is that helpful? What are you supposed to do with that information?

Thanks, but: I already have been staring at the World Bank website, sent my resume and dream about working there: EVERY NIGHT

And Great, but: Just because I studied Art History does not mean its all I know or can do. I WENT TO A LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE. AN ACADEMIC BUFFET. I CAN DO ANYTHING! And I am planning to study International Development in grad school…so sod off!

I mean really. So many assumptions, superfluous information, and brains cells destroyed in all these ridiculous conversations I have with people at these so called networking events.

I don’t even try anymore. I do the light smile and wave. Which when translated means: “I am not remotely interested in explaining myself to you. If you say something stupid…ITS GOING DOWN.”

Maybe I am expecting too much from the random encounters, these backroom convos, these exchanges of nothing.

In Part 2 of this article, I am going to go into specifics of the fruit good and productive networking bears. Whew ::wipes forehead:: at least the bad part is over. Now the healing can begin…

Do you have any horrible networking stories? Share them in the comments! You can also email us at: questions@obsoletewhenallemployed.com

Ebony J.

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Promise me, no matter how bad the recession gets, you will not inject cooking oil into your face!

Posted by admin On December - 23 - 2009

Before and After

Yes, cooking oil. And 10 pounds of it. Don’t believe it?

Another Before & After

Apparently because of the recession, people who can’t afford professional botox and plastic surgery are resorting to home-made efforts.

‘Standing Fan’ otherwise known as Hang Mioku is an example of someone who failed to auto-plastic surgery herself at home.

Oh…and there’s more…

Yet another...Before & After

Too much…but there is a lesson to be learned….

She was not a victim of recession (more a plastic surgery addict…but perhaps the silicone became much too expensive after a while…who knows?) but this mom from Twin Cities is: