tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90108642209149669092024-03-19T02:09:01.306-07:00Baby Boomer MeTomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06721554116258281934noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010864220914966909.post-9131992840048379412012-07-25T11:59:00.000-07:002012-08-08T21:07:11.408-07:00I'm Too Fat to get Hired<br />
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It is not illegal to discriminate against someone who is
fat; unfair maybe, but not against the law.
It happens all the time.</div>
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Put yourself in an employer's place. Two candidates interview for a job and they are equal in
every qualification except one candidate is fifty pounds overweight. The choice is clear for the employer. Forget all the stigma attached to overweight
people, an employer is probably looking at long term health problems and a loss
in productivity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, what do you do if you are overweight? Give up?</div>
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<br /></div>
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You must realize that every job candidate has their good
points and their bad points. If you are
like me and have a face that only a mother could love, then you better be great
in other areas because you have one strike against you to start with.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, what are these other areas?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Are you dressed well?
First impressions rule and an expensive well fitting outfit can help a
lot with how you are initially perceived.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Do you have the right qualifications? If not, then how do you develop these
qualifications? Maybe you need to enroll
in a course or seminar to bolster your resume in a specific area or maybe you
can do some self study?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Is your resume and cover letter perfect? I actually see candidates with resumes that
have misspelled words. I should say that I see the resumes, not the
candidates. If you are not great at
English, get some help.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Do you speak well and will that show up in your
interview? Speaking well is only a matter of
practice. Have someone ask you interview
questions every night. If you really
want to get better, join a speaking organization like Toastmasters
International.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Are you overweight?
Don't despair - there is a job out there for you!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Make sure your other areas are top notch. Start eating healthier. You would be surprised at how a 5-10 pound
loss will take that puffiness from your face and make you look and feel better.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Professor Tom Laurie</div>
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author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conquer-Losing-Attitude-Hunters-Step-/dp/0983302510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&qid=1312407105&sr=1-1">Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters </a></div>
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and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LOSING-ATTITUDE-Dieters-Supercharge-Healthier/dp/0983302502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&linkCode=as2&s=books&qid=1297515167&sr=8-1-catcorr">The Losing Attitude for Dieters</a></div>
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<br /></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06721554116258281934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010864220914966909.post-6518936112947855842012-07-02T18:04:00.000-07:002012-07-31T09:59:00.485-07:00Kicking and Screaming into Old Age<br />
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In "Terms of Endearment" Shirley MacLaine
mentioned to her daughter something about being middle-aged. Debra Winger then said, "Mother, you're
not middle-aged. How many 120 year women
do you see walking around?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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At age thirty, I thought that was really funny; as I
approach sixty, not so much!</div>
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Maybe I'm a young 59er?
I am a college professor and I'm surrounded by nineteen and twenty
year-olds. I consider grads of 4 years
ago as colleagues; ripe old age of 24 or 25.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, you can imagine how hard it is for me to get old!</div>
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This past weekend my wife and I and some friends went on
weekend getaway to a hundred year-old resort in the middle of Maine. I should have realized something was wrong as
I was slugging my suitcase and a couple of other bags up the stairs to my room when
I looked up and saw a little old man grabbing the hand rail for life on the
other side of the stairs. He literally
had fear in his eyes that I might knock him down!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Later on the first night, my wife and I went to the main
house to see what the nightly music was like.
I must admit, I was thinking Jennifer Grey in "Dirty
Dancing". When we entered the room
I heard my wife gasp. Every member of
the band was ten to twenty years older than we were. All the couples on the dance floor were older
than the band.</div>
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We got out of there as fast as we could!</div>
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I wonder what this band was like when the resort opened?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I hate the idea of having to make sure I will have enough
income at retirement. I absolutely hate
the idea of having to plan for long-term care giving. I hate having to discuss the different
scenarios of who dies first. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I just hate getting old!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Anyone else out there have the same feelings?<br />
<br />
<br />
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Professor Tom Laurie</div>
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author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conquer-Losing-Attitude-Hunters-Step-/dp/0983302510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&qid=1312407105&sr=1-1">Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters</a></div>
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and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LOSING-ATTITUDE-Dieters-Supercharge-Healthier/dp/0983302502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&linkCode=as2&s=books&qid=1297515167&sr=8-1-catcorr">The Losing Attitude for Dieters</a></div>
</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06721554116258281934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010864220914966909.post-83913219028103395542012-06-13T05:51:00.003-07:002012-07-31T09:59:15.172-07:00Can't Fix the Roof when it's Raining<br />
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The corollary to this, of course is, "Don't need to fix
the roof when the sun is shining."
In what areas of our lives do we conveniently forget to work on when
things are going well? Do we choose not
to work on our health, our relationships, our professional development, or our
finances?</div>
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As we get older our bodies change and the things we took for
granted all our lives aren't there
anymore. I was starting to feel sluggish
and my cousin who is a pharmacist suggested I have my testosterone levels checked; sure enough, they
were low. I started taking 50 mg of Zinc
each day and did I not only start feeling better, but the dry skin that had
been plaguing me for that last few years went away; hot tub, here I come!</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is not the first time I had great side effects from a
supplement. My cholesterol doctor
suggested I start taking 2000 IU of vitamin D3 every day. Immediately, the migraines I have been having
at a rate of 8-9 a month were reduced to almost nothing.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I can't wait for my next supplement; maybe if I start taking
Calcium my hair will stop turning gray?</div>
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<br /></div>
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How many people got burned because their 401ks were riding
high and they forgot to move their investments into safer areas as they neared
retirement age. Again, when your
finances are doing well - pay attention!</div>
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<br /></div>
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As the Department Chair of Information Technology, I get to
council many students or potential students every week. Too many times, an out-of-work former IT
professional has come into my office asking about one of our certificates. The story is almost always the same; they
worked for the same company for many years without ever increasing their skills
into the newer technologies. I tell my
students to be always improving their skills, keep networking in their field,
and always be looking for their next job as they never know when they will be
out of work - I know, I worked for 3 companies that went belly-up while I was
there.</div>
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<br /></div>
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You must work on your personal relationships every day. I just heard a sad story about a couple who
had lived together for 25 years and finally decided to get married; they were
divorced within the year. I don't know
why this happened, but I suspect that one person in the relationship or maybe
both felt secure and stopped working on the relationship.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I don't want you to go out "fixing your roof" when
it's raining, but remember what is needed so you can fix it when the weather is
better!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
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Professor Tom Laurie</div>
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author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conquer-Losing-Attitude-Hunters-Step-/dp/0983302510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&qid=1312407105&sr=1-1">Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LOSING-ATTITUDE-Dieters-Supercharge-Healthier/dp/0983302502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&linkCode=as2&s=books&qid=1297515167&sr=8-1-catcorr">The Losing Attitude for Dieters</a></div>
</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06721554116258281934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010864220914966909.post-137154880387851022012-06-06T15:16:00.002-07:002012-07-31T09:59:42.473-07:00Sometimes Older is Wiser<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I no longer get upset if I have to wait when I go for a doctor or dentist appointment!</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, the solution was easy.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">
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Years ago I decided that I would do two things for any of these appointments:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>I would never schedule anything immediately after the appointment – I usually block off 3-4 hours</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>I always bring a book or some work to do while I wait</div>
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I recently went for a podiatry appointment that in my younger years would have made me crazy; a one hour and twenty minute wait. I was ready, I had my trusty smart phone with my Kindle application and while there were some pretty unhappy people in the office, I spent a relaxing time engrossed in “Pride and Prejudice.” </div>
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Can you believe that I have never read the book? Seen the movie a million times with my wife and daughter!</div>
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While I was waiting I noticed other people acting like I used to act. Some sat there with disgruntled looks on their faces, some complained to anyone who would listen, and some stormed the front desk.</div>
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Nothing worked for them and they just keep getting angrier. All the while, I was totally enjoying myself. In fact, I almost missed it when my turn came and they called my name.</div>
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Over the past couple of years, I have had cataract surgery in both of my eyes. When you have the surgery you get the choice of being able to see in the distance or near. I chose distance for both my eyes, but I often wondered if I should have chosen one of each.</div>
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Of course, I have to use readers to read anything up close now. This really bothers me when I have to make a call on my smart phone. I just cannot read my contacts list without my glasses and many times it is inconvenient to pull them out.</div>
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Many people suggested that I use the voice dialing app. The only problem with that app is that it always brings up a message box to confirm the person you want to call or to choose between two similar names.</div>
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You guessed it; without my glasses, I can’t read the message box.</div>
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Finally I decided to bite the bullet. You see, I am an IT Professor by trade and a programmer by choice. I spent the next year building my own app that allows me to create large icons on my phone with the pictures of the people I want to call. Even I can see these pictures and just have to touch them to make a call. I use this application many times a day and am a lot less frustrated with my phone.</div>
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Maybe getting older is wiser!</div>
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For those of you that aren’t programmers, you can download the “Baby Boomer Speed Dial” from the Android marketplace for just 99¢.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thelosingattitude.BabyBoomerDialer&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS50aGVsb3NpbmdhdHRpdHVkZS5CYWJ5Qm9vbWVyRGlhbGVyIl0." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBo_jgNgQ9ywlQ2-ObKz1EPRQrU-Nlwu9cep2wtIDARsAQogfzm3aUOSKnneBp4q4lypDlXJ_LctQwgLZVM8kMlohhp0062S2_9ULR1wXz5PMmT6zhubs5pXKmep3rDhrPKG7kFd6FuYE/s1600/200hraIcon.png" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Professor Tom Laurie</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conquer-Losing-Attitude-Hunters-Step-/dp/0983302510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&qid=1312407105&sr=1-1">Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LOSING-ATTITUDE-Dieters-Supercharge-Healthier/dp/0983302502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&linkCode=as2&s=books&qid=1297515167&sr=8-1-catcorr">The Losing Attitude for Dieters</a></div>
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</span>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06721554116258281934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010864220914966909.post-18549083366424752012-04-22T06:36:00.000-07:002012-07-31T09:59:53.518-07:00I just can't Dunk anymore!<br />
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Can you remember when you realized you weren't young
anymore?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I can remember the incident distinctly. I was watching the Boston Celtics beat up on
a team as only they could do in the years of the Big Three: McHale, Parrish and
Bird. It was Robert Parrish's birthday
and they were saying that he was the oldest player in the NBA at the time at 39
years old.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I had just turned 39 myself.
There goes my NBA chances - I was officially older than every player in
the league!</div>
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Not that I had any chance of playing basketball for a
living, but, the dream's of a young boy die hard!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now that I'm approaching the big 60 I still play basketball
a couple of times a week and I realized the other day that I just can't dunk
the ball anymore. Well, maybe the only
time I ever really dunked the ball was on my daughter's Fisher Price basketball
hoop. At almost 60, I might have a hard
time doing even that now.</div>
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<br /></div>
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They say that 60 is
the new 40. Well, maybe I should resurrect
my dreams of playing in the NBA! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Professor Tom Laurie</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conquer-Losing-Attitude-Hunters-Step-/dp/0983302510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&qid=1312407105&sr=1-1">Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LOSING-ATTITUDE-Dieters-Supercharge-Healthier/dp/0983302502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&tag=thelosatt01-20&linkCode=as2&s=books&qid=1297515167&sr=8-1-catcorr">The Losing Attitude for Dieters</a></div>
</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06721554116258281934noreply@blogger.com1