SoapNights.com

In times of stress I try to sit back, take a hot bubble bath and think about what I need to do to get back on track. Or sometimes I try to think of absolutely nothing at all.

Juggling your life…

It isn’t easy. Life gives you ups and downs and sometimes we go sideways, but somehow with all the worries and all the stress we figure it out and we come up on top. For me I struggle with a full time job, school, and home. I work every week from 7-4pm and then in between during lunch and when I get home I have school work, and just recently I moved into my new place. So as you can imagine after a few years of absolute spoilness (okay that might not be a word, but anyhow…) I now have to do everything myself. I have to cook dinner, do laundry and cook. Yes I have a boyfriend and he’s been helping me do dishes and clean up but even with some help it’s a bit tough. Getting into the routine of things is hard. If I didn’t have school it might be a little easier, but I’m pushing myself everyday to keep going.

For some it’s easier….

For me, it’s hard… School as always been a struggle for me and each day, each class gets harder with more work. If you aren’t born into a family that can afford your education you have to juggle a full time job and school. You have to take student loans and books to survive. You have to take care of yourself, your job and your education, and sometimes I just feel like calling it quits! Then when my head stops stressing and I have time to actually think, I stop myself and I think about all the hard work I’ve already put into it, and I keep on going, and I keep on pushing through. No one ever told me life would be so hard, but then again no one ever told me it would be easy either.

xo,
kristin nicole
~Random Thoughts~

Brr it’s cold outside….

Wow I can’t believe we actually had a cold weekend and another cold week ahead of us. And I don’t mean 60 degrees cold, I mean it was 44 degrees this morning and going strong (This is cold to us Miamians). Reminded me a bit of when I had to go to work in California, waking up not wanting to get out of that warm bed, sitting on a cold toilet (girls you know what I mean) and getting in that car hoping the heater heats up just a little faster because I’m sitting on one hand trying to drive with the other frozen hand. Not east people, not easy!

Not complaining – Back to work

However, I’m not really complaining, pass me some gloves next time and I’ll be ready to go. Today is the first day back to work after the New Year, and I have to admit, it wasn’t easy waking up in the morning, as I’m sure it wasn’t for many, especially because of the cold. But I got off my tush and worked my way to the bathroom to get ready for a work day. WORK….Oh how I dislike that name, but I think School scares me more. Another semester coming up starting classes tomorrow. Thankfully I am taking all on line classes this semester but I will have to see my tutor for Statistics. (Uhhh that word scares me).

New Years resolutions

I’m not going to go down the list that I’ll probably break before the month ends but I am working on eating healthier and exercising. I didn’t have much time last semester but this semester should be a bit easier to make some time for some of those crunches. Back to the gym or working out at home on the bike or pilates. Either way, I have to start getting back into the groove. What are your New Years resolutions? Did you break any already?

Happy New Year all, may this year be filled with health, wealth, love, happiness and lots of se…..well you know

xo,
kristin nicole

Some of us work only 40 hours a week, but isn’t that enough to stress someone out when they have 10 million other things to do after work?
Some of us work 40 hours a week and go to school. I’m that someone. Some of us work more then 40 hours a week, sometimes even up to 60-80 hours a week.

Does Work kill you in the end?

Some would agree it does. We work our ass’s off and for what? At the end of the day you’ve missed 8 hours of your day, you missed time with family or friends, you pay the bills with the money you earned from work and the day starts all over again, same routine, another day. Some people a job is just that, WORK…we do it because we have to, because we have no other choice. We have to pay our bills and put food on the table. We all have to work and we work half our lives and then we die. Sounds a bit negative huh?!? That’s because if you think of it that way it is.

Work is part of life

We do have to work, but do we have to hate it? No! Some of us love our jobs and we call them our CAREERS! We go to work feeling like we are accomplishing something in our lives, getting to a place where we want to be at our age. We also do it to pay bills and put food on the table but some of us don’t know how to budget correctly. If you save your money correctly, get to where you want to be, you can use all that work you did to pay off. Go on a vacation, buy that pair of shoes you’ve been staring at for weeks. The little things in life are what make us smile. Some of don’t make that much money, that doesn’t mean you still can’t take a vacation. If you budget right you can take what I like to call a “mini vacation”. It’s not far from home, some where, where you can drive to. For example, if you live in Miami, you can go to Naples or Orlando. Take a 3 day weekend, to sit back and relax and enjoy all that hard working money you have to do each and every day.

40 hours a week plus school

I can’t say it doesn’t drain you. I do it because I need to do it. I do it for me. I want to have a job/career one day that I enjoy doing, that I get paid well enough to buy the things I want to buy and live in a nice house. Working from 7 in the morning and then going home or to the campus for class after a long day at work, well it drains you. Sometimes I feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day. I get home so exhausted sometimes I don’t feel like opening the book to keep studying, BUT I do it anyway because I know that I’m paying for these classes and I have to pass. I wish I had stuck with school when I was younger, by now I would have my education and my career. Truth is, sometimes things don’t always go as planned. Time sometimes feels like it’s running out, each day you get older and that vision, that dream where you thought your life would be at a certain age sometimes isn’t what it is. You have to get up in the morning, thank God you are here and healthy, that you have a job and you are able to go to school. I take each day with me, and I keep going, waiting for that goal at the end of the tunnel. It might take me longer then expected, or longer then most, but I plan on getting there one day. Work can kill you if you let it, but if you sit back, think positive and let that positive energy flow into your body and into your life, work can have a whole new meaning to your life.

Life is strange that way

Life gives you roads, and each road leads you towards a different path. Sometimes we don’t always take the right road, but we find our way back, and when you do, you can only try to make things right. I can’t say I’m where I wanted to be at my age, I can’t say I don’t regret certain things in life, but I can say that I’m changing my life for the better. I’m working to where I want to be, it might just not be at the age I expected, but I will get there. With each passing day, I keep moving forward.

“People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates”. ~Thomas Szasz, “Personal Conduct,” The Second Sin, 1973

xo,
kristin nicole

Sitting in an office all day?

The Office

I wake up and I’m at work by 7am every morning. I sit in an office all day with no windows. Some may say it’s a bit depressing. Yeah, sometimes sunlight would be nice, some fresh air, the open sky, BUT Sometimes it’s nice that I’m back here with no one to bother me, away from the bad weather. Especially Rainy Season here in Miami. However, sometimes I wish I had some type of exciting job, a job where you have to get out and drive around a little, get out of the office, stretch your legs, smell the flowers.

To tell you the truth, I’m not sure where this story is going….There isn’t much to tell. You come in, you sit, you work and you leave. Do you realize that we spend most of our days with the people we work with then with the people we love? It’s pretty sad actually that half our lives are spent at work. If you love your job, I guess it’s not so bad, but if it’s just that “A JOB” Is anyone every truly happy to be there? It’s more of a means to gain money, to pay your bills and survive out there in the world.

Studying to have your career one day

After work I study, I go to class twice a week and the rest of the week I have on line classes. It’s tough having to work full time and go to school. If you are one of the lucky ones that your parents are paying for your education and you don’t have to work, you don’t know how good you have it. Stay focused and finish school as fast as you can. I pay my own way, and it’s hard sometimes, having to get that money each semester. Books alone depending on how many classes you’re taking can run you from 200 dollars and up. It’s truly ridiculous the prices of these books. Hmmm maybe I should get into the book business. I bet they make a fortune off of us. Those books can’t possibly cost what you pay for them.

So after a long night last night of studying for my Final Exam today, I have to say I don’t think I’m 100% prepared. I’m a bit of a wreck, and nervous, and I’m not feeling to confident about it. I just hope I do good. During lunch I’m going to review and a little before the exam. Wish me luck all…I NEED IT~

XO,
Kristin Nicole

Many people who work for companies have Personal Time Off, also known as PTO Days. How many PTO Days does your job allow you to take?

PTO Days:

My job allows us to have 21 PTO Days, but this is where they get you, that includes Holidays. That doesn’t even make sense because then you don’t really have 21 days do you? We have about 5 TO 6 holidays so we really get 15 PTO Days. I had my tonsillectomy so I had to use some of my days off and I used 4 plus 1 prior to that when I was out sick. That leaves me with 10 days. Last week I wasn’t able to work full time, so I asked them to not pay me for the hours I missed as I was only able to work half days. It’s a sacrifice many people can’t afford to take, but my surgery recovery was longer then expected. Luckily, I don’t have a mortgage to pay for right now so I can afford to do these kind of things. I was used to my other job where my PTO days consisted of 18 days, plus two floating days. The floating days were used as a free 2 days that you can take off during a holiday of your choice that the company had to work on. It was great, I would save them for the end of the year so in December I can take off as many days as I can. We also had roll-over days. Where I’m currently at, we don’t have that option, so I have to make sure to use all my PTO Days.

Not Enough Time Off

Does anyone agree that we don’t have enough time off during the year? I think I vote for more TIME OFF! If I wasn’t able to afford not getting paid for the hours I missed I would have had to use those hours as PTO time and I would be left with little to no time off. I rather save my time off for future vacation I’m hoping to take and for the end of the year in December, I always like to take a few days off around that time. I also felt bad for missing to many days off work even though I was still in a lot of pain. Do you ever feel like if you miss too many days even if you are really sick, they might fire you? I think many people try to make it to work even if they should be in bed because their scared their boss won’t believe them or they will get fired. I know I came in thinking I didn’t want to miss any days just in case….and they did see that I wasn’t feeling well, I couldn’t even talk for goodness sakes. Never the less I proved that I am a team player by coming in for half a day, even though I really should have been in bed trying to get better faster. That’s life for you though. We have to sometimes prove ourselves to our bosses so they know we really want and love our jobs. Even if deep down we feel horrible and want to be in bed. It shouldn’t really be this way though, if your sick, you should be in bed, and you shouldn’t have to prove to anyone that you are really sick. Unfortunately there are many people who fake being sick and it’s people like us that are really not feeling well that have to prove to others we really are sick and need the time off. Like I said, that’s life, and now I have to see what to do with the remainder of my PTO Days.

How do you use your PTO Days? Do you use them all or do you end up loosing them?

XO,
Kristin Nicole

I found this question on Yahooanswers.com:
Scared to lose my job!?

I’m sick with a cold and sore throat and i think I’m going to lose my job because of it. normally, i would go to work regardless of a sore throat.. but i currently work in a call center and i don’t think customers would be happy trying to hear my raspy voice followed by coughs and gags. I’ve been sick since Monday.. i went in on Wednesday because i was scared to miss a lot of days of work, but i got permission to leave early that day (I only stayed for an hour.. i was no help at all cause i couldn’t even talk.) and now it’s Friday.. i was going to go in, but overslept ’cause of the medicines drowsy effect.. and i woke up with horrible coughing that’s causing my throat to be sore all over again.. and i have the sniffles like crazy. I’m considering going to the doctor, but i honestly don’t want to pay $100 so dollars to be told “oh, you have a cold.. take some over the counter stuff.” .. any suggestions?? Also, I’m temp-to-perm so i don’t really have any ‘sick days’ or ‘paid sick days’.. also going to the doctor’s right now.
~damnitymsux’s

First I like to say I found this post about a year ago, things in the economy have gotten worse. However, people still relate to this question, now more than ever.

Dear Damnitymusux’s,

It’s hard when we are sick and have to miss work. I think we all fear that we are going to get fired if we don’t show up. It’s good that you showed up and tried to work, they can at least see how sick you really are, and that you aren’t faking it. However, I know it’s not easy spending $100.00 on co-pay for the doctors, but if this a job you truly need and it’s a temp to permanent then don’t you think it’s probably worth spending $100.00 rather than getting fired. If you are also truly sick and have an infection, the doctor won’t tell you to get an over the counter medication, more then likely they will give you an antibiotic. You can also get a doctors note to show your work, that you truly can’t talk, since that is all you do at your job. Remember to drink plenty of fluids and get rest.

With the economy the way it is right now it’s very hard to keep a job let alone find a new one. Which is why so many of us are scared to even miss work while we are sick. I know how it feels. I am still recovering from my tonsillectomy and I had to miss work again today. I didn’t sleep at all last night from the pain, I am hoping it was the worst and now from here it will only get better. I had text my boss, since I can’t talk yet that I am so sorry that I have had to miss this much. I didn’t think the pain would be so bad for so long. She replied:
Kristin, Nothing to apologize for, you just need to take care of yourself! The pain will be a distant memory soon.

This made me feel a little more relaxed, but I know how you feel. Missing work takes a toll on your thoughts, you start to think negatively and you worry about losing your job. Think positive though, if you do a good job and they truly like you, they will keep you. Get that doctors note though, it will ensure your employer that you are truly sick and trying to get better.

XO,
Kristin Nicole