mariasonawire

I am an academic entering the job search world for the first time in a LONG time. I started responding to jobs for "Analyst" because in my experience, this position is required to do research, writing, ancillary program mgmt, strategic planning. However, some colleagues just informed me that "Analyst" is actually the new buzz word for Administrative Assistant. I am not multi-tasking and tend to get frazzled in the frenzy of short fuse taskers and spinning plates inherently associated with administrative support. I flourish when I am immersed in researching subjects using multiple sources, academic writing, policy, creating briefs. I am not at all concerned if it is mid level and not located in the upper echelons of academia. As long as I can pay my rent and work in my chosen subject area, I am content. I do NOT however want to be marketing myself ignorantly as an admin assistant!

If there are an HR experts out there who can shed some light on the current definitions of these job titles, I would greatly appreciate it!

If anyone has seen this movie, Amber Alert (2012), can you tell me how it ends? I don't mind if you spoil the ending!

Thanks

25 years old, moving to AUS, have 12 month VISA. How hard will it be to find a job and move to Australia. No college, just general accounting/admin experience, looking to make at least $80k/yr in AUS. VISA says can only work for 6 months for one company, then have ot quit. VISA says have to leave AUS in Sept 2013.

Thsi is my kid. I think it is unrealistic, leaving Saturday. I am pretty worried! I expect a "boomerang" back home in Sept.....I can't afford to support financially if this all falls apart. Kid is convined it is easy to move to AUS, get a job, says everyone makes more $$, lots of jobs...I am skeptical

My foster daughter moved back in with me 2 months ago. I am more than happy to have her, she is 25. It meant cleaning out the living room and storing furniture and stuff in every available corner and closet throughout our tiny apartment so she could turn the living room into her space. There is not ONE CORNER left in my house. It is fine. So for Christmas, I told her and my son that I had a great idea for this little nook where my son usually keeps all his school stuff, books, sports gear. I asked him box his stuff up and stack his stuff in ONE REMAINING corner of his room for the holidays so I could turn this little nook into "christmas". I had the great idea to make a fake tree on the wall and hang ornaments. But in order to have a tree...it would mean stacking furniture in either my tiny kitchen or in the middle of the living room floor. This would drive me bonkers. So I said no tree BUT I had a great idea for xmas. Again, I said two weeks ago...no tree, they could care less!

So Monday as I was decorating this little area, my foster daughter walks in with....a TREE! I was surprised, I said thanks but there is no room. So she proceeds to point out how this furniture could be stacked here and this there and the tree could sit in the middle of the kitchen floor. And why do you need to get to this spot and you don't need to use this area, etc. No no no no I said. But I said thanks, sorry let me pay you back....She does not even like xmas. She is not speaking to me, is very angry, I know she tried to do something nice but to me it is like bringing home a puppy. If she was super into xmas I would get it but she NEVER gets into xmas! She thinks it is stupid.

I suppose I am being a grinch right? It will be such a huge hassle to rearrange furniture and then to have to have the tree in the middle of the floor next to stacked up furniture you have to walk around.....it will really bother me.....and I will hate it.....my inner peace is directly related to the amount of clutter and mess in my home environment. I find it extremely difficult to function in chaos and mess and clutter.

What would you do?

My foster daughter moved back in with me 2 months ago. I am more than happy to have her, she is 25. It meant cleaning out the living room and storing furniture and stuff in every available corner and closet throughout our tiny apartment so she could turn the living room into her space. There is not ONE CORNER left in my house. It is fine. So for Christmas, I told her and my son that I had a great idea for this little nook where my son usually keeps all his school stuff, books, sports gear. I asked him box his stuff up and stack his stuff in ONE REMAINING corner of his room for the holidays so I could turn this little nook into "christmas". I had the great idea to make a fake tree on the wall and hang ornaments. But in order to have a tree...it would mean stacking furniture in either my tiny kitchen or in the middle of the living room floor. This would drive me bonkers. So I said no tree BUT I had a great idea for xmas. Again, I said two weeks ago...no tree, they could care less!

So Monday as I was decorating this little area, my foster daughter walks in with....a TREE! I was surprised, I said thanks but there is no room. So she proceeds to point out how this furniture could be stacked here and this there and the tree could sit in the middle of the kitchen floor. And why do you need to get to this spot and you don't need to use this area, etc. No no no no I said. But I said thanks, sorry let me pay you back....She does not even like xmas. She is not speaking to me, is very angry, I know she tried to do something nice but to me it is like bringing home a puppy. If she was super into xmas I would get it but she NEVER gets into xmas! She thinks it is stupid.

I suppose I am being a grinch right? It will be such a huge hassle to rearrange furniture and then to have to have the tree in the middle of the floor next to stacked up furniture you have to walk around.....it will really bother me.....and I will hate it.....my inner peace is directly related to the amount of clutter and mess in my home environment. I find it extremely difficult to function in chaos and mess and clutter.

What would you do?

I have a 15yr old who recently suffered a month long bout with allergies and tested positive for allergic to dust mites. My apartment is beyond old, dusty, grimy. I try to keep it clean but it is 33 years old, same walls, floors, carpets, everything....so I am pretty broke, I have no savings and am in a panic. Controlling dust mites with 33 yr old wall to wall carpeting is like emptying the ocean with an eye dropper. Looking to move as soon as possible but in the meantime....How to afford all the filters, bedding casings, meds? His room should be cleared out of all knick knacks, books, etc? Throw them away? Where to put them. I just feel awful that I have raised my son in such a toxic environment. I do not have a washer dryer, we use a laundromat. Even having money to wash bedding frequently will be rough. Moving and buying new mattresses, bedding is overwhelming. I have like $30 to my name today. Sometimes less, sometimes nothing. It all seems so overwhelming! Any experiences or ideas would really help, thanks!

Dear family friends have a 13yr old girl. She has ALWAYS been very prickly, sensitive, overly passionate and emotional. Very "in her head", over thinks everything, just VERY intense. She drains the energy out of a room. She operates fine at school but is known for being pretty intense, some kids just can't handle how deep she is. Prickly because the slightest tone in your voice or the way you say, "weather is nice" can set her off, it is exhausting. At home she controls the family with her moods. They walk on eggshells around her. Loud, emotional angry blames Mom for everything. Speaks in terms far too mature and intelligent for her age. Can argue a point to the ground to the point you are mentally exhausted. SHe can go to the Sylvia Plath dark side so fast. While she is off the charts at home, she gets straight A's and her school teachers love her and say she is fine. I can tell you though that her peers, their parents and the teachers would readily admit that she is intense. She can somehow rein it in outside the home.

Last night she drove her mother to a meltdown and I went over to console. The girl is unreasonable, she cannot rationalize, she has a twisted perspective and there is no getting through to her. It is her way or the highway. In order to have her see a therapist, they would shave to forcible put her in a vehicle. She is that determined, stubborn and resigned. I could see that professional help will require sedatives and lockdown.

I adore this family. I made Mom promise she would see a doctor immediately. Anyone out there have ANY CLUE what the heck is wrong with this child? Oppositional Defiant Disorder? Bi Polar? Borderline Personality?

So I am a 45yr old single Mom, do not date. Live a quiet, modest life free from controversy but peaceful. An old fling got in touch with me and we started texting. This is for kids! I am a grown woman. Some initial texts sure....but is this it? He does not call, talks about getting together but text text text. It is getting boring and tedious. Goes nowhere. Am I just completely out of it, from a different age? What are the rules here? 3 weeks of flirtatious texts. No actual calls. I am thinking of the book and movie "He's Just Not That Into You". Fine. So what exactly is the payoff for texting back and forth? This has been going on for a month. I really like, him, always did.....is this some modern age dating-scenario of which I am unprepared to play in? Is this how it works now? Like I said, seems lame, for kids....He tries to get pretty racy but I refuse to participate via text in fear it will come back to haunt me later. I will not leave a cyber footprint like that. Phone? Sure why not? Can someone fill in? Am I missing something here? Thanks so much!

I owed my grad school some tuition and it was discharged in my bankruptcy. I know because I was still making payments thinking it was considered a student loan and it was THE SCHOOL that issued me a credit saying I didn't have to pay anymore because the debt was cleared in my bankruptcy.

I tried to get my transcripts for a job and was told there is hold on my account for a bad debt. If my school debt was discharged in a bankruptcy, can they hold my transcripts????

My Masters cost me almost $100k, I had to declare bankruptcy and now they are saying I cannot prove I attended and conferred because my bankruptcy put a hold on my account??

I am freaking out. Is this legal?? can they do that???

ps, campus is closed until 3 January so I am stuck fretting for a week until they open

Thanks and merry christmas everyone

I just tried to order transcripts but the order was declined because there is a hold on my account at the school. I need these for a job application. I left the school owing $500 but it was discharged during my bankruptcy and I have documentation from the school telling me that.

If my debt was discharged during bankruptcy does that mean the school says "fine, you don't owe us money but you can never get your transcripts"????

What a way to start Christmas, the school is closed until Jan 3. I am freaking out!!!!

Worst mistake of my life. I left a rewarding career as a marine scientist at age 40 to get my Masters. My personal goal was to get my Masters at age 40 and also have a backup career in case research funding disappeared. So I went to grad school for Masters in education to teach Science. I completed all course work except the mandatory student teaching. Almost $90k in student loans later, I just had to go back to work. Any CA public school would look at my transcript and consider me equal to a Masters. When I applied for my current job I was completely honest and transparent about my grad school status. I have enjoyed over 2 years here. During that time, I had to file for bankruptcy in order to afford student loans payments. But my wages are higher than teacher's so I stay. I have told my co workers that I went to grad school, that I have my Masters. A matter of pride after all my hard work and money spent.

Now I am up for a government position. They asked for my transcripts which show I did not complete my Masters, only coursework. I feel TERRIBLE. In my heart, it is a technicality. I truly believe I could honestly say I got my Masters. But the official status, outside CA public schools is that I did not complete it. My boss and co workers have every right to call me LIAR, feel betrayed, and question my integrity and abilities. I won't be fired, I didn't lie on any official hiring paperwork, just water cooler talk, and not a requirement for my position. But they will hate me.

Any thoughts out there as to what you would want to hear from me? How would you perceive my graduate school status? Just wondering how bad this is all going to be...

I know little to nothing about the country music scene but my parents are big fans! Would love to get them tickets to a concert for Christmas. We live in the SF Bay Area of CA. Does anyone know if a popular country music act will be touring CA in the next 6 months?

Thank you!

A friend with 2 teenage daughters (one a former meth addict) decided she hated where she lived, quit her job and moved to my town where her friends all are. She moved away for better housing and economy, didn’t happen.. Now, at over 50, she quit a GOOD JOB, and moved back. She wanted to live with me but I said no way. She and her girls found a family to live with. They gave her 2 months. In this economy?? Over 50? No degree or marketable skills?? I am pessimistic and keeping far far away. Until she pawned her DOG on me, using guilt. I have had the dog for a month. It is such an imposition! She said her girls would be heartbroken to give it away, begged me to take the dog. Really?? Because they act like they could care less about the dog…it is MOM who loves the dog. Next thing you know, she drops all efforts to find a job because her friend’s Mom died. She has to “mourn”. She never even knew this lady! Then the following week? She got in a car accident. She is supposedly bed ridden and can’t look for a job. I have had the dog a month, it needs to go! But she is acting like I am Scrooge. “How can you be so cold and heartless? First Becky DIED now I am injured with no car”. Well, is it just me or:

1. Finding a job during the upcoming holidays is impossible

2. Finding a rental that will take a dog and rent to someone with fuzzy shaky employment? Not good

One thing after another, catches you off guard with outrageous demands, knows when to ask when your guard is down or I am busy at work. Can I move me and my troubled teenage daughters in with you? NO. can I borrow $200? NO. Then it was "you have to take take my dog, he will end up in the pound!" which has been a major burden. But her trick to have crisis after crisis that supposedly trumps any inconveniences she is causing me:

1. flu

2. best friend's Mom is dying, have to be there for her because I drop EVERYTHING for my friends

Her famous line, is friends are everything, having friends is like family. Am I being a total petty witch? Everytime I turn around this lady is looking to take as much as she can from me. She EXPECTS it. I even told her I have nothing to offer. Stop asking. But she guilt trips with her story and crisis. I have my own. If you were to take inventory of our lives? Mine would be far worse than hers. But she sees what she wants to see and thinks I am available, expendable....Now I am stuck with her dog for God knows how long and if I were to even suggest that she figure something else out? Crisis #1, crisis #2...competition over who has it rougher.

Help! I am trapped!!! How to not blow up, and get her away from me? She is sneaky, manipulative and very very self-centered. But she would say "my friends mean THE WORLD to me" (yeah..as long as they are taking care of you...) "and I put THEM FIRST". Talk is cheap lady. In her mind this is what friends do and while I would not miss her friendship if she accused me of abandoming her, it would still be ugly and I would feel bad. I am being totally worked here.

She is staying with one couple until she "finds a job and finds a place to live", I have her dog. Then she could not go find a job because she caught the flu. Now it is "my best friend is suffering so I can't be bothered by your inconvenience of dealing with my dog because her mom is DYING!" I can't look fro work because my friend NEEDS me. She would say I was heartless and cruel.

It was working fine this morning, I shut it down, then about 30 minutes later turned it on again and it started beeping like an alarm, won't start up.

Anyone know what that is all about??

Thanks!

I am single Mom to a 14yr old son who started high school 3 weeks ago. He was fine on Monday and Tuesday morning but came home Tuesday night and stopped talking to me, has shut himself up in his room, last night for over 8 hours, mumbles when forced to respond to a question. I approached him to see if he was sick, asked if something was wrong, asked if he wanted to talk or if there was anything I could do. It is now Thursday morning and I had to force him out of bed for school. I had been giving him space, only approaching him for the bare minimum reasons. But this morning I told him that barring a major circumstance or sickness, we can’t just “checkout”. I told him I was there for him, that if he was in trouble I would be there for him, that I love him. But life gets hard, there will be troubles, but we can’t just “check out”.

I am sick with worry. He is acting like I have betrayed him in a major way. I am totally non controversial, there is no big secret like he found out he was adopted or something! Tracing this back to Tuesday…morning was fine, but after school he was shut in his room, then left for an ortho apt with his dad, came home and POOF, just checked out.

I know enough not to push but to keep a wary eye out. I don’t think it is right to let him watch tv for 8 hours, no chores, just homework so I plan to force the issue of chores and school at least. Possible suspects? Break up with girlfriend (they have only been together 2 weeks!), fight with friend (a first, he has never let something bother him this much), fight or revelation from Dad Tuesday? (ugh, that would be the WORST). Me?? Cannot think of anything I did or said to bring this on. I may never know, but I am so worried.

Parents of teenagers, any thought or suggestions or experience??? I am flying blind here

I was sick all weekend and watched an entire season of Nanny 911. All the episodes were about stay at home Moms with these big beautiful houses, every luxury you could think of and way too much time on their hands. It was BIZARRE, of course reality tv preys upon our fascination with the bizarre...

Is it just me or is it living proof that kids from homes with stay at home Moms are spoiled and entitled? Do these Moms just get so numb and lazy that they don't realize what disrespectful animals they are raising? And how fortunate they are to have so much free time?

If I had a big nice house like that, with all those luxuries and a man who provided? I would never take that for granted. I would appreciate it so much. And my kids would not be allowed to be monsters. My son was in day care and and started Kindergarten totally ready to listen, follow instructions and he did not expect the teacher to cater to his every whim like "Mommy does". He never fell apart and was civilized.

I have to get new front tires for my 2001 Toyota Camry. Just trying to figure out how much they will cost? Or I should say....how much I have to save up!

Thank you!

I have never missed a period except when pregnant which was 14 years ago. I did not have a period this month. I have never taken birth control pills and I am on no medication. I just skipped this month. And there is no chance of pregnancy unless it was an immaculate conception.

Is this menopause??? Is this normal???

Thanks for any experience or advice