NIU

Looking for medical jobs

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, March 26, 2009 8:38 AM

Hey guys! So things have been going pretty well lately. School is rocking and my friends and family are all doing well so all and in all, things are well. The weather has been so great recently so that has been so exciting. My cousin is moving to the east coast on her job search quest. She and I who are obviously super close talked the other day about if she was going try to get a professional medical job. She works at the hospital and knows a lot about the medical profession and studied nursing and wants to eventually end up at medical school probably. Everyone in her profession says that healthcare employment outlook is so great as it is a growing profession. I know the economy is in a major downturn so things are looking pretty bleak so we're nervous about the move. There are lot of possibilities for where but we were looking up DC! I think having someone in Washington DC would be cool so I could visit her and see the capital and such. Based on what we looked up Washington, DC jobs and prospects are looking super good. I mean, realistically though medical jobs and pharmaceutical companies are both going up. That is pretty smart for her to get into being the fastest growing career! I mean, it is certainly terrifying for her to move of her since her job search here has been pretty bleak. I want her to succeed in whatever she does obviously but still I am so nervous for this change. Maybe I am more nervous than he is, I don't know. I would be worried about it without a doubt I would not be able to do this. I am so proud of her for taking this next step in her and I am While it may be a bummer to have her not nearby anymore, I am super excited for her. I hope she does pursue the medical school option too as having a doctor in the family would be fabulous! I am super psyched that she is coming to visit me in a few days. She sent some interviews so finding out if she has heard from anyone will be nice. Love you cousin! I doubt you will even read this but if you do, give me a call or shoot me an email. It's been so long girl! Hope everything is well with you guys reading this.

MY MOTHER SWITCHED MY WEIGHT LOSS PILLS

Posted by Stacy on Monday, March 23, 2009 1:54 PM

My mother is just one of those middle age women, who wishes that she could be 16 again. It gets kind of embarrassing for me, especially when she gets around my friends. I mean I don't like to watch her try to buddy up with them, and I especially don't like it when my friends start laughing about it behind her back. It is for this reason that I decided to go away to school, but still, she comes to visit and thinks that she is in college with us. She is into makeup and shopping, which would be fine, if she tried to look her age instead of mine, and on top of that she is completely obsessed with her looks. She has had plastic surgery and I won't disclose what parts, but let's just say, the men are probably appreciating it.

On her last visit here, she saw the weight loss pills I was taking and started saying that I should take her weight loss pill and that it works much better and that she even read a weight loss pill review article in her doctor's office and that her's was the best. I assured her that I was happy with the diet pills that I was using and that I wanted to continue using them, and then she took my pills off my night stand and replaced them with a bottle of hers. And then when I say something to her about it, she acts like she is my best friend and giggles and gives me a wink. I don't know who she thinks she is, but I have about had enough of her antics.

I spoke to Sari my roommate, and she said that I should sit my mother down and talk to her about the diet pills and the acting her age and everything. I told her that I have really tried in the past, but I can't get through to her no matter what I do. In any case, I will give it one more try, but I told Sari this is her last chance to straighten up, or this is her last visit to the campus. That is that!

Security and feeling safe

Posted by Stacy on Friday, March 20, 2009 9:31 AM

As a college student (and girl) I have been taught by numerous people including my dad, teachers, family members and even friends, the dangers of walking alone at night or not locking your doors. I think campus safety has been beat into my mind and I always have my eyes open when I am out on the weekends or even walking to my car in the parking garage from the library during the week.

But I have always pretty much felt safe in our house. We live kind of off campus (I live with 3 other girls in my sorority) and it is more in the actual neighborhood so we don't really get pranks or drunk people randomly which is nice. But a few months ago we did have a break in and it scared the crap out of us and definitely our parents. That's when we decided to have a home security system installed.

Although it was kind of expensive it was definitely worth it. My roommate had nightmares and wasn't able to sleep for weeks after it happened and we are all out of state and at least 5 hours away from our parents and they felt that it was definitely worth the money to get alarm systems put in and even two home security cameras. There were so many different security system options that the people gave us when they came to look at our house and situation but since we were only going to be there for about 7 more months at the time that this happened we got a minimal package. It works perfectly for us because it is just enough security to scare away people and to keep us safe and keep us feeling like we are safe (two completely different things really) but it also isn't too much where we would have problems with alarms going off all of the time or anything really high tech and expensive.

Sometimes it can be a pain and it is weird when people see that we have one because we live in a college town by a school so people think we are kind of snooty and stuck up, but it definitely makes us feel much better and I know that I can go to sleep at night and not have to worry which also makes our parents feel much better too.

The economy and finding work

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, March 19, 2009 2:18 PM

Right now the economy is crap. People who have had jobs for years are being laid off and those who are graduating or looking to get into the work force no matter their age and situation are having a terrible time finding something. And the problem is that there are few jobs but so many people looking to get those jobs.

So how can you make sure that you are one of those people getting the few jobs left available? One way is to further your education. Sure, a lot of people are just out of school looking, but those who aren't and maybe were secure in their previous job and didn't need to go back to school before need to do so now. But as an adult (with possibly a family) with bills and responsibilities how can you make learning possible?

The U.S. Dept. of Education is really pressing the growth of e-learining. When you have children to look after and dinner to make and homework to help for them you don't have the time (and if you are out of work you definitely don't have the money) to go to and from a classroom to further your education. So elearning is perfect for a lot of people right now.

Another thing that is big right now is online training. If you currently have a job especially, people are looking to move up in the company or to another position elsewhere by online computer training. This way you can stay in your job and work your hours and then come home and be able to do this.

We need to find ways for people to get back on their feet and move forward and every opportunity possible needs to be available. People need to know that there is a way for them to continue their education and still make it work at home. I think some people hear the words going back to school and they think it will be too hard and too time consuming and too expensive and it just won't work out for them so we need to make them realize that it can work and really can benefit them in the long run by taking courses online and taking yourself and your resume to the next level because now with less jobs there are more qualified people trying to get the ones left. You need to make yourself stick out.

Keeping in touch

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, March 19, 2009 2:15 PM

I am so glad that I am in college at the time that I am. My dad was telling me how great it was that I am still close to all of my friends from high school and I was kind of shocked when he said that. He told me that when he was in school they didn't use computers and rarely talked on the phone so the only time they saw each other was when they were home from breaks and they usually all had jobs. Of course he is still friends with some of them, but I think for the most part all of my good friends from high school and I are close and maybe even closer than we were before.

Thankfully we have so much technology now that it makes keeping in touch so easy that we are almost too close to the people. I can be video conferencing with my friend from Barcelona and from Iowa at the same time in my room using video conferencing cameras that we have hooked up to our computers. My dad was appalled when he saw that I could talk to him through my sisters computer at home (actually I wish I didn't show him now he's always like, what are you doing now, get on the computer ha). But it is great for staying in touch and you don't have to get charged like you would with a cell phone when I talk to friends who are studying abroad and also you can see the people. I can be cleaning my room and talking to my friend Katie from Boston at the same time and be able to see her as if we were together. I basically feel as if I haven't left a lot of my friends besides the fact that I don't take them with me on the computer out on the weekends ha.

But really, I am so thankful that I have the opportunity and the resources to be able to keep in touch with the people I love. My grandma now even is learning how to work her webcam which is hilarious, but is also a way for me to get to see her since she is older and I am away at school. We are so fortunate to be able to stay in touch this way.

DESIGNER DISCOUNT PERFUMES...ONLY THE BEST FOR ME!!

Posted by Stacy on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 9:22 AM

These days it is all about saving money. I am on board with all that, however, I don't want to give up certain things, and so I am trying to shop wisely and still get the quality items that I have grown accustomed to. For instance, I don't want to go to the local CVS or Rite Aid for my cosmetic products and fragrances, I want the real stuff, but I want to find it for less. After all, my skin is very sensitive, and so I really can't use the cheap stuff, I will break out, and all the proactive in the world, can save skin from the cheap foundation products found at the local drug stores. Anyway, I have found some good discounts on name brand cosmetics and if you shop carefully you can go to the good department store cosmetics counters, and get the free gifts, which actually can be worth more than the items you are actually paying for. I often use the free gift method of getting some name brand products for free. I have also, found a great distributor of name brand discount perfumes online, and these deals allow me to wear my favorite scents for about half the price. I have even found some cologne that my brother likes, real cheap, and I just sent him a bottle for his b-day. I really enjoy shopping at the good stores, you know the really nice ones, but see nothing wrong with shopping sales, bargains, and even for clearance items. Most people wouldn't believe it but sometimes if you shop wisely you can actually purchase brand name clothing items for less than you can pick up the cheapies at Wally world, and I know because some of the girls here shop at the big W, yuck. For me it is designer all the way, even while I am at school, I need the nice stuff, because that is what I am used to and somethings just don't change. So I will continue looking for the bargains, without looking like I am wearing something cheesy. Can't do it, sorry!

Moving here from California

Posted by Stacy on Monday, March 02, 2009 8:54 PM

My cousin and her family grew up In California. Her mom (my dad's cousin) was born in Chicago with the rest of my family but she went to college in California and got married and had kids and decided to stay there. Her and my dad are really close in age so her kids and me and my brothers and sisters are close when we see each other and we really get along well.

Well my grandmas sister (their grandma) lives here in Chicago and she is starting to get older and sick so they decided to rent a home here for a few years and try to spend as much time with her as they could. So they came in over Christmas break to look at houses and to take care of some of the paper work for other stuff like schools and insurance and what not. So they had to compare their old car insurance in California to the plans that are offered here and what best fits their families needs. Since a lot of their stuff has to be done online or over the phone they looked into cheap online car insurance websites to try to compare what Chicago's plans had to offer (or if they should keep their old one).

It is crazy that you can get auto insurance instantly on the web and then just go out and drive. You just type in all of your information and go from there. My grandpa was telling me that when he first got insurance he met with the person directly and dealt with the same person throughout the plan. Of course now the guy who took care of my grandpas insurance is dead, but my grandpa has gotten such great business there that he has stayed and recommended the rest of my family. So we all have the same kind of insurance and we get that family welcoming from the employees which is nice.

So my dad's cousins ended up switching over to the provider we all have and they are moving here in June so they are still getting odds and ends worked out, but they come here every once in a while to move stuff gradually so everything's ready when they finally do move in. Thankfully they have all of the big stuff (like auto insurance) figured out so their move should fun pretty smoothly.