Surviving Change

Our bodies struggle to endure it, our relationships, too. Our energy levels reflect its long-and short-term effects, right down to the core of our being. It’s the one constant we can depend on in our physical universe, but when change occurs, rather than allow it, our first instinct is to run from it, and treat it as an enemy. Why not embrace change as the first sign that some new thing awaits you, probably right around the corner?

Whether it’s a divorce, a death in the family, the loss of a job, or an upcoming move, being jarred from your comfort zone can be upsetting. It can sneak up on you, or it can feel like a hard slap. It happened to Joan, a computer programmer and self-proclaimed workaholic with a husband and a 3 year-old son. The last thing on Joan’s mind was losing her job. She’d been giving her all at the office, starting her day before seven a.m., often not to return until well after eight or nine. Unemployment was sobering. She and her husband had just purchased a home which they planned to renovate. Now, forced to live on one salary, it looked like they might lose it.

What time at home helped Joan discover was the closeness with her child that she’d long been missing. At last, she was available to make his breakfast, take him to pre-school, and tuck him in at night. The deepening experience of being a better parent significantly improved her marriage, too. The gift of change brought with it the realization that her former life had been out of balance, and the cost to her family was tremendous. Change was Joan’s wake-up call, and because of it, she was able to reconnect with what’s really important. She eventually returned to the job market, only this time, seeking a position that was not only financially rewarding, but would allow her more quality time with her family.

When we welcome the dance of change, we’re able to move forward harmoniously, free from the bounds of complacency.

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Eliminating Paper Clutter: Use the Computer

Sometimes, the most annoying thing on a person’s desk is the endless mound of paperwork that rests there, with no immediately visible way to get rid of it properly. As creatures of habit, people keep almost everything and are very slow to throw something away for fear that it may be needed later.

Some people get stressed out at the sign of clutter and paperwork mounds on their desks. There are likely piles of unopened but important mail or bills. And, because the piles look so overwhelming, important things are never weeded out and rescued. This is when it becomes a problem, especially if important documents are ignored. What can you do?

Much of the paperwork that resides on your desk can either be 1.) stored or 2.) discarded. Storing the information is relatively easy, provided that there is a mechanism for doing so. If the paperwork is to be discarded, the best way to do that is to use a paper shredder that will completely and sufficiently destroy the paper.

It’s good to occasionally purge documents and clean out old systems. Whether you do this with your personal connections, your social media monitoring contacts, or with business documents, paring down your paperwork to a minimum can really decrease your mental and psychological stress.

For important paper work that needs to be kept, you can use a flatbed or handheld scanner to scan in those important documents, save them to a word processing file and then save the document to your computer’s hard drive. This way, you can easily access the documents you need without having to drag out and sort through boxes of endless paperwork. Also, be sure to save a disc of the file(s), as well, just in case there are any future computer issues or problems. With a little organization, you can wipe out the paper clutter using your computer.

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Dealing with Information Overload

If you are like most people, you may go to the computer and type in what you think is a relatively straightforward keyword or key phrase. You know that the more specific you can make it, the better your chances are of getting “hits” that pertain to the particular subject you are interested in. So you type in your information and sit back, expecting to see only those things relevant to the topic.

Instead you are bombarded with a host of search results that have the word or phrase in them, all right, but only a few are actually even remotely close to what you were looking for. So, you click on them, hoping to find something that will help, only to see your search expanded even more.

If this does happen to you, there are a few things you can do to improve your search results and avoid information overload. These include using “bookmarks” or “favorites” on your computer to store addresses of websites that actually have what you’re looking for.

You can also try using different search engines. It’s easy to become accustomed to using the same one all the time, but if you find yourself having to wade through more and more insubstantial information to get to the “meat” of your topic, you might want to consider trying another search engine. Yes, they all lead to the same Internet, but some of them take a slightly different “road” to get there, and sometimes that road is shortest.

Another way you can improve your search results is to use non-search information resources, such as those found on the Canada 411 website. These resources often list website addresses along with other information, especially on business listings. Oftentimes, you may find that you have saved yourself a number of steps by using an information website first.

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“It’s not easy being green.” – Pets deserve a healthy planet, too.

Oreo on WNBC for Nutro Pet Food Recall

Humans aren’t the only creatures who benefit from a healthy environment. Pets deserve to “go green”, too, only they have to depend on us to see to it that the planet we all share is held to the same quality standard we expect for ourselves.

The labels on pet food can be misleading, advertising wholesome ingredients and flavors designed to entice dogs to salivate and cats to come running at the sound of the can opener, but on closer inspection, “fresh and natural” may not necessarily be what the juicy pictures on the labels imply. Just like the processed foods we question in our own diets, pet food can contain harmful preservatives, dyes, artificial flavors, chemicals, pesticides and hormones which, over time, may shorten the longevity and vitality of your animal. That’s why many veterinarians practicing a holistic approach to pet care are recommending making pet food at home to assure nutritional quality. Healthy commercial brands are available, so ask your vet which ones are best. They may seem costly pound for pound, but when you consider that every bite is nutritionally balanced with less filler and empty calories, your pet will more effectively digest every morsel, be satisfied with smaller portions, and in many cases, eliminate less.

Cleaning up after your pet is a responsibility we all appreciate. Waste left on the ground is an issue when it mixes with storm water and finds its way, untreated, into surface waterways threatening water quality. Disposing of waste in plastic bags may be polite, but plastic bags (unlike pet waste) do not decompose in a landfill. Biodegradable bags are available, or consider composting. For cats, bio-degradable plant-based litter that’s free of fragrances and chemicals are best. Clay based litter contains harmful particles that can find their way into your cat’s stystem, putting them at risk.

Finally, spay or neuter your pets, responsibly. Remember, a fuzzy new friend is just waiting for the right arms at your local shelter, or if your lifestyle permits, foster one who is waiting for adoption. You’ll not only save a life, but enrich yours, too!

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Information Technologies

When we refer to IT, what do we generally think of? Most of us have a vague idea that Information Technology has something to do with computers; big computers, big computers in the basement level of our corporation that we rarely visit. This vague idea of what IT does is right on a basic level. Information Technology utilizes computers to direct and administer information for a company. To truly understand what Information Technologies does we need to first understand what we mean when we talk about information.

Information, when it comes to computers, means all of the data created, inputted, or put out by a company or individual. This is all stored on a main server and is administered by a database that makes this information available. Employees in Information Technology are in charge of processing, accumulating, protecting, retrieving and transmitting information for a company or corporation. To do all of this, Information Technologies require powerful computers and servers with ample hard drive space.

The IT department is made up of several members who serve different functions. A system administrator is in charge of maintaining and repairing the computer systems of a company. This requires frequent repairs of the server and database which stores all of a companies information. They make sure that all of the information on the server is backed up somewhere, whereas if something were to happen to the main server that the information would be backed up.

While the system administrator is in charge of the server and the physical operations of information storage, database administrators use software to manage and store all of the information, often creating programs to make sure all of the data is protected from infiltration and is backed up on a regular basis. Important skills that both system administrators and database programmers utilize on a daily basis are: cryptography and database management systems.

Information Technology works the best when we don’t know it is working at all. We often don’t think of the IT department until our computer crashes, and then we realize all the work they do for the company.

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