Saturday, September 28, 2013

7 Quick Takes

7 Quick Takes
 I am a little late to the party this week, but I still wanted to share my takes for this week.  Be sure to visit Conversion Diary for the rest of this week's Quick Takes.  
 
(1) Amazon Prime Video Streaming!
I just figured out that with an Amazon prime membership you can stream video of lots of shows and movies for free.  How did I never know this before?  the whole reason I have a membership in the first place is because of a free trial I forgot to cancel, but now that I have one I want to get my money's worth out of this membership.
 
(2) Friday Night Lights
I have been using all that Amazon Prime to stream lots of Friday Night Lights.  I started watching this show with my roommates when I was living out in SD and teaching, but we only got through part of season 1 and I never got to finish it. 
 
(3) Confession Time
I haven't been to church in weeks.  I hadn't been going for awhile because of my work schedule, then I got into a good rhythm and then I just stopped going again.
 
(4) Hypocrisy
If you're wondering why I bothered with posting the above confession, its because of hypocrisy.  That whole Revelation verse about the lukewarm being spit from the mouth?  Sometimes I can see myself becoming that.  I have a blog about spiritual living, connect to other Catholic blogs, drive around with a rosary in my car - and yet it seems I miss church more weeks than I make it lately.  Just trying to be transparent I guess.
 
(5) Interviews, Job Offers and Work
Things have been a bit crazy for me a bit lately, picking up lots of overtime, working 40-60 hours a week, yet also looking for a "full time" job.  Things have been a bit confusing lately, trying to figure out what direction comes next, analyzing a job offer I received to determine if it worth leaving my current job for.  A bit messy, but I guess that's life.
 
(6) Reevaluation
I feel like this whole job switching time is a good chance for some reevaluation - a chance to look at my current goals, see if they need any changing, and see if I am really taking steps to work toward them.
 
(7) The Goals
My main life goals are still the same as when I wrote them previously, they haven't changed, but my commitment to them definitely needs a kick in the pants.  I have decided to add a few short term goals to the list as well which are:  move out, make aggressive progress toward paying off my student loan, and gain skills/experience which will help me build a career in writing and marketing.

Friday, September 20, 2013

7 Quick Takes

7 quick takes sm1 7 Quick Takes about isolation, Chardonnaydo, and the creepiness of Furbies (vol. 232)

I am linking up over at Jen's 7 Quick Takes.  Two weeks in a row might be a new record for me!  I have to say I'm kind of excited I managed to get my link in at spot #46, definitely better than last week's #92.  I would have been even earlier, but something was wrong with my internet connection.  I'm not the only one who gets excited about these things? Right?


(1) I'm Live!
 
That "new" writing home I talked about last week, is fully live.  Granted I don't know how to create a wordpress site and then not have it live, so it never wasn't, but I have started working on it and officially posting the link and sharing it.  So it is fully live.  Check it out www.laurenbrunault.wordpress.com
 
(2) New Blog Post Format?
Is anyone else finding a new blog post format here in Blogger?  Or have I just been out of the blogosphere long enough that it happened awhile ago, and I just missed the change?
 
(3) New Laptop, Windows 8
So I made a great purchase, of a new Toshiba Windows 8 laptop.  If you've lived on the VISTA stipend, you know the fact that I purchased this within weeks of ending my service is a big deal!  I found an amazing deal on a laptop for less than $250!
 
(4) Spellcheck
I have to say the total integration of spellcheck into the internet, apps etc. is a great feature of Windows8.  Did you know that "blogosphere" is a real live word? It didn't get picked up by spell check.  For some reason this makes me really happy!
 
(5) Not enough hours in the day...
I have to say when I go blog hopping, and see everything that some of the bloggers manage to get done in an average day, week etc. it sometimes amazes me.  Even without children, my own home etc. I still feel like there aren't enough hours in the day sometimes - hence I have a backseat full of cans waiting to be redeemed, an incredibly messy room, and dishes sitting in the sink...
 
(6) And yet, more than enough hours in the week...
I have been quickly learning that in the human services world, there is always enough hours for someone willing to work.  I am on about my 4th consecutive week of working overtime.  I was thinking yesterday "wow, I didn't really work that much this week," then I calculated my hours, and realized that including what is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, I'm at 57 hours...
 
(7) Fall
Fall. I still love it.  Fall is definitely my favorite season.  I love "fall things."  So far the "fall things" I've done are - pumpkin latte & pumpkin donut from Dunkin, salted caramel mocha at Starbucks (not really fall, but it is a seasonal drink..), made chicken chili soup in the crock pot, and - WENT TO THE BIG E!!! For the uninitiated the Big E, is the Eastern States Exposition, it is located in Western MA and serves as the state fair for all of New England.  All 6 states are present at the fair, and the fair ranks as one of the largest state fairs in the nation. 


Friday, September 13, 2013

7 Quick Takes -- Reinvention Edition

7 quick takes sm1 7 Quick Takes about isolation, Chardonnaydo, and the creepiness of Furbies (vol. 232)
 
(1) So Long, No Blog
As anyone checking my blog out right now can see, it's been a long time since I was "engaged" in the blogging world.  It started off unintentional, but after awhile it just felt "awkward" to start up again.  Since I've still been reading blogs regularly (perhaps more avidly than before), I decided I should get back into the blogging world.
 
(2) "Where" Do I Blog/Write
Where is my place in the blogging world? What type of blogs do I like to read?  I am constantly reading Christian and Catholic woman's blogs, and I realized that most of these are "mommy" blogs.  Why do I, as a childless, unattached 20-something read these so much? Because for the most part they're the only Catholic woman's presence on the web.  Unless you're headed to CatholicMatch.com there isn't a ton (which does not mean none - there are some great blogs out there by singles) for the single young (wo)men of the Church.  That's the presence I'm hoping to be a part of.
 
(3) Re-Invention
I am definitely in a season of reinvention in my life.  I finished 2 years of AmeriCorps*VISTA.  I am working a most likely short-term job, which I do in fact really enjoy.  I'm trying to start a career.  This can be a scary season.  I feel like I'm a college senior all over again asking the big questions.  What do I want to do? What do I want to be? Where do I want to live?
 
(4) Fall
I love fall.  Let me rephrase that - I LOVE fall.  It is my favorite season, in a way that only a New Englander could understand.  Even though its a season of dying in many ways, I also see it as a season of refreshment - that cool crisp air, just seems to revitalize things after a long summer.  Plus, it gives me an excuse to laugh at articles like this -- despite coming from the Onion, I suspect that Mr. Autumn Man is NOT just a satire.
 
 
 
(5) My New Online Home
In addition to revitalizing this blog I also have another online home -- L.B. Writes  From this home, I will be venturing into marketing and communications consulting, doing freelance work for non-profits and small businesses.  I have a passion for keeping the "social" in social media, and using the power of the written word to do good in communities, by helping organizations promote positive social change.  I am hoping this will mean big things for me in the future.
 
(6) Personal Re-Invention
In addition to my career, there's been some personal re-invention going on.  This is the re-invention that says not only what do I want to do and what do I want to be, but also who do I want to be?  This is the reinvention that asks: what is my vocation?  what does GOD want me to do?  This is the reinvention that (at least past the age of a 22 year old college student) looks at "where do I want to live?" as a bigger question I wonder things like - what would happen if I met my future life partner while living in a big city, when I would want to raise a family in the country?  Personal re-invention is about not simply deciding what to be, but discerning who to be, and who to surround myself with.
 
(7) Faith Life Re-Invention
This one is a challenge and sometimes a failure, but still something I see as important.  It's been a struggle lately with my faith it seems, even the basic logistics of making it to Mass have been a struggle with my work schedule (Saturday day time then back-to-back overnight shifts Saturday and Sunday), but I realized that if I say this is important, and am not willing to sacrifice an extra hour of sleep or whatever else to make my faith a priority, I become like the lukewarm being spit out (Rev 3:16).  I'm trying to get my priorities in line, and go back to my philosophy journey driven living of living for those priorities everyday.