Introduction:
I am a 22 year old gay adult living in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I have a one year technical diploma in Computer Engineering and Web Development. Lately I've had a number of issues in my life that I haven't been able to necessarily ask my family or parents about. So I am hoping I can get your opinion.
Career:
As I mentioned above, I am in the computer industry. Right after I finished my degree I was able to score a job with a fairly great employer. That lasted three months. I quit because the staff where extremely hard to work with on a daily basis. I was teased all the time about my sexuality and although it didn't cross the line as "sexual discrimination" it made the environment way too tense for me. My second job was with a marketing agency as a consultant. It lasted only a month because the company went bankrupt. Since then I've been doing freelancing. I get jobs here and there, basically just enough $ to keep food on the table. I've been applying for jobs for months, and I get interviews but frankly I don't stand a chance because there are so many unemployed "senior people" who are willing to work for my starting wage. I've been to two careers counselors who have not helped me in any kind of way. I'm frankly not sure what to do now. If I go back to college, I'll need to pick an entirely different industry which seems like a huge waste of my degree. Maybe business or marketing. Apparently there are cities that are experiencing growth in my industry but they are far away from where I live. My question is, should I continue to slug it out apply for jobs, move to a new city or go back to school? Also, in your opinion how many years of college is really sufficient to feeling "secure" and making a decent wage in most industry's?
Relationships:
I have trouble meeting boys who meet my criteria locally. By "criteria" I mean, they must be interested in a monogamous relationship because I don't want to get sick and secondly they must be within 5 years of my age and self sufficient enough to be independent. All my relationships have been long-distance.
Drew - I met Drew online two years ago. We instantly "connected" and would talk at-least once a day using video chat because he lived so far away from me. Finally met a year later in person. Things didn't exactly go as planned. We where meeting right as I was finishing college. I basically had to spend *all my money* to see him. He met me in Las Vegas, the trip was planned for a week. I payed for my airfare, hotel ect. He was only able to spend one day / night with me before he had to go back home, to California because of work. That made me upset! but never-the-less the time we had together was something *I do not regret at all*. Fast forward 5 months. He moved to Germany and then back to the states. I really want to see him, but he has no plans for us to "be together", at-least he won't say it to me. That really makes me confused because honestly I love him and I want to be with him. He wants me to fly out to see him again. I'm hesitant, I don't want my heart broken and I don't want to let him go. What do I do?
In the meantime I ended up casually meeting someone else (Garrett) in California and he is kind of like Drew except he actually "wants a relationship" and is more of what I'm looking for. The only downside to Garrett is that he has some anger issues when he gets into complicated situations/problems. This really has no relevance to the situation with Drew but I thought I would mention it for context sake.
I don't mean to seem high on myself or anything but I'm "above average looking" and I do get a lot of dating prospects but like I mentioned its rare for me to ever find anyone really "suitable". Drew or Garrett are probably the closest I'm going to get. Before you say "there's plenty of fish in the sea" let me say that I have dating profiles on all the major websites, get hundreds of messages weekly and do network with most of the gay people in my town. So I feel somewhat justified with that statement. I do want your thoughts though whatever they may me.
Ultimate goals;
For the next questions context - what I want in my life is: (1.) Financial stability. I don't want to worry if I can feed myself or my family and if I can/can't pay my bills. (2.) I want to get out of Canada and live somewhere with no winter. I hate cold and I hate snow. I love the beach, but since I've never really traveled extensively I don't know where this is. (3.) I want a boyfriend who I can trust, and won't leave me for someone more "pretty" when I start to age. I want a real relationship that is friendship first and sexual attraction later. (4.) I want to do good for others using my talents for complex thinking.
Money:
After I graduated college my mom gave me $5000. She is a single parent so that was considered a very generous gift on her behalf. Also, I managed to save $5000 of my own just by being extremely frivolous and not having much of a life. So my bank total is $10 000 at the moment. I want to be very careful with this money, because I feel like its all I have. At the moment, I have a decent car (totally paid off) and no debt. I want to set myself up for the future so I feel secure and can actually have a responsible, healthy life. Given the above information I've provided what should I do with these funds?
Sorry for the length of all this. Thank you for your thoughts! :)
I'm thrilled at the response to my previous blog post on America's need for 401(k) reform. The bad news is that big business has already developed a strategy to kill reform -- by intimidating the rank and file into lobbying against it. And it's perfectly legal.
While President Obama justifiably criticized the Supreme Court's Citizen United ruling that pretty much removes the limits from campaign spending in advertising, the real scandal on Capitol Hill isn't bankrolling corrupt candidates but creating a "fake citizens lobby" that convinces elected officials to vote the wrong way. It's perfectly legal for big business to pressure employees to lobby against reform that would help employees -- presumably employing the "spin" that reform is a job killer.
The group that's behind this tactic is one you've probably never heard of, BIPAC, a coalition of business owners and associations. When it comes to corporate skulduggery, you can't get much more lowlife than the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), one of BIPAC's leading members. NAM has fought against regulating derivatives because doing so "could hinder job creation for manufacturing" -- gee, which factories manufacture derivatives? NAM has also demanded the overhaul of the Family and Medical Leave Act because employees abuse it, and argued that employees who suffer from repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome aren't really disabled.
There's a good chance that a "fake grass-roots effort" orchestrated by NAM helped convince members of Congress to drop their support for the Employee Free Choice Act, which lets workers opt for unionization simply by signing cards rather than through secret ballot elections. When I went to the page on a website that BIPAC created displaying sample campaigns, I saw a link where employees of NAM's member companies are encouraged to "Tell Members of Congress to Oppose the 'Employee FORCED Choice Act." Technically speaking, businesses can't punish employees who refuse to go along with this effort but in these tough economic times, I wouldn't be surprised if employees are likely to do what they're told rather than risk their job security.
Not surprisingly, NAM is a member of an employer group whose purpose is to fight any reform of 401(k) plans called The Coalition on Employee Retirement Benefits (CERB). Remember Enron? One of its most despicable practices was matching employees 401(k) contributions with company stock, which turns into "play money" if the company goes under. It's very likely that CERB's lobbying efforts watered down the Pension Security Act, which merely allows workers to sell company stock within three years of receiving it rather than limiting it in 401(k) accounts or prohibiting it altogether. As I pointed out in my book, "America, Welcome to the Poorhouse," in a letter to members of the Senate Finance Committee, CERB hints that if Congress is too hard on employers they might stop making 401(k) contributions altogether: " employers are not allowed to meet the legitimate business of encouraging employee ownership...they are likely to reduce or eliminate matching contributions."
How do we get members of Congress to work for the taxpayers who pay their salaries, as opposed to the business lobby? My thinking is that the chance of passing genuine campaign reform legislation is slim -- especially since Congress would have to vote for it. Instead we should create a citizens lobby, comprised of blue and white collar Americans who are watching their American dream turn into a nightmare, whether we're talking about higher medical co-pays, or unaffordable mortgages. Even when it comes to job shortages, most of us are "all in this financial stress together" -- whether we're affected by blue-collar factory jobs that have been outsourced to China or radiology/engineering jobs that have been off-shored to India.
As former SEIU President Andy Stern told me, "Team USA is in trouble. We don't have a plan. Let's grow up, people. This is a global economic war. We need to shake off complacency and get out of our self-analytical malaise." Forget about this Tea Party nonsense, we need a genuine new American revolution against the business lobby and those in Washington who do its bidding.
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ChampMan media scandals "would be fun" <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
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Sony product-lineup at Photokina 2010: Digital Photography Review
Sony product-lineup at Photokina 2010: Sony has issued a press release about the new product developments it's showcasing at Photokina 2010. Highlights include a firmware update for the NEX series (covered in a separate news story), ...
Introduction:
I am a 22 year old gay adult living in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I have a one year technical diploma in Computer Engineering and Web Development. Lately I've had a number of issues in my life that I haven't been able to necessarily ask my family or parents about. So I am hoping I can get your opinion.
Career:
As I mentioned above, I am in the computer industry. Right after I finished my degree I was able to score a job with a fairly great employer. That lasted three months. I quit because the staff where extremely hard to work with on a daily basis. I was teased all the time about my sexuality and although it didn't cross the line as "sexual discrimination" it made the environment way too tense for me. My second job was with a marketing agency as a consultant. It lasted only a month because the company went bankrupt. Since then I've been doing freelancing. I get jobs here and there, basically just enough $ to keep food on the table. I've been applying for jobs for months, and I get interviews but frankly I don't stand a chance because there are so many unemployed "senior people" who are willing to work for my starting wage. I've been to two careers counselors who have not helped me in any kind of way. I'm frankly not sure what to do now. If I go back to college, I'll need to pick an entirely different industry which seems like a huge waste of my degree. Maybe business or marketing. Apparently there are cities that are experiencing growth in my industry but they are far away from where I live. My question is, should I continue to slug it out apply for jobs, move to a new city or go back to school? Also, in your opinion how many years of college is really sufficient to feeling "secure" and making a decent wage in most industry's?
Relationships:
I have trouble meeting boys who meet my criteria locally. By "criteria" I mean, they must be interested in a monogamous relationship because I don't want to get sick and secondly they must be within 5 years of my age and self sufficient enough to be independent. All my relationships have been long-distance.
Drew - I met Drew online two years ago. We instantly "connected" and would talk at-least once a day using video chat because he lived so far away from me. Finally met a year later in person. Things didn't exactly go as planned. We where meeting right as I was finishing college. I basically had to spend *all my money* to see him. He met me in Las Vegas, the trip was planned for a week. I payed for my airfare, hotel ect. He was only able to spend one day / night with me before he had to go back home, to California because of work. That made me upset! but never-the-less the time we had together was something *I do not regret at all*. Fast forward 5 months. He moved to Germany and then back to the states. I really want to see him, but he has no plans for us to "be together", at-least he won't say it to me. That really makes me confused because honestly I love him and I want to be with him. He wants me to fly out to see him again. I'm hesitant, I don't want my heart broken and I don't want to let him go. What do I do?
In the meantime I ended up casually meeting someone else (Garrett) in California and he is kind of like Drew except he actually "wants a relationship" and is more of what I'm looking for. The only downside to Garrett is that he has some anger issues when he gets into complicated situations/problems. This really has no relevance to the situation with Drew but I thought I would mention it for context sake.
I don't mean to seem high on myself or anything but I'm "above average looking" and I do get a lot of dating prospects but like I mentioned its rare for me to ever find anyone really "suitable". Drew or Garrett are probably the closest I'm going to get. Before you say "there's plenty of fish in the sea" let me say that I have dating profiles on all the major websites, get hundreds of messages weekly and do network with most of the gay people in my town. So I feel somewhat justified with that statement. I do want your thoughts though whatever they may me.
Ultimate goals;
For the next questions context - what I want in my life is: (1.) Financial stability. I don't want to worry if I can feed myself or my family and if I can/can't pay my bills. (2.) I want to get out of Canada and live somewhere with no winter. I hate cold and I hate snow. I love the beach, but since I've never really traveled extensively I don't know where this is. (3.) I want a boyfriend who I can trust, and won't leave me for someone more "pretty" when I start to age. I want a real relationship that is friendship first and sexual attraction later. (4.) I want to do good for others using my talents for complex thinking.
Money:
After I graduated college my mom gave me $5000. She is a single parent so that was considered a very generous gift on her behalf. Also, I managed to save $5000 of my own just by being extremely frivolous and not having much of a life. So my bank total is $10 000 at the moment. I want to be very careful with this money, because I feel like its all I have. At the moment, I have a decent car (totally paid off) and no debt. I want to set myself up for the future so I feel secure and can actually have a responsible, healthy life. Given the above information I've provided what should I do with these funds?
Sorry for the length of all this. Thank you for your thoughts! :)
I'm thrilled at the response to my previous blog post on America's need for 401(k) reform. The bad news is that big business has already developed a strategy to kill reform -- by intimidating the rank and file into lobbying against it. And it's perfectly legal.
While President Obama justifiably criticized the Supreme Court's Citizen United ruling that pretty much removes the limits from campaign spending in advertising, the real scandal on Capitol Hill isn't bankrolling corrupt candidates but creating a "fake citizens lobby" that convinces elected officials to vote the wrong way. It's perfectly legal for big business to pressure employees to lobby against reform that would help employees -- presumably employing the "spin" that reform is a job killer.
The group that's behind this tactic is one you've probably never heard of, BIPAC, a coalition of business owners and associations. When it comes to corporate skulduggery, you can't get much more lowlife than the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), one of BIPAC's leading members. NAM has fought against regulating derivatives because doing so "could hinder job creation for manufacturing" -- gee, which factories manufacture derivatives? NAM has also demanded the overhaul of the Family and Medical Leave Act because employees abuse it, and argued that employees who suffer from repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome aren't really disabled.
There's a good chance that a "fake grass-roots effort" orchestrated by NAM helped convince members of Congress to drop their support for the Employee Free Choice Act, which lets workers opt for unionization simply by signing cards rather than through secret ballot elections. When I went to the page on a website that BIPAC created displaying sample campaigns, I saw a link where employees of NAM's member companies are encouraged to "Tell Members of Congress to Oppose the 'Employee FORCED Choice Act." Technically speaking, businesses can't punish employees who refuse to go along with this effort but in these tough economic times, I wouldn't be surprised if employees are likely to do what they're told rather than risk their job security.
Not surprisingly, NAM is a member of an employer group whose purpose is to fight any reform of 401(k) plans called The Coalition on Employee Retirement Benefits (CERB). Remember Enron? One of its most despicable practices was matching employees 401(k) contributions with company stock, which turns into "play money" if the company goes under. It's very likely that CERB's lobbying efforts watered down the Pension Security Act, which merely allows workers to sell company stock within three years of receiving it rather than limiting it in 401(k) accounts or prohibiting it altogether. As I pointed out in my book, "America, Welcome to the Poorhouse," in a letter to members of the Senate Finance Committee, CERB hints that if Congress is too hard on employers they might stop making 401(k) contributions altogether: " employers are not allowed to meet the legitimate business of encouraging employee ownership...they are likely to reduce or eliminate matching contributions."
How do we get members of Congress to work for the taxpayers who pay their salaries, as opposed to the business lobby? My thinking is that the chance of passing genuine campaign reform legislation is slim -- especially since Congress would have to vote for it. Instead we should create a citizens lobby, comprised of blue and white collar Americans who are watching their American dream turn into a nightmare, whether we're talking about higher medical co-pays, or unaffordable mortgages. Even when it comes to job shortages, most of us are "all in this financial stress together" -- whether we're affected by blue-collar factory jobs that have been outsourced to China or radiology/engineering jobs that have been off-shored to India.
As former SEIU President Andy Stern told me, "Team USA is in trouble. We don't have a plan. Let's grow up, people. This is a global economic war. We need to shake off complacency and get out of our self-analytical malaise." Forget about this Tea Party nonsense, we need a genuine new American revolution against the business lobby and those in Washington who do its bidding.
robert shumake
Olympus develops compact camera with Zuiko lens: Digital <b>...</b>
Olympus develops compact camera with Zuiko lens: Olympus has announced it is developing an enthusiasts' compact camera that, for the first time, will have a Zuiko-branded lens. In addition to using the Zuiko name, long used to denote ...
ChampMan media scandals "would be fun" <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Read our news of ChampMan media scandals. ... Latest News. "Rebuilt" iPhone ChampMan soon . Developer Beautiful Game Studios; Publisher Square Enix; Release Date Autumn 2010; More on Championship Manager 11 → ...
Sony product-lineup at Photokina 2010: Digital Photography Review
Sony product-lineup at Photokina 2010: Sony has issued a press release about the new product developments it's showcasing at Photokina 2010. Highlights include a firmware update for the NEX series (covered in a separate news story), ...
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Olympus develops compact camera with Zuiko lens: Digital <b>...</b>
Olympus develops compact camera with Zuiko lens: Olympus has announced it is developing an enthusiasts' compact camera that, for the first time, will have a Zuiko-branded lens. In addition to using the Zuiko name, long used to denote ...
ChampMan media scandals "would be fun" <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Read our news of ChampMan media scandals. ... Latest News. "Rebuilt" iPhone ChampMan soon . Developer Beautiful Game Studios; Publisher Square Enix; Release Date Autumn 2010; More on Championship Manager 11 → ...
Sony product-lineup at Photokina 2010: Digital Photography Review
Sony product-lineup at Photokina 2010: Sony has issued a press release about the new product developments it's showcasing at Photokina 2010. Highlights include a firmware update for the NEX series (covered in a separate news story), ...
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