How Does the Online Idea Party Work?
You have a dream or a wish, and an obstacle to getting there. (If you don’t think you know your wish, work through my kick-starter and read this post. To learn why you must put logic aside to find your dream, read the following.)
The online Idea Party is here to help you – and the other fellow party goers – with your wishes and obstacles.
Voices from Success Teams and Idea Parties:
Having a team to report to and hearing what everybody did each week is very exciting. It’s kept me moving all year. In the past I made some good starts on my own, but found, every time, when the energy ran out, I ran out. Now it doesn’t run out.
Jade G.
Children’s Playroom Therapist, New York Hospital
I would do a painting a year, a sketch a year. If it was only me I know I would never do it. Having to tell you makes all the difference. It’s crazy why I didn’t do this years ago, it’s so easy all of a sudden.
Caroline R. Personnel Executive, Macy’s Dept Store
Post Your Wish and Your Obstacle Here!
And help your team mates out when you can. Use the Reply link to help, the form below the comments to add your own Wish and Obstacle.
(Your first comment below has to be approved, so it may not display instantly depending on the time of the day. Once your email address is approved you can post instantly. If you want your own profile photo to show up beside your comments, instead of the cute little design, upload your photo on Gravatar.com and give them an hour or so to make it happen.)
i want to trade small cap stocks be financial independent and give money to charity and travel the world with my income from stocks . obstacle seed money to start trading .
Judy, and all contributors that know about trading small cap stocks, I would be curious as to how we could ALL be funded to be a wealthy world traveller, and, yipee, share this wealth? Is there a win-win solution for all involved that does not take advantage of poorly paid humble people?
I did it for awhile, and it is called wheeling and dealing in real estate. My mother died and left me with several pieces of property which were all in a shambles. I couldn’t continue to pay property tax on all of them, and some of them were raw land, or almost so, with cabins on them in utter disrepair or semi-disrepair. Her own house and yard were in need of mega repair and landscaping, and huge amounts of gardening to get rid of years’ worth of entanglements of brush and weeds. I hired a retired general contractor who proved to be a gem. He knew how to do everything. I hired gardeners, a landscape contractor, and went to work myself. I wore out 6 brand new pairs of jeans in one summer, constructed a bridge across a stream without any carpentry skills and with some leftover lumber that my husband had left behind in our basement. Our divorce proceedings were in full gear at the time of my mother’s death. So I was on my own. I hired a roofer who was the roofer from hell–he tore the roof off the house and then proceeded to disappear! When Mom died, I was working some minimum wage job as a park ranger. Doing a lot of secretarial work, too, and not getting the pay. When she died, besides the properties, she left me $50,000. So I immediately quit my job and went to work. Her house had to be cleaned out and at least made habitable. I still had repairs to go, but I got it habitable and rented it out. The landscape contractor began work on her yard two weeks after she died. Some nasty neighbors were threatening to sue me over driveway access, and a retaining wall had to immediately be moved. I told them the situation, and they realized what jerks they were, but the work had to proceed apace. Then I got the house rented out, and proceeded to coordinate the ongoing yard work there, worked on it myself, and began the bridge-building. And the trail building around that property. It sold by the end of summer. My first money. I deposited it in the bank and kept on going. Altogether, my mom’s place took $55,000 to fix up, and by property fixing standards in the 1990’s, it was a money pit! I sold it for $120,000 after renting it out for 6 years. During that time, I fixed up and sold my own house, and fixed up another cabin, tore down a cabin with my bare hands and a sledge hammer, sawed the logs into thirds, loaded them crosswise into my car, and toted them off to my friends’ house–we used them for one of our sweat lodge fires. I worked on that land, hired a guy to help me fell the dead trees that were going to rip out neighbors’ houses, power lines, and fall on the cabin if they weren’t taken care of, and removed literally tons of dead limbs from the property, plus repaired the cabin, including laying a new roof. The preliminary estimate for a sales price on that property was $28,000. By the time I was done fixing it up, it sold for $89,000. I still miss it and the memories of the place make me cry. But sometimes, when we have to move on, hard decisions have to be made.
In this way, after wearing out 6 pairs of jeans and wearing out my body, I made $350,000. I gave away a grand total of $100,000 to various people to help them do various things like pay unpayable medical bills, and I helped an innocent friend with thousands of dollars in legal fees. Et cetera. I emerged from doing all this with a grand total of $250,000, and thought my name was Ms. Gotrocks. I had a nice car and all that I wanted. I lived in a very nice, very spacious place in an exclusive neighborhood north of Seattle, with acre lawns and flowering shrubs, and peacocks strutting on the lawn. (God, how they screech! If you ever get rich, don’t, for heavens sake, get peacocks!)
I went to the Colorado Rockies, plopped $35,000 down on a beautiful piece of mountain property, and attracted two people as business partners. We had the idea of creating a spiritual retreat center. There were three fools living on that mountain. By the time the following June came when I extricated myself from that disaster and moved back to Washington State, I had $25,000 left.
This story illustrates that it is not just a matter of getting rich, but a matter of knowing what to do and not do with it if you get it!
Thankyou for sharing that. I love that you helped people with part of it.I inherited money and blew it after helping some people as well. it was FUN.
I got an idea. Do you know anyone who knows someone who knows someone who trades stocks, is a stockbroker? Find a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) somewhere–they exist in most towns and cities, for sure, and ask him/her if they know of a stockbroker. Or make an appointment to talk to a banker. Then, once you locate this stockbroker, make an appointment to talk to him/her about his/her work. Meanwhile, pretend that you’ve already found the stockbroker, and start writing up a list of questions, and don’t make the list short, that you’d like to ask about their work. How do you become a stockbroker? Does it take special education? Where? How do I get it? Or do you just do it? How did you do it? Etc., etc., etc. Make up your own long and curious list. Then, at your appointment, you ask away. This should begin to provide you with insight as to how to get started. This approach is called Informational Interviewing, and is good for anyone trying to break into a new field. You will most likely want to try this with more than one stockbroker. At the end of your interview, ask the person who else he or she thinks you should talk to.
Hello,
I am very happy to have found such a cool tribe which hopefully I can become a part of 🙂
I’m a recent college grad who recently identified as a scanner and found the perfect umbrella career: freelance commercial writing. I have two obstacles.
1 )I’ve been struggling to write a linkedin account because I feel embarrassed that I don’t have any professional experience. I majored in English and minored in Film and I don’t have much professional experience. I worked as an usher for the music department at my school, the career department as front desk receptionist, and at a computer lab as a tech mentor. I did some student film projects at school but they sucked so I don’t have a video portfolio. I am interning at a non-profit which I’m really enjoying called Together We Rise and I write blog posts and review grants as well. Other than that, I’ve never had a real job and I fear my linkedin profile will look puny and unprofessional.
-On my linked in, I want to write that I’m interested in freelance commercial writing/advertising/marketing/film/personal development/storytelling, but I don’t know how to justify it
2) I guess solving Problem 1 would also solve problem 2- I really would love to connect with a freelance commercial writer and have a mentor…but where do I find a local and non-sketchy one?
—> I live in Chino, CA which is not conveniently close to LA.
I guess I can’t help but feel intimidated to start on my own.
I apologize for the long post, but as a freelance writer I’d have so much flexibility to pursue my other passions–> writing for fun, writing on my journal, reading self-help books, and writing about them, walking my dog, and writing my own screenplays (a career I’m not considering at the time because I want something that offers more flexibility). I have Peter Bowerman’s the Well Fed Writer in hand, but need a little more guidance.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions!
Thank you for your time!
Hmmmmm . . . What does a freelance commercial writer, as opposed to other type of writer, write? Advertising copy? I dunno. I’m just guessing. My input is that you need not feel so embarrassed about not having experience. I have been out of grad school for 2 1/2 years without work, and the economy is rotten. That accounts for at least 97% of it. So not to think that you’re so awful. I have a dynamite resume that gets me into interviews, even now. It was developed by the head of Career Services at the university I graduated from, based on an existing resume that I had. It took us four days of wrangling, arguing, getting stunk up at each other, but by golly, he really knew what he was doing, and he hung in there, and it was really worth it! My resume highlights one of my internship experiences. It also gives relevant experience from volunteer work that I’ve done since graduation, and it gives relevant experience from work that I did for a couple of years before school. You are reviewing grants??? Wow!! That is a skill worth sitting up and tooting your horn about. You are interning at Together We Rise? What contributions are you making to the organization? I made some contributions on my internship that made a difference to the health of the organization. So what if your student film projects suck? In whose judgment do they suck? Yours? Or someone else’s? There may be some value in them. A possible resume item may look like this, “Made a 50 minute docudrama about X”. You don’t have to say it sucked. Just say what it was about. Was it aired anywhere? Where? You must’ve passed school somehow, so maybe it didn’t quite suck as much as you think, or you wouldn’t have got through school, am I right? Get with someone who you can get together with, elbow to elbow, not on the internet, and have them help you to write up a bangup resume. Can Career Services at your school help? I went back to my school and got the help when I was an alum. Just because you’re an alum does not mean they won’t help. It’s worth a try to contact them and make an appointment. Also, simultaneously, what kinds of companies/outfits/places have commercial writing? In your area? In or near your town? In the city closest to your town? In what publications? Start investigating. And then approach the managing editors, not the top editors, of those publications with proposals for articles, or whatever. Hit them up with proposals at first, rather than samples of your work. If they like your proposal, they may reach out to you for more. At which point, you can send samples.
Dear Mary Anne Leberg,
Thank you so much for replying. I guess I do have some skillz after all! Revising grants is a big deal. My 6 minute film was written in response to the government’s SOPA bill. I’ve been looking at my jobs and noticed that they did help me build interpersonal skills and they do help me up for marketing/writing/film and I can state that my personal interests are personal development and storytelling . I have now contacted my career services and am having them help me refine my resumes and help me through the process. And also, you gave me the idea to look for a steady copywriting job so I can get my feet wet at no risk, and lower the fear factor when I decide to go on my own (I experienced an uh-duh moment here). Thank you so much for your input, I greatly appreciate the encouragement more than anything!
Sincerely,
Delia
You’re welcome, Delia, and I can see that you’re coming alive! I’m glad this sparked your idea to get a copy writing job. I bet that’ll work. It’s better, as Barbara says, to be working for someone else while you develop your own thing than to just dive off a cliff, so to speak.
Undoubtedly Bargara knows what she thinks, but perhaps it is not necessary to get a direct answer, knowing about the art and practice of medicine, and the law.
Here’s a clue to what our country – USA – does to cope. 30% of children in school (reputedly) are put on ritalin or similar substances at some cost to parents so that they will be calm and quiet in class. This is often demanded by teachers and other school staff. What does that tell you? There have been many articles about this. So I would reason on why she is trying to encourage us and how helpful it would be to have recognition for our interests, intuition, etc.
A counselor for a relative of mine “in care” and ready to return home told us (I attended a family conference) that exercise was more important than anything else in dealing with anxiety, depression, and all kinds of overwhelming feelings. We need to be active, to accomplish something that is satisfying. Even someone who is unable to move parts of their body can usually get some kind of exercise. It could be a walk in a park, or deep breathing with a video/audio instruction program of your choice, etc.
We were meant to exert ourselves, we have at our disposal an awesome machine, our body, that is meant to be used. In our country, children used to have much more opportunity for exercise in natural forms such as playing in the grass, rolling down a hill, skating, biking, building forts, and so on. This physical activity is a natural part of life. We don’t want to loose it out of fear of others, such as those who might see us and possibly harm us. You could find a friend or join a group with similar schedules that can be company for this.
Life is complex, to be handled with prayer, thougtfullness. Surely love is more important than professional insight, as love can be there when you are down. You’d be amazed.
Respectfully,
Faith. And may you find comfort in the ultimate source of our universal energy
Hi,
Does anyone out there know what Barbara Sher’s theory is on the difference between ADHD and Scanners?
I’m asking because I’ve been diagnosed as ADHD (by an M.D. who specializes in this area and has spent hours testing me before making this diagnosis), and I’m curious as to whether there are any differences between the two?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Louise
All I know is from personal experience. I was diagnosed with A.D.D. about 20 years ago. My experience with it leads me to say the two conditions have nothing in common. When I’m having an ADD attack my head feels like it’s full of fog. I don’t know what I was going to do with the papers in each hand and just stare at them. I can’t keep track of what I was doing or wanted to do next. I don’t like anything about it.
When I’m having a Scanner day, (that is, I’ve had enough sleep and the phone’s not ringing off the hook, not too many ‘urgent!’ emails in my inbox, ) my head is very clear, I’m great at organizing and creating order, even outlines. The only problem is that I often want to do two or three things at once. That’s always solved if I start to work on one of them with someone else involved, even if it’s just a ‘call me in an hour’ blockbuster. ADD bad. Scanner good!
Hey, thanks Barbara,
I appreciate the clarification. I think I understand the difference now and it makes sense.
Thanks for taking the time to explain it 🙂
This is my wish: To get home to Western Washington State, and to network there with a retreat center on Bainbridge Island, to see how well my dreams of working for them fit with their ideas and their work. To set up a private psychotherapy practice, and to possibly find agency work as a psychotherapist. Obstacles: No work since graduation, so lack of money (help is on the way through crowdfunding so I can make the move.) Other major obstacle: No housing up there, and no help coming from friends with that. Need to network for it. Any connections would be helpful. Any housing leads would be helpful. Presently have minimal monthly steady income of less than $1,000 per month.
You may get other replies that have direct knowledge, but could you put a notice out there (Discreet, personal, not craigslist) to the college community you want to study with, that you are looking to rent a room or a small space, including perhaps a travel trailer, or something in a VERIFIABLY SAFE environment? Perhaps a fellow student is looking for the same, or you could find a shared space. My brother lived in a wonderful victorian style boarding house at Berkeley just off campus, and of course that was years and years ago, but perhaps there are discreet arrangements that exist such as that relying on references, etc. for all parties, through mature and thoughtful friends.
Hello Mary Ann ,
I have some ideas for your new life:
working-place: for the start I would look for a short-term job as a waitress, a cashier, secretary or whatever. Afterwords when you got a sleeping-place you can search for a short-term work as an assistant in a psychiatric hospital, in a psychiatric walk-in clinic or in a psychosomatic hospital. Or as an external reviewer who works together with a psychotherapist (here in Germany we have that people).
Concerning your house-situation: firstly I would look for a flat-share, a living-community or a small furnished apartment (if there is enough from the crowdfunding).
In case that retreat-center has a branch in your new town ask for a small room (with free meal and lodging) and you offer your knowledge to the visitors/ stuff instead.
Concerning your furniture from your old flat: I’d sell everything or bring it to your former neighbors/ friends/ or good acquaintances. You can fetch it later with new people from your place.
(If it is possible for you I would visit this new town during your holidays because it is easier to find a job and a flat before you move).
Concerning new people: I would place a personal advertisement in the newspapers: “newcomer is looking for some people with the following interests…. “ ( I would do that in your previous town before you move to that new place)
financial situation for your later private practice: what about state credits, scholarships/ grants, bank credits? Or a business-companion.
I hope some advices can help you.
Regards and good luck for your new start! You’ll make it!
Isa
Dear Isa,
Your message came through to me on my rubydragonfly e-mail for some reason, so I replied to it from there.
I know how to move, and the steps I need to make to move. I have moved 27 times in my adult life, and have made three major interstate moves, about to make the fourth one. It’s just that it’s so scary when I don’t have work up there or housing. So I have begun to actively network for housing in the Kitsap/Seattle area. My wish is that I could work for and live at the wonderful retreat center that I found. But that is not a certainty. Soooo . . . . I have to clear at least $2200 per month to break even, with the expenses that I will incur if I immediately get a job doing anything. I have a steady income of about $955 a month, and would have to make at least $1300 per month doing anything, to meet this goal. The only situations which provide free room and board that I know of is when you are engaged 24/7, taking care of an elderly person in their home as an in-home, live-in caregiver. With that, the hours and routines are so demanding that there’s no time for anything but that. One of the definitions of a toxic situation is one which drains all your resources of time. Clearly, I need the time to apply for work, conduct telephone interviews, go on interviews, drive around visiting agencies, and get work. It is at least a good 20-30 hours a week that I have been spending on it, up until now, every week. I cannot afford to wait until next spring to move. I am in moving mode now. I have been to over 150 agencies in New Mexico, looking for work. They all tell me the same thing: “We used to get lots of money from the State. We have had our budgets cut so much that we are working with one-quarter of the funds we had 2 years ago. So we’re not hiring now, and we’re not hiring any time soon. In fact, we’re worried that we will have to close our doors.” One hundred and fifty agencies! That’s when I quit counting. But I didn’t quit looking. I tried to go get work in Albuquerque, and I had another 70 agencies lined up to approach. When I got there, it was 98 degrees farenheit, and at 1:30 in the morning, it was still 98 degrees. The next morning, on my way back to my car, at the UNM campus, I got dizzy and almost collapsed, from heat stroke. I live in a body that can’t cope with such temperatures. So, the adventure of life in New Mexico is over for me, and it is clearly time to go elsewhere. I am licensed to practice in Washington State as well as in New Mexico, and Washington is my home. I am very homesick for my beautiful home there. I have friends up there. Washington State has the added advantage that I can develop a private practice under supervision up there. The licensing laws in New Mexico won’t let me do this, but the laws in Washington will. I have reached one conclusion: If I cannot become employed, it is time to employ myself! At home in Washington. Another barrier to employment here is that for the jobs that I have been able to find and apply for, I am constantly being told that unless I can deliver psychotherapy in Spanish, I’m no good!
The snow starts to fly around the first of November in the Rocky Mountains, and I have at least one 12,000 foot pass to get over. Sometimes, it even starts snowing in October. I have at most, a one to two month window of time to get moved.
Awhile back, I tried to get work at the domestic violence shelter in Santa Fe. I have plenty of experience. They wouldn’t hire me because they said they have a 40% Spanish-only speaking populace that they serve. When I asked why that was so high, they said that a lot of undocumented immigrants don’t feel safe closer to the border, so they come up here, get into trouble, and need their services. Wow! Can’t even get work at the domestic violence shelter! Crazy! I graduated in 2011. I’ve been looking for work ever since. I’ve scoured Northern New Mexico. I’ve found I can’t live in Albuquerque, which is hotter than hades in the summer, and if the populace that needs help in Santa Fe is 40% Spanish speaking, well, it’s time to head home!
The point to all this is, I don’t want to wait until next spring, living in a place where I can get no work, and basically wasting time and twiddling my thumbs. It’s time to go time, and as soon as some crowd funding comes in, I will be able to move. I definitely need to make a change, and the change will hopefully happen before the snow flies.
Hello dear Mary Ann, 🙂
so you have a lot of experience with moving. That’s quite helpful and at least Kitsap is your hometown! 🙂
I also consider it best to return to Kitsap again as soon as possible. Why wasting time at a place with such a high unemployment?
But what I didn’t get well, is your financial situation. I think this is your main Problem now and you firstly have to create a financial plan for that movement. (Please, don’t be inpatient with me, I just try to analyze the external handicaps in your situation. I guess the situation here in Germany is quite different and also easier.)
So, if you intend to move to Kitsap tomorrow for example, do you have enough money from that crowd-funding to return with your whole house-content? In case you don’t have, is there anyone of your family or your former friends from your town who could send you the rest of your money with Western Union Bank or another way?
And that $ 2,200 monthly to whom you have pay that or how much is the total amount? Do you mind that the finance-provider will accept a break of payment for around 6 months? Is it possible for you to get a small welfare-income in your hometown? I ask that, to gain some time for your job- and house-searching? Or is there another third party which could help you while you are searching and making a contact to this retreat-center? So firstly I would establish a basis in Kitsap and later I would expand. You will certainly have enough time to make some deals with that retreat-center or other organizations in future.
Finally you mustn’t tell all the details here in the internet. I just want to offer you some ideas to go on.
Regards from
Isa 🙂
I will take your questions one at a time. Kitsap is a 100-mile wide and long county in Western Washington, not my home town. I have no idea how much money is coming to me from the crowdfunding effort, because, to the best of my knowledge, the site is still being set up. The reason I’m not moving there immediately is that I have no money to move with. That’s where, hopefully, the crowdfunding comes in. Family is dead. All of them. And there is no one who will foot a moving bill of $3,000 or more. $3,000 will get me there, but it won’t get me enough money to get into an apartment, any groceries, or anything else, including gas for my car. That’s just the moving expense itself. The answer to friends sending me money is no. $2200 per month is what it takes for me to make all necessary payments, based on a rent rate of $300 per month. Of course, if the rent goes up, then that needs to increase. I have a steady monthly income of $955, which moves with me. There are no such things as “breaks.” If I start earning, and from ten days after I start earning, the expenses I’ve outlined are what I must pay. This is why I need to be careful what sort of job I get, and the best thing is to get hired professionally, at a decent salary. The “small welfare income” is what I have now–$955, and it moves with me. I need a roof over my head from the day I get there. That’s why I’m using the idea party site to network now, while I’m still here, for leads for housing. It rains all the time there, except for about 2 months in the summer, and it’s pretty miserable going camping, when you’re forced to, in the rain. So I’m looking at least at housesitting sites, looking into some housing authority options that I know of (government-subsidized housing programs), and I am networking here. I can also contact the housing offices of a couple of universities in the area to see if they have off-campus housing. You don’t have to be a student to rent a room, and, for obvious reasons, rent must be kept very low at first.
I have to do the contacting with the retreat center. I have called them already, and they say that “When you get to Washington, call us and then we can meet and see how simpatico you are.” We left it at that, and agreed to that. No one can do that for me–that’s my homework. I would love it if it wound up that I could live there and work there in their programs, but this, as I say, is not a certainty, only my pipe dream, at this point.
I don’t mind answering stuff. We have a reasonably secure website here on Barbara’s web. The point is, I have been working with Barbara to set up crowdfunding so I can move, and I am networking here for housing in the Kitsap/Seattle area.
Mary Ann,
How are you with cats and plants? If you like both, these folks are looking for a house-sitter for their gorgeous house in Gig Harbor near Seattle for 3 1/2 months: (just posted today, 3 Sept. 2013)
Available November 6, 2013:
http://www.housecarers.com/homeowner-profile.cfm?mem=2145649498
“Cat & Plant lover needed for Waterfront House.
House Sitter Needed for chc4444
Posted or Updated Sep 3,2013
Location
Near Seattle & Tacoma, Puget Sound Waterfront, Gig Harbor
Pierce County,Washington United States
View location map
Availability
Nov 6,2013
For 3.5 months until about 2/25/13 (we’re flexible) | Long Term
Not a member?Join today to contact this home owner
contact chc4444
We have quite a beautiful location with 4 acres on Puget Sound with a small contemporary house that has a bright southwestern exposure (which matters in the northwest). We own three wonderful somewhat high maintenance siamese cats and have a greenhouse that needs tending. Smithsonian voted Gig Harbor one of the top 10 small towns in the country a year or so ago and we’re about an hour from Seattle either by car or ferry. There is a lot to do in the Pacific Northwest. We have bikes and canoes that you may use. We are looking for a nonsmoker who can be here the entire time that we are gone. That person or couple would need to love cats and be handy around the house and property (ie: be able to fix small things). We have a greenhouse with cactus and succulents that will need care also. There will probably be very little yard work since it will be winter. We do not have cable television but high speed internet will be provided. ”
(Bet you’d love the high-speed internet after using the library!)
This is certainly a viable option. I can approach housing offices of various universities and ask about their lists of off-campus housing. In fact, this is already under consideration.
This comes so close, Jennifer. The truth is, I am seriously allergic to cats, and three is more than I can handle. My throat starts to swell shut, so it is a serious allergy. I have been known to house sit for up to two, without this happening, plus a dog. But, it’s something I cannot sign up for, in this case. However, thanks for the reminder. What I do need to do is get signed up for housecarers.com, so that at least I’ll have some place to go. I have good housesitting references from this region. That’s how I got started here, housesitting for six weeks, and then another week and a half, and then found the little place where I still live to this day. It was March 26, 2003, when I moved in.
Dangit! This is so very close to ideal. Nuts! I just know I can’t do three cats though. It’s out of the question.
Airbnb.com may have something that would work for $1000/month. That seems like a very reasonable amount. Also, places close to bainbridge might be affordable, like Poulsbo.
-Becca
I have looked on that website by now, and they have rentals beginning at $95 per night on up to $125 per night. This is way far and beyond outside the scope of my monthly income. I would be dead broke in 10 days. It looks like my best bet would be to find out my next school/work combination at this point, and rent a room, or do housesharing, which I have done in the past, or possibly housesitting. Another option would be to transfer my Section 8 rent subsidy to Kitsap County, since that’s where I want to go, and Section 8 is a federal program that is transferrable from state to state, so long as I move before I have a job.
Coupla suggestions: a quick Google reveals that there seem to be about a dozen colleges/universities in Kitsap County. Enquire with them for resident advisor positions. This might cover experience plus income plus place to live.
Check with the Sheriff’s Department. My local sheriff’s office has what they call “victim’s advocates.” It’s a volunteer position, but it would be resume fodder and networking opportunity.
Are you crafty at all? (Knitting, sewing, etc.) Creative Geeks (meetup.com) has a large contingent in Seattle. Excellent networking opportunities. They might also be able to help hook you up with inexpensive lodging.
Average housing prices for that region are around $1200 per month for a one bedroom apartment, and my total income is less than $1,000 per month at the present time. There is a housing group committed to the establishment of affordable housing, because there is so little of it, but they have a waiting list and are taking no openings. My best bet would most likely be a room somewhere or housesitting for the start. But I will scope out this website. Thanks!
There are three colleges in Kitsap County, and I know them, because I know the area well. Olympic College is a Community College and does not have dorm space. The others are even smaller, and they do not have dorms either. I must be careful to avoid any kind of a job that keeps me occupied 24/7, and keeps me from doing psychotherapy. I will be looking into working the rape crisis lines, the suicide lines, and getting work in the domestic violence sector as soon as I get there. These are the least desirable jobs in the field of counseling, but therefore, the most likely.
Hello everyone,
I hope somebody of you has some new ideas of supporting me, because I don’t find some new solutions.
As far as my person is concerned, I’m a single Mom from Germany and I’m living together with my 8 year old daughter. I have 2 short-time jobs so that we have enough money for us and to pay all the debts. I have 3 wishes but my main is: after 8 years of solitary life I would like to find a partner. My obstacles are: that there isn’t anyone outside to whom I feel any attraction. Frequently they are in a relationship and just want to have an affair with me (especially most of that types whom I know from the internet) and concerning the others we don’t have any creative interests in common. And there is also another problem: because of my child and my jobs, I have less time to date somebody every time.
Furthermore I would like to work as an alternative healing practitioner in the near future but I failed the examination for 3 times, although I was learning autodidactically medicine in the past (frequently in the evenings). The 3. wish is that I intend to relocate to Italy when my child is grown up because of the lifestyle and the culture. 🙂
But Now I feel that I must concentrate on my main wish before going on with learning and repeating for the exam.
So my question is, what would you do, if you were in my position?
Thank you in advance for helping me.
I’d concentrate on two things, the exam and the man, in that order. I’ve found out over the course of a lifetime that it’s a lot easier to get myself put together than it is to find a partner, particularly when I’m not as “put together” as I’d like to be. I got married to a student who stayed a student for years and years, much longer than I thought he would, and it pulled our whole marriage apart.
So, first, I’d say, concentrate on you. When I went to grad school, I studied like hell. 117 hours a week, just to keep up with the assignments. Then, when I had to sit for a huge 5 hour long exam to obtain my intermediate license, I studied again, furiously, for about a couple of months. There were these books I had to get, and each one was about 300 pages long. There were three of them. I studied as much as I could. Laundry got done once a month. House cleaning and yard work didn’t get done at all. Dishes piled up. I studied morning, afternoon, and evening, and night. I passed the exam. It was fiendishly difficult, but I passed it. So, that’s what I’d say to do first. When in such heavy concentration, who has time for a relationship? Nobody, that’s who! So I’d say, study, pass exam this time. (It must be a really tough exam!) Then, with this new credential, and with the exam out of the way, launch your new career in alternative healing. When this has been up and going for a few months, and has reached a point of stability where you can see that it is working, then you are ready to embark on the next thing–meeting a man.
To meet other interesting persons, be they romantic partners or same-gender friends, there is a process. It starts with getting involved in some activity that interests you, and get into a group that does it. For me, this is hiking and mountaineering. Since I am a good amateur photographer, I might also consider a photography club. I might also consider a storytellers’ guild, because of my talent there. You get the idea. It has to be an outfit that appeals to you because of your interests, and it has to be an outfit where there is interaction between the members. So you are pursuing what you love, with others who love it too. The idea is that people are in it for the activity itself, not for the primary purpose of meeting others. You’d get enjoyment out of it on a particular day whether you met someone or not.
Now, suppose someone you meet there likes you and you like them. You get each others’ contact information before the day is up. And you follow up. This could be anyone–a same gender friend or if it is a guy, hey! One thing leads to another. Now the two of you are involved because you like each other, or something about you sparks the other person and something about them sparks you. So you want to get to know each other better. And now, the focus has shifted. You are now getting together because the focus is on the people in the relationship, not the activity. You’ll go and have all kinds of activities because this is how the relationship will be built, and it’s because you want to see each other. As to lack of time for dating, I don’t have as ready an answer for that, except to suggest this: Is there another mom with whom you can begin a child-watching, child-caring exchange? If you watch her children on a certain day or at a certain time, can she watch yours at a certain time? This not need be costly–in fact, it could be a labor exchange, with no money changing hands. Just doing each other mutual favors. Is there a way that a small group of moms like this could be started in your neighborhood?
Hello dear Mary Ann,
thank your for your advices. I come to realize that the steps you mentioned are the best way to go on.
Although sometimes I feel lonely and stressed.
And yes, this exam is very though. It contains questions of a regular medicine exam. But there are some exceptions we are not allowed to offer and to practice like a physician (to give our patients antibiotics, or narcotic medicine f. e.) and there are a lot of laws, prohibitions and emergency-instructions we have to keep in mind. But I don’t know why, I like to study all that human medicine. That is my big passion! Only in the last 3 years there were some problems coming from outside: 1. Problems with the father of my daughter, the next year: my child had to change the school, this year my father was very sick and finally he died 3 months ago. Sometimes I feel there is no time for myself and my wishes never will be fulfilled.
Concerning the network, yes I have it with some other Mom’s here in the neighborhood. Each of us cares for the children of the other from time to time.
Regards from
Isa
With regard to the exam, take a look at the Study Hacks blog: http://calnewport.com/blog/about/ He’s got mountains of tips on how to study smarter, rather than harder. Also, some test-taking tips, as well.
Dear Barbara Sherites ( I consider myself a Barbara Sherite, love her!)
A few months ago I decided to make an EP to blossom my performance career, after a long hiatus of caring for my Step-Son who suffers from Autism. I got a couple of suggestions, and even made a very sweet friend ( Hi Jill!) right here on Idea Party. Decided on crowdfunding but because I am a naturally shy person it took some serious guts to try it. Well Its been slow going, but I am determined to make a real go of it, and I am not a great Marketer or Salesperson sooo….So here goes! Gulp! Please share and donate to my GoFundMe page to help make my dreams come true…OK…Writing that was a bit hard, but I did it!….Maybe for someone else this might be easy, but for me its really putting myself out there!….Heres the link….Thanks and <3
http://www.gofundme.com/3jf3b8
Been swamped but am getting to it!
My wish is to have many readers of my fiction and non-fiction and eventually my own publishing company.
My obstacle is not much of a fan base yet and no CMO (chief marketing officer) or salesperson yet.
Well, maybe, just maybe, you don’t need all of that stuff. What fiction and nonfiction? This sounds prodigious–most writers don’t end up writing both. Have you already got a book m.s. sitting in the bottom drawer of a file cabinet, or stored on a flash drive somewhere?
I’m serious when I ask what fiction and what nonfiction. Regarding nonfiction, what topic(s) do you want to write about most, or have you written about most? Regarding fiction, what genres do you want to write about most, or have you written about most?
Regarding having your own publishing company: I know of a very independently-minded author who knew that if he wanted to get published what he had to say, that he would have to do just that, create his own publishing company. And I know who helped him set it up, and have contacts to these people.
If you want further information, I can be contacted at rubydragonfly2@yahoo.com, and then I will connect with my contacts and see how they would be willing to help.
I’ll start with 2 wishes, but as you can well imagine, I have quite a few including getting back into music writing and performing. I would like some help regarding formatting a book that uses lots of humor about life, semi autobiographical. The second is building a community that has houses, apartments, garden areas and a covenant based on the purpose of organic gardening, economy and thoughtful design, etc. that is not beyond the reach of women alone, with a no (recreational) drug policy. Probably want to build it in East Tennessee near where I now live. Obstacles: the book I can do, I have chapters, just need some coaching, but the second project would need to be joint with others who would like the same It could start out smaller, of course.
Hi Faith,
Is there an existing housing coop near where you live so you could talk to people there and bounce ideas off of?
Sorry if you already know this; just thought I’d throw that out there 🙂
I was thinking of Linus Torvalds and how he put a little notice on the net once upon a time about a computer project and years later: the world’s fastest supercomputers, Android, and my own $50 desktop, run on his Linux operating system. All he did was put a notice up. Amazing..
Dear Faith,
I hold a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work (think psychotherapist) and a BA in English, teaching credentials K-12, Board Certified as an educator by the Washington State Board of Education, and have half of a master’s degree in Library Science. I have tutored writing and English at the college level for two years prior to graduate school. I tutored English, philosophy, history, and Science, Engineering, Technology and Math, for the college’s STEM program. Prior to that, I had a business as a freelance editor for 6 years. I edited master’s theses, PhD dissertations, and book manuscripts. I also was editor of a newsletter, a newspaper, and served on the editorial board of a major Northwest publisher. I could probably help you with formatting your book, and make suggestions on it. If you want, you could send me what there is in an e-mail attachment, either .doc format or PDF format, so that I can open it from a public computer. That’s all the internet access that I have. If it is very lengthy, then I won’t be able to print it out and so then, we will have to arrange for “snail mail” delivery. Very lengthy means anything over 30 pages. My e-mail address is rubydragonfly2@yahoo.com.
As far as community building goes, here are some ideas, in the form of questions. Do you have a mission statement? (That would be something not more than a paragraph long, conveying what this group is about.) Do you have your ideas and covenants written out? As founder, it is extremely important to set the standards you want to see and get this as clearly delineated and defined as possible, and definitely don’t wait to do it until other people show up, or you will be debating forever! I know someone who tried to form a community like that, and the meetings were well–like herding cats! It didn’t work. So do not be afraid to make very clear delineations and distinctions at the beginning. For instance, what do “economy” and “thoughtful design” mean, exactly?
There is a place almost like this in Taos, New Mexico, near where I live. It’s an apartment complex for elderly and disabled, and has duplex ground floor units, mostly, and an extensive area for gardening. There are other places which I have visited or I know of which are co-housing communities and, in two cases, land trusts. Look up information about how to form a land trust. And look up information about co-housing.
Some considerations–do you intend for the community to be generating its own economy, or do you mean for it to be just where a person can live, and would still have to have an outside job? An outside job, full time, along with significant gardening responsibilities can be very daunting for some folks. And others might like it. If you’re planning a women’s community, you run immediately into shutting yourself off from all kinds of government funding, including funding from HUD, that could help you to form. They won’t fund anything that discriminates, and keeping men out is a form of discrimination. Again, I think a beginning step is to get mission statement and goals crystal clear.
Hi
Sorry to take so long to reply to the two comments made on my wishes. Thanks for the ideas. I have many things going on right now, and have realized that the cooperative intentional community seeds are already here, with my friends who are all over the earth, in our spiritual community. What I had wanted was something that public funding might ruin. I want organic gardening with others and a community utilizing the earth’s natural elements.
Since we have non refundable tickets for going to Mexico (Baja California Norte) in mid October, and will stay up to 6 months, clearly I am split about where to do this anyway. I hate mold, ticks, and high humidity for now as the solution for that is not at hand presently.
So the dry weather there is great, and ANYONE KNOWING ABOUT BAJA CALIFORNIA NORTE AND RENTALS BELOW TIJUANA FOR MAX $350 PER MONTH, PLEASE CONTACT ME. We will not be driving, so it needs to be in an area handy to transportation, WITHIN 5 MILES OF THE BEACH.
So, the book. Well, really, it is thinly disguised fiction that protects the not so very innocent in all of us, my comments and thoughts, life stories, etc. I also want to write for children of all ages, but only the ones who do not want to give up the child in themselves or acknowledge our complex makeup and our need for humility. I have many short stories that can be expanded or strung together.
Thanks to you all,
Faithy
Can’t help with Baja. My cousin has traveled there from time to time, for photo excursions. He’s a professional photographer. I can ask him.
I don’t think public funding would ruin a community engaged in organic gardening and “utilizing the earth’s natural elements” at all. Here in New Mexico, there is a huge “Green” movement, and all sorts of projects and initiatives are being funded all the time. The intentional community based on these things sounds exciting. I will see what I can find out anything from my cousin, and report back.
I’m replying to myself. I’ve tried to reach my cousin, but so far, no luck. I’m going to keep trying, and hope to have the luck before mid-October. It is unsafe around the Mexican border, particularly around Tijuana, and this is an understatement! The violence from the drug cartels is horroriffic. There have been beheadings and car bombings, and many shootings. It reminds me of Iraq. The farther south in the country, the better. I will continue to try to touch base with my cousin and will update you if I learn anything.
Ticks, in my experience, don’t like wet climates. They exist abundantly in hot dry climates. I don’t know that much about hot wet climates, as I have travelled there, but have not spent a long time living in such places.
Hi, Mary Ann –
still trying to reach you. Have you checked your yahoo.com address?
I wrote you there a couple of days ago (Resistance Workshop llinks, etc.)
P.S.: Last night I finally reached my cousin. He says there are busses that go down the Baja Peninsula, and also recommends a guide book called “The Magnificent Peninsula.” It is out of print, he thinks. He suggests an Amazon search for it and suggests that “Travel Baja California” would be good search terms to use to locate more travel guidebooks. I hope this helps.
Okay hi everyone,
Guess what? I thought I was a scanner…turns out I’m adult ADHD. Seriously. The specialist asked me two hours’ worth of questions before giving me the diagnosis, so I’m pretty sure it’s true.
You know, I’m not even real sure I’ve got the right department here so if not, just don’t respond and I’ll get the hint. No really, I will.
Anyway, I was about to sign up for Barbara’s resistance telephone workshop and was doing fine until I got to the paypal site. I don’t have a credit card. Anymore. So now I need to call an Adult, Responsible family member to get them to help.
I mean, five minutes into the Sher workshop and already I’m challenged, you know? Just useless.. unless you need a stuffed spider named Bridgit, who was ridiculed as a spiderling because she couldn’t make a decent web-until that fateful day when she met an old woman who knew how to knit and taught Bridgit how to make a giant, hexagonal superweb that roped from one tree to another! Is there a job in an office somewhere where I could do this?
I’ll be right back. Gotta see about the workshop. Thanks for listening.
Louise
Louise,
I don’t hear an office worker speaking. I hear a wonderfully creative children’s book author.
Thanks for your comment Jennifer, never thought about it that way :-).
Yes, you’re wonderful, and besides, I have ADHD and so does Barbara, by her own admission, and so do a lot of very wonderful high-achieving people, including a couple of physicians, one who has written wonderful books about living with ADHD. So it isn’t the curse or the death sentence that we think it is. And we are Scanners, and so you can certainly have ADHD and be a Scanner! Welcome to the Club!
Thank you for your kind words, Mary Ann.
I can see you’re quite knowledgeable just reading your helpful comments to others here.
You are a scanner. Forget the ADHD – diagnoses are easy to make, and I have had some, as has my husband. People love to categorize what they do not know how to deal with.
Love, encouragement, discernment, are important to each and every one of us. Not to get schmaltzy and sentimental, but to honor your human dignity. We were made that way. Love is way more important than a diagnosis. Love that is based on shared humanity, honoring your wishlist, etc. and nothing to do with looks, attraction or surface stuff.
Thanks Faith!