Rise Up, Oh Heart, For There is Another Battle to Win

littlestartopaz:

kokonutwata:

littlestartopaz:

general-spacemom:

kokonutwata:

jollysunflora:

teaforyourginaa:

undergravity:

airoe:

why is broccoli seen as this universally hated vegetable. broccoli is delicious

bc suburban families all over the world literally just steam/microwave their vegetables and serve them plain to their kids. No wonder kids hate vegetables. They’re taught that veggies are supposed to taste bad. but imagine: veggies with spices. Veggies in curry. veggies that are broiled, soaked, sautéed. aghhhh veggies are so good

Veggies of color (VOC)

People post good veggie recipes!!! Go!

i’m a vegan/vegetarian chef and yeah people generally don’t… season or… actually think about their vegetables at all? like if you treat your meal like “MEAT + unfortunate side dish i don’t want to eat + dessert” no fucking wonder you’re going to be unhappy with your results?? literally everyone should know how to cook vegetables WELL, because they can be fucking DELICIOUS? 

it’s not surprising to me that most people don’t actually… KNOW how to cook vegetables, which is really, really sad. so imma help y’all out. 

- grill your fucking vegetables? if you have a grill, or even a little dinky george foreman–grill those bitches. brush them with olive oil–or a mix of olive oil and balsalmic vinegar if you’re fancy, grill, salt, pepper, fresh herbs if you want, BAM. delicious. if you don’t, roasting is your next best option. you can also (if you have a gas stove and are ambitious) “grill” on the stove top. many a time i’ve stuck a sweet pepper on the stove and lit that bitch up! 

- braise those bitches??? good for leafy greens and vegetables like turnips and radishes. finely chop some garlic, onion, or scallion (or all three if you’re bold) and sautee them in a little oil. once they’re almost cooked, add your veg. keep it moving, don’t let anything burn, and add a capful of white wine, or cooking wine. DELICIOUS. 

- FRESH. HERBS. ARE. YOUR. FRIENDS? if you cannot get fresh (admittedly, i live on a farm, so i’m never short on things like dill, parsley, thyme, scallion, or cilantro) but they’re amazing on fresh veggies. sauteed in them in a pan? add some herbs. roasted them in the oven? add some herbs (and brown sugar if you want a savory sweet vibe)

- roast them in the oven if you don’t have time (or spoons) to stand up next to a hot ass stove for 5-20 minutes! vegetables that are good for roasting are typically ones that take a long time to cook, eggplants, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, etc. of course, you can roast any veggie you like!

- MARINATE THOSE BITCHES??? literally you can make delicious marinades out of items most of you already have in your homes: honey/brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, etc. 

- FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK STOP ADDING EVERYTHING TO THE PAN AT THE SAME FUCKING TIME. time out your veggies when sauteeing them for anything. if you’re doing a bunch of different ones, add the veggies to the pan first that take the longest. Making stir fry? put those motherfucking carrots in first, because they take FOREVER. onions, carrots, potatoes? put those in first. corn, broccoli, sweet pepper, zucchini? closer to the end, my dude, because they cook FAST. 

- ginger and scallion go excellently in stir fry btw. if when you make your stir fry it tastes like it’s “missing something”, that’s what you’re missing. add that shit. 

- you do NOT FUCKING NEED CHICKEN/BEEF STOCK FOR YOUR GODDAMN SOUP IF IT DOESN’T HAVE MEAT IN IT! sautee your veggies first, and you can use either powdered or canned coconut milk as the body. it makes for deliciously creamy soup. don’t worry about the coconut taste–it’s pretty much gone by the time your soup/stew is done cooking. coconut milk (especially powdered, and soy milk works for this too, no vanilla flavoring obviously) makes an excellent base for sauces for veggies, even if you eat meat! 

lastly, give it the ol’ ratatouille. smell your herbs and spices together. if they seem like they go well, odds are, they’ll taste bangin’ once you combine them. experiment. everything you make will not be good, but you’ll get more comfortable cooking. i’ve been a chef for like two years and i burned some bread today, so it’s okay. you’ll make mistakes. that’s how you learn. don’t be afraid to cut or burn yourself–the more afraid you are, the more likely it is to happen. 

you’re welcome, signed your local angry vegetarian chef who wants people to eat more vegetables

Dude if you sauté broccoli rob with tuna in good olive oil add some salt with a little bit of garlic. Yum. That shit is lit. Extra points if you add some potato up in that shit.

Okay, @kokonutwata those all sound amazing, but what do you do if all you can afford is frozen or canned veggies? We get fresh onion and peppers and cucumbers, occasionally other things, but most everything else i cook starts frozen. Will these ideas still work or do they need to be altered?

the only thing you can’t do is roast frozen or canned vegetables. because they’re in water most of the time, they get very soft and waterlogged–roasting would turn them into mush. frozen vegetables too. stir fry/plain sauteeing your vegetables are the best options for those. they’re fine in soup too, you just have to be mindful of your cooking time, bc most of those vegetables are already cooked

so like in a soup, you’d cut your cooking time by half, bc… you’re not really cooking your canned/frozen veg. also, always defrost and drain them off before adding it to the pan, you don’t want a bunch of excess water!

also, frozen and canned veggies are very bland and hard to flavor, bc they’re 1. already cooked, and 2. blanched in water so it’s important to add lots of seasoning spices to make sure they’re flavorful! so yeah if you’re getting lots of fresh onion/garlic/scallion, and even if you only have dried herbs, you’ll still be able to make something rlly good

oh and i know you didn’t ask this but i wanna add that when i was low spoon/didn’t have a lot of time for prep that that pre-minced garlic that you can buy is also a good option! one clove is about…. 1-2 teaspoons

Thank you for getting back so quickly! And adding the last bit. I have issues with a lot of prep time between actual available time and adhd issues.

(via littlestartopaz)

autismserenity:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

blackstoic:

i hope youre all lying and hyping your cv/resume’s up

i have never gotten an interview and not been offered a job position after it

I mean lets be honest if everyone else is gassing theirs up like no tomorrow and you’re being as honest as you can who th are the recruitment team going to be more interested in

There’s people working in my banks head office with me WITH MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE than me BUT ARE GETTING PAID LESS

we’re doing the exact same job role

the point I’m trying to make here is if you’ve handled finances for a company you’re now what i would call a treasurer my g, if you’ve done admin work you are now a secretary (or as I’ve put Management secretary)

you help some kid with his homework? you’re a private tutor.

keep your bullets points for the job role as concise and important sounding as possible AND ALWAYS EMPHASIS THAT YOURE A TEAM PLAYER IF YOURE GOING TO WORK IN A TEAM.

go into that interview room and get your story straight the night before and remember that interviews are two way conversatons yes they might be grilling you but at the end of it make sure to grill them BACK. do you have any hesitations about my qualifications? my suitability for the job? any feedback on my cv? how long have you been working at this company? do you like it here? whats the work environment like?

I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS GET THE SAME FEEDBACK WHEN THEY GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH ME

“ive never been asked those questions before” / “you were one of the strongest candidates”

throughout the interview emphasise that youre about progression, that you want more responsibilities than you did at your previous job, tell them the hours here are more suitable for me than my last ones were, AND WHEN IT COMES TO SALARY NEGOTIATION its all about continuity. tell them again that it boils down to progression. make up a reasonable figure for how much you were paid in your last role (do your research for how much the industry youre applying to or the role youre applying for pays, base it on that) tell them you expect more than you were previously paid. do not give them a figure. progression is your primary focus, tell them if youre progressing youre happy. leave it at that.

LIE THROUGH YOUR TEETH AND GET THAT MONEY

I had an interview yesterday, at the place I’ve been temping, where I busted out the “is there anything about my skills or background that makes you concerned about my fit for this job” question for the first time.

Neither of my supervisors had never gotten it before either. They had to think for a while, and then it turned into them telling me how great I am and what they love about me.

This stuff is real. I would also say: none of it is lying. This is taking experience that you normally downplay and write off, and putting it in accurate words they’ll understand.

It’s hacking the capitalist system. Why ISN’T helping a kid with homework “tutoring”, when the only thing missing is a paycheck?

It’s especially important for anyone who isn’t a cis white man, because many of us are so thoroughly trained to feel like we are not good enough.

Privilege tells people they can fake it, and that they’re good enough just as people and can learn the skills on the job. Abuse and oppression tell people they aren’t good enough as people and that even their high skills are probably below average, and that unless they had the specific job title or were using certain skills officially, nobody will think it counts.

The goal is to at least fake the confidence of a privileged person, to give the employer a chance at seeing the skills that you’ve been trained to undervalue.

(via slyrider)

Anonymous asked: Quick question. How does one actually make a resume? I need to get another job and no one in my family is being helpful about it even though it will be our main source of income and I havent technically had to build a resume since 2015 and I am freaking out a little bit.

littlestartopaz:

words-writ-in-starlight:

Okay…not gonna lie my dude, my resume is pretty thin on the ground (I’m in college), but LET’S SEE WHAT WE’VE GOT.  (Also I am procrastinating my thesis which is VERY MUCH DUE IN TWO MONTHS, so take my life advice with, like, a fistful of salt.)

First, take a couple deep breaths.  Everyone has to learn how to do the resume thing.  You’re not alone in feeling out of your depth, I’m on a campus of 400 right now and every single person agrees with you.

So, okay, the main point of a resume is to sell yourself.  The most important thing here is that you probably have to balance truth with…generous exaggeration.  Obviously don’t claim you can do something you don’t know how to do, because that’ll bite you in the ass.  But hey, do you make photosets or gifsets for Tumblr?  You are a Photo Editor, slap that shit on your Skills section.  This post talks some more about how millennials and people who’ve grown up in the Internet Age have the edge on that.  Make sure to lean on your ability to learn new skills–I am an Excel expert not so much because I took a class on Excel, but because over the summer I attended a research fellowship where everyone sucked at Excel.  So I Googled a motherfucker and now I’m real good at Excel and teaching my biochem teacher how to do a double-reciprocal plot.  If you don’t know how to do something now, you can definitely learn–pitch that.  This post has some more stuff about learning to sell yourself.  Master the elevator pitch for why you yourself are great for the job.  If you’re like me, you’ll probably have to tell your anxiety and self-esteem issues to suck a dick every five minutes, BUT DO IT ANYWAY.  You are great.  Your resume is intended to inform the rest of the world of this incontrovertible truth.

NOW.  The resume itself.  Some basics of the resume structure include:

Cover letter (this is your opening pitch–make it good, especially since an employer might have hundreds of resumes on their desk)  (this is the WikiHow page, which has some good examples for format)

Resume body (this can be chronological, meaning listed by date, which is more traditional and will appeal more to older readers, functional, meaning listed by task, which is more practical for someone who’s either been out of work or who’s changing careers, or combination, which is pretty much what it says on the tin)

Experience/Skills (THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE, USE THOSE TWO POSTS UP THERE AND ALSO THIS ONE, INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND ALSO INTERPERSONAL SKILLS)  (YOU’RE GREAT–REMIND THEM)

Activities (YES THIS INCLUDES EXTRACURRICULARS) (THIS CAN EVEN INCLUDE D&D)

Education (include the where and when, also your GPA might help if you did really well)

Awards, if applicable (I myself do not have anything whatsoever to put here, but if you do, props, do it)

Personal Interests (look dude, if they’ve gotten this far, they want to know if they could tolerate working with you–this is your opportunity to convince them)

This is a good walkthrough on formats for all those various sections.

Iiiii think that’s what I’ve got, pretty much.  IDK man resume-writing is the literal worst and I feel for you, BUT I HOPE THIS HELPED.  

Some other things is your resume doesn’t have to reflect how lame the position was. For example: at my first job i was the most recent hire and therefore the last one to learn how to lead close. But i slap down “Closing Supervisor” and no one needs to know that we were all closers.

Do you play rpgs and hold an official position in your guild? “Event Supervisor” “Recruiter” “Supervisor” totally count for your resume.

Volunteer at a church or community service? Start a club in high school? Help cater, serve, or host an event? Get selected to play music at an event? Your artwork or science project make it to a higher competition? Put it down if it’s relevant.

Your resume needs to be concise. So only put down relevant things. Applying for a base retail position but looking to move up? Add in all your labor achievements and leadership actions.

Use impressive words. Make an email just for your resume that has your first and last name. Make it the most official sounding thing to come out of your printer.

Most important though is your resume grows with you. So keep a folder or record of everything. Start/end dates for jobs or events. When did you found your guild or get promoted to officer? What was expected of you (less for resume, more for interview)? Employers want people who have experience or have achieved something. There are a lot more things you can pad your resume with than you think. And in our culture, you cam have leadership experience before you leave college or even high school. And that’s a big deal.

Anonymous asked: Quick question. How does one actually make a resume? I need to get another job and no one in my family is being helpful about it even though it will be our main source of income and I havent technically had to build a resume since 2015 and I am freaking out a little bit.

Okay…not gonna lie my dude, my resume is pretty thin on the ground (I’m in college), but LET’S SEE WHAT WE’VE GOT.  (Also I am procrastinating my thesis which is VERY MUCH DUE IN TWO MONTHS, so take my life advice with, like, a fistful of salt.)

First, take a couple deep breaths.  Everyone has to learn how to do the resume thing.  You’re not alone in feeling out of your depth, I’m on a campus of 400 right now and every single person agrees with you.

So, okay, the main point of a resume is to sell yourself.  The most important thing here is that you probably have to balance truth with…generous exaggeration.  Obviously don’t claim you can do something you don’t know how to do, because that’ll bite you in the ass.  But hey, do you make photosets or gifsets for Tumblr?  You are a Photo Editor, slap that shit on your Skills section.  This post talks some more about how millennials and people who’ve grown up in the Internet Age have the edge on that.  Make sure to lean on your ability to learn new skills–I am an Excel expert not so much because I took a class on Excel, but because over the summer I attended a research fellowship where everyone sucked at Excel.  So I Googled a motherfucker and now I’m real good at Excel and teaching my biochem teacher how to do a double-reciprocal plot.  If you don’t know how to do something now, you can definitely learn–pitch that.  This post has some more stuff about learning to sell yourself.  Master the elevator pitch for why you yourself are great for the job.  If you’re like me, you’ll probably have to tell your anxiety and self-esteem issues to suck a dick every five minutes, BUT DO IT ANYWAY.  You are great.  Your resume is intended to inform the rest of the world of this incontrovertible truth.

NOW.  The resume itself.  Some basics of the resume structure include:

Cover letter (this is your opening pitch–make it good, especially since an employer might have hundreds of resumes on their desk)  (this is the WikiHow page, which has some good examples for format)

Resume body (this can be chronological, meaning listed by date, which is more traditional and will appeal more to older readers, functional, meaning listed by task, which is more practical for someone who’s either been out of work or who’s changing careers, or combination, which is pretty much what it says on the tin)

Experience/Skills (THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE, USE THOSE TWO POSTS UP THERE AND ALSO THIS ONE, INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND ALSO INTERPERSONAL SKILLS)  (YOU’RE GREAT–REMIND THEM)

Activities (YES THIS INCLUDES EXTRACURRICULARS) (THIS CAN EVEN INCLUDE D&D)

Education (include the where and when, also your GPA might help if you did really well)

Awards, if applicable (I myself do not have anything whatsoever to put here, but if you do, props, do it)

Personal Interests (look dude, if they’ve gotten this far, they want to know if they could tolerate working with you–this is your opportunity to convince them)

This is a good walkthrough on formats for all those various sections.

Iiiii think that’s what I’ve got, pretty much.  IDK man resume-writing is the literal worst and I feel for you, BUT I HOPE THIS HELPED.  

tumblrfolk, we are so much more skilled than we think

peppersandcats:

ladyorpheus:

roseisaghost:

trashcan-supernova:

smoinerd:

vrabia:

prairie-grass:

a-spoon-is-born:

intrikate88:

elodieunderglass:

one thing I want to say today relates to my current job. (As you guys know, I’ve left off working in science labs to work an office job in sci comm. My role is kind of … nebulous and involves a lot of “oh, Elodie can help you with that, she does weird stuff. Train Elodie on that.”)

Because it’s an office job, the mentality is for everyone to present their workflows as incredibly difficult and skilled, requiring a lot of training and experience to do properly. Which is fair enough! These skills are difficult!

“Elodie, today we are going to train you to use… A HIGHLY COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT WEBSITE INTERFACE. You will need to take a lot of notes and pay careful attention, because it is extremely advanced. ARE YOU READY”

“… This is Wordpress.”

“…No it isn’t! it says something different at the top. And it’s very complicated, it’s not something you can just know already.”

“Nah son, don’t worry, it’s Wordpress. I mean, God knows I don’t blog much, but I can manage me a bit of Wordpress, it’s cool.”

“No. You can’t. Don’t worry, it’s very difficult. Now sit still and be trained on how to upload a photo to Wordpress.”

“All right.”

—-

“Elodie, do you think that you can MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA? It is INCREDIBLY HARD and may involve THE HASHTAGS”

“… I think I’ll manage.”

—-

“Elodie, can you put a HYPERLINK in a thing? Think about it before you answer.”

“Is it like a BBCode kind of thing, with the boxy bracket things, or do you want it in HTML, with like angley bracket things?”

“It is a button that you press that says HYPERLINK.”

“I can do this thing for you.”

—-

“Elodie, can you write a punchy summary that will make people want to click on a special link that says “read more” to read all of the text?“

“Probably?”

—-

“Elodie, this is how to use TAGS on CONTENT. TAGS on CONTENT are important because - because of THINGS. Things that are too arcane and mysterious for anyone below the level of Manager to know.”

“Cool, I can tag stuff for you.”

—-

“Elodie, this is obviously a ridiculous question, but can you edit videos?”

“Not very well, and only if you want to make it look like there is sexual tension between characters from different forms of visual media, or perhaps to make a trailer for a fanfiction? Which is not necessarily a good use of my time and I’m not sure why I felt it was so cool to do to begin with…”

“What?”

“Actually, upon further reflection: no. No. Nope. I can’t edit videos. They’re completely beyond me. Not in my wheelhouse. Hate videos. Hate them. No innate skill whatsoever.”

“That’s what we thought”

—-

“Elodie?! You can use PHOTOSHOP?!”

“Yeah, I mean, I usually just use Pixlr. It’s free, it’s online, it’s powerful, you don’t have to download anything…”

“but you are not a GRAPHIC DESIGNER!!”

“Er… no.”

“Next you’ll be telling us you can MAKE AN ANIMATED PICTURE.”

“I mean, I haven’t really done a lot of it since Livejournal, and they weren’t that good anyway, but yeah… I can do you reaction images.”

“THAT IS WITCHCRAFT”

“Yes. Definitely.”

—-

What I’m trying to say is: a lot of people talk a lot of crap about what we Millenials do on the Internet, because there is NO CAPITALISTIC VALUE in the screwing around we do with our friends. “Ughh why are you ALWAYS on the computer?” our parents whined.

“How did you make the text go all slanty like that?” our bosses wonder.

We have decades of experience in Photoshop. We know how to communicate; we can make people across the planet care about our problems. We know how to edit media to make two characters look like they’re having the sexual tensions. We can make people read our posts, follow us, share our content. We run and manage our own websites - and make them pretty. We moderate conversations, enforce commenting policies, manage compromises, lead battles, encourage peace, defend ourselves from attack, inspire others, and foster incredible levels of communication.

We produce our art. We advertise our art. We engage with others through our art. We accept constructive criticism and dismiss destructive trolling of our art. We improve our art. Our art gets better.

We narrate our stories.

All by ourselves. Our pretty blog backgrounds, custom-edited themes, tasteful graphics, punchy content, clever gifs, our snappy putdowns and smart-ass text posts, even our familiarity with fonts and composition - all of these skills we’ve casually accumulated for fun/approval are MINDBLOWING LEVELS OF COMPETENCE IN THE WORKFORCE.

When these skills are sold to you - when they’re packaged and marketed, and when you pay to consume them and have the Elders rate you on them - they are incredibly valuable. They are Media and Communications degrees. They are marketing internships. They are leadership workshops. They are graphics design modules. They are web design courses. They are programming courses. We are good at this shit; we have it nailed down.

You can’t put “fandom” or “blogging” on your CV, but you deserve to. You should get this credit. You should claim this power and authority.

Claim these skills. They are valuable. They are important.

Everything you have ever done is a part of your powerful makings.

I want to second what elodieunderglass has to say here, because it’s so true. You want to buff up your resume or your LinkedIn page? 

-if you know enough html to do <i>this is italic text</i>, then you understand HTML and can pretty much call yourself a Junior Developer

-if you ever wanted to customize your LJ or tumblr and copied someone’s CSS code and then went in and tweaked font color and added your own header image? You understand CSS and again, you can put Junior Developer in your LinkedIn title. 

-if you can use twitter and tumblr and put hashtags and regular tags on stuff, you’re a Social Media Manager. If you can get people to follow you and comment back, you have Demonstrated Social Media Efficacy.

-if you can use Photoshop (or Pixlr!) to make five million pictures of Natalie Dormer really pretty, you are a Photo Editor. 

-if you can migrate some of your Photoshop skills to InDesign, you are a Production Editor with demonstrable skills in Layout For Print Publications

-if you want to look even more impressive and pick up an easy job that mostly involves googling bits of code to copy and fuck around with, go play on CodeAcademy and get yourself qualified in not just HTML and CSS, but also JavaScript, Ruby, Python, and others. Again, this makes you a Software/Applications Developer.

The only reason you’re given the impression that these are jobs for really smart brogrammers with masters degrees in computer science is because scary jargon keeps people out. Look stuff up, and you’ll find out you already know a ton of this material. I promise you, you’re more qualified for tech/developer jobs than a lot of the people actually working at firms that focus on those kind of jobs. 

^

Often in my job people ask me if I can do something, and if I respond with, ‘No, but I’m sure I could find out how,’ they look at me like my head just rotated 360 degrees. One thing about being on the internet in this age is that you have experienced how you can just google something and you’ll probably find a youtube tutorial.

Don’t know how to use the Puppetwarp in Photoshop? *20 minutes later and some cursing included* Okay, now I do.

Don’t know how to knit? *ten minutes later* totes pro.

A lot of people bag our generation but there’s so much to be said for the sheer amount of information we’re used to absorbing and parsing. Don’t underestimate that, either!

OK entry-level kids, listen. ‘I don’t know how to do this but just give me 20 minutes’ is probably the most important, career-advancing thing you can say at your workplace because not only does it show that you’re adaptable and proactive and any number of dumb buzzwords that happen to be popular in The Industry these days. BUT If you build up on it over time, it will also pretty much make you indispensable, which is so important in an unstable job market. 

Consider this: unless you get a job with a super-successful startup where your boss is like 25, chances are you’re going to land in company where the higher-ups are in their 40s-50s, thus belonging to that particular generation that habitually puts down millenials for having No Experience of Real Life. Except in a workplace environment this means they expect that they have to train you on every single little thing, aka waste time and resources on you, aka see you as a soooort of useful nuisance who’s there to do the little menial jobs no one else wants to do. This is where the last to come first to go thing comes from really.

What your crusty 50+ y/o bosses don’t realize is that ‘being on the computer’ all day, you inherently develop a thing called rapid skill acquisition. Yeah, it sounds fancy (so fancy you can put it in your CV) but most of the time, as the previous comments point out, it just involves Google and YT tutorials. You’ll be surprised how many highbrow professionals don’t actually do this, b/c they reached the top and feel like they have a secure position and basically fall so behind on things that a 20 y/o intern can out-skill them, or quickly learn to out-skill them any day of the week. Most likely they’re not aware of this. And no, it’s not as out there as it sounds. Consider you’re talking to people who think you need training to use Wordpress. Imagine what telling them you can use a blogging platform to create an easy to update professional looking website for fucking free will do to them. Imagine telling them you can make gorgeous graphics from scratch, update the company logo or design some rad business cards. THERE IS SO MUCH YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT THEY DON’T KNOW CAN BE DONE. 

A couple of years ago I interned for a research centre where I did this all the time. Three weeks in they called me to sign an employment contract that tripled my pay and I got to go everywhere with them and meet important people in my field, it was great. My 23 y/o brother, who doesn’t have a single solitary hour of formal training in PR/marketing or IT in his degree, interned as marketing assistant for a small IT company and was so quick to catch on that they hired him after the internship and by the end of the year he’d already helped increase their turnover. Eight months, unpaid internship included, and he made them more money! That kid is never going to get fired!

Also learn some programming/web design. Seriously. I see these self-taught 16 y/o kids making gorgeous Tumblr themes from scratch and I’m like. You are al fucking wizards. Not even out of highschool yet and you’re pretty much set up for a job that potentially pays in the 6 digits. 

You are smart and you are creative and you are amazing! You need to be brave and confident and capitalize on that because you’ve got what it takes and more. Fuck the jargon, you’ve got the skills.

this is some great stuff to read

This patched my tired sadbrain abit.
I learned how to crochet from YT.

I told my boss that I was looking up on youtube how to fix my computer and I was probably going to do it this next weekend but I was a tiny bit nervous because I haven’t taken apart a model like this before so some things are different.

She was like, you can do that? What?

Every time I use the Internet in any meaningful way to make my job easier (like creating color coded spreadsheets for ordering and inventory and menus etc), she just is so confused. She’s almost 60, by the way.

The first time I was like, I’m gonna just make a spreadsheet, she was like, just give it to A (who is 21), she’ll type it up for you. I was like, no? Why would I write it out on paper and then type it up?

I am highly underestimated. Often.

Often in my job people ask me if I can do something, and if I respond with, ‘No, but I’m sure I could find out how,’

^^I was an English major. I am now a Software Specialist in the IT Department simply because of the above ^^ words cannot describe how far this response and attitude will get you.

I laughed out loud at “may involve THE HASHTAGS” and am now feeling much better about my day. Also my freelancing.

I was also an English major and now I am a Verification Engineer™ who says things like “baretailed the service logs for the inbound router and they’re not throwing an error but the SQL table isn’t updating” like a boss. Because I can Google. And I used nearly exactly that “I’m sure I could find out how” answer in my job interview.

(via patroclvss)

houseplant hack: just fuckin steal everyone’s coleus

roachpatrol:

this is coleus. for reasons that escape me, it grows in seventy fuckzillion bizarre alien colors, from neon pink to white, and is very close to unkillable. additionally, it propagates extremely well through cuttings. you know it’s coleus if you touch it and it is just a little bit soft, with a juicy stem, and it grows in bunches with alternate paired leaves, and has sort of ‘embossed’ veins that stick out on the bottom of the leaf but are creased in on the top. 

when you see coleus growing in a planter you can reach, look both ways to see if the coast is clear, then pinch off a little sprig with your fingernails. you need at least two leaves, though four and a centimeter of stem is best. keep the clipped end moist, like in a water bottle or wet napkin, and get it home fast.

fill a soda or beer bottle up with water. pop the stem in. put on a windowsill to get some light. in two or three days you’ll see little roots starting (make sure to refill the bottle periodically), and in as soon as a week you can plant it, though a month is a good time to wait. you can also keep it in a bottle indefinitely, though green and brown bottles are best for that, as it will block sunlight and cut down on algae growth.

coleus that wants more water will have very droopy, limp leaves, so it’s easy to know when to water it. after it’s been watered, the leaves perk back up in an hour or so and it looks happy. coleus are very dramatic plants.

enjoy your coleus collecting! don’t get caught. if you do, don’t show them this post. 

(via cthulhu-with-a-fez)

For those of you trying to move out

himynameisrollin:

fluorescentnova:

forcoloredgirlswhodgaf:

dynastylnoire:

dryyice:

rampyourvoice:

journey-to-my-throne:

dynastylnoire:

Talk to the potential land lord about making installments toward your down payment.

This is how I got out my mom’s house both times.

Each pay check start buying things you need for your place. Family Dollar has just about everything that you will need when it comes to hygiene and keeping the place clean.

If it’s safe talk to your other family members to see if they have furniture they want to donate. Most elderly folks especially have lots of furniture they don’t want cluttering their house and they will love to see you.

Craigslist has a section for things left on the kirb. I got my kitchen Cart free and delivered to me when a couple got sick of theirs

Don’t forget to buy a shower curtain and liner….just don’t lol

Once the apartment is secured talk to the utility companies before you get there. If you have no credit or bad credit they may want you to pay a deposit….I found out the hard way after I moved in. It was not a pleasant experience.

Crock pots are your friends

….you will be broke alot. If you have a car or are thinking about getting one, one job probably won’t be enough to sustain you.

The first time I moved out I had 20 dollars to last me until I was paid again. So I ordered a large cheese pizza and ate that for two weeks.

….if you are leaving an abusive situation you may question if you did the right thing a lot. I had panic attacks before and after I moved out.

This does not mean you were wrong to move. It just means the abuse tricked your brain into thinking moving out would be bad for you.

Your apartment probably won’t look how you want it to for a few years and that’s ok. It takes time to build and afford your “aesthetic ”. Don’t feel bad if your apartment is just a bed, a coffee table, and if you are lucky maybe a used sofa. The peace you will have when you close the door and lock it is phenomenal.

Oh if you eat meat chicken thighs and drumsticks are always cheap as are pork chops. Buy them in the large packs, separate them while defrosted into zip locks, throw them the freezer

Craigslist also has a free section. With enough diligence and scrutiny amazing treasures can be found.

Public libraries have free Wi-Fi and cheap printing for resumes, school projects, etc.

Most places like McDonald’s, IHOP, etc have coupon codes on their receipts for completing online surveys. End up with two meals for the price of one.

There are usually local listings for food pantries that you can get groceries from. I have the full list for the NYC area, I’ll post it later.

Also don’t underestimate the power of a thrift shop.

As someone who plans to move within the next year, good tips.

seagroot

Adding:

For boxes go to the grocery store or family Dollar type places and ask if they have any boxes they can give you. If you work in an office ask the receptionist or the folks in the mail room.

Qvc and hsn have easy pay payment options that will allow you to get items sent to you while making monthly payments. They sell some furniture, mattresses, computers, tvs, etc. Definitely better than lay away, but look out for them over charging.

Counter top dish washers are awesome if you hate doing dishes and your land lord allows them

Salvation Army usually has pretty good deals on furniture. Check with the manger for daily deals. Also check liquor stores for boxes they usually have plenty to spare and they’re always very durable. Check stores like Walmart and Kroger around 7-8pm for deals on whole rotisserie chickens for $3. They’re usually trying to get rid of them around that time. You can make a chicken salad with mayo, mustard, and red onion. It will last you all week for under $6, or you can just eat and store the chicken for a few days.

Also check out https://www.freecycle.org/ !!! We’ve gotten some decent furniture off there and you can post if you’re looking for something specific, too.

Reblog to save a life

(via cthulhu-with-a-fez)

tempestcaliban:

faranae:

blue-pixiedust:

woodelf68:

shipperqueen93:

iwadab-me:

boasamishipper:

lifelovebookssex:

cloningmycat:

kiokushitaka:

shrineart:

caitatonic:

sunflower-b-pondicus:

flutterjedi:

mixedy:

my parents aren’t teaching me life lessons.

#i need some adults to TEACH ME SHIT ABOUT LIFE

I’m an adult.

Some shit about life, from a bonafide adult:

• even if you get along great with your family you will get along even better with them after moving out 
• generic is almost always just as good as name brand. But there are some things you never buy generic, including: peanut butter, ketchup, liquid NyQuil, Chips-Ahoy chewy chocolate chip cookies
• just imagine the person on the other end of the phone hates talking on the phone as much as you do. Even a receptionist. I worked as one and I hate talking on the phone
• at least once in your life you will go to Wal-mart to buy something under $20 like an ironing board or something and your debit card will get rejected. No one will judge. Everyone at some point in their lives has had $2.98 in their bank account. 
• thrift stores
• everyone else is too busy panicking about everyone else noticing every tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about them to notice any tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about you
• you will screw up. a lot. you live and you learn. and when you start to think too hard about that embarrassing thing that happened and how you wish you could change it, just tell yourself that what’s done is done. There’s no changing it, so just forget it and move on. It’s the only way to stay sane.
• do the dishes before the sink grows its own ecosystem
• you can’t put Dawn dishsoap in the dishwasher. 
• if you are the only one in the aisle at the grocery store, and you need to get from one end to the other without even looking at anything in that aisle, then you should totally cart-surf down the aisle. Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Hold on to the little things. They make all the difference.
• never try to make cake from scratch at 3am. You end up with a topographical map of Middle Earth.
• 15% tip. 
• the best way to get money for food is to tell your grandparents about how you basically live on microwaved mac and cheese. Their horror may result in twenty bucks and orders to go out and get yourself “a real dinner”.
• sometimes life sucks, and knowing that it might get better doesn’t always make it suck any less, but you’ll never get to the non-sucky days without enduring the suckiness. 
• no seriously, NEVER put Dawn in your dishwasher
• 

Do not buy generic brand spaghetti sauce either.

Always check the type of light bulb that goes in lamps. A 60w is not interchangeable with a 40w.

Dollar store batteries work just as well as store brand.

• Reward yourself from time to time when you do things that you needed to get done. It’s a good way to remind yourself to do them. Going out to pay a bill? Get Starbucks or something you don’t get often. Rewards don’t have to be huge, they can be small things like that.
  
• Rice, pasta, flour, sugar, cheese, eggs, milk, a pack of chicken, a pack of frozen veggies and a well stocked spice cabinet go a long way food-wise. Splurge and get the biggest container of rice you can. You don’t have to go back and buy it again anytime soon and it makes a TON of meals in the meantime.
• Rice can be cooked on the stove. You don’t need a fancy rice cooker. Two parts water to every one part rice (two cups water for one cup of rice for example). Get your water boiling, add rice, put a plate or lid on it, put it on low for 20 minutes. It should be done.
• Keep a calendar on your pc of bill due dates. If your bills are set up at inconvenient times, like all of the services started on the first or something, then call up the company and find out if you can get your billing date switched to something more manageable. A lot of places do try to work with you.
• There is no shame in calling a company and asking for an extension on a bill. Let them know what you can pay, pay that amount, and they arrange when the rest of the payment is required. This can stop you from having services shut off man. It shows responsibility on your part.
• Take time to eat, even when you don’t feel like eating. Your body needs energy to live.
• Wash or rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. It prevents gross caked on junk.
• “The Works” is an excellent cheap toilet cleaner.
• MAGIC. FUCKING. ERASERS. THEY WORK ON EVERYTHING JUST DON’T SCRUB HARD. I took the ring out of our bathtub with one. Also generic ones work just as well.

• Keep some bleach around but if you use it for cleaning? Dillute it. There’s rarely ever a case where you need to pout straight bleach on anything. A cap full or two in a bucket of water works just fine.
  
• DO NOT MIX CLEANERS. Chemical reactions are can be very dangerous. Here’s a good list. (Note that vinegar and baking soda can actually be a good combo for removing smells from things but it’s not very good at actually -cleaning-.)
  
• If you drink? Don’t take meds at the same time it’s just not good.
• Make sure you check the dosages on your pill bottles. No one wants to accidentally overdose on cough syrup or ibuprofen.
• If you have a uterus make sure you have a heating pad and ibuprofen on hand for the pain. Hot baths also generally help and Ginger Tea is excellent for any nausea.
• Buy a first aid kit. It’s worth it in the long run.
• You can often do your taxes online at places like TurboTax.
• Here’s some good sex ed resources because I had to explain what a yeast infection was recently. 
• Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) is good for chapped lips and you can get a decent sized tube or tub of it (generic brand version) for cheaper/same price as Chapstick.
• KEEP TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT IN YOUR HOUSE FOR CUTS AND SCRAPES AND SORES. 

~~Medications~~

Over the counter medications (stuff you can buy right off the shelf no prescription needed) have a name brand and a generic name. ALWAYS buy generic if it’s available it is literally the same thing and way cheaper usually.

Some names to remember when you’re looking for meds!

Acetaminophen = Tylenol

Used to treat pain and reduce fever. Do not take with Ibuprofen.

Ibuprofen = Advil, Midol, Motrin

Used for pain and fever, is an anti-inflammtory. Is good for period cramps because it is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).

Naproxen = Aleve, Naprosyn

Treats fever, pain, arthritis pain, gout, period cramps, tendinitis, headache, backache, and toothache. Is also an NSAID.

Acetaminophen + Asprin + Caffeine = Excedrin

Usually marketed as “Migraine Relief” as a generic.

Asprin = Bayer

Use for pain, fever, arthritis, and inflammation. Makes you bleed easily so should not be used for periods. Might reduce risk of heart attacks.\

Triple Antibiotic Ointment = Neosporin

Used on cuts, sores, and scrapes to reduce risk of infection and promote healing.

Also a general mutli-vitamin isn’t a bad idea and if you don’t get a lot of fruits or milk/sunshine in your diet you might want to get vitamins C and D specifically for daily use.

if you do accidentally lapse and put dawn in your dishwasher, run it empty and put hair conditioner where the detergent goes. that’ll clean it out (tip given to me by dorm custodian when roommate did the thing).

if you live off ramen, add stuff to it! add veggies you like, don’t use the whole flavor packet to cut down on sodium and msg or don’t use it at all and add your own spices.

if you’re making something with potatoes in it (beans, stew) potatoes are done when you can easily stab a fork through them.

you can microwave a hotdog as long as you put it in a microwave safe container of water. microwaves work by making water molecules vibrate. also, when reheating rice leftovers, add a small amount of water, like maybe a spoonfull, so it doesn’t get hard and crunchy.

the rice cooking advice above is for long grain rice. if you’re making short or medium grain rice, a 1:1 ratio (one cup water for one cup rice) is better, so the rice doesn’t come out too mushy.

buy a few cans of chicken. wholesale club stores like sam’s, costco, or bj’s tend to carry multipacks for a good price. they’re incredibly useful for when you forget to defrost meat.

buy meat on sale and put it in the freezer. buy vegetables on sale, and put them in the freezer. frozen veggies are often as flavorful and good as fresh ones, keep longer, and often come in microwaveable bags or with microwave directions.

soak ink stains in milk to help get them out or at least lighten them.

soak blood stains in water as soon as possible, with a bit of detergent or stain remover. scrub at them. use cold water, heat binds proteins to fabric. tbh, there’s no real need to change the washer from cold-cold setting unless the thing you’re washing says to wash in warm water.

acetone, found in most nail polish removers, dissolves super glue.

YOU’RE ALL DOING GOD’S WORK BLESS YOU

Takes pictures, have prints made and put them in photo albums. Be IN the pictures, have someone take pictures of you and your friends. Get over not looking perfect in thw picture. Someday that friend might be gone and those pictures might be all you’ll have, you will want to be in them. I made that mistake with my best friend, i always felt weird asking for a picture together… he died of cancer January of 2014 and now i have no pictures of us together. Its my only regret in life.

This is really helpful, thank you all!

I’m the newest of new adults but I’m gonna throw these little tips in there. IF YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR: 

-coolant or water if your car overheats (coolant is preferable cause it won’t hurt the engine in the long run but hey i know money is tight) 

-flashlight in case you break down at night and need to check under the hood and your phone is dead

-SPARE TIRE. 

-jumper cables.you will at some point leave your lights on. you just will. 

AAA or any other road side service is never a bad investment i swear. (try to mooch it off your parents as long as you can though) 

Know how to change a tire. You’re going to need to do it at some point in time and you can’t always rely on someone else to do it for you.

Don’t be afraid to go to your local food bank. They are there for a reason.

Don’t be ashamed to ask for help period. Life is hard, everyone needs help occasionally.

You can put a LOWER wattage bulb in a lamp that says it’s for a higher one, but don’t put a HIGHER wattage bulb in. Also, watts refer to the amount of electricity used. LUMENS refers to the amount of light put out, and can vary quite a bit between brands, even though the wattage is the same. Look for the one with the highest lumens unless you actually want a slightly dimmer bulb in a certain location.

Those dollar store batteries? Fine if they’re alkaline. “Heavy-duty” batteries, however, won’t last nearly as long.

You can microwave a hot dog and bun simply by wrapping them in a toweling for a minute, less if you don’t want them scalding hot.

Reblogging to save lives.

Two adulting (kitchen-related) tips from me!

1. Buy a roll of parchment paper from the cooking shit aisle. A big roll will last you for-fucking-ever. Pretty much any time you’re using a baking pan you can line it with that stuff and save yourself A: food sticking to the pan and B: it’s a quick rinse and it’s clean.

2. Bread can get fucking expensive, so make your own. A bigass bag of flour and a bag of active dry yeast (store it in the friiiiidge!!!) works out a FUCK of a lot cheaper than buying bread at the store, and you can do so much more with it. Bread, pizza, rolls, cinnibuns, homemade pizza pockets. It seems intimidating but it’s stupid easy.

Seriously. It’s stupid simple to make, and most of the “3 hours” to make it is sitting around surfing the internet or doing whatever the fuck you want while the dough rises. If you have an afternoon free once a week to sit and play video games or surf the net, you have the time to make your own bread on the cheap. Here’s my simple-as-fuck recipe:

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (You can buy a bag of this stuff CHEAP in bulk stores, the little packets are hella stupid priced)
1 cup warm water (think a hot bath)
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons oil (any kind works for the most part)
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

1. Stir the yeast, water, sugar, and oil up in a bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. It will foam up VERY high, this is the yeast getting happy! If it doesn’t get all foamy, the water may have been too hot or not hot enough. Remember, Yeast is alive! Treat it like a nice girlfriend!

2. Mix your flour, salt, and the yeast concoction up in a bowl.

3. Knead that shit for about 5 minutes. It will start sticky as heck, but will come together into a nice dough. If it’s still super sticky, toss in a bit more flour. Here’s how to knead it: 

4. Put your dough in a covered, lightly oiled bowl and leave it someplace warmish for an hour. At that point it will have roughly doubled in size, give it a gentle punch to release the gasses that have built up inside. Cover it again and let it sit for a bit longer.

Boom. You have bread dough. Here are some baking times and uses for ya:

Optional egg-wash: Just crack an egg into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and mix the bejeebus out of it with a fork. Brush (or if you’re like me, goop it on with said fork) that shit thinly on bread before baking for a nice crust.

Pizza: Stretch it on a pan, stab the fucker all over with a fork, add toppings, bake 425*F 15-20 minutes. 

Bread Sticks: Make snake-shapes, let rest on pan 10-ish minutes, bake 400*F 10-20 minutes.

Dinner rolls: Make ball-sized (yes those balls) balls. Place on greased pan, let rest 10-20 minutes to rise. Egg-wash and bake 375*F 25 minutes.

Bread: Lightly score (cut) the top, let sit for 20-ish minutes on/in whatever you’re using to bake it, egg-wash, bake at 375*F for 20-ish minutes. It’s done when it sounds hollow if you knock on the bottom.

You bet your ass you can deep-fry this shit for cheapie yeast doughnuts. Roll that shit in sugar or dip it in whatever, it’s fucking tasty.

Bagels: YES. YOU. CAN. Form bagel-shapes out of the dough and boil them in salty water for about 2 minutes. Egg-wash them and bake them at 400*F for 10 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls: Roll that shit out into a rectangle. Brush it with a mix of butter, cinnamon, sugar, and a pinch of salt (no exact amounts here, do it to your taste). Roll it up into a log, and cut it into discs. Let them sit 20 minutes in a pan and then bake at 375*F 15-17 minutes.

You can add whatever you want to the dough for some variety, just if it’s dried spices remember you really only need 1-ish tablespoons. I personally like making bread with about 1 tablespoon of dill in the dough. Roll it out flat, sprinkle it with cheddar, roll it into a log, squeeze the ends shut, and bake it like a regular loaf of bread. Cheesy dill bread OMNOMNOM.

*ahem* That got a bit long. But yeah. Bread’s expensive, yo. Save your wallet.

(Also it’s ridiculous amounts of therapeutic to bake, for me anyway)

Being able to bake your own bread is pretty awesome, if you got the time for it. 

Pro tip for people who suffer from period cramps (or any other kind of pain that’s hard to manage with standard ibuprofen/acetaminophen) and still have to function: Advil Liqui-Gels.  You can buy like 200 for 20 bucks, they kick in in like 15 minutes, and they work really well.  My roommate and I both have killer cramps, and she has JRA (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis).  Advil Liqui-Gels, and it’s worth the extra money to buy the name brand.

Other basic medical stuff: 

• bit of caffeine might help your migraine (I can’t guarantee it, but it’s worth a try)
  
• always hold the knife away from you when you’re cutting things so that you don’t risk severing the tendons in your palm (just trust me, you don’t have the money for that medical bill)
  
• things that should really be handled by a medical professional even if you don’t have the money include: broken bones, penetrating wounds, heavy blows to the head, alcohol poisoning/drug overdose, dislocations, fever over about 101 F (38 C), and serious hemorrhage (loss of blood)
• you can call the paramedics and you won’t be charged until you’re in the ambulance being driven to the hospital, you also have the right to refuse care at any time as long as you are cogent and competent to make your own decisions (NOTE: blows to the head render you non compos due to the potential for concussion)
• if you get a nasty cut, apply pressure over a towel of something to stop the bleeding, wash it out with running water, put something like Neosporin on it, and ask someone for help putting a bandaid on it
• buy a cheap aloe plant, it’s easier to snap off a leaf every once in a while than shell out for burn cream and it’s really hard to kill aloe
• relatedly: if you burn yourself and you’re still feeling that burning sensation, it’s because your cells are still being damaged–run it under cold water (DO NOT ICE IT) until you can take your hand out and you don’t feel the burning

Also: no one is good at everything.  This is okay.  You are still worth everything you do for yourself even if biology or math or foreign languages aren’t your skill.  That’s why we’re a social species, so that the things I’m good at can supplement the things you’re not, and vice versa.

(via academicfeminist)