Politically Correct

I think that doing anything for the sake of being politically correct is such bullshit... and I think it may eventually infringe on our right to free speech.

Let me explain.

Today I saw a blog called "Racist People Getting Fired/Getting Racist People Fired."
Essentially, the viewers of the blog browse twitter and facebook looking for racist comments. (Especially with the #ferguson tag.) Then they post the screenshot to this blog with as much information about the writer as possible, name, address, place of employment. Then they ask the other viewers to send notes to the employer of the person who wrote the post saying how offended they were by the post. When an employer responds... usually something along the lines of "XYZ company does not condone racism or bigotry of any kind. This person is no longer a part of the XYZ team," all the viewers comment with a sense of accomplishment as if they've truly taught this person a lesson and made the world a better place.

No doubt the writer of the post has learned a lesson at this point, but I fear that the lesson may be more about what to post and what not to post to social media than about racism.

I'm very sensitive when someone's job is at risk in general, just because I know that if I made some dumb mistake and had it blasted all over the internet and got fired for it, I would be up a creek without a paddle.

I hope that eventually something good will come from their lapses in judgment in these tweets and facebook posts... but getting them fired from their jobs isn't the answer. A company shouldn't be held responsible for the actions and posts of any employee when they are posting things while off the clock and off of company property. The mob mentality we've got going right now is destructive, and companies just don't want to get caught in the crossfire; they dismiss the employee before someone gets a chance to accuse the whole company of being racist. Even if these people are legitimately racist... don't they have a right to be? THIS IS AMERICA. Hurting someone's feelings is not a crime. Don't they have a right to say anything that they want? Sure, that also comes with a responsibility to deal with the consequences of those words.. but don't they also have the same right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as every other American?

I think a vast majority of our society would agree that treating someone differently because of their race or ethnicity is terrible. But morality is not dictated by majority rule, thank goodness. Morals are not relative.. they do involve absolutes. In this case, they coincide, but what about in other cases? We've already seen instances of priests and pastors getting sent to jail for speaking about homosexuality and the teachings of the Bible.

And what about the people posting these things? Who is going to love them enough to get past being offended by their comments and show them the truth and the errors of their thinking?

What's next? I don't support the use of birth control.. if I write a post about the pill being bad for women, marriages and families, will I get fired from my job? I don't support premarital sex.. what if I write a post about chastity?


St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us.

Wanderlust

A lot of people my age have crazy desires to travel the world and see the unseen and do the undone. Maybe it isn't just people my age, I'm not sure.

I have those desires too, but they're different, I think. Maybe they're not, maybe I just think they are. 

My roommate from college, Kathlene, and I were on the phone last night. She was telling me about a woman she met who used to work hard, save up a bunch of money, and then set off and travel the world until she ran out of money, then she would come home and start all over. It seems sort of stressful to me, but I'm almost jealous of that life style. As far as the world is concerned, I'm "doing it right." I've got a great career in front of me, I'm working hard to do things like pay off my student loans and save for retirement. But when I stand before the Lord at the end of this life.. will any of that matter?

I think people are searching for something bigger. There' a desire on man's heart to belong to something bigger than himself. As a member of the Universal Church, I realize that desire, and it's already fulfilled, really. I'm a part of an organization, instituted by Jesus Christ, which over the last two millenia is the most charitable, loving, and hospitable institution on earth. She cares for the poor, the downtrodden, the lonely, the oppressed, the powerless, the powerful, the wealthy, the proud, the haughty, the mediocre, the unlovable. She knows the human heart and she loves without bounds. She's not concerned with political correctness or saving face, she's concerned with the eternal soul.

It's an interesting thing, to be an ENTJ and to be so religious. Most of my ENTJ counterparts are athiest or agnostic, or so I've read. I'm also surprised that more of them don't think their way into the faith, like I have. It just makes sense.

People who travel seek to be fulfilled by something outside of themselves. As you can tell from my 30 before 30 list, there are still many places I want to go and see, many things I want to do. Sometimes my wanderlust comes in the form of things that I want to accomplish. Recently I've been thinking about my next intellectual project after the CFP is over in March. I go back and forth between studying for the CFA, going to nursing or medical school, getting an MBA, or even getting a masters in great books. I really love learning, and I love the feeling of accomplishment when something is finished. (Checking a task off of a list.) I wonder if maybe my desire to always be doing something is because I'm not adequately allowing the Lord to fulfill me. 

I want to do it all. In a lot of ways, I still feel like that same bright eyed kid who just left home for the first time. Part of me wonders, though, if I will ever be content. 

St. Cecilia, pray for us!

Life Update

I've been thinking about my little blog lately but I just haven't thought of anything interesting to write about.

I've been very busy at work putting in extra time and effort to be in the top 10% in my department. The purpose is so that I can get promoted sooner which means moving to Denver sooner. I just have to work very hard this quarter and next so that I can have a track record to back up my big bragging mouth when I go to interview in May. (As far as the job I will be interviewing for... that's still up in the air... the good news is that from this job I have many options.)

I finished my CFP Prerequisite Classes last week. It has been nine months of late Friday nights and early Saturday mornings in the office getting all of this coursework done and I am so relieved to be finished. Now, I will study (on my own time, in my own pajamas) for the exam in March. I'm so glad that I started when I did with the CFP. It is something that will serve me very well in my career. I'm also thankful that by the time I realized how much work it was going to be, I was already in too deep to quit.

My roommate from college, Caralyn, and I have been praying and fasting for each other during a 40 day novena that will end on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I have prayed diligently for her and her future spouse, and I have fasted poorly. It's difficult to give up the snooze button when your very first unconscious thought hits it each day. Sass, if you're reading this... I suck and I'm sorry. I'm trying.

I also started to train for a 5k that I will be running in the spring. It's part of my goal to run a 10k this year. A 5k, or a 10k for that matter, isn't a very lofty goal but the discipline that comes with the training schedule was much needed in my life. I'm hating it, but growing from it.

I also booked a trip to Denver for early December and I am very excited!!

St. Gemma, pray for us.

Falling back... into my bed

Last weekend and a couple days this week I've been very productive. I think it's because I'm back in sync with my list making habit. Some things will probably never change.

I did a thorough cleaning of my apartment last week and it has stayed pretty clean. I made my November budget. I cleaned my car inside and out. I organized my make up with this new little organizer I bought from the Container Store. I cleaned out my purse. I finished up some stuff for CFP class. I cleaned out the refrigerator. And I finished hanging my curtains.

So here we are, one week later, on my one day off, and I am here with nothing to do. It is a blessing and a curse. I like to be busy. In college I was always busy and I loved it. But downtime is good too.

I have one load of laundry in the washer, and I could should do some studying for my CFP, but I think instead I will just start a new book, bundle up, and go read in my hammock. It is days like today that I really miss having good friends close by. It would be awesome to spend the day wrapped up in conversation with someone who knows my heart.

Don't forget to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. What a day of hope in the goodness of God!

All you holy men and women, angels and saints of God, pray for us.

The Project You've All Been Waiting For

 I FINALLY FINISHED MY CURTAINS!!!

I've mentioned this before but I'm pretty much talking to myself here anyways so I'm going to say it again: I am very good at thinking up what I want... but sometimes, what I want either a) doesn't exist or b) is out of my price range. So that leads to me (usually) poorly executing on some project that doesn't turn out how I wanted.

This is NOT that story! 

A few weeks months ago (July ish...) I had an idea. I knew I wanted horizontally striped curtains but I couldn't find any I liked. Then I had a bright idea to use a drop cloth canvas (Walmart, $9) to make them! I bought the drop cloth and promptly forgot about my idea and so left my poor window naked. Two weeks ago or so I finally started the project. 

First I tried to tape straight lines. This was no small task. 














Then came the painting. Canvas is absurdly absorbant... it took almost two quarts of paint to get these stripes dark enough. (A lot also ended up on the driveway.... go figure... it's porous. #sorrymom).














Then there was the third monumental task of hanging them up. I had two curtain rods which I thought could combine to form one big one for my big window... apparently I was wrong. But I used duct tape and you can't even tell. You may call it trashy, I just call it resourceful. Besides, you can't even tell. 












I'm so proud of myself because they actually turned out just how I pictured them. Another cool thing is that if I ever decide to hang these in my living room, all I have to do is paint the light blue stripe an olive-y green color and they'll still go! 

So...
Canvas Drop Cloth, $9
Two Quarts of Paint, $20
Curtain Rings, $14
Having the curtains you pictured in your mind, priceless!

You may be thinking, "Brittany, your room looks just like your blog layout." Yes, that's because I like blue and I like my blog layout so yes. It wasn't planned but that is how it is.

You also may be thinking, "What are those red things hanging on the wall." Yes, they are the pieces of paper that come in the frames. My next project is my saint wall. I've already got a few started (thanks KG, and my teammate from Auburn, Michael!). Soon those frames will be filled with the likes of St. Peter, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Therese, and St. Faustina. #boom


St. Jude, patron of lost causes, pray for us.

Anti-social Media

So, a colleague of mine "borrowed" my phone in the first week of October and set up a hotspot so he could back up his phone on the cloud and used all my data for the month.

Annoying, yes. But also a blessing in disguise.

I had no access to the internet unless I was at home. (Of course I have internet at work, but only for finance-y things.) I also couldn't receive some text messages if they were sent from an iPhone until I was on my wi-fi.

Interestingly enough, I also have had my best month yet in my new job. By October 15th I was already almost at 30% of my quarterly goal. My boss basically pulled me aside and told me that if I keep performing like this for the next five months (until the end of Q1), he will help me find whatever job I want next. (This is VERY good news for my plans to move to Denver.)

Since I'm back in full on list-making mode, I have realized that there are still a lot of things I want to get accomplished in my day to day life. Some of them are things that will help me get to various things on my 30 Before 30 list, some of them are just things I've been needing to do for a while but haven't gotten around to.

Also, we are now inside the six month mark to the CFP, so studying for that is going to have to ramp up big time starting in about two weeks. It's good timing though. I'm really getting into the swing of things in my new job and I don't feel the need to work quite as much overtime. Also, as we get towards the holidays, business slows down considerably. Even so, I have a feeling I may have to take a few month hiatus from social media. (Good thing I don't consider my little bloglette to be social media... even though I suppose it is.)

Back to work though, has anyone noticed how lazy most Americans are? Of course I'm including myself but it's really astounding when you stop to think about it. Before you can obtain any given job, you're put through an interview or series of interviews to make sure you're a good candidate for the job and that the company is a good fit for you. From what I've seen there are two main components (maybe three) to how successful you will be. The first is natural ability. Some people are naturally more gifted in certain areas than others. The second is just good old hard work. It's amazing the things you can do, even if you lack natural skill, if you just work at something hard enough put in even an ounce of effort more than the bare minimum. (The third is having a good attitude, I think.)

I've worked at my company for 20 months. I've been promoted three times. The people on my team (which is the most tenured team in the department) out-tenure (is that a word?) me by an average of 4-5 years. (Not at the company... IN THE DEPARTMENT.) I constantly get asked what I'm doing that is making me so much better than they are or at least than they were when they first started. I just want to be honest and say look, I just work when I'm at work, that's the bottom line. No one in college ever tells you that if you just work while you're at work once you're in the real world, you're going to go far. Especially if you do it with a smile on your face. I do have a natural knack for what I'm doing and I'm thankful for that. But the natural ability doesn't mean that I have more conversations with my clients and win more business. Hard work gives me more opportunities to "swing the bat" and the more times you swing, the more you hit. End of story.

Thank you Jesus for a job that I'm good at and that gives me opportunities to eventually do what I love.

To the One Who is Given Much

To my sweet, loving, holy, Saint Pope John Paul II, happy feast day. I love you.

To all the rest of you:

When I asked for some advice about how to encounter the spiritual procrastinator, I think this is what you were all going to tell me:

(Taken from today's Gospel, from St. Luke)

That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

How perfectly fitting. Thanks for your wise words.

Father was preaching about how no one in today's world could feign ignorance before God. For Catholics who are unaware of the teachings of our faith, there is no excuse. He said that the person responsible for forming your conscience and the person responsible for teaching you the faith is you. The Church supplies (ecclesia supplet) and supplements, but does not supplant one's own responsibilities.


How can God be perfectly merciful and perfectly just at the same time?! My mind cannot understand this side of Heaven, but I hope to know eventually. I love the mercies of God, but the ENTJ in me loves the God of fire and brimstone too. All things to all people!

Come Holy Spirit!