This post is from staff writer Sarah Gilbert. I’ve done it all; worked remotely, worked in an office with a serious in-traffic commute, worked in an office with a short commute, worked for myself, and worked for Fortune 100 corporations. I’ve worked 80 hours weeks and I’ve worked 10 hours a week part-time. I’ve been […]
The board for the non-profit writing organization over which I preside had a meeting recently with a local legend, a board organization consultant. He was used to delivering the information he was giving us in several-hour workshops and he talked as fast as he could in the 90 minutes we had, while we scribbled furiously. […]
Though I live a fairly — ok, thoroughly — domestic life, I spend a lot of time as a guest or host. I have my weekly writer’s group; I have a monthly book group; I have a group of friends-with-kids who host raucous parties to which all of our children are invited; I have a […]
With Valentine’s Day in the rearview mirror, I’m thinking about love. Love, and money. Robert Brokamp at Get Rich Slowly was part of my inspiration, with his sweet and personal take on his “relationship deal breakers.” (A brief summary: when he was 23, smoking; now, fiscal irreponsibility.) Though many of us reading this site are, […]
The woman to my right at the table was beautiful; striking smooth grey hair, an elegant style of dress that I admired and would happily have copied. At one point when I asked her to introduce herself — I was leading a workshop on promoting books through social media. It was then that I learned […]
Timidly, I pulled out my debit card and grimaced as the cashier rung up the purchase. I handed it to her, watching as she swiped it for $42, worried that I’d made a mistake thinking that buying Settlers of Catan at full retail price was a great idea. I had been introduced to the game […]
Give and you shall receive. This Biblical saying has been well-used and mis-used so many times that I’m sure no one could count. I grew up in a very conservative Baptist household and, while I don’t think we always gave a flat 10%, giving was a constant, even in our poorest times. We did receive, […]
Your cell phone doesn’t work as well as you’d like. I know, I don’t even know you! But I’m willing to bet I’m right (and you’re nodding your head at me right now, ruefully). I say this from personal experience, having lived all over the place and used just about every cell phone carrier. I […]
As far as my email inbox goes, the week of Thanksgiving was pretty bad, as every online shop to which I have ever given my email address — and a few besides — sent me message after message about sales, just for Black Friday! Or the weekend! Or just Cyber Monday! I wondered just how […]
My husband is in Kuwait for his third tour in the Army. Working for the joint forces in a country that is firmly a U.S. ally, he doesn’t see a lot of combat. What he does see, what keeps him up at night, is the waste. First, there is the practical military waste. Computers are […]