It’s About Respect

May 12, 2012 · Personal, Politics & the Courts, Writing & Blogging · 1 Reply

Those who follow me on other social media sites are already well aware of this, but aside of making changes to my résumé, I haven’t explicitly mentioned on this site that I’m working in employee benefits again. I landed a contract position this past October, doing open enrollment support. Just after that contract ended, I got an offer of regular employment from a local employee benefits broker.

I’m working on the pre-sale side, obtaining quotes, creating marketing materials, doing research, and providing any other support that might be needed to help close the sale (since I am not a licensed agent, I do not actually write coverage or give advice). It’s a very small business, which means I also sometimes pitch in with post-sale support and general business operations as well.

To say that it’s great to be back in my field again puts it very mildly, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to learn the broker side of the business. I’m also pleased to be employed at the particular business I am; I started out looking at this as a job but I’ve come to develop a lot of respect, and even some caring, for the people I work for and with.

So why, you might ask, don’t I identify this new employer anywhere on this site?

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Writer’s Block: Local Favorite

May 9, 2012 · Atlanta, Questions & Prompts · No Replies

Writer’s Block for April 28, 2012:

You’re having guests for the weekend — what one local restaurant is at the top of the list for your visitors, and what dishes will you be recommending? (Links to the restaurant’s website always welcome, in case readers are ever in your area!)

I’m going to assume that money is no object, and recommend The Sun Dial Restaurant, Bar and View in Midtown Atlanta. It’s unusual for a restaurant to have a reference to the view in its name, but this one has a very good reason: it’s a rotating restaurant situated on the the top level of the Westin Peachtree Plaza, which is among the tallest buildings in Atlanta (at one point it was the tallest).

But if I were strictly recommending the view, I’d talk about the observation level in the same building which is also open to the public (and a lot cheaper to visit). I fell in love with this restaurant when, as a treat, I decided to go there for Sunday brunch with my mother one time while she was visiting.

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A Choice to Believe

May 5, 2012 · Catholicism & Spirituality, Personal · No Replies

When people ask me about Sacred Tradition, I think about my great-great-grandmother.

According to government records, she was born on March 20, 1865. But according to the family Bible, she was born on March 19, and that was the day she celebrated as her birthday for her entire life. The story, as told to her and then passed down, was that there was a howling blizzard the day she was born. It wasn’t until the next day that her father was able to get out of the house and register her birth.

This sort of incident isn’t difficult to believe given the time and place when she was born; most rural Americans were born at home during the 1860s, and the family lived in an area that was prone to blizzards into late March. When I give my great-great-grandmother’s birth date as March 19, 1865, nobody argues with me.

In the grand scheme of things, of course, it hardly matters which day she was born. But the fact that few people would question my choice to believe a family legend is interesting.

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Seven Things Meme

May 2, 2012 · Questions & Prompts · No Replies

Comment on this post with “I love libraries” and I’ll give you seven things I want you to talk about. They may make sense or they may be totally random. Then post that list to your journal with your commentary. Other people can get lists from you and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.

akamarykate gave me six topics that make sense and one that seems random. But I don’t mind!

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*tap tap* Is this thing on?

April 28, 2012 · Personal, Site Related · No Replies

After some hemming, hawing, debating and flat-out self-questioning, I’ve decided that the time has come to re-start my blog. This has primarily been driven by two things. First, my return to the field of employee benefits (which is a pretty hot field right now) has resulted in me becoming opinionated again. Second, I’ve gotten quite serious about becoming a professional writer, and a blog is a good way to practice.

I’ve spent some time going through the blog and the site, and discovered that it needs a lot of work in addition to new posts. So, as I begin posting again, I’m also going to be doing things under the hood. Don’t worry; the site itself isn’t changing, and I’m not going to delete or hide my old blog posts.

I’m not entirely sure where I’ll end up going with this, but right now I’m taking an “anything goes” approach until I find my feet again. Suggestions are therefore welcomed!

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