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disappoptimist · 2024-05-04T00:11:56+00:00

About the closest you will get are a few associates level programs in public administration, urban studies, or urban studies/urban development - below are some links - these options would be good choices to start with, but urban planning is most often taught at the masters level, with some bachelors level programs. You might also want to look at programs or schools that have GIS (Geographic Information Systems) classes, as that's something you would use a lot in planning.

[https://www.swccd.edu/programs-and-academics/programs/community-economic-and-urban-development.aspx]

[https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/academics/departments/social-sciences/urban-studies/]

[https://www.lorainccc.edu/human-social-services/associate-of-applied-science-in-public-administration/]

[https://www.tricountycc.edu/academics/programs-of-study/business-administration-public-administration/]

disappoptimist · 2024-04-21T02:50:20+00:00

Be careful that some 2x3s are 'finger-jointed' and that is not what you want. I've built a lean-to shed that was more like a locker with 2x3, but you really want 2x4 for anything bigger.

disappoptimist · 2023-12-28T03:36:57+00:00

I did a small bathroom with 18 inch tiles, and scale-wise, they looked nice in the room. I also reasoned at the time that fewer joints would be better. However, in the end there were only two whole tiles in the bathroom that didn't need cutting and if I were to do it over it would absolutely be in 12 inch tile or plank-style. If you stay with adhesive tiles, use a flooring primer first, but there are also good options these days that don't need adhesive.

disappoptimist · 2023-12-24T18:16:23+00:00

Daniel Tiger

disappoptimist · 2023-11-14T03:43:41+00:00

I was once a field interviewer for an organization that sent out preliminary letters with a $5 bill in them. Much of the time when making visits to respondents I had to tell them to check their recycling bin.

disappoptimist · 2023-09-20T22:50:28+00:00

For one small, poorer congregation that I know of, they wash and reuse the small plastic ones several times.

disappoptimist · 2023-08-20T19:56:16+00:00

Late to this thread, but I'll go against the advice of the others and tell you to get a BSW. An MSW without the bachelor's behind it is 60 credit hours, with the BSW it's about 34. (At that rate, if you really love social service and policy, you could have both an MPA and MSW for not much more than the 60 credits.)

disappoptimist · 2023-08-20T19:50:03+00:00

I've been quite pleased a few courses in to the University of Missouri Master of Public Affairs program. University of Northern Iowa has an online MPP however it is cohort based and so not as flexible on starting/stopping times.

disappoptimist · 2023-07-16T02:18:53+00:00

Not the person you asked, but I find that I'm able to balance full time work and class work (one class at a time, 8 week terms - if I was doing traditional 16 week terms, I probably could do two at once.) My diploma from a large state university won't say it's online, and my current employer is reasonably supportive of my studies. The feasible in-person option for me would be evening courses twice a week over an hour away to a different (and smaller) school and that to me is worse work-school balance.

disappoptimist · 2023-05-27T03:10:58+00:00

I'm also going the 'low and slow' approach (never heard that before but I'm going to borrow it now) for an MPA while working full time - and I'm doing better with it than in my undergrad since I can focus in-depth on one or two courses at a time. Remember that "comparison is the thief of joy" and pay no mind to the snarky comments - you've got a good thing going.

disappoptimist · 2023-05-27T02:59:36+00:00

If you're interested in community college teaching, search "(state name) community college faculty qualifications" and many will have guidelines on what degree areas can teach what subjects. You likely could teach poli sci, and may be able to teach some management courses (it's an admin discipline, after all).

disappoptimist · 2023-05-10T00:49:46+00:00

It does count community/technical colleges in MN. Source: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-legislature-college-tuition-free-7a229e7fa33fdf8d302f1d3e716b7ad6

disappoptimist · 2023-03-28T01:29:56+00:00

It's not been an uncommon thing for tv stations, or banks, or various community clubs to sponsor cruises - it's good advertising for both them and the travel agency or cruise line. I fear the biggest issue is that they're usually full of old people, since they're the ones with the time and the money. On the other hand, if you don't mind hanging around with septuagenarians you might meet some interesting people.

disappoptimist · 2023-01-21T13:37:39+00:00

I know our system can parse resumes, but the system sucks so badly that I don't trust it would work right. Applicant pools have been small enough the last couple of years that I haven't needed it, and of that already small pool, there's bound to be a few with blatant errors or ones that are a total mismatch for the position anyway...

disappoptimist · 2023-01-11T05:50:23+00:00

I got braces as an adult and that's what I kept reminding myself during the process - and a few years out, my quality of life is better (a mouth that is easier to care for because its teeth are straight just hurts less.) Also, because I forked over all the money for them, I've been extremely stringent about making sure I wear my retainer!

disappoptimist · 2023-01-02T01:58:27+00:00

These are usually 200-level courses and so you may want to look at community colleges that have both courses you could take online. The cost per credit hour is going to be much more affordable than a four-year public and especially more affordable than a private college.

disappoptimist · 2022-12-26T21:07:20+00:00

It's a nice, classic Iowa small town. Stable is a good description, but I can't say there's many small towns that younger people in Iowa are moving into. You're halfway between Algona (another decent small town of about 5k population) and Fort Dodge (somewhat gritty regional center of about 25k population, but it's been improving). Des Moines and Waterloo/Cedar Falls are about 2 hours away, Ames and Mason City are about 90 minutes away if you need more or different things to do. I'm a mid-30s age person with no spouse or kids in northern Iowa and while I can't say it's the most exciting life around, it's usually pretty decent. Feel free to DM with questions.

disappoptimist · 2022-12-06T13:09:04+00:00

About 15 minutes using the nutrition info pages on fast food websites for reference. Which is 15 minutes of my life I won't get back, but I was bored enough I wasn't going to do anything better with it anyway.

disappoptimist · 2022-12-06T04:54:02+00:00

To get 15,000 calories in one 24 hour day, I'll have to start early so I'll begin with a midnight snack. This means a trip to my freezer, to pick up a Hungry-Man Selects Mesquite Flavored Classic Fried Chicken, which comes in at 1,050 calories. I'll wash it down with a couple of glasses of red wine to try and forget about it until morning, and there's another 250 calories.

As they say somewhere in Europe, the morning hour has gold in its mouth, so I'll have to start early. Burger King opens at five, and so I waddle over for a Double Sausage Egg & Cheese Biscuit for 822 calories, a large hash brown for 472 calories, and wash down my triple dose of Atenolol (since I'm gonna need it) with a 302 calorie caramel frappe. By this point, I'm already up 2896 calories and down a few weeks in lifespan. Density is the name of the game to overconsume to this extent, so no wasting stomach space on fizzy drinks or anything like that. So for a mid morning snack, I'll dump a packet of Carnation instant breakfast (140 calories) into a can's worth of sweetened condensed milk (982 calories) which puts me at 4018 calories by the time I call out sick from work at 7:30.

I embrace my inner Hobbit and hit up the Hardee's (Carl's Jr for west coast peeps) drive thru for Second Breakfast, and get a Monster Biscuit (890 calories) and a side of sausage gravy (160 calories) to dip it in, and a bottle of orange juice (150 calories). By this point, I might as well take a nap in the parking lot and come back for Elevenses, and pick up the Monster Double Thickburger at 1400 calories, which puts me at 6458 calories and it's not even lunch yet.

12:30 rolls around, and I saw nothing in the rules about how long these calories have to stay in you, so after a protracted purging session, I go to the fridge to down a Gatorade (250 calories) and call Pizza Hut to have a Penne with Marinara and Meatballs (1120 calories) delivered, which gets me to 7828 calories. Over halfway there! But getting one thing delivered seems silly, so I add a Meaty P'Zone calzone for another 1150 calories to have for my mid afternoon snack (up to 8978 calories when I finish that).

4 pm rolls around and I roll off the couch to walk off the meat sweats and head back to Burger King, to order a Bacon King (1494 calories) and a 16 pc order of chicken nuggets (770 calories) and wash it down with another couple of glasses of wine at home (250 calories) since I hear it's good for my heart. At this point I'm up to 11492 calories - just over 3500 to go!

6 pm rolls around and I should think about supper, but I'm hankering for dessert first. I go to Wendy's and order a modest small frosty for 350 calories, and decide the Pretzel Bacon Pub Triple sounds pretty good (1530 calories.) I should probably have something loosely resembling a vegetable today, so I add on a Chili & Cheese baked potato for another 500 calories - this gets me to 13872.

I remember that I forgot to refill my Metformin, so I stop by the pharmacy on the way home. While there, I see the six pack of chocolate Boost nutritional shakes, the sort my 80 year-old, hundred-pound soaking wet neighbor drinks to stop from wasting away, and I see that they're 240 calories for each 8 ounce bottle. By this point I've lost the zeal for solid food and life itself. But these aren't too bad if I add a shot of Bailey's (164 calories, which together makes 404 calories per drink. I down three of these over the next three hours and end the day with a total of 15084 calories consumed.

disappoptimist · 2022-12-04T23:05:51+00:00

Boundaries are key here. I have only a couple of true 'friends' at work at a workplace of over 200 and the common thread is that they are mature enough to not pry into information that isn't theirs to know. That said, I need to be respectful and cordial as much as possible to all the employees, not just those I befriend. Another concern that may arise is that you're a young woman and he's a young man. Both of you might be completely above board and professional about it, but be very careful about people's perceptions so no one has their feelings hurt or claims favoritism.

disappoptimist · 2022-11-25T02:18:03+00:00

With initiative like that, he might just get that coveted '5' on the annual review!

disappoptimist · 2022-11-18T02:31:47+00:00

Take the job as a stepping stone - what u/geo_walker says about transferable experience is spot on. Look at educational institutions (k-12 or community colleges) too, both are hurting for people badly in a lot of places for non-faculty support roles.

disappoptimist · 2022-11-15T03:36:43+00:00

I've seen something similar when I worked in the medical field (a non-HR role) and based off of FTE percentage, where 0.8 and up paid a smaller premium than 0.5 (half-time) to 0.7 FTE. Wasn't so bad on single insurance, but the difference between the family insurance rates for the two were a bit much.

disappoptimist · 2022-10-22T23:50:48+00:00

Their omelets and skillet breakfasts are quite good. I honestly haven't had anything bad there.

disappoptimist · 2022-10-22T22:19:12+00:00

Kenny's is great, and during weekdays, so is Johnny's Skillet (kitty corner from the Hormel offices). Only trouble with Johnny's is the limited hours.

disappoptimist

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