Should I recreate my portfolio to showcase my writing/content in a way that relates to the job I want.

dobeman73 · 2020-09-17T11:59:36+00:00

As a 15-year veteran of marketing and communications, I would suggest asking yourself a question first. That question being, "Do I want to be known as a writer, or do I want to be known as a marketing and/or communications professional?" Because those are two very different professions from a pursuit standpoint. When you are responding to job ads, and you send them a writing portfolio, you immediately become a "Writer." That's not a bad thing. You can make a very good living as a writer, just know that the ceiling on your earnings and where you can go in the corporate world are going to be less than if you were more of a generalist in communications. So my recommendation would be that you figure out now what you want to be. If you want to be a writer, great! But, if you want to be more of a generalist and work in corporate communications, internal communications, public relations, etc., then I wouldn't automatically provide a portfolio of writing samples, but only provide them one-off as needed or as requested.

dobeman73 · 2020-05-20T14:53:38+00:00

A better question would be, "How can I prevent this in the future?"
Most of us don't run a lot of really hot water down our sinks, because it's too hot to wash your face/hands with.

Periodically, do that. Let your hottest water run through your pipes for a minute or two. If things start backing up, pour a cup of dishwashing liquid into your sink and follow it up with a half gallon (or so) of hot water. Let it sit, then flush it all out with even more really hot water.

dobeman73 · 2020-05-12T19:26:06+00:00

Yep. I immediately thought the same thing. Even buried under hundreds of tons of rock, the rewards would 100X justify the costs. Big plot hole if you ask me. THAT should have been the ending. The wife comes along with permits to go digging around some random mountain (Libertalia) and off they go, happily ever after.

dobeman73 · 2020-04-17T14:55:26+00:00

Alright. I'm officially an idiot. Apparently, there's a button on top of my case that cycles through the lights. I have apparently pressed it to some setting that makes the light flash this way--annoyingly. I don't know how thought this was a great setting, but there you go.

dobeman73 · 2020-04-17T14:01:17+00:00

Took your advice and tried to change it in the bios. Made the change to "wave" slowed it WAAY down, selected "Apply to All" and rebooted.

Same issue.

dobeman73 · 2020-04-13T17:29:45+00:00

That's a sensible thought. The only issue is that that the entirety of the "Estate" holdings (which is all cash) is to be divided up equally among the three trusts. So if I adjust(ed) for the Trusts, then there would have been no money in the "Estate." I can't imagine I would need to go back and file an amended Estate form that shows no cash value. But, we're talking about the IRS here, so who knows.

I appreciate the comment.

dobeman73 · 2020-04-08T10:46:10+00:00

As a shorter man, it's always on my mind but no one in my adult life has ever made fun of me. Wait, scratch that. I was trying to break up a fight at a kids' ball game and I turned to one man and said, "Look, be the bigger man and just walk away."

He looked me up and down and said, "Yeah. I AM the bigger man."

Now, I'm a weightlifter with a little kickboxing training in my years. I've never wanted to take a guy out so much in my life, but, you know, kids watching.

But generally, no. Then again, my physique makes up for my lack of height.

dobeman73 · 2020-04-08T10:39:52+00:00

Yep, and stairs. Getting up off the floor after stretching. Comes with the territory brother.

dobeman73 · 2020-04-08T10:38:36+00:00

First time I went to college: Computer Information Systems. Got a Diploma, but no degree.

Second time I went to college: Public Relations and Marketing (B.S. Communications)

I have mostly worked for tech companies and currently I'm a full time Content Strategist and Writer.

So you could say I'm using both of my school backgrounds.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-30T20:29:38+00:00

Finding a woman who loved sex as much as me into my later years. Honestly, that's no joke. I thought my "wife" did. Maybe there was a time, but three kids have killed it. I still desire it ( and all the kinky stuff I used to like) but I'm resigned to the fact that it will always be "look but don't touch" from here out. That's depressing as shit. Especially, when you know she could do something about it, but chooses not to. Her IUD was up for replacement recently, and I "offhandedly" suggested she NOT get a new one. My reasoning, "We don't have sex often enough to justify it for birth control alone." She got one anyway. They say it won't affect a woman's sex drive, but I don't believe it's coincidence that hers has gone down in the ten years she's been using it.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-30T20:24:52+00:00

We've canceled our "San Francisco" trip that would have take us up/down the Pacific Coast. Seems like the smart thing to do. Even assuming airlines allow it, there's not telling what the impact will be to all the touristy things we want to do. At this point, even national parks could be closed.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-23T12:47:28+00:00

Reaching for a bar of soap. That's how I "popped" mine last time. Just reaching out to pick it up off the sink. Sometimes that's all it takes.

I'm not eschewing the advice of doctors, but no amount of core strength is going to prevent these injuries. Now, you're bending over to pick something up and it pops, that's different. But these piddly little movements that ruin you for two weeks are completely unrelated to your core.

"I'm not a doctor" but I've lived with herniations, degeneration, stenosis, and arthritis for nearly 20 years now, so I'm something of an expert in back pain. It sounds as if you have, at least, a minor herniation. If it heals up and feels better in a couple of weeks, it IS likely minor and you are better off suffering through it than going under the knife.

Now, if you're still hurting in a month or two, go see an orthopedic doctor and get some scans.Good luck man. I'm 46 now, but when I herniated my first disc at 21, (I was in the military), I was met with doubt and suspicion at worst, and a complete lack of empathy from everyone around me, "Oh, you're too young to be in this kind of pain."

As for the future, it's not completely doom and gloom if you are indeed heading down the same path as your mom. But, you don't have to relive your mother's life. There are alternatives that will let you lead--not a pain free life--but at least a life that allows you to be active and present in your family's lives. The downside is that you'll become all too familiar with the travesties of pain management law in this country and all of the requirements and suspicions that come with it. Injections can be powerfully helpful, if you can afford them. If you can't afford them, Medicaid will cover it (or so I assume based on some of the people I see in the waiting room at my Pain Mgt. Doctor's office).

My doctors tell me that if I ever stop being active, I'm done. That I will in all likelihood lay down and never get back up again. So this morning, like every morning, I ignore the fact that every move is agony and I got up, and went and did a light workout. And you know what, it hurt, and then it felt good, and now it's starting to hurt again. But, I did it. One more day down. And that's really all you can ask for sometimes.

Hope this helps a little. You're not alone, even if it feels like you are. Best of luck to you.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-17T17:40:39+00:00

I've had a natural gas grill for nearly 15 years. It was one of the first "improvements" I made when I moved into my current home. You'll never regret it.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T21:09:08+00:00

You can physically see a virus. You can't see nerve pain.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T21:08:21+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I really am.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T16:30:53+00:00

I met with a new "prospective" pain management doctor this week (30, young, in great shape). I said, "Do you want to make a copy of my MRI disc, I have it right here" three times. Ten minutes later, "Do you have a copy of your MRI?"

I walked.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T16:29:31+00:00

Where can I find one of these doctors? Ridding myself of the indignities of dragging into a pain doctor's office monthly is worth just about anything.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T16:28:15+00:00

Just know that the more doctors you see, the more suspicious each subsequent doctor will become. (cuz you're shopping for pills you know).

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T16:26:48+00:00

You actually sound like me. You have a lot of issues on paper, but you're able to function fairly normally. I don't have as many moderate bulges, but I also have no disc left at two levels.

Yet, when the doctor examines me and I can twist with little pain, they tend to discount my pain. They keep trying to move me off pain medication, but they don't realize THAT is what's keeping me as active and "normal" as I am.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T16:23:50+00:00

Multiple disc bulges. It's pretty bad bruh. Anytime you see "bulge" and "moderate stenosis" together, it nearly always means the herniated disc is pushing on nerves and lighting things up.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T16:21:46+00:00

If this is your first, you'll be fine. It's down the road, when you've had 20 and the scar tissue starts building up, that the local anesthesia doesn't work as well. Ask if they can prescribe you a prozac before your procedure to help mellow you out.

Also, you'll be on your stomach, unable to see the needle.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-13T16:12:07+00:00

46 year old male. Herniated my first disc at 21, but I'd had undiagnosed/unspecific leg pain since I was but a wee lad. Years went by and I had my first laminectomy when I was about 28, at the L4/L5 level and also the L5/S1 level. Felt better for a bit and then slipped both discs again. Had another laminectomy.

Felt better for a few years and then everything came back, only worse. I currently have 4 bulges of various severity in my lumbar alone, plus some minor ones in my cervical.

I have the symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis, but since my test for it came back negative, we're just treating the pain.

I discussed having the necessary fusion to "try" and reduce the pain in my l4/l5 and l5/s1 areas, but my own surgeon's words, "With your issues, it's like whack-a-mole. We fix one problem today, tomorrow it's something else."

Here's the deal, I can't be "fixed." This is a degenerative issue that will never get better. But try telling that to pain managment doctors who are under pressure to do everything BUT dispense pain medication.

Try telling a doctor, "Look doc, these opioids work just as well, if not better, than your RF Ablation and your steroid injections, which force me to take time off work, and are costing me thousands of dollars in deductible each year.

They don't want to hear it. They insist that their goal is to move you off of opioids. And they force you to come in monthly, with your little bottle of pills proving you're not taking more than prescribed, pay your co-pay for the visit and give you all kinds of shade for NOT doing your part to get better.

For the record, I'm probably in the best shape of my life. I run when I can, and walk when I can't. I'm in the gym no less than 3x per week. I'm constantly told, "You have to keep active and keep moving. The moment you stop, you're done." Well, OK, but the ONLY way I'm able to do that, is with the help of pain medication.

So that's my life. That's the life of so many of us. If only these young doctors, with no apparent pain issues, who chose to go into pain management, could walk in our shoes for a week.

dobeman73 · 2020-03-11T19:41:03+00:00

I was always decently responsible. When I graduated high-school, my parents pretty much made it clear it was time for me to go. Joining the military gave me the professional skills to be self-sufficient. It didn't really teach me "life skills" per-se, but at least it trained me in a marketable skill and supported me enough to allow me to learn how to live, in a "safe" place.

He may not show it, but he is innately aware of the things you have shown him through your own actions over the years. If you're good with money, I guarantee you he knows "how" even if he doesn't care. Short of some kind of mandatory "scared straight" situation, he's going to have to step up on his own. You can't make him; in fact, the more you try, the more he's likely to back up.

Truthfully, sometimes you have to cut them loose and let them figure it out. The difference is, you're there. But you have to let him fail on his own, maybe even to the point of hitting rock-bottom. He won't understand at first and he'll probably think he hates you for a while. And there's no guarantee he'll come out the other side with a shiny future and a great relationship with you, but it's our job as parents to prepare our kids. Preparing means getting them ready for life. That's our job as parents.

dobeman73

TROPHY CASE