I spent this past weekend meeting up with friends I hardly get to see (damn you real life and your jobs). We all met up in NYC from our respective cities for a few days of catching up and craziness. Of course, when you stick a bunch of guys in the City, there’s bound to be some Y-chromo tendencies. So many hotties around it kind of makes you goofy. Obviously, for the single guys this is no thing; for the rest of us, it is a nut kick waiting to happen.
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There’s always that talk that you eventually need to have that just totally sucks. Either you’re telling someone they’re being let go, or asking for a raise, or telling your boss you royally fucked something up. Each of these and more are sure your get you stressed and chewin on your nails. The good news is that you’re not alone. Most people have a terrible time dealing with terrible conversations. Read More

For those of us that have to travel for work, the weekly travel is a huge part of the week. Whether it’s a driving commute or flying, travel takes up a huge chunk of time, and wears on you mentally. Unless you handle the travel and have control over it, then it can really cause major job discontent and drain you mentally and physically.
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Cash in Europe

At this point, the U$ blows compared to the euro. That translates to you getting screwed if you have to use euros. Add on the fees for converting money and the cash you get just isn’t worth what you think. Read More

Living in your own little world and never experiencing other cultures is a great way to miss out on some amazing things. Sure, you can read some books and go to some folk festivals, but those just don’t compare to actually getting your ass on a plane/train/automobile and visiting in person.

For example, I’m on a trip to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. Sure I’ve heard friends tell me about it and I’ve seen pictures, but being there was just an amazing experience that no story or book could ever convey.
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I remember in third grade when my art teacher taught us the color triangle and about basic colors. It was amazing ROYGBIV hotness. If everyone else’s third grade art teachers were as cool as mine, then they should at least have some capability of matching and coordinating colors. But alas, this does not seem to be the case. My eyes have taken their share of punishment from large neon purple tops with seizure inducing patterns and other horrendous color combos (you in the green shirt and red tie, it’s not Christmas in June). I’m not made of eyes you know…once I lose these I might have to get bionic eyes. Then where would it end? Next thing you know I’ll be at the Jiffy-Lube getting the oil changed on my bionic arm. Read More

Unless you live in the jungles and buy your wares with bugs and tugs, your credit score is very important and something you should pay attention to. Even though most of us know that credit scores affect mortgages, loans, and many other aspects of our lives, few know how it’s calculated. The most common score (there are many) used is the FICO, proprietary to the Fair Isaac Corp. So the basics: your score is from 300-850, is calculated using a proprietary formula, and will kick you ass if you fuck it up.

There are five weighted variables that factor into your score–

Payment history (35%)
Amount(s) owed (30%)
Length of credit history (15%)
Amount/frequency of new credit (10%)
Types of credit (10%)

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Summer’s here, and the sun is hot as Jessica Alba eating Jello off of Keira Knightley’s bare swashbuckles (is that a word?). Yes, you’ll be able to show more skin and get a tan, but it also means you’re investing for some battered wrinkly leathery iguana skin once you hit your latter years. According to SkinCarePhysicians.com, the sun can really wreck your skin worse than jet fuel wrecks your liver.

Without protection from the sun’s rays, just a few minutes of exposure each day over the years can cause noticeable changes to the skin. Freckles, age spots, spider veins on the face, rough and leathery skin, fine wrinkles that disappear when stretched, loose skin, a blotchy complexion, actinic keratoses (thick wart-like, rough, reddish patches of skin), and skin cancer can all be traced to sun exposure.

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As our parents and those slightly their senior begin to retire and leave the workforce, the dynamics at the workplace will start to change. This will give our generation options and opportunities that our parents didn’t have. The main factor in this will be the great change in total workforce size and also changing perceptions of society.

Payscale.com published an article discussing what the retirement of the baby boomers means for us.

There are about 78 million boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, and as they begin hitting retirement age-the first wave turns 65 in 2011-experts anticipate workforce shortages. Read More

I for one hate meetings. Unless they’re donuts and cookies meetings, where the topic is to eat donuts and cookies. But for those of us who work in an office, meetings are an unavoidable thing. You might be able to ninja your way out of a few, but the house always wins. My way of getting through them have been to zone out but keep alert for key words (such as ‘action item’ or ‘make 600 copies’). I know that probably isn’t the best way, but it gets me by usually. I’ve been lucky that there’s usually meeting minutes to give me a recap on all that I dazed on.

For a more tactical approach, go grab this month’s GQ (the one with Stephen Colbert on the front holding an oddly frightening Colbert baby) and flip to page 128 for a great article. Read More