With the Toronto Blue Jays playing their first game of the season tonight, who can think straight? The Jays have a lot of talent this year, but I’m most excited to see R. A. Dickey‘s knuckleball and the shortstop moves of Jose Reyes. I’m going to Sunday’s game against Boston, but who knows who will… Continue Reading
It was last September. My youngest had started school full-time. I felt giddy with the freedom of it all. I spent midday at the AGO, ran errands all by myself (I forgot how quickly I could get stuff done sans kids!), perused library shelves at length, went out for coffee at that place I’d always… Continue Reading
CBC Radio’s arts and culture program Q with Jian Ghomeshi aired an interview with Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg this morning. Sandberg’s new book, Lean In, advises women to embrace self-confidence. She says more women are needed in roles of power in the workplace so that women can make systemic changes. But to get there, women… Continue Reading
I initially felt rather cynical about attending the career workshops on offer at Ryerson University, but it turns out I’ve found them very helpful. My big take-away (for you pedants: the way I just used take-away is not correct according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary): creating my own personal brand is a requirement. Yup, just the kind… Continue Reading
I recently created a business card combining my passions for editing and lifting. I called my freelance business “heavylifting editorial services,” and I set the phrase raising the bar for communication above a logo of a barbell. But I guess raising the bar has its origins in track and field (high jump, vaulting), so I’ve… Continue Reading
Since I wrecked my knee last fall, I’ve noticed that there are many references to standing strong in the Bible and in the writings of the saints. When you’ve experienced the vulnerability of unreliable footing, these references take on personal significance and become personal meditations. Sometimes one or two words can make all the difference… Continue Reading
How hard can this be, right? Singular subjects take singular verb forms, and plural subjects take plural verb forms: Jane runs. Jane and Spot run. But sometimes it’s tricky. Consider the following pairs of sentences, the first from Amy Einsohn’s Copyeditor’s Handbook, the second from Strunk and White’s Elements of Style (if memory serves): The only… Continue Reading
CBC radio’s The Current got into the fray today concerning Mayer’s face-time edict for Yahoos. The show asked “if working from home was really working.” And the consensus was that full-time work from home is undesirable (as shown in studies), but part-time work from home can result in greater productivity because workers have choice in how and… Continue Reading
The mommy wars are back in the media again with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer apparently banning staff from working from home because lack of face time can restrict the spontaneous sharing of ideas that generates the next big thing. And Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg has extolled young women to stop worrying about work-life balance before they even need… Continue Reading
This week I’ve been attending career workshops—about using social media, writing resumés, that sort of thing. And it’s all about personal branding. What message are you trying to convey? Keep that brand consistent across social media. Use social media to research jobs and network, interact and ask questions, make updates and spread the word that you’re… Continue Reading