Browsing tag: blogging

This week has been defined by two things.

Amazing food: Arancini and cannoli at Matakana markets. Dessert at Fed Deli (pity their poutine hasn’t improved – it could use a hell of a lot more gravy and soggier chips, but it’s still the best we have in Auckland). Yum cha with work peeps, which I literally haven’t had since we got back to NZ. Egg custard tarts, we belong together…

Amazing TV: We finally finished Angel. I was so upset about the ending to start with but in retrospect think it was pitch perfect. Here’s the best analysis of the final I’ve come across. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones wraps next week, and we’ll be finishing Orange is the New Black this weekend. We watched one movie – Mr Nobody – which was a total letdown. Fascinating concept but confusing in execution and needed a heck of a lot more editing.

How was your week?

This week’s links

Utterly stunning sentiment from Prose and Constellations: “We are here to live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”

9 healthy breakfast ideas from my fave food blog, Stonesoup

Renting/flathunting in the Auckland ‘burbs sucks, but sounds like renting in the CBD is just as stupidly painful (thanks for enlightening me, Sense)

Residential parking permits are common in other big cities and were a bit of a pain for us in Toronto, but people here aren’t super keen on the idea…

Nicole and Maggie ask: Does what you do define who you are?

One of Seth Godin’s shortest and best posts ever: “Really tempting to spend time trying to get paid for what you love. It’s probably easier and certainly more direct to talk to yourself about loving what you do.” (I feel bad for having copied the entire post…)

Shonda Rhimes dreamed of being Toni Morrison growing up, and years later, when they had dinner together, all Morrison wanted to talk about was Grey’s Anatomy. I love that. Also, she delivers a great reality check on balance and success: “Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means that I am failing in another area of my life.”

Round about this time last year we were making our way north through Vietnam via Hoi An and Hue. This year, we’re working! Yes, T is once again employed. And that is all I’m going to say about that or I’m going to jinx it.

But on that note, I thought I’d touch on something I haven’t thought about for a long time – minimum and entry level wages. Until T was on the job hunt this year I didn’t realise the minimum wage is now $14.25 (a whopping three bucks higher than it was when I started looking for full time work), and I see Seattle just voted to raise its minimum wage to $15. It’s crazy that an American city is on track to overtake us on that front.

Once upon a time $18 an hour sounded like a fortune. It’s what my mum earned 10-15 years ago; I remember I was a kid when she got her first industry job here after we moved to Auckland, and that sum seemed so enormous. It’s what I made at my first grown up job four years ago, and I thought I was doing so well, making so much more than minimum wage. Now it doesn’t sound like a lot at all. That’s not even $40k – it’s barely enough to get by in this country, let alone this city. How things change. When I was in publishing I actually used to worry that the minimum wage would catch up with me.

This week’s links

The unexpected side effects of spending time living abroad

Here’s the truth: everyone trades time for money. “Stop trading time for money” is an inspiring goal, but it’s kind of like “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps”, in that it isn’t actually possible. 

For the fashion challenged like me, here’s a neat post about colour theory to help you look more put together

Right on. I can make fun of my race but you can’t (although spouses are exempt, right? That’s how we play it…)

Oh how I relate to this piece on loathing telephone conversations

Y’all may recall how I feel about salads. Here is how to make one without dumb leaves

More madness from our rental market in Auckland

Some real talk about pregnancy and having a first kid

It’s funny how rapidly one’s reading habits can swing from one extreme to another. A couple of years ago I suddenly lost all desire to read YA and cheesy chick lit, and delved deep into literary fiction.

And then I finally got around to reading John Green. And I couldn’t get enough of him. Now I’m back on the YA trail with a vengeance (and since I may soon be getting into mentoring a high school kid, it’s probably good timing). Alas, I think Gus has been miscast in The Fault in Our Stars; he looks nothing like what I expected, and now I’m not so sure I want to see the film.

This week brought some record low temperatures to Auckland; it almost makes me nostalgic for the punishing heat and dust of Cambodia – if it weren’t for the fact that country broke my heart and I could frankly never bear to return.

 Onto the links…

A prime example of the madness that is our housing market (I’m only hard on you because I know you can do better, Auckland!)

I must confess I never knew much about Maya Angelou and I have no time for poetry, but this is a beautiful piece of writing

Trust me, this post about coping in dying industries is not what you expect. (Think … mugging, instead.) Just click the damn link!

An unusually contemplative post over at Get Rich Slowly ponders the different ways that we dream

It’s doubtful I will ever get to this level of investing savvy, but here’s a cautionary read on the risks of investing in different currencies than your own (obviously relevant to us here in NZ)

A poignant take on the drudgery that makes up adult life and living the hell out of it

Lastly, the deadliness of misogyny is hot right now. Here are three of my favourite takes on the topic:

Shamed to death for saying yes to sex, murdered for saying no

If you have sex, you won’t be respected, but if you don’t have sex, you still won’t be respected. It’s an impossible paradox. This week, that paradox became deadly. This week women have died for saying yes to sex. And women have died for saying no.

Your princess is in another castle

Men are taught that women are things to “earn,” to “win.” That if we try hard enough and persist long enough, we’ll get the girl in the end.

Our sexual assault problem is … not easily solved by a hashtag

We want men to be sensitive, but when they are, we make fun of them for being soft and “crying like a girl.” When a man chases us down the street and we’re attracted to him, it’s sweet. When a man chases us down the street and we’re not attracted to him, it’s harassment….

Mothers and fathers put much less of a box around girls. They are encouraged to use their imagination — if they want Legos, their parents are not worried about what it means; they simply give her Legos. God forbid, a little boy wants to play with a Barbie — most parents are not evolved enough to see that just because their boy wants to play with a Barbie does not mean he’s anything except curious and imaginative, as children are wont to be. However, this suppression of natural urges is struck down very early on, from how they should play to how they should act to how they should talk to how they are supposed to present themselves to the world.

(I have a few mixed feelings on this one but overall found it thought provoking.)

 

 

Lately, it’s been feeling like one step forward, one step back, financially speaking.

A Reduced to Clearance shop has opened up near us – as in, a store that sells items approaching their best-before date. It’s AMAZING. 30 cents for a box of tampons? 50 cent drinks? Cheap toilet paper, milk, stirfry sauces, canned veggies, cereal? I’m in frugal heaven there.

 T’s tendency to ignore mail majorly backfired. We had to back pay his motorbike registration – it’s currently on hold and has been for awhile but earlier this year the ‘hold’ expired and it started accruing rego charges for a few months.

I got my first full pay from my new job. While it doesn’t really affect the finances, I’m back to a fortnightly pay cycle for the first time in a few years. What does matter is I’m taking home more, and I’ve also accomplished a goal that’s been languishing for a while – increasing my Kiwisaver contributions to 8 percent. A down payment/retirement is getting a minuscule bit closer. Speaking of which, I didn’t realise BNZ’s Kiwisaver scheme allows you to convert Fly Buys loyalty points into real dollars to go into your Kiwisaver account – ingenious.  I’m happy with my Kiwisaver provider but I tip my hat to them on this.

I don’t drink coffee, and hate to spend money on drinks, but I’m trying to head out with coworkers once a week on their coffee runs.  (I get a hot chocolate – $4.50 for a small.) Bonding is important, etc. And on the topic of small but regular expenses, I restarted our Spotify premium membership. It pains me to pay for something every month but it’s $12.99 a month – less than four bucks a week, a little over $100 a year. It’s worth it to have music on my commute. If I had lots of data on my phone plan I would stick with the free version (and live with only being able to shuffle tracks) but I don’t, so I’m sucking it up in exchange for offline access and total playback control.

Blast from the past

This time last year we were in … Bangkok! For longer than anticipated, too, thanks to that hospital sideshow.

This week’s links

For those who missed my post on the clusterfuck that is currently the Auckland property market (in a nutshell – buying sucks but renting in many ways is worse long term)
read this New Yorker piece, substitute all mentions of Vancouver for Auckland and you will get a pretty accurate picture of what’s going on

A traveller’s guide to New Zealand slang

And a stunning chronicle of an autumn road trip through the South Island

I love that the Wireless is consistently tackling issues relevant to young NZers’ lives, whether it’s how we’re screwed financially or whether we’d be better off in Dubai (you could not pay me enough to live in the Middle East for any amount of time, but YMMV)

Everyone is totally just winging it, so don’t stress!

What does self love even really mean? Via Yes and Yes

Little Miss Moneybags articulates the problem with found money

Ways to make your entry level job better, at Life After College

Stop asking me where I see myself in five years, says Gen Y Girl (AMEN!)

Finally, while I’ve taken a step away from publishing, I still I loved this interview with ex-Jezebel editor Anna Holmes:

I know many people freelance successfully, but I have no interest in making that my primary source of income. It’s too stressful, constantly having to try to think of stuff to pitch editors. The older I get, the less I want to write stuff that I’m meh about…

I don’t know what my next job will be, but it will probably be in media. A lot of times I’m just like, “I’m going to move to Namibia and work with orphaned elephants. Fuck this stuff.” I don’t have a five-year plan. Maybe that’s dumb, but it is who I am. I can’t pretend otherwise.

It seems like overnight, people are starting to age around me.

Suddenly, I’m seeing laugh crinkles around the eyes, faint forehead lines, grey hairs.

And I’m feeling it myself. A bad night’s sleep leads to a sore back the next day. I’m a little pudgier in spots. It’s disconcerting, to say the least.

It’s all downhill from here, I guess?

Blast from the past

This time last year we were in … Thailand, hooning it round Koh Lanta in a tuktuk and swimming through caves and such.

This week’s links

I couldn’t agree more with Crystal – money means options, and options make for a happier life

Penelop Trunk ponders what it really means to work fulltime

Ashley warns us against ‘creating cynically’ (story of a journalist’s life, basically)

A debate on the value of a public service career, at The Billfold

I know I’m going to have to learn to navigate internal organisational politics, fast, so Ramit’s scripting advice for someone who goes blank when talking to people piqued my interest

Also, I finally updated my post, Love Where You Live, now that I actually have a global perspective to bring to the table.

Happy weekends!

The night before Good Friday a door to door salesperson came knocking. It was raining, nearly dark, and did I mention it was the night before a four-day weekend? Really? Who would think their sales pitch would be well received in this situation?

I am terrible at saying no and ending these kinds of interactions. Usually I try, half-heartedly, to cut them off. But of course, they barrel on, usually until T comes out to rescue me. In this instance, I felt really sorry for the salesperson – he looked a little terrified when T appeared on the scene. And this dude wasn’t terribly sleazy or annoying – just a guy with a turban and a mild accent who no doubt wanted to get home to his loved ones that night, too.

Are door to door sales pitches common where you live? Is it rare in cities where most people live in apartments rather than houses?

Blast from the past

This time last year we were in Malaysia, trying to acclimatise to the heat before starting the rest of our trip. But for now, the focus is on work/career, reflecting on our top travel moments, and of course celebrating our wedding anniversary.

This week’s links

LIFE

Ann Friedman offers an insightful perspective on the trap young stars face with the ‘are you a feminist’ question

Vanessa dishes out some realtalk for high school grads

Channel your inner two-year-old to build the life you want, says Cordelia

Lovely, poignant, accurate: Zen Habits on making marriage work

TRAVEL

Nomad Wallet explains how to make the most of booking flights when you have flexible dates

Your fix of panda photos for the week, via Break the Sky

WORK/CAREER

Tiny Apartment’s 10 rules for avoiding becoming an office drone

A day in the life of a writer by, incidentally, one of my fave advice columnists

Not just applicable to journalists, IMO. My biggest takeaway (which in hindsight, and from my own experience, I am actually inclined to agree with) from this sage piece on leaving a big media company: “Avoid working for a department or company where you are the only person who does what you do, unless you are hired in a senior position and have the authority and budget to staff the department or resource the project as needed.”

Finally, I was hooked from the very start (hilarious and true first paragraph example) of this piece on networking as an introvert. But what most resonated was this: “So, I may never be the most comfortable person in the room, that’s okay with me. What I want is to be able to stop passing up opportunities to meet new people, to build new relationships because I was too afraid.”

After one week at the new job, I think I can safely say that I am in love with the environment and organisation.

The people are genuinely lovely and it has the most cohesive culture of anywhere I’ve worked. The physical office is gorgeous and most importantly WARM, and the setup and lighting isn’t causing me any issues or strain. I do miss my lovely Apple keyboard (returning to a Windows environment) and shorter commute, but I enjoy the buzz of working in the CBD again … and I’ve discovered that there’s a new bus stop in town, which means I literally only have a 1-2 minute walk at either end of my trip, to the office or to my house.

So far it’s mainly been about settling in, getting up to speed and meeting people. There are a lot of systems and processes – which is new for me – and that obviously has pros and cons. We wrapped up Friday with waiata (Maori song) practice; every new hire is welcomed with a song, so everyone learns them so that they can take part. Singing in the workplace? Two thumbs up from me. And while there’s drinks and chips at the end of the week, I wasn’t the only one heading for the non-alcoholic options, so double YAY.

This week’s links

A reality check: finding purpose in your work regardless of what you actually do

How to build a career that’s both financially and emotionally rewarding

All the things that are currently wrong with freelancing, via Kommein

Amber and I are on the same page when it comes to the topic of dream jobs

Word! Why the question ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years’ sucks

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such an open discussion about recognising problems and committing to a relationship as I have at Married with Luggage

Her Every Cent Counts on why she’s getting married even though it’s a practically obsolete rite of passage (reminds me of a conversation we had with a guy who hosted us in Berlin)

Live alone or with flatmates? Leslie breaks it down

Wealth Informatics on the many ways other people can influence your finances

Four questions to ask yourself when you’re feeling stressed, via Jess Lively

As someone who this totally applies to, this might be my favourite Modern Love column yet: “When a writer falls in love with someone whose spelling and grammar are poor, it challenges her assumptions about the type of man she’d want to marry.”

Last but not least… I once read this breathtakingly awful line in a Harvard Business Review post about creative sector pay: “The more you pay people to do what they love, the less they will love it.” *cue sputter* A massive part of the reason I’ve loved all my jobs to date was that they paid decently and I did not have to worry too much about money on a daily basis. Yes, we tend to accept lower wages in exchange for getting to do this kind of work, but that is not an excuse to try and get away with paying as little as humanly possible. I was reminded of that sentiment when I came across this piece on the modern knowledge worker. “When people are looking for jobs that don’t feel like work, companies can hire a guy who will take their lower salary and no benefits over the security of one of the quickly evaporating salaried jobs where he’ll be a middle manager counting up widget sales and thingamabob costs.”

Much as I love travelling, I am so over the transport part of it. Flying really sucks (though Air NZ makes it about as painless as possible – meals I actually look forward to and reasonable legroom. Three cheers for our national airline). And it’s official: I get seasick when there’s anything resembling a real current. Sigh.

I’ve also gotten soft after nearly six months staying put. We spent two nights in a hostel over in Cairns – a pretty nice one, too – and I felt squicky about it the whole time.

And now, it’s nice to be home. We just aren’t used to heat like Queensland temperatures! I don’t think I can explain to foreigners how mild Auckland’s climate really is.

This week’s links

MONEY

Jess shares her most extreme cheapskate moments

Paula reflects on her journey to figure out the purpose of money

Tonya made me smile with her post on taming your spending dragon

Frugal Portland breaks down some common investing jargon

Over at Cash Cow Couple, when being too generous backfires

Love this chat between Gretchen Rubin and JD Roth on money and happiness

Do you REALLY want to buy that? Two questions to ask yourself before handing over your wallet from Budgets are Sexy

TRAVEL

Aliens in the Apple are back in the US and reflecting on oddities they’d forgotten about

So much truth: 10 great and not so great things about long term travel, at Traveling 9 to 5

Gearing up for a world trip? Check out this prep list from Goats on the Road

This Quora thread pretty well sums up why overseas travel is a bit of a rarity in America, I think – EXCEPT for the money part. Flying anywhere from the US has nothing on the cost of flying anywhere from NZ, trust me. Plus you have the opportunity to travel hack with credit cards, another thing we don’t get

LIFE

Via Yes and Yes: the four word phrase that might change your life

Leslie lays it out: making plans like an adult

Thoughtful advice on getting through tough times via Zen Habits

How one couple achieved equality at home

A lovely summary of what management actually is (I know it’s not for me, but it was still insightful to read someone’s outlook on what a good manager actually does, especially in light of my recent exit interview)

Fast Company profiled Chelsea Clinton and her struggle to find her way as an adult – fascinating to read about her journey, though her version of ‘drifting’ is a pretty elite one

Finally, a reminder that you are more than your job:

The biggest myth we are fed as artists is that we need to sustain ourselves solely on our art. This is ridiculous. Every artist has at some point in time had some other job. Some of them kept these jobs their entire lives.

There is more nobility in hard work than in pure luck.

Real artists have day jobs, and night jobs, and afternoon jobs. Real artists make things other than art, and then they make time to make art because art is screaming to get out from inside them. Screaming, or begging, or gently whispering.

 

Highlights of my week included:

• Organising the perfect farewell gift for my boss and seeing her reaction
• Pushing myself to the limit and fighting my fear of heights at Tree Adventures

 

The low of my week was: 

Trying to make a booking at a lodge/backpackers via Airbnb. Their response: we don’t accept payment through Airbnb yet, please Google us and book through our site. I almost don’t want to book with them at all on principle now. And I’ll be reporting them to Airbnb.

This week’s links

MONEY

An interesting perspective on finding the joy in spending, via See Debt Run

How to save by bartering your services, via Making Sense of Cents

TRAVEL

Ashley basically sums up all my feelings about documenting travel

We have some totally wacky birdlife in NZ, as Young Adventuress documents

Rachel Hills reflects on what living in London has taught her

FOOD

All you ever needed to know about the different kinds of Thai curry, via Traveling 9 to 5

Landing Standing suggests a novel way to order when dining out in pairs at a new restaurant

LIFE

Funnily enough, in the same week that I wrote about our unromantic relationship, Married with Luggage blogged about unconventional romance

Tiny Apartment lists the 5 stages of wedding planning

Makeup and Mirtazapine voices a painful truth: at some point or other, everyone you love will hurt you

Like whoa. This woman wasn’t a Sheryl Sandberg fan – until she couldn’t find a job

Finally, I do like Emily Nussbaum’s writing, and this interview in which she explains  how she lucked into her New Yorker job and how much tougher things are today is a revealing one.

I literally feel like I cannot give advice on how to get [my] job, because the obvious ways that the journalistic economy has collapsed and the role specifically for culture analysts within that make it very, very hard to make a living. The clear paths even for people who are already privileged are no longer there. I don’t want to BS people. I feel like I was super lucky—I aged in at a point where when a really desirable job became available that I was actually suited for, I had enough experience to already have the clips in place. But how often does the television critic for The New Yorker step down?

The situation now is biased against newcomers. That’s factual. And I don’t think people should beat themselves up for not being able to make headway in that kind of situation. I feel like young people who get online writing jobs are forced to write a million things with no editing for a small amount of money—that’s not an ideal situation. Sometimes people can become very good writers that way, but it’s not a situation where you are nurtured and brought to the best level of your writing.

I hate that there are unpaid internships, because it means that the only people who can afford to take the gigs are already privileged, but it’s undeniable that once you’re at a place, you can ask to do more, because you’re not a stranger. I’m also seriously worried about what it does to people to get trapped in the low-paid blog mines, but that doesn’t mean that those gigs can’t get you to a better place. Also, while there’s nothing wrong with writing for free early on, the goal is always to get paid. Ask for more, politely. Also, push for more-ambitious assignments—editors want responsible writers, but they also want ambitious ones who have ideas of their own. The worst they can do is say no, and if you don’t ask, you’ll get a no anyway. Might as well go for it.

(It’s true: we editors love writers with ideas. Another reason I would suck at freelancing; I’m not much of an ideas generator. Also, I have never really benefited from much editing guidance myself, having worked almost exclusively online. Nurturing? Definitely not a word that describes this field.)

How things change. A few years ago we paid $200 or $300 for a 500MB external hard drive. It was huge and had an external AC power plug. Today, a tiny 1TB drive that fits in the palm of my hand that’s entirely USB powered costs $100.

And I still remember when USB sticks and 10packs of blank CDs cost a bomb.

That’s my thought for the weekend.

 This week’s links

I LOVE THIS. 10 things to miss about New Zealand

Travel is more than the seeing of sights, says Nickel by Nickel

At Yes and Yes, a beauty editor in Malaysia shares her morning routine (in another life that could’ve been me!)

Get Rich Slowly on the habits of financially successful people

My Pretty Pennies ponders the benefits of working for someone else

Athena explains how she fits travel into her budget

Adored Manda’s post paying tribute to her body and its amazing strength

Grumpy rumblings on small changes and individual power

I’m not gonna lie, divorce would feel like a personal failure to me. This post on certainty vs security gave me a lot to think about

10 questions to ask if you’re interviewing for a startup job

A huge factor that makes it hard to break the poverty cycle – social ties, aka downward mobility

I’m working on a freelance feature about renting vs buying in NZ and in my research stumbled across this thread. Aside from the fact that most rentals these days are managed by agents, it still rings true. Renting in NZ SUCKS.

Finally, there is so much goodness in this interview with Austin Kleon. You should definitely unpack it for yourself, but here are some of my favourite snippets:

“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

“I have a couple problems with the “do what you love” ideology. The first issue I have is that it is impossible for everyone to do what they love. As a society, we cannot function without people doing the dirty work: someone has to take out the garbage; someone has to make sure the plumbing is running; someone has to make sure the electric is on for all the startups (laughing). The fact is that a lot of people aren’t going to be able to make money doing what they love, so it starts to make people feel bad. That pressure can make someone with a good, stable, bread-winning job feel like he or she has to toss it out because it’s not what they genuinely want to be doing.

“The second issue I have with doing what you love—and I’m sure you two are finding this out—is the pressure to overwork. People are led to believe that if they’re doing what they love, then they should be working long hours, or even all day.”

“In all creative work, there is a balance between what you want to give the world and what the world needs: if you’re lucky, your work is in the middle. Because of that, I believe that every job has a service element to it. If you want to make creativity your job, you have to think about what your creativity is in service of. Think less about how you can be a genius and more about the scenius. What can you contribute?”

“Instead of thinking, “What do I have to give to the world?” you ask, “What does the world need from me?” Sometimes that’s an easier way to get started. Usually, when we talk about creativity, it’s about self-expression, which is great, but for work to be art or design, there has to be someone on the other end.”