The Benefits of Maturity
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Work, Writing
I’m an Older Woman. My 50th birthday is fast approaching. No matter what I do with my résumé, it is pretty obvious that I’m not a millennial. That is who is truly desired, it seems, by the tech startups that I prefer to work with.
Oh, the job postings don’t come out and say that they don’t want old people, but the keywords are there?. “Fast-paced,” “high energy,” and “dynamic!”? They all whisper, at least, that “we only want young people!”
This isn’t just my impression, but the consensus among various people I’ve spoken with. It probably isn’t intentional, but the bias is there and the ageism is felt. So I want to address some things that seem to be missed by the “we want young people!” folks.
First, there are plenty of mature workers who can keep up with that “fast pace” you describe. We know ourselves, our bodies and our other commitments. We have the experience it takes to judge whether or not we can commit to startup life. I’ll be honest: I don’t think many young people can match that level of self-knowledge. I know that when I first worked for a startup, back in 1995, I didn’t have any idea how much dedication it would require.
Second, older workers bring a lifetime of experience in many different areas, and that experience is brought to bear in our working lives in ways that younger workers simply cannot match. For instance, I don’t have the administrative work I did decades ago on my résumé, as it isn’t directly relevant now. However, that experience shaped me and gives me the ability to better relate to non-technical people as a support professional.Younger people don’t have that kind of added value.
The average older worker has been out of school and their parents’ homes for a long time, meaning that they have experience managing their own finances and households independently (or with life partners). That gives us a certain respect for the value of money and time that nothing else does. How much of that experience does someone right out of school have?
Most older workers are also post-parenting. Their kids are grown and reasonably independent (whether out of the house or not), so they aren’t going to be juggling pregnancies, soccer practices, and music lessons that will impact their work lives. Grandchildren? Yes, some of us have them. Being a grandparent is, however, a far less time-consuming commitment for most people than being a parent.
Finally, there’s nothing else that beats maturity for giving you a calm temperament. Some people are born with them, but on average, it’s easier for someone with 30 years of professional experience to put one bad day into perspective than it is for someone with a few months or years of working under their belts. (I know there are exceptions to this, as to every rule, but Donald Trump probably isn’t applying to work at your startup.)
The next time you get a résumé or application from a Baby Boomer or Gen X’er, then, please take these factors into account. Consider their technical skills, certainly? (and don’t assume that they’ll be outdated) ?but weigh their maturity on the positive side of the scale, for a change.
(Originally published at Medium)
Welcome to Esther!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Home, Relationships
I’m a Mémé! Otherwise known as a grandmother 🙂 My baby girl had a baby girl on Sunday, September 11. Little Esther is absolutely beautiful, of course — she looks a lot like her mother did as an infant.
Both Momma and baby are healthy. I’m fortunate enough to be in Omaha with them for now, and I’m enjoying every minute of my time here. There’s nothing else like the smell of a sweet, clean infant. It’s definitely worth all the sleep loss.
We’re getting lots of good singing and reading time together. I was very happy to be able to find Pamela Ballingham’s Earth Mother Lullabies from Around the World series (volumes I
One of the first books I bought for her? A is for Activist
Tags: Esther
Book Review: Magic to the Bone
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
Magic to the Bone by Annie Bellet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Boss Fight!
The climax to the Samir storyline that has been building throughout all seven volumes of the series, this plot does not disappoint. My only complaint about the book, as with the other six, is that it’s short. Still, it’s as long as it needs to be to tell the story, with nothing extraneous, so I guess it is the right length.
Book Review: Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not quite as good as her first book, but well worth the read. I probably should have gotten the abridged version, because as usual I got tired of the anecdotes.
I find her types interesting — there are upholders, obligers, questioners, and rebels. Apparently most people are questioners or obligers (I think — I may be wrong about the obligers). (I’m a questioner, so for once in my life I’m not weird.) Then she classifies people in additional ways, like abstainers or moderators and so on. In fact, there seems to be some sort of classification or label in nearly every chapter!
Anyway, the information in the book is useful, and I am already using it in analyzing my own habits and improving them. Rubin’s reading voice is fairly pleasant (I listened to the Audible version), so I don’t hesitate to recommend the book.
Review: LG Tone Infinim Headset
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Product Reviews
I purchased the LG TONE INFINIM Bluetooth Stereo Headset on Amazon to use with my iPhone 6+. I was so excited! From the reviews and description, it sounded like exactly what I wanted for listening to music while working out and still being able to take calls.
When I got it, I immediately paired it up and could hear my music with beautiful clarity. Great balance, nice highs and lows. I hate most earbuds, but these fit in my ears very well. There was just one problem — I couldn’t hear anyone on phone calls, and callers couldn’t hear me. Hmm.
Thinking it was a problem with the headset, I exchanged it. Amazon is great about that kind of thing, you know? I got the new one, paired it, tested it — and had the same problem.
So I tested this one with the boyfriend’s (Android) phone — it worked just fine. I erased my phone completely and set it up as new, and still had the same problem. I sought advice from co-workers (I mean, come on, I do work for Apple) and checked out all the suggestions. No joy. I Googled and could find nothing about problems between this headset and iPhones. In fact, there were reports of it working nicely with the 5 and 5s models.
I went to the Apple store and they swapped out my phone. Same problem. Then we got the bright idea to try the headset with the tech’s iPhone 6, and found that we couldn’t hear calls on it, either.
Finally I did what I should have done originally, and called LG. After finally getting the idea across to a man who didn’t have a firm grasp of the English language, and didn’t even ask what model iPhone I was using, or what version of iOS it was running. He just put me on hold and went away for a bit, then come back and said, “The HBS-900 is not compatible with iPhone.”
I said, “With any iPhone, or just my iPhone?”
“We have not tested with latest,” he said. “You have latest, yes?”
“Yes, the iPhone 6+ running iOS 8.4,” I replied.
“We have not tested,” he said again.
Now that seems a major oversight on LG’s part, and while the product description mentions an Android app for easy pairing, it also says there’s a manual pairing mode (which I used) for other devices. That’s nothing like saying, “This won’t work with iPhones” and it is misleading marketing. I am very unhappy that LG has overlooked such a huge market segment with this poor decision, and that I have wasted so much time on this thing as a result. I’ve had decent experiences with LG products in the past, but I’ll think twice before buying anything from them in the future.
Review: How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was a teenager when my father recommended Mr. Carnegie’s original book to me, and at 48 I finally got around to reading this version. I’m glad that I did, as it was well worth the time. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone who deals with other humans in any capacity at all. And yes, I’ll be suggesting it to my own daughter right away.
Review: Attack the Geek by Michael R. Underwood
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
Attack the Geek by Michael R. Underwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Excuse me, but SQUEE! More Ree Reyes! More Drake! More Eastwood and Grognard! Yes, more Geekomancy!
Michael Underwood is back with a delightful novella and if I have ANY complaints, it’s that this is a novella instead of a novel. That’s just because I am a greedy fangirl reader. The story itself is fully developed, and the novella is exactly the right format for it.
Attack the Geek definitely isn’t the place to start in the series, as it relies on previous knowledge of the characters and the universe, but if you’ve read the previous novels, you will NOT want to miss this installment when it is released on April 9.
Now I’m left hungry for Ree Reyes #3, though!
Tags: Fantasy, Michael R. Underwood, Ree Reyes
Review: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fascinating stuff! Vast amounts of sheer geekery about sex, science, and the intersection thereof. If you’re looking for sex tips or salacious reading, look elsewhere. If you’re looking to howl with laughter without being able to explain WHY to most people, this is your book.
Okay, one might glean the occasional sex tip, but I don’t think they’re anything that common sense couldn’t tell you. And you’ll have to wait for the very last chapter for the best bit.
I’ll be adding more of Roach’s diverse works to my to-be-read stack soon!
Review: Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships by Tristan Taormino
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships by Tristan Taormino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have to be honest. When I initially heard about Opening Up by Tristan Taormino, it was in association with someone I can’t stand, and I childishly let that association color my impression of the book. I didn’t really consider reading it. I finally got around to reading (okay, listening to) it this past week, and I’m sorry I didn’t do so sooner. It’s so good that I’m considering purchasing a print copy to have on hand in my lending library, and maybe even an ebook copy so that I might easily reference passages from time to time.
None of the information is new to me, exactly, but it is put together very well. The sections on issues to consider/issues that might arise in each style of responsible non-monogamy were especially appreciated. I was disappointed that there isn’t a section in her web site for readers, but perhaps the print copy has reproducible checklists.
The chapter on STIs was very good, although I think that a list of specific STIs for which non-monogamous people should request testing would have been helpful.
In any case, I do recommend this book. It’s replacing Love Without Limits as my go-to recommendation for new polyfolk to read.
Review: Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo by Vanessa Woods
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo by Vanessa Woods
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I nearly put this book down after the first chapter, because I wanted to learn about Bonobos, not atrocities in the Congo. I stuck with it because it was the most interesting of the audiobooks that were already on my phone when I was making a long drive, and I got halfway through it during that drive. I was hooked by then, and needed to know what happened to these particular Bonobos and the humans around them.
Now, I still don’t feel that I needed the explicit descriptions of violence. I could have understood what was going on without that. But then, I’m particularly sensitive to such things, and I did already have a pretty good idea of what was going on in that part of the world. I suppose some readers may have needed those descriptions to “get it.”
I really loved the relationships that developed between Woods and the various Bonobos, and how her network of friends and family grew over time. I am envious of the connection she has with her husband, Brian Hare. The information shared about the experiments is truly fascinating, and the competition/cooperation theme that runs through the book is vital to understanding not just chimpanzees and Bonobos, but humans.
I was listening to the book in the car the other day, and heard the following at the end of chapter 34. It caused me to cry.
“If there are those you love, whoever or wherever you are, hold them. Find them and hold them as tightly as you can. Resist their squirming and impatience and uncomfortable laughter, and just feel their heart throbbing against yours. Give thanks that for this moment, for this one precious moment, they are here, they are with you, and they know they are utterly, completely, entirely loved.”
All in all, yes, I recommend the book. Just be warned about those descriptions, and if you choose the audiobook version, don’t listen with little ones around.