My Very Incredible Droid

Some people reward themselves with clothes, vacations, massages… I rewarded myself for successfully finishing my Spring semester of school with the purchase of the new Droid Incredible. As I walked into Best Buy the day after my last final my heart soared to find out that there was exactly ONE Incredible in stock there. As I made the leap and not only ended my 10 year relationship with Sprint, but embarrassingly put my beat up pink Palm Centro on the counter, I saw the look of pity in the eyes of the Best Buy guy. I moved from clunky pink Palm to sleek black Incredible. And yes… I love it!

I had the toss up between iPhone and Droid and at the end of the day my reason for Droid was 3-fold. 1.) I have not heard great things about AT&T. From cell service, to prices, to customer service. 2.) When asked to compare the benefits of iPhone vs. Droid… the iPhone people always said “iPhone!” with a zealous excitement but nothing else. As if I was supposed to get it because it had an “apple” on the back of it and that would inherently make me cool. Whereas Droid people listed reasons, from operating systems, to app availability, to multi-tasking and more. The people who use software and data in a similar fashion as I do all recommended the Droid. 3.) I just hate being like everyone else. Now I realize that eventually we are all going to have either an iPhone or a Droid, but something about going out to a bar and seeing 98% of the people pulling out an iPhone just turns my stomach. So, I like that Droid is giving the iPhone a run for their money. I like that people are realizing the benefits of the Droid and realizing that there is something else out there.

Now, I realize that by posting this, I am going to get some iPhone junkies defending their position till the death and if I am lucky I can get some Droid v. iPhone Debate happening… but nonetheless… I love my Droid!!

Why? Let’s see… I don’t ever start my laptop unless I am doing school work. I read the news, shop, look for movies, manage my social networking, upload photos to Picasa, email, take photos (8 megapixel photos), GPS navigate myself wherever I need to go, store my grocery store discount cards (lighter key ring!), listen to online music, and so much more. Oh… and play mindless games… my favorite… SKETCH! It’s like Pictionary with people from all over. You draw, you guess, you get points… basically… you pass time. I can even read books on it… but not much (I still love the Kindle, folks).

So, it’s sleek, it’s cool, it’s functional, it’s fast, yes folks… it’s INCREDIBLE!

The Power of One

As we go through our lives, I think sometimes we don't realize exactly how much power we each have in this world.  At some point we have all been at the point where we ask "why".  Why does this have to happen to me?  Why do I have to experience this?  There is a point where we feel like the world is so much bigger than us and that we have no control over what is happening to us.  But what happens when you stop for a moment and realize the power you actually DO have?

In my professional life, I have the power to affect lives in all sorts of ways.  Last month I promoted someone to their first ever supervisory position.  I have affected her life, because now she is really starting her "career".  This is the first step.  I remember my first management position and how much I learned from it.  I look back now and how much I have grown since that first position and I know that I have affected this person's life greatly (and she is doing fantastic, by the way!).  Last month, I hired two new employees.  One of them had been looking for work for nearly six months since being laid off at her last job.  When I called to offer her the position, she almost cried on the phone she was so excited.  I affected her life by bringing her hope... and she is doing fantastic, by the way!  Next week, I am going to have to let someone go.  It is not going to be easy, we are eliminating a position, and I am going to offer another position, but I feel fairly certain that the cut in pay is not going to be something that works, and so I am going to affect yet another life (and unfortunately not in such a good way).  And I am just one person.

Last month, I donated money for Haiti relief.  It wasn't a lot, but it was something, and I know that it is going to make a difference in someone's life.  Last month, millions of people donated to the Haiti relief effort, all in their own small way... and as a collective whole, we have made a difference in someone's life.  And we are just one community. 

I have a friend who is currently going through the process of adopting not one, but most like two, children.  Children who are in our foster system and so desperately need a home.  And those people are going to affect the lives of so many with their decision.  From the children they adopt, to the people in the community who are inspired by their giving nature, to their children's future children.  And they are just one family.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the day of love, I want you to ask yourself, what have you done, as ONE PERSON, to affect someone else recently.  Do you realize the power you possess within your self to affect others?  If so, how are you using it?  Use your time on this earth to make a difference, to affect the lives of others, to affect your own life.  It is, after all, your life to live.

How to ensure law school doesn't suck the creative writing out of you...

I just realized that I started and quite quickly abandoned this blog, with my last post being last February.  That is pretty sad.  Now, I have done some other writing but this blog in particular was started to help me keep my "creative" side going.  A place where I could just write for fun, with no rhyme or reason.  I have had a few people in the legal field tell me that their law career, law school especially, managed to suck their ability to do creative writing (short stories, poetry, etc) right out of them.  I am trying to not let that happen to me.  So I am going to set myself a reminder today on my calendar that I will post at least one "creative" blog per month on here.  Somewhere to just stretch my thinking a little and maybe create some interesting banter.  Now, I will not promise that the posts will not be law school or legal field related, after all that is my world right now, but I will promise that they will be entertaining, unstructured, and have just the right amount of "Jen" thrown in.  

That's it for now... but another post before January is over!!