Joy

I don’t know what to write about. Normally my writing is an outlet for raw emotion, negative emotions, pain. I am so friggin’ happy I feel I have nothing to express. I don’t know how to do happy writing. I can do “how to’s” and “what if’s” but not how to be happy. I guess I would say my writing in this blog is not exactly morose but I find myself lacking in subject matter.

I am a parent, a title which brings me so much pride and honour. I wrote a blog post a few years ago on how I did not want children and how I was offended by people telling me I should have children, that I didn’t know what I was missing. They were right. I have come full circle. The joys of parenthood far outweigh the negatives and people who say they don’t want to have children are just focusing on the negative aspects, such as all-night crying, poopy diapers and temper tantrums. Mind you, my child is only eight-months-old and I haven’t experienced the toddler stage yet. Plus I have a really good baby who rarely cries and sleeps through the night. Colicky-baby parents hate me right now.

From the moment I discovered I was pregnant until the minute I gave birth, I have been feeling pure joy. The harsh kicks during pregnancy made me giggle. Even the brutal, constant heartburn gave me pleasure as it was a reminder of the ebullient little life inside me.  I have to admit, I wanted to get pregnant. I craved a baby at the ripe age of 43. When I was younger, I didn’t crave such things. I craved a good education, a strong career and titles on paper. The poopy diapers and crying don’t phase me. The thought of being responsible for someone for the next twenty years inspires me to live life to the fullest.

The joy also comes from the large toothless smiles and hearty baby belly laughs. He laughs at the simplest things, from saying “Goofy goof goof goof!” to making funny faces, which in turn makes me laugh. He nibbles on my fiance’s ear and grabs his nose at the moment a picture is being taken. He growls like a dog and yells to hear his own voice. He rolls and flops around the floor, always discovering, looking, observing with awe. Watching someone so young embrace life with full force brings the strongest joy of all.

Nose

My life is so much better. I feel inspired in so many ways. Since I gave birth I have been more inspired to do a lot more things than just take good care of a baby. I am singing more and have rejoined my choir. Even though I feel I have nothing to write about today, I am writing more for other people. My fiance and I are launching our own business. Everything is coming up roses. It feels like I cannot take the wrong path right now.

When I was pregnant, we wondered how we were going to afford having a child. People came out of the woodwork and donated clothes, toys, diapers and money. I received emotional support from all angles. I discovered several “mommy”groups and a lot of free advice. Bottom line, having a baby was the best thing that every happened to me. There is nothing but positive energy coming my way.

I hope I don’t make any one barf with all this sickening happiness. See? I think happy writing is bad writing.

2 cats and a baby

I wanted to start another blog called “2 Cats and a Baby” but someone beat me to it. She is a writer, and just like me, she went to school for writing but is not a professional writer by day. She said she stopped writing for awhile out of sheer laziness. Same here. She started the blog just to have something to write about, which is what I want to do. I help people with their resumes, but aside from that, I haven’t been writing creatively for quite some time. 

As some of you know, I am expecting a baby. I am five months along. I have 2 cats. One is about 10 months old and the other will be 13 years old this summer. I am worried about the cats interacting with the baby. The older cat hates kids. She hisses at them and if they try to touch her she swats. She almost scratched my niece once, but she was surrounded by children and my niece grabbed her really hard. The younger cat is a brat and likes to scratch people for fun. They currently sleep with my boyfriend and I in the bed.

When the baby comes, I am told by other experienced mothers that baby should come to bed with us while breastfeeding for the first few months. How will I keep the cats off the bed? Should I keep them out of the bedroom completely? This will be tough as they love to sleep with us and everytime we close the bedroom door, they meow, attack the door and scratch the carpet. The older cat has been sleeping with me since she was a kitten.

I love my cats and would never get rid of them. I guess I will have to experiment with keeping them out of the room before the baby comes, which is July 17. I have researched this via Google, and found various tips such as spraying them with water, letting them howl and ignoring them (easier said than done) and purchasing cat repellers.  Some people have said they will be fine as long as you keep them at the foot of the bed. That, again, is easier said than done, plus I am concerned about cat hair. Hmmm.

Skills-based and Experience-based Resumes

Skills-Based Resume

A skills-based resume focuses on the skills required for the job without the employer having to search for them. Here is an example.  The skills are categorized and listed in the main body of the resume.

Employers are listed at the bottom of the page, underneath your skills. By eliminating the focus on your previous positions and titles, you’re able to highlight experiences and skills from all facets of your life and provide a more comprehensive view of your abilities.

This resume demonstrates simplicity while accentuating all the skills necessary for the job you are applying for. Employers want a quick read when they are going through piles of resumes, and this format will allow them to do just that while getting the information they need about you. A one-page resume is always better as it is less to read yet gives enough detail.

Skills-based resumes are also beneficial for those making a career change or have a large gap in their work history dates. Because the focus is on skills, the employment dates aren’t as noticeable and carry little weight in the overall look of the resume.

If any of the following describe you, a skills-based resume may be a great option:

  • You have several short-term positions, internships, or temporary assignments, rather than long-term work history.
  • There are significant gaps in your work history, typically a year or more.
  • You’re trying to change careers or industries and your past work job titles don’t relate.
  • You want to make your hobby or passion your full-time job and all of your relative experience has come from volunteering or work on your own time (outside of a paid job).
  • You’re starting a new career and you don’t have a large amount of work experience.
  • Your positions are similar in nature and listing each out individually feels redundant.

Experience-Based Resume

An experience-based or chronological resume provides a job-by-job listing of each job you’ve held starting with your most recent job and going backwards. Under each job title, the accomplishments and duties are listed in bullet points. Up until the last few years, the chronological resume has been the most popular resume style.

If you have a consistent work history, your job titles are supportive of your job objective, and they create an image that matches the salary you want – a chronological resume may be a wise choice for you.

I prefer the skills-based resume as it is shorter and sweeter, eliminating too much information, repetition and clutter.

What is the difference between a CV and a resume?

What’s the difference between a resume and a CV? The main differences are the length, the content and the purpose. A resume should be a minimum of a one page summary of your skills, experience and education. A goal of resume writing is to be brief and concise since, at best, the resume reader will spend a minute or so reviewing your qualifications. That’s why one page is always best, and to use the skills based format rather than experienced based. See tomorrow’s post for more information on those topics.

A Curriculum Vitae, commonly referred to as CV, is a longer (two or more pages), more detailed synopsis. It includes a summary of your educational and academic backgrounds as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and other details.

When to Use a CV

In Canada and the US, a Curriculum Vitae is used primarily when applying for international, academic, education, scientific or research positions or when applying for fellowships or grants. As with a resume, you may need different versions of a CV for different type of positions.