I Hate My Body.

Did you know that every beautiful person hates something about their body? Well, except for true narcissists, because they are perfect. And before I share my thoughts, I am not bashing on anyone specifically, I’m bashing on everyone. Sadly there are many of us that were verbally abused by someone at a young age that had detrimental long term effects that caused us to hate “something” about ourselves. I am sure you have seen “Mean Girls” and there is the scene where the “perfect” girls all complain about something stupid about what they hate about themselves. I grew up in a small redneck town in Nebraska, so I was faced with racial comments. Not often, but it did happen. Which of course, you can imagine what racial body comments stupid kids would make. I don’t need to educate you on them.

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So I watched quite a few YouTube videos on how the Kardashians hate their body too. Yep, it is true. They edit almost every single photo, and as pointed out in the videos, not very well sometimes. AND they pay the paparazzi to edit their photos, so you don’t see any of their hail damage on their big fat asses. No way. Way. I love how they changed the modeling world standard and models aren’t anorexic stick figures. Let’s be real. It is super unrealistic to think that is healthy for someone to be super skinny. So don’t interpret the last post that you need to be a stick figure. You might just need to do a little fasting and watch what you’re eating, or drinking.

So my motto, and back in the early 2000’s was, “Flaunt if if you got it. Someone’s bound to like it. Flaunt it if you don’t, someone else will like it.” It would usually get a good laugh, but it is true. Just because you think something minor makes you imperfect, someone else might not even notice it until you brought it up. I’m short. I could live my whole life wishing I was 6′ tall. That isn’t something I can change, so why worry about it? Right? Exactly. So if you are overweight, and it bothers you. Then hang out with people that are heavier than you. Feeling old? Go hang out with OLDER people and all the of the sudden you’re the young one. Feeling insecure about your looks? You got it. Find some less than pretty friends so now you are always “The Hot One”. The world is full of sad, lonely, unattractive people. Go find one who has a dashing personality and lower your standards. But, beauty is still skin deep, so having a good skin routine should be part of your standards at any age.

And for the record, Toni Camp shamed me for having “no ass” in college, which forced me to do thousands of countless hours of stair-stepper exercises. While it was painful and in the long run, totally worth it. I can still remember and hear her laughing. Crazy how peer pressure, or a stray comment can effect/influence our decision making skills. I’ll admit that I have made quite a few comments to “friends” who should consider having their eyebrows threaded/done professionally. Make-up is a real life filter. It is crazy the number of people that feel the need to edit their photo/selfie before posting it. Adobe Photoshop used to be a coveted tool only for professionals, and now it is anyone with a smartphone. Aren’t you glad people are out in public and can’t edit their real life self? Except when they are using make-up.

Marvel’s “Loki” has me intrigued, but not recommending it to anyone yet. Black Widow releases July 9th, in theaters or for $30 on Disney+. So, invite a friend or two over and enjoy it at home like me.

10K Calories -> 100 or Less

So, would you like to know how you can go from 10,000+ calories a day to less than a hundred? So I don’t want to sound like Romy & Michelle, but I invented this fat free, basically calorie free diet that forced my body to shed all this excess fat/weight. “God I wish I had your willpower.” – Michelle Weinberger.

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When your body realizes you stopped giving it those fatty sugars, and no carbs it goes into survival mode and starts using those stored reserves. Yay, it’s that rainy day your body has been waiting for! I start by doing the 20 hour fast and then eating twice within a 4 hour window. I usually eat at 10 am and then 2 pm. I counted the calories and if you make an Asian wonton soup, with spinach, green onions and water chestnuts, it is less than 100 calories. Actually it is 78. Yes, you read that right.

Fill that InstantPot full of clean water and boil away. If you need some protein you can throw in a shrimp or two and it won’t add too many calories. You can mix it up with other vegetables to have some variety. You aren’t starving your body, and you won’t feel hungry. If you have added collagen to your daily coffee, that should also help give you a more “full” feeling. As a snack I eat almonds and sunflower seeds (only a handful). Almonds are a great source of magnesium and protein. Nut protein should always be your go to snack. Try this for as long as you can stand it.

A shout out to my new favorite YouTube personality, Thomas DeLauer. I highly suggest you check him out and watch a few videos. He is easy on the eyes also. He totally motivates me to grab the dumbells. I wish my biceps bulged like his.

If you want to make your soup more like hot and sour, splash in some Braggs apple cider vinegar and stir in an egg when it comes to a boil. The soup brand? I get it at the Asian market, Ocean Pacific, so it is pretty authentic. Dragon something? I think most of them are zero calories so pick one. Enjoy.

Yay it’s shark week! I just watched shark vs. tuna. Amazing. I love shark week. Crazy that they have been on this planet like forever.

M.Y.O.B.

I don’t know about you, but I think it has been a really long time since anyone told another person to mind their own business. Yeah? I hear a lot of people telling other people to STFU, but not to mind their own business. For instance, is it ANYONE’s business what you do in your own house? In the privacy of your bathroom? No. It’s not. Then why do some “groups” feel they have the right to be YOUR mommy or daddy? That’s right. They don’t.

The next time someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, simple reply “Why do you want to know?” and smile, or smirk. Show that person that is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. When someone calls you and asks what you are doing, ask them. Why do you want to know? Do I all of the sudden report to you? Are you my mommy or daddy? Nope. Then GTFO. I’m not telling. It’s none of your business.

When I was working in the corporate world, I would have people calling me all the time asking what I was doing. Why? They actually wanted my time and didn’t want to interrupt. Once when asked that I said, “I’m baking a cake. What’s your favorite?” That was my boss who called that time. Oops. We had a good laugh. Sometimes I will just flat out ask “What do you want? Or why are you bothering me?” Let’s skip the formalities of being nice, obviously he/she wants something so just spit it out.

It is perfectly okay to tell people to mind their own business. I tell people that all the time. Imagine what the world would be like if people weren’t always sticking their nose in someone else’s business. Wow. It might be like, living in a Buddha zen garden. Peaceful. Quiet. How often do YOU feel the need to micromanage someone? Why? Let him/her live in peace for just one day.

Real Life Fairy Tale

Seeing is believing, right? Well, here is a video I captured with my night time security camera. A real live fairy caught in an invisible cobweb. The fairy and the web cannot be seen without the night time camera. I watched it for several hours tonight before finally freeing it. When the sun comes up I wouldn’t be able to see it. So as you watch it, you will see me coming out of the house looking at my phone. If you look closely you will see there are also about a dozen little fairies hanging down at the bottom of the cobweb tail near the ground. At first there was only a couple, but as the fairy couldn’t get free, he/she called for help and more came to the rescue, only to be caught as well.

Do you believe in magic and fairies? Create a fairy garden and you too will have these magical beings protecting your home and garden.

“I believe in fairies! I believe in fairies!”

2000 A Day

2000 calories a day. That is all we are “recommended” to eat on a daily basis. Says who? Oh, the doctors, the professionals, Dr. Now (from My 600 pound life), dietitians, athletic people, coaches … basically everyone. Okay, cool. So why a blog about it? Because, everyone, including me is kind of going over that daily allotment and the world, as a whole, is getting fatter. It’s not healthy, it’s unattractive, and frankly someone needs to say something.

Do you enjoy being fat? Do you like your clothes not fitting nicely? As my fat manager from AT&T once said, “You don’t have to tell fat people they are fat. They know it. They just get used to it and deal with it. But please don’t remind us we are fat.” I thought this was hilarious, as I used the exact same analogy for when an employee is late. It’s not like that employee all of the sudden looked up and said “Oh shit, I need to be at work like ten minutes ago.” Well, maybe some do, but more normal people know when they are supposed to be somewhere, like work … where the schedule is usually the same and the days off are also the same. In all fairness though, once I didn’t show up to work until 8 hours later, I was coded “No call no show”, but when I came in to “close” due to a schedule mix up/change, it was A-OKAY. Simple mistake. No need to fire Aaron.

So, back to those 2000 calories. Well, when Arby’s put out that orange dreamsicle shake it was like, … a dream for me. I had one, or two a day. OMG so good. And yes, I kept eating like I was a growing teenager, eating whenever I wanted. Surprise, Dr. Now says you cannot eat 10,000 calories a day. What? No way. Yes. Way. Stop it. No chips. No sugary sodas. Some people can drink that ALL DAY LONG. You might as well just put an IV directly into your veins pumping in that much sugar all day long. Sugar is in everything. It is almost impossible to buy anything without sugar, … at a gas station convenience store. Red Bull and Monster drinks are totally off limits. Damn. I really liked my Red Bull vodkas back in the day, but you can imagine what that does to your system. An upper and an downer at once.

So like most people locked up during COVID and no one to see my beach body, I packed on the pounds. No way. Way. Like 20 pounds. Can you imagine me 20 pounds heavier? Damn, I’d be almost as fat as my twin brother. Wait, he’s fatter than that. My abs turned to “flabs”. Fat – abs. Or so they say on Botched. So I needed to do something drastic, and unfortunately for me, those dreamsicle shakes had to go. I started by putting keto creamer in my coffee, which has MCT, grassfed butter, and Himalayan salt in it, which turbo charges your metabolism and helps you to burn fat faster. I also switched to a 24 hour fasting, which was kind of hard at first but the results have been amazing. I am happy to report that I shed those 20ish pounds and my 6 pack is ready for summer. I won’t bore you with the medical science behind keto diets, fasting, and putting MCT in your coffee daily. There are a ton of YouTube videos that will educate you nicely. IF you are going to start a fasting program, read/research the do’s and don’t so you don’t accidentally damage yourself. Switch to sunflower seeds as your go to snack. Drop those Twizzlers and Snickers. Switch to some variation of green tea. Lemons and honey are good for you.

“Watch it wiggle. See it jiggle. Cool and fruity.” J.E.L.L.O.

Have you seen Goonies? Yeah, you don’t want to do the truffle shuffle either. Lose the fat. You don’t have to do a hundred sit ups, but you could maybe start with 10. 10 sit ups, not 10 jellos.

Your Personal Spa

Have you ever been to a “spa”? The closest thing I have experienced is looking at the spa treatments through the glass windows in the fancy Vegas hotels. Since I’m not a millionaire with boatloads of money to blow, I do the next best thing. Create my own spa like experience in the comfort of my own home. After staying at many of the 5 star resorts in Vegas I had a pretty good idea how to make my personal retreat even better.

Years ago I upgraded my shower to have five different spray nozzles, the overhead rain simulation is probably my favorite. We upgraded the hot water heater as well and now it is literally like a steam shower sauna experience. Cool LED lights, plants in the window, and of course an Amazon Echo dot to play “wind chimes” or zen music while you relax. And yes, of course there is a vanilla candle. Go buy a half dozen new expensive fluffy white towels and roll them up in put them in baskets so you always have an awesome towel like at the resort spa. Get yourself an expensive bathrobe. My shower is nicer than many of the million dollar home flips I see on HGTV. Every shower should have a handheld nozzle sprayer so you can wash your dog in the shower.

A long time ago I was at a friend’s house and in her guest bathroom she had paper towels instead of a cloth towel to dry your hands. She said it was much more sanitary, and you really shouldn’t be wiping your face on a towel that you used to dry your hands. It makes sense. It might accidentally expose your face to something nasty. We will just leave it at that. Paper towels also are great for wiping down the dirt from your face after you “think” it is all clean. Nope. There is still always a little bit of dirt and it is a good exfoliater as it is sterile and clean.

If COVID taught us one thing, DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE. Yes, the mask is down but seriously stop touching your face. Don’t touch doorknobs. I open doors walking backwards with my ass. If anyone sees me I say “Look at me! My ass opened the door and I didn’t touch it with my hand!” Laugh all you want, but there are millions of people that don’t wash their hands. Even with COVID people do their thing and then don’t wash. It’s gross. I always wipe down the gas pump handle before I touch it. Germaphobe? Nope. Smart. Hey I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get infected. I don’t have to worry about the virus making my hair fall out. I can walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath. I can still carry a bag or five of groceries from the car inside. There are a ton of documentaries on YouTube of the after effects of “long haulers” and their life sucks.

Be thankful you are alive, made it through this and got your shot. Hand sanitizer is almost free, so stock up and keep using it in your daily routine (if you are out in public or around people). If you haven’t gotten the second shot is it really so hard to tell Siri, Alexa, Google, or Facebook to set a reminder?

The Fountain Of Youth

Beauty is skin deep, or so they say. I personally believe that having beautiful skin is the first step in your own self confidence. So I took this selfie this morning and next month I will celebrate 48 years young. Crazy right? So you know I have an identical twin, and he looks nothing like me anymore. Sure we look related but not identical twins. So what happened? Well I have a skincare/beauty routine, and he doesn’t. There actually are millions and millions of people who do NOTHING to preserve their beauty and youth. I mean, take a look at all the old farts in congress. Yeah, pretty bad. Crows feet, dark puffy bags, hard smile lines, and hyper-pigmentation like crazy. Years and years of UV damage and abuse. You could take a sharpie and connect all the dark spots. And if you were to ask them how many of them actually use sunscreen, the number would shock you. It would be like getting republicans to vote for a credible bill for once. Dream on.

When strangers find out my real age, usually they don’t believe me, and then they want to know what it is I am doing to look so good. Is it a secret skincare product? A magical bean? A lotion or potion? Please tell we want to know. I can’t say it is just one thing that I do to keep my skin looking young and clear. It is a lifestyle of things. I’ve never really documented or written down what I do, and I figured now is as good as any. I mean, if it works for me, then in theory it should work for you, right? First off, do I take a special pill or vitamin? No. I do take a collagen supplement, and I just finished off a month supply from Dose & Company. Khloe Kardashian endorses it and it has good ingredients. Oh how I would love to have skin like Khloe. It is a powder and I put it in my coffee daily. Gorgeous hair, skin and nails. I seriously have to cut my nails almost weekly. I also drink about a gallon of some variation of water every day. Hot days, even more. Coffee, tea, Welch’s cherry flavored water, and sometimes a coke. No alcohol, and I try to stay away from processed sugars. If you follow my Instagram then you know I eat really healthy and make almost everything myself, including my own hard shell taco shells. Did you know restaurants put “things” in their fryer oil which make them not so great. So I love french fries, but I can cut up a potato and fry it in peanut oil with no added chemicals. McDonald’s, love your fries, hate your poisons. Stay away from fried foods as much as possible. That grease goes right to your face. Yuck.

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Speaking of, you should develop a consistent routine of cleaning your face, morning – mid-afternoon, and before bed. Sweat, dirt, toxins in the air, all kinds of shit gets on your face, clogging pores and making your skin red, irritated and not so pretty. I actually use the K-beauty (Korean) techniques and double, triple wash my face. What? Start with a make-up wipe, use an exfoliater cleanser, then a hydrating something (I use a goat milk version), and THEN a ph toner. That sounds like a lot of work. Nah, I can do it all in less than 60 seconds. My face feels fresh, smooth, clean and young. From there you can use an eye cream, a serum, and finally some moisturizer.

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Am I going to give you product recommendations? Well, I actually have a TON of beauty skincare products. 111SKIN is a brand out of London, Harley street, and is super expensive. I have gotten a lot of their expensive products at significant discount with my Ipsy membership. I highly recommend trying some of their magical products if you can afford it. Rianna and Khloe both love them, and so do I. I also am a big fan of Sunday Riley, and with both of these companies I have had terrific results. There is a company called “Fresh” and I have tried their products and I really like their face masks. I have found that masks are a “spa like” experience, especially if you use an ultrasonic face roller.

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With summer beating down on us, it is a really great idea to use sunscreen. I like SuperGoop, SundayRiley, and SOL Janeiro bum bum oil. The SOL is probably my favorite as it smells so good. It comes in a spray so it’s easy to apply. These are face sunscreen, not something you slather all over your body before you hit the pool. If you do any of your own research you will find all kinds of research that shows the UV rays are damaging to your skin. Ironic how our younger years it is most susceptible to long term damage, and yet, those are the years we think we can “lay out” and “work on our tan”. If you are young, don’t. Protect your biggest organ as if your life depended on it. Wear sunscreen.

These product endorsements were not paid, and all products were purchased with my own hard earned money. In all fairness, I was introduced to the Brazilian bum bum cream from Sephora as my free birthday membership gift and I have been addicted ever since. Vanilla caramel pistachio. It’s heavenly.

My Resignation

Today’s date.

Dear Employer,

I quit. My last day will be __/__/2021.

Sincerely,

Wow, didn’t that feel good? Your resignation is simply a formal proclamation of your intention of separating employment with a company. Some companies may find you a literal threat once you submit your resignation and will terminate you immediately, yanking back that card key, credit card and all computer access. If they didn’t know you were pissed, you could sabotage the company from within, if you haven’t already. If you are around products or merchandise, or even cash, you could rip them off since you know how the systems work. In many companies, for some positions it is automatic for security reasons.

In this day and age, your clients/customer list is also an asset and you certainly don’t want one of your employees walking off with it and stealing your business. It happens. Anything you do online, including your keystrokes can and will be monitored. If you are in a situation where you KNOW you are going to lose your job, such as a company lay off or downsizing, be very careful not to let your guard down and screw it up. Meaning, don’t be late to work, don’t do anything illegal on company time (drinking on lunch), failing a random drug test, … surfing porn on company computers. Yes, all these things can and will end your employment AND that severance package AND your unemployment. Remember, you are a liability at this point and the company will try to cut it’s losses as much as they can.

So that resignation example was SUPER simple, and of course you can outline and detail every single reason why you are quitting that company, and you can nail them (whomever you hated for quitting) to the cross at this point. It is formal, in writing, and a “complaint” that HR and management will need to address. If that supervisor gets an abnormal amount of employees quitting then HR will step in and try to prevent it, by PIP of that supervisor. Sometimes he/she will get demoted. Yeah, that is super fun. It is even more fun when an employee “steps down” on their own. If you are a supervisor, and you are addressed with some “issues” then you may need to take a step back and determine your areas of opportunity as it will definitely affect your annual review.

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A two week resignation is only a courtesy, and by no means required. You can walk out of a job and never return. You are not required by law to list that shitty job on your resume. And if it was under a year, it might not be worth it at all. I am pretty sure you can even text message or email your resignation if you don’t want to show up in person. There are literally thousands of “jobs” out there, so there is no need to be abused by an employer/supervisor. GTFO and save yourself. Do you drive a car? Wow, you can be an Uber/Lyft driver. If you haven’t heard, there is a driver shortage … oh wait, there is an employee shortage. Why? Oh, you know, some of them just died. How dare they. Some retired. Lucky ducks. Others found that they don’t need a double income to survive. If you don’t have your shot, mask up buddy. Lots of weirdos out there are not vaxed and are running around naked.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, daddies, and of course all the mom’s who had to BE the dad (single, divorced, widowed). We can’t forget our father, who art in heaven. Say it. “Thanks Dad. You’re the best.”

Tell Me About A Time …

Okay boys and girls, it is story time, and I am not talking your magical fairy tale. I am talking about the interview question that forces you to find a concrete example to demonstrate whatever skills they are seeking. Your answers should detail your thought process, perhaps your decision making abilities, and of course, the actual question is looking at how fast you problem solve. Now if it something they are seeking that you don’t have, then it is going to be hard to fake. Okay for some old timers, like me, there was a movie back in the 80’s, called “Working Girl”. Loved it. Melanie and Sigourney Weaver starred in it, and one of the characters stole the idea/concept from the other. So, when confronted, the “idea” needed to be outlined, just to prove that it was HER idea. Oops.

If you headed up a project, an event, or something really big, you can easily talk about the process, the project time line, the critical path, the point of no return, … all those fun little challenges you were faced and overcame. If you had control over money, like say a budget, or fundraising, you should also bring this up in your answer. Why? You are there to prove what you did was beneficial for the company, and you can easily do it again. So if I can get $5k in sponsorships from local businesses for an event, chances are I can do even more for the next event.

Many times you can outline your thoughts and ideas in an effective manner so they produce profits, simply by implementing a program awareness event. Okay back to my Walmart days, when I was a lowly hourly cashier I wanted to be part of the management team. When I applied someone else always got it. My store director said in order to be a manager, you need to be a leader. Not all managers are leaders, but I ONLY promote leaders to managers. I felt like I was sitting at the sphinx with some unsolvable riddle. I happened to be in a management course in college at the time, and using some of the things I learned, I started a stakeholders committee and recruited a few managers and friends to join. We/I found ways to save money, make money and increase store traffic with a meager $100 monthly budget. Eventually I did get promoted.

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Here is another secret in your interviewing arsenal. The more stories and examples you tell in your interview, the more likely you are going to be remembered. Some people try to use humor in the interview. Don’t. You are not applying to be a stand up comedian. Your sense of humor may mistakenly be misinterpreted. Impress that person with what you have done, can do, and will do. If that person is impressed, he/she will move you forward in the interviewing process quickly. Mostly likely there are dozens if not hundreds of jobs/interviews to complete. Think how many positions are open at Amazon. Wow. Hundreds, if not thousands worldwide. I always tell candidates that they need to tell the employer “Hire me. I want to work here. I see myself growing with this company. I want this job.”

And as always, the job you are applying for RIGHT NOW, as you talk to that interviewer, IS your dream job. For now, all you can do is dream about being employed, and this might be it. So act like it, show enthusiasm, and ask for the job. And remember, 20k more boomers retired this weekend. Go get their job!

Leaving the Job Market

So if you are are IN the job market, meaning you are actively working, you get a paycheck and you probably report to someone. As I was talking with a client yesterday I had to remind him that in addition to the thousands of people dying from COVID there is also that nasty little fact that every day over 10,000+ boomers are retiring and leaving the job market forever. That is a fact that has been happening for quite awhile, and you are already starting to feel the impact of that. PLUS there are a TON of “housewives” who are done working and want to go home and stay home. Thousands of nurses, cops, teachers, first responders who all said enough is enough. And as strange as it sounds, there is an entire generation that just wants a sugar daddy or sugar mommy. Who would have imagined that would be someone’s “career plan”? I personally can attest to the corporate bullshit you have to deal with on a daily basis. I left big business to work for a small company, of 4 employees, and sure decisions were made quickly, but laws were broken ALL THE TIME. Just so you know, it is ILLEGAL to pay someone in cash and not report it on your taxes. You may think you are doing your employee a favor, but it’s illegal. Oh sure I LOVED getting envelopes stuffed with cash. Who wouldn’t? Sometimes, many times it is a “I won’t tell if you won’t tell” situation. HR knows ALL the dirty secrets. Sometimes they play along, sometimes they act like the good cop.

True story, I was hired once as a “temp”, meaning no benefits. I was told I was exempt, so they worked me to death. Until they found out I had kept track of every hour worked overtime, and was planning on using it as my own comp time for vacation since I had no benefits. OMG, do you KNOW how much trouble they would have been in if the DOL found out what was going on? Being “exempt” has special rules, and you can’t use a temp as exempt. They paid me the actual overtime rate, and then later terminated me as a “corporate downsizing”. Hey it wasn’t my fault. They lied to me and told me I was exempt. I wasn’t. I was an hourly employee, lied to, and ultimately lost. If I knew back then, all the HR laws that I know today, I would have sued them, AND Walmart, and I would have won. But I didn’t because I didn’t know my rights were violated. Being part of a “group”, in my case Asian American, I also have rights that potentially could hinder/help an employer. If you are not being “fair” and only hiring, say, Caucasian male workers, and have no colored people, you could find yourself in an affirmative action lawsuit. So, point of the story, chances are you are being abused by your employer and you don’t even know it. If you are clocked out then you can’t take back a return to your department on your way out, help a customer or answer a phone. Only the manager can work off the clock.

It is a known fact that people leave jobs because of bad managers. Some of them leave and never come back. Some get early retirement. Others marry rich or find a sugar daddy/mommy. If you are unemployed, looking for a better tomorrow, there is hope. Millions of people don’t want to work, prove that you aren’t one of them. Millions are in retirement, so can you find an opportunity that will cater to that market? Travel and entertainment will always be an area of opportunity, if you can find a product/service in that market. Did you see AMC stock shot back up? It has a low of a $1.91 a share and then went as high as $72. Can you imagine if you bought say, 5000 shares when they tanked? You’d be well off now. Car rentals and hotel rooms are at a premium, so can you rent your car or extra spare room? Turo and air b&b have a booming business model. As a writer I always teach that people, with some skill, can write something; an article, a review, a blog, a book, a speech/presentation. If you write it, they will read it. You can publish your autobiography and publish it as an eBook and people will buy it if it is somewhat interesting and inexpensive. Your family and relation might be interested in your life from your perspective.

If you are working on your career plan, you actually have almost all the things you need to be successful. Be sure you check out LinkedIn.com and create a profile for recruiters to view. Sell your skills. Sell your talents. Join groups on LinkedIn that are relevant to your career. Remember that job data sheet you were supposed to create?

You now need to add 3-5 good references with their information so it will be ready when you are offered that dream job. Those references can be former supervisors, committee members, coworkers, customers/clients, vendors, owner of the company, … the list can go on and on. People who can speak to your work ethic, personality, attendance, are going to be advantageous. If you are a reference, do not lie for that person. Tell the truth. I had a “friend” ask me to be a reference and I said, “Well, I have never worked with you, but I can say you are always late, you never pay the bill, you sometimes call in sick when you aren’t and you stole a laptop from your past employer.” He said “Thanks, no thanks.” So, moral of the story, your “friend” might not be willing to lie for you. I adhere to the SHRM (Society Human Resource Management) code of ethics, so I will always tell the truth.