Avoiding Job Burnout

Steve talked about job burnout at length in MIS class today. I can’t remember how he tied it into our current topic but he managed to bring it up. I think it was because we were talking about corporate structure and being a group of MBA students pretty much everyone’s goal is to reach the top of the hierarchy. He made the observation that what happens too often is that people end up burning out before getting there. I suspect that’s probably true.

Anyway, all throughout his ten minute tirade about avoiding burnout and not worrying about things that will eventually take care of themselves (which reminds me of something that Brian might say; along these lines, Brian has preached to me that I shouldn’t worry about things beyond my control many, many times) I felt like he was talking directly to me. How did he know that I was experiencing huge amounts of job stress? I know I’m pretty transparent but was it really that obvious? Of course, the world doesn’t revolve around me. I know it only seemed this way because work has been stressing me out a lot lately. Regardless of what the case may be, it got me thinking.

What is burnout exactly? Burnout is what happens when run yourself ragged at work. It’s when you have so much work to do and not enough time to recover. Some of the symptoms include but are not limited to taking your work home with you, taking your frustrations out on your partner, waking up in the middle of the night from work nightmare—which I’ve actually done. I had a dream that I didn’t get my time tickets done because I was stuck in an all-day training class that I could not get out of.. Weird, huh? Although, I’ve exhibited mild versions of some of the symptoms of burnout I refuse to think I am. Maybe I’m in denial but for the sake of this blog entry let’s agree that I’m not experiencing job burnout (not yet, anyway). So think of this post as some sort of preventative measure.

You can find out more about burnout here. It’s pretty informative. It gives helpful information about how to differentiate stress from burnout. Even though burnout and stress sometimes go hand-in-hand they’re not necessarily the same thing. Anyway, some of their ways of dealing with job burnout, like looking for a new job or requesting a transfer, may not be feasible for most people.

Mindtools has a special section on burnout. They have a burnout self-test as well as articles on how to avoid and recover from burnout. You can also check out these burnout busters from friedsocialworker.com.

One of the things commonly suggested to combat burnout is do something that you enjoy—get a fun hobby. Brian actually suggested that I start working out again. He said that I was a lot let stressed out when I used to workout because I had an outlet for my stress and frustrations. I currently don’t have one so he thinks that I am bottling everything up inside me which is truly unhealthy.

Working out again might not be such a bad idea. I’ve actually been asked if I’m expecting twice now. That only tells me one thing. I have gained so much weight that I’m beginning to look pregnant. By resuming my gym membership I might just kill two birds. We haven’t decided to renew our membership yet. I’ll keep you posted.

January 31, 2007 | Posted by Ching under Life, School

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WOW, This Game is Addictive

Veramilla_Mage

Pun intended. He he.

I have been playing a lot of WOW lately. Brian started a blood elf mage who is a lot of fun to play. I’ve completed several quests on my own and I’ve actually gone on a couple of group quests. I never would have thought I could get into this game, but now that I’ve tried it I can understand why Brian is so hooked. If I didn’t have to go to school I could seriously see myself playing for hours at a time. For right now, though, I’m content sneaking in an hour of play every now and then. I don’t need my own account… Yet!

I’m still digging poker but I haven’t been doing as well. Although, not always placing as high doesn’t mean that your game is sliding. To be honest, I think I’m playing way better than I have ever played in the past. I’m learning to read my opponents better… Before I used to just play according to the cards I’m holding. Now I find myself taking advantage of my position, the situation, my opponents weak plays etc.

Playing really good poker isn’t always enough, though. Sometimes it takes luck. Case in point, my final hand at APL last friday. I called the blind with pocket 8s in the dealer position. One of the blinds (I can’t remember if he was small or big) raised. It wasn’t a big raise. It was a medium-sized raise. Calling the raise with only pocket 8s may have been somewhat of a loose call, but I figured I had position. So I thought that if I missed, I could bail. The raise wasn’t that big so—no harm, no foul. But if I hit, cha-ching! Right?

Anyway, the flop came 2, 4, 10 rainbow. My oponent raised to $1500 but I could tell from his mannerism that he was simply trying to buy the pot. I put him on two high cards, maybe ace-king, ace-queen, or ace-jack even. I could tell he missed but he was putting me to the test. So even though the plan was to bail if I missed, I felt that my 8s were good in this situation. I only had $2400 left so I re-raised him by going all-in.

He thought about it for a long time until he decided to call. Even though I had him, I think calling was the right decision because it was only $900 more to him. He had the opportunity to knock out a player and he had two overs—he was holding ace-jack.

Naturally, I turn an ace which resulted in my demise. So much for my impeccable read. The problem with this hand is that I didn’t have enough chips to push him out. I think if I had enough chips to threaten his tournament life then I think it might have made for a tougher decision to call. Then again, with such loose players at APL who’s to say he would not have called regardless.

At any rate, it helps to get lucky sometimes. No worries, though. I know that my game is improving. I’ll get him next time.

January 29, 2007 | Posted by Ching under Flickr, Games, Poker

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Bebot in the Snow

Bebot in the Snow

This is Bebot’s first winter so I figured that I would take a picture to commemorate it. This photo was actually taken on Sunday. I had to come in to work because we were gearing up for the storm. We thought we would need additional help so we planned ahead. I took the 8 am to 12 pm shift because the rest of my weekend had already been booked. It was nice that Brian offered to drive me. It was one less thing for me to worry about—specially since I’m not particularly fond of driving. I like this weather even less. And I downright hate driving in it.

Brian and I stopped at Krispy Kreme to get two dozen donuts. It was the least I could do for the overtime volunteers. I arrived at work by seven thirty. It was actually pretty slow. I wasn’t surprised because I had read the emails from the previous day. It was slow then, too. I really wasn’t looking forward to a repeat of the 2005 ice storm so it was such a relief that we didn’t experience massive outages. We actually had fewer outages than a typical weekend I think.

Brian came back to pick me up at noon. We braved the road conditions to drive to Philippine Grille. I was craving some sinigang na baboy. It is perfect for cold weather.

We had planned on staying out and just going straight to poker. However, we could not confirm that the Blue Collar Poker Tournament was not canceled so we decided to go home to check the Wichita Poker Review web site (it is the ultimate source of local poker info; where to play, what time, the best places to play, that sort of thing). The web site did not say that the tournament was canceled but the weather still had us concerned. We made a few phone calls. No one knew but the consensus was we’d all still planned on going.

Apparently, Brian and I aren’t the only two hardcore poker freaks in Wichita. The turnout was much smaller than usual but a lot larger than expected given the weather. Over 80 people came to play. A good thing for us because that means we have to battle fewer people for the prize.

I did pretty well, I think. I didn’t win any money, though. I finished 11th and only the top eight places pay. Disappointing but it gives me motivation for next time. If there is a next time. It will be challenging to squeeze in poker time considering that school has started again.

The good news is our friend April (Corey’s girlfriend) took third and won $70. I have to tell you about April and Corey. I have to wrap this up for now, though. I have to get ready for class. Until next time.

January 17, 2007 | Posted by Ching under Flickr

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Burning Crusade is here!

For those of you that are not rolling in the cool crowd, “Burning Crusade” is the latest expansion for the World of Warcraft MMORPG. If you don’t know what an MMORPG is you should really stop reading now because it will only confuse you.

I have been looking forward to this expansion since I first started playing. I got hooked on WOW with a few people I work with. We started a small guild, then merged with a bigger one that eventually merged with a bigger guild that finally went tits up and disbanded and now we are back to the glorious Pwndock Saints. I finally got a character up to level 60 (at the time that was the highest you could go) and then started PVP-ing to get good gear and make my character more powerful. Now that the expansion is out I have to level another 10 levels to get to the cap and start the work over again to get my elite gear. I will be participating in Raids and other large group events to insure that I get a great selection of gear that will make my warlock a force to be reckoned with. I am actually looking forward to playing the game as once I reached the 60 level I was worried that I was going to get bored. So far they have made it to where you have so much to do that it is almost impossible to get bored. The game is designed to have no end. You simply grind out levels, if you have a character that has done everything and is the top of its class; you simply create another class of character and do something different. A lot of the quest and gear are specific to a particular class like Warlocks, Mages or Warriors.

It’s remarkable that there are over 8 million people playing this game all over the world. So far I have run into children as young as 10 years old playing this game and today when I picked up my copy there was a very large man that looked to be in his 40’s picking up his copy as well. I probably won’t get to 70 as fast as some of the other people in my guild. But that’s because I have a life! You know the kind of life that provides me with a wonderful wife that lets me indulge in this kind of activity as long as it doesn’t interfere with the real world and suck me in to the point that I am doing nothing but playing the game and not having stupendous, wonderful sex with her. Cause I know for a fact that some of the 8 MILLION other players are not getting laid (masturbation doesn’t count).

So now that I have left you with a wonderful image of a 40 year old fat man sitting at a home built computer with more processing power than the human brain and a 32 inch LCD screen with picture in picture (so they wont miss there episodes of South Park while playing wow) in a dark basement in his mothers home in nothing but a robe, a stained tank top, boxer shorts that say “Once you go Horde you never get Bored” and a pair of “Incredible Hulk” Slippers that have the Crunch sound destroyed by his fat fucking feet…..I think my work here is done.

Happy Gaming!!!

January 16, 2007 | Posted by Brian under Games

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The 2nd Shift Blues

Well, here I am! Working 2nd shift for the next 5 weeks. I only pray that its 5 weeks and not any longer. I have not had to work past 5pm in over 8 years. I can’t remember the last time I had to work a Saturday or Sunday. I was looking forward to working mornings because I get off work at 3pm and my wife doesn’t have to go to school till 7pm. This worked out really well cause I could get all the household chores done before 5 when my wife gets off work, then she would come home and we would get something to eat or I would have something ready for her to eat. Then since this semester all her classes start at 7pm, I looked forward to taking her to school and picking her up. Last semester she was so stressed because she had to leave work at 5 and try to make it to school by 5:30. It didn’t always work that way and it would stress her out to no end. This time I can take her so she doesn’t have to worry about finding a parking spot or walking a long distance or even being late for class. And I can be there for her in the event of bad weather, say if it rains, I would be bale to show up at her class with an umbrella ready and walk her from class to the car so she won’t have to worry about getting drenched. I know, all you old people are probably thinking “Man, what a sap”. But that’s not it! My wife and I have a very unique relationship. One that I wish the rest of the world could have. I think if everyone was like us we would have no divorce and you would find an increase in happy marriages. I truly believe us to be soul mates and the perfect couple. Some of the people we know say that we are strange because we don’t do anything apart. My wife and I think that everyone is strange because they don’t do anything together. We were just talking the other night and I told her that if she all the sudden said that she wanted to go have a night out with the girls; I would respect that and let her. However, since this is not the normal behavior she has exhibited in the last 7 years that we have been together, I would think that something was up. She agreed and said that the same would apply for me. I replied and told her that I would have to have friends that I wanted to hang out with first, I am kind of anti-social and although I have a few people I like as friends, they know me well enough that they never ask me out with them, and they know that if I ever go out I will always have my wife with me.

I really love my life! I never thought I would have a life like this. I have the perfect marriage and a great family. If you would have asked me 8 to 10 years ago if this was going to be possible, I would have given you a definitive NO! I saw myself being a single, lonely guy living in a small house or apartment and just having a cat to talk to. I can not tell you how relieved I am that my life did not turn out that way. I am so lucky to have met my wife. She is truly my savior and I could never in a million years ever repay her for that.

Baby, with all my heart and every fiber of my being! I want you to know that I love you and will always love you, in this life and the next!

Well there’s my first post of the year. I am sure that I will probably get flack from my friends about how much of a pussy I am and how corny and sappy my post was. But when you’re in love like I am. You just don’t care!

January 15, 2007 | Posted by Brian under Family, Life

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Blue Collar Poker

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We returned to APL HQ yet again for another try at the Blue Collar Poker Tournament. We must be gluttons for punishment you say. Well, it’s not like it’s a real long, long shot. I did find out Friday that Micheal (aka Phantom2 at Doyles Room) took first place and won $300 at last Sunday’s tourney. It’s ironic that I was the first one out of that tournament while he was the last one out. We had a good laugh about it. I think I’m a pretty good sport when it comes to poker. Despite the embarrassment, I wasn’t really too upset. After all, the only losses I suffered were $10 and a bruised ego. It’s not like I lost my first born or anything.

Anyway, Brian and I returned today with a backup plan. We figured that if we both got knocked out early this time we’d just go watch Casino Royale. We’d both been wanting to see it, but haven’t had a chance to.. Now would be the perfect opportunity.

It’s funny because while we were in the shower Brian asked, “What if we don’t get knocked out by seven? Do you want us to just bail?”

I said, “Baby— if we are still playing at seven we’re nixing the movie because there is a great chance that we are winning some money!” As much as I am a movie buff, I think I’m a bigger poker addict because when it comes down to it, I’d rather be playing poker. Of course, I can watch movies anytime. I only get to to play poker once in a while. Read more

January 7, 2007 | Posted by Ching under Flickr, Food, Poker, Reviews

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The Way We Were

Ching

I’m posting this photo for Jen. I recently gave her two more huge trash sacks full of clothes. Jen has made a few trips to the house to collect clothes over the last year. I think, after several trash sacks, I’ve finally unloaded 50% of my closet. I can’t believe what a huge clothes horse I was.. Even more amazing is the fact that I couldn’t care less about clothes now. What a 180!

Anyway, I had given this dress to Jen in the last batch. It is very old (I had bought it from Spiegel—years ago when I worked for the company and got a 30% discount on everything) but this style of dress doesn’t really go out of fashion. There is a greater possibility of one getting too fat to wear it, than it going out of style—which is what happened in my case. It had been hanging neglected in the back of the closet for several years. I’m hoping Jen can revive it. It’s a nice fun dress. You can wear it with sandals in the summer or with boots and a nice comfy cardigan sweater in the winter. It’s very versatile.

I was quite surprised that Jen didn’t recognize the dress considering I used to wear it all the time. I had worn it to Shiela and Andrew’s wedding (which is where this photo was taken) and also on one of my birthdays. I really liked this dress. I owned several dresses that had only been worn once. This was one that really got a lot of wear. But I guess it has been a long time since I wore it last. Too bad it no longer fits or I would still be wearing it.

I hope Jen takes care of my lonely old clothes. May they have a long, vibrant life with you.. And may they never get neglected. Read more

January 6, 2007 | Posted by Ching under Flickr

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Sex and the City

I’ve been watching Sex and the City marathons for the entire week. I really thought that I was almost finished with them. Brian informed me that I’ve only made it to season two. I have a lot more Sex and the City to go through. I don’t even think I’ll get through all the seasons before school starts.

Anyway, I’m not sure what episode sparked the conversation but Brian and I got to talking about the things we’ve given up since being together. He asked me the question first. I couldn’t think of anything so I just said “Why?” He said he just wondered because of the show. So I asked him what he misses of all the things he’d given up since we’ve been together. He said smoking. I don’t think that really counts. I never thought he gave up smoking for me. He gave up smoking because he had oral surgery. Brian countered that he gave up smoking because I had said that I would never kiss a smoker. He said he could have returned to smoking after the oral surgey if he chose to. He still misses smoking from time to time but has never reverted back.

Then it was my turn to share. Frankly, I couldn’t really think of anything. Brian and I decided that’s probably what makes our bond so strong. Unlike other couples who have had to make major compromises in order to be together, we really haven’t had to change or give up anything. We just fit. So almost eight years later, we still do.

Of course, not to be outdone, I had to come up with something. I said, “I miss being thin.” Okay, so I wasn’t really thin but I was little. I miss it. Though I don’t think it’s completely fair to say that I gave that up to be with Brian. It’s just something that seems to happen when people are in stable, comfortable relationships.

Why is it that long-term relationships tend to make people gain weight? It seems like we find ourselves in a relationship we tend to become complacent. Is it because we know that no matter how much weight we gain our loved ones will always love us regardless? It takes a lot of self-discipline to maintain your current weight (or lose weight) despite the comforts of unconditional love.

Brian says that people who are heavier are happier. You know the really happy couples because they are comfortable enough not to care about superficial things. I always thought that he was just saying that to make me feel better about having gained thirty pounds since we’ve been together. However, more and more I’m starting to think that he is probably right. I’m seeing more and more women gain weight after a year or so of being in stable relationships. Maybe there is actually something to this heavier equals happier thing?

January 4, 2007 | Posted by Ching under Life

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Looking Back at 2006

The year 2006 brought us viral marketing campaigns gone wrong, more corporate scandals, new gaming consoles, crazy videos that you emailed to more than a dozen people, The Departed, Google bought YouTube, Ryan cheated on Reese.. This is an attempt to recap the less exciting things that happened to me in the past year (beyond the poker stuff which you have previously read about).

Work was very challenging in more ways than one. It was a trying time for me not only because there was so much work to be done and not enough time but also because people were literally making my life a living a hell. There were a few weeks that I just felt defeated and worn down but I persevered because I knew deep down that good people always prevail. Adversity will always exist. How we respond or overcome it is our choice. I always try to remind myself, that which doesn’t break you will make you stronger. And, of course, there are many lessons to be learned along the way.

School was both stressful and exciting. For my final undergraduate semester I decided to take the the road less traveled. Instead of taking it easy, I decided to challenge myself and try for a Computer Science minor. This would give me three minors instead of just two: Management and Accounting. The Computer Science course was a daytime class. Althought I had received permission to attend the class, work commitments (like training seminars and meetings) sometimes prevented me from attending but besides that, I did not have the time to devote to completing the programming assignments. The class progressed really slow but the assignments increased exponentially in scope and difficulty. At first it seemed as though I was going to do alright and pass the course but by the last month it became obvious that I would not make it. By then it was too late.

It was in 2006 that I received my undergraduate degree. It was conferred during the Spring 2006 commencement of the Barton School. My degree is a Bachelor of Business Administration. My major is Management Information Systems and my minors are Management and Accounting. It’s not as impressive as the engineering degree that I had originally set out for out of high school but I am very glad that I decided to go back to school. I feel proud of my accomplishment particularly since I had to it while working forty-plus hour weeks the whole time.

Early in the year I decided that I would remain in school. I decided that I would pursue my MBA through Wichita State University. Having a tight deadline, I had to take my GMAT the week after finals. I wrote my essay, begged for recommendation letters, etc. all before June 1st in order to be accepted for the fall semester. I had to scramble but somehow I managed to pull through. I was one of the 54 accepted into the program. I think 97 had applied. There were many more applying throughout the summer but they would have wait for the next round.

Summer went by pretty quickly. I tried to get my fill of poker. We got a new car. It’s our first brand new car ever. We adopted Molly, the newest addition to our family. I lot a lot of shoes because of her chewing habit but that’s okay. We had our first set of joeys (we had two other sets since; we have our third set of joeys now in case anyone is interested). Yes, Brian and I became grandparents. LOL.

So much has happened this year. I feel that 2006 is significant in that I experienced a lot of personal growth. I took away from my experiences many valuable lessons. We met a lot of new people. All of them interesting and some of them quite impressive. I survived my first semester in graduate school, against all odds so to speak.

I look forward to 2007 and the challenges it brings. I have more knowledge and experience now so hopefully I can use these to make better choices. I made some mistakes in years past but as with everything, I take it as a learning opportunity. Some of the things to anticipate in 2007 are:

This is all I can think of for now. I’m sure this list will expand as things come up and some of the things may not take place. We’ll talk again around this time in 2008.

Happy new year, everyone!

January 1, 2007 | Posted by Ching under Life

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