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Repurposing…

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In that crazy haze of spending I did in a moment of weakness a month ago, I spent wayyyy to much on make-up. If you’ve ever bought anything at Ulta, Sephora, Tarte, etc. you know they throw in gobs of freebees (kinda explains why the make-up is so expensive). I ended up with loads of samples and a really pretty make-up bag. I was planning to purchase a new make-up bag since mine was falling apart so… two birds. One stone.

 

The bag arrived and it was exactly as I expected, lovely AND the perfect size. But, it wasn’t what I would have picked. It didn’t have any dividers and it wouldn’t work for what I need. Ugh. I hate having to explain this. Some of us ladies have more make-up in our bags than we actually use on a daily basis. It’s like having those completely impractical heels in your closet. No, you don’t wear them daily but every once in a while, you pull them out for a special occasion. You can’t throw all your shoes into a heap, you must have them sorted!  Same idea with a make-up bag.

 

Off I went to Target to find a new bag. I stared at the $19 price tag for a better bag. $19? I stared into my cart. I had added a $10 plastic box to sort my daughter’s hair ties so they wouldn’t be scattered all over the bathroom. It hit me. How often do I spend $10 or $20 on things because what I already have isn’t a ‘perfect fit’?

 

I left Target empty handed and decided to try again. If this was all I had, could I make it work?  Yes! I separated out my special occasion make-up into a separate Zip-Lock bag. Boom! Problem solved! My mom gave my daughter some shoes that came in a hard box that I had set out for recycling. Boom! Hair tie solution!

 

Yes, I saved $30 but seriously, how often do we buy things and throw away perfectly good solutions? Had I tossed that shoebox or that free make-up bag, I would have added to our landfills AND spent money. We get caught up in the easy button and we miss that we should rethink and retry. Should you repurpose something? Take a moment to think before you buy.

Quit Over Politics?

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Wooden letter tiles spelling POLITICS among blank tiles

I watched as big-name companies took political stances and I thought nothing of it. It didn’t apply to me. My organization is very apolitical and wouldn’t make a political statement that would be difficult for roughly 50% of our clients to agree with, right?!?!

 

Monday morning, I reported for an all staff and my company released information that would be made public soon. We were taking a political stance. No, not for one you would think of (nope, not Georgia, BLM, COVID, vaccines, religion, etc.), but a strong one none the less.

 

One I don’t agree with.

 

Strongly oppose.

 

I literally sat open mouthed as they spent an hour talking about the statement that would be released. When they asked for questions, I carefully pushed the unmute button on my computer. I was shaking, I hate public speaking (particularly in extremely large groups) but I needed to know…why. The speaker, annoyed, responded with a statement full of logical fallacies. I pointed out one of the 47 or so arguments that popped into my head immediately (the high school debate team champion in me never dies). She stumbled all over herself then made another horrifically flawed argument. I stopped talking. I decided to talk to my boss instead.

 

My boss struggled with the statement as well but was going along with it. When I pointed out this would not only cause irreparable harm to half our client base approval, our logic was flawed. He shrugged it off.

 

Just go along to get along.

 

But that’s not who I am.

 

That’s not what I believe.

 

Monday night I sat at the dinner table crying. “Is this the hill I’m willing to die on?” I asked my husband. “I support whatever you choose but for me, yes, this is the hill I would die on” he responded.

 

I wanted to wait to look for a job until August but the timeline is pushed up a bit. If you agree with the overarching mission and vision of your organization but you strongly disagree with a random political stance they take, would you leave too? The reality is, it’s not good for me but to be fair, it’s not good for them either. I can’t support their decision and they should really have a team member that does.

 

Ugh.  What a mess.  I wanted so much for a restful summer.