Using an old cell phone that has been converted into a toy, my son pretended to email people on his “blackberry” yesterday evening.  He sat there for 10 minutes, thumbing the keys in remarkable similarity to my own style.  When I asked him to come to the dinner table, he casually responded “I’ll be there in a minute after I finish this email.”  In fact, he didn’t even look away from his “blackberry” when he responded.

I wonder where he learned that one?

I am living in a virtual avalanche of email.  Too much, too often, and too many accounts are bogging me down.  Between all of my email accounts, I easily read over 250 emails per day. 

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A friend of mine once told me that he couldn’t believe how I managed to leave jobs without burning bridges, even the ones for whom bridges would probably be better burned.  I’m a firm believer that nothing good comes from leaving any relationship, business or otherwise, bitterly, or angrily, or with hurt feelings.   Obviously, there are situations where work relationships are unsalvageable; however, in the event that you’re planning on leaving employment with a company voluntarily, here’s my advice on how to do it with grace, dignity, and perhaps even a few contacts and references in hand.

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Last week one of the managers at my company was terminated.  His exit was swift.  One day he was here the next day he was noticeably absent.  After a long investigation, the company terminated his employment due to Sexual Harassment.  Allegedly he harassed multiple women at the company, including at least one of his direct reports.  While his team is protecting the woman he harassed, they have been very vocal about their pleasure in the company’s actions and his termination of employment here.

I’m willing to put money on it that, if asked, nearly every working woman could cite an experience of being harassed in the workplace.  Whether it was the creepy guy who always started at your breasts, or the drunken co-worker who tried to take things to another level at the company holiday party, or the man who thought that keeping a calendar of scantily-clad women on his desk was perfectly acceptable.  With the lines of what is unlawful sexual harassment and what is just inappropriate workplace behavior, what defines sexual harassment remains blurred between black and white.
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Last week Friday, the second day after my last day at work, I did something that I’d been dying to do, but hadn’t been able to find the time:  I visited the exhibit entitled The Black List Project at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.  The exhibit features large format portraits of 24 prominent African-African Americans, and the accompanying documentary included their views of what it means to them to be African-American in 21st century America.

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For years, I have asked my dad to make Pumpkin Soup in the fall.  I never had the recipe (and my dad didn’t seem all that open to sharing).  My entire family loved the soup so much that my dad had to start making triple batches.  Finally he relented and gave up the recipe.  Boy, was I shocked to find out that the recipe is simple.  Easy ingredients and done in record time - definitely my kinda soup.  I’ve never made a soup that is as delicious or as quick as this one.

I always serve the soup as the main course for dinner. Along with a hearty salad and lots of freshly sliced baguette, this is a meal that warms the soul. And gets to the table in under 20 minutes.

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When I returned to the practice of law a little over a year ago, it was admittedly with some reluctance:  at the time,  I was working from home for a large Fortune 200 corporation, helping manage several of the online publications.  I wasn’t making a lot of money, but I was generally happy:  my time was my own, I was ever-present for my young daughter, it allowed me to write and gave me time for my photography, and I was helping contribute financially to our household.  But then, two former bosses called me and practically begged me to come back to law; because I respect and enjoy working with these two men (and despite my better judgment), I did.

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Last week, right about the same time the first commenter was leaving her comment on my previous post , I walked into the office of my boss, and turned in my written resignation.

The truth is, he knew it was coming.  I’d warned him it was coming about 5 weeks ago — I told him that I intended to leave the company, and while I wouldn’t leave him before September 30th (because my role becomes crucial to closing deals at the end of the quarter), my intent was for my last day to be October 15th. For this reason, last week’s conversation was merely a formality.

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Unless you already know that your boss is predisposed to letting you telecommute, one the best ways to start a dialogue is to submit a well-written proposal. In your proposal, take a business-case approach, looking at things from your boss’s perspective. Address ‘what’s-in-it-for-the-company’ issues, as well as any concerns or objections your boss might have. Plan to hit your boss with a double-whammy: A written proposal and an oral presentation.

The written proposal enables your manager to more carefully consider your ideas when she has more time.  Plus it can serve as a crucial tool if your boss must obtain approval from higher up in the food chain. The presentation prepares your manager to absorb the points in the written proposal and gives her the opportunity to raise questions or objections.

I can see some of you cringing at the idea of having to write a written proposal. Trust me on this one. By taking a professional business approach to the idea you are increasing your chances of getting an approval from your manager.  This is not a thesis statement or some large written grant.  A one to two page proposal is all you need. 

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Let’s face it:  here in the United States, the last few Presidential elections have had their share of drama; however, this year, this campaign seems to have taken the cake.  It appears everyone has an opinion on one party or another, one candidate or another, one candidate’s running mate, or another.  I don’t think I’ve had one conversation in the past few months when the subject hasn’t turned to the upcoming election within 5 minutes.  Even my four-year-old daughter can identify John McCain or Barack Obama any time one of them appears on our television screen.

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