I’m going to be an uncle again! My sister Lisa is pregnant with her second child and due in September. Lisa is doing well overall and very excited, as are we. Along with Lisa’s daughter Reagan and my sister-in-law’s son Ethan, new Baby Wagner will be my third niece or nephew. Congrats to Lisa and Phillip!
Being an uncle is a preview of grandparenthood – lots of fun without lots of responsibility. =)
I’m young, and I’m underpaid / I’m tired but I’m working, yeah – Alanis Morissette
Last year I blogged about the monetary value of one’s work and a few different ways to measure it. Now I want to know more about people who think their jobs don’t pay appropriately.
I was intrigued by the results to my current poll about whether people feel they are paid appropriately for their work. It’s no surprise that “underpaid” was the most popular answer, but I wasn’t expecting such a landslide victory. So far one person claimed to be overpaid, and not one person claimed to be paid appropriately.
“The Rules” of social etiquette and keeping one’s job might prevent me from learning why you all feel as you do, but I hope some will feel brave enough to explain. I suppose it’s obvious why someone who feels overpaid would keep that job, but I wonder why so many of you feel underpaid and yet stay where you are. Keep in mind that you can enter anything you want as your name and email address. Really the only person who must use discretion on my site is me since my real name is at the top of the page.
Do “underpaid” people think they are paid less than they are worth, or simply less than they want to earn? Are they paid less than another person in a similar position with similar qualifications, either within the same company or elsewhere? Are they paid less than the prevailing rate for their job in the area?
Why do “underpaid” workers stay put? Are there no other acceptable jobs? Is their current position universally underpaid, making it pointless to look elsewhere? Is the job search process not worth the trouble? Are they paying their dues and hoping to move up within the company someday?
And for you “overpaid” people, what makes you think you are overpaid?
For Valentine’s Day, Jenny and I took a partner yoga class at her gym on Sunday. We both enjoy yoga and do it together at home sometimes, so we thought this class would be fun. I was expecting a traditional yoga class with some extra partner-assisted stretches, which would have been great. But what we got was different and even better. The class was mostly partner-oriented balance poses in which one partner supports the other in various ways. We had a blast! Afterward we enjoyed cheese, wine, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Our instructor took this picture of us doing one of the poses. Do not try this at home, folks. We are professionals.
As part of my efforts to eventually run a half marathon, I’ve been trying to stretch out my long runs. I did eight miles a couple of times, but I kept hitting a wall when it came to nine. Twice my leg was the culprit. One week I ran eight miles with zero pain, and the next I had to stop at seven because my knee started complaining. I didn’t get it. On Monday I tried again, but this time I was simply out of gas due to a very busy weekend with a total of eight or nine hours of sleep.
Yesterday, I finally did it.
When I start a long run, I never know what to expect. Will my leg hold up? Will my abs cramp? Will I start off too fast and burn out too quickly? Or will I start off too slow and slip into poor running form? What pace should I set given the weather and how I feel? Do I have enough water?
I really think that distance running is one of the best teachers for life. I rarely have perfect circumstances for a run. It might be too hot or too cold or too sunny or too dry or too muddy. Perhaps I’m tired from my wacky work/sleep schedule. Perhaps I can feel a blister forming on my toe toward the end. Maybe some dog took a giant dump on the trail and his owner was too lazy to clean it up. Things happen.
However, if I really care about running, I go out anyway if possible. Once I’m out there, I ignore the inner voice that tells me to quit. Over time, step by step, the miles tick by. That’s life.
I really had to grind it out yesterday, which made reaching the end even more satisfying. My body felt tired after only a mile or two. The beautiful sunshine sapped my strength a bit. Although the temperature was only in the mid-seventies, it was a big change from the fifties that had spoiled me recently. But I pressed on. I took a conservative run-walk approach, jogging about 90 percent of the time at a decent pace and walking a bit after every mile. During each walk, I took a hit from the nice strap-on water bottle that Jenny got me for Valentine’s Day. I wanted to quit but never did.
Finally, after one hour, twenty-three minutes, and twenty-five seconds, I reached mile marker nine. It wasn’t a pretty run. My time was much higher than I’d wanted due to all the walking, which I hate to do. But I finished. And my knee felt fine, giving me hope that I might be able to go even farther someday.
What a difference a year can make. This time last year, I was struggling to finish a mile without major knee pain. I can’t tell you how awesome it feels to be able to run like this.
I like this picture. A lot.
We took Brenden to the park one afternoon and played for a while. When it was time to go, Brenden pulled his semi-frequent stunt of sitting down instead of walking with us. Since nothing was going on around him, we just kept walking and waited for him to change his mind. Eventually he did, but not before I grabbed this picture. Do you see him?
Last month I mentioned a new 5k race called Run 4 Justice that raises money and awareness to fight sex trafficking of children in Cambodia. The race was held this morning at 9:00am. Jenny, her friend Sarah, the boys, and I woke up early and headed up to Grapevine. Over 1300 runners and walkers participated, and overall the event raised over $133,000 for the cause. Although the temperature barely topped the freezing point when we left, it was pleasantly brisk and sunny by race time, which helped the runners post some very fast times. The organizers worked hard and did a wonderful job, especially for an inaugural race, and the turnout was much higher than expected. We hope to run again next year.
Next race: Cowtown 10k on Feb 26