Christina M. Bates's Posts - RecruitingBlogs2024-03-29T11:57:23ZChristina M. Bateshttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/ChristinaMBateshttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1527006622?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=0f76ft3wgcnh4&xn_auth=noThe Dream Chasertag:recruitingblogs.com,2016-04-14:502551:BlogPost:19603952016-04-14T18:30:00.000ZChristina M. Bateshttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/ChristinaMBates
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557586879?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557586879?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300"></img></a></p>
<p>Up next in my Spark Series is a recent friend of mine, Joe DeHart. Side note- my Spark Series is where I interview my network of friends who are doing amazing things and share insights from their stories. Joe and I met briefly years ago through a mutual friend but it wasn’t until this past December when I stumbled upon his blog “…</p>
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<p>Up next in my Spark Series is a recent friend of mine, Joe DeHart. Side note- my Spark Series is where I interview my network of friends who are doing amazing things and share insights from their stories. Joe and I met briefly years ago through a mutual friend but it wasn’t until this past December when I stumbled upon his blog “<strong><a target="_blank" href="http://www.ichasedreams.com/">I Chase Dreams</a></strong>” and fell enamored with his story. Basically he quit his full time job, sold most of his belongings and packed a backpack to travel the world while blogging about his adventures. In doing so he hopes to inspire others and help them realize that anything is possible. Being a fellow travel lover I messaged Joe and he invited me to pack a bag and meet up with him, so I did just that! I met up with Joe in Peru and we spent two weeks adventuring and exploring the beautiful country! Of course, I had to interview him for my blog so on our last day in Peru while having breakfast at a cafe in the airport this is what he shared. </p>
<p><strong>What inspired you to finally make the move? </strong></p>
<p>Fear of waking up twenty years later and having not done it. Ultimately, figuring out what makes me happy and doing that instead of what makes me money. </p>
<p><strong>How do you fund your travels?</strong></p>
<p>I worked my ass off for a few years, saved money and didn’t go out drinking all the time. Currently I travel pretty cheaply, couch surf and stay in hostels. I’ll buy my own groceries at the local markets and make my own food. Pretty much the same stuff you would do at home except you’re on the road. </p>
<p><strong>What has been the most challenging part of your journey thus far?</strong></p>
<p>Last minute visas and flights because they can be very expensive. Also, sometimes it's difficult being an American and trying to cross the border. </p>
<p><strong>Any funny stories?</strong></p>
<p>Too many to list! Between people and animal watching and long days of hiking, there’s always something funny that happens.</p>
<p><strong>What has been your favorite destination thus far?</strong></p>
<p>Hard to say, every time I think I have a favorite country it keeps getting one up’d by another location. </p>
<p><strong>Any advice for our readers?</strong></p>
<p>Buy a ticket and then do everything else you have to do to make it happen! If you’ve bought the ticket, you’re already halfway there! </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557587038?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557587038?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" id="block-yui_3_17_2_8_1460436689404_11725"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>Here are a few things that were “sparked” after spending two weeks traveling alongside with Joe.</p>
<p>1. <em>Take risks</em> - Stop waiting for the perfect moment and just go!<span> </span></p>
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<div class="sqs-block quote-block sqs-block-quote" id="block-yui_3_17_2_9_1460436689404_10422"><div class="sqs-block-content"><blockquote>“And then there is the most dangerous risk of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”— Randy Komisar</blockquote>
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<div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" id="block-yui_3_17_2_9_1460436689404_17764"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>2. <em>Live simply</em> - You begin to realize the less you have the more rich your life becomes. It's not about the material things that we fill our lives with, its more about experiences and memories that fill our soul. </p>
<p>3. <em>Choose happiness</em> - Most importantly…if money were no object what would you like to do? How would you really enjoy spending your life? Figure that out and don’t worry about the money. It's simple, choose a life of happiness and don't settle for less. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557587138?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557587138?profile=original" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p id="yui_3_17_2_1_1460659882487_527">Thanks for reading and special thanks to Joe for sharing his adventures in Peru with me! I’d highly encourage anyone reading this to follow along his journey. He post some great <strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/elevatedendeavors">content</a></strong>, takes beautiful <strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/elevatedendeavors/">photos</a> </strong>and who knows he might inspire you to do something crazy like book a flight to a destination off your bucket list! Has anyone else traveled to another country to meet up with a new friend? I'd love to hear your thoughts so feel free to comment. </p>
<p class="text-align-center" style="text-align: center;"><span>"Feeling less doubtful, even more adventurous, and inspired for my next endeavor"</span></p>
<p class="text-align-center" style="text-align: center;">Bates</p>
<p><span>PS: I almost forgot, he’s been on the road now for the past 3 months and made this </span><strong><a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/6YFY-ohT-D4"><span>epic video</span></a></strong><span><strong> </strong>capturing his journey thus far...check it out below! </span><span>Also below are a couple of videos I put together of some of our </span><strong><a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/Qqf7XjI0Lr4"><span>Adventures in Peru</span></a></strong><span><strong> </strong>and our </span><span><strong><a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/NaFo6SMqVig">4 Day Trek to Machu Picchu</a></strong>...seriously it was unreal! </span><span>I’d recommend watching my videos first, then viewing his since clearly he’s the professional here. Enjoy! </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span><span>Thanks for reading! View the original post here: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/SparkSeries4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/SparkSeries4</a></span></p>
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<p></p>Cut, Color, Create, and Inspiretag:recruitingblogs.com,2015-10-14:502551:BlogPost:19209162015-10-14T18:30:00.000ZChristina M. Bateshttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/ChristinaMBates
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571210?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571210?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="240"></img></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://instagram.com/ceeen/" target="_blank"><strong>Cena Jordan</strong></a><strong> – Hairstylist | Educator | Giver | Adventure Seeker</strong></p>
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<p><span>Up next in my </span><a href="http://www.simplythebates.com/spark-series/" target="_blank"><span>Spark…</span></a></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571210?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="240" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571210?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="240" class="align-left"/></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" href="https://instagram.com/ceeen/"><strong>Cena Jordan</strong></a><strong> – Hairstylist | Educator | Giver | Adventure Seeker</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p><span>Up next in my </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.simplythebates.com/spark-series/"><span>Spark Series</span></a><span> is the beautiful and talented Mrs. Cena Jordan. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Cena since high school, we both used to go to Centennial together then I transferred to Shadow Ridge and through mutual friends we reconnected again while I was in college. Cena is not only my hairdresser but a great friend of mine. She’s been doing my hair since she started her career many years ago. So I was super excited to meet with her at </span><span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/publicus-las-vegas?ytprail=1">PublicUs</a> </span><span>over a yummy shaken almond latte!</span></p>
<ol>
<li><strong>How did you get into your profession?</strong><ul>
<li><span>When I was in high school my girlfriends would ask to come over to my house to help me style their hair before school. As I got older I would always look at other people’s hairstyles but I didn’t really know I had it in me. Then, when I was about 16 or 17 years old my mom had asked me to put highlights in her hair. I had no idea what I was doing but it worked and in that moment my passion was born. </span></li>
</ul>
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<li><strong>What inspires you?</strong><ul>
<li><span>Everyday life. I feel like I have a creative mind. For example, I look at a plant and just the color and shape sparks something in my mind. I’m also really into fashion. I’ll find myself browsing through fashion magazines to get inspiration. I love to travel so another thing that helps me think outside the box is looking at different hairstyles from different countries.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><strong>What are some of your biggest challenges?</strong><ul>
<li><span>I’m always looking for ways to challenge myself in general. You know that feeling you get when you’re about to dive into something and you have no idea where to begin? I love that feeling and that’s one of the many reasons I love my job! I take a lot of pride in my work so if I don’t know something I want to learn how to do it. Which is why I’m addicted to taking and teaching classes. This is something I’m very passionate about. I feel like you stop being successful when you stop learning. </span><strong>In life, when people don’t want to learn more about a person or what they are doing, how can you get greater at what you do?</strong><span> People should always want to be better. This is why I became an educator at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.teaserocks.com/"><span>Tease Boutique Salon</span></a><span>. The second class I ever taught, only three out of the twenty four stylist showed up. I felt so deflated I went to the bathroom and cried. I just don’t understand why people don’t want to learn.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><strong>What are you most proud of?</strong><ul>
<li><span>I never really realized how rough I had it growing up until recently. It was rough for me in high school, I’m surprised I didn’t fall off the bandwagon since alcoholism and bad health runs in my family. I’ve always lacked confidence and can be super sensitive. I think my mom did a good job being a single mother and raising me but I had to learn to be an adult on my own. So I’m really proud of having my head on straight. I’m not quite sure where it came from but I’m a go-getter. I’m always trying to look for something bigger and better in my career and overall in my life. It’s not easy getting into the hair industry and starting a clientele from scratch. One of my </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/"><span>Love Languages</span></a><span> is “</span><strong>Words of Affirmation</strong><span>”. So when I read my reviews from my clients and they say I make them feel like I’m their best friend, it puts a huge smile on my face. I’ve always wanted to naturally compliment people and I can do so now in my career. Overall, I feel so lucky and proud of who I’ve become in general and growing my business as a hairdresser.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>What makes you different from any other hair stylist?</strong><ul>
<li><span>I just feel super lucky! I know I’m not perfect and I know there’s better hair stylist out there. For me, personality is big thing. </span><strong>You can be super great at something, but if you don’t know how to connect with people they won’t come back to you. </strong><span> Again, I’m always looking for ways to improve myself through education and training. One way I think I separate myself from other hair stylists is that every time someone sits in my chair, I give him or her a consultation. I ask them what they like or don’t like currently. I have a ton of clients who get the same thing every time but I still ask them, “what are they not liking about their hair?” So many other hair stylists will already have their product mixed up before they walk in the door. I love giving my clients an opportunity to try something new if they want to.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>I imagine you work crazy hours, how do you manage your time?</strong><ul>
<li><span>Honestly, I don’t even know. My grandmother calls me an energizer bunny! I hadn’t sat down on my couch in eight days and when I finally did I noticed it felt really great to just relax for a second. I just feel really lucky to be busy. I won’t decline my clients but I always make an effort to be where someone has invited me, whether it be a friends gathering or a class. There are days when I go home and say “I need a break”. But I feel fortunate to be able to travel because those are my breaks and that’s how I find inspiration for my work. (Side note: Cena just returned from Europe, check out her amazing photos </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/cena.miranda/media_set?set=a.10156020484835562.1073741843.566910561&type=3"><span>here</span></a><span>)</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><strong>When are you the most happiest?</strong><ul>
<li><span>Reading my </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.genbook.com/bookings/slot/reservation/30209563/reviews/?bookingSourceId=1000"><span>reviews</span></a><span> from work make me super happy. I feed off when others compliment me. I used to be super hard on myself when I didn’t receive great feedback but now I’m more comfortable in my own skin and all of my flaws. You can find me cracking jokes at work all the time. I truly am happy at work. I’m also most happy when I’m learning something hands on and I feel like I’m starting to get it. </span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>What do you love most about your career?</strong><ul>
<li><span>The variety and the ability to be creative! I get to do something different everyday. Because I offer all of my clients a consultation, it’s always a surprise coming to work. Sometimes I don’t even know who I have on the schedule so I get super excited. It’s a hands on job and can be exhausting but I love to catch up with my clients and hear about their lives. I’m the best secret keeper :-) </span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>What’s your biggest mistake?</strong><ul>
<li><span>One time I had a client who was originally blonde and had asked me to color her hair brown, so I did. Then she came back to me and asked for a pastel purple. I knew this color was going to be hard to get out and I even warned her but she really wanted to try it out so we colored her hair pastel purple. Eventually she was over the purple and wanted to go back to her original blonde color. As I suspected, it was very difficult to get the purple out and we ended up with a minty green color, which didn’t look half that bad. She rocked it for a couple more weeks and then returned to see me. Ultimately, we were able to get her hair back to her original blonde color. I have no idea how we came across that in between color but sometimes things like that are out of your control.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>If you could give advice to someone who is trying to find their passion, what would you say?</strong><ul>
<li><span>Never stop learning! When you do, you stop being good. You’re cutting yourself off. I’m always looking up to people and constantly trying to find someone new to learn from. </span><strong>Find yourself a mentor. </strong><span> Also, never be afraid to express who you are, your feelings, and what you want in life. I hate when people are so prideful, it’s okay to be comfortable in your own skin and to be open about it. </span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>What are your future goals?</strong><ul>
<li><span>My three year plan - I’m working on a business plan to open up my own salon one day. More than anything I want to create a cool environment. Something classy and a comfortable place to work. I love where I work now but I’m ready for that next step in my life. I still want to be a full time hair dresser while running my own shop. I’m truly passionate about this and can’t wait to see what comes of it!</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<p><span>In closing, here are a few things that were “sparked” after meeting with Cena:</span></p>
<p><span><span>1. </span><strong><a target="_blank" href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/">“The 5 Love Languages”</a></strong><span> </span><strong>by Gary Chapman</strong><span> - I highly recommend checking out this book. It will not only teach you your love language, in addition, it’ll show you how to effectively and consistently make others feel truly loved. In chatting with Cena we discovered her love language is definitely “Words of Affirmation”. She loves receiving compliments and in return she loves complimenting others. What’s your love language?</span></span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571362?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571362?profile=original" width="137" height="204" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span>2. </span><strong>A little bit of humility goes a long way</strong><span> - Cena has to be one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. The whole time chatting with her she was just so grateful for everything she currently has and has accomplished. Yet, she didn’t boast about it and constantly seeks improvement. Sometimes we all need that little reminder to not compare ourselves to others and be grateful for everything we do have. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571481?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571481?profile=original" width="148" height="207"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span>3. </span><strong>Never stop learning</strong><span> - There’s just so much out there to learn and explore to further improve ourselves and others. Absorb everything you can in this lifetime and don’t be selfish, give back and teach others. Cena said it best, “You stop being successful when you stop learning.” Get out there and learn something new!</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571535?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571535?profile=original" width="161" height="242"/></a></p>
<p><span>Special thanks to Cena! Thanks for always making me feel beautiful inside and out (picture below of her latest work on me). You truly are an amazing person and I can’t wait to get my hair done in your new salon one day! </span></p>
<p class="text-align-center" style="text-align: center;"><br/> <span>“Feeling grateful to have such amazing people in my life, also loving my new “Marsala Balayage” hair color for the Fall!” - Bates</span></p>
<p class="text-align-center" style="text-align: center;"><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571642?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557571642?profile=original" width="257" height="257"/></a></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading! View the original post here: <a href="http://bit.ly/SparkSeries3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/SparkSeries3</a><span> </span></p>Embrace your mistakes and keep chasing your dreamstag:recruitingblogs.com,2015-07-27:502551:BlogPost:19070602015-07-27T17:30:00.000ZChristina M. Bateshttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/ChristinaMBates
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567220?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567220?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300"></img></a></p>
<h3 class="center" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Eric Vozzola</strong> – Vegas Native, Graphic Designer, Urban Artist</h3>
<p></p>
<p class="left">Next up in my Spark Series is the very talented Mr.<a href="http://www.ericvozzola.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Eric Vozzola</a>. Eric, like myself, was born and raised here in Las Vegas, NV. I met Eric in…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567220?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567220?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"/></a></p>
<h3 class="center" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Eric Vozzola</strong> – Vegas Native, Graphic Designer, Urban Artist</h3>
<p></p>
<p class="left">Next up in my Spark Series is the very talented Mr.<a href="http://www.ericvozzola.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Eric Vozzola</a>. Eric, like myself, was born and raised here in Las Vegas, NV. I met Eric in college, where we connected in Greek Life at UNLV (shout out to Greek life where a majority of my network comes from).</p>
<p>I had the opportunity recently to meet up with Eric over a cup of coffee and learn about his remarkable journey. I asked him: “At what point did you discover you wanted to get into art?” Eric told me that he loved to draw as a child; however, when he hit middle school it was kind of frowned upon and seen as the “uncool” thing to do. <strong>So he suppressed his love for drawing for a while.</strong> It wasn’t until one night in college when he was hanging out with a few of his best friends and they all began to draw that they discovered how talented Eric was. One friend said “wow, you can draw! You should take an art class in college.” Eric took them up on their advice and enrolled into an art class. After excelling in it, the following semester he submerged himself into art. It was at that moment that he realized, <strong>“Yes, I need to keep doing this. This is who I am.” </strong>He then went on to graduate with his BFA in Graphic Design and Studio Art.</p>
<p>Right out of college Eric landed an internship with a small design agency, called Carvalho Creative, based out of Emergency Arts, which is where he continued to master and fall in love with graphic design because of the clean and impactful end result. However he wanted to figure out a bridge between graphic design and fine art. After about a year and a half he was laid off from that small design agency so he began to freelance for a few months. Shortly after, Eric came across his current job as a graphic designer at The Venetian. He loves the stability of his current job and still being able to freelance on the side with painting and art.</p>
<p>Eric enjoys finding inspiration out of everything and immersing himself in art and design. One thing that has always fascinated him was he wanted to figure out how to paint large scale in a local environment. So he began doing some research and started to look into some of his favorite artists. It was about the time when music festivals were taking off that he took on his first public art opportunity downtown, and was commissioned to paint <a href="https://www.facebook.com/urbanityapts" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">apartment complexes</a>. For Eric, street art and urban art began to flow organically because of the parallels to graphic design. <strong>He suddenly found that bridge he had been looking for.</strong></p>
<p>From that day forward he started to volunteer his time and connected with more people. Eric has put on local<a href="http://lasvegasweekly.com/ae/fine-art/2014/jan/08/eric-vozzolas-real-life-illustrates-everyday-absur/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> art shows</a> on his own, been involved in bigger art events such as Guerrilla Kage at Vegas's First Friday, and livened up the community by painting planter boxes,<a href="http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/Depts/parks/Services/Pages/zap7-maryland-vozzola.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> power boxes</a>, and an amazing<a href="http://www.ericvozzola.com/#/butterflyeffected/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> butterfly display</a> at the Springs Preserve, just to name a few.</p>
<p>Eric is a very hard worker and has some exciting upcoming projects lined up. He was actually just announced to paint a mural in our very own local festival,<a href="http://lifeisbeautiful.com/artists/eric-vozzola/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Life Is Beautiful</a>. This is a huge accomplishment for Eric and I couldn’t be more excited for him. Ever since Life Is Beautiful started in Las Vegas, about three years ago, he had tried getting his foot in the door to be a featured artist. He started by making posters for the festivals as a passion project and he got a huge response for them. A lot of his friends were buying them from him. Even though he didn’t get in as an artist the first couple years of the festival, Eric never gave up. Just this past month he submitted a big proposal to Life Is Beautiful and now he is painting a mural for them!! His persistency and hard work paid off, way to go Eric!</p>
<p>In addition, this October he’s painting a whole <a href="http://www.paintthisdesert.com/field-notes/mural-rfp" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">building</a> down by the Neon Museum. Check out the<a href="http://www.paintthisdesert.com/uploads/2/4/9/4/24943470/cultural_corridor_mural_project_rfp_ukelele_lounge.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> RFP</a> on this project to give you a better idea of what it entails. This will easily be the biggest project he’s ever done. He will have to direct a team of volunteers to help paint it and they’re planning on using it as a landmark. How freaking cool is that?</p>
<p>Lastly, through the city he applied to the Winchester Gallery, which is a big gallery for local artist. They accepted his application and he has another solo show set for July 2016!</p>
<p>Eric’s work is very unique. He uses found objects, things that may be thought of as trash and paints beautiful images on it. It truly speaks to urban art. When I asked him “where do you get your inspiration from?” He replied from traveling. He said he’s obsessed with nature, the sky, and the natural world. <strong>Eric allows himself to be inspired by anything around him and he keeps an open mind.</strong></p>
<p>In closing, here are a few things that were sparked after meeting with Eric:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>“Be a volunteer”</strong> – Everywhere you read there are certain keys to happiness. Eric is a true believer that giving back to your community is a big source of happiness. He found that sharing opportunities and getting people involved where he may not have had the same chance is what’s most fulfilling to him. By being selfless and helping the community, he knows it will not only bring awareness but grow the art community as a whole. Which, for him, is like paying it forward.</li>
<li><strong>“Work smarter not harder” – </strong>I asked Eric, “How do you balance it all?” He replied, “I make a lot of lists and focus on time management to help organize my day. Having strict deadlines help keep me structured.” Eric also mentioned that sometimes things fall through the cracks and he always feels way overwhelmed. So he takes it upon himself to work smarter not harder. For example: Eric has to transport a lot of paint supplies, when working publicly, which can be challenging. In order to do this task efficiently he breaks down the process into smaller steps and figures out how long each step is going to take him. Then he plans accordingly. While he’s working on his craft, he’s always figuring out how to be more efficient.</li>
<li><strong>“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”</strong> – Eric has been to a couple design conferences and all of his favorite speakers say the same thing “Just do it.” If you have a passion project, keep working at it. It’s okay to have your 9-5 job then have a passion project on the side. If you’re lucky your passion project will take over your 9-5.</li>
<li><strong>“Embrace your mistakes and don’t give up”</strong> – This is definitely one of my favorite pieces of advice and I feel a lot of us can relate to it, especially artists. Eric told me that numerous times he made a mistake in his artwork but the end result made something even more beautiful. He said “At the end of the day you’re the only one who knows you made a mistake, the general audience will glaze over it. And sometimes something you may think was a big mistake turns out to be the most popular thing to your audience. So learn to love your mistakes and keep following your dreams.”</li>
</ol>
<p>Special thank you to Eric for letting me write this piece on him. When I first sat down with him I had told him that I’m probably the least creative person I know. However, after our conversation he really inspired me and reassured me that everyone is creative you just have to start somewhere.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">“Feeling artistic, I think I’m going to give this whole drawing thing a go” - Bates</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading! View the original post here: <a href="http://bit.ly/sparkseries2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/sparkseries2</a> </p>
<p></p>Ask WHY not HOWtag:recruitingblogs.com,2015-07-26:502551:BlogPost:19070582015-07-26T17:30:00.000ZChristina M. Bateshttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/ChristinaMBates
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557566901?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557566901?profile=original" width="400"></img></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Jose Rangel</strong><span> – Founder of</span><a href="http://www.pawsandbootcamp.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Paws & Bootcamp</a><span>, Fitness Fanatic, Extreme Dog Lover</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p>I’m super excited to be writing my first <strong>“Spark Series”</strong> post! Just as a reminder,…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557566901?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557566901?profile=original" width="400" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Jose Rangel</strong><span> – Founder of</span><a href="http://www.pawsandbootcamp.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Paws & Bootcamp</a><span>, Fitness Fanatic, Extreme Dog Lover</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p>I’m super excited to be writing my first <strong>“Spark Series”</strong> post! Just as a reminder, my spark series is all about me going out and talking to my network of friends and acquaintances. Simply getting to know them better and learning about their current journey and, in doing so, I’m hoping they will either “spark” something in me or possibly their words will inspire others. This isn’t a new concept, I originally stumbled upon it on from this<a href="http://www.fiftycoffees.com/the-project/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> website</a> so I thought why not give it a try. </p>
<p>When I initially decided I was going to do this, the first person that came to mind was one of my long time college friends, Jose. Jose and I go back to my sophomore year in college where we met through Greek life. I recently reached out to him to explain what I was doing and, of course, he was more than willing to share his story. He even said, “No need to send it to me to proofread, I trust you.” Good thing I didn’t write about that one time we dressed up in all white and brought silly string to a party! Insert throwback photo because we thought we were so cool.</p>
<p><img class="center align-center" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_800_800/AAEAAQAAAAAAAANIAAAAJDA1OWVlM2QzLWMwNjktNDIzNy1iODUxLWZmMGY1ZmYyNDRkYw.jpg" alt="" width="290" height="387"/></p>
<p>No but in all seriousness, we reunited last week at Lyfe Kitchen and proceeded to quite literally catch up on life. Instantly, I was reminded of why we were friends in the first place. Jose has such a kind heart, he’s funny and he creates an analogy for every situation, seriously they’re awesome and he’s awesome. For example, he compared starting your own business to logs in a fire. When you barely have any logs it’s really hard to get the fire started, you begin to doubt yourself a lot. But a fire surrounded by many logs will eventually become a strong fire and will be much more difficult to stop. </p>
<p>Ever since Jose can remember he's always had an infatuation for playing sports. He isn’t drawn to any specific sport, he loves to play them all. He told me his love for playing sports was one of the main reasons he joined a fraternity. It was about two years into college where he found his passion for fitness. However, he didn’t want to be a trainer because he wasn’t crazy about watching people work out and he wanted to really feel like he was making a difference. </p>
<p>Then, his whole world changed when he rescued a dog named Kodiak. Naturally over time he became a dog person. Just knowing what Kodiak endured before he rescued him, thinking to himself that there are millions of dogs going through the same conditions or way worse made him feel compelled to do something. So he combined his two passions (fitness and dogs) and just like that Paws & Bootcamp was born!</p>
<p>Last April he quit his full time job at Trader Joes to pursue his own business. He admits he slacked off the first few months because he lacked the drive. He said it was very hard at the beginning because no one knew about his business and he didn’t know exactly how he was going to build it. He said <strong>"In today’s society sadly you don’t call your friends anymore, you just happen to see their check-in on Facebook…it’s the new word of mouth."</strong> For him something was missing. So he began to learn more about marketing and social media and started to surround himself with like-minded people, for example, earlier this year he went to a fitness summit in San Diego. He said it was so motivating to see people who were once doing far worse than he was in their business and now they are killing it. That was when he discovered he needed to know “why he wanted to do something” not how he was going to do it. </p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;"><strong>“Once you know your why, everything else falls into place.”</strong></p>
<p>Today he has over 20 clients and his business is continuing to see a steady growth. The way Paws and Bootcamp works is the owners perform various calisthenic exercises while their dogs complete various agility obstacles. Each session is 30 minutes long so he said to expect an intense workout without breaks! Jose focuses on fitness first by offering a fit test every month for all of his clients. Once they start to see some progression then he’ll introduce making changes to their diet. He truly believes that you have to<strong>“change your mind first before you can change your body.” </strong> He invests a lot of his personal time with his clients. Seriously, he even sends them friendly reminder texts/calls to hold them accountable. He said once they know “why” they want to change then he can truly help them. Again, “start with why” (I’m beginning to see a trend here).</p>
<p>Lastly, and this part is my favorite, he has all of his clients <strong>“check-in for a cause”</strong>. Basically after every work out, they check-in and share the post on social media. At the end of the month he totals all of his client’s check-ins and then matches $1 to every check-in. He then donates the proceeds to a local charity. His clients feel compelled to check-in because they know they are also contributing to a greater cause, plus as he already mentioned, this is great and free advertising. Just this month, Jose was able to donate several collars and leashes to<a href="http://www.incredabull.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Incred-A-Bull</a>, a non-profit organization who’s fighting against breed discrimination through education, advocacy and low cost services.</p>
<p>In closing, here are a few things that were sparked after meeting with Jose:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/1591846447" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">“Start with Why”</a> by Simon Sinek</strong> - Jose did not recommend this book (I’m not even sure if he’s heard of it) but I personally felt this message throughout our conversation. Join me and add it to your reading list!</li>
<li><strong>“Hustle should come from the heart not from necessity. Trust in the hustle.” </strong>- When I asked Jose to tell me about his current struggle he said: “The struggle will always be to get more clients.” However he doesn’t consider it as a struggle more as a part in the process (always looking at the positive). He used the analogy of a snowball effect. The start is always the hardest part. That’s when you find yourself second guessing. But you have to realize that everyone is going through that or has gone through that at some point. “We should trust in the hustle.” If you put in hard work, it will eventually repay and you’ll have one of the largest snowballs on the block. Haha!</li>
<li><strong>“Most important thing to do: Set a deadline and have specific goals!”</strong> - He said being an entrepreneur is tough but this was one of the most important pieces of advice he would give. Whenever he needed to complete a project, he would tell himself that he has until this specific date to get it done and it motivated him to essentially #GSD.</li>
<li><strong>“Be a giver. It’s contagious.”</strong> - “Basically you have two options: A) Give and don’t keep a tally OR B) Don’t waste your time giving. If you’re giving constantly you’re never worrying about when you’re going to receive”. I then asked him “how do you just begin to give without expectations?” He said one day he literally just decided. <strong>“A lot of changes in life are decisions. The more you think about when will I get my piece of the cake is when the cake won’t taste good anymore.”</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>Jose thanks for letting me write this piece and for being an inspiring friend. Keep kicking ass and thanks again for your insights! </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">“Feeling refreshed and motivated, going to take Benson out for a walk now” - Bates</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading! View the original post here: <a href="http://bit.ly/AskWHYnotHow" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/AskWHYnotHow</a> </p>I fired my job, now what?tag:recruitingblogs.com,2015-07-25:502551:BlogPost:19071382015-07-25T17:39:15.000ZChristina M. Bateshttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/ChristinaMBates
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567643?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567643?profile=original" width="360"></img></a></p>
<p>Why is it that when you go against the grain you experience a greater level of scrutiny? I’m a true believer in the theory that if you’re unhappy you should definitely shake things up a bit which is why, in late March, I decided to fire my job. It’s funny, when I first contemplated leaving my job I asked some of my closest friends for their advice. Sure enough 4 out…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567643?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557567643?profile=original" width="360" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Why is it that when you go against the grain you experience a greater level of scrutiny? I’m a true believer in the theory that if you’re unhappy you should definitely shake things up a bit which is why, in late March, I decided to fire my job. It’s funny, when I first contemplated leaving my job I asked some of my closest friends for their advice. Sure enough 4 out of 5 of them said, “Don’t quit unless you have a new job coming your way.” The one friend, who I truly admire, said “do it, make the move.” And I’m so glad I did.</p>
<p>When I posted my last article<a href="http://bit.ly/FiringZappos" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> “Why I fired my job at Zappos.com?”</a> I knew I was going to get a ton of feedback because it’s a bit of a contentious topic; however, what I didn’t predict was how much positive feedback I would receive. People from all around the world left comments and sent me private messages. I couldn’t believe how many people could relate to my current situation. What really touched me was when I received a message from a gentleman who lives in India. He mentioned how he just recently left his job and how we live in different societies. In India there is a high pressure on males to earn a lot of money so it is considered extremely foolish to leave your high paying job just because you don’t like it. His attitude was, <strong><em>“Life’s too short to stick to something you don’t like anymore.”</em> </strong>I couldn’t agree with him more!</p>
<p>I think a lot of us are driven by our fears. The fear of what others will think of us or what if we fail? I know for myself I still struggle with this on a daily basis. I seriously have to remind myself to enjoy this moment and trust that it will all work out. Whether you’re currently unhappy at your job or you just got laid off, look at it as an opportunity to change, to grow, to become who you never thought you could be. Don’t be scared just because you’re afraid of the outcome or because you don’t have it all planned out. I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t have another job lined up, and I didn’t even know what I was going to do the next day. <strong>It was a bizarre feeling… liberating, but kind of scary.</strong> The first few weeks felt like I was on vacation, I spent some time traveling to visit friends and family. Then, when I returned back home, the uneasiness of #FUNemployment started to set in. I felt lost and had no idea where to begin. So I decided to work on myself. I began a daily routine of working out, eating healthier and dabbling into new and old hobbies. I joined a gym, returned to bikram yoga, googled new recipes, cooked the new recipes, read several different books and blogs, launched my own blog, volunteered at some wine events, met some new friends and challenged myself every day to try something new.</p>
<p><img class="center align-center" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_800_800/AAEAAQAAAAAAAANJAAAAJDE1N2ZiODQ0LTAxMmYtNGI4MC1hYWUwLWNmNmVlNGI0NDk5NQ.jpg" alt="" width="338" height="507"/></p>
<p>The journey hasn’t been easy but, trust me when I say, it’s been well worth it. I’ve had my fair share of good days and rough days. Some days I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to, other days I just want to lay in bed all day and watch Netflix. But what helps me get through it all is day by day I’m seeing myself change for the better. <strong>Small improvements here and there motivate me to keep moving forward, keep my head up, and trust in the journey.</strong> I think everyone needs a fight song. Until you find yours, you can borrow mine. When I’m feeling any doubt or anxiety I just turn up this<a href="https://youtu.be/xo1VInw-SKc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> jam</a>. Soon I realize that small voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough, it’s not true, all you have to do is make a decision to believe in yourself and change your mindset.</p>
<p>Fast forward to today, I can honestly say that I’ve seen a drastic change in myself. Not only am I a happier person to be around, I’ve lost a total of 7 lbs. and have been able to maintain it. In addition, I’m pleased to report I’m migraine-free. <strong>You might be wondering, how can I remain unemployed?</strong> I understand this isn’t a possibility for some folks but while I was working at Zappos I was also saving some money on the side as an emergency fund. Don’t worry, I’m being very diligent with my spending as I don’t want to deplete all of my savings. Also, I have an amazing support system of friends and family who are always there to listen and lend a shoulder to lean on. </p>
<p><strong>So where do I go from here?</strong> Well, I’ve started this blog to hold me accountable on my next actions and to help guide me to my next adventure. I’ll be starting my “Spark Series” soon, which is an idea I got from this awesome website that I stumbled upon by a girl named <a href="http://www.fiftycoffees.com/the-project/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Lindsay Ratowsky</a>. She's kind of in the same situation I'm in and she's using her network of friends and mentors to gather advice and share perspectives to help define the next chapter of her life. She got the idea from a blogger named<a href="http://www.52cups.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Megan Gebhart</a> who wrote a<a href="http://www.amazon.com/52-Cups-Coffee-Megan-Gebhart/dp/150060206X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408417796&sr=8-1&keywords=52%20cups%20of%20coffee&tag=vglnkc5869-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> book</a> about it. I love this concept and I definitely think I have some inspiring people around me. In doing so, I’m hoping they will spark something in me or maybe I can inspire someone else. Thanks for following me along this journey of self-discovery and stay tuned for more updates!</p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;">Onward and Upward,</p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;">Bates</p>
<p>PS: I just came across this article <a href="http://elitedaily.com/life/bottom-of-the-food-chain/1056028/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">“Why I’m Setting Myself Back In My Career In Favor Of A Happier Life”</a>. I definitely feel like I can relate to it and I would encourage you to check it out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;"><span>Thanks for reading! View the original post here: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/firedmyjobnowwhat" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/firedmyjobnowwhat</a> </p>
<p><img class="center align-center" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_800_800/AAEAAQAAAAAAAALdAAAAJDkzMTVlNmY5LTgwYWUtNDVhMi1hNDk4LWUwYWJhNDIxNWZlOA.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="464"/></p>Why I fired my job at Zappos.comtag:recruitingblogs.com,2015-06-10:502551:BlogPost:18940972015-06-10T15:30:00.000ZChristina M. Bateshttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/ChristinaMBates
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557559480?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557559480?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300"></img></a> I remember it like it was yesterday. The whole process lasted about three months, which included several different interviews, tests and onsite visits when I finally received the call I had anxiously been waiting for. I had just accepted my offer at Zappos.com as a customer loyalty representative. Zappos.com had been listed as the #6 company on the…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557559480?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557559480?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>I remember it like it was yesterday. The whole process lasted about three months, which included several different interviews, tests and onsite visits when I finally received the call I had anxiously been waiting for. I had just accepted my offer at Zappos.com as a customer loyalty representative. Zappos.com had been listed as the #6 company on the<strong style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2011/snapshots/6.html" target="_blank"> “Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For”</a></strong><span style="text-align: center;"> list. I was elated!</span></p>
<p>I began my journey like almost every other Zapponian and started my first day in our four week new hire training class. From that moment on, I instantly became enamored with my new job. Reflecting on it now, it wasn’t the job itself that made me happy, it was the people at the job that made me happy. From new hire graduation, to being introduced to some of my current best friends, to random office shenanigans, to personally growing from a call center representative to a full time recruiter, to attending various All Hands Meetings, to winning corporate challenge, to staying up late to put the summer interns' swag together, to traveling to different colleges, to birthday celebrations…etc. (literally the list could go on & on). My point is that none of that would have been what it was without the people.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557559784?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557559784?profile=original" width="523" class="align-center" height="348"/></a><span>(Yes, that’s me in the pink cupcake costume on stage!)</span></p>
<p>Like any other business or aspect in life, things change over time. One of the constant questions we had to ask ourselves as a company was: <strong>“How do we scale our company culture as we continue to grow?”</strong></p>
<p>In the three and a half years I had been a part of the company I had seen tremendous growth and change. To be honest, I think it all really started changing for me when we moved into our downtown office. I felt something about the new design that actually pulled us further apart. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I seldom saw office parades anymore. I believe where it really began to change though was when<a href="http://www.holacracy.org/" target="_blank"> Holacracy</a> was introduced to the company. It was first piloted with the HR group, which I was a part of, and then after a few short months our CEO Tony Hsieh decided to run with it and take it company-wide; however, what we started to notice was that not the entire company was on board and utilizing it. <strong>So, in essence, we were kind of living a double life.</strong> I slowly began to see what made me so excited to come to work (again, the people) begin to change. A company that was once so driven by its<a href="http://about.zappos.com/jobs/why-work-zappos/core-values" target="_blank"> 10 core values</a> was starting to drift further away from them. Instead of having that team & family spirit, I began to see co-workers become more siloed and very protective of their work. No longer did people say, "Hey let me help you with that!" Instead "Sorry that’s not my accountability" became the norm.</p>
<p>Things then began to go faster and more new projects or “innovations” were being mandated/tested at our company. We introduced a huge tech migration which internally we referred to as “Supercloud”. I could definitely see the long term benefits of this massive migration but in the interim it bogged down a lot of our tech folks which made their work less exciting. We also introduced a pilot system in our call center that we called<a href="http://fortune.com/2015/01/28/zappos-employee-pay/" target="_blank"> Open Market</a>: an online scheduling platform which allowed our call center reps to set discretionary hours and be compensated based on an Uber-esque surge-pricing payment model.</p>
<p>In addition to the above, a lot of employees were leaving Zappos, from newer employees, to more tenure employees, to senior level employees. <strong>Just on my team alone, the recruiting team, we had lost more than half of our team in the course of a year.</strong> We took a hit, as I’m sure many other teams across various departments did as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557562952?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557562952?profile=original" width="529" height="395"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span>(Zappos Recruiting back in the day)</span></p>
<p><span><span>In my last few months at Zappos, I began to really question my job. The work was non-stop so of course I would come home with it. I felt the weight of my job was negatively impacting my lifestyle. I began developing constant migraines and was literally making myself sick to my stomach. As a recruiter, you speak to several prospective candidates who are interested in working at Zappos. Without a doubt, they’d all ask me the same question “What’s your favorite thing about working at Zappos?” When I found myself having a difficult time answering that question honestly, I knew it was time for a change. I considered transferring to a different team or department but ultimately, I needed to answer the question: <strong>“Was Zappos where I wanted to be?”</strong></span></span></p>
<p>After doing a bit of soul-searching and chatting with several different employees, I finally made up my mind. Zappos was not heading in a direction that aligned with my direction, so I fired my job. I’ll be honest; this was not something easy to do. But not for a second do I regret my decision. Yes, even after they released this <a href="http://qz.com/370616/internal-memo-zappos-is-offering-severance-to-employees-who-arent-all-in-with-holacracy/" target="_blank">article</a> days after I quit. The Zappos Family will forever be in my heart and I am so very thankful for everything they’ve given to me over the past three and a half years. I learned so much and met so many great people and I will forever cherish my memories there. However, I've decided it's time for me to move on. Which is one of the many reasons I started this <a href="http://www.simplythebates.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blog</a>. <strong> I think a lot of times we let the fear of the unknown or what people will think of us get in the way of what we truly want in life</strong>. People may think I gave up but I don’t look at it as quitting or giving up, I look at it as simply letting go. So with that, cheers to new adventures!</p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;">Much love,</p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;">Bates</p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading! View the original post here: <a href="http://bit.ly/FiringZappos" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/FiringZappos</a> </p>
<p class="center" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557566264?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1557566264?profile=original" width="272" height="381"/></a></p>
<p><em>Disclaimer: The entire contents of this blog post are based upon the opinions of Christina, aka <a href="http://www.simplythebates.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">simplythebates</a>, unless otherwise noted.</em></p>
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