Samantha Jacobey's Blog, page 9

Reflecting Upon the Past

I woke up early again today – just before 4 am. I have been sick, and still not really feeling myself. Unsure of what I wanted to write about today, I just scrolled through my blog and read my posts, reflecting on what they said. Then, I realized what I want to say most today.

Reflection is something I don’t think we spend enough time doing in our busy world today. I know for myself, I do reflect about things, or obsess about events, but that worry over how things should have gone or what should have happened isn’t really reflection. It reminds me of JFK, where the “who and the what” are just for show, and keeps us from getting to the important part… the “why” of things.

True reflection is an honest evaluation of some event, why it was what it was. For example, when planning a lesson, a teacher goes through several stages, from gathering materials and planning, to implementing and instructing, and finally reflecting. That last piece is often left out, but is necessary if he or she is going to objectively look at the effectiveness of the lesson and carry that on to the next one.

So how does this apply to everyone else? Well, for starters, it reminds me so much of Dr. Phil, and his “and how’s that working out for you?” I have had a few people say this to me over the years, and to be honest it was a real eye opener. For example, it is far more effective than a lecture could ever be, as it requires self reflection and honesty from within. I have adopted it for myself, and try to use it when ever I can to get the people who are complaining about some aspect of their lives or some turn of events that seems to be recurrent in their lives to think about why this is actually happening rather than focusing on the events themselves.

There is that old saying, something about those who do not learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them. We can’t learn if we don’t take the time to reflect, and with so much activity going on around us, who has time for that? I guess that is one reason I have learned to be an early riser, normally getting up at 5 am and not waking anyone else in the house until 6 am. I do this so that I have that first full hour to be calm and gather my energy for the day. It also makes me see more clearly, having the quiet without interruptions to impede my train of thought.

Specifically, I am loving this blog. More than I thought that I would, and looking back at my first few posts I can see and am reminded of how unsure I was about putting so much out for other people to read. However, I am now grateful that those posts are out there, and that I can look back over this whole process and… reflect. I can now see why journals are so effective for people who are wanting to grow and change, and I definitely recommend doing some type of blogging or journaling to anyone and everyone pretty much. You never know what you are going to learn about yourself when you have it in writing to go back and read.

Where in the world is Tori Farrell?

Haha, couldn’t resist. And those of you who get the reference know what I am talking about…

Ok, so I have been working on promoting my book, trying to get ready for the second one to release etc. Speaking of which, I sent in the final paperwork this morning, so as soon as Life of Doubt clears the final content evaluation, it will go to press YIPEE!!! But I digress…

So, in the midst of all this heavy promoting business, I have been working with numerous blogs and reviews who are giving away copies of my first book, Life of Recovery. I have learned how to gift ebooks and have given away quite a few of those, but I also have been sending out paperback copies, signed mind you, as well.

I love giving things away, call it a weakness. So I honestly have been having a field day with this, and make a trip to the post office several times a week to mail out these books (I am working on my second set now). My son, my baby, the last one in the house, is eleven. He has been helping me out so to speak, little buddy that he is, and today we were mailing a book to Europe. He has been keeping track and knows that we have sent them to Ireland and Mexico as well. Of course this is an ADULT novel, so he has no idea what the book is about, but he knows that it is important to me, and therefore important to him as he is still mama’s boy.

Of course, being that young, he still does not have a strong grasp on world geography and where these places actually are on the globe, and so we hit upon a teachable moment. Those of you who are educators and parents know exactly what I am talking about – that moment when the desire to know something or some other crazy thing happens where a person just has an epiphany about some… thing. And I got this idea…

I love my fans and I love sending out these books to them, especially to these far away places. So, we are going to get a world map to hang on the wall here in the office – kind of like a situation room where someone is investigating a crime or tracking something globally, and mark all of the places that we mail one of my books. Isn’t that great? Well, we think that it is, and I know it is going to be special to both of us as we go through this fun and exciting process.

So, I have about 12 more books on my shelf that are set to be given away on blogs here in the next few weeks. If you keep an eye on the front page here, I have devoted that space to letting you guys know where the hot spots are for give-aways. And of course, I have another box of books coming in about 2 weeks and will be lining those up for give-aways as well. Your job will be to keep spreading the word about my stories and signing up to win so that my son and I can continue to play our little game and see just how far out into the world our favorite heroine will go.

BOOK BASH BABY!!!

 

Harmony Science Academy of West Houston

22400 Grand Corner Dr.

Katy, TX 77494

February 22, 2014 from 9 am to 6 pm

Me and a few dozen other authors will be there to meet and greet and sign our books!!!

I am SOOOOO excited right now, I couldn’t hold it any longer and had to make a post….

If you don’t already have a copy to bring, there will be copies of both books,

A New Life: Life of Recovery  AND Life of Doubt available in the bookstore.

This is down by Houston, and I am hoping to see lots of you there!!!

Here is the official blurb…

Harmony Science Academy of West Houston

22400 Grand Corner Dr.Katy, TX 77494




WHEN

February 22, 2014

9am – 6pm

A Special Treat for You… and Me

I have been working on so many things the last few weeks, and as it is Sunday, I decided to give myself a special treat. I love my books and the story they hold, and the thing that makes me the happiest is to share it.

In celebration of this, I prepared a special small excerpt from Book 1 – Life of Recovery.

It is a very simple portion, yet it gives a great deal of insight into Tori’s character, her upbringing, and her frame of mind, both in the past and for the present. Please give it a read and see what you think…

 

Home Sweet Home

 

Have a great day!!!

Big Weekend… at home

Sometimes I think I must be un-American. I hate shopping. Well, hate is a strong word. I like shopping, on certain occasions. I do not enjoy shopping when there are many other people shopping.

My sister-in-law does the black Friday thing every year. Fortunately, she has never asked me to go. I like being around people, I just want to maintain my own space, and pushing through crowds to get to the next item on my list is not the way to go. Besides the fact, it is annoying to plan on getting something, and then find that it is all sold out.

Over the years I have tried several methods to deal with this problem and still get all my shopping done. One particular year, during a stent at a retail department store, I bought Christmas all year long. Literally. I had the entire top of my closet stuffed with trash bags that hid everyone’s gifts. I bought things that were on sale, and had tons for everyone in the family by the time Christmas arrived. It was a blast handing all of it out.

There have also been years I went the opposite, waiting until the last minute and grabbing one small item for each person on my list in a midnight trip to wal-mart. I spent a lot less money that year for sure.

This year, I am not going to be doing a lot of shopping. Going to get a few gifts for the kids in the family and that is about it. Otherwise, I am spending all my time making new addys for my books. I have also been reading a few other authors works and posting some reviews, a nice switch I think.

The house is really quiet right now, which is also nice. No kids here this weekend, and I will be missing the noise soon, but for right now, I am really enjoying it.

New Catagory – About the World

So I woke up this morning with thoughts pouring out of my brain. I know, big shocker right? I realized that I have things that I want to talk about that are not really about me and they are not really about my book. I need a new category.

I am going to call this new category About the World, because I have little pieces I want to share that have to do with the world as a whole. For example, as a teacher, I have some thoughts and ideas about the world of education, and society as a whole, that I just need to get off my chest.

So let me share this little piece of new broader insight that I want to put out there. If you got something for free, does it really have value to you? I realize that if you won a prize, say a free car, that would have value. You could look it up and say it was worth how much ever the car would cost you.

Furthermore, you could sell the car and then you would have some monetary amount. That would have value. But what if you were given something you couldn’t see? Would it have value? Would you care whether or not you got it?

This is how I am seeing the classroom right now – full of students who are getting something for ‘free’. Of course it isn’t free. Education is very expensive in the big scheme of things. The problem is, it is free to the kids. It doesn’t cost them anything. The law says they have to go, they have to take it. The issue with that is, they don’t see any value in it, or at least many of them don’t.

Rather than go in wanting to learn what they can, a segment of the school population is just waiting to turn old enough to quit, or just getting by until they are done. So what are they doing while they wait? Buying and selling drugs, damaging school property, fighting and or harassing other students, giving teachers grief, sleeping, having sex on campus, you name it.

The point is, how do we give our kids the understanding of what value this time in their life really has? I know there are many issues feeding into this – MANY issues, and I will talk about some of them at a later time, no worries. For now I want to let this idea percolate for a bit… how do we give something we can’t see or touch value when it didn’t ‘cost’ us anything?

Finally… a Blurb Worth Sharing =)

I worked on this all day today – and with the help of a fellow author DAMIAN STEVENSON, this is what we came up with…

Book 1 – A New Life: Life of Recovery

The Dragons raised her to be strong. They taught her how to kill. They got more than they bargained for…

Now she is free, or so she thinks, but can she truly escape her brutal past, finding true love amidst the sex and intrigue?

Tori Farrell is on a mission to find her true identity, to break the ties to a dark underworld for good, and to save the people she cares about most – the family she has never known.

She wants a new life, but first she must lay to rest the demons of her past.

 

I made a poster for it too…

I really like this – it was a day well spent!!!

Blog Review – the First Word Is In!!!

I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself. My first blogged review is UP!!!    http://msme28reviews.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-new-life-life-of-recovery-by.html is the link, and it is 4 stars WOOT!!!

I realize many people would be disappointed at not getting 5 on their first try, but getting 4 on my the first blog review for my first novel ever just makes me so ecstatic – especially when I will be the first to tell you, Book 1 – Life of Recovery is not the best one in the series.

I think it is good, don’t get me wrong, but  as it is dark and full of background information, almost like a prequel to the rest of the set. And I know they get better as they go…

Now I cannot wait to see what others have to say about this book, as well as the ones that will be following. Thank you so much Myra for reading and posting this for me, I know being the first on something like this is tough, as there are so many authors out there now, all wanting to get their books read and reviewed, and I truly appreciate your time.

I realize this may qualify as the worst blog post ever, but I have to go now… I need a tissue…

Much love,

Sam

Working for a Living… confessions of a hit and run employee

I am keenly aware of the hardships of those who are stuck in a job or career that no longer, if ever, brought them joy. I love what I do, don’t get me wrong, but since deciding to publish my stories, I have realized that soon I will walk away from my full time job in pursuit of something else, and that makes some of my days now more trying than they have to be.

If you read my previous post, Random Vs. Random, you may have gathered that this is something that I do and have done several times during my life. I have to admit, I do have a hard time staying put. I have never, previous to my current job, held a position longer than 3 years at any given location, and now that I am in the process of transitioning again (I can say that this time because I didn’t just walk in and say ‘I quit’ and am actually not leaving for a few more months), I find myself reflecting on all the different types of jobs that I have held over the years…

Church Nursery Worker – My first job, I kept the nursery at our church on Sunday and Wednesday night. This was back in the late 1980′s, so $5.00 an hour was really good pay for 16 or 17 years old, even if it was only a few hours a week. I loved the kids and the experience I gained knowledge about being responsible and having people count on me.

Fast Food – During that time I also worked at a local fast food place one entire summer, and that was a crazy hectic time and a real eye-opener to see people / women in their 20′s and 30′s working at such a place. Minimum wage back then was $3.35 an hour, and it was important to me I think to see how hard life could be if I did not keep my head on straight and make it through school. I also worked at a second such establishment for 1 full year while attending college, and developed a deep loathing for the smell and demands of such a job. I would have to be pretty desperate to accept such a job today.

Flower Delivery Driver – I delivered flowers for a florist who owned a shop and attended our church for about 3 months time. It was a fun job, and I would pester the designers when I wasn’t busy to teach me things about how it all worked. That is the one thing I can say about all of the jobs I have held – as long as there was something new to learn, I didn’t mind it so much and rather enjoyed all those little bits of insight.

Data Entry Clerk – I did this job in several forms over my life, particularly as a temp when I just needed some income without the commitment of a full time job. It helps that I am proficient at so many types of software programs as well as being experienced at typing (90 wpm) and overall keyboarding with 10 key by touch. Thinking back, this was one of the easiest types of jobs, if all that was required was entering the data, but talk about monotonous… no that did not last long at all.

Substitute Teacher – if you have college hours and want a new appreciation for educators in our country, you should try this one. I did it twice, and I guarantee it will open your eyes as to what the men and women devoted to the betterment of our youth face every day. All I can say is, you haven’t lived until some 10 year old kid throws their book across the room and calls you a ‘bitch’ because you are just the sub and you still expect them to complete their assignment.

Medical Billing / file clerk - another fun one. Actually, I kept this job about 2 years, but after having my 3rd child I realized I needed something that paid better or all I was doing was working to pay the daycare. It was during this time that I cross trained to work with the social worker and the office manager to help them with higher level functions of the business, as well as spent time working with nurses and techs. Of course, I grilled everyone I could when I got the chance and was always eyes and ears open to take in what I could about the processes that were going on around me. All in all, I spent 2 years at the company, but my duties changed several times while I was there, so it wasn’t like I did the same exact job for 2 years straight.

Debt collector / patient accounts manager – I almost hate to admit this was a job I really got into. I had various numbers of employees who worked under me, so I did training and oversaw the ins and outs of the process. What I enjoyed most was organizing the process, as the office had no one in this position before I took it on, and I came in to clean it up and make it work, and I was damned good at it. However, after almost 3 years, I got restless again, and with no way to move up, I moved on. I guess you could say it was good timing, because this office actually closed not long after I left… good intuition.

Retail manager – I did this job at several locations over the years as well. My first and favorite was shoe department manager, and as a severely OCD type person, there was just something about perfectly aligned boxes in numerical order that made me almost high. That was my longest stint, lasing just over 2 and a half years and 3 Christmas seasons (I started there as a seasonal employee and moved up after the holiday). When I went back with the company a few years later, I took on different departments, and the last time I worked for them I worked in the back office taking care of the money and deposits, spending less than a year at each position after I left the shoes. A real shame that chain closed down completely… I really liked that store. My favorite part of this job – training the seasonal and new employees… what a blast.

Accounts Payable Clerk – if you don’t know what this is, it is the person who pays the bills for a company. It is also not as easy as it sounds if it is done properly. I loved and hated this job, as so much of it depended on other people doing their job well for you to do yours. I only did this for a year or less and I moved on, taking my plant and walking out at lunch one day. I also had this type of work as part of my duties from time to time, and it is just the sort of thing I could really enjoy if it paid well enough to make it worth my time.

Accounts Receivable Clerk – again, this job did not last long, only about 3 months. I had done this particular type of work in various other positions and the lady who hired me told me if I was good at it she would pay me well. Apparently, my definition of well and hers were two different things, and after my 90 days and she finally told me what my pay was going to be (and she claimed it was more than she had ever given anyone), I left. Should have pinned her to a number up front and not wasted the 90 days.

Receptionist – I have only done this job under the most dire conditions, as I detest answering phones and playing errand girl. I think I will starve before I do this on a daily basis again.

Teacher – yup. High School. And I truly love my job. If all I had to do was walk into a classroom and teach, it would be the coolest job ever. However, there are many things that go on outside that make it the most stressful job I have ever had. I am not even going to rant about all of them here; all I am going to say is this – classes are too large, budgets too small, and teachers don’t get paid near what they are worth. Sometimes you make a real difference in a kid’s life that needs it, and that can give you the best feeling ever. Too bad feeling good about your job doesn’t put food on the table. I may go back to this again some day, as I do love it. I just don’t need it right now, and need to get away from it more. Maybe a small private school next time.

Accounting / Auditor – I held this job for about a year, and I knew it was only short time when I took it, as I was finishing my bachelors and planning on changing towns. However, I loved this job too, as it was just the kind of detail work that I take pride in. It also was pretty independent, and any screw ups were mine. I could do this again some time, no problem.

Small Office Manager – I actually ran a small office in it’s entirety for about 6 months. I loved this job too, as it was all mine as well. However, there was actually one man who owned two separate businesses housed in the same building, and although I enjoyed my side, the girl who had the other side was very into drama, and I had a better offer fall into my lap and decided to move on… sigh. The good thing here, I learned all about both sides of the business, as I did any time I worked as a bookkeeper / accountant, and so I have knowledge about 4 separate industries that I would never have had if I never took on those little jobs.

Newspaper Delivery Driver – I moved to east Texas for a couple of years and found a small town in the midst of a group of small towns and rural areas north of the metroplex. It was a great place to live, but the economy was horrible, and many were out of work. The first week I was there, I attended a job fair for a new retail store where a couple of thousand people were applying for 80 positions, and that was my first time to see such desperate conditions. I was in shock. I started off at my favorite retail chain, but they closed that store, so I took this job just to pay the bills for about a year… and I loved it!!! It was mostly independent work, with lots to do and learn about. However, the industry is dying, or it appeared that way to me, and I eventually left the area and moved back closer to home and my mother. The best part of that job – where else can you drive 80 miles per hour down a dirt road at 2 am and get paid for it?

I did try to go to college right out of high school, but it actually took me 12 years to earn my degree. I also took classes for nursing, and decided that wasn’t for me, and changed my major 2 more times before finishing with a BS in management. Looking back at this list now, I can say one good thing about it – I do have a lot I could write about, and I am sure that I will.

Random Vs. Random

I love the word random. It implies so many things. I myself am a random person. That means that I have the tendency to change directions in quick, unpredictable moments of fancy. Now, those who have known me the longest are calling BS at this exact moment, because I am also known as a planner, keeping my work done far in advance and coming up with some very great plans. I keep my day’s schedule lined out, seeming to be upset when things are not moving according to plan. What they don’t realize is, that this is a coping mechanism to counteract my randomness and to help me be successful in a non-random world.

So what exactly does it mean to be random? To me, it means that I can think fast on my feet and can come up with information and ideas at a moments notice, and often these are great plans. I have held many jobs where this ability has served me well. Working with a large number of people, such as with the public, being able to change directions or come up with a plan on the fly is a great benefit. It also means that I am pretty unpredictable and have to work hard not to be scattered.

What it really means is that the creative juices always flow, and that I am thinking when there is no reason to be. I guess you could say I am planning, even when there is no benefit to planning. There have been times that I would have paid to make the never ending stream of thoughts that go on inside my head stop, and just be quiet, and enjoy the moment, and stop planning or thinking 5 steps ahead. Perhaps this is why those who know me and see me from the outside think I am a planner; because to some extent, they are right.

I am a planner. I plan ahead and hope for the best. Then I change the plan. Often. By the time we get there, how things go is seldom how my plan started out. Furthermore, having things go according to plan is sometimes downright  boring. I mean, I love doing things that I plan on for a while, but then after it has been going for a bit, or I really get good at it, I just get tired and I am ready to do something else. That’s random. Or was that the plan?

So here is my random act of the day - giving my books away. I changed my cover page here on my blog to explain how I am going to do that. If you are interested in checking out a FREE copy of my book – Life of Recovery, be sure to visit the main page on my blog. Now for the plan…. you need to be 18+, as this is an Adult Novel, and it is NOT a self-help book, nor is it of a religious base. If you are interested in receiving a free copy, please visit my new front page at http://samanthajacobey.wordpress.com/, as the page that I planned and put there is now boring to me and I have selected another to take its place. See, I guess that was the plan.