Most people say that they want to be happy at their jobs. I feel the same way. But you know what I’ve been thinking about lately? I kind of like the fact that freelancing from home allows me to be grumpy when I feel like being grumpy. I don’t ever have to put on a happy face just because I’m at the office. Now, I’m naturally not a very grumpy person but it’s nice to be able to just feel however I really feel when I’m working. Not all people are so lucky.

In fact, there are a lot of people who not only have to be polite and professional at their jobs regardless of how they feel but who actually have to outright pretend to be happy even when they are not happy at all. For example, if you were going to work as a professional clown then you would need to make sure that you put on a happy face at work even if you were having a terrible day. What kind of party would it be if the clown was all pissed off? This goes for other types of entertainment as well; someone cast in a musical can’t be very grumpy on stage and still present a good show.

I’m trying to think of some other jobs out there where you truly need to pretend to be happy even when you’re not. There are many that come to mind in which people should act happy for the sake of others but often don’t. People who work in daycares and hospitals are good examples. It would be nice if they’d act happy and make it easier on kids and patients but they don’t actually have to in order to make a living so they don’t.

Are there other jobs out there where the employee really needs to act happy to make the job work?

Tags: career, employment, happiness, hubpages, jobs, kathryn vercillo

As I started to write this post, I was about to write that I can’t even remember the last time that I wrote a check. However, that’s not true. I can clearly remember the last time that I wrote a check because it’s such an uncommon occurrence that it stands out in my mind. A guy that was going to do some work for me asked me to drop a check in the mail to him and I wasn’t even sure if I had a check to send. It turned out that I did have a check – the address on it was not my current one (where I’ve lived for over three years) nor the one before that but the one prior to even that one. The account was still good and the check cleared without a problem but it threw me off because it had probably been about that long since I’d had to write a check for anything.

I just don’t see the point of using checks anymore. Everything that I need to pay for can either be paid for with cash, debit or credit. Every bill that I have can be set up to pay through automatic bill pay or even just through a one-time check from my bank. Sure, I pay a small fee to have checks written for me by my bank but the fee is probably smaller than the cost of buying and sending checks. Plus it’s a lot easier to keep track of my money when the checks are written by my bank since it’s all automatically recorded on my account and I can clearly see my transactions and balance information. I never have to worry about a check unexpectedly clearing and leaving me in the red.

Since I don’t use checks anymore, I’ve found that there are things that I don’t really remember very well about checking. Like I wasn’t sure if the aforementioned check would clear since the address wasn’t right. And I couldn’t quite remember the proper way to void a check if I made a mistake when writing it out. These just aren’t skills that I need any more. Does anyone?! Even the people who pay me to do my work don’t seem to need these skills since everyone is paying through automatic account payments or PayPal payments. Are checks becoming obsolete?

Tags: banking, checking account, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, money, Personal Finance, writing checks

There are some foods that just seem to naturally go well together. Peanut butter and jelly. Cookies and milk. Broccoli and cheese. That last one is one of my favorite food pairs although I don’t actually eat it all that often.

I used to eat broccoli and cheese together frequently. However, when I decided to start eating healthier, I cut out a lot of my favorite broccoli cheese dishes. Thick cheesy soups and baked, breaded casseroles aren’t exactly at the top of the list for healthy eaters.

Recently I’ve started eating more broccoli and cheese together again though. I’ve just started choosing healthier recipes than in the past. Some of my favorite broccoli cheese recipes include:

• Broccoli cheese rice. A whole grain rice dish made with fresh broccoli and a light cheese sauce is a great dish that can be eaten as a side or as an entree.
• Broccoli with melted cheese. Why get complicated? You can melt a healthy amount of fresh cheese onto your broccoli and have a great side dish.
• Broccoli cheese salad. That’s right. A green salad that’s topped with fresh raw broccoli and some grated cheese is a great healthy dish.

What other broccoli cheese recipes are there that are actually healthy for you? What tips do you have for substituting ingredients in standard broccoli cheese recipes to make them better for your health?

Tags: broccoli cheese, Food, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, recipes

I have never been someone who particularly liked gold jewelry. I tend to be someone who prefers silver or turquoise. Gold just doesn’t do it for me. However, I do tend to like the more unique gold that you find sometimes which is colored gold.

There are quite a few types of colored gold. My favorites are:

• White gold. This stuff is fancy and looks like a classier version of silver. If I ever get a special piece of jewelry, such as a wedding ring, I think I’d lean towards a white gold for that piece.
• Rose gold. This pink gold is a combination of gold and copper. It has a neat look to it that I like. Rose gold watches are particularly appealing to me for some reason.
• Black gold. You wouldn’t even know that this is gold from looking at it. It looks like some sort of shiny black enamel and it makes for really neat jewelry designs.

I’ve also heard that there are purple gold pieces out there which combine gold with aluminum to get a blue or purple hue. I haven’t seen that in person but it sounds like it could be pretty.

Tags: colored gold, gold, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, rose gold

When I was 21, I spent about a month just hanging out in Florida. I lived out of the back of my pickup truck, camping in parking lots near the beach and staying with friends of friends. It was October. Most of the tourists were gone. The weather was beautiful. I have good memories from the trip.

I didn’t go to all of the popular destinations in Florida. I was broke so there didn’t seem much point in heading somewhere like Orlando, for example. I didn’t like all of the popular spots that I did see; Miami was absolutely unappealing to me in every way. But I did see several places I liked.

For example, I was a bigger fan of Jacksonville than I thought I would be. I think I must really enjoy RiverWalks because I also liked San Antonio, TX more than I thought I would and the RiverWalk was part of the reason why.

I also really loved Vero Beach which is a small town about halfway down the East Coast of Florida. I spent about a week there. Mostly I hung out on the beach. The water was warm and the waves were relaxing. But I also found a coffee shop in the town that I liked and I just generally enjoyed the vibe there.

I didn’t get the chance to check out the Keys at all so I’d like to have that oportunity if I ever go back to Florida. And I’d like to see the Everglades again because that was some really interesting nature that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Check out the top ten cities to visit in Florida.

Tags: fl cities, florida, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, Travel, vacation

For the most part, I don’t drink carbonated beverages. I tend to feel kind of gross when I drink things that are too carbonated even though I like the taste and feel of them as they’re being imbibed. As a result, I limit my intake.

But if I’m going to indulge in carbonated beverages, my top picks are:

• Clearly Canadian Sparkling. I haven’t had this flavored water in a really long time but it’s one of my favorite drinks to indulge in when I do get the chance.
• Go Girl and Go Girl Glo. This is my favorite energy drink. It’s refreshing and it’s correctly portioned out and I love it.
• Italian Sodas. If I want to get a treat at a cafe then I’ll usually go for an Italian flavored soda with no cream.
• Dr. Pepper. On the rare occasion that I do buy a soda, this is my favorite one to get.
• Vodka and Tonic. This isn’t my top choice at the bar but I’ll get one now and then.

Are you a soda drinker? A fan of energy drinks? What’s your favorite carbonated beverage?

Tags: beverages, carbonated beverages, drinks, flavored water, Food, hubpages, kathryn vercillo

We’re all using the major social networks today to stay in touch with people. Many of us are even meeting new people through these sites. However, it’s hard to form true friendships with strangers when you’re communicating on a huge network like Facebook or Twitter. People who are interested in really connecting with others online may find that the key to doing this is to work on niche social networks that really link you to people who share your interests.

For example, let’s say that you really enjoy shopping and saving money with online coupons. You can join the niche social networks on Internet coupon sites which allow you to connect with a community of people who all share these same interests. You’ll converse with them about this specific topic which allows you to really form a bond with these people. Your online conversations will be much more meaningful because you’re linked through something that you are truly interested in.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of time on niche social networks but you do like the idea of having these improved online connections then your best bet is to work with the groups that are available through sites like Facebook. By joining and participating in groups that reflect your interests, you can improve the quality of your Internet conversations and start to make long-lasting friends.

Tags: internet, kathryn vercillo, online friends, Social Networking

I mentioned earlier this week that I’m interested in the idea of owning a bed-and-breakfast someday and that I’m toying with the idea of trying to rent out an extra room in my apartment to people who are vacationing in the area to see if this is something that I’d truly enjoy doing later in life. The one big concern that I have is the safety risk that you open yourself up to when you open your home to strangers.

For the most part I’m not worried about this. I’ve done a lot of traveling throughout the country and done a lot of things that could have been risky – such as using Craigslist Rideshare to get from one place to another or staying in the home of a pen pal who I’d never met in person. I believe that I’m good at screening people online and am willing to trust my gut instinct and end any endeavor that seems like it could go awry.

Nevertheless, the thought does have to cross your mind that you never truly know what you’re going to get when you bring someone into your home. And for that matter, travelers themselves face risks when going to stay in someone’s home. (See my recent article that offers safety tips for couchsurfers.) When you decide to engage in budget travel practices, you open yourself up to more threats than you face when staying in luxury places.

Is it worth it to save the money? I tend to think that it is but only if you’re smart about it. Learning about how to be safe when using budget transportation and staying in budget accommodations is simply the responsible thing to do if you’re going to be safe while traveling. You can have some great experiences when traveling on the cheap but don’t be dumb about it!

Tags: budget travel, frugal travel, save money, Travel, travel safety

Google Voice is a service that launched in March to a select group of people that were already using the GrandCentral service that serves as the core of the product. It’s a phone call system that allows you to use one phone number to be reached at multiple phones. It comes along with a system of archiving voice messages in text form that makes it possible to easily maintain and organize archives of all of your calls.

This service (and those like it that are starting to crop up from other providers) offers a number of benefits to businesses. Benefits of Google Voice for businesses include:

• You only need to use and publicize one phone number. That number can then reach different phones so you get your calls even when you’re out of the office.
• Voice mail messages are transcribed to text which means that you can easily search for information taken down in calls through an email-style search of your messages online.
• This archived system may be useful in cases of legal disputes. The information that was exchanged is right there in plain view so there are not a lot of hearsay problems involved.

Google Voice is a step forward in the trend towards Unified Communications which are simplfiying life for businesses of all sizes.

Tags: business, communications, google voice, kathryn vercillo

One of the most important things that an employer needs to know to be a great leader is exactly what it is that he or she wants from the employees working for the business. By getting clear about expectations, the employer can lay out what the employees must do which makes it a heck of a lot easier for employees to meet the needs of the business.

One simple example might be the employer who wants to deter employees from personal Internet use at the office. This is a totally valid request since that time is time that the employee gets paid to waste. However, different employers may want different things from this. Some of those different desires may be:

• The employer doesn’t want employees using the Internet at all for anything that is not strictly work related.
• The employer doesn’t mind if employees spend some time reading blogs and news that might be at least somewhat relevant to work but doesn’t want other websites surfed.
• The employer doesn’t want employees spending too much time on social networking sites during work hours but doesn’t mind chat systems being used. Or vice versa.
• The employer wants to make sure that projects are completed each day before employees spend time online.

These are all very different things. Employers must know what their specific desires are so that they can communicate those desires clearly to their employees. Then employees can see what they have to do to make the boss happy. And if employees can meet those needs then an employer who knows what he really wants will know that it’s time to let the employee go.

Tags: business, employers, kathryn vercillo, management, work