Just a friendly reminder that today is IHOP's National Pancake Day Celebration. Between the hours of 7am to 10pm, you can go to a participating IHOP and get a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes! Go treat yourself for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or all of the above!
IHOP has been doing their annual pancake giveaway since 2006 and has raised almost $8 million for charity. Make sure you leave a donation in exchange for your pancakes, which will go to local charities and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Don't forget to tip your waiter, too. IHOP's staff members probably have a busy day ahead of them!
Bon appetit!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
New Printer!
Happy Saturday! Work this week was extremely exhausting, so I'm glad I have a few days off to catch up on sleep! Here's a quick post before I go to bed.
When I was in grad school, I used a bubblejet printer. While I didn't think much about it initially, I started to notice that I was spending a considerable amount of money replacing my printer cartridges every 2-3 months. Eventually, I stopped using my printer altogether because I realized that 1) the ink was really expensive, 2) the printer wasted color ink every time I turned it off and on (even though I typically only used black ink), and 3) the printer had a mechanism that prevented it from working if either the black or color cartridge was empty. Since then, I've printed documents at work, asked my boyfriend to print things for me, or showed people files on my smartphone.
Today, my boyfriend was browsing FatWallet and found a deal on a Brother Printer. Looking at prices for corresponding ink replacements on Amazon.com, I figured I could probably buy 50 ink cartridges for the price of one black and one color cartridge for my old printer. Hey, even the current price of the printer ($54.99) is cheaper than what I spend replacing ink.
I went ahead and purchased a new printer for myself! As long as it provides semi-decent quality printing I'll be happy. Can't wait to be able to print from home again!
When I was in grad school, I used a bubblejet printer. While I didn't think much about it initially, I started to notice that I was spending a considerable amount of money replacing my printer cartridges every 2-3 months. Eventually, I stopped using my printer altogether because I realized that 1) the ink was really expensive, 2) the printer wasted color ink every time I turned it off and on (even though I typically only used black ink), and 3) the printer had a mechanism that prevented it from working if either the black or color cartridge was empty. Since then, I've printed documents at work, asked my boyfriend to print things for me, or showed people files on my smartphone.
Today, my boyfriend was browsing FatWallet and found a deal on a Brother Printer. Looking at prices for corresponding ink replacements on Amazon.com, I figured I could probably buy 50 ink cartridges for the price of one black and one color cartridge for my old printer. Hey, even the current price of the printer ($54.99) is cheaper than what I spend replacing ink.
I went ahead and purchased a new printer for myself! As long as it provides semi-decent quality printing I'll be happy. Can't wait to be able to print from home again!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Salaried vs. Hourly: Which is better?
In my travels, I've had the opportunity to work in and observe places that pay their social workers either hourly (typically non-exempt) or salaried (typically exempt). Here's my analysis of each one and my thoughts of which I'd rather work.
Pros:
-Time and a half overtime pay after working 8 hours
-Guaranteed lunch and break periods, with overtime pay if they're not taken
-Time and a half pay for working holidays
-Time and a half pay for working more than 40 hours a week
-Going home after 8 hours so management doesn't have to pay overtime
Cons:
-Strict rules regarding lunches (i.e. no answering phones, no talking about work, no lunch interruptions, etc.)
-Required breaks and lunch negatively impacting a busy day, resulting in having to stay at work later
-Management getting upset when overtime is used too often
-Loss of paid time off or wages during holidays and sick days
-Loss of wages if your hours are cut from low workload
Pros:
-Guaranteed pay, regardless of hours worked (which means no pay reductions for going home early due to low workload or sometimes illness)
-Option to not take lunches or breaks if you have too much work to do
-No worries about clocking in and out
Cons:
-Having to stay at work until it's finished (which may mean having to work more than 8 hours, weekends, and holidays)
-No extra compensation for working overtime, weekends, holidays, and during lunch
-Higher probability of burning out from long hours
Personally, I would never take a salaried job that doesn't pay anything for overtime. One you work more than 8 hours, your average hourly salary begins to drop. I've seen many co-workers stay 9, 10, even 12 hours at work, sometimes without taking a single breaks. I don't think it's healthy, and I can't help but wonder how much personal/family/self-care time my co-workers get after pulling these long hours day after day. Social workers are underpaid as it is. No need to bring down your wages further by working for free after 8 hours.
What are your thoughts on salaried vs. hourly positions? Which one do you work, and what do you feel are the pros and cons?
Hourly
Pros:
-Time and a half overtime pay after working 8 hours
-Guaranteed lunch and break periods, with overtime pay if they're not taken
-Time and a half pay for working holidays
-Time and a half pay for working more than 40 hours a week
-Going home after 8 hours so management doesn't have to pay overtime
Cons:
-Strict rules regarding lunches (i.e. no answering phones, no talking about work, no lunch interruptions, etc.)
-Required breaks and lunch negatively impacting a busy day, resulting in having to stay at work later
-Management getting upset when overtime is used too often
-Loss of paid time off or wages during holidays and sick days
-Loss of wages if your hours are cut from low workload
Salaried
Pros:
-Guaranteed pay, regardless of hours worked (which means no pay reductions for going home early due to low workload or sometimes illness)
-Option to not take lunches or breaks if you have too much work to do
-No worries about clocking in and out
Cons:
-Having to stay at work until it's finished (which may mean having to work more than 8 hours, weekends, and holidays)
-No extra compensation for working overtime, weekends, holidays, and during lunch
-Higher probability of burning out from long hours
Personally, I would never take a salaried job that doesn't pay anything for overtime. One you work more than 8 hours, your average hourly salary begins to drop. I've seen many co-workers stay 9, 10, even 12 hours at work, sometimes without taking a single breaks. I don't think it's healthy, and I can't help but wonder how much personal/family/self-care time my co-workers get after pulling these long hours day after day. Social workers are underpaid as it is. No need to bring down your wages further by working for free after 8 hours.
What are your thoughts on salaried vs. hourly positions? Which one do you work, and what do you feel are the pros and cons?
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