The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Nancy]

Donna ~

Thank you for telling us more about yourself. You have spent your fair share in hospital waiting rooms. I have a friend who had a transplant 4 years ago and all I can say is that she uses a couple of coronary shakes a day, as does our friend Steve who had triple by-pass surgery two years ago.

I would suggest the chocolate flavor. Avoid the strawberry...

It contains 9 grams of soy protein
No cholesterol, 1 gram of fat,
and 2000 mcg of Coenzyme Q10, and 2000 mcg of Pycnogenol®

[dlr2424]

Nancy,

My Business or Education is Hairdressing as well as skin care & cosmetics which I still practice. My other part-time job for the past 28 years is legal work at a Hospital. The funny thing is I think we have spent more time in the hospital with my husband and his waayyyyyyyy to many admissions than I have spent in my 28 yrs. of employment. Good thing I'm comfortable in the hospital enviroment..lol...anyway please extend my many prayers to your friend. I would love to meet her one day. Was it also a Heart transplant she had? I am going to order the shakes for my husband Rob. It can only be an improvement to the way he already feels. Have a great day!!!! xoxo Donna

[Nancy]

Donna ~

You have been blessed indeedy doo to have that man of yours in a healthier state - the coronary shakes will be great for him.

So...you can spiff all of us up and give us new hairstyles, suggest new eyemake up colors, teach us skin care techniques and make up applications to go with our new bods! I am ready to have younger-looking eye areas - I know I worked hard to earn those eye crinkles - lots of laughter but perhaps having them ironed out a bit would be nice!

Whaddya think - shall LW let her locks grow and have flowing furs to go with her belly dancing harem pants?

We're glad that you've joined us, Donna - hold on! You're off to a fine thinny start!

[24KaratGold]

Hmm. Well, I'm back. I had a great hour meeting with the hiring partner out there. I really enjoyed it -- like the guy a lot.

They didn't offer me as much money as I was hoping (do they ever??), but it would be about a $12K raise from where I'm at now, and they have a good bonus plan. The place seems alive, interesting, exciting, and they are doing a lot of interesting work, which is a change from where I'm at now. And I see more of a future there than where I am now.

OTOH, it took me 55 minutes to get there. I left my house at 7:08 (shaker jar in hand; I drank my DC on the way there), and got there just after 8:00. And it's not raining. If I take this job, I'll have to see if there is a better way to get there.

I'm going to think about it this weekend.

[monkeymom]

24K........congrats on the job offer. I sure wouldn't be upset if I got offered something with a $12K raise.
As for the traffic, I don't know what routes you are driving, but I know you are going toward Encino so remember that there are several main routes closed over in the Encino area (from the rains) so that traffic is on the freeway when it usually isn't. My boss headed that way this morning and what normally would be a 20 minute drive took him more than an hour. Just thought you should keep that in mind while mulling over the offer this weekend.

[smartiegrrl]

Congrats on the offer!

An hour commute tho... I could see the hesitation there. Any chance you can negotiate for more to make up for the commute?

[Nancy]

Think hard!

$$$ or Time?

Glad that you thinned on the way to your interview!

[24KaratGold]

24K........congrats on the job offer. I sure wouldn't be upset if I got offered something with a $12K raise.

You have a point. I was sort of hoping for, well, 24K

As for the traffic, I don't know what routes you are driving, but I know you are going toward Encino so remember that there are several main routes closed over in the Encino area (from the rains) so that traffic is on the freeway when it usually isn't. My boss headed that way this morning and what normally would be a 20 minute drive took him more than an hour. Just thought you should keep that in mind while mulling over the offer this weekend.

Now that's something I hadn't thought about, that there might be more traffic than usual on the freeway due to the weather we've been having. I'm heading to Encino from out near the Rose Bowl, so I was on the 134 to the 101, exiting at Sepulveda, just before hitting the 405. You think that made a difference? Thanks for the thought.

Congrats on the offer!

An hour commute tho... I could see the hesitation there. Any chance you can negotiate for more to make up for the commute?

I was trying for that in the meeting this morning with the hiring partner, and it didn't get too far. They do permit telecommuting, though, so I could probably work from home one or two days a week once I get up and running out there. And he said that last year they paid bonuses ranging from $5K to $40K, and that I would be eligible from the first day rather than having to wait a year as some places make you do.

Think hard!

$$$ or Time?

That's it, right there. That and the hassle of the commute factor. I'll be thinking long and hard this weekend.

Thanks for all the input!

[jene115]

Well 24Karat, A big congrats on the offer! That's great. 12K is a pretty decent raise, especially if you think the work would be more interesting and the bonus program is good. I will say though, I ended up getting a $6,500 raise when I came to this job. The money is nice, but, well you already know about my job.

I drive an hour each way to my office. I've learned to deal with it. I love music, so I have 6 CD changer full of whatever I feel like listening to, or my classic rock station might be jammin that morning and I like that. I'm getting good at shortcuts, but it's still an hour, just less hassle.

Maybe it's just me, but I would look at more than just the commute, future earnings, work environment, etc. Houston is traffic city. After rush hour, I can get downtown in 25 minutes, but it takes me anywhere from 60-75 minutes in the mornings. Arrgh.

I wish you well and will send good vibes your way.

[monkeymom]

24K.....I don't know how the 134 has been effected by all this rain, but I know there are MAJOR problems with the 101. The worst are out on the other side of the 405, you know between there and Calabasas and Malibu. Several areas of the 101 had significant mudlides so that lanes are closed for indefinate periods for clearing and repair. There are repair crews all over the place on the freeways right now because some have just buckled from all the rain ponding on them, so there are lanes closed all over the place. You might check the CHP website and see if you can tell if anything was going on in areas that would have made your commute worse than it should be, but most of the time things only show up on there as they are happening (I think).

If you don't have to make the decision by Monday or something, you might try driving it again sometime next week, that is if it isn't raining AGAIN! We actually had hail out here today, I couldn't believe it!

The drive can really be a drag, and like Nancy said, what's more important, $$$ or time? However, if there are other benefits to the job other than just the money, remember that you can use that driving time as "me" time also. My boss spends a lot of time in his truck, he listens to books on tape when he drives. When I used to have a commute, I listened to tapes from a particular pastor I really liked, or I would pop in some really wound up praise tapes and just rock out........by the time I got to work (or home) I was always in a healthy state of mind.

Good luck with your decision. Have a great, and hopefully sunny weekend.

[Guest]

Hey 24... I have one thing to say about the commute.... Satelite radio!! We have them in our cars and they are very entertaining. We live in a smaller town in Georgia and the recently took off the top 20 radio station. Now we have 5 country and 2 talk...... ew..... I mean I like country as much as the next guy...but not that much., So we bought satelite radios for 2 of our cars. You have the universe at your fingertips....comes with remote!~! I only have to commute 2 minutes to work, however my husband drives all day and loves it. I didn't know that the man liked "Latin Pop"....married 25 years, you learn something new every day....

Sounds like a great change to me....money is nothing if you are not happy and challenged...go for it!!

Good luck!!
CC

[Mrsshrinkinglady]

24K,
Congrats on the offer!!
It sounds as if except for the commute, this is a place you would truly enjoy being at. The ability to work from home once in a while would also be a gift.
In my former life before I moved to small town Nebraska, I traveled constantly as a district manager, and I actually enjoyed my drive time as it gave me time to think through the day and enjoy me time.
I wish you well on whatever you decide.
Shrink aka Mary

[smartiegrrl]

I'm totally the opposite. I *love*... no I'm *obsessed* with my car. I'm totally an auto afficianado. I love going for a long drive on a warm sunny day with the top down and the music cranked. (Must wait several more months tho... )

However, I loathe, I mean I just hate commuting. Maybe its just because the traffic here has been steadily getting worse. Granted the weather here in MN is more... dynamic... than in CA. I've been really lucky the last 5 years that I've been self-employed. Two of my clients were only blocks away from our apartment and all the others I've been able to work from my house about 80% of the time.

There is good and bad with working from home, however. The one thing I miss is interacting with people. A lot of networking and such happens through user groups and lunches, etc. The upshot is you miss out on a lot of office politics. Some of the stuff that goes on in offices is just wacky.


You'll have to let us know what you decide to go with!

[24KaratGold]

Still trying to figure it out about the job. I have to let them know today.

Got my latest Medifast order last week.

There's a problem with the Chocolate Mint bars....

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.
.
.
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EVERYBODY in the house loves them! I'm going to be fighting off the teenagers and the husband for them!

I may have to order a case of those next time.

Hey, if you are reading this, and you don't know about LLBean's "Virtual Model," you should. Go to the llbean website (llbean dot com). It takes a bit of hunting to get to the "My Virtual Model" page (I get there by clicking on an item of clothing, and then the link comes up on the page). You can customize this model to your height, weight, and body measurements, and it also gives different hair colors and styles, skin shades, and eye shapes, to make it look as much like you as possible.

Once you have your numbers in, the fun begins. First, of course, you can try clothes from the llbean catalog on the model to see how they might look on you.

BUT what you can also do is change the measurements on the model to get some idea of what you might look like ten pounds lighter, 50 pounds lighter, etc. It's VERY motivating!

I did the model with my original numbers, and printed out a picture of it in an outfit I liked. I just did it last night with my current numbers, same thing, same outfit, and it's a noticeable difference. I've also done it with my goal numbers, although I haven't printed that one out yet. As I think about it, I should, and then post it where I can see it.

It's fun -- give it a try!

[Sylvia]

Hey 24k,

My kids love the chocolate mint bars too. I really liked them at first but somewhere down the road developed an aversion to them so I just keep them around for them. Fortunately they don't like the oatmeal raisin and I haven't let them try the caramel nut so I'm in good shape.

I love that virtual model - it works for Land's End too. Pretty darm accurate although they haven't quite got the cellulite down. Very motivational too, I thought.

Good luck on your decision - which way are you leaning?