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	<title>Desert Pond&#187; Work Life Quality Archives  &#8211; Desert Pond</title>
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	<link>http://www.desertpond.com</link>
	<description>....................Always wanted to write?  It&#039;s not too late.</description>
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		<title>Tax Advisers Can Be Wrong, Too</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/tax-advisers-wron/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/tax-advisers-wron/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:02:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Petad</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disposable income]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[financial advisers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tax advisers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tax refund]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=852</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As Tax time rolls around we get the same advice every year.”If you get a large refund you are not managing your money well”.  You know what?  Tax advisers can be wrong, too.
 
The mathematicians, the anally focused financial advisers, the tax accountants who are so proud that they can calculate the amount of their taxes to the nearest decimal point all rush to tell the rest of how to manage our money, how to maximize the return on our investment to the nearest nano of a percentage point. Technically, theoretically, as mathematicians they are right, and if you have excess disposable income and are not struggling paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet this argument may apply to you, but this position does not allow for the fact that we are people, we are not all the same and we are not perfect and we react to all the variables of our lives as needed at the moment. 
]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Goodbye Corporate Life</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/goodbye-corporate-life/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/goodbye-corporate-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:37:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporate life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quit job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work life balance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=813</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I'm saying goodbye to the corporate life. Maybe it will turn out to be a mistake. Maybe not. I really hope not, anyway. No matter what, though, I believe my work life quality is about to change.

I quit my job - a very nice, corporate job at a well-recognized and ages old organization with benefits and a corner office.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Shipping Container Houses &#8211; Really!</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/shipping-container-houses-really/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/shipping-container-houses-really/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:40:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outdoor office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shipping container houses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=798</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Shipping container houses.  Unbelievable.  What a neat concept, though, with tremendous environmental benefit!  I had never heard of these before but apparently the glut of shipping containers that have built up over time have presented a new building material and folks are making some incredible, modern, living and office spaces out of those old, used shipping containers.

I saw a few videos about these at a blog about shipping container homes.  The benefits seem pretty amazing.  You use used shipping containers so less wood is involved in the actual home construction (saving money) plus you're doing something good for the environment.  The containers are also incredibly strong since they were originally built to withstand the harsh environment during transport, and are resistant to many of the problems that plague traditional homes:  insects, mold, fire.  ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/shipping-container-houses-really/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Meetings &#8211; Leave the Sticks at Home</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/meetings-leave-the-sticks-at-home/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/meetings-leave-the-sticks-at-home/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erica</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conference call]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meetings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[speakerphone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=626</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday afternoon, I jumped on my fifth conference call of the day with two hours left to go. Five hours so far that my ear had been glued to the phone. Well, actually, I use a speaker phone, but you know what I mean. One benefit of using a speakerphone is that it leaves your <a href="http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/meetings-leave-the-sticks-at-home/" class="more-link">More &#62;</a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Informal Mentoring</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/informal-mentoring/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/informal-mentoring/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:51:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erica</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employee potential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[informal mentor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mentor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[productivity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=345</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many companies have formal mentoring programs today. The best and the brightest are selected and paired with a more senior, experienced employee in order to help the junior employee grow within the organization. My feeling is that this is exactly where companies miss a huge opportunity to add to their bottom line. In focusing only <a href="http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/informal-mentoring/" class="more-link">More &#62;</a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/informal-mentoring/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Meetings and Why I Hate Them</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/meetings-and-why-i-hate-them/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/meetings-and-why-i-hate-them/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:38:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erica</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bad meetings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hate meetings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[make meetings effective]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=324</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I like to work. It&#8217;s not working that I don&#8217;t like and the biggest reason why I sometimes question the quality of my work life is meetings. Yes. Hate them. Most of them, anyway. I participate in a LOT of meetings &#8211; in person, by phone, all day meetings, staff meetings, project meetings &#8211; you <a href="http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/meetings-and-why-i-hate-them/" class="more-link">More &#62;</a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s My Own Damn Fault</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/its-my-own-damn-fault/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/its-my-own-damn-fault/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2009 04:01:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erica</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=144</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Oh, lord, I&#8217;ve been griping about work a lot lately. Stress, stress, stress. Projects hounding me, too much to do. Me -- pulling my hair out and wishing I could be doing something different. And what should come along, but a big, fat reminder that it&#8217;s my own damn fault. A friend has put out <a href="http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/its-my-own-damn-fault/" class="more-link">More &#62;</a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/its-my-own-damn-fault/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Under Pressure</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/under-pressure/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/under-pressure/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2009 02:42:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erica</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=110</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Chatting with my parents the other night, I mentioned how much work was knocking me flat. One project is eating me alive and a plate-full of others are screaming for attention. New ones are popping out of the woodwork. I haven&#8217;t felt this much stress in quite some time. I can feel it in my <a href="http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/under-pressure/" class="more-link">More &#62;</a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What Did She Mean?</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/what-did-she-mean/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/what-did-she-mean/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:05:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erica</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[getting clarification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work communication]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=49</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[During a conference call this week, my manager said, &#8220;Erica, I know you think those meetings are formal enough but I think we&#8217;ll need to make them even more formal with our other clients.&#8221; I had no idea what she meant exactly but because there were some client representatives on the phone, I couldn&#8217;t really <a href="http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/what-did-she-mean/" class="more-link">More &#62;</a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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