How do you Pay It Forward?

One of my favorite movies of all time is Pay It Forward. Besides starring little cutie Haley Joel Osment, the concept it surrounds is fantastic. His character is working hard to make the world a better place. The idea? What would happen if 3 people were given a favor and, instead of paying it back, they paid it forward? Throughout the movie, he engages in 3 random acts of kindness and asks that in return, they do the same to others.

A moving idea. Ever since seeing this movie, I try to actively pay it forward. It might happen only once a month, or as often as 3 times a week. It can be as simple as sending someone a message that you're thinking of them.

Yesterday, I had my first encounter with the ice cream truck. Growing up in the country, I never had such a wonderful thing before! I heard it coming and got so excited I ran out to the street in barefeet. There was a little girl who was trying to buy a bubblegum popsicle. It was $1.50 but she only had .75 cents. I bought it for her and told her to put her .75 cents in a piggy bank. The smile on her face was worth much more than the $1.50 I spent.

It's great to receive something unexpected. It lifts spirits and renews hope. Well, these things don't just happen! I am challenging all of you to begin actively engaging in the concept of paying it forward.

Live Gracefully.
Dream Focused.
Inspire Change.

How will you pay it forward? Let me know!

Love Me Some T.O's

Tops Markets officially announced yesterday that they will be exclusively distributing a cereal for Terrell Owens, called T.O.'s. The press conference was held at a store in Perinton and although it was a press only event, over 300 people crowded the store for a chance to see (and possibly meet?) TO.

I decided to tag along and join in on the fun. The store was decorated down to football balloons, TO cookie cake (my favorite!) and Bills gear. It started at 1.00pm but some families had been waiting since 8:30 in the morning to make sure they had a spot up close!
He's smooth, that TO. He knew how to play the crowd and the media. He all but promised a win against New England (dare I hope!?) and answered questions at the end ... he was even proposed to! When he walked out onto the stage the crowd started chanting "TO, TO, TO!". I'm not one to engage in all the hoopla, but even I got caught up in the contagious excitement the crowd and TO brought with them.

The cereal is good. Tastes like honey nut cheerios. It's 2 for 5 right now, so I picked up a few boxes. According to reports, Tops has already sold 12,000 boxes and its only been out for a week and a half. Wait until his first touchdown ...

After the event, I went over to Saint John Fisher college and the Bills training camp to catch some of their night practice. They were only doing drills, but the stands were packed. I ended up spending $200 on Bills gear ... caught up in Bills enthusiasm! When TO walked onto the field the crowd again began chanting. There was even a special TO "Tweeters" section. (For those of you that don't know, Owens is a big fan of Twitter. You can follow him & interact with him here.)

My opinion? He's a fun guy, although I'm not sure about the show so far. What I do think, is that the Buffalo Bills need a hero. TO wants to be a hero .. so let's all cross our fingers and hope that THIS YEAR WILL BE THE YEAR WE GO ALL THE WAY!

Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. I began reading chapter books in first grade and soon earned the token bookworm nickname. (I really thought it was cool though, that I could read that well ... especially since it was "suggested" I attend pre-k). In 4th grade, our teacher gave us an in class reading assignment and I finished so quickly, she didn't believe I actually read it. She gave me a pop quiz and I aced it. In your face Ms. Dawson!

I read all different genres; fiction and non-fiction, action and adventure, girly feel good, memoirs ... you name it. Of late, I have been reading a lot of memoirs dealing with substance abuse. Families with members going through it, personal experiences, rehabs ... everything.

I find it odd that I am attracted to this subject. It's not something I or anyone in my family has ever suffered through. Some of these books are physically and emotionally painful to read. 75% of the time I am crying while reading them. If you have ever even thumbed through the book "A Million Little Pieces" you know what I mean.

So why the attraction?

There is something very raw and real about this subject matter. It cuts through the BS of life and takes you to the hardships, emotions and situations everyone encounters. It connects me with feelings I never knew I had.

Incidentally, I am also reading a book called "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" right now. This book discusses how America has become so obsessed with pop culture that people have begun identifying themselves and their personalities with those they see emulated in the media. My first eye opening experience to this was when I realized that relationships aren't supposed to be like the ones you see on sitcoms. Watching Everybody Loves Raymond, I thought it was natural for couples to be constantly fighting and bickering ... how would I have known anything different? That is the type of relationship TV is constantly portraying.

So maybe this is the attraction I have to this odd genre of non-fiction. It's not because I am sickly sadistic and enjoy reading about other people's pain. Maybe it's because we are so surrounded with molded personalities and feelings that it forces me to wash them away and reconnect to real life.

Get off Twitter ... and connect!

I wrote this after participating in the second HR Happy Hour hosted by Steve Boese and Shauna Moerke. Literally. I handwrote it at 2am after waking up with the idea and not wanting to let it go. In the morning, I knew I had written something, but absolutely no recollection of what it was. That's why I always keep a pen and notepad near ... if I don't pin it down it I might never get it back!

Throughout the hour, every topic seemed to somehow tie back to Twitter or the conversation find its way back. The statement was made that despite how easy it is to be caught up in the Twitterverse ... it doesn't all come back to Twitter all the time. How much of a good thing is bad? Here's what I've learned ...

Lisa Rosendahl thought in 140 characters when she started tweeting. I organize notes and folders by hashtags. Punk Rock HR has an awesome organge kitty, Mr. Scrubby. Some think not of peoples real names, but of their Twitter names. The HR Maven is a fantastic photographer. The list could go on and on ... but the point is that this is a community and friendships just like ones in the city we live. They are just formed on technological playing field.

It comes down to personal choices. We can tweet a lot, we can tweet a little. We CAN let it consume our thoughts. But if that happens, don't forget about fresh air, conversations that don't start with an @ symbol and to live life. Maybe invite a Twitter friend or two to a phone conversation or if you are in the same city, for coffee.

FYI if you're ever in Buffalo, I would much rather prefer a margarita. ;-)

New & Improved

An FYI for anyone who missed out on some Twitter impulsiveness early this afternoon.

I began Twitter in December of 2008 after seeing how Andrea Michnik, a very smart DC gal I went to High School with, was using it. Not fully understanding the professional potential that came with it, I decided on the longtime nickname "Mittons" as my user name. It was a nickname I always loved and think of fondly. Unfortunately, people started to think my last name was Mittons which it is not.

So ... today I changed my name to Kelly_Mitton. You can now find me here. :) I also changed the name of my blog-instead of "student mitton" I'm now "Kelly Mitton".

The gears in my brain started turning after Stephanie Lloyd, former Twitter ATLrecruiter, changed her name. KellyMitton wasn't available so I kind of just gave up on it. Then today, employerbrander, now known as ChareeKlimek changed hers. In a rush of impulsiveness 10 minutes later I had not only a new name, but a new picture as well. Followed by us was sbjet who you will now find tweeting under SteveBoese.

I'm happy to have made the change and am glad to see others are also. Our tweets represent our personalities, thoughts, interests ... similarities and differences. Why shouldn't our user names represent us as well?

Betcha people remember my last name now. ;-)

EDIT:

After I posted this I learned of 2 additional converts. The first is allenEwilson, formerly known as hrdrummer. The second is more of a congratulations. Laurie Ruettiman has finally succeeded in taking over punkrockhr!!

Growing Pains

It's been awhile since I've really written on this blog. Project Cubicle was a fun post that came easily to me after working with Ben to create our "commandments." However, a comment that was left in the post before that, "Appreciating My Insides" has been eating away at me ever since I saw it. Mark Stelzner left the comment and it read:

"Terrific post Kelly and I'm really glad to see you writing as I think you have some powerful things to say. You've tapped into an interesting topic and I think (unfortunately) that most don't take the time to get past the external to even consider the internal. Thank for reminding us all!"

This comment brought 2 different emotions to me the first time I read it. 1)- It made me happy 2)- It terrified me. Let me explain.

The blogs I love to read are all written by people who DO have something powerful to say. They have experiences, opinions and beliefs. I'm still working on that. Sometimes, I feel like Ariel when her voice is locked up in the seashell hanging around Ursula's neck. I'm relatively new to the HR world having just graduated in December and it's early for me to have opinions on certain things. I have thoughts, of course. But some topics and debates I'm still feeling out for myself. That's why I love the Social Media world .. it has opened my eyes to so much more than a textbook could. I'm a sponge, constantly trying to absorb the conversations going on around me and learn from them.

So what powerful things do I have to say? Well to be completely honest, I'm not sure yet. So from now on every week I will write about my days at work, testing out the HR world. What I've learned, what I like, what I don't like. Contribute to my learning if you can ... maybe I'll end up teaching you a thing or two as well. ;-)

Project Cubicle

Cubicle etiquette. Some things may seem common sense, but I think many can testify that some people just don't get it. Eavesdropping on phone calls, ditching shoes at the desk, wearing way too much perfume ... how should an employee handle that? Besides employees, how should managers and HR handle these issues? Flip flops aren't appropriate business attire, but what are employees supposed to think if their supervisor is the one wearing them?

You start to see divides form. One group, blatantly disregards dress codes, common courtesy and common sense. The other group, knows the right thing to do and usually DOES the right thing ... but after seeing Jane Smith wear flip flops for a week with no repercussions might think "Well, if Jane can do it ... ". Then there is the third group. These are the ones that always do the right thing and are baffled, offended and outraged when someone else doesn't. This is who you will most likely hear the complaining from.

So what to do?

With enormous help from Ben Eubanks over at UpstartHR, Project Cubicle began to develop, a list of 10 office commandments, to broach these issues in a funny manner. So here they are:

Phones: In space, no one can hear you scream. In the office, everyone can. Use the phones wisely.

Speakerphones: The speakerphones are broken. Don't try to use them. Ever. Please.

Kitchen: We all eat from the kitchen, please keep it clean. The janitor is scary in person.

Refrigerator: Everyone loves pulling fungus out of the fridge. Wait, they don't. Toss it.

Cell phones: Keep cell use minimal (and silent). There's a problem if the beeps from your cube sound like an Atari convention.

Aroma: Cologne is a nich touch, but if the scent carries to the next floor of the building, please tone it down a notch.

Privacy: "Shh! I'm listening to Bob's conversation in the next cube. I'll get back to you later." If this is happening, it shouldn't be.

Smoking: Smoking is your thing, that's cool. Keep the breaks short and the butts in the trash. Or else.

Clothing: Welcome to the OFFICE. Not the beach. Not a party. Not high school. Dress appropriately.

Internet: Surfing. It's an awesome outside sport, but doesn't work well inside. At work. At your desk. Capiche?

So there you have it, Project Cubicle or the 10 Commandments of Office Etiquette. Print them out if you like, post them. Maybe you won't get drastic changes, but at least a few chuckles.

Have any you'd like to add?