The beautiful life of a minimalist: Living very large by living little

What would you give up to chase your dreams? Matt Ray leads a surreal existence that encompasses swimming with elusive whale sharks, jungle treks in pristine rainforests, lemur encounters in Madagascar, South African safaris and stunning ocean horizons. He’s an environmentalist, minimalist, sailor, diver, writer, musician, photographer and world traveler. But he wasn’t always that guy. Only a short few years ago, he was like most of us. He worked diligently for his employer, had realistic goal
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Medium •

Being a Nasty Woman Might Save Your Life

Recently, I was a nasty woman patient, asserting my medical rights and taking no prisoners. For this tirade, I make no apologies. Gender biased roles implied I should submit to the rules, like a nice, quiet girl. But this isn’t a situation for my docile compliance. Time is of the essence. I had to aggressively push back against the system. I didn’t always see these encounters as prejudice. But in totality of the healthcare experience, it is another bric
Invisible Illness •

There Aren’t Procedures for This

In the beginning, I thought I was prepared for a pandemic. At least, better than most. I was wrong about that. The stress of running a perpetual marathon in this environment is unraveling my psyche. I alternate between affirming self-talk and sinking into a pool of profound negativity. Most days, the latter is winning. The stakes are exceedingly high now, complex, and different in the types of decision-making I’ve built a career around. I should be proficient at this. Full disclosure: I’m not. I’m struggling. I am suffering COVID fatigue.
Invisible Illness •

The Day I Broke My Therapist & Realized My Superpower

Stable mental health is my illusive unicorn. I see it ahead and nearly grasp the beastie, but it skitters off and leaves me floundering in a dense forest of depression and mental muck. Like many survivors of child abuse, I have emotional baggage that exceeds the standard weight limits. I spent half my life unaware that I was carrying excessive luggage. Once I understood I had such an emotional burden, I spent the next several years beating myself up. Why couldn’t I just get over this?
An Injustice •

The LGBTQ Post-Election Pain

“Hey Mom, I just wanted you to know, I’m dating a girl. I’m gay. I love you.” Before I could answer, my youngest daughter hung up. That was how she came out to me. The master of brevity, that one is. Also, she has a proclivity for calling at odd hours, totally unaware that some humans actually sleep at night and our brains aren’t wired for 24–7 interactions. But I digress. In that one micro conversation, she took a huge leap of faith, trusting I’d accept her.
Medium Travel •

The Greatest Camping Failure Ever

At one point, I laid my head on the steering wheel and sobbed hysterically, “I can’t do this! I can’t do this!” From the backseat, a small hand found my shoulder. While patting it reassuringly, her tiny four-year-old voice said, “But you’re the Mommy. You gotta do it.” I didn’t want to do it. Absolutely not. Instead, I wanted to leave the van and all its contents and be rescued by a moderately handsome and incredibly capable Forest Ranger. And then spend the rest of my natural life drinking Margaritas and watching my Forest Ranger build me a shopping mall out of twigs. Alas, I was the Mommy and I had to push on.
Medium Noteworthy •

What I Learned From 6 Hours in a Cancer Center

Next I sat in a newly designed cancer center awaiting my CT scans. Once this area was a thoroughfare for foot traffic between healthcare departments. Currently repurposed as a zone of epic proportions, and transformed for social distancing, the deliberately placed and masked patients dotted the stark landscape. Post-apocalyptic gazelles, grazing under tired Thomas Kincaid garden paintings. It was a surreal place.
Medium •

Traveling 30 Countries by Age 30

Along the way, he hopes to empower the black community with a message to go to far-flung places that aren’t the typical travel destinations, as well as prod the tourism industry into action that embraces people of color. Black travel is not to be neglected or discriminated against through white-focused advertising and marketing. He’s a front runner for change, inspiration, and empowerment — part of a growing movement that rightfully demands equal recognition and representation they have been denied.
Grainger Safety •

6 Interview Questions to Get the Right Person - Grainger KnowHow

It's hard enough to find people with the right qualifications for the job—but making sure they'll fit in is almost as important, especially at smaller companies where productivity and professionalism depend on a tight-knit team. You want to hire a team player, someone who's ready to contribute in ways that go beyond the job description. Someone who pitches in to handle production surges, equipment failures and other stressful situations. Someone ready to solve problems and go the extra mile.
Grainger Safety •

Starting an Apprenticeship Program - Grainger KnowHow

If you've noticed that skilled manufacturing positions are getting harder to fill—it's not just you. Economists have also noted a widening gap in skills, especially as highly trained and established workers retire and must be replaced with new employees. For small businesses, this is an especially pressing problem. In small and efficient operations, workers tend to build deep expertise about their particular duties, but this expertise is hard to pass on and hard to replace as retirement looms.
XpertHR/LexisNexis •

How to Create an Emergency Action Plan | How To | Tools | XpertHR.com

Contracted by XpertHr, a partner with the legal authority, LexisNexis, to create 50+ policies, employment manuals and procedures, including the following Emergency Action Plan procedures. Planning and training are critical to minimize the negative impact of sudden emergencies that transpire in the workplace. A well-developed emergency action plan (EAP) is the foundation of a coordinated workplace response that helps protect workers and property during unforeseen events. The emergency action plan should address response to known or common workplace emergencies, such as fire, explosion and medical emergencies.
Career Trend •

OSHA Safety Toolbox Topics

Toolbox Talks is a program developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to bring a safety culture into the working environment. Instead of lengthy, somewhat rigid formal training sessions, employees take part in a 10- to 15-minute relaxed safety briefing. These talks take place directly in the workplace, whether a manufacturing floor or a construction site. As there are, quite literally, hundreds, if not thousands of OSHA standards, the topics and the benefits are limitless.
CE Solutions •

CE Solutions – CE Solutions EMS Continuing Education

For CE Solutions, a continuing education website devoted to EMS and firefighters, I produced a series of articles which are used nationally by public service workers to maintain certification. The medical article I wrote on Bloodborne Pathogens achieved certification from the Continuing Education Certification Board for Emergency Medical Service (CECBEMS), which is the national accrediting body for emergency medical personnel. Accredited by the Texas Department of Health and the California EMS Authority. CE Solutions is accepted in most states and by the NREMT. Additional continuing education articles written for the site included: • Workplace Violence Prevention • Sexual Harassment in the Workplace • An Introduction to OSHA • Bloodborne Pathogens • Respiratory Protection • Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plans • Ergonomics in the Workplace • Noise and Hearing Protection • Safe Electrical Practices • Hazard Communication • Working in Temperature Extremes • Stress in the Workplace • Lifting and Back Safety
Blog: Mrs Bankrupt •

No insurance. No doctor. You’re screwed. (part 2) | Mrs Bankrupt

This is part two in a series I am doing this week on health care reform, from a personal viewpoint. Given the fact that I’ve lost a home, ruined my credit and spent ten years being turned away from mainstream medical care, due to not having health insurance, I have some input to lend here. Let me recap my story briefly: A decade ago, I had a stage 3 cancer. Our business failed. The health insurance was not able to be maintained. I got divorced shortly after my cancer went into remission, leavin