Becoming a Professional

I feel like I have been riding a roller coaster that has ended now that I am home and doing what I love. I started work as a paid copywriter this last Monday, which has helped me feel validated as a person and as a writer. My life hasn't always been so lovely though. This last Friday when I drove passed Skippers; memories from my first job rushed through my mind. I distinctly remember one particular night that was the start of a long line of personal changes that led me to where I am today.

On that night in Skippers, I was charged with the task of cleaning the chowder pot. The chowder pot is a giant cauldron that Skippers uses to make chowder, but it is more than just that. It is the cantankerous sore that belongs to the person who has to close that night and that night it was mine.

As I scrubbed the chowder pot, burnt chowder stubbornly stayed on the walls, pieces of chowder decorated my fishy smelling black outfit and the hot giant pot ceased to get clean. Anger, frustration and desperation swelled within me. I was so done. It was in that desperation though when I set a fire within my heart that would continue to blaze within me for years. That fire's purpose in me was to keep bettering myself, to become a professional and to make it.

It was in that moment late at night when I smelled of seafood and vinegar and nearing my breaking point, that a stern determination began to set in. That stern determination to make it and become a professional writer has finally paid off though. As I drove passed Skippers, five years and two degrees later, it hit me that I did it. I landed a job as a professional copywriter in Lacey. I am home. I am not in Seattle at Marchex. I am not in Tacoma at UWT.  I am home and I am doing what I love. God is amazing.

The Crush Master 450-Watt Black & Deck Blender Review

A review written by Monica Jonen about the blender provided by CSN Stores.com

Anticipation brews as I sit swirling my pink milkshake, than I take a sip and…smile. My sister ingeniously suggested the sweet flavors of Strawberry, Cherry, Pineapple, Cocoanut and Banana for the milkshake. Each flavor rolls around in my mouth inevitably blending. ‘This must be what pink tastes like!’ I think to myself. Pink is my favorite color and so this thought makes me exceedingly happy.

The machine that allowed me “taste” pink today was the Black & Decker Crush Master 450-Watt Blender. I recently ordered it from http://www.csnstores.com/Black-and-Decker-BL10450H-BND2182.html and it came within a week of ordering it! It arrived on the weekend, while I was out socially playing, and so I let my sister and mother open to test it out first. They are very happy with it, except for the confusing buttons and its’ instruction manual.

I believe the most confusing button is the Hi/Low button. It is a simple gray button that you just push, but communicates nothing. There is no indication as to whether you are blending at high or low speeds except for the sound of your blending. In the instructions manual it says, “Select to change speed between High and Low. The word will appear on the LCD screen to show which speed is being used” However, there is no LCD screen on the blender to tell me what speed I am using. This is frustrating, especially since the instructions manual doesn’t match up to the product.

The other point of frustration is that there are two sets of blending speeds. The ones on top and ones on bottom of the gray buttons, both which serve different purposes (puree, blend, liquefy, crumb, beat, etc). You can’t switch from the top to the bottom buttons though because it doesn’t say how to do that in the so called “instructions manual”.

The directions aren’t very detailed and do not communicate very much, except for that this is a blender, don’t stick your hand in it and turn it on. These are instruction manual problems though, and while tied to the product, (it just means they don’t pay their technical copywriters enough doe). My mother also pointed out that there are three different model numbers which indicates that these instructions could be for any one of those. There is nothing to indicate what model we have though.

I am actually very impressed with the blender itself. The blender jar is a very tough, thick, and durable glass (perfect for a blonde klutzy destructible force like me). On one side of the jar, it gives measurements for cups and ounces, while on the other side, it gives liter measurements. This is very handy for a recipe stickler…not me…but for someone who is of course.

The blades in the jar seem to be pretty durable, sharp, and strong. They are long and have crushed up our over-frozen ice cream into perfectly creamy milky mixtures.  Just think…with this Crush Master, I can crush ice and make smoothies! This will go over very well during the three days of our Northwest summer when everyone is salivating for an icy smoothie.

And so now you know who to come to during the summer time for hydration. If you are looking for a basic blender though that will serve you blending needs, I would definitely suggest the 2015 version of the Crush Master when it comes out.