OT: Cross Country Bike Ride
Many of you know me from my photos on this blog, but I really don’t post much on the board. I’m actually posting this for a friend and co-worker Andrew McKelvey. He is doing some fundraising to pay off bills associated with his mother in laws cancer treatment. She is a survivor of breast cancer. He is riding his bike across the country to raise money and awareness for her. If you could take a minute and check out his site and read his story, it would be much appreciated. If you can donate anything, that would be even better!
Here is the donate link:
https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/x0d7/bike-for-val-s-mom
Thanks in advance. Go Blue!
January 22nd, 2015 at 10:21 AM ^
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January 22nd, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
I would love to do that. I have a fear of having a gap in my employment record/career derailment though.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
I will assume you are young and starting out since I hope no one mid-career or middle aged gives a rat's ass about what doesn't look good on a resume. Out of UM, I spent four years teaching sailing in the caribbean and traveling around the country and through Europe. Gap in my resume? You betcha. Probably set me back several years on a career track, too. Regret it? Never.
Whatever your chosen career path, there will be hundreds of applicants for the same job with the same beaten path, cliched experience. Most follow this path because they think they are supposed to. You know what stands out in a sea of applicants who have clerked at law firms or made copies all summer in an ad firm? Someone who rode their bike across the country. That shows me more dedication, creativeness, gumption and intensity than almost anything someone could have done during the 9-5.
Make your professional resume look like swiss cheese. Following someone else's path is the worst thing you can have on your resume. And in your obituary.
January 22nd, 2015 at 1:04 PM ^
Exactly this. For some reason people have an aversion to adding explanation to gaps on resumed. Took time as a stay at home dad? Put it on there and own it. Just don't go with crap like "Home Efficiency Officer" or some crap like that.
January 22nd, 2015 at 1:11 PM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
It is my goal to bike across the lower 48 within the next 10 years. I won't mind taking the time off to do it. Potential employers (and current for me) would see that as a positive that a very small proportion of society ever contemplates. It speaks to your character. I think it's common to take 1 month minimum which is still nearly 100 miles per day. Even more optimistic would be to race in the Race Across America - goes from San Diego to Atlantic City, NJ and you only get 12 days 2 hrs. Winners typically do it in 8 days. It's crazy.
January 22nd, 2015 at 5:16 PM ^
Yeah, I think I would have to quit as well. That would take some courage. I'm not completely fresh out of school, but still pretty young I'd say. I am starting to reach a point where it feels like the years are sort of melting together, and that scares me.
If I had a lot of confidence in my ability to pick up a quality job on the other side in a reasonable amount of time it would be much easier for me to further entertain the idea. I'm not exactly in love with my current job. Working in a technical field I do worry about skills rusting though and I think I'd have a hard time marketing the experience in a future job search in my industry.
You guys are totally right though, you only get one life! Should probably just go for it, and have the belief in myself that I can make it work on the other side.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
good long bike ride isn't somewhere you wanna be anyway....
I took several months off to do one out of school and have never come close to regretting it. My 1987 Miyata 1000 remains my primary bike and is about my favorite (non-living) thing
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
his mother in-law? He's a better man than I.
/MIL is the worst kind of person. I'd be rooting for the cancer. Seriously.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^
a douche cruise ship.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
twice.
There are a lot of people on this earth that deserve some suffering.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
He is a better man than you; a much better man.
January 22nd, 2015 at 12:58 PM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
Good luck to your friend and his family. It is both amazing and wonderful that we live in a country that is able to create treatments for cancer so that it is not an absolute death sentence. It is ALSO amazing and wonderful that we live in such a generous country that people will help their neighbors (both near and far) when they have the fight of their life on their hands.