More from the Italy trip 2008

Picture #1 on the left is a directional sign pointing to the red-light district of Pompei.

Picture #2 is me washing my hands in an outdoor fountain that now functions again on the streets of Pompeii.
Picture #3 is me standing in the garden of a Pompeiian home, long since destroyed but the garden still blooms.

One of our favorite trips within the Naples area was the day we went to Pompeii! This ancient city, oer 3000 years old was completely inundated by volcanic ash when Mt. Vesuvius suddenly erupted one day and killed nearly everyone in this very sophisticated city. I highly recommend a visit to Pompeii when you visit Italy!

Sarah Palin: This Boomer's Opinion

by Nataly Kogin (from her blog www.workitmom.com/blog)

We (too) rarely have women running for VP and seeing an unknown political figure catapult to the national stage is intriguing, whatever party you support. There is a lot to write about.
In this case, it’s about Sarah Palin blowing a kiss to the audience before VP debate last week. And winking during the debate. Numerous times. As I watched her do it, I cringed. I am no career expert but I know enough to understand the importance of body language in the workplace. If you want the job, start with a firm handshake. If you want to be heard, state your ideas sitting confidently and upright on the edge of your chair instead of slumping down and making your statement a question.
And if you want to be taken seriously by your coworkers and clients — or say, by 70 million people watching you on TV — don’t wink during a heated political discussion and don’t blow kisses to people you don’t know.
Now, I am no dummy. I know that this extremely casual body language, manners as well as peppering speeches with colloquial phrases like “You betcha!” is both part of Ms. Palin’s personality and the image that she is aiming to build of someone who is one of us, a regular person who just happens to be running for Vice President. But I don’t buy it. If you’re running for office you should not sound and act like a regular person in a casual setting. Because you’re not a regular person, you’re a Vice Presidential candidate and when you’re out there on some international mission, talking to world leaders as an American representative, I definitely don’t want you to act the way you might around your family.
Sorry to lecture, Ms. Palin, but after seeing women sabotage their success in the workplace by the way they talk and hold themselves, I care about this stuff. Fair or not, women have to jump over a higher bar just to be on par with men in professional settings, which means there’s no room for overly-girly body language or expressions that make you sound juvenile. When I was starting my career I was lucky to have one woman boss who took me shopping for a serious suit. “How you look matters, whether you like it or not,” she told me as I invested in my first-ever (and last-ever) Ann Taylor skirt suit.
Your suits are fine but in my not-so-humble opinion, you need to act as serious as they look.