Time to play catch-up

These past seven days have completely gotten away from me. Between the babysitter shuffle, late shifts and unanticipated doubles, I've been able to do a whole lot of nothing. But as I go through round 32 of babysitter interviews this week, I think I'll be back on my normal routine... whatever that is.

Times have really changed since I was 18 and trying to pick up extra cash with my own babysitting gigs. I was not, by any means, a perfect kid and the jobs I accepted were as heavily influenced by how well my clients stocked their refridgerators as it was by how well their children behaved. And honestly, if a babysitter came into my home just to eat popcorn while the Little Miss watches "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," I'd probably be fine with that so long as everyone was safe and happy.

One thing I never did was call out from a job. I think I completely blanked on a babysitting job when I was 13. Much later in life, when I was 22, I responded to an ad looking for a part-time sitter, received her address with a date and time and showed up to a completely empty house. Other than those two times, I have always been there for whoever needed me. Sometimes in tears (when I had to drive around downtown Albany, NY for half an hour in a oil-burning, overheating, clunky p.o.s. car whose engine was about to fall out the bottom trying to find a parking spot near this one family's home), but I was there.

So I don't get calling in. For anything. If you have a job, even if it's "just" a babysitting job, you are there and on time. Hence the reason we are now seeking sitter #4. This time, I'm being especially picky:

• No sorority girls. No more of this rush week BS. If you're in a sorority, great. Don't take a job just to call out for several shifts at a time because of sorority crap. Lots of people go to school and work but if you don't really need your job, please don't waste someone's time by acting like you're employable.
• Decent grammar and spelling are a must. I'm not looking for perfection, but if someone means to say "you" and instead types "u", I will not hire her. Same for "cuz" "wanna" "gonna" and my BIGGEST peeve ever: The use of "is" when the appropriate word is "are" (and vice versa).
• The applicant must actually read my job posting. Seems like a no-brainer but I've already received more replies than not from people who clearly did not check the days I indicated I needed care for. An example of this is that I posted I needed someone for Wednesdays, Thursday evenings, and/or Fridays. One of my responses was from a woman who told me she was available Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays until 2:00 PM. *facepalm*

I hope this will all prove to be good practice for when I do own a business and have to deal with the hiring process.

In exercise news, I have only run about 30 miles of my goal of 100 for a month. Logging the miles hasn't been as easy as I'd hoped because my app doesn't always find a signal, so it will tell me I completed 1.38 miles in 1:50:00. I wish this challenge somehow included indoor miles and time spent indoor cycling, too, but even if I don't reach 100 miles outside, I've been pushing it with my workouts and feeling good. I taught two spin classes last week, one of them being on a Friday. I forgot how much I love doing a spin class on Friday evenings- such a great way to end the week and start the weekend!

Lastly, for the 2nd time my entry was drawn in the lottery for the Peachtree Road Race! It's a fast but incredibly steamy 10K race that also happens to be the biggest 10K in the world. I hope to improve on my 48:43 from last year by building my strength to better power through the initial downhill portion of the race and to make sure I'm good and acclimated to hot hilly runs to get through the rest.

Looking forward to any summer races?

What's your biggest deal-breaker when it comes to hiring someone?