My father would’ve been 57 today. He passed away in Dec of 2011 almost one month after he turned 56. Cancer sucks. Cancer sucks so hard. Losing him at such a young age was horrible. As most of you know, it changed my life. I chose to make changes for (hopefully) the better.

I want other people to have more birthdays so PLEASE donate to my Movember campaign.

If you read this, I’m asking you to donate $5-$10 so that other little girls out there can watch their daddies grow old and have more birthdays. Let’s rise above the stereotypes. Men get sick too. Get a checkup. Change the face of Men’s Health!

Please help me get to at least $60 today in celebration of my dad’s birthday. DONATE HERE 

Smile Daddy!

What does that mean? Well, if you want to hang out, you honestly have to get in on my schedule. I’ll be taking a lot of your guys up on your offers for free coffee and free dinner! :p I’ll also be taking that time to really focus on figuring out who I am as a person. What makes Regina happiest? Who the hell am I? Being caught up in my dad’s sickness really had me on a backburner and now it’s my time to shine!

That also means there might be an opening at an amazing company that needs a social media rockstar and an independent thinker with great ideas to further the company’s goals. I learned so much at Live Work Play and wouldn’t trade my time working there for anything. I’m really sorry to go

How can you help? Shove book and music recommendations at me. Have coffee, brunch, lunch, dinner, drinks with me and tell me what you think my strengths and wea

My World has been turned UPSIDE DOWN

knesses are and how I can improve on them. Have a job that you think I’ll be great for, TELL ME! You don’t even have to have a solution; you can simply give me a hug. I need those as well.

Peace out Live Work Play! On to deal with all the grownup things! I wish you the best in the future!

Connect with me on LinkedIn if we aren’t already connected!

Regina Twine, LLC coming soon??? Social Media Consulting!!

My Daddy and I

I know that each day people pass away but this is my Daddy. The BEST man in my life. He raised me to be the wonderful and strong person that I am and he taught me to stand up for myself. So I’m taking a stand for Men’s Health.

There are also too many men who are just too stubborn to go to the doctor. Stop it. It’s not “uncool” to go get a checkup. Follow the recommended doctor appointments. Someone out there depends on you even if you don’t realize it. Continue to be around for their sake.

If you read this, I’m asking you to donate $1 in the name of my Daddy – John Twine so that other girls out there can watch their daddies grow old. Let’s rise above the stereotypes. Get a checkup. Change the face of Men’s Health

http://mosista.co/ReginaTwine Please pass this along

if you’ve been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that my dad is in the hospital. Here’s all the details since I’ve been mostly generalizing things. On December 16, my dad had a brain tumor removed from over his cerebellum. I was in the hospital at the time with him and the surgery completely removed the tumor. He went back to Elizabeth City, NC, where he lives, a few days later after the doctors said it was ok. He was home (not by himself, but no I wasn’t there) and had a seizure on Christmas night. He went to the ER, they treated him and sent him home. He then had another seizure early early morning on Monday and then sent him back to the hospital were he had his surgery done. That’s when I get a call telling me where he is and a little bit about what is going on. Since then, his mental state has declined and he went from talking, to just saying his name but being able to wiggle his toes on command to not doing anything but sleeping. As of today, he opened his eyes when asked to twice and he gave the nurse a thumbs up this morning. Progress. The only bad thing is that this actions haven’t really repeated themselves throughout the day.

My dad had thyroid cancer around 2005 which even after taking out his thyroid, the cancer has shown up in other spots in his body. They were all treated and the latest was this spot in his brain. He’s diabetic, has high blood pressure and is hard headed. His wishes include “No Blood” and “Do Not Resuscitate” which I don’t agree with but it’s his religion, not mine. Anyway, a lot of treatments were going on without me knowing it since I was off at school and elsewhere so I had no idea the extent of the cancer.

So that brings me back to today. My dad is sitting in this crazy limbo state. The doctors haven’t come to a real conclusion as to why any of this stuff is going on. They are treating him like he has an infection just in case there is one that they aren’t seeing. His kidneys weren’t working all that well but they have been getting better. The doctors “think” that maybe once his kidneys are all better, he’ll just come right out of this state. As of right now, we play a waiting game.

As for me, I’m coming back to Raleigh shortly. (I have a butt doctor appointment Friday yay) I’ve been in the hospital with him but I’m overwhelmed with all of this. I’m the one who has to make all the decisions for him. Now that I know what’s really going on with him health-wise, I’m even more confused. I had a doctor straight up ask me how long I wanted him treated for and how aggressively. That was the worst question of my life because I had no clue what his wishes are. I just want my daddy to live and be able to walk me down the aisle one day.

So my point of this is yes to update you guys on what the hell is going on with me but to also say, talk to your parents and loved ones about their wishes. Make sure you aren’t kept in the dark. You need to do it now before they are in a state where they can’t make decisions for themselves.

Oh and please stop asking me if I’m ok…I’m not smashing lamps over my head but when I breakdown, you guys will know. Promise.

I’ve been in bed since Wednesday. I’m sure at some point in my life, it will be great to spend almost 5 full days in bed…maybe with someone but this was not the case this week. This week, my fear for my job, hurt my health in a major way.

I haven’t been selling as many cars as I’ve wanted/needed to in the past few weeks. November was a hard month for the dealership and for me so I know I have to REALLY be on the top of my game in order to keep my job. I like getting paid and I work hard to try to make sure that I keep getting paid. Well I started feeling sick at the start of December but ignored it.

Usually these things work themselves out. I kept pushing myself to show up for work with a smile on my face and full of energy even though toward the end of the week I was in a little bit of pain. At the start of the next week, I started off the day with that smile and the high energy but by the end of the day, you could see on my face that something was wrong. I was running a super high fever and I had chills but guess who wanted to stay at work to make sure she was being a team player? They had to FORCE me to go home.

Long story short, I had a SUPER infected pilonidal cyst that should’ve been checked out at the FIRST sign of pain but I was so scared of losing my job AND losing my health insurance in turn that I put it off. After my 1^st doctor’s visit, I called work and said I had the flu. (Who wants to tell your boss that you have a problem on your ass?)

People tend to get fired on Mondays and Fridays at our dealership because those are the days we have meetings with the big boss. On Friday, as I was in the waiting room of a surgeon for the first time in my life, I kept looking for the text from my friends at work to be like hey..you got fired this morning. Yes, I had told work I was sick but that sometimes doesn’t matter.

So tomorrow I shall return to work, hole in my ass and everything. I’m on the mend.

I might have to have true surgery in about a month where I’ll be out for 2 weeks for recovery. Hopefully this time I won’t be worried about keeping my job over my heath. Always choose you.

One good thing will come out of this though. I have a blog post written for tomorrow! I might even write a few more!

You know Chat Roulette? The place where you can video chat with people or penises? Well, Brazen Careerist just launched it’s own roulette, without the penises. Networking Roulette is a 3 minute chat session with people all over the hot social network, Brazen Careerist. There is no video so you have to hold your own with your words or your chat partner might “next” you.

In the start, you will fill out your profile saying what are looking for and just to show you aren’t selfish, what you have to offer.

This is a great way to network because there is no pressure; just start a quick convo to see if y’all can help each other out. Speed plays a big factor here so you will need to make sure your elevator pitch is ready. If your chat mate can help, add them to your network at the end of the chat, if not, no hard feelings.

So how is this new awesome toy going to help you? Well it depends. Sometimes there will be themed networking events, say for those interested in job search help or living in NYC. Other times, you can just log on while in your Pjs and see who’s online. Networking Roulette will help you break the ice and connect you with someone that you can help or that can help you. It’s up to you to continue the convo after the chat ends. Can you handle that little task? Then log your ass into Brazen and get to networking!

So here are the main points:

• Networking Roulette is on Brazen Careerist
• 3 minute text chat
• It will connect you with interesting people that might help you if you ask
• You are in control! Avoid crowded happy hours, unwanted exchanges, and awkard intros

it’s the week of my birthday and I’m super excited. Too bad that’s not what this post is about. Quick recap: still selling cars (now the ONLY female left on the sales floor), boyfriend-less days after my last post (THAT will be written about later for SURE) and I bought myself a new car as an early birthday gift.

So I have a problem. I consider myself a decent looking person, I’m fairly intelligent and in my mind I should be beating men back with a stick. Well, this guy at work has been hitting on me like crazy. We flirt all day long at work but I’ve already told him that he is too old for me and that I don’t want to mix work and a relationship. This was a great excuse at the time but I’m realizing that I’m full of shit. I really don’t want to sleep with him because I’m worried that I’m horrible in bed. Who would want to be known as the girl that was horrible in bed at their own workplace? That’s not something you can really play off like “nah, that wasn’t me” or laugh it off. I would have to quit and I don’t want to quit at the moment. Since I do still want to keep my job, I will continue to refrain from sleeping with Mr. Work Guy.

So career advice – don’t sleep with someone in your workplace if you doubt your bedroom skills, it can only end badly unless you are fine with everyone knowing you suck in bed.

Am I the only one that thinks about this stuff when dealing with the opposite sex?

Quick updates: I found my structure – I got a job! I sell cars. Seriously, I’ve been on the job for a month and I’ve sold 10 cars. It’s a little bit of a rush every time I get a car deal. I love the interactions I have with people so this is a good job for me at the moment. I have now been Dating (with a big D) the guy for almost 3 months and I pretty much moved in with him. Did I mention I found him online? Well whatever, I move fast sometimes. The problem is that I’m not allowed to blog about him and I REALLY want to but oh well.

So as I said, I gained the structure that I was craving but I’m paying a slightly high price for it. I usually work from 9 to 9 about 6 days a week. I work about 45 minutes away from my house so that’s how I ended up moving in since the Boy lives about 5 minutes away from my job. I haven’t really been able to see my friends because I’m usually not home. According to a few, that’s part of “growing up” and being serious. I guess I’m not ready to lose my friends. They are my rocks and help keep the fun in my life. Why does growing up mean that you have to become completely independent or only dependent on your significant other?  I’m only 25 (birthday is coming up guys!) and I don’t think fun and excitement are too much to ask for. Am I settling for a job that is keeping me away from the lifestyle I enjoy? Is that what being a grownup truly is? I’m whining but for good reason I think. I spent 2 years in Upstate NY, with just the Ex for company. I made friends along the way and was able to hang out occasionally with them but I was away from my good friends. Yes, I have my entire life to work but how many opportunities will I miss to cheer up a friend or share in a horrible but funny adventure?

Am I missing out on life by having a job? Am I just going crazy?

I like Rules!!

I don’t currently have any rules or structure in my life. I’m an unemployed mess. I spend my most of my days as follows: job hunting, going to the pool, going to the gym, watching tv, playing on facebook & twitter, and hanging out with my friends if I feel like it. You know..this was fun for about two weeks and then I was over it. Except for the fun day of standing in line for the Iphone 4, my days are getting pretty boring. I like having structure in my life somewhere. This is why I’m going to apply at Target tomorrow.

I’ve been job searching for a while. I have been to some networking events, gotten some interviews and I’m hoping at actually land a solid job offer very very soon (I’m on my 3^rd interview w/a company right now!) but in the meantime, I need a boss. I also need a steady paycheck but right now I just want a boss. I want someone to tell me what to do because rules help me get the rest of my life in order.

When I have a job, I know what time I need to be in bed. Do I stay up late sometimes and feel bad about it in the morning? Yes. I have to plan outfits to wear, so I have to actually make sure all my clothes are clean and put in a place where it’s not hard to grab them from.  Do I always do that? No but it makes it easier. With a job, you have a lunch break and such so you eat during that certain hour during the day. All of these structured activities make me happy and help other parts of my life fall into place better.

It’s strange because I’m super independent and responsible but it feels like I just need one set of rules to make me start to feel normal again, instead of the lazy bum that I have become during unemployment.

Is anyone else like this or is it just me? Maybe I’m just crazy. Are there rules at the insane asylum?

So yeah I had the confidence and the drive needed to do the position. I was telling myself on the way back to the office how great the job was and how I had the potential to earn some pretty sweet commission pay. Then the other shoe dropped: the job is commission only…and they don’t pay mileage. Then an offer was made to join the team. I asked if I could think about it overnight and get back to them the next day.

I walked out of the office strongly conflicted. YAY! I got a job offer but…wait…can I make enough money to actually live? Yes, there is potential to be successful. Yes, the law of averages says the more people you see, the more of a chance you’ll hear a yes at the end of the day but what about those days or weeks when you get no sales? How would I eat? I can’t control how my product my customer orders. I could make $40 or $400. Am I willing to chance it?

Turns out I’m a bit risk adverse and I knew I was going to say no to the offer. Then the guilt set it…here I am turning down a job when the NC unemployment rate is 10.9%. How many people would kill to be in my shoes right now so they can feed their families? Well I talked to my dad and he made me realize I have to look out for myself because that’s all I can control. I am going to pass along the opportunity to people that might be interested and might be a better fit than I am.

So it’s back to job hunting…and not feeling guilty because I have to keep making myself happy. You have to do, what you have to do.