I suck large at making decisions.
I mean, I am super undeceive.
What if I make the wrong choice?
What if a massive butterfly effect occurs because of the one little decision that I make that causes the world to explode?
OK...so I exagerrate a little.
But I often sit in bewilderment at the thought of having to choose.
Maybe that is why I really did not enjoy my first "real" job.
Even though I think I was pretty good at it...the "personality" of the position was not a match made in heaven with mine.
Striaght out of University, I was seeking a job to make money in order to go into a post-graduate program in...of all things...media copywriting. I was looking for a summer job really, but my friend, who worked for a large insurance company told me they were hiring Underwriters and I applied.
And I got the job.
And while I didn't love the job, I loved the feeling of having a real job, making my own money, la la la.
And so I decided to drop the idea of post-graduate school and keep on working.
In retrospect, media copywriting wasprobably definitely a more suitable career choice, however there I was in the insurance industry.
Yay me!
Now for those of you who don't know exactly what an Underwriter does, here is a basic overview. An Underwriter is responsible for making the decisions - on behalf of the insurance company - on whether or not to take on the risk of a particular piece of business.
So in essence - I was responsible for making decisions all day.
I was a property and casualty (home and auto - or Personal Lines) Underwriter.
For example - I would look at a home that a broker wanted my company to insure - and then I would have to assess the risk of taking on that home as an insurer.
I had to take into consideration the roof, electrical, plumbing, heating sources, etc. I also had to look at the history of the people who owned the home. Had they had any prior claims? What did they do for a living? Did they have other pieces of business (like their car) with the company?
Sometimes I would have to make quick decisions on what they would need to do in order for me to accept the business. Perhaps they needed to get a new roof. Maybe they needed to get rid of that old, fire hazard of a wood stove. Maybe I would accept but only with a high deductible because of their claims history.
I would go through homes and cars like this...all day, every day. I made hundreds of decisions every week.
I was actually good at my job. Making decisions about other people. Making decisions about their lives.
As long as it was not my life, I was OK.
Then, I grew to pretty much hate it.
But I have to say it did teach me a number of things.
I now know a lot about the inner workings of a home and shit about cars that I never would otherwise.
I can certainly make wiser decisions about my own insurance needs in these areas now.
It also taught me pretty good negotiation skills.
I had to negotiate with brokers every day. I had to learn to be firm and stand my ground no matter how many times they took me out for the famous "wine and dine the Underwriter" lunches.
And so I negotiated myself out of that job and into a job as a Client Relationship Manager for an insurance-related statistics non-profit organization.
Insurance and statistics! Right up my alley! NOT!
But I am good at building relationships, so it was better. For the moment.
Then I was in the non-profit door and I moved on to other positions for other non-profits - mostly professional and trade associations - and worked my way up the ladder.
But I must digress.
I have turned this post about making decisions into a post about my work history.
See?!!? I can't even decide what this post is going to say!
So back to making decisions.
Sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed, even deciding what to have for lunch at a restaurant is too much.
Especially at those places where they have veritable novels for menus.
I recently went to The Cheesecake Factory on a hockey tournament visit to Chicago and just the menu of cheesecake options was crazy - never mind the other food!
What to wear is a downer, since I only have so much shit that actually fits me...and even then they really don't because I refuse to invest in anything that looks really good on my current body because I am losing weight...oh yes sir-y I really am!
So I inevitably put on one of my ten or so pairs of black yoga pants and long hoodie or something or other that leaves room for the parts I don't want to show.
I have gotten better on deciding what do do with my hair, to be fair. Icomb it grab it together with my hands and wrap it up in a messy bun-kinda-looking-thing somewhere at the back of my head.
If I am feeling really brave, I do pig tails.
Because a 40 year old with pig-tails is very sophisticated. Especially whilst sporting yoga pants, a Soundgarden hoodie and fake UGGS.
OK...now this post has taken another turn and I am talking about how much of a "middle-aged,soccer hockey-mom" I really have become.
I think my next decision should be to get myself a makeover.
There.
Decision made!
I feel accomplished already.
Smiles,
Lora
I mean, I am super undeceive.
What if I make the wrong choice?
What if a massive butterfly effect occurs because of the one little decision that I make that causes the world to explode?
OK...so I exagerrate a little.
But I often sit in bewilderment at the thought of having to choose.
Maybe that is why I really did not enjoy my first "real" job.
Even though I think I was pretty good at it...the "personality" of the position was not a match made in heaven with mine.
Striaght out of University, I was seeking a job to make money in order to go into a post-graduate program in...of all things...media copywriting. I was looking for a summer job really, but my friend, who worked for a large insurance company told me they were hiring Underwriters and I applied.
![]() |
Yay! Underwriting! |
And I got the job.
And while I didn't love the job, I loved the feeling of having a real job, making my own money, la la la.
And so I decided to drop the idea of post-graduate school and keep on working.
In retrospect, media copywriting was
Yay me!
Now for those of you who don't know exactly what an Underwriter does, here is a basic overview. An Underwriter is responsible for making the decisions - on behalf of the insurance company - on whether or not to take on the risk of a particular piece of business.
So in essence - I was responsible for making decisions all day.
I was a property and casualty (home and auto - or Personal Lines) Underwriter.
![]() |
...and this is kinda what my desk looked like. |
For example - I would look at a home that a broker wanted my company to insure - and then I would have to assess the risk of taking on that home as an insurer.
I had to take into consideration the roof, electrical, plumbing, heating sources, etc. I also had to look at the history of the people who owned the home. Had they had any prior claims? What did they do for a living? Did they have other pieces of business (like their car) with the company?
Sometimes I would have to make quick decisions on what they would need to do in order for me to accept the business. Perhaps they needed to get a new roof. Maybe they needed to get rid of that old, fire hazard of a wood stove. Maybe I would accept but only with a high deductible because of their claims history.
I would go through homes and cars like this...all day, every day. I made hundreds of decisions every week.
I was actually good at my job. Making decisions about other people. Making decisions about their lives.
As long as it was not my life, I was OK.
Then, I grew to pretty much hate it.
![]() |
Yeah...kind of like this. |
But I have to say it did teach me a number of things.
I now know a lot about the inner workings of a home and shit about cars that I never would otherwise.
I can certainly make wiser decisions about my own insurance needs in these areas now.
It also taught me pretty good negotiation skills.
I had to negotiate with brokers every day. I had to learn to be firm and stand my ground no matter how many times they took me out for the famous "wine and dine the Underwriter" lunches.
And so I negotiated myself out of that job and into a job as a Client Relationship Manager for an insurance-related statistics non-profit organization.
Insurance and statistics! Right up my alley! NOT!
![]() |
So exciting. So stimulating! So not me. |
But I am good at building relationships, so it was better. For the moment.
Then I was in the non-profit door and I moved on to other positions for other non-profits - mostly professional and trade associations - and worked my way up the ladder.
But I must digress.
I have turned this post about making decisions into a post about my work history.
See?!!? I can't even decide what this post is going to say!
So back to making decisions.
![]() |
HA! |
Sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed, even deciding what to have for lunch at a restaurant is too much.
Especially at those places where they have veritable novels for menus.
I recently went to The Cheesecake Factory on a hockey tournament visit to Chicago and just the menu of cheesecake options was crazy - never mind the other food!
![]() |
I could hardly cope! |
What to wear is a downer, since I only have so much shit that actually fits me...and even then they really don't because I refuse to invest in anything that looks really good on my current body because I am losing weight...oh yes sir-y I really am!
So I inevitably put on one of my ten or so pairs of black yoga pants and long hoodie or something or other that leaves room for the parts I don't want to show.
Part of my "uniform". |
I have gotten better on deciding what do do with my hair, to be fair. I
If I am feeling really brave, I do pig tails.
![]() |
Hey! I think it's frickin' cute! |
Because a 40 year old with pig-tails is very sophisticated. Especially whilst sporting yoga pants, a Soundgarden hoodie and fake UGGS.
OK...now this post has taken another turn and I am talking about how much of a "middle-aged,
I think my next decision should be to get myself a makeover.
There.
Decision made!
I feel accomplished already.
Smiles,
Lora
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