Making my Christmas List
As Christmas approaches, one of the things that I notice is that many of my friends and family ask me what I want. Now, I don’t know about you, but since I passed my thirties many years ago, I really have had some issues trying to figure out what I want for a present since I don’t really need anything anymore.
So when people start asking me what they should get me, I usually can’t think of anything off the top of my head. It is a bit embarrassing for me (which is exactly the situation that I never like to be in), so this year I decided to be a little more proactive and make myself a list of suggestions for others.
But making a list when you don’t really need anything or want anything can be a challenge. Sure, I put some of the boat accessories that I want for my new boat (which happened to be my father’s day present), but beyond that there wasn’t much on the list. I added some books to it, a movie or two, and that is it.
I just hope that people realize that I don’t need any more bath soap or plaid jackets – if they can’t think of anything to get me, a gift card will suffice.
Cure Holiday Blues by Adopting a Family
Are you feeling a little bit sorry for yourself this year as the holidays approach? Maybe you can’t afford to go home for the holidays this year like you usually do. Or perhaps you just can’t attend as many holiday parties as you would like. The quickest cure for pitying yourself is to invest your time in helping someone who has even less than you do. The holiday season is a great time to do that. A great way to do it is to Adopt a Family.
Through Adopt-a-Family programs you get to choose a family in need. After picking your family, you help them to get what they need for the holidays.
Most families want things for their kids. A lot of kids have special needs and parents will ask specifically for things the kids need to meet those needs. For example, a child may need wide width shoes and the parents can’t afford them so they request them through the Adopt a Family program. In some cases, the parents need some things as well. For example, one family needs diabetic socks this year.
Helping these people doesn’t cost a lot of money since you’re only buying for one family. It will make you feel a lot better about where your life is at this year!
Competitive Shuffleboard for all Ages
People from all around the world recently went to Zephyrhills, Florida to compete in The International Shuffleboard Association’s World Singles Tournament. This is a very serious competition between shuffleboard players. Both men and women compete in this tournament. Winners of both genders are crowned and get to take home the ultimate shuffle board prize: The Golden Cue Stick.
What’s really interesting about this competition is that it draws in people of all ages. People traditionally think of shuffleboard as a sport for the elderly. Indeed, there were some octogenarians competing at this event. However, the youngest participant wasn’t even old enough to drive yet so it’s really a sport that is alluring to all ages when it reaches this level.
You might think that the winners of the competition get some cash money for their efforts. You’d be wrong. You really have to love the game to compete because the only prize is that Golden Cue Stick and the acclaim of other shuffle board players. That doesn’t mean that it’s just a friendly game though. The competitors are serious. Shuffleboard game rules must be followed. And the winners gain the respect of shuffleboard players from around the entire world until new winners are named next year.
Taking Charge of Our Housing Community
After a lackluster three years in our housing community, it is finally time for elections. The current board of directors did a horrible job and the community has suffered. Our once beautiful neighborhood is now very so-so and something needs to be done.
So, I have decided that I will run in the next elections to become one of the board of directors members. I know that I don’t have any experience, but I do want to make a difference in our community and return it to its former beauty.
I have decided that I will make changes to the current homeowners association management policies and create a more structured environment for their proceedings. In fact, I have been looking into introducing HOA software to help make the organization run a lot smoother.
But there will be a lot of work to be done before I get the opportunity to make a difference. I will need to do a lot of campaigning if I expect to get enough votes to get elected, but I feel confident that I will have my chance to help run our housing community. I know that my husband will help me out too, so I will do fine (fingers crossed).
The Internet Has Helped Direct Mailing Efforts
Many people wonder if direct mailing lists are still relevant for businesses today. After all, so much of the marketing that we do today is done online. It’s not done through the mail anymore. A lot of people mistakenly believe that the Internet has replaced direct mail. That’s not true at all. In fact, for the people who are knowledgeable about how to use it properly, the Internet has actually greatly improved direct mail campaigns.
With the tools that are available online today, you can now get consumer mailing lists that are far more accurate than they were in the past. You can use online mapping tools to map out a highly specific geographic area that you want to target for your lists. You can access a lot of information about people because they’re now making it available online through social networking profiles. The lists that you get today are even more accurate than in the past because of the amount of information available online and the accuracy of that information as compared to the past.
Direct mail does still work. In fact, since fewer people are doing it these days, you have less competition for the customer’s attention when you send out direct marketing mail. By using the Internet to choose the right people to send that mail to, you can really create highly effective direct marketing campaigns that translate directly into profits.
Anticipate FAQ for your Business
One of the first pages that I go to on any website is the page for frequently asked questions. I find that this page usually tells me more about the business and its product or service than any other page on the site. Sure the home page and the “about us” and the product pages are all informative. But it’s the FAQ page that answers the questions I have as I read those other pages. That’s why it’s imperative that you have a really good FAQ page on your website.
The key to a good FAQ page is to anticipate all of the important questions that your customers are going to have when they read the rest of your site. Don’t shy away from the tough questions either. For example, let’s say that you sell human growth hormone. People are going to have questions about the side effects of hgh. Don’t just ignore that on your site. Use the FAQ part of your website to address that question with honest information. This clears up your customer’s concerns and turns curious browsers into buyers on your site. If you don’t have a FAQ page on your website then you’re probably losing business.
Describe Your Job Like You Love It
One of the first things that we ask someone we’ve just met is “what do you do for a living?” That’s why it irritates me so much when the person answers in a way that makes it very clear that they don’t like their jobs. Many of us don’t like our jobs. However, since it’s a topic that we discuss on such a regular basis, shouldn’t we at least be making some attempt to put it in a positive light?
I think that you should describe your job to others as if you love it even if you don’t. This gives them a more positive image of who you are. It generates positive energy for the conversation. And you know what? It might even make you like your job more because you’ll be focusing on the things about it that you do like.
Of course, you also have to make sure that what you say is interesting to the other person. I have a friend that works for a document imaging company. She actually loves her work. She thinks it’s great that she can help people learn how to organize their documents in an eco-friendly, efficient, high-tech way. Because she explains this in laymen’s terms, she can make anyone she talks to understand her work with document management software solutions. And because she loves it, she makes you want to talk about it with her. We could all learn a lesson from her in this. I know that I have!
Nice to Find That This Place
I recently had a terrific stay at the Comfort Inn Medical Park in Durham, NC. And I was sitting around eating lunch with co-workers after I got back talking about my recent trip, when we all began to share horror stories of our stays in other hotels.
For instance, why do certain hotels in certain areas of the country seem to be so cavalier when you find bugs in the room? Case in point: my sons and I were staying at a motel in New Mexico, and there was a giant moth in our room. It was the size of a bat-no kidding! I called down to ask for a swatter or bug spray or some kind of help, but they pretty much just said, “Oh, they’re normal around here. We don’t have anything to get rid of it.”
My other bug horror story was in Chandler, Arizona. I was sitting up in bed watching tv when a large roach crawled over from behind my pillow and down over my shoulder. I called down to the front desk, and again they said, “It’s the season for those bugs. We can’t help that they get into the rooms sometimes.” And finally, I heard of a place in Texas where the guest killed a four inch long beetle or roach by stepping on it accidentally when he went to the bathroom at night. He called down to let the desk know they had those in the rooms and whether they were concerned, but they said no!
So as you can see, I REALLY enjoyed my stay at the Comfort Inn. No bugs in the room!
I Can’t Work When I’m Tired!
Until I was in about my mid-20s, I used to stay up late all the time and then go into work the next day without having had much sleep. Sure, I was tired all the time, but it seemed so much more doable back then. I was young and living it up.
Over the last few years, though, I’ve found that I can’t function as well as I’d like on less than seven or eight hours’ sleep. I have to get more or I’m pretty much a zombie. And since I am now self-employed and dependent on my brain power to earn a living, I really do need to make sure I get enough sleep.
I’ve sometimes wondered if there is a physiological reason why I seem to need so much more sleep than other people. I tend to do best with nine or ten hours of sleep a night, although lately I’ve been getting only about eight a night. I don’t suffer from insomnia — quite the contrary, I’m practically asleep by the time my head hits the pillow — but I wonder if there is something else keeping me from getting quality sleep.
Since I heard about sleep apnea, I’ve wondered if that is the cause, but my husband swears that I don’t stop breathing in my sleep. It’s too bad, because at least it would be an easy fix — I’d just have to wear a CPAP mask at night to sleep, hooked up to a CPAP machine to keep my airways open.
Of course, since I am a type 1 diabetic, I’ve also wondered if I’m suffering from nocturnal hypoglycemia, a condition where your blood sugar drops too low at night, usually when the person is not aware of it.
Whatever the cause, it is clear that I need plenty of sleep in order to be able to do my work and do it well!
Justifying The Expense
I take a lot of motorcycle road trips. I have been from San Diego to Daytona Beach. I’ve made it as for north as Seattle. I’ve been caught in some scary weather out there. I’ve encountered both really cold temps and silly hot temps like in Phoenix. I’m always overly prepared on these journeys too. And I wear a very high quality helmet and upper body armor.
The one thing I don’t have that I really want though is a GPS system. And with motorcycles you need one that is waterproof too. These things don’t come cheap though. I have been having trouble justifying the expense, and that’s why I had not already gotten one.
But I think I found a way to justify the expense. I’m not a pack rat, but when it comes to old or broken jewelry I never throw the stuff away. Well I rounded it all up and decided to sell the scrap gold to come up with the cash to buy a GPS. I went to an online pawn shop, filled out a form, and now I am just waiting for the kit that they are sending me so I can send them the jewelry. Then I’ll run off and buy that GPS I’ve been wanting.
« go back — keep looking »