Six UNINTERESTING Things About Me -- a meme

Gorgeous Maria Anderson tagged me in her meme, so here are the rules and questions, and then my response . . .

Meme Terms and Conditions
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. List six unspectacular things about you.
4. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.

Six unspectacular things, huh? Alrighty then. Time to get humble - and we all know I'm not good at that, right? I think I'm INCREDIBLY spectacular, so I'll need to dig.

1. I love road trips. Some of my most incredible ideas and decisions have been on a road trip - deciding where to live, starting my business, new directions in life. I just came back from one, and rather than making a lot of decisions I actually just made peace with some recent events, but it seems that I get clarity, focus and mentally sharp driving more than 200 miles.

2. While I love to cook, and I'm contemplating my own cafe/bakery/coffeehouse at the moment, I rarely cook at home. In fact, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hurricanes is about it. The rest of the time we're on the road to/from volleyball or church, so dinners @ home are rare.

3. I very often look for patterns & similarities in random things to create purpose or connection with people I love. For example, my grandmother married at 20 and had two daughters three years apart, and so did I. We both married for love and had our daughters almost a year to the day from our wedding, and we both moved 3 times our first year. Somehow these parallel events means that I am far more connected to her than I would be otherwise. Or, it could just be random, but my brain doesn't think so.

4. I often pray for wisdom, and crack up when I get back sarcasm. Perhaps it's my filter? For example: When I was pregnant with Cathryn I asked God one morning on the way to work what I should name her, and told Him I wanted the perfect name - His name - just for her. I looked up and I was on "Mayhem St." - and thirteen years later, I know what he meant. Funny, real funny.

5. Like Lorelai Gilmore, I can smell snow. And I love it just as much as she does.

6. I dislike Florida. The whole state. For no good reason.

So, there's my six. Now.... who to pick on.... hmmm.... well, let's see what Jill Browne's got to say, Shawn Coons' got brewing inside his head and Andrew Walker Cleaveland's got up his sleeve. If Pam over at NerdsEyeView will put down her ukulele for a bit, we might hear what she has to say - and it'll be worth it. Megan @ TwitterMoms - Tag, you're it. Finally, Debbie, the DeliciousBaby blogger, who didn't even need to photoshop her kids in front of the Eiffel Tower like I did. (Yes, that's you - don't you remember???)

Enjoy, virtual friends!

Recap to The Trade Show in Orlando

Wow. I'm at the airport now after a long few days at the TradeShow in Orlando. I had four great sessions - and only because the participants really seemed to get it. Blogging for travel professionals is going to explode in popularity, and I hope that I can say I had something to do with it.

On the more depressing side, I'm flying home a little early to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Ike. Not the way I wanted to end my week, but living on a tropical island brings that risk. Even without a direct hit to Corpus Christi, we still experience flooding and storm surge - we're just 3 blocks from the beach. We're pretty used to it, but it still sucks.

PS - Thanks Southwest Airlines, for the $167 fee to fly home early, by the way - I sincerely appreciate having my pocket picked!

From Hill-Raiser to Palin-Proponent

Here we go, folks. We've got ourselves a race with two strong tickets.

I have supported the democratic party - my party - since my first voter's registration card more than 20 years ago. I cry every time I vote - no matter the election or issue. I've carried babies on my hip as I've voted and tried to instill civic pride and responsibility in my daughters. In this election season, I've made sure they understood that they were watching history being made.

My poor kids. They declared themselves independent as soon as they understood that Mommy was Blue and Daddy was deep, deep red. We've discussed issues, delved deep, debated and every four years we have to have some ground rules and throw down the naughty-mat for mummy or daddy to sit on in time-out, depending on who just drew some blood during a verbal assault.

Hannity & Colmes is off limits year round. We just can't afford the marriage counseling, and really, most therapists wouldn't want to take us on.

It wasn't easy around here for a while. I emphatically supported Hilary Clinton, after admiring her for years, and campaigned for her while definitely being in the minority with friends and family here in the deep South. Nothing new there, of course, I've been on the prayer list of many Texas women's church groups. If I had a nickel for every condescending "head pat" and a quiet, "I'll pray for you, dear" when my politics were revealed...

But, with head held high, I pressed on. And cried when it was not to be... this time.

With Obama's clinching of the nomination, I waited to see if he would do the smart thing - unify our party and name Hilary Clinton the Vice Presidential nominee. I thought that certainly he wouldn't simply ignore 18 million supporters and expect that we would just tow the party line.

That's exactly what he did. Naming Joe Biden was, on it's face, a move designed to shore up the questions of foreign relations and experience. It did nothing to inspire me. Obama does nothing to inspire me. All mirth and no matter.

Today, I have to say, (crediting Geralidine Ferraro for the sound byte) ...

PUMA. To be crass, "Party Unity My Ass."

Hilary, I can't in good conscience get on the love train. I'm not convinced that you want us to, really, but that's another story.

I've got from Hill-Raiser to Palin-Proponent. It isn't solely the fact that she's a woman, although McCain's decision to name Palin shows me that he's not as out of touch as Obama says he is. It shows me that he understands the conversation taking place. Change is happening - it wasn't initiated by Obama, but by the American people, as it always has been. Who can manage that change? Who is listening to me and others like me?

Today, my answer is McCain/Palin. I refuse to declare myself red, but I suppose I would say a lovely shade of aubergine at this point.

GoDaddy is Charging for Spam Complaints - Ouch!

Yet another reason to put away Outlook/Outlook Express and use a real e-mail service provider to send your newsletter:

VerticalResponse Email Marketing Blog for Small Business: GoDaddy is Charging for Spam Complaints - Ouch!

GoDaddy is Charging for Spam Complaints - Ouch!

Seems like the folks over at GoDaddy are charging their email marketing customers if they get spam complaints. Deliverability.com broke the news when they got an email with this information sent to them from a GoDaddy customer. GoDaddy will now charge customers $200 to "manage" their complaints. Even worse is that if the customer wants to then leave them and transfer their domains to another registrar they can't do it until they pay GoDaddy $75!

To cover all of their bases, it appears that if one of their customers uses an Email Service Provider outside of GoDaddy to advertise their GoDaddy-hosted site and they get complaints from one of their customer's recipients, they could be hit with a fine or other action.

Wow. Serious Email Service Providers (ESPs) like VerticalResponse usually do this as a service to customers and won't allow spammers to use their services. But let's face it, everyone gets a complaint now and then, even customers with best intentions. The difference is that serious ESPs want to help their customers learn best practices about email marketing and not turn complaints into a new revenue stream.

If you use GoDaddy to host your website be careful. And any time you're looking for a serious ESP, make sure you ask if they have a deliverability and abuse department - most serious ESPs do, looks like GoDaddy might not.

IMO, GoDaddy should stick to what they're good at, being a registrar. Leave the email marketing heavy-lifting to those who "want" to do it and help businesses grow.

Overthinking Technology

As I've mentioned before, I've often been accused of wasting time by rewiring the office. It's true. I freely admit it. My defense however is that I'm first and foremost a geek - and businessperson second (third, fourth...?). It's my nature to want to play with stuff while drinking caffeinated beverages and trying to convince others how cool it all is. I am an awesome Chief Technical Officer, and a horrible Chief Operating Officer. The challenge? I have both titles.

As a home-based travel consultant, I'm sure that you suffer from some form of identity crises and have to figure out on a daily basis which hat you're wearing to be most productive. I'm not a selling agent anymore, but I was back in the day, and do work with them on a daily basis so I can empathize with how hard the job is. And, while I can't tell you exactly how to keep it all together, I can tell you that many of my technical red herrings and downright diversions have been minimized by doing the following:

1. Decide clearly what I want the technology to do and write it down.
I was hired to help choose a back office back office accounting system for an agency and I was starting to be overwhelmed by the choices out there - some were cheap, some were expensive, some were web-based and some were installed programs. As I learned more about each system I started thinking that one feature in one particular system was very, very cool. It became the focus of my comparisons because it was so forward-thinking and awesome. The problem was that the one feature, while cool, cutting edge and potentially cost-saving, was not necessary for the day-to-day activities of the agency. I was overthinking the solution and not focusing on the simple problem.

2. Consider How All The Technology Fits Together
Since I have two physical offices, plus a world of virtual ones, I had to consider all the needs I had (see step 1) and then figure out how to make all the technology fit together. Thinking this through before you buy anything will save hours of integration later.

Here's my basic example when I was focusing on my cell phone model:

a. need to read email when away from office
b. need to be able to blog when away from office
c. need to be able to update task list without paper/real-time
d. want to be able to wear headphones while working out and take calls
e. need to use it as a modem for my laptop
f. need to be able to check on the server remotely

There were other criteria, but you get the idea. I then made a excel spreadsheet of phones with the criteria and put an "x" where the phone met the need. It helped me stay focused on my needs without going down a rabbit hole. The most "x's" won - and it was the Palm Treo 650. Now I'm thinking of upgrading to the Centro and I'm pulling up that old spreadsheet so I don't upgrade and miss a feature I still need.

Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living

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Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living

At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama apparently issued eighteen rules for living. Since word travels slowly in the digital age these have only just reached me. Here they are.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
1. Respect for self
2. Respect for others
3. Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Home Based Travel Agency Phone Options

My business partner Karen used to fuss at me a lot about "rewiring the office" constantly. As a serial netrepreneur and geek I am always trying out new technologies and seeing how they fit. Here are some technologies that have definitely stuck around here a long time - meaning, more than a week.

Phone Service:
Since I work primarily from two physical offices (one on North Padre Island, Texas during the school year/Winter and one from Lake Arrowhead, California in the Summer and Holidays), I learned early on that I needed one phone number to ring wherever I am so my clients didn't have to have a different number. Before Vonage, and Magic Jack, there was Connection Tech. They provided a toll-free phone number which is portable in case I leave them, and offer standard features for the office like call waiting, voice mail, etc.. It also has an auto-attendant which can route calls to the right department (sales, marketing, etc.) and also have up to three follow-me numbers. So, sales calls go to the person covering sales, support goes to support, and whether I'm in California, Texas or Hong Kong, my phone rings and no one I work with needs a different number.

As a home-based agent, you could have one option for cruises, one for vacations, one for payments. They might all go to the same person (you) or you might actually have someone cover for you and route the calls to them.

If you're a one-man show then you might look into a new service called Grand Central from Google, but their terms of service don't allow "commercial" use, so buyer beware.

VOIP Service / Mobile Phones
Connection Tech tells the phones WHERE to ring. HOW they ring is a different story. I have my cell phone service through Verizon Wireless and have been, for the most part, happy with them for almost 8 years. If I'm out of the office then I answer on that cell. If I'm in the office, however, then I don't want to use minutes. For California I use my plain old home phone line to get the calls. Connection Tech routes the call, tells me who is calling and I press "1" to accept the call or "2" to send the caller to voice mail. When I'm dialed into the system, they provide call waiting, redial, and other features of a business phone line, so I only pay $6 for basic phone service with the local company.

For Texas and other on the road locations I use Vonage. I have a business account which is $49.95 per month and gives me unlimited minutes and long distance. It also gives me access to Vonage Talk, which is software installed on my laptop that gives me the same phone number (incoming and outgoing) through my PC. So, let's say I'm in Hong Kong and a client calls. Connection Tech routes the call to my local Vonage number and using my headset I can get the call without any extra programming. When I'm in the office the regular phone rings. It really couldn't be simpler, or cheaper, for that matter.

If you don't need the toll-free, auto-attendant or multiple mailbox feature, you can skip Connection Tech, but really, for around $9 per month, I wouldn't. I also wouldn't use Vonage (Cable Service) for home phone service. I just learned the hard way that relying on VOIP (Voice-over-IP) exclusively for calls is not a good idea. Since I live on an Island sometimes my Internet can get a bit sketchy, which means that my phone service can also get a bit sketchy. By having Connection Tech I can re-route my calls to my AT&T Land Line and not worry.

Booked for Speaking Gigs

After a 2 year (self-imposed) hiatus from speaking, I'm really happy that I've been asked to speak at the TradeShow in September. My topics are pretty great:

"I Blog to Differ" - Blogging for Beginners

Blogs are everywhere - and it seems that everyone but you has one! In
this session for beginners and blog-curious, we'll discuss basic
concepts and best practices for getting started, including:

* What is a blog and how can it help my agency?
* When and how to integrate a blog into a website
* Whether to host my own or use a hosted solution
* Deciding on a design
* Deciding how often and what to post
* Finding content when you just can't think of something witty or
important to say
* Staying motivated and not letting your blog languish
* Submitting to search engines
* Setting Goals and gaging success

We'll look at several successful blogs of travel agencies and industry
suppliers, as well as some not-so-successful ones, too. Coming away
from this session participants will be able to understand most
technical terms associated with blogs, identify the differences
between pages and posts, understand where they can obtain a free blog,
hosted blog or blog software; find free templates for blogs; know
where to go for content and how to submit a blog to major search
engines. Participants will also receive a handout with all cited
resources in the session and access to download the presentation.
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"Blogging for Dollars" - Advanced Tips and Tricks for Sales and Traffic

Calling all Bloggers! If you've already realized that blogging is the
new wave of the web, then this session will teach you how to surf the
wave all the way to shore. You'll learn to tweak what you're already
doing to insure every possible advantage. This session utilizes
WordPress as the primary software, which is open-source and free to
use. If you use another software program you will still benefit from
the concepts presented.

* LinkBait and Title Considerations
* Top 20 Wordpress Plugins for your blog
* SEO for blogs
* Opening up the Conversation with Comments and Pingbacks
* RSS Feeds and Subscriptions
* Getting Your Blog on Google's Home Page
* Blogging by E-mail
* Mobile Blogging
* Guest bloggers and paid content

Coming away from this session, participants will be able to define
linkbait and it's usefulness in writing a title, know the resources
for downloading open source blogging software and plugins, identify
the Search Engine Optimization capabilities for blogs, describe the
usefulness of comments, pingbacks, RSS feeds, subscriptions, know the
options for mobile blogging and blogging by e-mail, and how to feature
blog posts on Google's home page and how to find content.

Brad Anderson is a Smart Dude.

Brad Anderson, co-president of the Host agency America's Vacation Center/American Express spoke this past weekend at the 24th Annual Travel Trade Leisure Travel Conference in Ft. Lauderdale.

While some of what he said, putting banner ads out there, keyword stuffing your site and sending e-blasts was old school, he did say something really smart.

Outsource your travel website marketing. If you try and do it yourself, you're going to have a huge learning curve, which is time and money away from your own business. You don't try and practice law or medicine or accounting, do you?

Let me rephrase: If, as travel professionals, the message to the traveling public is that without a travel agent they are on their own, then I, as a travel marketer respectfully submit that without a professional website design and marketing plan, your poor little website business is, too.

Which is why Brad Anderson is a smart dude.

'Tis the Season

With all of the craziness of the holidaze... I learned of a lovely respite:

Tis Best Charity Gift Cards

TisBest Charity Gift Cards give others the opportunity to give – and that, we believe, "TisBest" of all! That's how we got our name.

Gifts are a wonderful way to say "I care". We saw people trying to say "I care" by buying more elaborate and more expensive gifts. Although a very expensive item purchased from a fancy store might make a great gift for some people, we had a different idea about wonderful gifts. TisBest Charity Gift Cards bring joy, love, compassion and caring back to gift giving.

So, if you're considering philanthropy as part of your Season's Greetings (and you should) this might be a good ideas. It was featured on NPR this morning, so of course I love it.

Should have taken me up on the offer

I sent out a mailing today offering a free website analysis. Travel agencies traditionally have ugly websites. Seriously. They are ugly.

I had exactly two people unsubscribe from my newsletter. So, I looked at their sites. They seriously should have taken me up on the offer. They were the "worst of the worst". Insanely bad. I hope they didn't pay for those sites.

I bet if I had made it $100 they would have signed up quick.

Christmas Shopping Made Easy

One of my favorite ways to shop is on a plane with the SkyMall catalog, and a nice gin & tonic (bought with a drink chit, of course). Some of that stuff is simply awesome.

Here's something awesome-er.


Yes, it is a parody, but who hasn't wanted to buy the pepper self-spray for a client now and again?

Card Mills, MLM's and Link Bait

I receive a lot of press releases. Since I do PR for a number of agencies, I like to see what is out there and how things are spun. I like reading them, actually. I can take them "to go" on my Palm and, despite looking like a complete moron when laughing out loud, they can be quite entertaining.

One of the things I look for are headlines that "link bait" - that is, a controversial headline or sound bite that is designed to get people clicking. Most of the time link bait is all hype and no substance, really by design. Sometimes, it is not.

Today came this little jewel:
"Cruise Travelers Are Now Receiving Commission Checks of Up to 15% When Booking Directly With the Cruise Lines"

That one screamed, "click me!" - so I did. I was certain it was another ploy by the suppliers to bypass commissions to our already overworked and underpaid little corner of retail industry commerce.

It ended up being a new spin on an old, tired industry blot. An MLM. A card mill. A promise to pay $20 per month and "go directly to the cruise lines to find the best possible rates, book the cruise, and best of all, earn up to 100% of the commission."

Since I don't want to give this outfit anymore web real estate, I won't publish their web address here. Needless to say, while I applaud their "entrepreneurial spirit" for trying to capitalize on the availability of websites, press releases and a finely tuned, slick press release copy, I am just as tired as every other travel professional that this relegates to the position of "order taker" and "button pusher".

It takes talent, skill, expertise and training to match the right cruise with the right vacationer. If anyone thinks otherwise, then the next time their vacation goes wrong they should try and call the Internet. Those that work hard for ACC, MCC, ECC and, yes, CTC shouldn't have to continue to put up with the DIY (do-it-yourself) enablers diluting the respectability of this industry. It is why some very respectable host agencies are labeled unfairly, in my opinion. Its hard enough for the general public to separate the signal from the noise; now we're starting to see suppliers with a little hearing loss, too.

One small delightful note: Their press release was much better than their website. Mixed in with the "commission calculators", cheesy open source hacked code and grammatical errors; along with the pirate graphics (apropos, I say), and copy and paste statistics from CLIA, I found the forum. A discussion panel for all those suckers out there ready to plunk down their $20 per month, and take their free cruises. Know what the only topic was?

"Membership Cancellation"

If anyone wants to join their "conversation", comment on this post and I'll send you their details via e-mail.

Great Programs for Travel Agencies, Revisited

Since we're coming on the theoretically slow time of year, I know that thoughts often turn to prepping for the new year by adopting some new habits. I'm pleased to report that last year I managed to keep some of my organization resolutions. Now, before I strain myself with that big pat on the back, let me share my secret. It's a little company called 37Signals.

They make insanely simple software programs that run on the web. If you're geeky, you can peek under the hood for their Ruby on Rails platform. If you're cheap, the price is right: lots of their stuff is free. Yes, I said Free.

I use all of their products in different ways. BaseCamp for example is where we collaborate when working on a client project. It keeps all their communication (including e-mails) in one place. For agencies, it could be where you keep all your "post-it" note stuff - confirmations, faxes, etc. I have a couple of clients testing this out on the agency side and I'll post the results soon.

BackPack by far the best program for personal management. I subscribe to the $5 per month service and essentially it has become my online brain. I have a page with writing assignments, one with my daily to-do list, one with my "honey-do" list to outsource to separate honeys, I have grocery lists, pages of photos uploaded from my camera and phone, marketing ideas, a page with all my major user names/passwords, backup instructions in case I get hit by a bus, etc. You get the picture. Two cool features: You can e-mail stuff into a page so its fast to keep it updated, and you can share it with others. We have a page for each of our volleyball teams to keep all the parents connected without using an outside service.

So, here's my Thankgiving gift to you. 37Signals. Enjoy over the Holiday Week.

Arrowhead Fires

I've been asked a lot if we were affected by the fires in Lake Arrowhead. The answer is yes, but not as much as others.

My Grandma passed away at home in Arrowhead on the 17th. The next few days were a blur, but the fires started on Monday morning.

Our old house on Amador Lane above the golf course was burned to the ground. It was essentially ground zero for one of the fires.

I stayed in Grandma's house, on the other side of the lake, despite the mandatory evacuation order. I made sure to stay off the roads, deferring to the emergency personnel, I had plenty of supplies and kept the house hosed down. Since we had just worked 7 months to completely reconstruct it after the "Great Christmas Flood of 2006" I wasn't going to let it go without a fight. It was and is my childhood home, and where all my kids mountain memories are based.

Again, next few days are blurry, but the fires stayed mostly west and north. It was smoky and a little eerie to be alone, and at times I felt unsafe thinking about looters and bad men. I was also really sad to be there in Grandma's house, without Grandma to even talk to.

I flew home to Padre Island on Saturday the 27th. I'm back in the swing of real life - volleyball, of course, Island Life, the girl's school, their alma mater charter school, and, business. We thought about Thanksgiving there, but I think I'm just (pardon the pun) cooked. I've mandated the Holidaze at home this year.

I miss my Grandma.

Gloria Rita Goss (January 6, 1930 - October 17, 2007) Surrounded by her loving family at home, Gloria peacefully passed after long courageous battle with lung cancer. She was a longtime resident of Lake Arrowhead and loved her mountains, lake, family, neighbors and her cottage in the clouds. With a career spanning more than 55 years, she managed several successful mountain institutions, including the Lake Arrowhead Country Club, Monte Corona, Lake Arrowhead Yacht Club and the Ice Cream Castle. She also contributed to the success of the catering departments of Snow Valley, The Lake Arrowhead Hilton and The Original Villager.

She is remembered and loved by her two daughters, Christina Jones Connolly and Cynthia O'Kelly, Son-in-Law Patrick O'Kelly, Granddaughter Michelle Honiker Yarbrough and her husband Kenneth, their daughters Kelsea and Cathryn Yarbrough; Grandson Jeremy O'Kelly, his wife Cheryl O'Kelly and their children Chloe, Quentin, Cade and Phoebe; Grandson Matthew, his wife Haley O'Kelly and their daughter Jasmine; Amanda Woodgrift and sons Cody and Austin O’Kelly; Grandson Daniel Lyons; Grandson Robert Connolly, III; Granddaughter Katie O'Kelly, Dave Motley and their daughters Amelia and Cassidy Motley.

She is preceded in death by her beloved mother Gloria Benitez y Munoz and sisters Mary Frances and Rosemary as well as many long-time friends from her days with the Elks Lodge, Bowling Leagues and Senior Center. Her family is certain she's already won several after-life Bingo games and has Mickey Haskins hopping mad. GG wouldn't have it any other way.

She will be forever remembered as a strong-willed woman, full of life, mischief, fun and determined to do it her way. Her unrestrained passion for the Los Angeles Lakers will be greatly missed by best friend and fellow unofficial “Laker-girl” Betty Baumann.

The Family wishes to thank The loving staff of the Palms of Loma Linda, and Director Carla in particular; Loma Linda University Medical Center, Dr. Gregory Cheek, Dr. Shawn Ifkitar, The Intensive Care Staff of Unit 7200, and most especially Nurses Donelle and Brigid who helped fulfill her wish to come home and take her last breath of mountain air in her mother’s bed.

A Catholic Mass will be held at St. Andrews by the Sea on North Padre Island, Texas where she spent many wonderful times with her family over the past 7 years and a memorial gathering will be announced at a later date.

In Lieu of flowers The “Gloria Rita Goss Scholarship” has been established at the Port Aransas Children’s Theater. Visit www.portaransascommunitytheater.com for more details.

I Can't Make This Up.

I can't make this stuff up. I often sit and wonder if my friends and colleagues think that I'm the girl that has those small things happen in life, but when retelling the incident it becomes embellished and bigger and bigger the more times the story is retold.

So, here are the facts. I'll simply report them.

January, 2006 - Houseguests/Friends/Business partners moved out of our home after an 8 month extended stay to help them get on their feet. That business folded, I am financially liable for more than $20,000 in debt.

February 2006 - My grandmother collapses while visiting my Mom in Northern California and is care-flighted to Reno. I fly from Texas and spend a month at the Holiday Inn getting her off a ventilator and into a rehab.

April 2006 - On the flight home, I stand up to get my laptop and tear my ACL, surgery needed and rehab started, but not completed. My volleyball career is officially over.

May 2006 - Hubby retires from teaching music to help run the business. Health Insurance is now on COBRA, just to offset medical cost from blown knee.

June 2006 - My Dad passes away unexpectedly at age 56 after beating cancer. Side effect of chemo is heart arrhythmia which results in heart attack the night before discharge. My grandmother, fresh from rehab, is diagnosed with cancer the same day my Dad dies. I fly from Texas in time to say goodbye to Dad and plan to stay the summer to take care of his affairs.

July 2006 - My Mom has a nervous breakdown and leaves my Grandmother in my care. Her home, and all her doctors for Proton Radiation are in Southern California. My home, husband and kids are in Texas. I stay to see her through it all with husband's blessing. He holds down the fort in Texas.

December, 2006 - Grandma and I drive cross country, with doctor's blessing, to have Christmas in Texas. She develops a minor cold, which becomes a massive infection, and the paramedics rush her to the hospital Christmas morning before the kids even wake up.

January, 2007 - The house in California floods from a burst pipe. It will be 10 months before its habitable. Grandma stays in Texas with me until March, then we drive her home and she checks into assisted living close to doctors while contractors finish house.

May 2007 - Other family members in California are telling Grandma her house is almost ready under their supervision. A family friend takes her to see the house on the sly and discovers that the house is down the studs, sits with no work, completely mildewed, and no one overseeing the contractors. I start commuting back and forth from Texas.

July 2007 - Husband takes over project, starts planning to move everything out of storage, including Grandma. He brings her home for weekends while he builds a new deck with a ramp and landscaping for her to enjoy. She doesn't have much time left, we're told. Its a race to get her home.

September 2007 - With only one more week before move-in to her finished home, Grandma collapses and is placed on a ventilator. The doctors call me to come from Texas. Its discovered when I leave her room from that point on her blood pressure spikes dangerously high. I am her new roommate in the hospital. She begs me to take her home.

October 2007 - We finally get her off the ventilator, and fairly stable, and I bring her home with hospice. She pulls her feeding tube out during the first night, gives it to me (sleeping next to her) and quietly tell me, "I'm done" and passes peacefully later that afternoon. She got her wish to die in her own bed, in the mountain cabin she lived in for 55 years. Five days later two wildfires come within 2 miles of the house. I remain in the house despite the mandatory evacuation order to keep the newly renovated house from burning to the ground.

November 2007 - I finally come back to Texas, sick from the smoke from the fires. Server crashes the following week with 11 days of business insanity. The worst in the history of our business, in fact.

(* Note: I've edited some of the dates to keep track after this original post date, in case you are confused by my sudden power of clairvoyance.)

So, the moral of this story is - I don't know. Roll with the punches? Define your own normal? Embrace every day? For me, I thank God. It seems weird, but I know that throughout all the strife I've come to realize what's important and what's not. Who is important and who is not. What is worth fighting for and what is not. I don't understand the "why" of everything that happened in the big-picture scheme of things, but I'll embrace the fact that I really do live on a lovely tropical island, with my husband of 18 years, and my two amazing daughters and I have very, very good friends that mean more to me than the ones that I'm related to by blood. I will have a very hard time making a house payment for a while, but we'll get through this - we've gotten through worse, and I've definitely learned to NEVER say, "It can't get any worse".

Because it can, and sometimes does.

However today the beach calls. Must answer.

Still likeXjet, just don't like like them anymore

Update from yesterday.

Scheduled departure 2:05pm

Time I left the airport to go home after weather-related delays: 3:45pm

Time I'm supposed to leave today: 2:05pm

So, it was a hassle. It cost me $9.95 for a one-day wireless pass. I sat in an airport sports bar for 9 hours. I listened to more National Public Radio on my Palm via Internet Radio than I think is legally allowed for what I donate each year. It started to sound like a parody, but between that and Italian Opera, it was a no-brainer.

At least they changed my ticket with no charge, found my bag quickly and returned it to me, same nice attitude. I still like them, but - and it could have been a great love affair - I don't like-them-like-them anymore.

Things to Do While Stranded at the Airport

Scheduled flight time 6:30am.

Current Time: 10:41am

New Scheduled Flight Time: 2:05pm

Not worth the drive back to the island, so airport sports bar it is. First, let me say how impressed I am with xjet

10 Minutes into the delay they called my name and handed me what I thought was a new boarding pass. It was not. It was a real live, actual, meal voucher. I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I took a picture of it.


But wait - there's more. 2 hours later, after my free Frappuccino, muffin and vitamin water, they tell us that they're flying in a dude from Houston to fix the plane. Now, normally I don't get weirded out, but this time, I did. So I asked if I could rebook the 2pm flight. That plane originated in Austin, so I figured it would be all warmed up and ready to go.

And they did. Nicely. With smiles, and no "hate-this-job" attitude. It was SO early in the morning that I thought maybe I was still dreaming, but no... this was, in fact, and airport, and these were, in fact employees. I saw their badges. I saw the planes.

Then, and this is where is gets weird - they gave me ANOTHER voucher for lunch and said they were SORRY. Stop laughing. I'm serious. Printed a new boarding pass and everything. Gate Agent Dawn noticed that I had been flagged for extra security and pre-checked me in and removed the flag since, you know, I had sat there for 3 hours without trying anything with them, and thanked them for the chilly Caramel Frappuccino a couple of times I think.

I then went down to the counter to get my new bag claim check and guess what - they were even NICER there. It's like Seinfeld's Bizarro Episode where everything is opposite.

So, after trolling for a power outlet I am now happily enjoying some Migas and a never-ending pot of coffee. Laptop humming along, blogging delightfully. My last meal in South Texas for the summer. Summers in Lake Arrowhead are wonderful, but I sure will miss great Tex-Mex. Even airport tex-mex is great - but then again, maybe I've just been Hypnotized by the amazing (freaky?) customer service of XJet

Work Coma

I am finishing two large-scale design projects, simultaneously. Its all I can think about. I think, drink, sleep and breathe these two projects. Rather than the cliche', "about to give birth" analogy; the endless diatribe about labor pains (ready to launch the sites), false labor pains (Dagnabbit - found a bug, can't launch), baby (client) kicks, et al, ad nauseum, yadda yadda yadda... I'm going for the Work Coma description of life at the moment. I sense life and summer around me, but can't participate. Hooked to my matrix, I feel the hub plant a kiss on the back of my head, but don't look up. Boy, he smells good. I'm vaguely aware of my baristas in training (excellently raised daughters, if I do say so myself) bringing me freshly ground and french-pressed sustenance in a mug so I'll be caffeinated enough to press on. Friends and kids come and go and I hear the hushed tones as they observe the patient, but don't speak directly, of course, since she's in a coma, for pity's sake. Keep moving folks, nothing to see here.

Fall's my favorite season anyway. What's so tragic about missing a summer? I'll wake up in time to drag out those awesome boots I bought last year.

404 - PAGE NOT FOUND

404 - PAGE NOT FOUND

What's so special about this site?

I got to it via a sponsored Google Ad, looking for "luxury cruises" - which means that this site just paid $2 for me to hit a dead page. Marketing is not "set it and forget it" like the Showtime Rotisserie Grill. You've got to watch your PPC ads every single day.

YouTube - Starburst Bus Station

YouTube - Starburst Bus Station

Giddy programming break. More espresso, more Splenda coffee flavoring, time to change the Gilmore Girls DVD.

The Lost Innocence of Travel

After traveling to several countries alone in my late teens and early twenties - those golden times that my mother refers to as "The burning of the trust fund", I found that I loved being lost in a foreign place with a water bottle, backpack and good shoes. No map, no itinerary, no cell phone, even. Looking back, and with two teenage daughters myself, I'm astounded and a little appalled that my mom actually let me run around Mexico alone, like my favorite travel writer Anthony Bourdain. Of course, he's from Jersey, stands 2 feet taller than I, and runs with a posse of cameramen that would have his back if anything unsavory happened. I, on the other hand, was seriously alone. And loved every minute of it.

I've realized that as I've grown older, married, borne my daughters and become a professional serial entrepreneur, my problem has become one of “analysis paralysis”. I have literally stopped loving to travel. I mourn its apparent demise and like the good C.S.I. couch potato I've become, I must look back and try and see what caused its death. Let the autopsy begin.

Cause of Death #1: I thought I was pretty dang smart
Since my Great Grandmother was Cuban and taught me Spanish from an early age, I was fairly fluent and could really barter at marketplace mercados. I also grew up in a pretty sheltered place, so I didn't have the street savvy that some might. Looking back, once I started reading the news and especially with the advent of the Internet, I actually heard about all the terrible things that could happen to people in foreign lands, like poor Natalie Holloway or that sweet child kidnapped recently from her hotel room. Oh, sure, bad things have always happened, but now we have a conduit for instant information 24/7, and you know the old saying, "If it Bleeds, it Leads". I realize now that I wasn't smart, I was lucky and it was a terrible realization that I took risks I shouldn't have taken, getting into unmarked cabs, following a vendor to a back room to look at an onyx and marble chessboard, eating late at night and walking to and from the restaurant and the hotel.

Cause of Death #2: The 9/11 factor
I think we all suffer a little from this one. Seeing planes hit buildings over and over and over again didn't desensitize us to the horror of it. When I was 6 years old I started taking the now defunct airlines PSA and Air Cal from Ontatio, California to Oakland, California on a regular basis. I was always so excited to get dressed up in my best dress, complete with hat and gloves of course, have the stewardess pin on some souvenir wings, peek inside the cockpit, smile at the crew and chat with my seatmates. Now I don't look at my fellow passengers with the possibilities of interesting conversation, I look at ethnicity, with fear and trepidation - and I hate myself for it. I'm also sure that I would be yanked off any flight and jailed for trying to chat with the captain and peek in the cockpit.

Cause of Death #3: All those Cruise Line Stories
I am just so frustrated with people who can't grasp the notion of being on a moving vessel in an ocean. Stop looking at the rail like a limbo stick! Sober up and stay on the ship, would you? I'm sure that all those people that paid good, hard earned dollars for the cruise are really bummed out having to circle the same water for three days looking for you. They have tourism dollars to spend in carefully laid traps on many islands! Which brings me to...

Cause of Death #4: Stupid, Stupid Tourists
I once went to Paris with two wonderful friends. One, like me, wanted to have an indigenous experience - local food, local flavor. One friend couldn't get to Planet Hollywood fast enough for a Thai Chicken Salad. We lived in a city at the time that had a Planet Hollywood and I almost had a stroke when she insisted on it for dinner. Of course, I ordered the Croque-monsieur for dinner just so I could not break my travel rule of eating as the locals do, but it always frosted me a little bit that I had a dumb poster of Sylvester Stallone looming over me and our server was from our home town and had the thickest southern accent I've ever heard. Travel should be about getting away from what you know and learning about what you don't. If you want the same thing, stay home!

Cause of Death #5: The Hassle Factor
Airports are seriously crowded and everyone's crabby. I stood in three different lines at LAX for a sum total of three hours to catch a flight that used to take me 25 minutes from car to gate to seat. That's just sad. I hate taking off my shoes because I don't know where everyone else's feet have been. And, I've been told; it’s rude to ask. They confiscated my seriously expensive face cream the last trip at the security checkpoint. I can't take the $8 Starbucks coffee I just bought onto the plane anymore and they want to sell me the notoriously worst food possible, for twice the price I would have paid elsewhere? What kind of madness is this?

I think the investigation is complete. I think now that my loner travel backpack would contain all the stereotypical American "necessities": Hand disinfectant, (lots of) bottled water, a satellite phone, GPS system, Google Maps loaded on my Palm Smartphone, headphones, my ipod, small containers of my expensive toiletries, and the addresses of all foreign Starbucks locations and yes, maybe even a gift card to Planet Hollywood.

Rest In Peace, Love of Travel. It was wondrous while it lasted and you were a good and interesting friend. Don't tell my daughters I said this, but perhaps ignorance really is bliss.

The Travel Agents Guide to Organization

There are some universal truths in the life of a travel agent. The only time you tell your best client to check his luggage, it will be lost. His connecting gate will be the farthest from the one he arrives at. And the BEST travel agents have the messiest desks. It's universal. They have stacks and stacks of brochures, but can find anything at the drop of a dime. In all my years of training travel agents, in the hundreds of offices I've been in, it is the same everywhere I go.

One thing that I am constantly asked, however, is how they can better manage their time. My suggestion has always been to try and find a tool to help them work within their system, rather than try and change the way they do things. I've never been able to make even one keep their desk clean, and I think that's really what started this whole "home-based" phenomena in the first place - great travel agents were tired of getting nagged for messy desks.

So, rather than try and re-wire the brains of great agents, here's a great tool that I've found called Backpack. I use it every day to keep track of practically my whole life. I love the fact that its simple - no extra, unneeded bells and whistles. You create a page, and within that page you've got to-do lists, notes, attached files, pictures, a "writeboard" to collaborate with others, or your split personalities and links. You can even share it if you like. I use it for both business and personal, since in this day and age there really isn't a boundary between the two, and I bet most people would say the same thing.

Here's a couple of ways I use it. I have one page for each daughter's volleyball team, and I share it with all the other parents. We keep track of practice changes, links to buy socks or other gear and general info. I have another page that has every software license and keys for everything I've purchased and could possibly need to reinstall. I've got another page with marketing ideas, article ideas, outlines for books, that day's goals and my favorite page, "The Honey-Do". I create checklists for the hubby, and he checks them off as he does them - no more, "You didn't tell me!"

It essentially takes everything out of my head and gets it into a "bucket" which doesn't have to be pretty or especially organized but I like the fact that it is web-based, so I can get to it from anywhere. I used to keep everything like that in a spreadsheet and when my laptop died, the spreadsheet was gone because on one of my bazillion paper to do lists was... you guessed it... backup my hard drive! I like the fact that it integrates with my Palm Treo 650 very seamlessly, sends reminders to my e-mail and as a text message to my phone and stays synchronized automatically with my Gmail calendar. I'm all about simplicity, and it doesn't get much simpler than this. The best part? The basic plan is absolutely FREE!

And I can STILL have my insanely messy desk and feel good about it.

Travel Marketing 2.0

Time was, travel website marketing, let's call it 1.0, was all about keyword stuffing - that is - sticking a bunch of keywords into a page to trick the search engines into really thinking that your website knew what it was talking about. You'd bring people to you site which was loaded with the logos of vendors and suppliers and travelers would have to sift, search and self-serve to figure out what kind of trip they were looking for. Don't get me started on Titanic music in the background - is that really an incentive for someone to BUY a CRUISE??? I've looked at thousands, literally, maybe even tens of thousands of travel websites and that's the worst. You know who you are, and you still owe me some money, by the way.

The next version was all about booking engines, content from other sources and duplicate content - which also got everyone nowhere. Everyone had the same website and only the names were changed to protect the not-so-innocent. More herd mentality - one guy at lunch says he gets some leads from his website and everyone copies what he's doing. Guess what? They're the same 100 travelers shoppping multiple websites and that means you're getting the SAME LEADS and the guy you had lunch with. Oh, and BTW - they're all Carnival 3/4 night sailings.

So then we come to travel web marketing 1.75 - google adwords. Buying placement with keywords which essentially promised to level the playing field. It did - but still brought visitors to a couple of roadblocks - the same crappy websites, loaded with the same duplicate content and the same real estate devoted to the same vendors - or - the mega players like travelocity, vacationstogo.com (who I see EVERYWHERE), Orbitz and the like.

Still, doesn't help the average travel counselor, right?

Now, its all about the "2.0" craze of marketing - and travel marketing is leading the charge. 2.0 is all about social marketing. Putting reviews, polls, commentary, blogs, forums and wikis in the hands of the travelers that are either at the destination, going to the destination, using the vendor, product or service. Opinions matter, labels matter and simplicity matters. Travelers are more savvy, more connected - and more in need of travel agents than ever. Good ones, with good websites with good content. Come on folks, we can do this. Let's commit to revamp our websites this year with great stuff that people really care about - not the same old star ratings, the same old deck plans, the same old schlock. Shock people with your own opinions -and ask for theirs! Make it easy for them to connect to you. Write your thoughts down about great trips, ask them for input on the best places to journal, to get a cup of non-Starbucks coffee (although I love a good Cinnamon Dolce latte, don't get me wrong). CONNECT.

I must have this.

http://www.officeorganix.com/Eropod500.htm

So, I've been really excited about the new implemented technology that allows me to leave the house, but DANG, this is pretty awesome. The only thing better is if I could somehow hook up my cappuccino maker to pipe it in... hmmm... must ponder that one.

Review: Using Gmail for Travel Agencies

I mentioned briefly that I switched to Google's gmail program a couple of weeks ago, and let me tell you - it has changed my life. That is, after it gave me a short working nervous breakdown. Now that I'm through that with the help of a good therapist, I'm onboard and ready to share my opinions with my travel industry friends.

Spam Filtering Differences Between Gmail and Outlook and Webmail
For starters, Gmail has a spam filter built in, so there is really nothing to do except to start using it. I go through my spam folder a couple times a day and keep it cleaned out, but so far I've only seen two or three e-mails that should have come through and didn't. It also automatically deletes the Spam older than 30 days, and it has plenty of storage, so you don't have to look at it or worry about it crashing anything, but I like to be sure I'm not missing anything, so I look every day. With Outlook, I had to look at my MxLogic or Gateway Defender Folder (separate login) and with Webmail, I had to configure a ton of rules to catch the e-mail.

Separate Account Management- No New Addresses for Your Contacts
Since I have more than 10 separate e-mail accounts, I wanted to be able to easily consolidate them into one place. With Gmail, I went to the settings, added each of the existing accounts and selected the "use original e-mail when replying" feature - which means that no one needs to know that I'm using gmail, or have to change the address they have for me. Its seamless. I can also choose which account to send from if I want to, so when sending to a gemtravelsites.com client, I use that account, and a travelwebmarketing.com client sees e-mail from that address and it is as easy as a drop down box on the compose message screen.

Conversations versus Separate E-mails
This was the real mind-blower for me. In Outlook, I had more than 400 folders to keep everything "organized" - and I use that term loosely. The ongoing challenge was that if I wanted to see something I sent, and a reply from someone, they were separate e-mails, in separate folders. With Gmail, they are one threaded conversation, and I can assign labels and archive the e-mail. This keeps the e-mail within my reach, with just a simple Google-style search to find anything I need, whenever I need it.

Web-Based
Yes, Gmail is web based, which I've never been a fan of, but with the optional google desktop program, I can still search through e-mail when I'm offline (am I EVER offline?) and still remain comfortably "connected". Since Gmail is also by invitation, or connected to a mobile phone number, it is much more secure than hotmail or other free e-mail programs. There is much more accountability from the user network.

Labels instead of Folders
My Outlook personal storage file (.pst) grew over the years to more than 2GB. It was HUGE, slow and cumbersome, despite my best efforts to stay organized with folders. With GMail, rather than a folder, I can assign a label to each e-mail. I use the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology which means I assign a project for each item, which for me is a client or a Reference like "accounts receivable" or "software licenses". I can then assign an action label for things I need to do, like "waiting on" for items that need some response from someone, or "need blog post" for something that I want to share. This way they're all in one place and I can do multiple similar things at once by clicking on a link in the navigation bar that has a pre-defined search. I use a free software plugin called gtdgmail.com for a really powerful and easy way to integrate this - more on this tomorrow.

Filters and the Wonderful little + sign
I stumbled across a neat little cheat early on that helped my conversion from outlook tremendously. Since you can't import messages (you can import contacts, however) I was really stressed about trying to find messages I needed. I didn't want to have to go back and forth between Outlook for old e-mail and Gmail for new e-mail. The cheat that saved me is the + sign. Here's how it works. My gmail address is chelleyarbrough@gmail.com. However, I can also use chelleyarbrough+ebay@gmail.com and its still me! Notice the +ebay? Nothing to configure in gmail, just use the address. With that, I created filters with all the different projects in gmail which ended up being the folder names in outlook. Then I went through the outlook folders and sent myself the emails I wanted to save using the +whatever@ gmail.com address and they were automatically archived and labeled! It took me the better part of a day, but since I usually clean out my e-mail folders at the end of each year and use the Outlook Archive option, this was far easier, quicker and got me organized and up to speed. Everything's at my fingertips, in Gmail and ready to go. Speaking of go....

Seamless Integration with my Palm Treo 650
My biggest movitvation for the change is the fact that I wanted to be much more mobile. With the purchase of my Palm Treo 650 almost a year ago, my goal was to get to the place where I could leave my laptop at home and still be productive at the beach, the YWCA or the coffeehouse. That never really materialized until I made a HUGE effort to find, test and refine the tools I now use. Over the next few days, I'll give an in-depth overview of each, but right now I'll tell you that I use:

• Verizon Wireless Unlimited Data Plan - a MUST HAVE
  
• The Gmail Mobile Application to manage Gmail - always synchronized, no download delays or overlaps
  
• Google Maps - free application similar to a GPS, with driving directions, real-time traffic and satellite images
• GooSync - to keep my Google Calendar and Palm Calendar synchronized
• DragonEdit - website editor for SmartPhones, for quick website edits
• MobiTV - Several live TV channels including NBC, MSNBC, ABCNews and Discovery Channels (No more airport boredom)
• PTunes - With Rhapsody-To-Go Account, turns my phone into an MP3 player, so I can walk and workout and not miss a call
• Quick-IM - Since I use MSN Messenger, I can chat with my clients and contacts
• Jabra BT800 Bluetooth Headset
• Palm Keyboard - a full size pop-out keyboard with real sized keys. Makes e-mails and blogs a snap.

On the PC Side, I changed to Mozilla Firefox from Internet Explorer because of the tools and extensions (which I'll also explain in subsequent articles) and now I use Google Calendar which sends a message to my phone to remind me of appointments or deadlines, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, so my library of documents is secure and web-based. BaseCamp for project management, Backpack for personal to-do lists and sharing with others, and Blogger to post to this website.

Overall, Gmail was quick to setup. It took about a week to get really used to the "conversation" style of messages, but the built in tools made exploration fun, too. For home-based, small and medium sized travel agencies looking for a way to telecommute more effectively, this might be a good option. Feel free to post questions and comments!

The brilliance of being mobile

I'm on my Palm Treo 650, with a popout keyboard, sending a blog post. This may not seem significant, but I'm sitting at a coffeehouse doing it. I've got phone. I've got e-mail through gmail. I've got web through Palm's Blazer. I've got Google Analytics via Documents-to-Go in PDF, I've got MSN Messenger via IM Lite. I've got my library of music through ptunes and - I'm freaking myself out here - I've even got TV through MobiTv AND a butler that calls me madame when I've got a reminder or new urgent e-mail.

The Best Part? I mean the really, really awesome thing? I've got a quad shot Blanco Latte, which is a white chocolate coffee yummy and some portabello mushroom omelette thing in front of me. The sun is shining and I can actually feel it on my lily-white programmers skin.

The beauty is, I've never much felt like technology helped me until today. Sure, it was necessary - work demanded it. But, I've always felt tethered to the office for 16 hours a day, even with wireless. Files were always back at the house. Contacts weren't in my phone, or were in my laptop. My Outlook .pst file became over 2.6 GIG of space to sift through.

So, I switched from Outlook to Gmail, and went web-based in a big way. Big Change, and I love it. Took me 3 minutes to import ALL my contacts from Palm, Outlook and Billing Software.

Next, tackled the Task Management Stuff with an awesome add-on gtdmail.com. Love them Brits. If they could come up with gtgcloset or gtdpantry I'd be happy. Well, I'm happy now. That would DELIGHT me.

Moved on to the Calendar, and landed on google.com/calendar with a little add-on for Palm called companion link for google calendar.

A week's worth of reworking my life and basically, I can leave my office - and my office comes with me for real, without pounds of technology, papers, notebooks, reference and stress. Its exactly what I had in mind when I started. I actually {heart} my company again. Have I said that before? Bears Repeating.

Celebrating the Little Things

They say, "don't sweat the small stuff" - and I agree. Small Stuff bogs you down. Small stuff keeps you from doing big things. Except they also say, "the devil is in the details"

OK, first of all, who is "they"? and why am I listening to them?

I've decided to sweat whatever I want to sweat, and watch volleyball. So there.

Great day. A client that I really, really like signed as my third marketing client. I was really hoping she would because I think she's smart, determined and her suite of sites have a lot of potential. She's one of those people that gets it, and knows where she wants to go, and guess what? I'm holding the OnSTAR button.

So I've got three, and I think four and five tomorrow to round it out. And then the fun begins. Actually, its been fun so far choosing the clients that I really think are a good fit in terms of time, energy and potential. I'm batting .1000 and it's pretty awesome after the insanity of the summer. I [heart] work again.

Favorite YouTube Video d'Moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuj7DTrDOkk
Stuff I need to Watch on DVR: Texas Tech vs. K-State Volleyball, New Gilmore Girls
9pm snack to keep me on task: Creme Brule' Latte & 3 Excedrin.

Good Times.

// C

Sometimes You Give It Away

Sometimes you get stuff for free at garage sales. There's usually a box there with stuff that you, the seller, just can't bring yourself to charge for. That's OK - but be sure that you don't throw a Van Gogh or Renior in there thinking that Aunt June painted it when she was "resting" in her "special place up North" - ya know what I mean? Be sure you know the value of things. Which brings me to another point - why are all the good artists really crazy?

I went to the beach this morning to meditate. We've got this awful Red Tide thing happening here lately. Its an algae that sticks to the top of the water and kills fish. The stench was killer, so I drove up to Port A for some Cotter Street Coffee. I love that place - alw