Category: General

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Promotional Products

One aspect I really love about my job is that I attend trade shows and other tabling opportunities where I can advertise what I sell. I get to order promotional products to give away with our company name and logo on them. It’s easy now that you can go online and place an order and much quicker than it used to be to receive the items. One item I have found that I really like are key tags with logo. There are also promotional bags and luggage tags and sunglasses. I have found that people just love picking up a small give away when they visit your table and they take something home with your company name on it!

I enjoy meeting and talking with people at these trade shows and events. I hope that when they look at the gift they’ve received when they get back to work or home they will remember me and what I told them about my company and what I sell. Hopefully, I’ll make some friends and customers at these events.

It can often be long hours and much standing at these trade shows. It is best to have someone with you so that you do not leave your booth unattended for breaks. It is best to stand outside your table area so you are in front to speak with people. It’s necessary to wear comfortable shoes. You can sometimes tire of giving your short elevator speech but after awhile it will be easier for you to deliver. All in all, trade shows can be fun and are a great way to get your company name and product out there.

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Back to work tomorrow

I had a three day weekend for Martin Luther King day, so back to work tomorrow on Tuesday. Thankfully, a four day work week but I have a horrible head cold. YUK! It feels like I have been sick every weekend for months! I am tired of it, I feel like I need Spring to make me feel better! Kinda like solar powered, I need sun and warmth to charge me!

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Internet Service

I have had my AOL account for 14 years now. We started using AOL back in the day when it was dial-up internet. You actually had to pay every month for AOL at the time. Needless to say, I was thrilled when it became free. I don’t really miss dial up, it took too long to connect and I couldn’t use my home phone at the same time. Can you remember the funny noise it made as it was connecting? Our next internet service was cable. It was somewhat faster than dial up. You had to connect a cable into the back of your computer. I had a desk top computer at that time so it wasn’t much of a nuisance dealing with the cable.

We have wireless internet now and I use a laptop. I love that I can use my computer anywhere I want in the house and also outside at my patio table. I’ve taken it with me on business trips and vacations. I have to trust at those times that wireless internet will be available. I am at the mercy of the hotel I am staying at as to whether wireless will be available.

I haven’t quite become the person that carries a laptop everywhere, to malls and coffee shops. I see people sitting in the food court at my local mall or the coffee shop on their laptop. Most are surfing the internet or playing games. I assume those people enjoy being in an atmosphere where people are around even though they are alone. That has been my perception, anyway.

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Internet

As a middle aged woman I am constantly amazed by the power of the internet. I have recently found family I had not been in contact with in years. I can do my holiday shopping from the comfort of my living room sofa. We can play computer games until our hearts are content and of course there is social networking such as Facebook. I’ve just learned there is also online sports betting.

Some of my friends are really into soccer so I will suggest they check the website out.

I have to admit I am quite addicted to Facebook. I’ve reconnected with Junior High and High School friends and I stay in touch with close friends and current and past co-workers. I do not play the games and I admit I am annoyed when friends send requests over and over for the games. I do however like to post music videos and I am quite a fan of Youtube and sharing those videos on Facebook. I am confident that my friends are just as annoyed by my videos as I am by their games. I try to remain tolerant though, and I never let anyone know that I am annoyed by the games. They are kind as well and hardly ever tell me to lay off the music.

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Shopping online

Today is supposed to be a huge online shopping day even topping Cyber Monday. Some companies are offering free shipping and free is always a good thing. I’m going to purchase some chocolate for a cousin in California. She has a sweet tooth and always enjoys receiving chocolates for Christmas. On another website I will place an order for ornaments and cute felt bags for my staff. I know they will like them.

I will also take advantage of ordering from stores that no longer exist in the malls around me. It’s cool that even though my favorite stores aren’t around, I can go online and still make my holiday purchases.

I traditionally purchase a lot of comfort items, like pajamas and slippers. My recipients may not be thrilled when they first open the package but they are certain to love them and appreciate them when the weather gets colder. My sons would rather have electronics, but those items can be so expensive. I am feeling pressured to find the perfect gifts this year. I usually do not fall into that trap. All in all, Christmas will pass quickly again this year and I hope all my loved ones enjoy the gifts I choose for them.

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Summer Dreaming

This frosty weather has me day dreaming about next Spring and Summer. I like to picture creating new flower beds in my mind. It takes my mind off winter dreariness. I think I will make some new raised planters at the edge of my property line. I want a lot of rose bushes. I have been looking at my neighbor’s roses and they are so lovely. These long dark days will thankfully be replaced by long summer days where it stays light until 9pm.

I moved this year and have a new yard. I have thought about buying a hot tub or an above ground pool. I am researching how much maintenance is involved in either or both. I love the thought of a hot tub in cool weather. It would be soothing for my old bones to slip into a nice hot tub at the end of my work day. An above ground pool would be wonderful as well, but in a different way. I guess in my mind, a pool is daytime fun, while a hot tub is for evening relaxation.

My research has included learning about chemicals required, and how sturdy a pool liner is. I would prefer whichever I purchase last years, I wouldn’t want to replace it anytime soon.

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Travel

Someday, I hope to have the time and money to travel. In my life, I’ve been up and down the East Coast, to Toronto, Canada and south to Florida. I’ve been as far west as Indianapolis. Anyone interested in moving way north should check out Calgary apartments for rent.

I visited Toronto for business but while there I was able to go to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. It was so beautiful, I hope to get back someday for a more leisurely visit. I am not sure I’d like to relocate North, I don’t appreciate the cold much. I love Florida for the sun and beaches, but again I don’t think I’d like to live there year round. It gets too hot and humid and that makes it difficult to go outdoors.

I’ve loved driving in the West Virginia mountains. That is truly “God’s country”. but again the winters are fierce with a lot of snow and I do not think i’d like that either.

The Carolina’s are beautiful, especially their beaches.

Someday I’d like to see Montana and Wyoming, “Big Sky Country”. I really have no desire to visit California or Nevada. I really don’t care to visit Las Vegas. It seems too commercial to me.

I guess other than occasional vacations, I will remain a Virginia girl where we enjoy all four seasons.

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Marketing Help

A friend of mine recently lost her job as Director of Marketing in the shopping mall industry. Given that she doesn’t want to relocate to another state to find another job in the industry, she has begun her own marketing company from her home. She hopes to specialize in small business marketing. She has many years experience in marketing, so I am sure she will be a great success. It is cool that she can do what she loves from the comfort of her home, and I will bet on most days in her pajamas. I know though, that having your own business usually means you work far more than you would working for a company. The job requires traveling, as she will have clients all over the country.

Before she can begin to help market clients she had to set up her own web site. Realizing how important local search engine optimization is to the success of small, local businesses, she has been doing a lot of research. One company that helps with that is RevLocal. Her web site looks awesome and I do expect it to help her make many new clients.

Because marketing has changed so much in the last ten years with of the internet and social media, she hopes to specialize in search engine marketing to ensure her clients have a strong, positive presence on the web. She has received many phone calls and has been meeting with prospective clients almost daily.

The old days of newspaper advertising has long gone with more people doing business on their computers. Radio advertising and direct mail still seem to be effective, but more and more people are going to the internet for research, socialization, and shopping. Shopping online is certainly easier than dealing with the crowds in stores and it is fun to look forward to receiving packages.

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Pre-Holiday Season

I love this time of year when people are just beginning to think about the Holiday Season. The last minute “I need to find the perfect gift” panic hasn’t kicked in yet, and people are leisurely putting up Christmas lights, door wreaths, and yard decorations. The weather has been mild lately, allowing a comfortable experience to decorate outside.

Unfortunately, before we know it, it will be panic and crunch time. People’s patience will be tested, their tempers short, and manners all but forgotten. Folks will be pushed and shoved waiting in lines, and probably more than a few toes stepped on. All of this insanity for a few minutes of opening gifts on Christmas morning.

I think it’s too bad that instead of one day, we can’t have Holiday week, allowing more time to relax and enjoy our family and friends.

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My son’s Christmas list

Sometimes it seems that boys never really grow up, their toys just become more expensive. My twenty three year old son has given me his Christmas list and it has a lot of electronic equipment on it. Along with a new camera he wants to be sure he has plenty of Sony Camera Batteries. I do not know what the difference is in sony cybershot batteries so I think I will do a little research on the subject. It also appears that a sony cybershot battery charger is available.

I love the idea of rechargeable batteries, and I am so glad they are available now. Batteries can be so expensive and sometimes inconvenient to replace. We have had batteries die at the worst time, right in the middle of a family holiday when we wanted to take a lot of photos. Unfortunately we have missed several wonderful memories.

I miss the days when purchasing his Christmas gifts was easier and I could stroll the toy aisles in the stores and pick fun things for him.

Of course he also has video games and game equipment on his list. Like I said, it seems boys never really grow up.