Pondering the world

Freecycle--how to dispose of still-useful stuff

Use Freecycle to redistribute your stuff to someone who will use it.  I'll bet that, like me, you have a lot of STUFF hanging around, tucked into your closets, storage building, attic, garage... and maybe you don't want it any more but it could still be useful. It's amazing what we might consider "junk" or useless could be desirable to someone else.

If you have a Yahoo account (and it's free, so get yourself one), go to "Groups" and look up "Freecycle." Chances are that if you live in any fair-sized town, city or metro area, there's a Freecycle group operating.

The only rule with Freecycle is that whatever you're offering has to be absolutely free--no sales, trades, barter or conditions. I've gotten rid of scrap lumber and sheet metal, pipe, disreputable-looking lawn furniture, even a pile of rocks that someone needed for landscaping, not to mention the nicer stuff that I've donated.

Posts can be simple.  Just say OFFER--(whatever you're giving away)--YOUR LOCATION (like what area of town you're in so people know how far they might have to drive). In the body of the post I give a short description and what kind of condition it's in, and I ask responders to reply with their name and phone number. If they don't come pick it up, I can at least call to see if they still want it before moving to the next responder. When the item has been picked up, post TAKEN--(whatever you're giving away) so people will know it's gone. I also found it helpful to put an auto-reply on my yahoo mail account listing stuff that's been taken so people will know right away.

Things can have a much longer life and usefulness than you think. You already know the three R's--reduce, reuse, recycle. Add two more to that--repurpose and redistribute.

I'm a "functional girl," not a "material girl."

Madonna can sing all she wants about being a "material girl," which to me is all about having more stuff. I'm a functional girl. First and foremost, I want something that works well. If it doesn't, I'll keep looking for something better. And I want less stuff that serves more functions.

I'm waiting for the large zip-out shopper bag from Baggalini to become available. It's 18x22x7, ripstop nylon, can be checked as baggage on a plane, zips into its own little pouch and weighs less than a pound. It's big enough to carry the few items I need for an overnight trip, or on longer trips I can throw it in my suitcase and use it to carry my dirty laundry to the laundromat.

Lots of functionality--it works for me.

Spinning plates and whack-a-mole

Any business owner will tell you that her life is like spinning plates--you have to keep them all going at the same time, and there can be a lot of them. If you don't go over and pay attention to one of the plates when it needs it, it will go crashing to the floor. Besides the stuff I have to do every day, there are the additional projects, all of which need a little touching or spinning. Let's see... I have to reply by email to the guy who's custom-building some beds... call to set up interviews for a housekeeper... get an estimate on the materials I need to put a new top on a table... update my website... put up that special offer for March... 

Of course, the flip side is that something always needs to be repaired or replaced, and it has a way of interfering with the spinning plates. The sink in one room is draining too slow... the ceiling fan in another needs to be replaced... I'm behind on the winter pruning and things are starting to leaf out already... that doorknob is coming loose... Just when you feel you have everything nailed down, something else pops up, like that whack-a-mole game.

As they say, my to-do list is so long, I can never die. And just to keep life interesting, unexpected issues will continue to pop up.

Happy Valentine's Day!

why we still need to send greeting cards

I've decided to make this a special year by remembering to send a greeting card to everyone in the family for birthdays and holidays. As I was making some cards for Valentine's Day, I realized I had a special person in mind for each one and was thinking of them the whole time I was designing it, making it, cutting, gluing, finishing it, and addressing and stamping the envelope.

That's the real value in sending greeting cards. Even with the advent of email greeting cards, it's still very special to get a real card in the mail hand-addressed to YOU.

I love making my own cards, especially if they're pop-up or 3D cards, but not everyone has time to do that.  It's about the only hobby I have time to indulge in, so I use it as a creative outlet. Support your local card shop by buying cards and make your family and friends happy by sending them.

I can name three industries that are in the business of making people happy--flowers, cards and chocolates. Let's keep making each other happy.

now where did I leave my glue gun?

I had to buy another glue gun yesterday because I was working on a project a while back and put my old one... somewhere...

This seems to be a frequent occurrence. Either I don't put something away where it belongs, or I put it somewhere safe so I know I'll be able to find it again and then I forget where my "logical" safe place is. Every time I need my glue gun, I remember, "oh, yeah. I put it somewhere and haven't been able to find it the last six times I needed it." So yesterday I bit the bullet and just bought a new one. When I find the old one, then I'll have two--unless I manage to misplace the new one.

Now, if I can just find my new Gelly Roll gold glitter pen, which I bought to replace the other one I misplaced...

American Media Distribution--legit or scam? Part 2

April 17, 2011:

Press credentials or not?  Phil called me yesterday to apologize for the mix-up in assignments.  He "had my press credentials as pending, and the assignment desk thought you had them." That doesn't really explain the incorrect date. Phil asked if I had decided about getting the press credentials, and I said I would have to pass on it for now.  I don't have $300 to spend on that, especially if this turns out to be a scam and I never hear from them again. He said he understands there are a bunch of assignments coming up and I would be given one real soon.

I continue to look at this a little sideways.  We'll see.

February 1, 2011:

I never heard from AMD again.

 

 

American Media Distribution--legit or scam? Part I

April 14, 2011:

If you're reading this, it means I decided this was not all it was purported to be. I won't publish it until then. After all, they might come back and say, "hey! You wrote something unpleasant about us. Why would we want you to work for us?"

Initial contact:  Several weeks ago, I received some email asking if I would be interested in doing freelance reporting on local events, like restaurant openings, concerts, festivals and such. I was intrigued and followed up with a phone call. At that time, "Phil" walked me through the documents on their website, which seemed straightforward enough. We got toward the end of his spiel, at which time it turned out that I would have to pay them nearly $300 for press credentials and a "deposit," which would be returnable either when I stopped working for them or after I had generated $1,000 in revenue. Hey, what...? I have to pay you to work for you? It turns out the press credentials are optional, but it would prevent me from being assigned some gigs which require the credentials.

Scam?  I've become aware of a number of scams and have a healthy amount of skepticism when it comes to people who offer to part me from my money. While $300 may not seem like much, it doesn't take many people to fall for this before AMD is racking up some serious cash. I did some searching on the internet to see what people are saying about them and even found one person who claims to have written articles and been paid for them.  However, I opted out of the press credentials at this time. 

First assignment:  I received my first assignment to cover a car show but I noticed that the date was wrong. I sent back some email asking if the date was supposed to be April 15 instead of June 3. The reply I received was interesting: that was a mistake, and the April 15 car show had been assigned to someone else who had the required credentials. The June 3rd one is in Red River, which is nearly 4 hours from here, so I declined that one.

Questions: Was that "assignment" a mistake or a ploy? Was it intended to make me impatient and say I'll go ahead and pay for the credentials? Was it a bait and switch tactic? Will I receive another assignment? Will it be something local or will I continue to be offered assignments far away? 

 

 

We won a trip to Key West from the Mermaid and the Alligator Bed & Breakfast!

Sometimes you get lucky.  And sometimes you get lucky because you bought a heck of a lot of raffle tickets.  At the recent innkeepers conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, I had a fistful of tickets. The lovely folks at The Mermaid and the Alligator Bed & Breakfast in Key West donated a whole trip, and I won it! I was so excited about winning, I can't remember what it includes, except a lovely stay in Key West. A dinner? Snorkeling? A tour? I'll love everything that comes with it, because we're going to Key West!

Sometimes you get lucky.  And sometimes you make great new friends along the way.

what does your natural state look like?

I laughed when I saw an Arkansas license plate when I arrived:  "the natural state." The first thing that popped into my head is what MY natural state looks like: