Cheers to Change

Sounds like someone from the Obama camp, right?

Well - it is the only way to sum up what has been going on in my home camp lately.
Sissy getting married, travel to new places, rekindling of old friendships, being made a godmother, leaving one job, starting another, moving and moving on - it is a lot of swirling and whirling going on in one person's life.

But. It is all for the better.

Even though my work ethic was strong and I have a strong passion for print - I chose to leave my old job as an account manager for a regional magazine and take a break from it all. The work environment was poisonous and there was no where left to grow - hence - time to move on. In less than 24 hours, I had another sales job - this time in high end retail. Which I am super happy about - and I was able to take a little over a month off before my start time. That gave me the opportunity to clean myself of all of the negativity and frustration built up about my old position and get ready for the new. It also gave me time to move into a new residence with the man I love, go and spend and entire week with my beloved sister in Fort McMurray in order to get ready for her wedding and the beginning of a new chapter in her life. For all of this I am grateful.

The down time left me with time to think, time to prioritize, time to heal spiritually, and for that I feel as though I have grown and become all the better for it.

I was able to figure out who is important in my life, weed out the people that were cluttering up my emotions;time;and energy, figure out what is valuable in a sense of both material and non-material things, and become ambitious and happy with the life I lead and what I have chosen to surround me.

You only live once - that is often said in reference to doing something crazy or taking a chance. But it should also apply to just our every day decisions. Each and every day should be as happy and fulfilling as you would like for them to be in a sense of what you have control over. One should not stay in a place they are not happy - for no reason. One should not surround themselves with people who bring drama and anxiety into their lives whether it be a significant other or someone who you are in a "friendship" with.

I know it all seems ideal and easier said than done - but having done it. And experiencing the feeling that comes with it. The feeling of release and almost weightlessness - it is more attainable than most would think. We don't HAVE to spend 80% of our lives in a job/workplace that makes us unhappy. We don't HAVE to invite that person who you know will ruin the experience/day for you. We don't HAVE to give up any of our very valuable time that we have in life to deal with unpleasant things that we have control over.

And when I keep saying "control over" - of course I mean I am not delusional - there will always be that bad day, that fender bender, death, and spats with your significant other - I am not saying to avoid EVERYTHING - but before you do take it on - ask yourself how much it means to you. Weigh the Happiness vrs Unhappiness that it brings you - and then judge accordingly.

Wedding Bells

So she finally did it! SistA - my blood sister and fellow blogger tied the knot in the industrious Fort McMurray this summer and what a great time we had! It was amazing.

 

Having gone up there a week early to help out - there was plenty of time to do stuff non-wedding related. Like Skeet Shooting, Kick-Boxing, checking out the Natural Museum for Oil Sands, eat sunshine bread, etc. etc.

And of course wedding related would be, folding flowers, checking on cake status, Bachelorette party, hair, nails, folding flowers, rehersal, rehersal party, folding flowers, picking out music, folding flowers, picking up family at the airport, oh and did I mention - folding flowers.

The flowers were worth it - 100% - as you can plainly see.



Potted flowers for tables.



Hedges for head table.



 With family and friends all around, it made for a great time :)

More to follow when the professinal pictures are available.

Cheers!

Magazines sell beautiful things.

There is no doubt that I am biased when it comes to advertising, the art of it, and the media it is used in. I have been working in Magazine Ad sales for 5 years and it is a constant learning experience. Ever growing, ever changing, ever morphing to meet the needs of todays reader and consumer alike.

The company that I currently work for is a juggernaut that has a publication for just about everything that could be profitable in our province. A lifestyle magazine, motorcycle magazine, construction business magazine, workers magazine, adventure guide, cooking supplement, and of course web elements to all of these individual properties. If nothing else, this diversity of publications has taught me how to create a fit for just about every business accessible to me and even some who were considered to be inaccessible.

But the point of this little write up is this...

Magazine ads Sell Beautiful Things

When was the last time you saw someone RECORD a t.v. ad because of the coat that was in it? Or print off a web ad because of the computer that was in it? Or RECORD a radio commerical and play it back to themselves to as to drive them towards the goal of a purchase?

NEVER

How often do you see magazine ads torn out. Scrap booked. Stuck to bullitin boards, walls, mirrors, fridges, dashboards, visors, kept in wallets?

All the time.

The shine and the gloss of the paper. The colorful display. The artistic vision of the photographer. All of it ads to the magic of advertising.
It drives us to want and desire.
We cut out the images and place them in places to look at them again and again. Driving ourselves.
Our perfect ring, the greatest dress, the sexiest car, the geekiest computer, the sleekest phone - we all do it.
The same things can be TALKED about in radio. Have gimmicky flash ads on web pages. Blast our eyes and ears for 30 seconds on a television.
But they don't last - they are all fleeting and forgotten.
Magazine ads last. We can look at them for as long as we wish. Keep them. Collect them. Refer to them. Use them to create a dream.
They are beautiful.
Therefore...

Magazine Ads Sell Beautiful Things.

Texts From Last Night/ FailBook

This is the best $0.99 ever spent on an iPhone app, and free on BlackBerry.

The sight is based on random text messages sent to and from people, and they are Hi-Larious! if you remember my review on tucker max, its alot like that, just up to the minute updates, and really really funny. for the site click HERE

Failbook is all the stupid, moronic things said on facebook. May it be from status, or comments, they are all funny, and sometimes people need more funny. FAILBOOK

Titles Mean Nothing!

It doesnt matter if you are dating, engaged, married, married for 20 years - if you meet someone you like better than the one you are with - you should be with them and do what you can to be with them.

Titles mean nothing. People cheat, have affairs, get divorced. What you are calling the person you are with does not change how they feel or their actions in the future.

And, on the surface, that sounds like a jerk thing to say to someone up front.

But - Honest.
There is logic in honesty.

I was young the first time that I heard it - when going steady was a big deal and meant you were off limits. Some of us even had "promise rings". Promise rings?  How many people decided that they were not going to take action upon the feelings of their heart because of a cold peice of metal around your finger that was bought by someone else?

There is stength in a couple that stays together because each and every day - they WANT to be together. Not because the church or the state say they HAVE to be together.

Wise Words Spoken

I would think that at some point in every person's life - they receive one good piece of advice that sticks with them throughout.


Mine happened to have been given to me by my Godmother.

I was going through a time where I was stressed, upset, dramatic, unrelenting, and nomadic. I was bouncing from job to job - no real direction to speak of. I had decided to stop pursuing Childhood Education in school due to a recent dislike for kids (one that still stays with me to this day), I was on job number 4 in less than a year, and living with her due to not being able to pay my rent at my last apartment.

Finally - she could take it no more - and in the stage I was in - I have no idea how she managed to sit me down to have this talk with me. But she did. And here it is.

She said to me; "After your name? What is the very next question that people ask you?"

My reply; "I don't know - here in Newfoundland, it's where are your parents from". (Obviously still not sure where she was going with the conversation).

Her response; "Yes - that may be true - but outside of here, and even after that question is asked here - what is the next question that a person asks you? To get to know you? To decide if they want to be associated with you? If they want to get to know you more?"

Again, I respond; "I don't know, Mary."

Finally the answer - "What do you do?"

And there it was, the beginning of a conversation that has lead to the work ethic that I have today.

"The next question that people ask you after they ask your name is - what do you do? They want to know, how educated you are, how responsible you are, where you are going and where you want to be in your life and in your future. You need to ask yourself if you are going to be happy with the answer that you have to give them when that question is asked - will you be proud of yourself with the explanation that you have for what you are doing with your time and what your plans for the future are."

Now, a person's first response to this conversation may be - Who Cares what others think of you as long as you are happy!?!. But that person would be missing the key part of the conversation.

The key part of that that advice/conversation/statement/question is - "Will you be proud of yourself?"

And my answer at that time - at that moment - was no.

No one aspires to be doing nothing with their lives. There is not a single person who doesn't have hopes and dreams to be something great when they find themselves in the career that is earning their living. No ones goal in life is to be financially insecure, living with the assistance of others.

So, almost immediately after that, I got my job at Downhome. Starting off as a retail sales clerk - went back to school to do Architectural Engineering Technology - and then came back to Downhome as a Advertising Account Manager. A job that I love. Each day I am proud of what I do. 7 years later. And, should that job ever change, or should I want to leave - I have something equally exciting and fulfilling to do as a career.

So - Thank You to my Godmother.

And, I guess my message is that when you hear a good piece of advice - listen to it. Think about it. Make it yours. And, it could be the key to making things a little brighter in your life.

The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself. - Oscar Wilde

Thank God we are a "Have" Province

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago - so forgive the tense - but I had full intentions on posting it as soon as possible.




Sitting here in the emergency room at St. Clare's Hospital, I am taking time to ponder our health care system. I am sure many others have sat where I am, pondering what I am pondering.

I look around at my fellow wait-ers. No one bleeding, no one screaming, no one throwing up, no noticeable distress.

Just a group of people, sitting around calmly, listening to a low volume news cast, reading a thick book, sneaking a look at their mobile, etc., etc. A sniffle here and there is heard - but no proff of ailment since it is freezing outside.

Firstly - I should say why I am here. In short, while preparing supper tonight, I sliced halfway through my finger with a corrugated bread knife. After cleaning and dressing it myself - and waiting a couple of hours, I decided I should pop up to talk to people who know this sort of thing when I started getting sharp, shooting, nerve pain to the centre of my palm.

That was 6:30 p.m.

It is now 10:30 p.m. exactly. I was triaged right away. Told I needed a few stitches - and that it would take 2+ hours. I left - went home - talked on the phone to my dad - went to a Gordon Lightfoot concert (with encore) - and then got dropped back to the emerg. room.......

My name still hasn't been called. Good news is - when I went to check on where I was too on the waiting list, I happened to be next - whenever that will be.

Good thing we are a 'have' province and Michael Moore thinks Canada has this awesome health care service. The media are kicking the crap out of our Premiere, Danny Williams, for flying to the U.S.A and paying for heart surgery so he could have it right away rather than waiting on a waiting list for god-knows-how-long.

As I look around this "emergency" room - I can see why he did it! And when it comes to your health, and life or death choices - everyone and anyone would choose immediacy over waiting.

Before assuming I am contributing to the problem, remember I am here for a flesh wound - not something that could wait to be dealt with by my family doctor. Although, as the hours creep by, I have to wonder if I an early a.m. appointment with him might be faster.

I would be nice to know, what the process is in a room like this one - obviously there are different levels of emergency - but what are they?

Am I, bleeding through another dressing, on the same level as the teenager with the cough banging away on her blackberry between little "ahems"?

After 5 hours gone by - one would assume I am being categorized on the low end of emergency. But what does that mean? or entail? one can only wonder - and wait.

At 12:25 a.m. - I was called in by a nurse to stitch my finger back together with three stitches.