Simplicity in Promotion

Today I was a vendor at a health fair for a local company. I have manned many health fair tables on behalf of other companies, but this was my first time doing it for myself! Most vendors usually devote all their table surface area to brochures, other literature and giveaway items. My table setup was quite simple and yet I got complimented for that! Rather than set out a bunch of different kinds of paper, I had only one handout. The rest of the information I wanted to convey was displayed on a monitor that was showing a continual slideshow presentation. On the other side of the table was a small basket of business cards and a fake flower arrangement. People seemed to be more engaged with me rather than trying to talk and look at what to pick out on the table to stuff in their giveaway bags. Yay for simplicity!

(The picture isn't the best since it was taken with my phone's camera, but you get the point.)

Day 14 - Signed Book

A few years ago, I stumbled upon the art of SHAG. I love his art because of the bright colors and fun depictions. I set out buying stuff like a few of his books, stationary and t-shirts. What I really wanted was one of his works though! I figured out that owning these little things are not quite the same. I have kept one book which shows all of his work which is fun to look through, but the rest is gone. This was a book that had great little cocktail drinks and snack recipes which I copied to my recipe book. Someday I plan to own one of his pieces, until then I don't need to spend lots of money on the little stuff which isn't what I truly wanted!

Day 13 - Pants for Martial Arts

I have always been a creature of curiosity. Trying new things that are out of my immediate comfort zone is something I strive for. Sometimes these opportunities practically fall at my feet! One day I was searching through the phone book to find a place where I could take some Tae Kwon Do lessons. Price was a big concern at the time. I phoned one dojo and they told me to come in for the first few lessons to see if I liked it. Once the owner met me, he made a surprising offer: I could take my classes for free if I helped out with the little kids class! They also didn't require me to buy a full TKD gi, so I bought these pants that were made of heavy duck cloth for the classes.





Those classes happened years ago and I definitely have fun memories of that time in my life! I don't really have much desire to do martial arts again though. The bruises and swelling were cool badges at one time, now I would probably have people asking me if my boyfriend beats on me. I will always be able to say that I gave a lady a roundhouse kick to the head! (That should really be on more bucket lists!)

Day 12 - Charms

Back in the mid-80's, my parents had some odd jobs at a large outdoor flea market. I remember them bringing home random things like a slide guitar, chess set and lots of cheap plastic stuff from China for me! I loved the bright belts, hair clips and page after page of stickers! The charms in the picture were one of the things they used to get for me. I think I might have brought these back after my last visit with my relatives in California. I still have childhood stuff that hasn't been completely dealt with out there and so I took a few things from their storage unit. I didn't have any real idea what I wanted with the charms, but I took what I could carry on the plane. I don't like the feeling of other people having to hold my stuff for me until I am situated to take it, but it is what it is right now. I noticed that these little charms are very popular on eBay right now and so I listed them for sale.

Day 11 - Greeting Cards

In theory, greeting cards seem to be pretty fantastic. In reality, they are rather a nightmare. Here is my thought process on dealing with mail:

1. Pick out greeting card, sign it and seal it up in envelope.

2. Wonder what the heck postage costs these days? Has it increased since the last time I mailed something?

3. Make a special trip to the post office.

4. Stand in line for 10-15 minutes.

5. Ask to buy a stamp. Postal employee tries to upsell me into express mail and buying a book of stamps. "No thanks, by the time I use them, the rate will have increased again and it is hard to keep up with", I say. The postal worker then makes some snarky remark, like "shame on me".

6. I leave, very angry, and vow to file a complaint.

I wish I was joking about the employees at my local post office being verbally abusive, but I am not. I find that a phone call, email and social networking mean just as much to my friends and family than sweating the small stuff like sending a dead tree with glitter in the mail! Most people share the same sentiment these days with the ever increasing cost of postage. I will still have a few to keep on hand, but I am much more realistic about how few cards I really use.

Day 10 - High School Class Photo

About a month and a half ago, I moved... to a different room across the house! You must understand how much I hate moving, even if it is only that far! I am always purging things, but it prompted me to push further because I don't want to move as much stuff the next time it happens. One of the largest and heaviest boxes I struggled with was a catch all box for old school work, cards, mementos and souvenirs. I had school work from the 2nd grade on up to college level work. I had the notes I passed around in middle school from dear old friends.

Within the past year or so, I have become very adept at scanning and organizing files securely on my computer. The logical next step for me was to scan what I wanted to save and then toss. Some people would say that school work from their childhood isn't worth saving, but I think of it as a chronicle of my life that I want to have. I don't need the physicalness of the paper though. There is still a bit of a stack left that I try to work a few minutes every other day. Sadly, there aren't any pictures of that project, although they might be pretty boring!

The item for today is a set of high school class photos from my senior year. I definitely didn't want the big panoramic one, as it takes up way too much room. I contemplated the small one for a VERY short time, but I don't have really fond memories associated with the picture. I changed schools going into my senior year (no pity here, it was my choice) and so I didn't make strong connections with anyone at that school. That means that it wasn't even worth trying to figure out how to scan! My belief of purging stuff that brought back negative memories has been in place for some time. Now I am slowing going towards purging things that I feel ambivalent about and this was a good start.

Day 9 - Robes

I had perfectly organized my robes in clear vinyl bags... my winter robe, my summer robe... WAIT!!! Why do I have a robe for every season?!? In my mind, I could hear Greg Behrendt's stand-up comedy routine about not knowing when to wear his robe. Definitely watch the clip for a good laugh, but I will warn you that he does use some expletives (so don't watch if you are easily offended). Robe Skit

I decided to hang on to one robe since I live with other people. It is a nice organic cotton one that I got for free at a spa. Goodbye winter and summer robes, I don't know why I needed you!