Wednesday, September 30, 2009

9/30/09 I Hope I Have a Good Kidney

*Bounces in and plops in chair and puts feet on ottoman*
Good Morning Mr. Blog!
I am happy you'll let me come early sometimes so you can see me in full cheer gear.
So the UW Medical Center called back and gave me an appointment October 27th to get my kidneys screened to see if I can be a living donor.
I hope I can give one to Sissy 'cause dialysis sucks! She has so many medical problems already that is just isn't fair she has to do that. Because she doesn't have kids or a full time job she has to take the times those people can't make. Five AM at the hospital! She has to get up at three o'clock in the morning! Poor Sissy.
If I'm a good match and she can have one of my kidneys she could live an extra ten years!
Thank God she doesn't need a heart or a brain 'cause I only have one of those.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

9/29/09 Trendex Tease, Binder Blunders, Contests

Hi Mr. Blog. Binder Bob of Trendex mailed me samples of their game boards and I am just so sad I can't afford to put my game on a real game board. Did you know when you apply for a small business loan that you have to set up a repayment schedule? I couldn't do that because I don't have a way to make sales projections.
So then Craig, from UPS e-mails me that their store is closing next week. I was crushed. I like him so much and thought we'd be doing business together for the next two decades.
Connie suggested trying another FedEx for printing and that is a good idea.
I'm also calling Jet City Printers and Land Printers up in Bothell tomorrow.
I learned a lot about paper weights, lamination, scoring and cut to bleed trims.
I also learned about pricing, labor costs, shipping and manufacturing.
I refuse to panic about speaking at the Washington State DECA conference October 27th at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. I still have five games left of the original print run of fifty to take if the new product is not complete.
The important thing is my new idea. I am making flyers with my biz card magnet attached to give to the teens at the conference. Nixpix Youtube jingle and commercials with cash prizes.
I think over 1,000 teens will be at the conference so I need to hustle up these flyers.

Friday, September 25, 2009

9/25/09 Troy Passed The Test

Oh Mr. Blog!
I have the best news! Troy passed his driving knowledge test today and he said the game really helped him study! I created Pass The Test, Rules of the Road, specifically for him and was so worried it didn't work and now I know it did work. He was so happy and I am happy with him.
So now he can drive with me or Terry and when he turn 18 it will turn into a license. Yay!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

9/24/09 Lamination Lamentations

Oh Mr. Blog, thank you for being here for me! Ugh.
I went to the Kenmore UPS store yesterday for my appointment with Craig Jones and he greeted me with, "Oh Gretchen, my lamination guy went out of business. Bankrupt."
I felt the floor opening me up and I was falling, falling, falling into the bottomless pit
of business startup complications. When I psychologically crawled up from the pit
I felt like my life was passing before my eyes. Pictures of friends and relatives spinning past.
So, I did what I always do. I gave myself a sharp, mental slap on my own face.
Ouchy. Nobody can kick my ass better than my own self. Seriously.
So I went to the counter with my huge box of stuff and Craig and I started talking turkey.
He is fantastic. His dad, Glenn Jones, was one of my dad's best friends.
Kenmore, The Next Generation! Hahahaha. *laughs at self*
So Connie arrived in her chronically late style and my blood pressure dropped back to normal.
She is the antidote for my chronically "out there" ideas. My personal anchor.
Lisa showed up so we showed her what we were doing and she had some great ideas.
She is so nice and her daughter is in my favorite top ten kids I sub with.
I like people Mr. Blog. I just think they are interesting and funny and full of good stories and fresh ideas.
So Craig made some calls and Connie and Lisa and I looked at the old 22" x 17" and compared it to the new 15" x 17" game. It got small because of the high cost of lams and the cut to bleed problem and the folding problem that seems endless... Until...
So we talked turkey till we turned blue then Connie and I went next door to Toshi's.
I LOVE Kenmore Toshi's Teriyaki. Kim and I were born the same year, 1956 and her kid John is already in college and her mom is STILL ALIVE in Korea. I'm pretty jealous about that.
Even though I don't cry as much over mom and Lyle now, I still miss them so much.
I couldn't pick many blackberries for years cause that was one of their favorite foods.
Blackberry cobbler.
It says it all: The joy of summer, the promise of industrious autumns. The shiny black segments that huge spiders will charge at you over with their swords drawn.
The stickiness of your purple hands and the snakes that slither past, stopping to glance at you as an inconsequential intruder in their world.
The sink full of soaking berries that you hope you can clean
before they ferment
and lead your teenagers into a life of alcoholism and hopelessness.
The scent of the lemon zest as you grate it into
the berries in your blue glass baking pan
that your wonderful mother-in-law Suzanne gave you.
The crunchy, gunky feel of the sugar and flour as you tenderly
mix them into the berries and try not to cry,
because it was your mom and dad's favorite.
*blows nose and wipes eyes*
So Connie says at lunch, "We can't work today."
And I say, "I'm coming to your house and we will assemble those last two games."
Her poor son was still sick but he said he didn't mind if we worked.
The four panel assembly is a A THING OF THE PAST.
Later on I called Steve-O and out of the blue he said,
"Perfs."

Sunday, September 20, 2009

9/19/09 Scoring Idea

Hi Mr. Blog, I think I've got it. Our production problem of gluing the laminated panels is a huge time waster. I woke up with the idea to have the laminated top of the game run through a professional scoring machine! I found a bindery in Greenwood and I'm calling them first thing in the morning! I hope it solves all of our buckling problems!
It was a gorgeous sunny day! Troy and I have new colds with sore throats and coughs.
I went to Costco with Angela and for eight dollars I got enough saran wrap for this lifetime
and about ten reincarnations. What a secure feeling that is.
We popped up to Office Depot and I bought 200 peel and stick business card magnets and got them all made tonight,
Quinn and Joe came over to go canoing with Troy and they had a blast and they are both in DECA and Quinn is ready to work for me right now and excited. Let's see if he can pass out 200 magnets for $20.00!
Terry left for union shop steward training in Gold Bar so the boys and I watched TV together.
They are cranky that Terry took the X-Box 360 but, oh well.
Wish this cold would go away!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

9/18/09 Car Show Fun

Hi Mr. Blog, it is so nice to see you.
I got to the Kenmore Community Clubhouse right at eight and served pancakes until eleven.
It was pretty funny. I love Bud and Annette Eaton so much. They are the managers and she asked if I could help serve a few weeks ago. Since I'm done as a scout and PTA leader after ten years I thought a little volunteer work would be good for me and it was. Bud, Annette and Dennis Karger were cooking the pancakes and sausages and Bev Peterson and Don and Wendy and me were serving the food. Lots of people asked for seconds and the cooks said we had to be,
"Careful" so we wouldn't run out. Don and Wendy said they just ignored what the cooks said and gave people whatever they wanted. It cracked me up and we had lots of laughs.
The Mayor's wife Sherry organized the carshow that followed the breakfast and it was awesome.
I had never been to a car show before and it was so much fun. I helped Sherry Baker and Kathy Straw set up for the car show and they were very happy. We hauled a bunch of tables outside and put on bright yellow table covers. Sherry let me set up my card table and sell games
and I did sell two. One to a guy a bit older than me, Pat and Bev. Pat got his for a party game for him and his carshow friends and Bev bought hers for her "grandma's toys closet."
I had never seen such amazing cars up close! Many from the 1930s on up. Some were mint stock buy my favorite were the customs. Especially Pat's custom pink '32 Chevy coupe. He won two trophies for it.
It was a little cloudy and cool but no REAL RAIN. We walked around or sat in folding chairs and yakked and looked at cars and listened to the Husky football game. We were so glad they beat the Trojans by two!
It was just a darn pleasant time and car show people are very friendly and interesting.
It is the perfect venue for selling car games. If Connie had gone I would have had double fun!
I learned all about the car show circuit and clubs and
I REALLY WANT TO DRIVE A CORVETTE AT 180 MILES PER HOUR SOME DAY!!!

9/18/09 Educational AND Fun

Hi Mr. Blog. I dropped off our game to Craig at the Kenmore UPS store to start working up bids on the revised edition. Not sure if we can go much bigger because of the laminated panels having to be cut to the bleed lines. Very complex to upgrade, yet oddly exciting. Like having another baby. I'd be satisfied if we can just increase enough to change the font a bit bigger.
That is the number one suggestion for improvement, to make the fonts big enough to read easier.
UPS has different print machines and I have a very good feeling about this situation.
As much as I convinced myself I was happy with the smaller size because of the lamination trimming, I did not like the fonts going below a twelve. I'm just going to pray up a storm that UPS comes through for us on a good bid. It will be the final Washington that we have to have as close to perfect as we can get with self-assembly because it will be the progenitor of the USA version that will be next. The minute this one is done, even in a few weeks, we'll be doing the cheat sheets and minor changes.
It is very exciting and makes me very very happy.
My worst day as my own boss is better than my best day working for anyone else.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

9/17/09 I Love Fog

Hi Mr. Blog, isn't it weird for an old lady to skip? I think it is very weird but I do it on crisp Autumn days anyway down the ramp from the bike trail.
So this morning it was foggy like pea soup. I couldn't even see the hillside on the other side of the valley. It was so MYSTERIOUS! When I was a kid I loved all the old London fog movies of monsters and vampires. There is just something magical about fog the way it just sits.
It just sits and looks amazing. I love fog. The other thing I love about it is how it lifts. Really slowly, like around lunchtime. And when it lifts it is like a fluffy curtain that has gone up and you look out the window and the sky is the bluest that it ever gets.
It was Terry's day off so I made him the usual breakfast. Four giant blueberry pancakes with butter and maple syrup and four fried eggs. When the fog lifted we went down behind Sloughstock lot and down through the meadows and picked blackberries all day. It was one of those magical days people write songs about: *sings made up song*
Foggy morning mystery, fog is surrounding me, fog makes me feel so mysterious
When it rises slowly, the sun makes me so curious
To explore the day through brand new eyes
because the sky is extra blue
Through the meadows I will follow
because I love you.
*Sighs at how goofy that came out*
So it got really hot out and we talked and laughed all day and decided to go swimming!
The pool was only 70 but it felt wonderful after sweating in the berry patch all day.
It was a perfect day. Starting with fog. Magical, wonderful fog.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

9/16/09 My Hero Mike Kelley

I have been thinking about a presentation that Mike Kelley made up at Camp Piggott.
It was at the end of my BSA Woodbadge Training course and we were all in the lodge for the final wrap up. My patrol of David, Kevin, Brent and Nghi and myself were at a table right in the front. Our troop guide was the Amazing Steve Lum.
Mike went to the podium with a tall rectangular clear glass vase, set it down and said,
"Here is your life."
Then he put a several large rocks in the vase. They went to the top of the vase.
Then he said, "Can you fit more in your life?" He poured in a cup of pebbles.
"Can you put more in your life?" He poured in a cup of sand which drained in between the pebbles and said, "The rocks are you and your family. If you don't put them first, nothing fits right.
The gravel is your friends and relatives and if they don't come next, nothing fits right.
The sand is your scouting activities and you can do plenty but...
YOU HAVE TO PUT THE ROCKS IN FIRST!
Go home and check on your rocks before you add pebbles or sand."
Mr. Kelley was my inspiration for my ten years as a scout leader. At our monthly roundtables
he would give the most inspiring speeches every month. He is the nicest man in the world.
So, I am always the first rock in the vase. How am I to take care of the other rocks, pebbles and sand if I don't always take care of myself first?
I can't. So I eat right, exercise and pray daily.
I want to be just like Mike.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

9/15/09 Nixpix is NOT a porn site

You would not believe what happened today Mr. Blog.
After working with Connie for three hours I remembered to call State Farm to get more bids on product liability insurance. I had the nice agent on the phone and
she wanted to look at the website and it was BLOCKED as a porn site!
I'm so mad. Stupid, greedy, sex-crazed people.
Every time I hear the slimy pornographers going on and on about their First Amendment right to freedom of the press I have the same mental image.
All of the constitution writers are each on a giant spit that is inside their graves and they are rolling around and around like pigs on a rotisierre.
I had completely forgotten that nixpix is flagged as porn because of having two Xs in the name.
The Northshore and Shoreline school districts had it blocked until I could convince their techs to open the site and look at it and remove the blocks.
So, I pay $1,000.00 for a domain name that most people can't open at work.
Teachers are my target customers too so I am so miffed.
The original owner of the website, Nick DeWolf would probably think it is funny.
What an amazing person he was. I wish I could have met him. His early work at MIT and at Teradyne on semi-conductors laid much of the groundwork for computers. You should Google him sometime when you get the chance. He was a genius and excellent photographer and he owned nixpix.com originally. When he passed away his friend wouldn't give me the site for free
or $50.00 or $500.00. He said his best friend Nick DeWolf meant the world to him and he was sentimental about the website and wouldn't take a penny under $1,000.00 for nixpix.
Nick's pictures or nixpix for short.
Well, I'm a Nixon and I was writing my literary picks on the blackboard at
Kenmore Junior High and was in a hurry and wrote Nixpix for short.
I liked the way it sounded and I could have got Nixpix.org or net or edu for $5.99 but I wanted what I wanted. I had to take out a loan for it too and cranky old Jim in Denver was tough as nails over the whole thing. Took three months or more to negotiate the purchase. BLEH!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

9/13/09 Divorce Wars/ #1 Thing Parents Can Do For Their Kids

Hi Mr. Blog, don't get too close since I have this awful cold.
So I'm thinking about divorce lately since I have two more friends getting a divorce. I hate that and it's not like I haven't thought about it myself hundreds of times. All women do. Men and women are so different that it is amazing our world got way too full.
There is an old saying, "Men give love to get sex and women give sex to get love." That is so true.
So many women think they can get their emotional needs met by a man. Well, when you get older you know that ain't gonna happen. EVER. Old girls know that you don't shop for handbags at Home Depot. The only place a woman will ever get her emotional needs met is with another woman. There are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule, but Bren and I talk on the phone every day. That is how we stay married. From my experience men require the following:
Food
Sex/Sleep depending on age ;)
Attention
Variety (This accounts for their addictions to TV, sports, booze, drugs, gambling etc..)
What makes it hard for men is that the variety issue is completely at odds with being married.
Any woman that wants a happy marriage better learn how to rotate those leftovers!
She also needs to have a closet full of different nightgowns since men are visual animals.
They want a tiger lady one night and nurse Ratchett the next. Sometimes they deserve a good spanking anyway. So no, Mr. Blog, I don't have all these things myself.
When Terry and I both worked at the post office in 1986 and '87 we had a stamp collecting club we were in. BPOPS. There is a brick in downtown Bothell on Main street. The Bothell Post Office Philatelic Society. Half our members were postal workers and half were retired men. One of our retired members was Art Kimball. He lived with Alice across from the Bothell funeral home in downtown Bothell. He was nearly blind so we drove him to the meetings. One night, coming back from Chet Nielson's, Terry asked him what he thought the secret to being married for sixty years was. Art loved to ride in my hot 1980 red and black Rally Sport Camaro with the Tee-tops. Anyway what Art told us was the secret to staying married sixty years was:
THE ABILITY TO SAY YOU ARE SORRY WHETHER YOU ARE RIGHT OR WRONG OR SORRY OR NOT SORRY.
Sometimes Terry and I hurt each other's feelings and we pout for a whopping hour but we are old and wise enough not to lose precious time together.
We have trained ourselves to say, "I'm Sorry." Then we kiss and make up because we know that no one is perfect and we will make mistakes occasionally.
So Mr. Blog, I feel really strongly about what I am going to tell you and it is not my idea. It came from some marriage counselor we went to in 1994 for we were going to get a divorce.
THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR KIDS IS TO LOVE YOUR SPOUSE.
Most adults are way too busy to work out their problems with each other.
Most problems can be worked out except for infidelity, violence and addictions.
So just don't get married if you don't have the ability to say, "I'm sorry" no matter what.
Do everyone a favor if you are unwilling to compromise and STAY SINGLE.
There is no crime in understanding yourself and making it clear to others that you know what you are and what you want. Just don't fool yourself and someone else and crank out a few kids and realize that, "Oh, my husband treats me like a doormat." Men WILL NEVER FULFILL ALL YOUR NEEDS FOR EMOTIONAL FEEDBACK!
And don't say, "My wife spends too much!" WOMEN WILL SPEND TO FILL THE EMOTIONAL HOLE SO TURN OFF THE TV AND LOOK IN HER EYES AND SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO HER! I think even five minutes a day would prevent most divorces.
Or you can get divorced and screw up your kids like most pigheaded people.
IF YOU HAVE AN ADDICTION, DON'T GET MARRIED.
There are plenty of people without addictions that want families.
Thanks Mr. Blog. You rule. I have been wanting to talk about this for a long time.
Getting all these problems and concerns off my chest makes me feel so much better.
I have been so depressed since the funeral and I need to process so many things on my mind.
It is hard to be a woman business owner when you are incapacitated by overanalysis or illness or both. I need to get over this cold pronto!

Friday, September 11, 2009

9/11/09 Flat Butts

That Patty really cheered me up yesterday. She had to go back to work last week after twenty years as a housewife.
She said she got dressed up for work and looked in the mirror and her butt was flat! Funny thing is I just noticed the same thing THIS WEEK! Like at 52 your butt just automatically goes flat. I remember ten years ago seeing ads in the Sunday paper for these foam butts for old ladies and I thought it was the funniest thing I ever saw. Now I need one myself! Bleh Mr. Blog, it's like reading glasses at 45 and hot flashes at fifty. I remember when I was a teenager thinking 50 year old women were the meanest thing in the world and now I know why. When I was 50 I had hot flashes every hour on the hour all night. Never slept more than an hour and boy was I ever a bitch on wheels. Forty seven to Fifty-two for me. I'm near done. Only a few a night. I don't mind turning into an old man. I get wiry hairs on my chin now but I'm not afraid of spiders anymore! I can squash them with ease with my bare hands or feet. So I guess not having hormones isn't all bad if I don't have to be so squeamish anymore.
So Monday Angela and I went to Starbucks across the street from my house. They got their pumpkin lattes in!!! Now that I'm done grieving my parents for the first time in seven years I can't wait for autumn and Halloween and every day! I'm so happy most of the time except when I think of Val and Marty. I try not to think of it too much but it is hard.
Molly to talk. I sure miss her. How heartbreaking for her to lose her best friend and sister-in-law both. It's just not right Mr. Blog. She was watching a special on TV about the 9/11/01 bombing of the World Trade Centers in New York so she was pretty emotional too. We talked about the funeral and reception and she is thinking about moving up to take care of Marty. We are worried about him. It's not right.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

9/10/09 DECA Blurb to Entice Advisers

Hi Mr. Blog. I'm feeling a little better today. I'm still sad about Val though. She is the first person to pass away from my extended high school group so I'm doing a lot of reflecting.
What gives my life meaning and that kind of thing. Bren says that she is doing hospice volunteer work again to get the feeling of purpose. Who is Bren? Oh, we met in 1972 at John Marshall junior high and became friends the following year. Most of my best friends from high school were too lazy to pick up the phone over the last thirty years but her. Bren and I talk everyday.
So She is encouraging me to get the business going so I can get paid at doing what I love.
I love to help people. I want to find as many ways to bring helpful products to market as possible. The PI said last week that I will live to be eighty so I only have twenty-seven years left to get all my designs made. I have about forty but I'd be satisfied with my top five.
The lady in charge of the DECA convention e-mailed me yesterday that today was the last day to send in my ad for my talk at the convention. It was hard to think cheerfully but I forced myself. I guess that is the thing I like the most about myself. My ability to force myself to do things I don't want to do when I know it will be good for me later. So I brought a copy of what I wrote her along to read you. Do you want to hear it? Okay. *Reads out loud*
The Intrepid Entrepreneur
Gretchen L. Nixon
Owner Nixpix Educational Products

Start-up shenanigans galore as Northshore and Shoreline school district substitute Gretchen Nixon gets fed up sitting by the phone waiting for work, and decides to go into business to keep busy on the “No Work” days.
With her business license and domain name in place she begins the process of taking six years worth of educational product designs to market. Copyrights, product testing on her kids and manufacturing are slow until she finds the perfect business partner in her friend Connie.
Witness an entertaining reenactment of their start up followed by a question and answer session that shows teens the joys and challenges of business start-up and operations:
Business start-up fundamentals:
1 Getting a business license
2 Getting a domain name
3 Taking an idea to a marketable product
4 Finding a mentor
5 Making connections or “How Gretchen got lost at Inglemoor high school parent night and ended up speaking at the state-wide DECA convention.”
Will Gretchen change the domain name www.http://nixpix.com after she finds out that the double Xs in nixpix flag her domain name as an adult site blocked by most school districts?
Will she find ambitious teens willing to lead an international search for the perfect jingle for nixpix on Youtube?
Will she manage to get version two of her driver's education game complete with the DOL director's suggestions by October 27th?
There is only one way to find out!
So what do you think Mr. Blog? Would you choose me over the marketing director for Nordstroms and Aflek and Microsoft? I will be happy if three people come and I will give them 150% of my ability to wow, charm and persuade them. I have a lot riding on this. I read their website cover to cover and found out that their are 10,000 teenagers in Washington State alone! That's a whole lotta teenagers Mr. Blog. I like teenagers. I think they are funny and entertaining. It is so fun to watch them transition from kids to adults. I think what surprises me is how young they are inside their giant bodies. One time at Bothell High, in the social studies class I was subbing for, the teens were so excited when I pulled out my sack of gummy bears that I had left from bribing kindergarteners the previous day. I couldn't believe it but you know what an opportunist I am! No one got anything until they finished their work. By the end of the day I had stacks of papers for the teachers. Not as much as the English classes but quite a few. Teens are just so much fun.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

9/9/09 Death of a Classmate

Oh Mr. Blog, I'm still so blue that I can't get going again. A friend of mine from high school died the day before yesterday.
Her name was Val Mroczek McLean and we hung out at high school together with a big group we liked. She was best friends with Molly McLean who I was pals with since 1966 when we were in Girl Scouts together and later married Molly's brother Marty. She was also the little sister of Kenny Mroczek who later married one of my best high school pals Sheila Anderson. Val told Molly in 1967, when they were eleven, that she would marry her brother one day and then they would be best friends and sisters. Val and Marty became sweethearts in high school.
Then forty two years later she had a heart attack and died. She had been very sick with inoperable cancer for four years so maybe God was merciful. I don't know. The funeral and reception were very lovely. They both came from huge Catholic families that had known each other at church for decades. I hadn't seen most of her relatives for thirty years but everyone looked the same but older. It was so hard to see her children. They are 21, 19 and 17 and so gorgeous. The perfect blend of Val and Marty. The girl, Johanna, is a show stopper for sure.
It just seems so unfair for her to die at fifty-two. She doesn't get to see her children marry. She doesn't get to see her grandchildren. She doesn't get to love Marty until they are old.
I haven't been able to get much done. I just want to reflect on what a lovely person she was for a few days. In high school, she and Molly were always together like peas in a pod. They were both kick-ass gorgeous at seventeen with drop dead figures and long silky brunette hair. Val had this soft speaking voice but a loud rowdy laugh that was totally infectious. She was so warm and friendly and vibrant and really authentic. What we used to call, "Up Front" in the 70s.
The day after Val died was Teddy's thirteenth birthday and it was hard to concentrate. Fourteen of his pals showed up for a pizza and pool party but it was a stormy day. We took them across the highway to the bowling alley and treated them to arcade games for an hour.
Then it cleared up bit and they all jumped in the freezing cold pool for the last hour.
Crazy boys. They had a blast and that was what was important.
So now I have two teenagers. At fifteen Troy has come out of the new teen moody zone at last right as Teddy is entering into it. Thank goodness they aren't in the moody phase at the same time! I love them so much and I am glad to be alive to be with them. I am proud of them.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

9/5/09 DECA Convention, Selling at Stop Lights

So much to think about lately Mr. Blog. The Director of the Washington State DECA called a few days ago. She wants to schedule me to talk to all the DECA advisers in Washington State at the annual convention at the Meydenbaur Center in Bellevue October 27th and tell them about my driving game. I have a VERY good gut feeling about this activity. I have tons of public speaking training going back to Roosevelt high school. I was president of the Latin Club, the JCL in 1975.
I had to go around to all the junior highs and convince kids to sign up for Latin at high school.
My pal Marie McGarry was my VP and she drove us in her dad's old blue metallic cadillac convertible. It had this big fins on the back. She was so smart even back then that she won the national scholarship to tour Washington DC and meet President Gerald Ford. Her dad gave her tickets to the Seattle Super Sonics and we drove that big car downtown to the collosium. Great game. Slick Watts, Downtown Freddie Brown, Sleepy-Eyed Sam, Spud Webb, DJ.
Then in 1990, when I was a flight attendant for Continental, they wanted 40 people to be trained as motivational seminar speakers. I was picked with 39 others from 2,000 applicants.
It was run by SAS airline and The Quality Service Institute in Houston Texas. It was great to live in the Galleria hotel and we trained 16 hours a day for a few months to learn how to motivate people. Then they decided they could only afford 20 speakers and I got cut. I learned so much. Remind me to tell you about it sometime.
So naturally on October 27th I plan to knock their socks off! If a few hundred DECA advisors sick their talented and energetic teens on our game it could be our big break.
I owe it to Terry and Connie to get some serious cash coming in as soon as possible.
So yesterday Terry and I went to visit his sister Heidi at the nursing home. She was in a car accident 15 years ago and broke her back and has to live there and be in a wheelchair.
We went to Burger King in Edmonds for lunch and Terry needed to walk across the street to go to the 7-11 for some chew. It was a sunny day so I went to the sidewalk with my game and looked for teenagers. Two fifteen year old Mexican boys came down the sidewalk and I accosted them with my game but they didn't mind. They liked the attention and I gave them mini-racers to keep and candy and a handful of business cards. Then a car load of teens was stopped at the red light so I gave them my sales pitch since the others didn't have their licenses yet. Unfortunately the light turned green but as they rolled away I threw a handful of candy and business cards in the window. Next a younger teen on a skateboard was sailing along and I stopped him and asked if he had time to look at my game but he said he was in a hurry. I gave him my card and a piece of candy. When he saw the card had a skateboard on it he had the biggest smile. Heidi was in good spirits and we had a nice visit in her sunny courtyard.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

9/2/09 Trendex Bid and the 1st Day of School

Oh Mr. Blog, I got the bid finally. It was twice as high as I expected. Trendex could print 100 copies for $22.00 each. Well, we sell them for $19.99 so that is a bit of a problem.
I have never subbed the first day of school but my pal at Frank Love move classrooms and has a health problem so I went to help her. Besides moving furniture I helped 3rd graders do their dividers in the binders for the first time.
I also helped the kindergarten teacher train her little darlings how to use a restroom independently. Funny little girls. The soap dispenser had foam soap and their eyes got as big as saucers. Like it was magic or something. Hard not to laugh.
Troy had a great time at his first day of 10th grade at Inglemoor high school. He said it was awesome.
Teddy wouldn't talk about his first day at junior high because he is "cool" now. UGH.
Terry and I ran an errand and I pulled in front of my pal Megan's house to drop in on her.
She was happy we did and told me about going to cub scout camp during the heatwave.
She and I had gone together with our sons for two years and it was so much fun.
Before she came I was the only gal with all the dads for three years. It just made it nice.
So I showed her the game and she thinks like I do. It is all about function and price.
She is the smartest person I know so I will do exactly what she suggests.
Keep the function and price and make minor adjustments to what we have.
Trendex is way out of our price range. We don't have $10,000.00 for a print run with them.
My vision has been readjusted. We will go to the 18" square next locally.