I was so excited about this party. When I was growing up my mother NEVER let us go to a sleep over or have one at our house. For my mother, child molesters and mass murders lurked behind every door. Growing up I never sat up all night listening to ghost stories, talking about boys, or doing my nails while spreading gossip with other teenage girls.
Not too long ago I heard about adult women having slumber parties and they sounded fun. So much more to dish about and you don’t have to worry about your mom coming in to tell you to hush up and go to sleep. My problem is of course that I haven’t really made any close friends here in Georgia.
I have only myself to blame. I cannot always expect someone else to make the first move. It seems I have lots of acquaintances. They all like me but it just seems that I’m afraid to impose on their free time. I thought this might be a great opportunity to make new friends. I even bought a new nightgown with Tinkerbell all over it. Call me Kitschy.
When it came time to show up to the party I changed into my PJs and looked at myself in the mirror. What was I doing? Sure it said PJ party but at that moment I was more certain than ever that everyone would be wearing those Lounge Pants sets. I would stick out like a sore thumb. I changed back into the outfit I’d been wearing earlier and headed upstairs to the Shutter Sisters PJ Party.
They were friendly enough, even offered me wine but almost immediately I realized I was totally out of my element. These women were photographers. The talented kind. You know the kind of people who NEVER have photos that chop off the top of people’s heads or forget to leave the lens cover on. I felt much like I would have felt if I had walked into a room filled with artists of any media. I feel awed by their talent, so awed that I’m speechless. When I look around it seems like many of the people there know each other and I almost want to run for the door as embarrassed as if I’d walked into the wrong apartment.
I look at their work quietly and then I leave.
Friday, August 21, 2009
More Proof That I Am Not The Center Of The Universe
Actually I have never imagined myself to be the center of any universe except my own little world and even there the title might be up for discussion. While I signed up for almost every party I saw some parties did not have me on their guest list. Who could blame them though? I was not a mover or a shaker or for that matter the beautiful ingénue. I’m not even a gamer nor do I play one on TV.
Just like I had no clue whatsoever about the Nikon Party, which by the way had they invited me I’d have twittered #Nikonlovesteachers or #IheartNikon. Another party I knew absolutely nothing about was a private party sponsored by Nintendo. From what I understand, everyone who attended received a Nintendo DSi. Is that cool or what? I also heard that these lucky bloggers were taken by horse-drawn carriages up to the Hancock Tower. Once there they were whisked away to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock Tower. There they enjoyed hors d’vours and wine. They were then seated and enjoyed a four-course dinner and an open bar.
Tell me the truth. Can you not see how being treated this way, like media superstars doesn’t go to a girl’s head? I guess I just didn’t understand the power of the blog. Oh sure I remember my English teacher telling me about the power of the pen but if this is any indication about the shift of marketing then I’m really further behind the curve than I realized.
Just like I had no clue whatsoever about the Nikon Party, which by the way had they invited me I’d have twittered #Nikonlovesteachers or #IheartNikon. Another party I knew absolutely nothing about was a private party sponsored by Nintendo. From what I understand, everyone who attended received a Nintendo DSi. Is that cool or what? I also heard that these lucky bloggers were taken by horse-drawn carriages up to the Hancock Tower. Once there they were whisked away to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock Tower. There they enjoyed hors d’vours and wine. They were then seated and enjoyed a four-course dinner and an open bar.
Tell me the truth. Can you not see how being treated this way, like media superstars doesn’t go to a girl’s head? I guess I just didn’t understand the power of the blog. Oh sure I remember my English teacher telling me about the power of the pen but if this is any indication about the shift of marketing then I’m really further behind the curve than I realized.
It's A Beautiful Morning
After an evening of partying I expected to feel worse. When I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would I was surprised at how badly I did feel. Does that make sense? My throat was sore and my stomach was feeling a bit queasy. My head was hurting but not that big drum boom and throb of a typical hangover. I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV but I took the fact that my throat hurt as a sign that I was not experiencing a hangover. Instead I diagnosed my problem as being the onset of some low grade cold because no fever was accompanying it.
I took an aspirin and reached for what I thought was a glass of water. I had forgotten that this was a mostly full glass of vodka and tonic. (Note to self it might be wise to sniff what you are about to drink before consuming it especially after a night of drinking.) I tossed the Excedrin Extra Strength and my allergy pill into my mouth and took a big swig of the clear liquid. I almost let the liquid spray from my mouth but in that same moment of realization of what I had done.
With no chance for a do-over I sank back into my bed and tried to see if I could sleep off whatever malady I was suffering from within the span of an hours nap. My eyes fluttered in a mocking attempt at sleep and then I had to race to the toilet. While I was experiencing one of those stomach emptying, hangover, emesis episode I was certain that I had expelled both the aspirin and the allergy medicine.
I lay back in bed and stared at the screen of the TV. I had defiantly left it on all night. A luxury I haven’t been able to do since I got married. My husband had to have a pitch black room with no noise in order to go to sleep whereas the background white noise of a TV helped me drift right off to sleep and helped to wake me up the next morning.
The morning news made no reference of bloggers or the blogging revolution but instead talked about Town Hall Meetings, sports scores, and the weather. My headache starts to abate but my throat feels a bit more sore. I’m thinking about a green tea latte from Starbucks and wondering if that will help.
Breakfast begins at 8:30 so I decide to trot over to the nearest Starbucks two blocks away still wearing my Tinkerbell nightgown with flip flops and for added affect I don my black sweater. Perhaps in the big city I should garner a lot of stares. People should probably point at me and think me a bag lady. It is only about 6:30 in the morning and hardly anyone is out in the street yet. I’m able to make it to Starbucks without being noticed. I walk up to the counter and hand the gentleman who is waiting on me my gift card as I order my drink. He should be rolling his eyes. He should be motioning his head in my direction so that others will see the “crazy old lady” who is waiting for her drink. Instead he acts as though this sort of thing happens every day. Perhaps it does.
By the time I get back to the hotel I have decided that I will shower but not bother doing anything to my hair. After all in a few more hours I will have a Beverly Hills Hair dresser styling it. I finish my tea and turn on the shower. The water and the tea have cleared by the last vestiges of my headache. My stomach was no longer queasy either. So I got out of bed, showered, changed, and headed down to breakfast. No need to put on any makeup because I already had an appointment to have that professionally done today too.
I don’t know why I didn’t notice that they had oatmeal for breakfast yesterday. Perhaps it was because I ate that HUGE piece of cheesecake. I LOVE oatmeal so I helped myself to a big bowl with brown sugar and bananas.
Once again I missed a Keynote address but this time it was because I had to hurry to my hair appointment. Dah-ling I feel so glamorous. I went downstairs to the Suave vendor’s table.
Let me start by saying I LOVE Suave. I have always loved Suave products. You really don’t have to spend a fortune to get great results. I am the type of person who goes to the hair salon and listens as the stylist tries to sell me $30 shampoo and I almost gasp. What do you mean $30 for shampoo? So to be truthful they didn’t have to offer me a free makeover to get me to buy Suave products. That great party that I crashed the night before didn’t matter much either because I use Suave products an awful lot.
There was a bit of confusion because two women were already occupying the chairs. I was supposed to be next and I told the one young lady who I was and she said it would be a few minutes. I watched as the talented hair dressers fluffed and primped and to say I couldn’t wait until it was my turn would be a bit of an understatement.
I’m the girl who often has to go to the beauty school or if I’m really trying to stretch my dollars then I’m forgoing getting my hair cut for months after it should have been touched up. It’s no secret that I’ve been known to take a snip at my bangs to keep them out of my eyes.
True just a couple of days ago I’d had my hair dyed and foiled professionally for free. That was the second time in my whole life I’d had my hair professionally dyed. The first time had been in a beauty school. This time, however, my hair was going to be styled by a beautiful Beverly Hills hair stylist.
A few moments after I showed up another woman showed up talking about how she’d missed her hair appointment the day before and they were going to try to squeeze her in if the woman who was scheduled didn’t show. I noticed that one of the women got out of the chair and was given some Suave hair care products. Inside my head I was saying “My turn. My turn! Pick me! Pick me!” The hairdresser spoke briefly to the woman handling the reservations and the woman who arrived after me. I heard them say well if this woman doesn’t show you can have her appointment. I don’t know what made me ask but I asked if it was Cathy and they said yes. Well that’s me!
What’s the polite thing to do? Should I let the woman who missed her appointment go ahead of me? Is it impolite for her to expect to go ahead of me? I didn’t have to make that decision because I was told to take a seat.
My hair stylist was a beautiful woman named Anna Vidito. She is the kind of woman you would have expected to see in a music video that sang about beautiful women. If I’d have been in my twenties I’d have felt self-conscious because I would have felt that I was the dumpy one in her presence. Her smile radiated California sunshine and she was just so well, NICE. You just couldn’t help but like her.
Just a couple of hours before I’d been lying in my bed hoping my condition didn’t worsen. Now I was there being treated like royalty. We talked about my students. We talked about having your own business. We talked about Suave products. She gave me advice about my hair and just wanted to take her home and adopt her.
After all this she presented me with a bag of Suave Products that she felt would be good for my hair. They included:
Suave Volumizing Spray Gel (my new favorite hair care product because it works so well on my baby fine hair)
Suave Volumizing Shampoo
Suave Volumizing Conditioner
Suave Color Care Shampoo
Suave Color Care Conditioner
They say that all good things must come to an end so did this. So Anna, thank you so much for making this old lady feel beautiful!!!!!.
Oh I Wish I Were An Oscar Mayer Weiner
That is what I truly want to be. ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner, everyone would be in love with me.
Until today I had only seen the Wienermobile only one time in my whole life. They had one out in front of the Commissary at Langley Air Force Base. On that particular day they were giving away Oscar Meyer Wieners. I think I was more excited than my son Michael.
When I learned that I could take a ride in the Wienermobile I jumped at the chance. Have you ever wanted to have a job where EVERYONE was happy to see you? Have you ever dreamed of being so famous that everyone wants your picture and EVERYONE loves you? Well here’s the job you want. Be the Wienermobile driver.
We tooled around in style on the Wienermobile and people would stop, point, smile, wave, and snap pictures or shoot video. I bet Paris Hilton doesn’t even get this much love.
Oh I didn’t want our ride to end. I wanted to drive around more. I wanted him to beep the horn again so I can hear the Oscar Mayer song again. But all good things must come to an end and that’s the same as the wienermobile.
I was given a cool T-shirt saying I tweeted on the Wienermobile and I received three whistles one for each of the little ones. I was so happy. I told our driver about my bean bag Oscar Meyer hot dog I won a few years back. When we moved it got shoved in one of the boxes but oh how I love that thing. Amazingly enough the dogs didn’t want anything to do with it so it became one of my favorite toys. Kind of like the chubby kid in that bank commercial. When I’d have some downtime I’d take it out of my drawer and “drive” it around the desk. It was always good for a laugh but I guess you would have had to have been there.
I also remember trying to win a trip in the Wienermobile a few years back. You had to submit a 100 word essay that described how you would use the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile for a day. Twenty people won this great prize but I wasn't one of them.
I wrote about giving out hot dogs in a local low income area that our school services. I believe that one woman who won said she gave out free books. I was so jealous that she got to ride around in the Wienermobile. Now I can say I have too. Who would have thunk it? I always say “Only in Sweeping” but now I say “only in blogging baby.”
Hey Oscar Mayer. If you ever want to drive that great Wienermobile by Rome High School I’d love to have you stop by and talk to my students about promotion and branding!!!!!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The GFSA State Scholarship Essay Contest
When I graduated from college, I did so with only about $1,500 worth of debt. That’s right less than $2,000 and I was able to pay it all back by the end of my first year of employment. I was attending an out of state school because that was the closest college to where I was living. So where in the heck did I get that money? Scholarships!
I am forever bugging my students to apply for any and every LEGITIMATE college scholarship. Before I go any further let me give a BIG SHOUT-OUT to the Guidance Counselors at Rome High School. I have worked at several schools in several states over the years and I want to say this is one of the finest Guidance Departments EVER!!!!
Every year they have TWO PTSO meetings to talk to parents about FAFSA, Grants, and Scholarships. Our Guidance Counselors also go to EVERY Senior English Class to tell them about applying for colleges as well as scholarship money that is available to them. Seniors are even called into Guidance for a one-on-one conference and provided with information about available scholarships. Perhaps that’s why last year our students were awarded $3.3 million dollars in scholarships.
I also try to provide my students with college scholarship information. Every year my best recommendations are to begin looking for scholarships NOW!!!! Do not pay companies to provide you with college scholarship information. Often you will discover that the information provided was information you could have discovered FREE on your own. Finally see your Guidance Counselor. There is no possible way that I can know about all the scholarship money that is available.
With that in mind, if you are a Georgia resident I would like to share with you. Only 1,000 words may be all that stand between you and up to $1500 in a scholarship! The Essay Theme for 2009-2010 is: Tell why fire sprinklers are important and how they have helped to save lives and property in Georgia; and why you would want to have them installed in your home.
The Georgia Fire Sprinkler Association awards scholarships annually in the amount of $1500, $1000, and $750 to high school seniors through an essay writing contest. The deadline for entries is September 22, 2009.
The GFSA State Scholarship Essay Contest is open to high school seniors in Georgia who plan to further their education at a college/university or certified trade school in the United States. The scholarship is not based on financial need. Relatives of GFSA board members may not enter.
You must be a high school senior during the 2009-2010 school year who will attend a college/university or trade school in the United States starting with the fall 2010 semester.
Home-schooled students may apply as long as your course of study is equivalent to that of a senior in high school.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Swag, Thievery, and Hooligans
Here's where I come back to the swag. I'm a sweeper. This means that sometimes I win things like a t-shirt with a movie's name on it. Some people say things like "You won a T-shirt? Big deal!" For me that t-shirt is cool.
I've never had a lot of money. Any little niceties I've ever had came because I was involved with sweeping. Some people laugh and roll their eyes but I am always thrilled when I receive my next CD or t-shirt. I am so grateful to all the companies I have ever won things from that I write them hand written thank you letters. I tend to be brand loyal to companies who sponsor sweeps.
The whole concept that I would receive "SWAG" here really didn't factor in my wanting to attend and I totally imagined that it would be in the form of T-shirts, mouse pads, pencils, pens, etc. I was so amazed when I dumped my first one out that it was like Christmas.
You have to understand that right now my husband does not have a job so I kind of looked at this trip to BlogHer as my birthday gift even though it was something I won from Kraft. When I saw the stuff in my first swagbag I honestly felt like this truly was the best birthday I'd ever had. I had gone to wondering how my birthday was going to shake out to wow I can't believe this.
Some girls have beautiful Sweet Sixteen parties. For some girls their 13th birthday is filled with pink balloons and cake with pink flowers. We were too poor for all that. When I was 21 I was a single mom working two jobs and I was thrilled to get my birthday off but I couldn't afford to do anything special for that day. This was to be my 50th birthday. My next big birthday wasn't going to be until I was 75. Two years ago my husband and I talked about going on a cruise or going to Hawaii which had been my life's dream. All the world was our oyster.
When Darryl lost his job everything changed. I just felt it was my lot in life to NEVER have one of those "WOW CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?" Birthday party. Now here I was in Chicago, in a beautiful hotel, and the fact that someone handed me bag that included an Kodak HD Video cam and a $50 Pro Flowers gift card blew me away.
All the flashing of cameras and the massages, tattoos, and the parties were really all heady stuff. It didn't make me drunk with power but it did make me very appreciative. I took business cards and I would write hand written thank you cards to the people I met who supplied me with all this stuff. I had brought a box of thank you cards to thank all the people I met at Kraft but once I did that I began writing the other letters in earnest.
I never pushed anyone, never shoved anyone, never pouted whined, cried, or anything else because I "missed out" on a lot of the swag I heard about from others. Oh there's that I wish I'd known about that moment but other than that when I talk about swag it was all fun for me. I never knew that people would go CRAZY over this stuff but then again I suppose I should have known.
I remember hearing a story a couple of years ago about some giveaway that was supposed to happen in Central park. I want to say a certain number of people were going to get $50 or maybe $100 but it was only for the first X number of people. It was a radio stunt that went awry. People lined up 10 deep and when the giveaway began people were thrown to the ground and injured. When I heard about that it reminded me of what my Dad used to always say about large groups. "Stay Away."
It appears that some of the "ladies" elbowed bloggers or babies to get ahead in the line. There were reports of hand shaped bruises on Mommy Need's Coffee's arm. Reports of stolen swag were also circling. I'm serious. People were stealing from elevator carts and even stole from other people.
I was shocked. I first learned of this at BowlHer (that's another story) and it just sounded so incredible.
I also learned of an incident where there was a blackmail attempt for CROCS. Heck I got a pair of Crocs but they didn't have my size so I'll either give them away on my blog or I will give them to one of my students. Some of them do not have money for new clothes or shoes and I have certainly been there. I think they'd just love that.
The attitude of entitlement was pervasive among some rather than adopting an attitude of gratitude. I realize I have a case of low self-esteem but some people need to get over themselves.
I'll give you an example, I overheard one woman speaking with another about how she was "supposed to get a NEW dishwasher but it was taking so long so they contacted her and asked if she wanted to wait for a date in the future for that dishwasher or if she'd be willing to do a product review about detergent and receive a new front loading washer and dryer."
She didn't say it like "Oh I can't believe this. I'm just so very excited." She said it as though she felt she deserved the washer and dryer and they should give her those as well as the dishwasher because she actually had to wait to receive the dishwasher.
MY GOD!!!!! When when I was raising little ones I was working two jobs and still eligible for food stamps. I used to have to take the two of them to the laundry mat where we sat reading books in the hot building so that no one would steal our clothes. I'd have been thrilled if someone had offered to feed some coins into the dryer for me so that I could have bought the boys some fries at McDonalds or a soda.
I'm the only one in the house working right now and I'm taking care of my elderly father-in-law to boot. I am using some of my resources to buy school supplies for my students because many of them are in worse shape. Many of them are in homes with no adult working. Gosh I wish the back pack fairy would fall from the sky and give me some back packs for some of my students. As it is I bought two out of my own pocket and the one I received from Lands End also went to a student. I would have hugged any vendor who handed me a box of 50 pencils because that's about how many kids who will be stopping by my class when they take those high stakes tests telling me they forgot their pencil. I received lots of flash drives with product information that I uploaded to my computer then erased the information. Guess who is getting them? Not me. Some teachers are requiring kids to buy these and I only have one left. So excuse me for not feeling this woman's pain.
I almost jumped in to say something along the lines of "Are you kidding me?" Then I realized that I was the one eavesdropping so I really didn't have much room to talk.
The second day I was at BlogHer I saw woman open one of the many reusable grocery bags and began throwing bottle after bottle of Samples of the All Detergent. I was given two, sure I'd like more but you know what? If I took more then others wouldn't get any. They obviously only gave me two because they'd figured that was the fair number so that everyone would get some. They never said, hey help yourself there little lady. If they did I might have filled a bag and dropped them off at our local food pantry. After all the plant where my husband worked has closed down and he's far from being the only one effected by it. We are lucky because I am a teacher so we aren't dependent on the food pantry but some people are.
So do I feel a bit guilty about the swag? No why would I? I didn't obtain it in a dishonest fashion. I didn't demand anything. Do I feel like I was a swag hag? No because much of what I did get I shared with others and I actually wrote emails and thank you cards to many of the companies that provided these things to me. I have already begun writing reviews about some of the products like Swiffer, like Lands End, like Kraft, like McDonalds, like Ragu, and then I've emailed the rep to let them know how much I appreciated it as well as letting my readers know that I received these things FREE.
I think there are people who were conflicted with all the swag put those doubts aside and acted like a spoiled child. Some people felt that the swag demeaned there craft (more about that) yet they accepted the swag "against their better judgement." (more on that later).
I didn't feel guilty about the swag because the companies wanted to put these products in our hands in hopes that we would talk about them. It is a business transaction that they did to promote goodwill. I don't feel sullied by it. My blog is about saving money at the store so in and of its very nature it is commercial. I am not honing my craft while writing the next great novel, pushing an agenda, or trumpeting my baby's latest accomplishment. I'm just telling people how to save money. I'm telling people about where to get free or reduced priced medication or health care. Companies are looking to spend their advertising money wisely and they know that blogging is the new revolution.
Then again if I had pushed babies, stolen swag, and acted like the world revolved around me I'd be so very embarrassed.
I've never had a lot of money. Any little niceties I've ever had came because I was involved with sweeping. Some people laugh and roll their eyes but I am always thrilled when I receive my next CD or t-shirt. I am so grateful to all the companies I have ever won things from that I write them hand written thank you letters. I tend to be brand loyal to companies who sponsor sweeps.
The whole concept that I would receive "SWAG" here really didn't factor in my wanting to attend and I totally imagined that it would be in the form of T-shirts, mouse pads, pencils, pens, etc. I was so amazed when I dumped my first one out that it was like Christmas.
You have to understand that right now my husband does not have a job so I kind of looked at this trip to BlogHer as my birthday gift even though it was something I won from Kraft. When I saw the stuff in my first swagbag I honestly felt like this truly was the best birthday I'd ever had. I had gone to wondering how my birthday was going to shake out to wow I can't believe this.
Some girls have beautiful Sweet Sixteen parties. For some girls their 13th birthday is filled with pink balloons and cake with pink flowers. We were too poor for all that. When I was 21 I was a single mom working two jobs and I was thrilled to get my birthday off but I couldn't afford to do anything special for that day. This was to be my 50th birthday. My next big birthday wasn't going to be until I was 75. Two years ago my husband and I talked about going on a cruise or going to Hawaii which had been my life's dream. All the world was our oyster.
When Darryl lost his job everything changed. I just felt it was my lot in life to NEVER have one of those "WOW CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?" Birthday party. Now here I was in Chicago, in a beautiful hotel, and the fact that someone handed me bag that included an Kodak HD Video cam and a $50 Pro Flowers gift card blew me away.
All the flashing of cameras and the massages, tattoos, and the parties were really all heady stuff. It didn't make me drunk with power but it did make me very appreciative. I took business cards and I would write hand written thank you cards to the people I met who supplied me with all this stuff. I had brought a box of thank you cards to thank all the people I met at Kraft but once I did that I began writing the other letters in earnest.
I never pushed anyone, never shoved anyone, never pouted whined, cried, or anything else because I "missed out" on a lot of the swag I heard about from others. Oh there's that I wish I'd known about that moment but other than that when I talk about swag it was all fun for me. I never knew that people would go CRAZY over this stuff but then again I suppose I should have known.
I remember hearing a story a couple of years ago about some giveaway that was supposed to happen in Central park. I want to say a certain number of people were going to get $50 or maybe $100 but it was only for the first X number of people. It was a radio stunt that went awry. People lined up 10 deep and when the giveaway began people were thrown to the ground and injured. When I heard about that it reminded me of what my Dad used to always say about large groups. "Stay Away."
It appears that some of the "ladies" elbowed bloggers or babies to get ahead in the line. There were reports of hand shaped bruises on Mommy Need's Coffee's arm. Reports of stolen swag were also circling. I'm serious. People were stealing from elevator carts and even stole from other people.
I was shocked. I first learned of this at BowlHer (that's another story) and it just sounded so incredible.
I also learned of an incident where there was a blackmail attempt for CROCS. Heck I got a pair of Crocs but they didn't have my size so I'll either give them away on my blog or I will give them to one of my students. Some of them do not have money for new clothes or shoes and I have certainly been there. I think they'd just love that.
The attitude of entitlement was pervasive among some rather than adopting an attitude of gratitude. I realize I have a case of low self-esteem but some people need to get over themselves.
I'll give you an example, I overheard one woman speaking with another about how she was "supposed to get a NEW dishwasher but it was taking so long so they contacted her and asked if she wanted to wait for a date in the future for that dishwasher or if she'd be willing to do a product review about detergent and receive a new front loading washer and dryer."
She didn't say it like "Oh I can't believe this. I'm just so very excited." She said it as though she felt she deserved the washer and dryer and they should give her those as well as the dishwasher because she actually had to wait to receive the dishwasher.
MY GOD!!!!! When when I was raising little ones I was working two jobs and still eligible for food stamps. I used to have to take the two of them to the laundry mat where we sat reading books in the hot building so that no one would steal our clothes. I'd have been thrilled if someone had offered to feed some coins into the dryer for me so that I could have bought the boys some fries at McDonalds or a soda.
I'm the only one in the house working right now and I'm taking care of my elderly father-in-law to boot. I am using some of my resources to buy school supplies for my students because many of them are in worse shape. Many of them are in homes with no adult working. Gosh I wish the back pack fairy would fall from the sky and give me some back packs for some of my students. As it is I bought two out of my own pocket and the one I received from Lands End also went to a student. I would have hugged any vendor who handed me a box of 50 pencils because that's about how many kids who will be stopping by my class when they take those high stakes tests telling me they forgot their pencil. I received lots of flash drives with product information that I uploaded to my computer then erased the information. Guess who is getting them? Not me. Some teachers are requiring kids to buy these and I only have one left. So excuse me for not feeling this woman's pain.
I almost jumped in to say something along the lines of "Are you kidding me?" Then I realized that I was the one eavesdropping so I really didn't have much room to talk.
The second day I was at BlogHer I saw woman open one of the many reusable grocery bags and began throwing bottle after bottle of Samples of the All Detergent. I was given two, sure I'd like more but you know what? If I took more then others wouldn't get any. They obviously only gave me two because they'd figured that was the fair number so that everyone would get some. They never said, hey help yourself there little lady. If they did I might have filled a bag and dropped them off at our local food pantry. After all the plant where my husband worked has closed down and he's far from being the only one effected by it. We are lucky because I am a teacher so we aren't dependent on the food pantry but some people are.
So do I feel a bit guilty about the swag? No why would I? I didn't obtain it in a dishonest fashion. I didn't demand anything. Do I feel like I was a swag hag? No because much of what I did get I shared with others and I actually wrote emails and thank you cards to many of the companies that provided these things to me. I have already begun writing reviews about some of the products like Swiffer, like Lands End, like Kraft, like McDonalds, like Ragu, and then I've emailed the rep to let them know how much I appreciated it as well as letting my readers know that I received these things FREE.
I think there are people who were conflicted with all the swag put those doubts aside and acted like a spoiled child. Some people felt that the swag demeaned there craft (more about that) yet they accepted the swag "against their better judgement." (more on that later).
I didn't feel guilty about the swag because the companies wanted to put these products in our hands in hopes that we would talk about them. It is a business transaction that they did to promote goodwill. I don't feel sullied by it. My blog is about saving money at the store so in and of its very nature it is commercial. I am not honing my craft while writing the next great novel, pushing an agenda, or trumpeting my baby's latest accomplishment. I'm just telling people how to save money. I'm telling people about where to get free or reduced priced medication or health care. Companies are looking to spend their advertising money wisely and they know that blogging is the new revolution.
Then again if I had pushed babies, stolen swag, and acted like the world revolved around me I'd be so very embarrassed.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Am I That Dependent?
Could it be that being with one person for over a decade makes one dependent? Dependent on their approval, dependent on their judgment, dependent on their mere presence? Does missing my husband and wishing he was with me violate all the feminist propaganda that I was taught when I was young? Is strength trumped by the desire to have someone with you? Can I point to those seventeen years that I raised two sons on my own as proof I “don’t need anyone” because I can “do it all myself?” Does the yearning to spend time with my husband mean that that was all a sham and prove I’m really desperate and clingy?
I don’t want to say that I was having home sickness or that I was incapable of being alone but it had been so long ago and far away that I had been able to call all the shots without finding out how everyone else feels about things. That feeling I used to have when I was single and wished that I had someone to share an experience with was being revisited.
After leaving the EA Summer in the City Party I was walking the famous Michigan Avenue Bridge and yapping on my cell phone to my husband telling him how much I missed him and loved him and wished he were there. On one hand the freedom was a bit intoxicating but on the other hand I wanted to feel his hand in mind as I walked back to the hotel. Just a little over a year ago the two of us had stayed at the House of Blues. We’d had such a great time exploring Chicago. I had just finished reading Upton Sinclair’s book the Jungle before we’d gone and before that I’d read the Devil in the White City. Neither one of us imagined we’d ever come back to Chicago but there we were and now I might still be a stranger it’s no longer a strange land.
My next stop was supposed to be at the Queerosphere at the Crimson Lounge. They were going to be giving away a sweet cruise. That wasn’t the only reason I was going to go though. I wanted to say that I did something different. Remember going to this conference was about stepping out of my comfort zone. I was going to go places I've never been before. I can honestly say I'd never been to a gay bar. I was going to meet people from many different backgrounds and try to make new friends.
I whispered in the phone that I had to just drop my EA bag off and head on over to Hotel Sax. I never made it. I was too frightened to walk that far in the dark and the drizzle in a city I was not familiar with. Just two days earlier I had heard a news story about someone who was stabbed just a block or two from a downtown area with lots of trendy restaurants. If only I had someone to walk with I wouldn’t have been so nervous. I turned around after a couple of blocks and headed back to the Sheraton.
It's too bad I didn't get to go. If only it had been held at the hotel I definitely would have stopped by.
I don’t want to say that I was having home sickness or that I was incapable of being alone but it had been so long ago and far away that I had been able to call all the shots without finding out how everyone else feels about things. That feeling I used to have when I was single and wished that I had someone to share an experience with was being revisited.
After leaving the EA Summer in the City Party I was walking the famous Michigan Avenue Bridge and yapping on my cell phone to my husband telling him how much I missed him and loved him and wished he were there. On one hand the freedom was a bit intoxicating but on the other hand I wanted to feel his hand in mind as I walked back to the hotel. Just a little over a year ago the two of us had stayed at the House of Blues. We’d had such a great time exploring Chicago. I had just finished reading Upton Sinclair’s book the Jungle before we’d gone and before that I’d read the Devil in the White City. Neither one of us imagined we’d ever come back to Chicago but there we were and now I might still be a stranger it’s no longer a strange land.
My next stop was supposed to be at the Queerosphere at the Crimson Lounge. They were going to be giving away a sweet cruise. That wasn’t the only reason I was going to go though. I wanted to say that I did something different. Remember going to this conference was about stepping out of my comfort zone. I was going to go places I've never been before. I can honestly say I'd never been to a gay bar. I was going to meet people from many different backgrounds and try to make new friends.
I whispered in the phone that I had to just drop my EA bag off and head on over to Hotel Sax. I never made it. I was too frightened to walk that far in the dark and the drizzle in a city I was not familiar with. Just two days earlier I had heard a news story about someone who was stabbed just a block or two from a downtown area with lots of trendy restaurants. If only I had someone to walk with I wouldn’t have been so nervous. I turned around after a couple of blocks and headed back to the Sheraton.
It's too bad I didn't get to go. If only it had been held at the hotel I definitely would have stopped by.
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