ReeHart – Blogging from the Heart

Archive for April, 2008

Five years ago when I first got my job with a big Illinois window company, I thought it would just be temporary until I could find something better.  Needless to say, I am still here and I love my job.  In fact, I enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work as I feel needed and respected there.

I cannot say that I would’ve ever thought my dream job would be with a window company but here I am today and I cannot imagine being anywhere else.  I have learned so much and made so many friends that I can honestly say that this place is as much a part of my life as my own family is.

I was very excited last month to be chosen as one of the only two installers to go to a seminar about vinyl windows.  It was a nice change from the daily grind and it was really exciting for me to come back and be the teacher can teach all of the other guys about this new type of window that we were going to be bringing in.

I have been to a few weddings recently, but the only vehicle that the newlyweds drove was their own vehicles decorated up.  For most people, that is okay, but for my wife and I, that is not the route that we took.

You see, we wanted the whole day to be a memorable experience – from the place by the river that we had the ceremony, to the exquisite food that we had at the reception.  We were originally going to use our own car for the wedding festivities, until the thought came to us: what about renting a limousine?

We both agreed that it was a good idea, so we contacted a Philadelphia limousine service, and booked one just a week before the big day.  It was the best choice that we made, as our driving around was luxurious – the perfect start for our marriage.

Today I took Mother to her 65th class reunion. There were, as expected, lots of white-haired heads in the room and the dining facility made accommodations for plenty of storage for walkers and wheelchairs.

With three class reunions in one big space, and given the hearing capabilities of my mother’s group, I was able to catch snippets of conversation from all over the room.

From the class of ’58, I heard talk of investment opportunities.

From the class of ’68 it was … shhh … incontinence, along with hot flashes and the miracle of Black Cohosh.

My mother’s group, the class of ’43, talked about how many class members were afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Except one guy kept asking what Alzheimer’s was. And someone else kept asking, "Who are you?"

The decided to start meeting annually — five years is a long time at their age. I sincerely hope they have many, many more such gatherings.

My husband and I just updated our will. We just became the parents of our third child and were told by my brother that they were no longer willing to take our kids if we were in an accident because we now had too many. It is such a daunting task trying to think of anyone who would be good enough to raise your children and it was a difficult enough decision the first time around.

I was actually freaking out as I went to the safe deposit box to get the copy of our original will. I racked my brains time and time again to come up with someone suitable who could take all three kids. No one came to mind. My husband and I sat with our lawyer and told him that he should just have them if something happens to us. (He didn’t think that was a very funny joke.) We still have not thought of anyone, so our will states that they will be in temporary care of my mother until they are offered a home where they can all be together. It is not the best solution, but it works for now.

I will have to thank my father-in-law for introducing me to auctions.  You see, I never realized how much stuff I could find at an auction sale, and I have picked up many treasures along the way.

Now, most of those treasures have ended up in the garage, and take up a bit of room.  I have about five student desks, some file cabinets, and a couple of kitchen tables.  I also have a washer and dryer as well.

Even though I have all these things, my most prized possession out of the bunch would be the set of golf equipment that I have picked up.  For me, the set includes the clubs that I bought as well as the golf cart as well.

In fact, I can’t wait to go play a round – the problem is, I just don’t know how to play… maybe I will have to get some lessons.

With all the work that I have done on our deck, I don’t want to have to work on it each year to keep it up.  At the same time, with the money that I have spent on deck cleaning, and deck stains, I just don’t want the deck to become a cesspool for my money.

So, I thought that a more pro-active approach would be the best route for me.  Instead of doing all this work each year, I figured that getting the right deck sealer would be the most important for me.

I really didn’t know what I needed, but when I made it down to the hardware store, a clerk was happy to help me out.  After a brief discussion of what I needed, I was given the right sealer for my deck.

I guess I will have to see how it goes, but I am sure it will work out fine.

There are certain things that evoke instant nostalgia in American culture. I’ve often wondered what things evoke that in other cultures? Is there an Indian food equivalent of a hotdog? Are there any  Indian recipes for, say, kettle corn or funnel cakes?

One of the icons of the 1950s in our town was the soda pop machine at Ritchey’s Market. But it bore no resemblance to today’s auto-dispensing monsters. This machine was about the size of a portable cooler that kept rows of bottles chilled to perfection and sat right next to the door. It was the first place I headed on a hot summer’s night when our family made the trip into town to shop.

There was an art to getting the bottles out of their metal channels, by threading them through to the end once a quarter had been duly deposited. I’ve had red cream soda in recent years, but somehow it doesn’t taste the same.

Sometimes the simplest method can be the best.  I mean, if you are trying to get your name out, why go to the trouble of creating a large, national advertising campaign when something as simple as using promotional products would be more effective?

Some great items that you can use as promotional items can be as simple as pens (very inexpensive and viral in nature) as well as mugs, USB flash drives, and clothing.  These not only provide value to your customers, but spreads your name as well.

In fact, one of the greatest benefits of this type of advertising is the fact that it gets the company name out in the world, outside of the direct reach of the company.  For example, if I give a customer a pen, and he gives it to someone that isn’t our customer, we have gone beyond our direct reach, and may end up with a new customer.

One of the more overlooked ways to promote your brand is through corporate gifts.  Ideas such as giving to the community through donations, or even Christmas gifts can be excellent ways to promote your corporation and its’ brand.

I can only assume that there is some big database in the sky with my personal information tidily compartmentalized for easy access by entities and individuals unknown. I try not to think about it too much. And then I get an offer for a free California Medicare Supplement quote, and that really makes me wonder what’s out there about me. Since I do NOT live in California, and with identity theft rampant, the odds of someone else with my name and who might be interested in Medicare supplemental insurance in California are pretty good.

Am I going to end up being pulled over some day while traveling in, say, Texas and find myself spread-eagle against the car with my hands behind my head because some woman — not bearing any resemblance to me but with my name — has an arrest warrant hanging over her head? That is one a scary thought.

I have been working a bit harder to promote this site.  Sure, I don’t have a lot of time, but I thought that I would give it a go in an attempt to get more visitors to my site.

So what I have done is submit my site to as many paid web directories as I could find.  Alright, maybe not as many web directories as I could, but as much as my six dollar marketing budget would allow.

That being said, my directory submissions were limited.  I submitted my site to Web Directory One, Best Web Directory, and One Web Directory – and then my budget was done.

But as time goes on, web directories will be a cornerstone of my website promotion – and I will share the ones I use right here.