I recently read The Pagan Stone, by Nora Roberts and Fearless Fourteen, by Janet Evanovich. I was really not impressed by either one of them and felt cheated by the boring endings.
I've read Nora Roberts for years, I get her writing. It is a lot of the same thing over and over again - especially in her trilogies. Three girls and three guys and they're just perfect for each other. They have some sort of 'paranormal' issue to work through, where each one is a key to solving the puzzle. Each guy and girl couple ends up married and pregnant. Usually, the first book in the trilogy is the best, the second is the worst and the third is decent. Even though I know the basic storyline, I still enjoy her books occasionally. I just felt that the Pagan Stone, which is the third in the 'Sign of Seven' trilogy, rambled and circled and rambled. It just felt like she was desperately trying to fill pages and it really just got boring. Also, the climax of the book was confusing and, well, anticlimactic.
I've also read Janet Evanovich for years. I love her sense of humor and how Stephanie Plum is almost 'normal'. (No one could really eat that much cake and still be thin!) I enjoyed Lean Mean Thirteen more than many of the other installments in the series. Fourteen was really kind of a bummer. She too circled and seemed like she was trying to fill up pages. Plus, Stephanie didn't end up in a life-threatening pickle, like she usually does. Hopefully, Fifteen will be an improvement over this one...
Showing posts with label stupid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stupid. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Spanking
My parents got divorced when I was 8 years old. Prior to that time, my brother and I had the fear of Dad put into us when we misbehave with the ever classic, "Just wait till your father gets home...". We weren't beaten or anything, but we were spanked, and I don't ever recall getting spanked with just a bare hand. My father spanked us with a leather biker glove on, the paddle (a wooden cutting board with a handle), a hanger and a belt when we misbehaved. I don't remember much of my childhood before age 8, but the memories that I do have are definitely not the fondest.
Luckily, after my Mom took us and left my Dad, the spanking stopped. I was only hit one time after age 8 and that was when I was a teenager, mouthing off. My Mom slapped my face, I said it then and I'll say it now, I deserved that one. I was a horrible teenager and pushed WAY far over the limits MANY times.
Fast forward to when my son was born. Now my husband and I had to decide how we would raise our children. We talked it over a bit and really just came to the conclusion that neither of us were better people because of being spanked. It really is an ineffective punishment.
When my son was 2 years old and I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, that conviction was put to the test. He is and has always been a very good kid. The problem was at bedtime. I could not keep lifting him back into bed countless times every night. First, he was literally the size of a 4 year old; second, I was pregnant and exhausted; and third, I was the only one on bedtime duty since my husband and I worked opposite shifts to avoid having daycare. I ended up swatting him as a punishment for getting out of bed. He is has a "people pleaser" personality, so it didn't take more than a light swat on the tush to get through to him. That was pretty much the only time we ever employed spanking with him. During the daytime, a simple time out was sufficient to get his behavior back on track.
Fast forward to when my daughter was 2 years old. She is extremely stubborn and hard to get through to. Take away her toys? She doesn't care, she's got such an active imagination that she's content to play with anything or nothing. She's not all that attached to any one toy or doll anyways. Take away TV time? Doesn't matter, not that my kids watch that much TV anyways. Raise your voice? She laughs or just ignores. Time outs? No big deal. So, we opted for the "tried and true" spanking with her.
It didn't work.
I'm sure (though I've never tried it) that I could spank her as many times and as hard as I could and it would not phase her for more than a second. Literally. She does the little whine right after the spank and then gets right back to her antics before you're out the door.
Bed time has always been a challenge for us and a few months before the baby was born, the older two became roommates. We kept spanking, with no real results and didn't know what else to do. My sister-in-law suggested that we use a paddle on her, because that's what she does with her kids. She only wants them to associate love with her hands, so she "avoids" the negative by using a paddle. Absolutely absurd, if you ask me. I think that using anything but your hands is cowardly.
From the time the baby was 2 weeks old until she was about 8 months (in December), she was a very difficult baby, especially in the evenings. I kept racking my brain, trying to figure out what to do to get those kids to have a smoother bedtime. We have always done a bedtime routine and that hadn't made any difference. Spanking wasn't working. On top of that, I just felt horrible about spanking my kids when I never wanted to do it in the first place.
And, I was becoming a hypocrite. My son and daughter were hitting each other when the other wasn't doing what the first wanted. How could I talk to them about that effectively when I did it myself?
Fast forward to January 4, 2009. I lost control. I had never spanked in anger until that night. The kids were messing around after what seemed to be 100 warnings. I spanked them hard enough to leave bruises on their butts, and I'm not proud. I called my husband (who was working), in tears. I hated myself and I hated that in that one moment my children feared me. He talked me down and agreed that we needed to sit down and figure out a more constructive way to handle bedtime battles.
I went into my kids' room and apologized and hugged them for a long time.
That was the last time I spanked my children. I will never do it again.
I truly hope that in 20 years or so, that they won't remember that awful night. I want their memories of childhood to be better than my memories of mine.
Its only been about 2 months, but it feels like another person in another lifetime. And for that, I thank God that we were able to work through it as a family and come to a positive resolution. Yes, there are still bedtime battles, but we have minimized them and bedtime is pretty easy most nights now.
Luckily, after my Mom took us and left my Dad, the spanking stopped. I was only hit one time after age 8 and that was when I was a teenager, mouthing off. My Mom slapped my face, I said it then and I'll say it now, I deserved that one. I was a horrible teenager and pushed WAY far over the limits MANY times.
Fast forward to when my son was born. Now my husband and I had to decide how we would raise our children. We talked it over a bit and really just came to the conclusion that neither of us were better people because of being spanked. It really is an ineffective punishment.
When my son was 2 years old and I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, that conviction was put to the test. He is and has always been a very good kid. The problem was at bedtime. I could not keep lifting him back into bed countless times every night. First, he was literally the size of a 4 year old; second, I was pregnant and exhausted; and third, I was the only one on bedtime duty since my husband and I worked opposite shifts to avoid having daycare. I ended up swatting him as a punishment for getting out of bed. He is has a "people pleaser" personality, so it didn't take more than a light swat on the tush to get through to him. That was pretty much the only time we ever employed spanking with him. During the daytime, a simple time out was sufficient to get his behavior back on track.
Fast forward to when my daughter was 2 years old. She is extremely stubborn and hard to get through to. Take away her toys? She doesn't care, she's got such an active imagination that she's content to play with anything or nothing. She's not all that attached to any one toy or doll anyways. Take away TV time? Doesn't matter, not that my kids watch that much TV anyways. Raise your voice? She laughs or just ignores. Time outs? No big deal. So, we opted for the "tried and true" spanking with her.
It didn't work.
I'm sure (though I've never tried it) that I could spank her as many times and as hard as I could and it would not phase her for more than a second. Literally. She does the little whine right after the spank and then gets right back to her antics before you're out the door.
Bed time has always been a challenge for us and a few months before the baby was born, the older two became roommates. We kept spanking, with no real results and didn't know what else to do. My sister-in-law suggested that we use a paddle on her, because that's what she does with her kids. She only wants them to associate love with her hands, so she "avoids" the negative by using a paddle. Absolutely absurd, if you ask me. I think that using anything but your hands is cowardly.
From the time the baby was 2 weeks old until she was about 8 months (in December), she was a very difficult baby, especially in the evenings. I kept racking my brain, trying to figure out what to do to get those kids to have a smoother bedtime. We have always done a bedtime routine and that hadn't made any difference. Spanking wasn't working. On top of that, I just felt horrible about spanking my kids when I never wanted to do it in the first place.
And, I was becoming a hypocrite. My son and daughter were hitting each other when the other wasn't doing what the first wanted. How could I talk to them about that effectively when I did it myself?
Fast forward to January 4, 2009. I lost control. I had never spanked in anger until that night. The kids were messing around after what seemed to be 100 warnings. I spanked them hard enough to leave bruises on their butts, and I'm not proud. I called my husband (who was working), in tears. I hated myself and I hated that in that one moment my children feared me. He talked me down and agreed that we needed to sit down and figure out a more constructive way to handle bedtime battles.
I went into my kids' room and apologized and hugged them for a long time.
That was the last time I spanked my children. I will never do it again.
I truly hope that in 20 years or so, that they won't remember that awful night. I want their memories of childhood to be better than my memories of mine.
Its only been about 2 months, but it feels like another person in another lifetime. And for that, I thank God that we were able to work through it as a family and come to a positive resolution. Yes, there are still bedtime battles, but we have minimized them and bedtime is pretty easy most nights now.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Design 1 Salon - Third Time's the Charm?
Walmart service and average quality haircuts at Manhattan prices?
The week before Christmas, I decided to get my hair chopped off. I was tired of looking the same way for the past 5 or so years. I wanted to look different and also not be able to put my hair in a ponytail all the time. I went in and came out looking pretty good - I could even make it look good on my own! (That's the true test of getting your hair cut - if you can make the cut look good at home, on your own.) I just thought that some of the layers on my left side were a bit long. So, I decided to go back a couple days later to get the left side tweaked, just a little bit. Unfortunately, my stylist had that day off and I ended up with a different lady.
She totally messed me up.
I got home and tried to do it the next day, and i looked like I had a bowl cut. I was furious. So I called to let the salon know what was going on. The receptionist told me that the manager would call me withing the next couple of days - by Tuesday (the 23rd) at the latest.
He never called.
Being that I've had 12 years of customer service work, things like this REALLY tick me off. The man had 2 1/2 days to call me!
I called that evening and left a message and also sent an email message to them, demanding a phone call on the day after Christmas.
He calls me, gives me a half-hearted apology and tells me that my next appointment is on the house. Essentially saying that he was perfectly content to let me deal with a bad haircut for a month. I hung up, frustrated. It was one of those situations that just kind of festers and I was getting more and more pissed off by the second.
I called back and told Mr. Manager that I thought it was unacceptable that he was content to let me sit with a bad haircut for a month and that he could mail me a refund for the haircut.
That changed his tune. All of the sudden, he was singing a different tune, telling me that he could get me in as soon as I could get in.
I went in last week and got re-tweaked. My hair looks OK, I can get it to do a little bit, but its still more challenging than I think it should be. Plus, one section is still a little long. But hey, I got a free eyebrow wax out of it.
I just don't understand why it is so difficult to get a decent haircut. I am upfront with the stylist and tell them that I don't want anything high-maintenance. I am only willing to spend 10 minutes on my hair on any given day. I have too much else to do, than to waste time primping in the bathroom. Why is every stylist afraid to CUT MY HAIR! Don't they get trained on face shapes and trends and judging what cuts are more difficult to style?
Just cut it! It will grow back!
Maybe its time to grow it out again - at least I can throw it up into a pony tail.
The week before Christmas, I decided to get my hair chopped off. I was tired of looking the same way for the past 5 or so years. I wanted to look different and also not be able to put my hair in a ponytail all the time. I went in and came out looking pretty good - I could even make it look good on my own! (That's the true test of getting your hair cut - if you can make the cut look good at home, on your own.) I just thought that some of the layers on my left side were a bit long. So, I decided to go back a couple days later to get the left side tweaked, just a little bit. Unfortunately, my stylist had that day off and I ended up with a different lady.
She totally messed me up.
I got home and tried to do it the next day, and i looked like I had a bowl cut. I was furious. So I called to let the salon know what was going on. The receptionist told me that the manager would call me withing the next couple of days - by Tuesday (the 23rd) at the latest.
He never called.
Being that I've had 12 years of customer service work, things like this REALLY tick me off. The man had 2 1/2 days to call me!
I called that evening and left a message and also sent an email message to them, demanding a phone call on the day after Christmas.
He calls me, gives me a half-hearted apology and tells me that my next appointment is on the house. Essentially saying that he was perfectly content to let me deal with a bad haircut for a month. I hung up, frustrated. It was one of those situations that just kind of festers and I was getting more and more pissed off by the second.
I called back and told Mr. Manager that I thought it was unacceptable that he was content to let me sit with a bad haircut for a month and that he could mail me a refund for the haircut.
That changed his tune. All of the sudden, he was singing a different tune, telling me that he could get me in as soon as I could get in.
I went in last week and got re-tweaked. My hair looks OK, I can get it to do a little bit, but its still more challenging than I think it should be. Plus, one section is still a little long. But hey, I got a free eyebrow wax out of it.
I just don't understand why it is so difficult to get a decent haircut. I am upfront with the stylist and tell them that I don't want anything high-maintenance. I am only willing to spend 10 minutes on my hair on any given day. I have too much else to do, than to waste time primping in the bathroom. Why is every stylist afraid to CUT MY HAIR! Don't they get trained on face shapes and trends and judging what cuts are more difficult to style?
Just cut it! It will grow back!
Maybe its time to grow it out again - at least I can throw it up into a pony tail.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Political Correctness Gone Crazy
Why are people and/or government so intent on pushing their opinions and preferences on the rest of society?
1. Saying Merry Christmas - Seriously? If this offends you, why can't you just ignore it or just respond with a polite "Happy Holidays" or even just a "Have a nice day".
2. A man at work giving a woman a compliment is NOT sexist! If a man (or anybody) saying anything nice to you really offends you, either ignore it or politely ask them to stop. There is no need to involve superiors or lawyers.
3. "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance - If this offends you, just close your mouth when this part is said and jump back in on "indivisible..." Seriously, nobody will notice!
4. Smoking - I am not a smoker, but shouldn't business owners decide whether or not they want to allow people to smoke on their property?
5. Separation of church and state: "In God We Trust" and other religious items - Get over it! This country was founded by Christians, looking to be able to practice their religious beliefs without persecution. You can't change history. If you don't like it, ignore it! The colonists wanted separation, so that religious leaders wouldn't influence and control every aspect of how the nation was run. Separation does not equal obliteration.
6. Illegal immigrants - Why are people so concerned about offending people who don't belong here in the first place. If you aren't a citizen, why do you think you deserve to be treated like one?
Does EVERYTHING need to be an issue? I'm all for being polite and courteous, but political correctness is just out of control and impossible to accomplish.
You can't make everyone happy all of the time.
1. Saying Merry Christmas - Seriously? If this offends you, why can't you just ignore it or just respond with a polite "Happy Holidays" or even just a "Have a nice day".
2. A man at work giving a woman a compliment is NOT sexist! If a man (or anybody) saying anything nice to you really offends you, either ignore it or politely ask them to stop. There is no need to involve superiors or lawyers.
3. "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance - If this offends you, just close your mouth when this part is said and jump back in on "indivisible..." Seriously, nobody will notice!
4. Smoking - I am not a smoker, but shouldn't business owners decide whether or not they want to allow people to smoke on their property?
5. Separation of church and state: "In God We Trust" and other religious items - Get over it! This country was founded by Christians, looking to be able to practice their religious beliefs without persecution. You can't change history. If you don't like it, ignore it! The colonists wanted separation, so that religious leaders wouldn't influence and control every aspect of how the nation was run. Separation does not equal obliteration.
6. Illegal immigrants - Why are people so concerned about offending people who don't belong here in the first place. If you aren't a citizen, why do you think you deserve to be treated like one?
Does EVERYTHING need to be an issue? I'm all for being polite and courteous, but political correctness is just out of control and impossible to accomplish.
You can't make everyone happy all of the time.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Mary Kay Ladies that Just Don't Get the Hint. (AKA: My I-Story, Part 3)
So, I had decided that I was just going to do MK on a personal use basis. I found that I still didn't 'need' enough to place that $200 order every 4-6 months. So, I just filled in the order with extra stuff, that I would eventually 'need'. Which meant I 'needed' less and less with each subsequent order and more and more stuff was going into the bathroom cupboard.
In March, a former customer of mine contacted me, saying that she wanted to return her products for a refund. I looked at my records, the products that she wanted to return were from over 2 years ago! She wanted me to refund her $400. I can think of NO retailer that refunds cash on used consumable products more than 30-90 days after purchase. Plus, on the MK receipts, it says that the customer has 3 days to cancel the order. I would have even given her a full refund 30 days after and I would have exchanged her products for something else within 90 days after her order. I told her that there was nothing that I could do for her (based on my interpretation of the MK receipt) and that she should call MKC if she wanted to pursue it further.
I had my baby in April. I got home from the hospital and found a letter from Mary Kay Corporate in my mailbox. Saying that they paid Ms. Customer $400 on my behalf, and now I owed them $400. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME!?!?!? I called them and told them they were crazy, and that NOBODY has refund policies that lax. They told me that the customer comes first, no matter what, and if I wanted they could cut the price in half so that I only would 'owe' them the wholesale value of the products. How generous.
Fast forward a few weeks. I actually had enough people wanting enough stuff to justify an order. I went online and attempted to place that order only to find that I am not allowed to order until my debt is paid off. EXCUSE ME? I can actually sell some products and make some money and you aren't letting me? How dumb is that? I emailed my sales director and gave her a summary of the situation. She offered to let me place an order in her name, which totally violates company policy and pissed me off even further. NO THANK YOU! So I went onto Pink Truth and bought the products from people on there.
Fast forward another few weeks and a consultant from my former unit emails me, looking to buy some products from me. At this point, I haven't ordered in so long, that I don't even count as a unit member anymore. Fine by me. I emailed her back and gave her a summary of my situation and recommend that she checks out Pink Truth. She emails me back, basically telling me that we all pay consequences for our decisions (duh!) and she wished me well.
Fast forward another few months to last week. My former sales director has been sending me newsletters which praise people for ordering, not sales, and for manipulating the truth to recruit new 'blood'. Why? I don't know, none of that could entice me back to MK. Then, last week, she sends me this little package with a little note card and some samples in it. The note card says something to the effect of, "Can you believe that its been more than 6 months since you ordered?", and "Place your order now so that you can get the Fall/Holiday products!" Yeah, because people always want the holiday products. Of all the holiday products I'd ever stocked, only 1 ever sold.
I wrote, "RETURN TO SENDER" on the envelope and sent it back to her. Do you think she'll get the hint? This week will be the true indicator of whether or not she did. The end of the month is always a heavy email week.
Too bad she won't be able to enjoy the holiday and the weekend, worrying about unit production.
I'm thankful that I will.
In March, a former customer of mine contacted me, saying that she wanted to return her products for a refund. I looked at my records, the products that she wanted to return were from over 2 years ago! She wanted me to refund her $400. I can think of NO retailer that refunds cash on used consumable products more than 30-90 days after purchase. Plus, on the MK receipts, it says that the customer has 3 days to cancel the order. I would have even given her a full refund 30 days after and I would have exchanged her products for something else within 90 days after her order. I told her that there was nothing that I could do for her (based on my interpretation of the MK receipt) and that she should call MKC if she wanted to pursue it further.
I had my baby in April. I got home from the hospital and found a letter from Mary Kay Corporate in my mailbox. Saying that they paid Ms. Customer $400 on my behalf, and now I owed them $400. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME!?!?!? I called them and told them they were crazy, and that NOBODY has refund policies that lax. They told me that the customer comes first, no matter what, and if I wanted they could cut the price in half so that I only would 'owe' them the wholesale value of the products. How generous.
Fast forward a few weeks. I actually had enough people wanting enough stuff to justify an order. I went online and attempted to place that order only to find that I am not allowed to order until my debt is paid off. EXCUSE ME? I can actually sell some products and make some money and you aren't letting me? How dumb is that? I emailed my sales director and gave her a summary of the situation. She offered to let me place an order in her name, which totally violates company policy and pissed me off even further. NO THANK YOU! So I went onto Pink Truth and bought the products from people on there.
Fast forward another few weeks and a consultant from my former unit emails me, looking to buy some products from me. At this point, I haven't ordered in so long, that I don't even count as a unit member anymore. Fine by me. I emailed her back and gave her a summary of my situation and recommend that she checks out Pink Truth. She emails me back, basically telling me that we all pay consequences for our decisions (duh!) and she wished me well.
Fast forward another few months to last week. My former sales director has been sending me newsletters which praise people for ordering, not sales, and for manipulating the truth to recruit new 'blood'. Why? I don't know, none of that could entice me back to MK. Then, last week, she sends me this little package with a little note card and some samples in it. The note card says something to the effect of, "Can you believe that its been more than 6 months since you ordered?", and "Place your order now so that you can get the Fall/Holiday products!" Yeah, because people always want the holiday products. Of all the holiday products I'd ever stocked, only 1 ever sold.
I wrote, "RETURN TO SENDER" on the envelope and sent it back to her. Do you think she'll get the hint? This week will be the true indicator of whether or not she did. The end of the month is always a heavy email week.
Too bad she won't be able to enjoy the holiday and the weekend, worrying about unit production.
I'm thankful that I will.
Friday, November 21, 2008
The Mary Kay Ladies That Just Don't Get the Hint (AKA: My I-Story, Part 2)
So, I went to MK Seminar in August that year. It was well over 100 degrees with 99% humidity - in Dallas. And, we were expected to be wearing clothes that complied with Mary Kay's dress code - skirt, hose, close toed shoes, white blouse and black or red jacket, depending on our 'Career Level'. I actually had a really good time, and I came back with stars in my eyes. I wanted to be a director and win all the cool jewelry and drive a free pink Cadillac. So, I went to work. I booked appointments 5 days a week, I went to every MK function, I had guests at a lot of meetings, I passed out fliers and free samples all over my neighborhood, I hung business cards on cork boards, I handed out business cards at every cash register and drive thru I visited. I also reinvested every single dollar into my inventory to grow it to profit level - $3,600 of wholesale product.
Let me be very clear: I made absolutely NO money that year and actually even took money out of our regular household income to buy even more inventory. Even though I had at least one of every single item, people didn't want the random items that eventually collected dust. They wanted the regular stuff like certain shades of lipstick, mascara and foundation. If anyone would have been truthful in ANY of their inventory speeches, they would have told us to stock up on those items and the main skin care products and just order the other random things. The problem is, a consultant that does not order unnecessarily is not putting money into her sales director's pocket.
I worked and stretched and invested for about 18 months. About 1 year after I signed up, I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma. I went in for surgery to attempt to remove it in May of 2006. That surgery and the 4 weeks of recuperation time following really brought my MK business to a grinding halt. I also began to reevaluate things. I ended up feeling pretty lost when I was able to return to working MK.
My warm-contacts (family and friends) were already tapped. I didn't have very many or very good cold contacts and I just couldn't get any traction. It was worse than starting from scratch. I was about 10 steps behind starting from scratch. The sales directors began shoving some of the 'movers and shakers' - women who had made it to NSD quickly, such as Dacia Weigandt and Allison LaMarr. If they could do it, anyone could. Right? So, I still wanted to reach my goal of being a SAHM or WAHM. Since I had hit a huge wall, I decided to do a google search on Dacia, to get any tips or information on how she did it.
I ended up finding a website called Pink Truth. At first, I was appalled by the stories that were told on that website. Surely, MK was bad or deceitful...Then I read an article on the total overhaul of the color line. This overhaul was scheduled to happen 9 months after I had read about it on Pink Truth. Why hadn't my trustworthy sales director told us about this? Why was she pushing inventory ordering if she knew that everything we were ordering was going to be obsolete in less than a year? So, I watched and I waited.
In the meantime, I was trying to get my MK business back in gear, with no luck. Seminar time came around again. I decided to spend the $2,000 to go and get recharged and geared up to work my business again. After all, there had to be different ideas offered than last time right? That's what all the sales directors were promising. WRONG!!! I totally wasted my $2,000. I was hot, sweaty, shared a bed with a women who has nightly night terrors and talks and kicks in her sleep, I ate overpriced crappy food and learned absolutely nothing.
And nothing was said about the product line changes that I had learned about only a couple of months prior from Pink Truth.
Fortunately for me, my husband got a different job shortly after Seminar. It required him to be out of state for 3 weeks for training and then his schedule for quite sometime after was extremely variable. At that point, I had decided to tell my sales director that I was unable to work the business as a consultant any more and that I would only be personal use. I figured I could continue to order the products for myself and for a few customers who were loyal to the product but didn't want the pushiness. Then, I sold EVERYTHING. I sold it all on eBay - the products, the shirts, the bags, the tacky jewelry, the samples...EVERYTHING.
Let me be very clear: I made absolutely NO money that year and actually even took money out of our regular household income to buy even more inventory. Even though I had at least one of every single item, people didn't want the random items that eventually collected dust. They wanted the regular stuff like certain shades of lipstick, mascara and foundation. If anyone would have been truthful in ANY of their inventory speeches, they would have told us to stock up on those items and the main skin care products and just order the other random things. The problem is, a consultant that does not order unnecessarily is not putting money into her sales director's pocket.
I worked and stretched and invested for about 18 months. About 1 year after I signed up, I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma. I went in for surgery to attempt to remove it in May of 2006. That surgery and the 4 weeks of recuperation time following really brought my MK business to a grinding halt. I also began to reevaluate things. I ended up feeling pretty lost when I was able to return to working MK.
My warm-contacts (family and friends) were already tapped. I didn't have very many or very good cold contacts and I just couldn't get any traction. It was worse than starting from scratch. I was about 10 steps behind starting from scratch. The sales directors began shoving some of the 'movers and shakers' - women who had made it to NSD quickly, such as Dacia Weigandt and Allison LaMarr. If they could do it, anyone could. Right? So, I still wanted to reach my goal of being a SAHM or WAHM. Since I had hit a huge wall, I decided to do a google search on Dacia, to get any tips or information on how she did it.
I ended up finding a website called Pink Truth. At first, I was appalled by the stories that were told on that website. Surely, MK was bad or deceitful...Then I read an article on the total overhaul of the color line. This overhaul was scheduled to happen 9 months after I had read about it on Pink Truth. Why hadn't my trustworthy sales director told us about this? Why was she pushing inventory ordering if she knew that everything we were ordering was going to be obsolete in less than a year? So, I watched and I waited.
In the meantime, I was trying to get my MK business back in gear, with no luck. Seminar time came around again. I decided to spend the $2,000 to go and get recharged and geared up to work my business again. After all, there had to be different ideas offered than last time right? That's what all the sales directors were promising. WRONG!!! I totally wasted my $2,000. I was hot, sweaty, shared a bed with a women who has nightly night terrors and talks and kicks in her sleep, I ate overpriced crappy food and learned absolutely nothing.
And nothing was said about the product line changes that I had learned about only a couple of months prior from Pink Truth.
Fortunately for me, my husband got a different job shortly after Seminar. It required him to be out of state for 3 weeks for training and then his schedule for quite sometime after was extremely variable. At that point, I had decided to tell my sales director that I was unable to work the business as a consultant any more and that I would only be personal use. I figured I could continue to order the products for myself and for a few customers who were loyal to the product but didn't want the pushiness. Then, I sold EVERYTHING. I sold it all on eBay - the products, the shirts, the bags, the tacky jewelry, the samples...EVERYTHING.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Mary Kay Ladies That Just Don't Get the Hint. (AKA: My I-Story, Part 1)
So, I back in January of 2005, I had my second child, my first was 2 1/2 years old. I was invited to my very first Mary Kay party in April that same year. Right off the bat, the MK lady says that she is moving to NJ and wants to make sure that her contacts are well taken care of with a consultant in town. If anyone is interested, to let her know. So, I'm thinking, "Cool, she's already done some of the leg-work. What an easy way to get started with this business." I was also currently working 50+ hours a week as a Glorified Babysitter Restaurant Manager with Taco Bell.
The idea of staying home with my babies and earning full-time income just working 10 hours a week or less very much appealed to me. And, I figured that it would help pay off some of our quickly mounting debt. (Thanks to predatory lenders and adjustable rate mortgages) So, I went home to my wonderful husband and spoke to him about this terrific opportunity I heard about at the makeup party. He says, "Go for it," and I called the consultant the next day. She invited me to a MK meeting to meet with her director and to fill out the paperwork.
This was about a week after I had called her with my interest. In the meantime, I went on the Internet and did various Google searches including: Mary Kay, I hate Mary Kay, Real Mary Kay, etc. I wanted to know what I should expect before I got involved. I wanted to keep my head and succeed as quickly as possible. I stumbled across several sites, equally positive and negative about MK. I read many times about people feeling taken advantage of for being pressured to order a lot of inventory right when they signed up. Mental note, don't buy a ton of inventory.
I went to the meeting and sat there with some very made-up ladies in very professional attire to be applying makeup to the housewives and roommates and mothers that were brought as guests. I didn't understand alot of what was going on, but they seemed to be having fun. At the end, the director asked people who were interested in the opportunity to stick around, so she could answer their questions. Apparently, I was a "sure thing," because she didn't bother to spend much time at all with me, yet she was very devoted to several of the other women. I barely had a chance to ask her even one of my questions, and she really made me feel rushed. Anyways, later that night, she emails me the agreement link and I signed up.
$114.65 later, I had ordered my Starter Kit plus taxes and shipping. Then I was redirected to the MK consultant website screen and was encouraged to spend another $25 on my own personal, professional website. After all, it was half-off for the first year, who could afford to pass up that opportunity? After I signed up for that, I was redirected to the MKConnections website, where I was encouraged to purchase my Beauty Coat, product reorder stickers, address stamp and Business Cards. After all, what kind of professional doesn't have business cards? And that beauty coat just made sense: Who wants to get makeup all over their nice clothes? So, I spent another $50 or so there. So in less than 2 hours my $100 investment had nearly doubled.
I went to the next unit meeting the following week, wearing black slacks and a nice shirt. The point was made quite clear that MK Independent Beauty Consultants do NOT wear pants to MK functions. So, that weekend, I went out and bought a couple of skirts and a purple and a melon colored blouse, some cute heeled sandals (its hard to find ANYTHING decent in a size 11) and pantyhose. I went to the next meeting in my brand new outfits and the point was made at THAT meeting that MK Independent Beauty Consultants are only supposed to wear black skirts with WHITE shirts and CLOSED-TOED shoes. So that weekend, I went out and bought 2 white blouses and some close-toed heels. All-in-all, that was another $150.
After my first official meeting as a consultant, she had "the talk" with me. Inventory. If I wanted to be successful, I needed to have inventory at my house, ready to go, the minute someone ordered something. She showed me all these showcases ranging in price from $600 to over $4,000 in wholesale inventory. According to her, the quickest way for me to become a work at home Mom was to purchase $3,600 in inventory. She even told me that she would host my business debut, but only if I ordered at least $600 in products.
Now, this was all at the end of the month. And there are certain time-limits on the "bonuses" that you receive on different level orders based on when and how much you order. MK active status - the status that you must be to receive the wholesale prices - is only applicable for up to 3 months after your last $200 order. Now, this could be as many as 92 days or as few as 62 days. How? Because, no matter what day of the month you order on, that month is considered your first month. So, even if you order on April 30, April counts as month 1. May 1 counts as the beginning of month 2. Kind of slimy.
There was also a bonus Color 101 with orders of $600 or more. I spoke with my wonderful husband and he and I decided that the $600 would be the best option for us, but to not order it until the first week of May. Oooohhhh, did she push me hard to get that order in before April 30! And, I wasn't even "allowed" to place my own order - she had to do it for me. Very odd. Then, a few weeks later, I was told that if I wanted to succeed that I HAD to go to Seminar in Dallas. That's another $2,000! Off I went. It was alot of fun, but I certainly didn't need to go more than once.
You see, they are very manipulative people. They figure out your "hot buttons" and just play on your insecurities to make you think that the only way to succeed is to do exactly what they say. After all, who better to learn how to be a director from than an existing director. Problem is, they NEVER, EVER speak about any of any of the problems or issues that they encountered along the way. They are very strict about having absolutely NO negativity associated with anything MK, especially at meetings. We wouldn't want to scare any of the potential recruits away, now would we?
We also ended up filing for bankruptcy that year. The bills were growing too big, too fast and my wonderful husband and I just weren't mature enough and controlled enough with our income. We're both spenders, and it got us into alot of trouble. MK was supposed to be a way to help us get out of debt quickly. After all, there was a promise of full time income with MK, plus both of our regular full-time job income. As a result of all the extra work I did building my MK "career", I was barely around for my #2's first 18 months of life.
They had me convinced, "Short term sacrifice, long term gain." That if I stuck with it for a couple years and really "worked my business", she would never remember and I would have tons of time with her at that point.
The idea of staying home with my babies and earning full-time income just working 10 hours a week or less very much appealed to me. And, I figured that it would help pay off some of our quickly mounting debt. (Thanks to predatory lenders and adjustable rate mortgages) So, I went home to my wonderful husband and spoke to him about this terrific opportunity I heard about at the makeup party. He says, "Go for it," and I called the consultant the next day. She invited me to a MK meeting to meet with her director and to fill out the paperwork.
This was about a week after I had called her with my interest. In the meantime, I went on the Internet and did various Google searches including: Mary Kay, I hate Mary Kay, Real Mary Kay, etc. I wanted to know what I should expect before I got involved. I wanted to keep my head and succeed as quickly as possible. I stumbled across several sites, equally positive and negative about MK. I read many times about people feeling taken advantage of for being pressured to order a lot of inventory right when they signed up. Mental note, don't buy a ton of inventory.
I went to the meeting and sat there with some very made-up ladies in very professional attire to be applying makeup to the housewives and roommates and mothers that were brought as guests. I didn't understand alot of what was going on, but they seemed to be having fun. At the end, the director asked people who were interested in the opportunity to stick around, so she could answer their questions. Apparently, I was a "sure thing," because she didn't bother to spend much time at all with me, yet she was very devoted to several of the other women. I barely had a chance to ask her even one of my questions, and she really made me feel rushed. Anyways, later that night, she emails me the agreement link and I signed up.
$114.65 later, I had ordered my Starter Kit plus taxes and shipping. Then I was redirected to the MK consultant website screen and was encouraged to spend another $25 on my own personal, professional website. After all, it was half-off for the first year, who could afford to pass up that opportunity? After I signed up for that, I was redirected to the MKConnections website, where I was encouraged to purchase my Beauty Coat, product reorder stickers, address stamp and Business Cards. After all, what kind of professional doesn't have business cards? And that beauty coat just made sense: Who wants to get makeup all over their nice clothes? So, I spent another $50 or so there. So in less than 2 hours my $100 investment had nearly doubled.
I went to the next unit meeting the following week, wearing black slacks and a nice shirt. The point was made quite clear that MK Independent Beauty Consultants do NOT wear pants to MK functions. So, that weekend, I went out and bought a couple of skirts and a purple and a melon colored blouse, some cute heeled sandals (its hard to find ANYTHING decent in a size 11) and pantyhose. I went to the next meeting in my brand new outfits and the point was made at THAT meeting that MK Independent Beauty Consultants are only supposed to wear black skirts with WHITE shirts and CLOSED-TOED shoes. So that weekend, I went out and bought 2 white blouses and some close-toed heels. All-in-all, that was another $150.
After my first official meeting as a consultant, she had "the talk" with me. Inventory. If I wanted to be successful, I needed to have inventory at my house, ready to go, the minute someone ordered something. She showed me all these showcases ranging in price from $600 to over $4,000 in wholesale inventory. According to her, the quickest way for me to become a work at home Mom was to purchase $3,600 in inventory. She even told me that she would host my business debut, but only if I ordered at least $600 in products.
Now, this was all at the end of the month. And there are certain time-limits on the "bonuses" that you receive on different level orders based on when and how much you order. MK active status - the status that you must be to receive the wholesale prices - is only applicable for up to 3 months after your last $200 order. Now, this could be as many as 92 days or as few as 62 days. How? Because, no matter what day of the month you order on, that month is considered your first month. So, even if you order on April 30, April counts as month 1. May 1 counts as the beginning of month 2. Kind of slimy.
There was also a bonus Color 101 with orders of $600 or more. I spoke with my wonderful husband and he and I decided that the $600 would be the best option for us, but to not order it until the first week of May. Oooohhhh, did she push me hard to get that order in before April 30! And, I wasn't even "allowed" to place my own order - she had to do it for me. Very odd. Then, a few weeks later, I was told that if I wanted to succeed that I HAD to go to Seminar in Dallas. That's another $2,000! Off I went. It was alot of fun, but I certainly didn't need to go more than once.
You see, they are very manipulative people. They figure out your "hot buttons" and just play on your insecurities to make you think that the only way to succeed is to do exactly what they say. After all, who better to learn how to be a director from than an existing director. Problem is, they NEVER, EVER speak about any of any of the problems or issues that they encountered along the way. They are very strict about having absolutely NO negativity associated with anything MK, especially at meetings. We wouldn't want to scare any of the potential recruits away, now would we?
We also ended up filing for bankruptcy that year. The bills were growing too big, too fast and my wonderful husband and I just weren't mature enough and controlled enough with our income. We're both spenders, and it got us into alot of trouble. MK was supposed to be a way to help us get out of debt quickly. After all, there was a promise of full time income with MK, plus both of our regular full-time job income. As a result of all the extra work I did building my MK "career", I was barely around for my #2's first 18 months of life.
They had me convinced, "Short term sacrifice, long term gain." That if I stuck with it for a couple years and really "worked my business", she would never remember and I would have tons of time with her at that point.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Is Anyone Else Sick and Tired of Lip Service from Politicians?
Do I know who I am voting for? Do you? I am pretty sure that I know who I'm voting for, but I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make if he wins.
I am sick and tired of hearing about promises from Mr. Change and the Maverick. It is time, here and now, to get some people into office who actually WANT to and WILL advocate for the American people. There are too many politicians who only say and, occasionally do things that are beneficial for their political careers. We need REAL change and we need it now.
I am sick and tired of hearing about promises from Mr. Change and the Maverick. It is time, here and now, to get some people into office who actually WANT to and WILL advocate for the American people. There are too many politicians who only say and, occasionally do things that are beneficial for their political careers. We need REAL change and we need it now.
- Why do we have troops all over the world when we can't keep our own country's head above water?
- Why are we spending all kinds of money on other countries when our national deficit is increasing to unfathomable amounts?
- Why is it cheaper to buy goods made in other countries than it is to buy American made goods?
- Why are our jobs being outsourced?
- Why are our farmers being paid to NOT plant and harvest?
- Why are we importing crops and meat from other countries?
- Why are we so dependent on foreign oil when we have untapped resources at our disposal?
- Why have companies been paid, in the past, to NOT develop vehicles/engines that are not run on oil and gas?
- Why are women who can't afford to provide for their children rewarded for producing more children that they can't afford?
- Why, up until very recently, has Michigan been in a one-state recession?
- Why, when we are in the middle of this recession, are our income taxes and sales taxes projected to be increased?
- Why is there such debate over teaching abstinence in schools if there are so many teen pregnancies?
- Why aren't politicians held accountable for their campaign promises?
- Why are senators and representatives voting themselves raises and trying to pass tax increases in the same breath?
- Why won't I receive a dime of the social security I've contributed to for the last 12 years?
I am sick and tired of Jennifer Granholm. Yes, I voted for her the first term. She had wonderful ideas and things to say. Problem is, she hasn't transformed any of her ideas into reality. We Michiganders are NO better off now than we were 8 years ago.
I am also sick and tired of George W. Bush. Yes, I voted for him for both terms. Yes, I think he did an excellent job the first four years. These past four years, though, he's been nothing better than a puppet.
We need change! Real change. Americans need true advocates who actually get things done!
As my husband says, "We should have Donald Trump for president and Dave Ramsey in charge of the budget." Get someone into office who actually knows how to run a business and can make quick, accurate, effective decisions. Get someone in charge of the budget who won't allow extravagant expenses in the face of trillions of dollars in debt.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
I HATE Forwards, Chain Mail and Phishing Email!
It seems like every single time I open my Inbox there is some kind of mindless, annoying email waiting to be deleted. I don't understand how these people have the time to read all these emails and then forward them to every single person they've ever met, but they don't have time to sit down and write and actual, personal note to me. Do I forward? Sure, I forward...Once in a blue moon when I find something to be VERY funny or interesting, and even then its not to every single person I've ever met.
Forward this message to 15 people within 60 seconds and you'll have a pleasant surprise at 2:38 tomorrow afternoon. What if the recipient has dial-up internet and it takes more than 60 seconds for the stupid email to load? Aren't you just cursing your friends at that point? What if they're a slow reader? What if, at the precise second the message loaded the dog throws up and the cat gets out and the kid spills glue everywhere? Do you take care of the email first to get your prize?
If you believe in God, you'd better forward this email to everyone you know. I believe in God. I don't believe that he really wants me sending chain emails to everyone. How about doing actual good deeds and sharing the Word with people in person?
Poor Sally Sue is living in Timbuktu. She has a terrible illness that nobody has ever heard of. Please reply with your name, social security number, bank account number, etc....and make a donation to help little Sally Sue. Seriously? Why would anyone send their personal information to anyone via email? STUPID!
Mr. Smith, a wealthy man who lives in Belgium just died and wants to give you his money. Please reply with your name, social security number, bank account number, etc...and we'll make sure you get your share. Again...Seriously? Why would anyone send their personal information to anyone via email? STUPID!
Microsoft has a new email tracking program. You will earn alot of money when you send this to everyone you know. And you know this is true, since someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone else who made $20,000 from doing this.
Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: fwd: FWD: Fwd: PPPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEE RRRREEEEAAAADDD!!!! With well over 100 email adresses to scroll through before the ever-so-important message even begins. You're such a great friend for violating everyone else's privacy with your stupid forwarded messages! Ever hear of BCC? Use it!
You want to know the truth?
How about tips on doing it right?
STOP THE INSANITY!
Forward this message to 15 people within 60 seconds and you'll have a pleasant surprise at 2:38 tomorrow afternoon. What if the recipient has dial-up internet and it takes more than 60 seconds for the stupid email to load? Aren't you just cursing your friends at that point? What if they're a slow reader? What if, at the precise second the message loaded the dog throws up and the cat gets out and the kid spills glue everywhere? Do you take care of the email first to get your prize?
If you believe in God, you'd better forward this email to everyone you know. I believe in God. I don't believe that he really wants me sending chain emails to everyone. How about doing actual good deeds and sharing the Word with people in person?
Poor Sally Sue is living in Timbuktu. She has a terrible illness that nobody has ever heard of. Please reply with your name, social security number, bank account number, etc....and make a donation to help little Sally Sue. Seriously? Why would anyone send their personal information to anyone via email? STUPID!
Mr. Smith, a wealthy man who lives in Belgium just died and wants to give you his money. Please reply with your name, social security number, bank account number, etc...and we'll make sure you get your share. Again...Seriously? Why would anyone send their personal information to anyone via email? STUPID!
Microsoft has a new email tracking program. You will earn alot of money when you send this to everyone you know. And you know this is true, since someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone else who made $20,000 from doing this.
Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: fwd: FWD: Fwd: PPPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEE RRRREEEEAAAADDD!!!! With well over 100 email adresses to scroll through before the ever-so-important message even begins. You're such a great friend for violating everyone else's privacy with your stupid forwarded messages! Ever hear of BCC? Use it!
You want to know the truth?
How about tips on doing it right?
STOP THE INSANITY!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Intelligent Adults Do the Stupidest Things...
We've all done it - rushed into things, only to regret them later. I've always sort of hoped that when an adult reaches a certain age, late 20s perhaps, that logic and common sense start to become a factor in the whole decision making process. How about celebrities who hold their baby upside down over a balcony? Or the musician/clothing designer/B-list actress/blah blah blah who bought chandeliers for her babies' closets? Sex with strangers and without protection?
And...My personal (current) favorite: A woman who gets into a relationship with a guy who says he's sterile but she ends up pregnant less than a month into the relationship. Then she decides that she wants to marry him 6 weeks after the baby is born. I'm all for getting married before having children, but the baby is already here! If you're going to marry the guy after the baby is born, at least wait till the postpartum bleeding is done! Somehow I am stuck all up in the middle of this mess. They're living in his parents' house, but paying rent on her apartment. She's taking the one week old baby out and about already. But, apparently, I have no idea what being pregnant, going through labor, having issues breastfeeding or planning a wedding feels like. I only have had 4 pregnancies and 3 kids to show for it. What the heck do I know?!?
Now, I've become the 2nd bridesmaid, by default. I have to meet with bride and maid of honor this week. By the way, the maid of honor MUST meet me in person because she is SO shy that she can't even send e-mails to people that she has never met before. Are you kidding me!?! Bride tells me that I should come with ideas for dresses, but nothing expensive because MOH can't afford it. The wedding budget itself is $300, why would I possibly want to spend more than $50 on a dress? We would look more dressy than the bride!
Whatever...I've got 2 kids I'm bringing with me. SHE has absolutely NO clue what it takes to get 1 kid ready and dropped off at school and 2 other kids ready and make a car trip that is an hour each way.
Their relationship is on rocky ground anyways. Any dress I buy is going to have the tags left on till the "Big Day".
I digress.
And...My personal (current) favorite: A woman who gets into a relationship with a guy who says he's sterile but she ends up pregnant less than a month into the relationship. Then she decides that she wants to marry him 6 weeks after the baby is born. I'm all for getting married before having children, but the baby is already here! If you're going to marry the guy after the baby is born, at least wait till the postpartum bleeding is done! Somehow I am stuck all up in the middle of this mess. They're living in his parents' house, but paying rent on her apartment. She's taking the one week old baby out and about already. But, apparently, I have no idea what being pregnant, going through labor, having issues breastfeeding or planning a wedding feels like. I only have had 4 pregnancies and 3 kids to show for it. What the heck do I know?!?
Now, I've become the 2nd bridesmaid, by default. I have to meet with bride and maid of honor this week. By the way, the maid of honor MUST meet me in person because she is SO shy that she can't even send e-mails to people that she has never met before. Are you kidding me!?! Bride tells me that I should come with ideas for dresses, but nothing expensive because MOH can't afford it. The wedding budget itself is $300, why would I possibly want to spend more than $50 on a dress? We would look more dressy than the bride!
Whatever...I've got 2 kids I'm bringing with me. SHE has absolutely NO clue what it takes to get 1 kid ready and dropped off at school and 2 other kids ready and make a car trip that is an hour each way.
Their relationship is on rocky ground anyways. Any dress I buy is going to have the tags left on till the "Big Day".
I digress.
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