Magnetic poetry talks

Remember the Magnetic Poetry craze? Thanks to these individual magetic words, anyone can write deep, meaningful poetry while congratulating themselves on fashioning brilliance despite being confined to about 250 preselected words.

I ended up with several kits, including Genius, Erotic, Artist, Office and Volcano themes, plus a couple of basic ones.

Here is a sample of sentences and other random tidbits that hang out on my fridge:

we like handsome waste
GREAT bad nerdy girl
festoon your groovy bellybutton hair
gild when latex rigid
private nasty needs
BABY I ache for your embrace
love drips like lava
TODAY You're REALLY CRAZY you frustrated starving naughty beauty
imagine a secret balance
totally frazzled WORKHORSE
agony she said after

There’s also a substantial series of erotic haiku, which I may address in a future post.

Just say no!

Last week I took my long-awaited summer vacation to New York City (woo hooo!). While there, I went to Victoria's Secret, that stateside-only emporium of cute undies, sexy sleepwear, and luscious-smelling body products.

The Garden Collection, which I specifically came for, had a promotion: buy 3, 5, or 7 products and get a discount. But not 2 or 4 products. After much deliberation over fragrances, I chose 5 Garden products (plus some other stuff which only my boyfriend gets to see ;), then headed to the checkout.

The cashier attempted to tempt me with another deal. If I chose 2 more Garden products, for a total of $35, I would qualify for a "free" foot spa kit. As she explained, for just $5 more, I'd get 4 bottles. Meaning I'd have 9 bottles instead of the 5 I actually wanted.

It didn't take long to realize that the extra stuff would add more weight to my suitcase (already threatened by the shopping glories of the Big Apple), and add clutter to my already-bursting bathroom. So I just said no!

That $5 was better spent on a latte anyway.

Fear of commitment?

One of the people with whom I work is moving to London, England at the end of the month. We've been working together for over a year (he designs some of the marketing materials that I write copy for). Yet we've only really begun to communicate since he announced his departure a couple of weeks ago.

Why do we wait until someone is leaving before getting to know them? Does an end that is already in sight make it easier to connect? Or do we just feel a sense of guilt that we never made the effort to get to know them earlier?

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On another note, I'm having trouble finding things to type, and time to type them. This blog is supposed to be a creative outlet. Yet outside of basic survival and my immediate circle of friends (you know who you are ! ;), all I really think about is my business.

Maybe this is just a way of life in the early years, when you're trying to prove "Yes, I can be my own boss – and make more money than I would at a 9-5 job." As everyone knows, Great Britain/Rome/Singapore City wasn't build in a day.

I'm contemplating starting a business blog, as part of my latest marketing campaign and to help boost my Google ranking. Yet more reasons to think about my business!

Last day of summer

Today is the last day of summer, from a socio-economic viewpoint. Fall officially starts on September 22, marked by the fall equinox. And meteorologists say that warm weather will continue into November this year. But for everyday purposes, Labour Day signifies the end of summer. Tomorrow the working world gears up for its sprint into the final quarter. This is your last chance to make 2005 the most profitable year ever!!

Happy fall, folks!

Whyy??

In other news, I encountered this statement in the introduction to the law book I'm writing about this week: "I am appreciative for the editorial comments…"

There is NO excuse for not stating "I appreciate the editorial comments…" Why add two extra words and seven unnecessary letters? Why??

Many happy returns

Woo hooo! A routine visit to one of the city’s many Starbuckses revealed that the always-yummy, always-missed Pumpkin Spice Latte is back on brew. Just when you need to cheer up over summer’s inevitable fading!

But, does this beloved beverage qualify as a healthy choice?

According to the official Starbucks site, a grande Pumpkin Spice Latte supplies 240 calories and 0 zero grams of fat. That is, provided you stick to skim milk and forgo the whipped cream topping. Braving the whipped cream adds 10 grams of fat and 100 calories, so slurp at your own risk, latte lovers!

The (un) joy of cold calls

As a small business owner, I constantly face the prospect of calling complete strangers and asking if they need a copywriter to help increase sales of their products/services. Most work comes from referrals and repeat business. But if you really want to work with a company, direct contact is the best way to lodge your foot in their door.

Decision-makers are easiest to reach in early morning or late afternoon. Nobody wants to be bothered on Monday as they dig out from under the mountains of spam that have accumulated over the weekend. And nobody wants to take extra calls on Friday as they scramble to meet end-of-the-week deadlines. This leaves Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as acceptable days for cold calling -- especially Thursday when the realization that “yay, the weekend is almost here!” inspires good cheer in the workplace.

The person who cold-called me at 10:00 this Monday morning was unaware of these guidelines. She asked if I’d be interested in forming an alliance with her communications company so that I can outsource work to them during busy periods, or when I am designing large web sites.

Puzzled, I asked her where she found my phone number (obviously not on my web site, which clear states that I’m a copywriter). Through the Editors’ Association of Canada directory, she said.

Does ANY part of that make sense? The confusion is enough to make you crave the comforting escape of a hot, soothing latte.