Simple America

The hardest part of marketing is pushing myself out on to the world. I am naturally shy and happy to hide behind numbers all day. Problem is when you are self-employed, you have to find someone else’s numbers to hide behind. If you limit yourself to your own numbers, your grocery shopping shall be limited to peanut butter crackers.

I now have to consider marketing to be a part of everything I do. Finding prospects. Introducing them to my services. Convincing the client  that I can improve their business. Making these folks aware that I have helped them as promised and hopefully more. I must constantly find new ways to help them. And get them to share me with others. Everyone I meet could be my next hot lead. I can ill afford to be caught off guard or act a fool in public.

Awareness is the key to my future. I must make others aware of my offerings. I need to know how I am doing this as well as where and when. I must continually maintain this effort. Marketing is a constant and can fail in the instant you slacken from the task. I must believe in the importance of marketing me, therefore I must believe in me. Beliefs become behavior and I must behave well.

Now I should reflect upon my hospitality background. The professors taught service is paramount. Service means the guest is satisfied. Well now I deal with clients and they too must be satisfied. Every effort must be geared toward their satisfaction. Anything less is failure. I must know the client’s needs, anticipate them, and fulfill them. No matter how tired I may become in these pursuits I must find the energy to carry on and persevere.

Ultimately, the toughest client is me. I too must be satisfied. There is no room for failure. Losing the marketing war is not even a consideration.

My goal is not to be rich or live a Fatt Hao life. The goal is to satisfy each and every client and know I have done the best I can do when I lay my head down to sleep each night.

Changing subjects. Shifting gears.

A little proud of my daughter. She has become a volunteer at the Lighthouse of the Blind in Houston. Last night she went to the orientation and is preparing to help with an Outreach camp this summer. This camp helps High School graduates make the transition from school to University or the job market. Girl can still make me proud between bouts of scaring the hell out of me. 

I am having to rewrite this post as the original was lost. This means I lost the entire month of February to blogging. Thought I had been saved by the leaping day, ut no, that was not so. At the time I wrote I had only one contac in my left eye, while my right eye was extremely irritated. That is where one eye blind line originated.

February was so busy. Trying to get the marketing plan moving. I have a website up at “W” cubed dot geraldblakemorecpapc dot com if you wanna take a peek. It is not looking the way I want either. For some reason the site does not fill the browser. Working on that issue. I am hoping to create a niche by installing and supporting QuickBooks, an accounting software package. I would accept tax work too, and consider that a cash boost when I get those opportunities. But the majority of my marketing shall be aimed at local businesses. If things go well I may have to hire bookkeepers to help me keep pace. A couple of Indian companies have contacted me offering these kinds of service support, but I am thinking why not see if there is not the same company in Malaysia or Singapore. I like this area more and then I would have a valid business reason to visit Makan Makan land. Sounds good, ya?

Kids are keeping me busy too. My son is really challenging his school. Not doing his work, or completing it and not turning the work in when done. Problem is he is a perfectionist and he refuses to turn in the work that makes him feel uncomfortable. He also refuses to speak in speech, which is not good. Spent a few hundred dollars on high school admissions tests and application fees and fear that he may not even pass the eighth grade. I hope he opens his eyes. When I mention that he better like the seventh graders a lot as he will join them next year, he thinks I am just teasing him. I wish that was the case.

My daughter is doing well in school. She sat for the SAT last Saturday and we are isolating the schools she shall apply for. She intends to apply for all of the major Texas universities and she also likes a couple of schools in Colorado and Cornel in New York. Currently, she has expressed an interest in studying architectural engineering.

She and I went library hunting on Saturday. First we went and got a Houston Public Library card. That took an hour as they were very busy. Then we went to the University of Houston Downtown campus and they would not accept that library card. My daughter looked at the info wrong online. And I needed an alumni card to get any access to that library branch. So we drove over to the main campus and parked in the visitor’s parking garage. Very nice for a parking lot and there is a Welcome Center (which is closed on Saturday) and we found the Information Booth was also closed. From there we walked across the street to the University Center which had an open information center. I asked for directions to the new Alumni Center, which is located on the other side of campus. A little over a mile (couple of kilmoters) from the UC. When asked if that location was opened, the young man assured me it was. So the girl and I walked over passing the begging squirrels, dodging student joggers and inhaling second hand smoke from brainiacs that understand science, but not health. A beautiful day, a slight breeze and lots of sunshine to cheer our merry jaunt. And when we arrived at the Alumni Center it was open, allowing us to enter, but closed in regards to getting an alumni card.

So we walked back. We chose a different return route and I showed my daughter the Underground, also closed, and told how some jerk made her mom cry there once. A rude fellow that did not want to do a survey and was more than blunt in refusing. Surprised my daughter, as she has never seen her mother tear up. We stopped by the library so I could get the policy for checking out books. They said alumni card or Texshare card would do the trick.

So that is my task today. Go to my local Fort Bend library and get a Texshare card. Then I will get an alumni card and go visit some of the faculty at the Hilton College. Drop off a few business cards and offer to give some accounting chats for the students if they like. And make myself known a bit to any restaurants that might need my services. Also want to see if there are any new books on managing that I should get add to my library.

The missus is doing well. Saturday with my daughter took a lot longer than I planned, so I had to stand her up for “Hello Dolly” that evening. She went with her friend and they had a nice time. The kids and I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Five. Really was a sad season with Buffy’s mom and all. *snif snif* Sunday her brother invited us to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and we had a nice time. Honestly, I thought they were going to pull a surprise party for me, but no go. She still has until tomorrow to pull a rabbit out of the hat. But then the hat may not exist either.

And I am so glad the primary is tomorrow. After the voting is finished, I can get a break from all the political commercials for a few months. Please!!!

I better find some clients soon or I am going to have to get a real job.

So sorry to have gone on hiatus without letting everyone know. It was not planned, this thing called life just kind of made it happen.

The vacation was nice. We stopped over in New Orleans and I got ill once again. This time it was a head flu that turned into a nasty cough and all the time burning like a candle. My head was too numb to blog for the week I was ill. My daughter was official vacation photographer and I am waiting to get a disc from her so I can share more of Disney with you all.

Once the vacation finished I looked at my finances closely and realized I needed to bring in some cash. Fortunately, some ebay auctions ended and that brought in a nice sum just in the nick of time. I am going to post some more auctions this weekend to see about capturing a few more dollarinoes.

My business needs to get the marketing going. But my marketing hinges around being able to consult for a popular accounting software package. So I focused on certification for this product and that took me ten days to get done. But I am now certified and I putting that information on my biz cards and web site. The web site is still a work in process as I refine my message. Better refine it damn quick or I am gonna miss the tax season and that is where a large amount of my income has to come from this year. At least that is the way things shall go until I develop the bookkeeping side of my firm. Today I created a pair of press releases, but I want to confirm my message before I deliver them. Again I must get this message refined and quick or the missus is going to mail out my resume’.

The kids are keeping me busy too. Girl scouts is taking up a fair amount of the girl’s time. She goes for a leadership event this weekend. SAT prep is under way next month and then she sits for the test. Busy girl. We are in the middle of High School admissions for the lad. We visited one campus last night and by this time next week we shall attend four more open houses. Another reason to get some ebay auctions opened. Registration and testing fees are due and most do not take credit cards. The boy is also on the prep bowl team, where he is a substitute. They had meets last Saturday and another this coming Saturday.

I hope to get some time to peek at your blogs. So many of you sent me lovely Christmas cards. And there was so much love sent via Facebook too. Big hugs and thanks to all of you. Dawn really surprised me with a huge box of Malaysia. I’m serious. Snacks, spices, coffee, and a cute refrigerator magnet from Malaysia. Honestly, she gave me everything but tropical weather. Thank you so much Dawn.

Hope to blog more soon. There shall be less blog ads in the future. I looked at the cost of posting ads versus my fees and I lose money with blog ads from that point of view. There are some I have to do because of products recieved. But any other blog ads I do shall be because I like the product a lot or want to see the movie. I intend to write a lot more articles off blog, though I may link them here or on my firm’s site. Hoping to make some money that way, and there is a potential for better payouts. Plus writing for hobby or professionally is going to keep me sharp on those kinds of topics. After tax season is done I plan on making a third blog for the Writer’s Journey. This blog is going to be limited in readership. I have to know you before I let you in there, as I shall be working on saleable works. Hope they sale. We shall see, what we shall see, ya?

Look for Hug Hug updates too. I have added a table addon so hopefully I can produce the numbers easier. Really hated that I could not paste Excel onto the page. We’ll see if this table thingie is the fix or not.

Missed you all. Sorry for leaving without a word. Will try to be the annoying old me again.  Happy, uh, New Year.

The Marriott Downtown Orlando is in quite a nice location. If you are a fan of the NBA this is conveniently located across the street from the Amway Arena where the Orlando Magic play. They played the Washington Bullets the night we arrived, but I was too tired to think about looking into tickets. There is a civic cinter of some sort also located across the street where a local ballet production of The Nutcracker is playing.

Amway Arena as seen from my room on the 15th floor.

A look at our room and all of our baggage. No light travelling here.

Rugrats watching the cartoon channel. The hotel also had a lovely breakfast buffet. We pigged out the two mornings we stayed there.

For the first day we went to EPCOT. I always have enjoyed this park. When we went to pay for the tickets we learned that you can add on to your tickets within two weeks of the purchase. This is nice as it provides the visitor a lot of flexibility. And as you add more days the price is much cheaper. Once you get beyond four days the addtional days only cost two bucks a day. Another thing to do when purchasing tickets is make sure they know if you have a special celebration. Our anniversary is near and they gave the missus and I both button to wear announcing our celebration. This has been nice as the staff often greets us with a congratulations. When we visited the American area in the Nations area of EPCOT they actually gave us a certificate to commemorate the day. They also had us call a special number where Mickey and the gang wished us a happy anniversary too. Really was a cute gretting. And then we were given premium seating for the show.

Here is the cert they gave us. Made us feel really special.

On Sunday we visited Universal Studios’ City Streets. The missus wanted to meet a pair of her work mates from IBM. We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. The food was fair, but I loved the atmosphere and all of the rock and roll items on display. After lunch we moved to the Hilton Grand Vacations Club resort on International Drive.

This resort provides us a lovely suite. The kids loved the extra space and the opportunity to not hear my snores at night.

The dining room table is a lovely place to have breakfast and dinner. Behind it there is a full kitchen with the utensils we need for cooking. And they have Starbucks coffee for us as well. I like this place.

Beyond this door lay the bedroom for the missus and I. The kids had a sofa bed to rest upon.

There was a huge tub with whirl pool and a walk in shower that allowed me to stretch my arms out fully without touching the sides. I enjoy this bathroom a great deal.

And there are two sinks to speed things up in the morning. Quite nice marble upon these counters here.

The kids discovered they could hook up the X-Box here. After spending a bit too much time at lunch with out excellent companies we decided to chill out in the room rather than go to MGM Studios. Later in the evening we visted Disney Downtown. There are many shops located here. They have the best Disney store located here. If you should come this way, you really owe it to yourself to visit the Disney Downtown. There is no fee to enter this area and you should not miss it.

Thursday was the day of departure. We planned to pick my son up when school let out and drive from there on to Orlando. But with last minute preparations, we were not even close to being ready to leave. Sent my girl to retrieve the boy, while we packed and prepped road food. Then I suggested we leave at midnight after a nap. I felt tired and the missus looked beat as well. When the bags were all packed the missus agreed some rest would be beneficial. I looked at the travel itinerary and estimated the drive would be 19 hours. If we had left at the original time we would have sat around Orlando waiting for our room to become available. Forget that. I knew we would be tired after the drive to boot.

Saturday I ate one piece of bread, crackers, and applesauce. Still did not want to risk anything as I still ran a low grade fever. Spent most of the day watching Season Four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Honestly, I needed to take it easy so I could attend Houston Symphony’s Very Merry Pops program.

And I did attend with the missus, my son, and his friend. Saturday night was freezing cold with light spray in the air. No snow as this is Houston, but this is about the most Christmassy weather I can expect. We ran late as I did not go to Joe’s Crab Shack with them for dinner. The smell of food just affected my stomach and I wanted to enjoy the evening. And every theater must have had a venue that night. The streets were slow and the parking garage was packed. Parked the truck close to a mile away from Jones Hall. Walking the streets was chilly and the wind almost knocked me down a couple of times.

We dashed into the hall, thankful for the warmth it offered. We were late and I could hear the sounds of Deck the Halls being performed. By the time we reached the balcony they had started playing Holiday Moods Suite No. 1. They projected the symphony on the side wall, which allowed us late comers to see a bit. But viewing that is not the same, especially with the sounds muffled by the walls.

Hard to tell from this picture but that is the Houston Symphony with the Houston Symphony Choir set up on stage behind them. We also had a lovely view of the Jones Hall Christmas tree.

They went right into the Hanukkah Festival Overture without delay leaving us standing outside a bit longer. Finally, the conductor, Michael Krajewski paused, allowing us to try and find our seats. We failed in the dark so I told the missus and boys to stand and wait for the next pause so we did not block anyone’s view while The Prayer was performed. An usher came by and pointed out where our seats should be. When the song ended we hastened to our spots and sat down in time to hear the Little Bolero Boy. You know I should have been happy to have a seat, but I heard this loud tapping. I looked at the boys and I was close to quieting them when I realized the sound came from behind me. A grown man tapping so loudly, oh, and off beat. At one point he started to clap out the beat, though remember, he has no rhythm. Just kill me. And then the candy wrapper brigade started crinkling their papers. Why can’t you people be quiet? Open candy and cough drops between songs please.

Will Maker, a local who gained some notoriety by appearing on American Idol, then accompanied the Symphony for O Holy Night. He has a splendid voice. Next the Symphony performed the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. This brought most folks to their feet in respect for Jesus Christ without with there would be no Very Merry Pops performed. It was beautifully done and my hats off to the Houston Symphony Chorus. Bravisimo!

The intermission came and we went to the washroom. Then the lads and I found a quiet corner and discussed World of Warcraft. Three pretty little teen girls walked by and I felt like come on boys give ‘em a look at least. LOL! Oh well they are just young teen lads. Those check out the girls genes just have not kicked in yet.

We returned to sit and the missus told us we had been in the wrong seats. Stupid usher. But it was perfect. The people in this section were well mannered. No tapping, inappropriate off beat clapping, or crinkling wrappers for the rest of the evening. Just my son asking questions. Well that’s what duct tape is for.

The program returned with the Christmas Waltz, which even had a three pairs of waltzers on stage. That was followed by We Need a Little Christmas from Mame. The next selection was quite unusual. They had the bassoon section come up front and the three bassoonists were featured as they played Bassoon It Will Be Christmas. They put on a delightful performance and I enjoyed this a great deal. This reminds me. PY, the Houston Symphony, had six double bassists performing on stage Saturday night.

The program even became more fun as the songs moved to old favorites like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The dancers returned to the stage and performed a comedic routine as the music played. The next tune was Sleigh Ride, very much a song full of memories for me. We played this tune in High School band and the percussion section is quite busy during this tune. There are jingle bells too jangle, and wood blocks for clopping, and don’t forget the whip for cracking. We used to fight over who got to crack the whip.

Will Maker returned to the stage and sang Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Beautiful voice, if I was a woman I would love to have him sing to me. I’m not, therefore I am just damn jealous. LOL!  The orchestra then played a medley of songs, giving the audience a turn to stand and sing along. The program then ended with a performance of Feliz Navidad. The conductor returned to play an encore and I cannot remember the tune. I still had a little fever okay. Lost my mind that second.

But I really enjoyed the evening. Felt so good to leave the house after being stuck in bed. I felt so good I could eat a house. How about this one?

Hey but I am 100% today. Eating as normal. Sorry I am not out visiting blogs that much. So much to do as I prepare to go on vacation. Trying to list a bunch of eBay auctions so they can run while I travel. And time it so I can ship them when I get home and my winning bidders do not have to wait. I am using the eBay Turbo Lister 2 for the first time and I like it so far.

Merry Christmas to all of you and may God bless you and your family too.

Okay. No more waiting. Have been too slow posting lately and must not hold off any longer. First Thanksgiving dinner requires a table with plates, silverware, napkins, and hot pot covers. Glasses are nice too of course.

While grabbing plates in the kitchen I stole a peek at today’s special guest.

But to warm up our tummies we had some shrimp and cocktail sauce. Always stretch first before taking on any streneous activity, like Thanksgiving dinner.

Then we bring in the dishes that remind us that we are having American Thanksgiving dinner. One of my favorites is cornbread dressing.

And then sweet potatoes.

Penne pasta is always nice.

Spanikopita was a new visitor to our Thanksgiving table.

Pumkin scones were good enough to make one faint.

I insist on having my cranberry sauce. Tradition demands this dish.

And because I am half Chinese (and everybody else present is 50% to 100%) we mush have bok choy.

This year the missus sliced the bird up. I just realized I was fired. Huh?

The pumpkin pie and fruit tart vanished before I could catch them with the camera. Or was it because we ran out of glasses and I claimed this bottle as my own!

I just wanted to stop by and say Happy Thanksgiving to all of my faithful blog readers and peekers. I hope all of my American friends have a huge feast surrounded by family and friends. Watch some football and DVDs. Maybe go see a movie. Plan your shopping. Chit chat about the past or whatever makes you happy.

On this day I have so much to be thankful for. A loving wife that puts up with my foibles. A pair of kids that have not burned down the house or gouged out their eyes. They’re good but have their moments like any angst ridden teenagers. I’m thankful for all of my friends far and near. May god bless and sustain you through all of the challenges life presents you with. I’m am thankful to live in a country that still has a few basic freedoms left. May we find good men and women that can return us to our brilliant Constitution. I am thankful for the American military and law enforcement all levels to be safe and execute the orders to the best of their ability. Their efforts allow me to enjoy this moment of thanks and share it with you.

I survived another Monday at work and took Tuesday off as a vacation day. With the Thanksgiving holiday I do not have to return until next Monday. Hip hip hooray!!! I wanted to take Monday off, but that was impossible with all the timely stuff do from work.

But now I am looking at stretching exercise so I can be ready to eat on Thursday. We are going to take it easy this year. The missus has declared a baking ban and who can blame her. Buying a pie is just as costly as buying the ingredients. Lets hear it for economy of scales. This should allow me to focus on more important things like family, watching DVDs and playing Warcraft. Also let me catch up on the 12 to Midnight books. Hope to get that all done before Thursday.

My wife’s family visits for dinner on Thursday. Really looking forward to that. Good food. Good company. Nieces to squeeze until they go whee or pop. Sales ads to peruse so we can be ready for Black Friday.

Black Friday really can be hectic. All of the crowds at the mall and trendy shops. Hopefully, I won’t have to get up at 4:00 to make the line for some super bargain. Do not see how I can avoid it though. Early rising is part of the fun of the season though. Wish me luck fighting for whatever sale I dash off to.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of those of you who celebrate. And I’m still thinking good thoughts toward those of you who don’t share this holiday. Big turkey gobbling, pie chomping hugs to all of my faithful readers.

Well the girl has been driving back and forth without a hitch. No detours. No ditching her brother off in the middle of no where. Really is nice to have another driver in the house.

She had a Girl Scout meeting on Sunday. Her mother asked me if I would drive her. Old reflexes die hard. The missus thought about it again and then she remembered the girl could drive herself. And she did.

Dad is proud of her.

And happy to have some more time to try and figure out little things here and there. Why did it take 11 disks to back up my lap top? Had a blue screen of death shortly afterwards, so I am glad I have a back up. The laptop revived. Technology is a pain some days.