Tax Day - Pay Up

Best I could do on not a very fun day of the year - yeeech.

Time to Get Going

Isn't this so cool???  I have been playing more and more with writing text on my photos.  Such a simple thing but it has me so excited!  I am thinking that maybe I will make a whole collection of photos with captions and then make a video since I have not made one in a long time.  What has me most excited is that I feel creative again.  It is like I have been dormant for the winter and now spring is here and I am waking up.

Before and After

My friend Carla always takes awesome pictures and sends them to me because she know how excited I get over them.  Last week it was a beautiful day and she sent me the above picture.  I loved it as I was having a tough week and it reminded me how awesome things are regardless, you just need to see it.  Getting this picture reminded me to stop and look up and see how fantastic of a day it was.  It was a fantastic day before getting the picture but it was not until I got the picture that I actually put my challenges aside and saw and appreciated that it was a good day.  On top of that I knew right away that I would be able to use this to make sure my friends also know they are appreciated.

On Saturday I took Carla's photo and modified it just a little bit.  I have been working out how to write on pictures and have it be legible.  I think I am getting it down so that pleases me.  I then texted this message out to a bunch of friends and included a personal note to each.  I know simple it is but it pleases me to be thought of and I wanted to spread some pleasure, appreciation and smiles to friends I was thinking of.  Now I am sharing it was those that do not text.  I hope you have a great day.  I am going to work on remembering to look up and see that it is a great day.  I hope when you see this you look up too.  Be good.

Max

This week was a very odd week.  In the thick of it is hard to see past the storm but I know I am moving forward still some how.  So instead of going on about all that I wanted to introduce Max.  My friend Debbie adopted him and I cannot get over how cute he is!  She said he is very friendly and loves going on walks.  I am so excited.  I am sure this furball is going to bring her plenty of joy which makes me happy.

Klutz

Ebay helps me while I am in my temporary holding pattern.  It helps me keep my time productive and earns me money but also it gives me the thrill of discovering treasure and seeing what profit I can turn it into.  Although I give in every so often, I do well at not getting treasures for myself and not filling my home to the brim.  I got some shirts, ties and shoes for my part time job and get compliments on them.  The compliments are good but then the customer thinks we sell them but we don't LOL.  A couple weeks ago I unearthed this awesome Waterford ornament egg.  It was made in 2004 and was in mint condition.  It still had the original box, packaging, labels, price tag,  and booklet - all for just $3 when full retail was $45 - cha ching!  Of course I saw profit in it immediately, especially being Easter time, but in addition it was so bright and shiny and mesmerizing that I just loved it.  I really am not that materialistic but I can appreciate beauty, even more so when it is shiny!  I need the profit so I just take enjoyment in finding the treasure, enjoying it THE SHORT while it is in my home, then shipping it off to someone that will love it.  This is all a great story so far right?  Well another one of my bad habit is that I drop things - very often.  I always have and it used to cause me so much stress but i know although it does not make me happy to drop things, it is not the end of the world.  As I was taking photos of this stunning turquoise ornament, I dropped it.  My floors are all tile - SMASH.  It literally tumbled from my hand in slow motion and although I knew what the end result would be I did think to myself as it was falling, "Maybe it won't smash to pieces".  Of course it did smash to pieces.  I was disappointed but not devastated.  I will find other treasures to sell.  I did however feel badly that this wonderful creation survived in awesome condition for 10 years and yet only 72 hours in my hands.  It just was not meant to be.  I have turned many items into profit and will turn something else into profit.  I used to get really harsh judgement over dropping things but recently while Matt was here I dropped something and broke it.  Matt just looked at me like, "Oh well crap happens, it is not the end of the world" and you know what, it is not.  Although I get very excited over nice things and labels, this proves I am not materialistic.  I know, believe and feel that breaking an item is not the end of the world.  Tomorrow the sun comes out and I will smile and there is no breaking that.  Not only that but even though it was swept up and put in the trash, I have these photos so I still have it and it will remain perfect in them. 

The Other Side of the Auction

So I wrote a good story about ebay but unfortunately that is not the norm.  I don't get contacted too often and in 890 feedbacks I only ever got one negative one (and the was because the dingbat did not read the posting).  I sell and ship lots and lots of t shirt.  I have it down pat and it works for me.  The only problem is when people want me to combine shipping - buy more than one shirt that is and ship them together for a lower cost.  I keep my shipping charges as low as possible to please my customers but ever so often there is a doosey that cannot do math.  Shipping is by weight and two shirts weighs twice as much as one shirt hence the shipping is more than if I was shipping one shirt.  It is not rocket science and it mystifies me that people have trouble with that simplistic equation.  I usually charge $4.99 to ship one shirt, well this gem bought two t shirts and requested a revised amount for shipping costs.  I changed it from $9.98 to $7.99 to be accommodating.  I know I was losing a little on the shipping but it all evens out in the end.  The along comes this snarky message.  Really folks as a customer service professional always remember this mantra - Sarcasm and snarkiness does not help your cause.  I literally wanted to reply, "You're a moron" and be done with it but no I explained in full and struggled to do my best not to be nasty also, although I admit it I don't believe I was completely successful.  PS I hate when people write "cheers" in an email??? So annoyes me unless you really are buying me a drink then I like it.

Here is the exchange in full it you want to read how stupid the world can be:

EMAIL FROM CUSTOMER:

Thank you for adjusting the shipping price from $9.98 to $7.99.

I still think that if it cost you $4.99 to ship one shirt, it should've been the same price if not maybe a dollar more to ship two shirts.

Anyhow, I'll ask the USPS employee to give me a shipping quote on the package when I retrieve it from my PO Box.

If USPS finds that the shipping rate to ship the package from your address to my PO Box was less than the $7.99 that you charged me, I will ask for a refund at that time.

Cheers,

REPLY TO CUSTOMER:

Hello,

I understand what you are saying and I wish the USPS was that cheap also but it is not. Shipping by USPS is based on weight -- two shirts equals double the weight hence not the same shipping cost as one shirt. Last night when I went to the post office and put the two shirts and envelope on the scale the price to your zip code the USPS fee said $6.95 --- you will not need to check with USPS as you will be able to see the cost I paid on the shipping label itself -- in addition to that I had to pay $1.08 for the envelope ($1 plus 8 cents CA sales tax) and in further addition eBay charges a 10% fee on shipping costs charged which will be 80 cents ---- all together it will cost me $8.83 (not including the cost of my time to go to the post office twice) to ship these shirts while charging you only $7.99. I was trying to be accommodating and always try to keep my shipping charges as low as possible.

When you check with USPS please let me know if there is a cheaper option as I would love to be able to offer that to my customers - my local office has indicated there is not. I appreciate your help.

thanks.

Matt Came to Visit

Matt came to visit last month.  It was so good to see him again.  I felt bad as it rained 5 days out of the week that he was here but he enjoyed himself in other ways.  He always has a positive outlook and makes the best of everything.  I really enjoyed his company.  He is like Valium for me - he just keeps me relaxed and de-stressed.  I get myself really worked up at times and it is usually over the smallest, dumbest things but he just calms me down.  Sometimes he pokes the bear but he knows when is when and doesn't go to far, so it makes it funny.  He really spoiled me too and we went out quite a bit - thank you so much!  I stock piled some stuff for his visit - a Diesel shirt, a Burberry sweater, and so one but the best was that I gave him a Barney's navy blue tee shirt (he looks so goods in navy).  The t shirt was never used and I only paid 50 cents for it but I knew it was high end and would be perfect for Matt.  After I gave it to him I asked him how much he thought it cost at Barney's and he said $80.  I shit my pants!  An $80 t shirt???  One they can't charge $80 for a t shirt and two did I seriously just give it away???  I did not believe him so I checked later and her was right!!!  OMG how crazy is the world???  I was kinda stuck on it for the rest of the week but when I saw how awesome he looked in it, as I knew he would, I was glad how well it all worked out.  This post seems like a joke that is not funny when you re-tell it but let me just say that Matt's visit was the best time I have had in ages!  Come visit anytime you want Matt.  Love you!