Tangible Tidbits 2010 #50: 24 Hours Too Late...

It seems that Mother Nature and Father Time had trouble coordinating their schedules this year. We are in the middle of a blizzard warning here on the East Coast not 24 hours AFTER Christmas Day! You'd think they could have at least given us a White Christmas in the bargain!? LOL :p Regardless, I hope all of those who celebrate this holiday enjoyed it. :)

I finished my friend's grandmother's necklace in time for Christmas, and posted it as the new Focal Piece of the Month. Starting this month, I'm going to post the new Focal Piece on the Something Tangible LLC Facebook Fan Page, since I think people are more likely to see it there then counting on folks coming to the website to read it. ;)

No word yet from the Bead Society of New Jersey on whether or not any of my pieces were selected to head to Tucson at the end of January. I also just checked the MSU Blackboard and my semester grade isn't posted yet. Still keeping my fingers crossed for both! :)

Earlier this month, I signed up for the Beta version of a new online payment service called Paybox.me. There's no fee like there is with PayPal, but you can't add or deduct funds from your account yet in the Beta version. Once the service is up and running, I will let you know...but I'm thinking of adding it or the Store section of the website, possibly replacing PayPal entirely. :)

I'm also thinking about discontinuing the email version of the Virtual Mall Discounts & Deals circular in January. It seems that the majority of activity is coming from posts on the Virtual Mall's Facebook Fan Page, so it's really a waste of time and somewhat redundant to do both. If anyone has strong feelings about it one way or the other, please feel free to let me know. As always, I will take the absence of feedback as implied consent. :)

Along similar lines, since the blog posts are now automatically posted to both Facebook Fan Pages via NetworkedBlogs, I will no longer be posting Tangible Tidbits in the Discussions section of the Something Tangible LLC Facebook Fan Page. No one ever replied to them there anyway, so I may as well ditch the duplication of effort. :)

On the personal side, we're up to having raised $629.16 for Fondation MIRA in the Virtual Garage Sale...a few unclaimed items are generating some interest. I will be ending that effort officially on January 1. It's been very time-consuming, so it's definitely time to move on. :)

My Birthday Wish on Facebook has raised $85 for Donate Life America (including my $25), so I feel better about the Virtual Garage Sale being a bust in that effort. :D

And last but not least, tomorrow will mark my first day back to permanent part-time work with my former employer. Unfortunately, one of the people I was helping to replace will not be returning from medical leave. I'll be working 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, which enables me to participate in company benefit programs (25 hours is required). It wasn't a tough decision to make...while I will no longer have the flexibility I've enjoyed for the past couple of months, I will have a steady income to help me fund my efforts here. It's been nice to go to an office full of people again -- I missed the socialization working by myself. I hope to eventually be able to afford to work on Something Tangible full time, but for now, this is the best solution. :)

As my next message will not be until after the New Year, I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year's celebration! :)