Tangible Tidbits 2012 #6: At the end of your life, will you be happy with how you've handled things?

Hi, everyone! Well, I didn't get the IT position. Apparently, the other candidate has more experience with Proxy processing and with proxy season coming up, there would be less of a learning curve with her in the position. At least, that is what one person speculated to me today. I have to admit, his assessment made me feel a little better about it. When I found out on Friday, I was really bummed. C'est la vie, right? :p

While I was watching a TV movie over the weekend, I encountered a though-provoking question. One character asked another, "At the end of your life, will you be happy with how you've handled things?" Talk about deep! LOL For the most part, my answer is "yes." I do have a few regrets, but I have made amends for most of my earlier life indiscretions in due time. Presently, there is only one situation in which I am now not comfortable with my actions. Unfortunately, I cannot address it because the other person passed away a couple of years ago. Honestly, I doubt he would hold my actions against me...it's more my own moral code that makes me wish I had handled things differently. I know I did what I thought was right at the time, but in hindsight it was somewhat immature and probably even cowardly. Given that he is currently among the angels, I guess he knows how I feel now and forgives me. I certainly hope so! :o

When I was in the bank this afternoon, the "greeter" there -- I'm not sure what they call the people in the lobby who chat with you while you're waiting on line -- noticed one of my wire-wrapped rings and complimented me on it. It turns out she occasionally "plays" with beads and other materials from Michael's or A.C. Moore. She took my business card and promised to check out my website. :)

I'm actually thinking about revamping the website; I have to discuss it with my web designer. Since I am putting less and less effort into the Virtual Mall page, I'm thinking about doing away with the store section also. I've only made two sales directly through the website since it went up at the end of 2009, and those two sales were from a friend of mine who lives a couple of towns away! :p I'm thinking the website should be more of an "online brochure"...it will showcase what I have done and can do, and encourage buyers to contact me directly if they are interested in making a purchase or ordering a custom piece. Customers who know me personally tend to do that anyway...and I usually tell people living in the area to contact me directly to arrange delivery and save on the postage that is automatically charged via the website. I have to mull the whole thing over...there's the possibility that people might not want to take the extra step to call or email me, so I could potentially lose the sale. However, people aren't buying directly from the site either, so I doubt it will matter much one way or the other. Do you have an opinion on this? Please let me know! :)

A coworker requested a Snakemaille bracelet for her granddaughter's birthday in a few days, so I have to work on that tonight. The good thing about the rubber jump rings is that they stretch, so it is easy for a child to wear. ;) My nieces each requested one a while back because they thought they were cool...I consider that an endorsement! LOL ;)

Mom and I watched the Grammy Awards last night and have been following the coverage of Whitney Houston's death. She was only five years older than I am, and she was apparently much more reckless than I am. I am saddened by her untimely death, but I can't say I'm terribly surprised. Such a waste! :(

That's all for now. Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow and have a great week! :D


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Tangible Tidbits 2011 #45: Cell Phones, Credit Cards, and Daylight Savings Time!

Hello, everyone...welcome to the other side of Daylight Savings Time! ;) I hope you all remembered to turn your clocks back last night. I only remembered because I had set an alert on my cell phone! :o

Speaking of cell phones, I upgraded mine this week to a Samsung Fascinate. I needed an Android with a 3.5mm headset jack for next weekend. A few weeks ago, I signed up for a free Square Credit Card Reader, but the phone application is not compatible with my Palm Pixi. Luckily, I found a phone that was free -- my regular upgrade isn't really until the spring -- and met most, if not all, of my requirements. I should get it this week, in time to download the application and test it out before the Jewels of New Jersey show next Sunday. Which reminds me...I will probably not post on Sunday next week, as the day will be more than long enough by the time I get back from Monroe Township -- approximately one hour south of me. Anyway, the Square reader and application will allow me to accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover credit card payments with my cell phone and have them automatically deposited to my bank account the next day! There was someone at the show last year who offered to accept credit card payments for vendors, and she charged 5 percent per transaction. Square charges 2.75 percent per swipe for all transactions, so that seems like a pretty good deal to me! Naturally, the idea is not to lose potential sales because someone does not have a check or enough cash on hand. Fingers crossed! :D

Needless to say, I will be getting ready for Sunday's "road trip" almost every night this week! I also received my postcard proofs (my name will be on them this year!) for BANG VI, as well as the press release, 2011 artwork inventory form & labels. Last year, I signed up too late to receive those materials in advance, so I had to write it all up when I dropped off my pieces. Thankfully, I have a little more time this year to pick and choose what to send and properly identify my pieces. :)

I spent a lot of yesterday working on two bracelets for my nieces. They were here mid-week because they still had no power from last weekend's storm. The girls each selected colors for "Snakemaille" metal and rubber ring chain maille bracelets, and laid the rubber rings all out nice and neatly in patterns on my bead board. Of course, I bumped into it once and then knocked over completely in the following two days! :o I decided I'd better just make them and get them out of the way before I forgot the order in the color patterns entirely! :p The bracelets turned out really cute. I've noticed recently that my work is becoming more consistent, which is gratifying for me to see. :) I've started reworking some of my early pieces, which were not as "polished" I am capable of now. ;)

BTW, the latest Focal Piece of the Month is up and I posted a bunch of new pictures to our current Facebook photo album. I still have a few more to edit and post...I will hopefully get all caught up with that this week, since I have to have the pictures in my presentation binder on Sunday to show examples of my work not on display. :)

As I mentioned last week, I showed a friend the binder on Saturday. She is interested in getting some new earrings (and I have TONS of them here!), but she has to try them on and see them in person. We still have to decide if she wants to give me some ideas of what I can bring to her, or if she wants to come here to see all of them. :)

Did I tell you that I figured out how to alleviate the paragraph separating problem I was having with Blogger? I noticed a "Post Options" link below the tags window while posting last weekend, and I checked it out. One choice is "Press 'Enter' for line breaks," so I clicked on it and...problem solved! ;)

Well, I'm off to watch Once Upon A Time, the new show on at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday nights on ABC-TV. I watched the pilot a couple of weeks ago, and then forgot about it last weekend. :o Luckily, I found it on Comcast On Demand, so I caught up yesterday afternoon. I get a kick out of programs that take widely known characters -- and who's more widely known than Snow White, Prince Charming, the Wicked Queen, the Seven Dwarfs, Geppetto, Pinocchio, Red Riding Hood, Granny, Rumplestiltskin, etc.? -- and putting them in non-traditional settings and situations. The series may not be the most original...another network is airing Grimm this season, presumably based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales...but I do think it's fun to figure out who the different characters are in modern day Storybrooke, Maine. It's not always obvious, which is part of the fun factor. ;) I have no idea if the series has a shelf life given the premise, but I don't think series' in general look for longer than 4-5 years (if that!) anymore. Long gone are the days when a TV series lasted 12, even 15 years (animated series and reality TV shows notwithstanding)!

Take care and have a great week! :D

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