Tangible Tidbits 2010 #24: Six Month Status Check

Greetings from Ocean City, MD! It doesn't have the same ring as "Greetings from Asbury Park" -- an early Springsteen album for those not familiar with the reference -- but it's where I am at the moment. :)

Since I'm technically on vacation, I'm not going to spend too much time on this week's message. I just wanted to check in with my audience, since this is the 24th message posted here. I'm new to blogging, so I would like to get some feedback on what I'm doing right and what I'm not. In the six months I've been writing here, I've gotten two off-list emails about these entries. For all I know, that means only two people have read anything I've written. I'm used to the interactive dialogue of message boards, so I kind of feel like I'm talking to myself here. :o

If you can please take a minute or two to let me know what you like and don't like about these weekly messages, I'd appreciate it. What content do you like to read here? What stuff do you think is uninteresting? Is there anything you would like me to include more or less of in future messages? What kind of content would be beneficial to you? Does the stuff about my personal life feel like TMI, or do you like reading about I'm up to these days? I basically recap what's going on in my life at the moment, both personally and professionally, when I sit down to write. I tend to put more of the educational-type stuff in the Focal Piece of the Month feature on the website (the new one is up, BTW). Is that working for you? I would be grateful to receive any and all thoughts, suggestions, critical commentary, etc. directly on the blog and/or Facebook Fan Page, or via email. My first preference would be to have them on the blog, but feel free choose whatever method works best for you. The important thing is to get the information to me, as it will help me map out a direction in which to take Something Tangible's blog/email newsletter in the future. Thanks so much in advance for your input! :)

It was 101 degrees here today, and I got sunburned while crabbing. :\

Have a good week, one and all! :)

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #23: Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Father's Day.

Mom came with me to the Rings & Things Bead Tour in East Hanover, NJ today. Man, was she blown away! LOL She had no idea what to expect, so seeing a large hotel ballroom set up with rows and rows of tables full of bead strands and findings made her eyes pop out! :p I think she was mildly impressed that I knew what I was doing. I spent way too much money -- but I got a lot of good deals, and I even found some of the stuff that was on my Wish List at their website, so it made the trip worthwhile. ;) They will be back again in September...I'll have to make sure I get there! :D

I also made time this weekend to finally finish my first bead stitching project...the St. Petersburg Medallion piece that I started at Linda Gettings' workshop in March. I decided to undo the medallions and start over again, since my first ones were pretty sloppy. :o What started out as a bracelet turned into a necklace because I had seven medallions and attached them to each other across the top, then realized the bracelet would be too large. So, I used the piece I created as the center of a necklace and sewed a St. Petersburg chain onto each end to finish it. I'm pretty pleased with the result, although I apparently took an unorthodox approach to the project. Apparently, people usually pick one base color and one accent color and use that pattern throughout the piece. In my "dare to be different" mentality, I mixed and matched the combinations, choosing a different pair in each medallion. I also alternated back and forth between the two colors in the attached chain, so I think it balances well. :)

This past week, I had a minor coup when Factoidz accepted my first submitted article! I adapted the Focal Piece of the Month on cuttlebone casting and submitted it as a how-to article. It's gotten a lot of positive feedback and I am now ranked the #3 expert in jewelry-making on Factoidz! LOL I haven't even been doing this for a year and I'm already an expert. Only in America, folks! ;) In case you missed the article, you can find it here: Cuttlebone Casting: A Technique for Jewelry and Sculptures.

I'm making headway on the administrative projects I mentioned last week. Breaking down overwhelming tasks into manageable chunks of time definitely takes the stress out of them for me. :)

We're due for website updates later this week, so keep an eye out for a new Focal Piece of the Month. We'll all be surprised, since I haven't decided what it is yet! LOL

Next week, I will be writing from Ocean City, Maryland via my new Acer Notebook. My family goes there during the last week of June every year, and we're leaving on Saturday morning. :)

Have a good week, everyone!

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #22: It's All About Time Management and Productivity

When you own your own company, it takes a lot of dedication, determination, patience, flexibility, (money!), and very good time management skills to make it a success. I'm learning this the hard way, but it's still early enough in my journey to make the most of my new discovery.

I ended up working most of the day today...and it is a Sunday...because I got very little done on Friday. I went to lunch with a former colleague, accompanied her to Walmart afterward, and ended up getting home close to 5:00 p.m. I also have a bunch of appointments scheduled for next week, very few of them business-related. However, I've made an investment in two tools of modern technology that will hopefully help me to maximize the time I am working. One of them will also help me in my personal life.

The first investment is making an effort to organize my schedule. I decided to start using the Google Calendar feature on Gmail, since my new Palm Pixi (free upgrade from Verizon) can sync with it and keep me on time (for a change). You can input events and tasks in the calendar and assign times when you want to receive email and pop-up reminders for each event. I actually got to see this week's episode of "Three Rivers" -- congratulations to Alex O'Loughlin for being named Donate Life's Person of the Year 2010! -- live! I got involved in something last week and forgot all about it. I had to watch it online mid-week at CBS.com. With the calendar's pop-up feature, I got a message on my screen 10 minutes before the show started, so I could finish what I was doing and watch it! My Palm Pixi also alerted me to the airtime, and I could hit the "Snooze" button to have it remind me again in five minutes! I LOVE these features! :) And adding my To-Do tasks into the calendar rids my desk of the multitude of notes on tiny slips of paper I had all over it. I will be beyond organized if I keep this up. Good-bye pocket calendar! ;)

The second investment I made was a financial one, but still related to time management and productivity. I purchased Bead Manager Pro software to help me keep track of my materials, inventory, customers, vendors, etc. It even takes into account my overhead direct and indirect expenses to calculate my ideal hourly rate! It seems to be pretty straight-forward and easy to use. The challenge will be getting ALL of that information into the system. I wish I knew about this eight months ago! :p At times like this, I wish I had a partner or an employee...anyone with whom I can split up the work (and in the case of a partner, the finances! :D). So, I've blocked out an hour each weekday morning on the calendar to enter data into the system. Once I have that all completed, I can erase the handful of Excel spreadsheets I am currently using to keep track of expenses, NJ Sales Tax collected, funds invested in the company, etc. The program can print profit/loss statements (I'm not in a hurry to use that feature), catalogs (a more professional presentation binder, perhaps?), invoices, etc. Everything I did myself the hard way, this program will be able to expedite. Well worth the $97 investment (on sale for Wire-Sculpture.com customers until tonight), if you ask me. ;)

In addition to the Palm Pixi, I also received an Aspire One Acer Notebook I purchased on eBay this week. I've linked it up to my home PC, so I can take all of my files with me when I go on vacation in a couple of weeks. No rest for the weary! ;) Seriously, though, I don't plan to work all through my vacation, but being able to keep up with minimal administrative tasks while I'm gone will make my return that much easier. :)

I finished my Bead Challenge project for the Bead Society of New Jersey (BSNJ) meeting this Thursday. I'm happy with how it turned out...we'll see if the voters on Thursday are, too! Wish me luck! :)

Still trying to fit in some "real work" in the midst of all of the administrative set-up and personal stuff. I've been working on some handcrafted sterling silver blank links (there's a bracelet with hammered ones in the Design Samples GALLERY on the website and on the company's Facebook Fan Page if you don't know what I mean) for a family friend's necklace. She wants a Venetian glass necklace revamped because the original links looked like macaroni. LOL She bought the necklace in Venice, so she figures it is worth the cost of having it "fixed." :)

Back to work! Have a great week! At least the weather has calmed down here somewhat. :)

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #21: Plugging Right Along...

Last week was pretty productive for my first week as a full-time jewelry designer. I'm learning how to juggle my "job" with my other real-life commitments and responsibilities, but I think it will all eventually balance out. I ended up still working most nights and part of the weekend, but I figure that's a trade off for the "business hours" I spent doing personal stuff. :\ Eventually, I hope to be productive enough during the day to take evenings and weekends off! That may be a fantasy, but wish me luck! ;)

Still playing catch-up on "back burner" projects, but I'm hoping to get them done before the end of June. That may also be wishful thinking. LOL Yesterday, I started making a bracelet for the Bead Society of New Jersey's (BSNJ) Bead Challenge, which will take place at the June meeting in a couple of weeks. We were provided with a variety of beads to use (we must use a minimum of two of each kind). We can add anything we want to complete the project, so I'm adding the base material for the bracelet and a few additional beads. I'll let you know how it turns out next week! :)

I went to see "Peter Pan" today at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ. Mom bought tickets for me, herself and my two nieces. It was a good production (PMP ones usually are), and we all had a good time. We met up with my sister and her husband for dinner afterward to celebrate Mom's birthday, which was Friday. She's 66. :)

Unfortunately, early June seems to have carried over May's "doom and gloom" element. I just received word that a high school friend's mother passed away last night, and I found out about the sudden death of an acquaintance yesterday. They say things like that happen in threes. I don't want to know what's coming next. Ironically, I did make my cemetery visit on Friday. The funeral flowers were still on the grave a month later...all dead. Not a pretty picture, but it seemed to fit the mood, I guess. :(

I got a surprise visit from another high school friend yesterday, who was visiting his sister in New Jersey (he currently works in Maryland). We had a nice visit...it's been four or five years since we saw each other in person, I think. At least he didn't bring any bad news with him! ;)

A new week starts tomorrow...best wishes to all! ;)

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #20: This Is It!

Well, the deed is done. I am now a full-time entrepreneur, for better or worse. My last day at Registrar and Transfer Company was this past Friday. I will miss many friends and coworkers...I worked there just shy of four years. It will be a major adjustment for me not having to get up and leave the house to get to the office by 8:00 a.m. anymore, but I think this is a positive change for me overall. I'll just have to discipline myself to treat this new endeavor like a "real" job and not slack off like I'm on an extended vacation! :o

Speaking of my new endeavor, I delivered seven pieces today to go on display at the Oceanic Free Library in Rumson as part of the Bead Society of New Jersey (BSNJ) fundraiser for the Library throughout June. The not-for-profit Library will receive 20% of all sales, so if you are within traveling distance, go check it out! :)

There are quite a few projects I had put on the back burner due to time constraints, so my first goal is to get those completed. Anyone still waiting on me about a project that did not have a predetermined delivery date, expect to hear from me soon! :)

I just purchased a book called Beautiful Beaded Bags from Amazon.com...for only $4! It will be a while before I get to take a good look at it, but at first glance, it seems like there are lots of kewl projects in there! ;) I also have three DVD sets on wire jewelry techniques and a number of kits that I have purchased from guest speakers at recent BSNJ meetings, which I will be exploring this summer before school starts back up again. Be on the lookout for a bunch of new and different projects soon!

For anyone interested in learning more about steampunk, we've added the PowerPoint presentation I created for school to the website. You can click on the "What is Steampunk?" box on the Home, Artist Bio and Blog pages of the Something Tangible website. Not bad for my first attempt at a PowerPoint presentation, if I do say so myself! ;)

On the personal front, I'm coming out of a very emotional period...or at least attempting to come out of it. Lots of sudden changes, and not all pleasant ones. I still have some "unfinished business" to address, which I hope to take care of this week with a visit to the cemetery. I'm not a big cemetery goer in general...I kind of think I can talk to my loved ones on the other side from anywhere and they will (hopefully) hear me. However, friends from the "La Femme Nikita" fandom will recall that I went to a good friend's grave a couple of years ago with a few others. We "decorated" it with a bunch of items that represented our collective relationship(s) and had a toast with Mudslides, her favorite drink. It was a good way for us to say our own private good-bye, especially since we couldn't attend the funeral. Anyway, I feel the need to visit another friend, probably because his death was so sudden and very hard for me to accept. I came to learn a long time ago that I never really "get over" someone's death. I just learn to "get through" it and live with the loss. :\

On a brighter note, I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend! It's unusually warm again here in New Jersey. :p My two nieces are both in the Memorial Day Parade tomorrow in Warren, NJ; one with the Girl Scouts and the other with her Daisy Troop. Mom and I will go cheer them on.

Stay cool and be safe! :)

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #19: Picking Up Steam...

Well, I said I would try to have "something tangible" to report this week, and I do! I have been busy, as once people at work found out that I'm leaving and why, there's been increased interest! I've had orders for two pairs of earrings, one necklace, and two bracelets this week!

I was in Morristown yesterday picking up items my niece and I made at Glass Works recently for her birthday -- check out the picture frame I made for my other niece in the GALLERY on the website or on the Something Tangible Facebook Fan Page -- and I noticed a "unique gifts" shop. I went inside and got a lot of really interesting ideas for bookmarks, jewelry, and other items. I managed to get my shopping done for a friend's birthday, too. The jewelry case included small cards highlighting the metaphysical properties of the stones in the pieces...is that perfect or what? I want to send the owner a brochure when they are finished...one has been in the planning stages with the graphic designer for a while, but it has been on the back burner for both of us. The store owner was a nice, chatty guy. He mentioned that his supplier is a long-time friend in Florida, but you never know...he may want some different items than she does one day. I didn't want to seem pushy, so I didn't tell him what I do. I figured a brochure would be a better introduction to offering my services. I heard a while ago about another similar store in Westfield, so I want to check that out, too, as well as stores in other towns in the general area that might be interested.

In addition, the Bead Society of New Jersey (BSNJ) will be featured at the Oceanic Free Library in Rumson during the month of June. Members can provide items to be put on display in the case there, and the Library will sell them as a fundraiser for 20% of the sales. I have pulled together a handful of beaded items to contribute, and I have to deliver them before next Monday. It will be an hour car trip each way, but well worth it if I sell anything. Plus, the exposure couldn't hurt, either.

On a personal note, I went to see "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center today with my mother and sister. It was my sister's Christmas present to Mom, and I was invited to tag along. A very good production, especially if you're into Rodgers & Hammerstein. I was exposed to most of their work growing up...Mom loves Broadway musicals.

Have a good week, folks!

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #18: Hanging In There

Hey, all! Not much business news to report this week. I kind of took a "time out" much of this week to recover from a few major blows. My colleague's wake and funeral were Wednesday and Thursday. Very emotional for me. :( And then on Friday, we were hit with layoffs in my department, including my immediate supervisor and another friend. Talk about a week I never want to repeat! :p

Ironically, I found myself doing something I hadn't done in eight years...I took solace in watching movies this weekend to escape reality. That was something I'd done for the majority of my life, even going so far as to work in the local movie theater during graduate school. I always enjoyed "disappearing" into the world on the screen for a couple of hours, and not thinking about real life and/or the problems associated with it. After my father died in 2002, I stopped doing a lot of the things I "had always done" because they were too painful. All music reminded me of him, as he was a drummer and liked all kinds of music. So, I stopped listening to it until a year or so ago. It took that long for it not to push negative buttons in me. I'd stopped watching television because everything on TV seemed trivial after 9-11, and reality TV really turns me off. I stopped watching movies because everything I did try to watch had a traumatic element to it, even if it was not publicized as a dramatic film. I had enough drama in my life...I didn't need to watch movies to get even more depressed! :\ I had replaced one screen for another, opting to spend most of my time online instead. For whatever reason, however, I found myself turning to movies again for solace. The idea of spending time on the computer holds less appeal right now than it did most of this past decade. I ended up watching "The DaVinci Code" with Tom Hanks on Friday night, and the special features disk on Saturday afternoon. I had read the book years ago and enjoyed it...I'd been wanting to watch the movie for a while. Then, I saw "The Back Up Plan" with Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin on Saturday night. Very cute movie! Of course, I am partial to anything with Alex in it, since I was a fan of his short-lived "Moonlight" vampire series. He really carried off his leading role in "The Back Up Plan" well! Looked good doing it, too! ;) Then today, I watched "Romancing the Stone" and "Jewel of the Nile" -- both with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. I loved those movies back in the mid-1980s, and I'd recently found the Special Edition DVDs for a good price at Columbia House. I also watched the special features for both movies...I've always loved that behind-the-scenes stuff. :)

Two more weeks to go at my current job. It should be an interesting experience, since there will be so many people missing and the rest of us will have to pick up the slack. I am a team player and I don't mind pitching in, but my primary responsibility will be to train my permanent replacement. He or she is being transferred in from another department, and training starts tomorrow.

Hopefully, my "weekend off" will help me get my head back in the game, as I do have a couple of projects I'd like to complete for colleagues before I leave. If not, I will still be going to the gym next door to the office for at least a few months -- until my personal trainer contract runs out. Don't you know, I had just signed up for 36 sessions before I made the decision to leave?! :o

So, now you're up to speed on my personal life. I will try to have "something tangible" to report next week. ;)

Take care and stay safe!