January 18, 2010

Waking up.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under Uncategorized
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When I got laid off last year I stopped watching the news because it was too depressing. I couldn’t stand to see the unemployment rate go up. And now that I’m back to work I haven’t had the time to catch up on what’s been going on. I used to be astounded at people who were completely unaware of current events.

I’m ashamed about how I’ve been living in the Dawn bubble and thinking about ways to spend my money while so many are suffering. People all over the world suffer every day but the situation in Haiti is so much worse than what I imagined. I avoided the news because it seemed to be just another natural disaster that happens frequently in our world. And maybe I didn’t want to face such depressing news.

But on Saturday I heard someone on the radio mention a death toll in the hundreds of thousands. That blew me away. And at the beginning of the weekend church service when we gathered in small groups to pray for the people in Haiti, I realized just how out-of-the-loop I was and the enormous magnitude of this tragedy.

So I apologize for recent posts in which I discussed such material things. It’s not that I don’t think people should be happy and be able to purchase things and travel, it’s just that it’s a bit tacky to be discussing them just days into such a tragedy. With that in mind, I’m going to seek out some ways to help the victims and pray for the rescuers to be able to get to the people and save as many as possible.

If anyone has suggestions on how to help or stories about how others or you have helped, please share them!

 

January 16, 2010

Did you hear the one about…?

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, marketing, travel
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It’s so easy to put something out there on the Internet and have people believe it. On Facebook for example, there have been a number of times I’ve seen people put in their status, a comment that had been said by someone else. They just copied and pasted and passed it along. There is a name for that. It’s called gossip. And not just gossip but opinions, reviews, travel descriptions—all based on someone’s perspective. I’ve been guilty of passing those Facebook status things along. How about you?

 

I was thinking about the trip my parents and I took last summer to Canada. And recently I found some comments online about this place we visited—Frontier Village in Sault Ste. Marie. If you read my post on it, I stated that it was a couple of shops, a fry stand, and ice cream place with some wooden statues of Wild West characters scattered around. We missed it several times (it was right on the side of the big highway) and even asked for directions to it from a local who gave us a weird look. But, here is how two Web sites describe it.
  • Frontier Village vividly recreates life in the nineteenth century. 
  • Visit Frontier Village and catch a glimpse of what Sault Ste. Marie looked like in the 1800s. There is a collection of stores, restaurants, and craft shops associated with the era. Life-size woodcarvings depict scenes from the Old West.

Nice. Makes me want to seek out this place. Oh wait. I did. Was it fun? Yes. But only because of how the reality of it compared to the descriptions. See below and you tell me.

I remember once I was writing some marketing copy for an upcoming conference and found a great quote about San Diego on some Web site. My boss asked me to confirm it and after looking for the source, found that the source of the quote had gone out of business long ago and the quote had been used over and over again by various organizations such as mine. We had each found something online and took it for granted that it was the truth because it was posted on some Web site.

I find it interesting that it’s so easy for us to believe rumors or what the media tells us and yet so many doubt or even refute the truth of Jesus. Why do we put blinders on to something so wonderful and yet accept lies and deceit so easily? It’s sad but I guess it’s just human nature. I often pray to God to help me stop and pull the plank out of my eye before telling another about their splinter.

I am a professional marketer and it’s my job to persuade people to purchase products or register for events. But I have found that I can be successful by telling the truth. If you feel like you have to stretch the truth or lie in order to sell something, then why are you standing behind it? Just a thought.

Well, I’m off to read some travel brochures. They say this place in Nova Scotia has great whale watching and that it’s the most beautiful scenery in the world. Hmmmm. 

the Wild West at Frontier Village

Characters at Frontier Village

The trading post at Frontier Village

Frontier Village depicts what life was like in the 1800s

The totem pole at Frontier Village

The Old West dudes and the fry stand

Canadian humor

 

January 14, 2010

Oh, the places I’ll go.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under travel
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Now that I’m working again, it seems a bit hard to come home and write, especially after doing it for hours at a time and having few precious hours left in the day to hang with the Grendel dog. But enough whining. It’s been a great month back on the job. I still feel for those who are still looking for work but I have to say it’s nice to be able to think about spending a little money.

So what to buy? Part of me wants to get a big screen TV, but that’s going to have to wait. Another part of me wants to redecorate the kitchen, fix the leaks, and bring things up to date. And then there’s the part that wants to see the world. So it’s between watching the Travel Channel on a huge screen while cooking new dishes learned from the Food Network in my new kitchen or experiencing those places myself while others cook for me. Hmmmm. Me thinks we will be putting more stamps in the passport. Where to go, where to go?

Any ideas? I’m thinking Nova Scotia, Alaska, Israel, Africa (safari), the Galapagos Islands, China, Italy, and I can’t keep France off the list even though I’ve been there before. What do you think? Any special stories from places you’ve visited? Because until I get that savings account built up I need to live vicariously through other adventurers like you.

Love life, experience it, and see the world—be it in person, through books, or through the TV. Au Revoir, elalleqa, Hagoonea’, Auf Wiedersehen, Sayonara, Ciao, Shalom, Adios, Do svidan’ya, and Slan.

 

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