Surly Sanrio

I have to admit a slight addiction.

I LOVE Sanrio.

Hello Kitty, Chococat, Kerropi, especially Hello Kitty.

Most of my friends would claim this is not much of a news flash. From the Hello Kitty check card, to my Hello Kitty purse, I am a walking ad for all things Sanrio. Not long ago, I posted a picture of myself as a child pushing some Hello Kitty toy. Evidence that this love can be blamed in my mother.
But I digress.

Recently, I have been on the hunt for two Hello Kitty objects. A particular wallet which I have been recently told has been discontinued and a case for my lovely MacBook pro. I have given on the search for the wallet but the search for the case continues. Best Buy carries Hello Kitty laptop cases but the designs are quit flimsy and several of Best Buy's inventory already contains scratches and missing details.

Today I returned to a Sanrio shop at a mall I usually peruse. In the past, I noticed the woman working at the counter would not be the most pleasant. In fact, positive customer service appeared to be a meaningless phrase to her. She would talk down to customers, constantly snap her gum and give the overall impression that she would rather be anywhere except the store. As I searched thought the Sanrio electronics accessories, I came across the perfect Hello Kitty case. I LOVED it! After some examining and comparison, I was ready to make my purchase. The older woman in front of me leaned in a cane as she asked about the staples for a Hello Kitty stapler. The girl at the counter gave very curt responses while she texted on her iPhone. It was like she could not be bothered by the woman who was becoming very frustrated.

One of my biggest pet peeves is people in retail/sales who do not treat customers with respect. Now more than ever, consumers have to think twice when deciding to spend. I have encountered racist sales reps who belittled me, snotty sales reps who acted as if I did not deserve to be in their store. Despite the color of my skin, or my economic background, my money is the same green as any other. As such, I should be treated with the same respect. For any stores that did not feel the same, I would hit them where it hurts: by refusing to spend a dime in their store.

Returning to the incident at the Sanrio store. After witnessing the sales rep's nasty attitude, as much as I loved that case, I refuse to endorse her behavior by giving up my hard earned dollars at that store. I left and have no regret. This was not the last Sanrio store in souther California and I may still be on the search for a case. However, I stand firm in my belief that any person who does not treat customers well does not deserve patronage.

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 - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone 4S

Test

After months of being out of commission, BlogPress finally released an update. This is a test entry. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone 4S

The Phantom of the Promo Code

Yesterday, I began making arrangements for my upcoming trip to Vegas. My boyfriend is turning the big 3-0 and wanted us to do something different this year. A trip to Vegas seemed apropos as my friend pointed out "you two are practically Vegas virgins."

Ummmm, ok.

Arrangement making had commenced and my thought process was a little hindered from the cocktail of over-the-counter medications I had been taking for the flu. However, I was just about to make the hotel reservations on one of those third party sites when I had this "brilliant" idea. I would search for tickets to the Phantom of the Opera to surprise the birthday dude. A quick search on the internet resulted in my discovery of a promo code on the official site. I would have to order the tickets through TicketMaster but inputting the given code would result in a 58% discount on the regular ticket price.

I chose the seats, signed in and had to do some other things because I had forgotten the password to my Ticket Master account. All the while I am hunting for a space to enter the promo code. The next thing I knew I came to a screen that said.

"Thank you. Your order has been completed."

I stared at the screen in complete shock. How can that be? There was no where for me to enter my promo code!!!

$318 deducted from my bank account.

In a panic, I called my bank who had me on hold for fifty billion years(typical)

Next, I called Ticket Master. As I waited to be connected to a customer service representative, I was asked if I would be interested in participating in a survey about for training purposes about the quality of help I received. At the last second, I pressed the button to participate, thinking this may improve the type of help I received. I was quickly transferred to Allison who initially did not want to refund the cost of the tickets. However, she later decided that since I made the purchase that same day, that she would be able to make an exception. The downside is that it takes 3-5 business days for the refund to be processed.

Now, I am anxiously awaiting that refund so I can book some other shows. As for the Phantom, I think I may wait until the next time that show comes to southern California.

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Plans for the New Year

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot..."

Another year and already my social media timelines are littered with the usual resolutions and commitments to the loss of weight, spiritual renewal, and desire to live. "This is the year I do ..." almost every person has them. Resolutions, goals, aspirations: one friend even went so far to say that any resolution that she did not like she could give up as Lent in February.
In any case, New Year's resolutions had been given a bad rep due to the expectation of failure. However, almost every successful person (and professor in my business class) advocates the utilization of goal setting. Goal setting allows for benchmarks of success. Yet, what good are goals that we feel easily can be abandoned at whim?

I have several goals this year some more cemented than others. Theres the usual weight loss and exercise which has already been delayed due this horrible flu that I am still battling. Graduation is due this spring, preparation for the GMAT and subsequently grad school. Travel, read, write, travel, read write and along the way take lots of photos.

After the work I completed this past November for National Novel Writing Month, I am more determined than ever that this be the year that I truly dedicate more time and energy to the craft of writing. One element of this goal is to become more connected to other writers and tuned into the writing community. Another aspect of this goal is to begin soft marketing to ensure that any published work will have a initial fan based.

Yes, I am a business student after all.

Despite being sick I have made a few small steps in ensuring that I can reach these goals. One step is by connecting with others on the literary social site known as Goodreads. Created in October of 2010, my Goodreads account sat with very little activity and only one friend. Today, I have included books from my bookshelf and requested friends from my twitter account.

A few weeks ago, I finally created an author fan page on Facebook. Not much activity there due to the same illness that has me out for most of these days but it is a start (PREPARE FOR SHAMELESS PLUG)feel free to like me here.

As for Twitter, so far I think my handle there will stay the same.(Follow MsPhoebeJane)

All in a all not a bad start for 2012. My benchmarks are in place and I am ready to tackle my literary goals head on despite the social expectation of failure.

Happy 2012!

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Self Marketing

Another year is coming to a close and I must admit that I am proud of some of the ways I have moved forward this year. There are opportunities that I took a chance on (starting my own business) and other areas of my life where I have refocused my attention.

2011 was the year that saw me return to school full time and I must admit this has been a challenge. After almost five years away from the CSUDH campus I returned to the task of balancing homework and papers, group projects (which I despise) and overall having this institution become such a focal point in my life.

Soon that will be coming to an end.

This past November I participated in the National Novel Writing Month. My writing was cut short by that aforementioned institution but I was really proud of the progress made on Hidden Behind the Shadows So much so that I will be finishing this novel while continuing my short story collection.

Which brings me to the purpose of this entry. In preparing for the forthcoming marketing blitz, I have created a Facebook page dedicated to my writing. Feel free to like me at www.facebook.com/AuthorPhoebeJane.

Soon you should see the links advertising my stories and novels for sale.

Thanks for your support.

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iOS5 & BlogPress

After updating my iPad to the new iOS5, everything has been running pretty smoothly (after the initial crash)

Until today.

After working on a blog entry with a review of Knotts Scary Farm, I tried to publish my post.

The Blog Press App crashed.

Every time I tried to open the app it would crash.

I researched the app and learned Info Thinker, Inc (who sells the app) has acknowledged that the app is unstable when running on the iOS5 operating system. They claim to have an update that is being reviewed by Apple. Very informative but that does not help me much right now.

Here's hoping my blog entry will be saved as a draft once the update is available. Otherwise I will have to re-write the entry.

I am not a happy camper.

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Update to My Update

My iPad has Japanese characters.

I guess I should just be happy it turns on now.

...more to come...

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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone 4S