The Power of Retail

Lots and lots of plumbing work going on here lately! The landlord has been keeping us busy with all the changes he wants to make. Some are required and requested by us, but others are totally out of the blue, such as his idea of maybe putting in copper sinks to jazz things up! Hmmm, I do like the idea, but not sure of the mess and the time it would entail in getting it all done. Let’s see how long his enthusiasm lasts about it all. I must say that it is great having such a proactive and enthusiastic landlord.

We keep moving cities every couple of years and I’ve found that the best way to make the move easy is to create a list of people and places where you can get all your daily requirements and service people. There are so many things to do when one moves to a new city, but once you have your home set up, it makes it seem more manageable. So my agenda is to find the cable person, the electrician, local stores, the plumber etc and be prepared for all requirements. So regardless if you are looking for a local business directory in your own town or for a town you might be moving to, the @List directory is a real godsend.

Me and a couple of the other residents here have been pestering the landlord to let us use the extra utility room as a fitness room for all of us, but he’s not so sure about it, as he thinks it might get misused by others. That’s an unlikely event, but maybe he is hesitating on the expense of getting together some fitness equipment for the room. I think it’s a good investment and will attract more renters and eventually he will be able to increase the asking rent just on this basis alone, but we still have to convince him of all this first. At least now he’s willing to listen to these options, while earlier he was just not interested. One step at a time!

The weekend went by just too soon this time around. Maybe it was because we were so busy with all the stuff going on around here…watching the golf tournament, walking along with the players and so forth. After all that it just didn’t feel right to go back to one’s normal routine of doing errands and shopping for the week ahead. I mean, how mundane is it to sit down and make a list of things to buy, such as a box cutter, kitchen tissue and so forth after one has seen Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood play just a few feet away. Quite nonsensical I thought, one must savor the moment for a while longer!

We were away on vacations for 72 days last year, at 6 different trips that covered everything from beaches to mountains to big city living and a rural retreat. On our trip to Canada and the US in November (our second one last year, the first one was in June) we stayed at a long stay vacation rental in Toronto for two weeks and then spent a week driving down from there to NYC stopping at the Finger Lake area on the way.

We love to stay at places that don’t seem generic and vacation rentals are anything but generic. It’s just so much more interesting to stay at a proper home, complete with living, dining and kitchen, when one goes for family vacations. Once you’ve tried it out, a regular hotel seems so boring and sterile, so we use them only when we go on business etc. I’ve gone through a lot of sites to find good vacation rental sites and SkyAuction is one site that I have come back to time and time again.

The success of SkyAuction is due to the amazing deals that the company has been able to get with its travel partners for hotels, airlines, resorts, cruises and much more. The site functions as an auction and anyone can bid for a vacation or airline fare by becoming a member in a few quick and simple steps.

With the entire school, college and work environment getting so very competitive these days, it really is essential to be well prepared for all one’s entrance exams. They can make the difference between an average grade and a ho-hum salary and getting into a top league school and getting a high flying salary. So when it comes to GMAT prep classes, it pays to really follow the instructions and do one’s homework, so that one can prepare not only for the test and for one’s future as well. I really don’t think anyone should take a chance at not scoring the very best they can at such an important test.

These days all one sees in the paper are advertisements. They’re in the paper and in inserts and little booklets too. Almost all the ads are for electronic stores and all of them have amazing deals on plasma tvs of a variety of sizes. We weren’t considering buying one, but with the way we’re being bombarded with daily ads in the newspapers, one has started thinking about it again. Hmmm, maybe we should consider upgrading our current TV, which is just over 2 years old. Not really long enough, but the way the technology is changing these days, maybe too long.

As winter approaches, so does the snow and the inevitable ads for various ski vacation and trips. Even here in the desert, there are so many ads for trips that take you to snow covered mountains in Europe, so you can swish down the slopes in white powder. I love being in the cold weather for a while, but then I love going for a beach vacation and getting away from the cold and dreary winter…well, ours is neither cold nor dreary, but you get the point. Just the thought of a winter vacation, a getaway seems like a great idea.