25 Things About Me, or Why I Hate Memes

January 31, 2009 by Kathy Drewien · View Comments
Filed under: Bits of Orange - Random Notes & Thoughts

Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

And, so it begins.

Grew up in northern suburb of Pensacola, FL, near the home of baseball legend, Don Sutton.
Learned how to pick up Pensacola fly-boys at Officer’s Club and local bars.
Found my now-husband, a Marine at the time, in one of those bars. We’re still married.
My first job after college (with a degree in Social Work) was in the Division of Blind Services (DBS).
I was so self-centered I never wore the same outfit twice on home visits. Did I say these people were blind? And, visits were 6 months apart?
One day I found a dress shop that catered to local call girls. Spent way too much money and was offended when guys in the bar had the wrong impression. Damn, I loved those clothes!

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: Image by hebster via Flickr

Came home one day to discover my boyfriend had a new Black Labrador Retriever. He named her Naked. She ran away about 6-months later.
Got a new puppy, a German Shepherd / Black Lab mix. We named her Buckwheat.
Naked came home a few weeks later. Pregnant.
Boyfriend transferred to Japan. Did not take dogs. Now it was me, Buck, Naked in a one-bedroom apartment. (Wanna hear me call the dogs? Buck!! Naked!!)
Moved to Tallahassee to attend FSU for a graduate degree in Social Work. Loaded the dogs in boyfriend’s El Camino. Buck jumped out on I-10 to pee. Exciting at 60 m.p.h.
Someone suggested my drinking might be problematic. What?? Doesn’t everyone go to bars to meet people? At happy hour with free snacks? Ladies night? And stay until it closes? Lose blocks of time?
Took my last drink on February 4, 1979.

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Graduated. Started working in drug/alcohol rehab centers as a therapist specializing in counseling family members.
Decided to move to Atlanta because we (Marine-boyfriend, now husband) attended a Braves game on a perfect day.
I found a job. He didn’t. Lived apart for a year. Visited each other via Greyhound Bus; once each, because he said it was cheaper. Thereafter, I traveled in my 2-seat Fiat convertible.
Left employment with treatment centers in 1986 to go into private practice. I’ve been self-employed since then.
Discovered computers and desktop publishing to be wonderful marketing tools. Fell in love with Indiana Jones video game. Was it Raiders?
Fell out of love with private practice and counseling. Besides, the 55 mile commute to one of my offices was tiresome, and insurance quit playing nice.
Via a temp agency, I fell into real estate as an assistant. Created my first website, Atlanta Relocation Services, became licensed, and quit assisting.

I love technology, all things bright & shiny (jewelry, gadgets – not aluminum foil) and being a mom.
I can fly. Just ask Ira, Jodi, and Rosalie.
My greatest gift is speaking and teaching others to grow, personally and professionally. I am a phenomenal group facilitator with faith in my intuition.
I am genuine, authentic, congruent, passionate, empowered, honest, and a natural redhead.
I am through with this meme.

Tags: Indiana Jones, meme, Pensacola Florida, Social Work

Catching Up On News ‘Round the Web Jan 27

January 27, 2009 by Kathy Drewien · View Comments
Filed under: Bloggers Say - Updates from My Reading List

I’m always reading ‘round the web to stay on top of small business online marketing success and emerging technologies.

I’ve created a new category called Catching Up to organize articles of interest to me, and I hope to you.

Don’t miss Catching Up. Subscribe to this blog in your feed reader, or use the email subscription box in the right column.

Reflections Over Coffee Our opportunity is to grow, to be shaped. But our lives are shaped by our relationships. Who we hang out with, who we drink coffee with, what we talk about while we are drinking coffee will shape us.

I understand that more people would be interested in church if we spent more time over coffee. It is valuable to sit side by side and sing and listen. (It really is.) But somehow, I think I need to spend more time sitting face to face talking and listening.

Acorns and Oak Trees True success comes from the building of relationships. Of loyalties being forged. Of give and take and the combining of good ideas and openness to encourage greatness.

Aim high – there’s nothing wrong with that. But just take a minute to think what’s going to get you higher – two giants 100 feet tall who control you, or hundreds of normal sized people who respect you.

Lose Control of Your Marketing! New Free eBook For decades, companies have offered Web content as lead bait. But the goal should be to get the word out about your organization, not to misuse the Internet for the sake of an outdated technique.

For your ideas to spread and rise to the status of a World Wide Rave, you must give up control. Make your information on the Web totally free for people to access, with absolutely no virtual strings attached.

What are you catching up on? Use the comments to share highlights from your reading.

Tags: Business, E-book, Internet Marketing, marketing, Marketing and Advertising, small business

Ever Been Criticized?

January 22, 2009 by Kathy Drewien · View Comments
Filed under: Personal Days - Blues and Coffee Breaks

Go get a fresh cup of coffee, I’ll wait. Now, kick back, put your feet up and dream…

“I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done.”

~ Henry Ford

If you’ve ever had a dream – you’ve also had critics. It seems they show up right on cue every time that special new dream begins to form. Critics come in the form of family members, employers, friends, and associates.

Interestingly, the only opinion worth listening to is your own. The opinions of others simply reflect their own limitations – and have nothing to do with the achievement of your dreams. Just imagine how shallow the world would be today if the following individuals had listened to their critics:

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s family said, “How long will you go on training all day in a gymnasium and living in a dream world?”

Mary Kay Ash’s attorney advised two weeks before her first store opening, “Liquidate the business right now and recoup whatever cash you can. If you don’t, you’ll end up penniless.”

His teachers to Ray Charles: “You can’t play the piano, and God knows you can’t sing. You’d better learn how to weave chairs so you can support yourself.”

What Diana Ross heard her teacher say when auditioning for a high school play: “You have a nice voice, but it’s nothing special.”

Have a dream? Live it, pursue it, and achieve it – with a passion!