The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strained...

Nor is it found in the United States Congress - either house...   See Joe Kennedy's dissection of the RYANCARE Health bill



http://americannewsx.com/hot-off-the-press/joe-kennedy-response-act-mercy-healthcare-bill/


And then re-read Shakespeare...

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes

Shakespear said NOTHING about giving up your Iphone to be able to go to the doctor when you're esick.

The First Lady Said......

What I would say.... https://youtu.be/4ZNWYqDU948

Everybody Has Their Hand in My Pocket

It's not bad enough I have legitimate bills to pay and I have scramble to do that, then there's the "thievery" that goes on in the back room everywhere.   For instance, you go to mail a box. The USPS's website says package and then next is large package. Well dang it looks large to me... so I check yes. BUT come to find out, it's not considered large until it is over 12" x 12" x 12" (or the dimensional equivalent which is 1728* more about this in a minute).I’ve been thinking on this while “trying” to sleep and I think what the size selection actually says is Large Size box.  So I know for me, I selected that a lot before I caught on to the fact that if it’s not more than 12 x 12 x12 it’s not large.  Never once did the USPS say, "hey idiot, this box ain't oversized".  

A friend just mailed something and got charged $39 for a package that probably could have gone for $15-19 but she didn't know.

We have to watch everywhere – Comcast was out here over and over for months about the crapo service.  On the last visit,  their contractor guy was never even inside my house. The issue was up on a pole, 3 houses up. the street.  BUT they charged me for in-home service. So you need to watch all of them.  Every stinking company we deal with over charges somebody on any given day. It’s just a fact of life. They have done this repeatedly on this "service call" which has lasted from August til November 30.  I think the man on November 30 actually knew what he was doing and got the issue fixed. But an issue in a box on top of a pole, half a block away, should not even be considered for an "in-home" service charge. Don't you think?





Now about that dimensional equivalent, I found out that whatever the dimensions of your box are, it's not oversized until it exceeds that 1728. So you could mail a box 12 x 12 x 12 OR you could mail 16 x 16 x 6 or it could be 14 x 14 x 9  so keep that in mind next time you're mailing packages or presents - you now, like tomorrow when you mail my Christmas present?

The Day the Coffee Pot Died

Only another coffee addict will understand my grief and stress the last few days - my coffee pot rolled over and it was dead.  Not that it hadn't had a long life.  I think it was about 2 years old.  BUT..how could it leave me stranded in the very beginning of what was prophesied to be THE STORM OF THE CENTURY?

Predictions were for two feet of snow in my area... or at least one foot...ok then they cut it to 3 inches.  I live a whole quarter of a mile from the grocery store. HOW would I get a new coffee maker? How would I manage without one for a week?

Well my son came to the rescue and lent me his.  Very grateful but... ya know

It wasn't "mine".


So fast forward 2 more months, the new pot is on the job, my coffee life changed that day cause I decided to cut back. And now I"m cutting back more due to medical issues that will get resolved shortly but coffee doesn't help them so that February day may have been the end of a short sweet love affair with coffee.  "may".. we'll see

FREE EBOOK _ On how to use Twitter

It's only today - 11-8-14 so go now.. don't whine if you miss it, there will be another freebie along shortly

http://www.amazon.com/Twitter-Marketing-Attract-Followers-Social-ebook/dp/B00NYO2D40/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&sr=8-1&keywords=Twitter+Marketing

Another eBay Change...

I thought ebay was only supposed to change things prior to the 4th quarter?

Correct me if I'm wrong but OCTOBER is 4th quarter right??

So here is their newest NON-Change Change for the FOURTH Quarter... (4 ebay 4th.. as in NO changes from October 1 to December 31st.  Not as in "oh lets hack around and see how we can finance John's golden parachute. )

Ebay's FEE INCREASE from October 23, 2014

And basically what it says is:

NAH NAH NAHNAH we can charge you more if we want to...

Ok, actually it says all those "FREE 3X automatic relists" they've offered over the past 10-12 months?? They are history. Now they are going to take them out of your store's monthly alotment. Cause after all store owners don't pay enough already.

Be sure to go a little further down and read the whole damn thing for the exact details cause the ebay devil is always in the details. (OH and the one and three day listings are permanently not included in this ever any more... )

Sellers: Update to maximum final value fee and automatic relist feature

At eBay, we monitor our rates, and periodically make adjustments to them. The following updates will take effect on November 6, 2014:

• Fee update for sellers without an eBay Stores subscription. The maximum standard final value fee—the maximum fee sellers without an eBay Stores subscription will pay per sold item—will be raised from $250 to $750. This change only affects items that sell for more than $2,500.
  Note: The current $250 maximum final value fee for sellers with an eBay Stores subscription is not changing.

• eBay will be making the following updates to the free automatic relist feature, currently available to some sellers:
  • Starting November 6, items relisted via the automatic relist feature available to some sellers will count towards your monthly allotment of free listings*. Once a seller’s allotment of free listings is used up—or if the relisted item does not qualify for a free listing—the standard insertion fee of 30¢ per listing will apply, as well as any optional feature fees.
  • Starting later this year, the automatic relist feature will no longer be available for 1- and 3-day duration listings.
  • The automatic relist feature currently relists an unsold item once. Starting November 6, if you are opted-in to this feature, your item will automatically be relisted up to two times.
    Note: Sellers will be credited—either via their free listings allotment or on their invoice— for insertion fees for the automatic relisted items where the free automatic relist feature was selected prior to November 6. The manual relisting policy will still apply.
  • When listing an item, be sure that the automatic relist option is either checked or unchecked, depending on your preference. Note that before choosing this option, you may want to check the Selling section of My eBay for any personalized recommendations to improve your listings.

Considering the changes above—and the fact that eBay’s new global brand campaign will inspire buyers, now and through the high-volume holiday season—it’s a good time to review the benefits that come with an eBay Stores subscription. Starting as low as $15.95 a month, subscriptions offer:

• More free listings*—up to 2,500 a month with an Anchor-level subscription
• Final value fees as low as 4%, capped at $250 per item
• Access to powerful promotional tools that can help you sell more
• Your own dedicated eBay.com home page
• Exclusive, subscriber-only promotions

As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
* Pay no insertion fees for your allotted free listin

- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/10/sellers-update-to-maximum-final-value-fee-and-automatic-relist-feature/#sthash.VUiAYCg0.dpuf

Sellers: Update to maximum final value fee and automatic relist feature

At eBay, we monitor our rates, and periodically make adjustments to them. The following updates will take effect on November 6, 2014:

    Fee update for sellers without an eBay Stores subscription. The maximum standard final value fee—the maximum fee sellers without an eBay Stores subscription will pay per sold item—will be raised from $250 to $750. This change only affects items that sell for more than $2,500.
    Note: The current $250 maximum final value fee for sellers with an eBay Stores subscription is not changing.

    eBay will be making the following updates to the free automatic relist feature, currently available to some sellers:

        Starting November 6, items relisted via the automatic relist feature available to some sellers will count towards your monthly allotment of free listings*. Once a seller’s allotment of free listings is used up—or if the relisted item does not qualify for a free listing—the standard insertion fee of 30¢ per listing will apply, as well as any optional feature fees.
        Starting later this year, the automatic relist feature will no longer be available for 1- and 3-day duration listings.
        The automatic relist feature currently relists an unsold item once. Starting November 6, if you are opted-in to this feature, your item will automatically be relisted up to two times.
        Note: Sellers will be credited—either via their free listings allotment or on their invoice— for insertion fees for the automatic relisted items where the free automatic relist feature was selected prior to November 6. The manual relisting policy will still apply.
        When listing an item, be sure that the automatic relist option is either checked or unchecked, depending on your preference. Note that before choosing this option, you may want to check the Selling section of My eBay for any personalized recommendations to improve your listings.
{PROPAGANDA BELOW}
Considering the changes above—and the fact that eBay’s new global brand campaign will inspire buyers, now and through the high-volume holiday season—it’s a good time to review the benefits that come with an eBay Stores subscription. Starting as low as $15.95 a month, subscriptions offer:

    More free listings*—up to 2,500 a month with an Anchor-level subscription
    Final value fees as low as 4%, capped at $250 per item
    Access to powerful promotional tools that can help you sell more
    Your own dedicated eBay.com home page
    Exclusive, subscriber-only promotions

As always, thank you for selling on eBay.

* Pay no insertion fees for your allotted free listings per calendar month. Final value fees and optional fees, including advanced listing upgrades and supplemental service fees, still apply. Learn more.


- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/10/sellers-update-to-maximum-final-value-fee-and-automatic-relist-feature/#sthash.VUiAYCg0.dpuf
- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/10/sellers-update-to-maximum-final-value-fee-and-automatic-relist-feature/#sthash.VUiAYCg0.dpuf



SO, you've been warned, your mileage will vary more than usual with this depending on your selling level. JUST BE AWARE OF THE CHANGE.

Sellers: Update to maximum final value fee and automatic relist feature

At eBay, we monitor our rates, and periodically make adjustments to them. The following updates will take effect on November 6, 2014:

• Fee update for sellers without an eBay Stores subscription. The maximum standard final value fee—the maximum fee sellers without an eBay Stores subscription will pay per sold item—will be raised from $250 to $750. This change only affects items that sell for more than $2,500.
  Note: The current $250 maximum final value fee for sellers with an eBay Stores subscription is not changing.

• eBay will be making the following updates to the free automatic relist feature, currently available to some sellers:
  • Starting November 6, items relisted via the automatic relist feature available to some sellers will count towards your monthly allotment of free listings*. Once a seller’s allotment of free listings is used up—or if the relisted item does not qualify for a free listing—the standard insertion fee of 30¢ per listing will apply, as well as any optional feature fees.
  • Starting later this year, the automatic relist feature will no longer be available for 1- and 3-day duration listings.
  • The automatic relist feature currently relists an unsold item once. Starting November 6, if you are opted-in to this feature, your item will automatically be relisted up to two times.
    Note: Sellers will be credited—either via their free listings allotment or on their invoice— for insertion fees for the automatic relisted items where the free automatic relist feature was selected prior to November 6. The manual relisting policy will still apply.
  • When listing an item, be sure that the automatic relist option is either checked or unchecked, depending on your preference. Note that before choosing this option, you may want to check the Selling section of My eBay for any personalized recommendations to improve your listings.

Considering the changes above—and the fact that eBay’s new global brand campaign will inspire buyers, now and through the high-volume holiday season—it’s a good time to review the benefits that come with an eBay Stores subscription. Starting as low as $15.95 a month, subscriptions offer:

• More free listings*—up to 2,500 a month with an Anchor-level subscription
• Final value fees as low as 4%, capped at $250 per item
• Access to powerful promotional tools that can help you sell more
• Your own dedicated eBay.com home page
• Exclusive, subscriber-only promotions

As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
* Pay no insertion fees for your allotted free listin

- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/10/sellers-update-to-maximum-final-value-fee-and-automatic-relist-feature/#sthash.VUiAYCg0.dpuf

Sellers: Update to maximum final value fee and automatic relist feature

At eBay, we monitor our rates, and periodically make adjustments to them. The following updates will take effect on November 6, 2014:

• Fee update for sellers without an eBay Stores subscription. The maximum standard final value fee—the maximum fee sellers without an eBay Stores subscription will pay per sold item—will be raised from $250 to $750. This change only affects items that sell for more than $2,500.
  Note: The current $250 maximum final value fee for sellers with an eBay Stores subscription is not changing.

• eBay will be making the following updates to the free automatic relist feature, currently available to some sellers:
  • Starting November 6, items relisted via the automatic relist feature available to some sellers will count towards your monthly allotment of free listings*. Once a seller’s allotment of free listings is used up—or if the relisted item does not qualify for a free listing—the standard insertion fee of 30¢ per listing will apply, as well as any optional feature fees.
  • Starting later this year, the automatic relist feature will no longer be available for 1- and 3-day duration listings.
  • The automatic relist feature currently relists an unsold item once. Starting November 6, if you are opted-in to this feature, your item will automatically be relisted up to two times.
    Note: Sellers will be credited—either via their free listings allotment or on their invoice— for insertion fees for the automatic relisted items where the free automatic relist feature was selected prior to November 6. The manual relisting policy will still apply.
  • When listing an item, be sure that the automatic relist option is either checked or unchecked, depending on your preference. Note that before choosing this option, you may want to check the Selling section of My eBay for any personalized recommendations to improve your listings.

Considering the changes above—and the fact that eBay’s new global brand campaign will inspire buyers, now and through the high-volume holiday season—it’s a good time to review the benefits that come with an eBay Stores subscription. Starting as low as $15.95 a month, subscriptions offer:

• More free listings*—up to 2,500 a month with an Anchor-level subscription
• Final value fees as low as 4%, capped at $250 per item
• Access to powerful promotional tools that can help you sell more
• Your own dedicated eBay.com home page
• Exclusive, subscriber-only promotions

As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
* Pay no insertion fees for your allotted free listin

- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/10/sellers-update-to-maximum-final-value-fee-and-automatic-relist-feature/#sthash.VUiAYCg0.dpuf

Protecting YOUR Identity & Information

So periodically something like this crops up (too often in my opinion) http://ht.ly/vAUjf

and what can we do about it??

I just called Paypal and a very helpful customer service person in the Business Security area (cause I have a business account at Paypal) advised:

1. change your passwords every 60 days (the IT dept I once worked in still says every 30 - depends on your tolerance for change I guess)

2. make your password more secure by NOT using the following as passwords: Password, default, 123456.

3. Do not use that same password across platforms. EVERY financial thing should have it's own separate, unrelated password and then the same for things like Ebay, Amazon, Gmail etc.

4. choose two numbers - say a year... that will be significant only to you   so for me it might be 14.  For you it can be any year that means something to you (so it makes it easier for you to remember)  but is not your birth year, your age  or the birth year of your kids or your husband ...

5. choose a word at random...

6 add two symbols.. like #

End result? A very strong password

AS for the Heartbleed bug?? follow the suggestions in that article.  And keep an eye on your financial accounts til this gets "plugged"

If you open a Hoagie shop, You should know what goes into a hoagie

Let me start by clarifying that i was raised in South Phila.  I'm old school South Philly - Irish Catholic, and I grew up on Hoagies, Cheesesteaks and pizza (oh and spaghetti with "red sauce").

So, why is it, these days, you go to your favorite "hoagie" shop and ask for a hoagie, and they ask what you want on it?  Do you want tomatoes, lettuce, onions, oregano, oil/vinegar or mayo?

 Let's set the record straight - lettuce, tomato and oregano are GIVENS.  They should automatically go on EVERY hoagie.  Onions are optional in my book and so is mayo but NOT mayo mixed with oil and vinegar.  If I say American hoagie, I want mayo, the non-spicy ham and american cheese.

 If I say Italian hoagie, I want oil and vinegar or hoagie dressing (a recent hybrid sold in some delis) and the spicy capacole and provolone cheese.  .

If you don't know what goes on a Hoagie, move back to NYC and make your stupid sandwiches there.

Here's a recipe for an Italian Hoagie..don't forget to drizzle some olive oil on the roll first and then put the other ingredients, red pepper, a pinch of oregano (chopped oregano) and some red wine vinegar..just a dribble  and then

1/4 lb prosciutto di Parma, thinly sliced
1/4 lb capicola, thinly sliced
1/4 lb genoa salami or 1/4 lb soprassata salami, thinly sliced
1/4 lb provolone cheese

top with shredded lettuce
1/4 lb provolone cheese
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced (I prefer the onion pulled into raw rings and cut in half and sprinkled throught the lenght of the hoagie.)

Time for lunch!!

PS this rant was brought to you by yet another Hoagie Shop employee asking, "ya want tomatoes and let_us on that?" DUH it's a hoagie right??? Of course I do.

I haven't said much about this BUT..it's time.  The Marketplace Fairness Act... that is SOOOOOOOOOOOO unfair to all of us...

Well this person said it better than I can so read this:

The Inside Scoop

Tell your congressman to GET BACK TO WORK and KILL THIS stupid act ok??

You can find the email address etc. here http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/region/united-states

Since When Did Having a Telephone?

Since when did having a telephone mean you were open to random stupid marketing phone calls at the whim of some slimeball marketing company??



In  the 1950's phone calls were for emergencies.  In the 60's for conversation. Now it seems like it's the toilet bowl of communication.  Every turd has my number and thinks they can use it.

First it was my house phone, so I got an unlisted phone number. Which GOOGLE choose to make public by crawling a press release with it on there, that had nothing to do with Google.





So I got my phone numbers on Pennsylvania's and the Fed DO NOT CALL LIST.  Fat lot of good that's done me. The worse annoyers are The Republican Party during the primary and election cycles.



They don't want to market to me, The Democrat.  They are after my husband for contributions and The Independent registered here who has moved on to a real life. 

To add to the "misery loves company" theory, some marketers are now sending text messages to my cell phones, costing me money (cause I'm not paying Verizon for texting ability) and waking me up at 3 AM.  Sure I'll buy your shit that you pushed to me in the middle of the night making me think someone died or had a horrific car accident on the way home from work. NO PROBLEM.  Here, hold your breath and I'll buy when you turn blue and die.


Today's recipient of PITA award is SENIOR BENEFITS.  

Do not call me. Don't call me manually. Don't call me on an automatic dialer and make me wait while your stupider than rat turds operator gets on the line and keeps pissing me off more and more asking dumber than dumb questions (sample: "Is this your own phone?"   I used my Dad's line, "No I was just passing by and hear the phone ringing so I came in and answered it").  If it's Not my phone what am I doing here??

DO NOT CALL ME.  IF i WANTED TO TALK TO YOU? I'D HAVE CALLED YOU ALREADY.

Top 5 Reasons I Miss The Kid Who Moved Out

So 6+ months ago, my kid moved out.  I'd say finally but that would imply I was waiting for him to go. Not really.  He was old enough and smart enough and knew how to wash his own clothes, run the vacuum and cook enough different foods to not get hungry when he was 15.  But he finished school, bought a truck and paid off about half his student loan, while finding the "right" room mate. (Who, frankly? I really like..........a lot)

So now that he's gone, I realized why I was never in a rush for him to leave.

1. HUGS - there were baby hugs, boy hugs, teenage "don't let anyone see me doing this hugs" and great hugs from the Man whom my son is now. I happen to love hugs.  I miss them the most!

2. Muscles and height. I'm 5'2" and shrinking, short, fat and out of shape.  He's Not.  He's 5'11.9999" so he can easily reach the top shelf in my kitchen cabinets and closets and frankly, he was quicker than me getting the step ladder and climbing (and less clumsy)

3. Security - really, how much "threat" is a short, fat 5'2" older woman if there are intruders or crazy people on the sidewalk?? He worked out, had muscles and although he's pretty mild-mannered, the deep baritone and his "shadow" are pretty effective deterents for some things.

4. Jokes and pranks...he snuck up on me all the time, and scared the bejesus out of me at least once a week.  So my heart has not been "restarted" since April 1.  He also has a dry sense of humor and had a way  of making my "kitchen disasters" into comedy that I lack.  I make them into sobstories...like the chocolate cake this week. The one that tried to kill me. Seriously, a murderous chocolate cake (a WHOLE other blog post)

5. The cat. He stole one of my cats when he left. Not immediately but about 6 weeks ago, he visited, and left with the cat in his pocket.


Ok, not really. I told him he could have the cat but I hadn't realized how much I'd miss the cat. Boy I hope he brings him to visit soon.         seriously, first the hugs and now the cat.  I might have to go visit for an extended visit.


Disclaimer: Beth's son lives about 20 min away and she drives right past his house regularly. She could certainly go get a hug from the cat at any time. If the cat would just answer the door.

More Takeaways from Ebay on Location - Philadelphia

Social Media session:

Pull not push (meaning stop with the Buy my Shi* Buy My Shi* posts and put soemthing interesting in )

Talk about what the customers want to talk about...

Blogging draws 25 Billion page views per month... (O HOLY COW!)

Twitter has 465 Million users and 33 Billion tweets...

Facebook has 1 BILLION users - 1,000,000,000,  (is that enough zeroes

Pinterest has 23 Million

People are spending equal amounts of time on Facebook and Pinterest... (go figure! ) 405 min..I forget if that's a month, or year or what..

Ok, just factoids but I find them interesting.

Suggestions from the Social Media Whiz Kids and Social Media team:

1 Conversation = Conversion..it's not selling, it's "talking, conversing" in other words...

2. Hone in on Personality

3. Content Rules -  Fresh content rules more..Google likes it and so do your followers/buyers/readers

4. Always consider - why am I doing this and where am I doing it.

5. Get to the point... 3 lines of text = 60 % more reading it than more lines.

6. Content Sets you apart as an expert (Of course, I say, that's if your content is EXPERT level and not kindergarden bullcrap)


Soon - part two... 2 I promise, it's coming soon.

Interesting Factoids from eBayOL-Philly

I know I'm 2 days late and a $1 short with blogging and tweeting about eBay On Location in Philadelphia. I'm blaming Verizon... my phone is carp.  If talking to my husband for 4 min burns the battery out?? WHAT were they thinking when they designed it that way. That is a whole other blog post.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch..err the Marriott in center city .........



These are some interesting facts I learned in various sessions at EOL-Philly
The mobile team leader, Chuck Pletcher, told us that 

• via Mobile eBay sells 93 pcs of clothing EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY!!  
• And $275 worth of merchandise EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY..
• Pictures in the body of the description mess with the readability of the listings on mobile. Has nothing to do with seeing the pictures...just makes the listing too wide to read or pushes everything off the right side of the screen. 
• HTML in the listing, like for a template, does the same thing
• There have been 100,000,000 (one hundred million) DOWNLOADS for the eBay Mobile app. That is 100,000,000 potential buyers, folks... and they’ve signed up 613,000 new buyers via Mobile

Of course, we all loved Rolf from the Moblile team too!  And we loved hearing his phone go CaCHing when he got bids. Now if I can learn to talk on mine, maybe I'll even let. it do the Caching thing once in a while..

BTW, if your sales are slow?? Just leave home for 3 days.  I mean I commuted to this event and the sales just kept happening. Imagine if I had actually gone away.

Ok folks...more tomorrow.  I didn't even touch on the Social Media presentation, the buyer panel, the seller panel or the awesome folks in the exhibit hall. 

How NOT to Treat Your "Customer"

Why are doctors such jerks?? Two recent examples (no names cause I still have to go to these people til I find new ones...which I will shortly)

I have a skin rash that's itchy and red but not poison ivy etc. (it's been around too long to be that..) It might be shingles because I've had those before. But it doesn't look like shingles and it's not really on a nerve line, I don't think.. SO ...what is it??

After 2 weeks of dealing with it and not much improvement I made an appointment with the dermatologist.  The doctor I usually see was booked up so I accepted the "nurse-practitioner" appointment out of desperation.

So if she's the nurse practitioner, why did she have to go get the owner of the practice to look it? Can't she prescribe some cream or pills or something? I guess not. So Dr. Old Fart comes in, (I stopped seeing HIM years ago because he kept trying to prescribe something for my son's acne that it turns out then and now, caused cancer in teens and a bunch of other health problems. HE is not my first choice ever...not even for the cat..)

He doesn't "see" any thing...like the big red blotches on my skin.... he prescribes something and then says but don't use it "here" "there" or "there".  Well ??? WHERE do you think the rash is??  HERE!!

Haven't filled that prescription...won't.

I went back to "OTC" and home remedies...still not working.  Heat and Anxiety both trigger and intensify the itching and the spread of the redness.... it's been hot and anxious lately so now instead of 4 little blotches I have 4 HUGE blotches...and they itch and hurt...and clothes hurt...

So I called the Family Doctor.  Couldn't get in last week so got an appointment for Monday (yesterday).  It conflicted with a counseling session a family member has but I was desperate so I sent them alone.  2 seconds after they left, the doctor's office calls, he's running late.  So I'm switched to afternoon.  (I"M not happy about it but I can deal with it but I could have gone to the counseling session ... )

Family comes homes and we go out to run errands which will end us up at the doctor's office at 3.  We stop home..no messages on the answering machine (what an old fastioned concept in today's mobile world but my cell phone sucks so... ).

I arrive at the doctor's office and guess what?? Yeah, they called the cellphone (which isn't charged and I'm not carrying it while i'm charging it AT HOME!) and left a message that he never showed up.  They did that within 10 minutes of calling me on the house phone... SO WHY THE HELL DIDN:T THEY LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE ANSWERING MACHINE?? WHAT DID SHE THINK IT WAS FOR???

DUFUS!!

I have another appointment today and I've already warned them to let the doctor that if he's not there in the office, I'm coming to his house.  I need help.    Meanwhile anti-anxiety meds make me not give a sh** about the itching. But I'm still po'd enough about the screw up to write this..


It doesn't matter if you're a doctor, a lawyer or an eBay seller,  neither one of these doctor's has a clue about how to run their business.  One's an old idiot and needs to retire, the other one needs to get a partner or a employee doctor and run his business like a business.  People always need healthcare. And they sure don't want to wait.  


HIRE SOMEONE.... or show up and hire someone to deal with whatever yesterday's emergency was and show up for your customers aka patients. 

In my business? when I'm not  here, someone else has control of the keyboard. THEY print packing slips and shipping labels and box up stuff and put it out for the USPS to pickup. They list things. they answer questions.  When I go to Philly next week for eBay on Location, even though I'll be only 20 miles from home someone else (The Handy Dandy Shipping Manager) will be holding down the fort. 

That "BUSINESS" concept is not that hard to grasp but too many individuals don't get it.  These two "business owners" just lost a long-time return customer.  What about you??  How do you treat your customer??

Flowers and Fruit and Veggies OH MY!

I was discussing "bulbs and flowers" with a friend of mine and we're "swapping" bulbs and ideas.  And it just sort of fits where my mind wants to go today - out in the garden.. so here is the conversation

I got some flower seeds from Jane a while back (while meaning maybe 3-4 years..)...only thing was, that year was the year of a torrential rainy season for about 3 weeks and none of them survived.  Poor little bluebells,  they all washed under the fence to the neighbor's yard and got mowed into oblivion when they presumed to stick their flowery heads above ground.

 

 

I have daffodil and tulip bulbs to plant..bought them last month so I will be fine with just those - for the time being.   But I really love my pink/salmon iris and when I separate them I'll share them with a couple of friends.  I lost most of them a couple of years ago when the oil tank had to be replaced but they are starting to crowd up again. 

 

 I also have the day lilies if you want some. They grow great cause I "stole" them one night on the way home from "work" from a site that was being bull-dozed the next day. Must hae been a hoot to see me in high heels and skirt on the side of the road with my shovel digging up "weeds" in the semi-dark. 

 

 

We're going to visit my son later this week and then to his "co-op" garden place and I'm getting at least 6 tomato plants and 3-4 peppers and whatever else they have that strikes my fancy. He and his girlfriend signed up for a 1/2 membership in the co-op so they get fruit and vegetable distributions from the "city farm" that the coop runs on some vacant grown and from fruit trees in their green house area - once every two weeks a box of fresh fruit from next week til mid-November.   That's my idea of "farming" so next year I might talk my husband into a half membership and we can use that as an excuse to see "the kids" when we're in the area.... wonder if that will work?? Probably not, the son is on to me..

 

This spring my azaleas have been prolific  

 

The big deeper pink bush on the right here is an original planting from when Levitt built Levittown Pa. It's almost 60 years old. The smaller lighter colored bush next to it cost me a whole quarter at a farmer's market plant auction about 10 years ago...

 

See those green wavy spiky things in picture #2 right above this? that's my day liles aka Tiger Lilies or Philadelphia Lilies waiting to explode with some hot sunny weather...

. Next time we can tour the back gardens of my palatial estate...

More Whining about Intelligent Design in Buildings

So you know I don't want to have to walk to the back of any public building to go to the bathroom...............now, having 2x in the last year spent 2-3 days in a hospital, I'm whining again. WHY do you put a busy nurses' station in front of the door to the patient rooms with NO sound proofing??? ??? WELL??? Now obviously the nurses, aids, doctors, etc. have to converse and do paperwork and even eat lunch somewhere. And I have to lay in the room at 3 AM listening to the night shift discussing "whatever" (it was kitchens this week...) WHY?? WHY is there not a sound proof glass/plastic/paper wall between them and me...so they can see me fall out of bed and come help but I don't have to listen to them venting about the new software system, the kitchen contractor who didn't show up on time or the dog who ate their shoes?? I mean COME ON!!! I had surgery, I need to sleep. It's bad enough you come around every 2 hrs to see if I'm alive (don't give me that checking vitals stuff, you're just checking for a pulse so you can make room for the next $75,000 Ortho recovery person..) I do not want to know your kid got kicked off the baseball team or you spent $5000 on a granite counter top. I know you need to "talk" (I work at home alone so I KNOW that compulsion better than you think)...but let's figure this out..there really has to be a compromise...doncha think? SO WHERE are the architects and building design people?? WHAT mountain is their head under?? Let's see some innovation here people. Hospital design hasn't changed much in the last 10 years that I can see...time to get off your butts!

Why are the bathrooms always in the BACK??

Who teaches architecture, layout of public buildings etc?? And who's stupid idea is it that: 1 - the ladies rooms in public buildings, like the Hilton Orland in Florida where eBay had EOL last September (2011), will be in the FARTHEST away corner as distant from the meeting rooms as they can put them??? 2. Once you get there..what Nimrod decided that disabled people should have to walk further?? (walk?? I LIMP!)all the way to the back of the room another 40-50 ft away??? Why wouldn't you put the disable/handicapped stalls right by the door?? so we can make it to the john before we wet your floor? How incredibly insensitive and stupid is that?? (in my not-so-humble opinion it's downright cruel) just saying... I can't walk to start with so put the facilities as far away as you humanly can..unless you make me take a bus. I should just let you suffer the consequences of your own dumbness...and yeah you'd have to clean the carpet every day if I did - multiple times a day. Oh and the AMC movie chain is just as dumb...and a few other places - when I remember who I'll add them to the list of shame..

Sales Tax for Everyone...??? or not!

IF you're an online seller, NOW and HERE is the time to express your opinion... POPVOX

Eventually, we'll all be doing "something" about sales tax in our state and/or other states so GO and voice an opinion - whatever your opinion is..

A Random Act of Culture & MY FAVORITE Dept. Store

No...not Macy's (although they are a close second place).  This is the "former" John Wanamaker's flag ship store in Center City Phila.  Wanamaker knew beauty and elegance could combine with commercial functions and his store is marble and brass and glass and class. 

When you hear someone  from Philadelphia say "meet me at the Eagle" (we say really say IGGLE)  we mean the EAGLE in this video - look for him, he's famous and should have his own website.  Meanwhile just enjoy the music of the largest pipe organ in the world and the amazing chorus of VOLUNTEERS who showed up and sang their hearts out.

Dear eBay, why do you hate me?

Seriously?? WHAT did I ever do to you but pay hundreds of dollars in fees?? And for that, you have crippled my international sales.  GEE THANKS.


For the rest of the world, let me be clear, I am not an eBay hater.  If I were, I hardly would be listing there after 14 years.  I loved the "real eBay" but this version now is driving me to drink...or homicide.

I USED to get 40% of my sales from international buyers. I spend money for international visibility (which I think is maximum greed on eBay's part but I do buy that visibility cause I love international sales).  And for what??? So I can get buyers telling me they can't buy because it shows No international shipping? NOT what I want to hear.

I have calculated international shipping on ALL my items, so customers can see what it's going to cost to have that thing, mailed to them. Where ever they are.  So why is eBay telling people I have no shipping to the UK or Canada or Switzerland?? (and God only knows where else they discouraged people from...)

BEATS ME! the only answer I can think of is, they hate me, and/or they are trying to drive me nuts.

Thanks eBay, that's my husband's job...Back off, he's better at it than even you are.

Sort of goes along with the eternal question - how can I buy an autograph on eBay  but when I try to sell that autograph I get a severe policy violation that lasts a year...first one and it lasts a year BUT I can't get a refund on the autograph cause stupid me waited more than 90 days to try and sell it and find out it was a fake....... so I got doubly screwed. (see and you all thought I was mad about nothing... )