Support Your Local Business - Give Back!

Do you remember the days when you supported local businesses?  I do.  

I grew up in a small town about one hour north of New York City and you knew everyone.  The doctor that delivered me was also my Pediatrician and family doctor.  The family dentist was also in Rotary with my dad and my softball Coach.  It amazes me that within the last 30 years, most of us have gotten away from supporting the local establishment, no matter what the industry.  We shop online and at larger department stores.  Well, with the economy having such negative effects on everyone, some of us are getting back to basics or simply just supporting our local businesses.

This brings me to a local situation here in Tampa that I have had the pleasure of being involved in.  I started using Twitter in April and have met some interesting folks online and developed close, personal relationships with them.  About one month ago, while at a local Tweetup in St. Petersburg, I met someone and we started talking about what we did and things we do in our "spare time".  It was mentioned that a local factory, La Bonita Ole although was showing a profit and paying it's mortgage on time each month that it may be closing soon.  This intrigued me.  

 I read all about the owner, Tammy at www.savethetortillas.com.  I then started Tweeting, sending messages to friends and family nationwide via Face Book and email.  I was overwhelmed at the favorable responses.  During this same time I joined a local Tampa group for TasteCasting and they, too decided what a great opportunity to introduce TasteCasting and support a local business.   

I suggested we solicit the services of those we were following on Twitter and voila! it worked! A Tampa Public relations firm, local businesses, Personal Chefs and Foodies, local media: print, television and radio all got involved.  As a result of everyone's support the event held at La Bonita Ole on 7/22 was a HUGE success!  It's too early to know if we have "Saved the Tortillas", (verdict approximately 8/19), however, it feels great to know that many can come together for a common cause(once strangers) and support a local business through a tough time.  i am so proud of this effort and all involved.  It reminds me of why I'm proud to be an American!!

Take a few minutes to think about what you can do to give back to someone else.  You never know when you or someone you know may be in a similar situation.

What Does it Mean When Men Only Text?

 In the last few months, i have had several friends that have met men on Match.com. They all seem to have one thing in common:  after several dates, they like to touch base with them during the week by sending them a text messages to their cell phone! Although they appreciate them thinking about them in the middle of the day, at what point is it appropriate to expect a 5--10 minute phone call a few times a week? Is it too early in the dating process for phone contact? How are you supposed to progress the relationship if you never "touch-base" by actually speaking to or seeing each other? Is this typical of people you meet on line? 

Well, there are many opinions on this... 

Firstly, I think text messaging is appropriate for a short sweet message to tell someone you are running late, where to find you if lost in a crowd or a note to pick up something from the store.  All other messages should be banned. Why you ask? Because there’s no context, tone, voice, or facial expressions to modify your message. The next thing you know, you’re having a vicious argument that could have been easily avoided in person. Plus you have a transcript to commemorate it! You’re encouraged to misspell, you’re discouraged from saying anything deep or meaningful. 

Some say, "Essentially, texting is emailing for the lazy, illiterate and mobile. You send a text when you don’t want to talk to someone, but you want to let them know you’re thinking of them. And what can be more flattering than conveying, electronically, the idea that you DON’T want to talk to the woman you’re courting? Essentially, guys across America are saying, “Hey, babe. You’re not important enough to get five minutes of phone time. Please accept this weak form of communication and allow me to keep on sleeping with you.”  And as long as you let them do it, they will continue to do it. Because texting is only enabled by the person who writes back to the text. If you don’t respond to texts, guess what? You’re letting him know that it’s a poor way to reach you.

Understand this about men: they will usually do the least that they can to maintain their relationship. So if he can text you at 11pm on Friday night after a week of silence and then ask: “What are you doing?”, well, you get what you deserve. 

But here’s the real problem: there are women everywhere who are complete "settlers" for this crap. Maybe it’s a low self esteem thing, but as long as some desperate girl lets him get away with it, he’ll always have a low-maintenance sexual outlet. Therefore, he’ll never feel the need to do all the heavy lifting of relationships such as “calling” and “dates”….

"But the truth is, you don’t need men who won’t call you. It’s a self-selecting process. If he’s a good man who is genuinely interested in you, he will make the kind of effort that reveals this. If five minutes on the phone is too much work for him, it speaks for itself."  

What do you want and deserve?  Will you respond to that next text?

Please comment...

Should loyalty come into play?

I just got off the phone with a friend.  Well, I thought we were friends.  Let's call him Bill.  Bill and I have known each other for 7 years and keep in touch by phone and in person a few times per year.  He contacted me to fix me up with a fraternity brother of his and asked the best way to introduce us.  No problem, but the strange part of the conversation was him explaining that he wanted to invite me to a private "couples" event that he is having but because he bumped into my ex-husband and mentioned it to him already, he wasn't going to invite me.  What the heck is that all about??  He explained that having me present may be uncomfortable for my ex-husband, who is remarried by the way.

O.k for the big question:  Why do people find it necessary to pick and choose between two people who divorce when they are friends with each? and secondly, shouldn't the friends let the persons who were married and now divorced decide comfort and not have them decide for them?

Please respond and share your view.

Thank you.