My week

I’ve been too busy to update my blog. Starting a home-based business is not easy. I’m still trying to think of ways to drive traffic to my e-commerce website.

I started a blog for by e-commerce site. All I need to do now is generate a couple articles on the products every week. So, if I don’t update this blog regularly, you’ll know why.

I’ve decided on getting myself an iPhone. I won’t be getting the phone until the new ones come out in June, so I will have to make due with my Motorola Razr. I don’t really like my Razr but since my other cell phone has been falling to pieces, I’m glad I bought my $20 Razr almost two years ago.

Anyway, it was hard to resist not buying the iPhone when I went to AT&T to pay my bill. I made my decision to buy the phone in June when I showed up for my meetup group and was the only person there. The meetup had been cancelled but I didn’t know that because I didn’t have access to the Internet to check my email.

I’ve been trying out more of the products I sell through my business and I’m very pleased to say that the chips and snack bars are really good.

I’ve got some really good news to announce. I gave my first speech with Toastmasters 4 Writers and I won for best speech! I’m so proud of myself. I can’t wait to give more speeches.

I’ve been reading everything I can on investing and building a business. My two favorite authors are Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump. Who better to learn from a billionaire and a millionaire.

Diplomas and other stuff

I’ve received my diplomas in the mail! Yippee!!!! It took long enough.

I had a bad day yesterday when I got home from work. The products I had ordered from my business were sitting right smack dab in front of my front door for the whole world to see. So, I called my supplier and inquired about who does the deliveries for the company (i.e., Fed Ex, UPS, USPS). The lady on the phone was helpful and left a note on my account for my suppliers telling which ever company delivering my packages to leave my boxes on the porch, in the corner to the right of my door. You’d think the delivery man would exercise some common sense and automatically put my boxes there but I guess not everyone is born with common sense.

Then I got my business cards. I opened the box and I did not like what my eyes were seeing. I have a sage-colored border on my business card to match my Web site and the border only extended to the edge of the card on three sides instead of four. So I had to call the company and they gave me a store credit. I will use the credit to order some more cards but I have to wonder if they will turn out right. Had that company had some sort of quality control, my cards would have turned out right the first time.

Anyways. I have to start writing my speech for Toastmasters. I have no idea what I’m going to say. I started scribbling some ideas down today but I’m not sure they will make it to the final product.

I also came up with a script idea for a short film. I started outlining it. I know I said I would hold off on screenwriting but it’s really calling me.

I still haven’t gotten my taxes done. For some reason, I haven’t bothered to get all of my documents together. I need to make an appointment for next weekend at H&R Block. I hope I get a nice tax return this year.

Undefined relationships

I went to a Regional Rally for my business this weekend and listened to a great couple speak about their rise through the company and how they became financially free from 9 to 5 jobs. It was very motivating, so motivating that I’ve decided to focus on my business rather than pursue a career in screenwriting. The way I look at it, if I can build my business up for the next two years to where I can leave my job, then I’ll have more time to devote to screenwriting.

Let me get back to the Regional Rally. The couple (Tracey and Kimberly Eaton) were awesome. Tracey said a lot of things that got me thinking about why I have chosen celibacy. Men have gone soft and not too many of them are leaders anymore. I look at the guys around me and I see men who are into playing mind games, too busy chasing the pootytang, and don’t have much interest in general with having families and taking on the roles of leaders and providers for their families. The guys who are interested in being the leaders and providers for their families are already taken.

Which brings me to undefined relationships. The relationship is not a relationship when the girl calls a guy her boyfriend and the guy calls the girl his sister or doesn’t acknowledge her existence. The girl obviously wants more from the “relationship” than the guy is willing to give because if they wanted the same thing, he and she would be boyfriend/girlfriend and not boyfriend/sister-doesn’t exist. Get it?

I think I’m going to slowly drop out of one of my meetup groups. I don’t think there will be many new meetups with this group to begin with now that there’s an undefined relationship in the works. I don’t want to be privy to the highs and lows of toxic relationships now that I’ve managed to purposefully lose contact with high school friends who were/are in toxic relationships. I need to keep things positive if I want to build my business.

Purple veggies

I remember when I was in college around this time of the year and the devastation I felt when I learned corned beef and cabbage wasn’t Soul Food.

I kind of felt that same way today when I learned about purple carrots. You see, I love carrots and I’ve always known them to be orange. But apparently I and everyone else in the western world have been duped. Carrots first came in white, yellow, red, and purple. The orange carrots were developed by the Dutch.

I had no idea purple carrots existed until today when a coworker mentioned having purple carrots in Pakistan.

I also didn’t know cauliflower came in lime green, yellow, orange and purple! I almost gave birth to a whale when I saw cauliflower in such beautiful colors. So far, the only difference I read about the varieties is the color. They all pretty much taste the same, but the colors do have different health benefits. Ha! I can’t wait to try some of these new veggies-if I can find them. I will probably have to grow my own veggies.

Anyway, I just wanted to post something about my favorite vegetables. I need to go to bed. I have a long day tomorrow.

Taxes

I still haven’t gotten my taxes done other than not having all my paperwork together. I hoping to get a major tax return. I paid for school (with cash), purchased a duplex, and maxed out my Roth IRA. Oh boy, I would like to get a nice fat refund this year like I did last year-only fatter.

I have my Toastmasters meeting this Saturday as well as training for my business. I’m still waiting on my business cards. I paid extra to get them in two days but apparently I’m not going to be getting them any time soon. I’m going to have to call to find out the deal on my business cards.

I finally received my order I placed 7 days ago. Now I can give a couple of my customers their orders. I have a goal to purchase a new MacBook Pro next year. I’m hoping I’ll be bringing in enough money from my business to do that next year.

I’m thinking of starting a blog for my business. I plan to purchase another Graph Paper Press template for this blog. Man, I’ll be doing a lot of writing this year besides the screenwriting I plan to do.

I have to keep busy. I have goals I plan to meet.

Random

It seams I completely forgot what I was going to write about.

I logged into the IndieSOS forum tonight to read a post about blogging. So far, I’m the only person besides the administrator(s) to post a blog at the forums. It’s a little disheartening since the organization provides the blogging feature to members for free. I’m totally taking advantage of it because I want to get into screenwriting and it seems natural to write.

Anyway. I’ve been thinking a lot about the script(s) I’m going to be writing next month. I think I’m going to start writing the spec script now and then work on the feature script in April. I verify with IndieSOS at the end of this month so I’m hoping to meet some actors who will inspire me to write a short feature film. I’ve read a few directors, like Spike Lee, often write for specific actors in mind.

I went to Yang Chow’s on Sunday with my mom and two of my cousins. My cousin R suggested I join a theatre group. Ha! Not into acting though the pay is good when you can get the work. I’m too private of a person (coming from someone posting intimate thoughts on a public blog).

I watched an interesting commercial last night. It was Mary Kay. It seems the company is looking to attract more sales reps. Now, I don’t mean to write about MLM, but now is the time to get into it. Recessions and high unemployment are the key elements for increased profits with MLM companies.

I just felt like writing about MLM.

As far as shows I really like on TV. I’m really liking Lost and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I’m still not sure about Dollhouse. I wasn’t impressed with the series premier but the show is starting to grow on me. I hope Terminator and Dollhouse will be on next year. For some reason, I have this feeling the shows will be cancelled. Who watches tv on a Friday night?

Spec scripts

I’ve been trying to figure out what ABC show I should spec for. So far, two of the shows I was considering (Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies) have been cancelled. Now, I only have a few shows to choose from and there’s no telling if the shows will be on next year.

So now that Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies are out of the run, I have Samantha Who? Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Lost to write a script for. My choices aren’t exactly my first pick. I really don’t want to write for any of these shows. I considered Samantha Who? but thought it would be too easy. I want a challenge but I have to consider my strengths and I think a comedy is right up my alley.

I don’t know what to do. Part of me says, screw it, and write my own series. That’s what I should do. However, the writing fellowship says to write a script for a show that is still on the air. Again, the shows that are on today, might not be on next season.

Anyway, I have a couple of weeks before Script Frenzy starts. I’ve been wanting to participate with Script Frenzy for a while now.

I just saw a commercial for the new show, Castle. I hope it’s good. It’s a potential show to write for. Hopefully it will last beyond one season.

A commenter

I had a rather interesting experience the other night. I should say, a commenter showed me a technique that could drive people to my Web site and generate more business.

I started to wonder how the commenter went about finding my blog. So, I went to look at my blog stats and I noticed someone had found my blog by searching for ‘business cards.’ I had written about my frustrations with designing my business cards using Photoshop. Not such a user friendly program.

Anyways, the commenter left an url to the Printclick Blog. I’m actually pretty glad I checked out the Web site. Printclick offers a printing service. The blog has great advice for designing business cards but the store does not open until this summer.

I’ll be sure to check out Printclick’s services.

I don’t think I’ll be using this too often as I don’t have time to read many blogs. I just thought it was interesting.

Cellphones

I hate spending money on technology I don’t favor, like phones. I hate phones but I find them to be a necessity because pay phones are hard to come by in Southern California. I actually don’t think pay phones exist anymore. I haven’t seen one in ages.

My Motorola phone has served me well these last four years. I really hate to part with it because I get attached to things after using them for lengthy periods but my phone no longer satisfies my needs. I need something to keep up with my contacts, my calendar, and has GPS. I don’t necessarily need music or movies, but I do need to be able to listen to audio files.

Here’s the catch, I know I won’t have any compatibility issues with my iMac if I get the iPhone because Apple designs all gizmos and gadgets to work together. If I get the BlackBerry, I may run into some compatibility issues with my iMac. I tend to dislike things that aren’t compatible with my computer.

I’m also trying to figure out how much my monthly bill would be. I really want to spend $100/month on a phone bill for a phone I rarely use at the moment, but I do recognize my phone use will change now that I’m trying to build a business. I don’t plan on cold calling anyone, but I will need to keep in touch with people I meet (more for social purposes than business).

I think I’m going to start with the Motorola Razr I’ve had for the last two years. I purchased it for $20 with my current phone plan but never used it because I’m still using my old phone. I just have to go to AT&T to see if there’s anything I need to do to turn it on.

My cousin is absolutely amazed at how phone illiterate I am considering how much I love gadgets. Well, I attribute my computer literacy to the fact that use my computer for all my communication needs. It’s my phone, my tv, and really, who needs a phone when you can video chat, for FREE!

Designing business cards

I must be slow or something because I’m trying to figure out Photoshop CS2 and I’m not having any luck. I tell you, Comic Life Magiq is a much easier program to use than Photoshop, and it’s only $49.99, which makes it a bargain. I just don’t what I’m doing with Photoshop. It’s not user friendly. There’s no wonder I’ve had the software for years and haven’t bothered to use it. I don’t mean to sound like an advertisement, but I produce all my graphics for my blog with Comic Life in 20 minutes or less. That’s how user friendly the Comic Life is.

As for Photoshop, I’m glad I didn’t fork over the dough to upgrade to Photoshop CS4 as I would have spent a large sum of money (even with an education discount) for a program I’ll mostly likely never use.

I’m searching help in Photoshop because I want to add an Image to a stinking layer but apparently this is a complicated task and HELP has no idea what I’m talking about. I’m just frustrated because I’ve been at this for hours. HOURS!!!! And I can’t figure this out.

Anyways. It was just easier to order my business cards than it was to design it myself. Though the design isn’t much different from what I order. The only thing I wanted to add to my business card was the logo that appears on my website. **Bad news, I discovered a typo on the cards I ordered so I had to put in a new order. It's a good thing I can write this off on my taxes. I'd be ready to shoot myself. I can't believe I didn't see it the first time.**

I also purchased some domain names. I still haven’t heard on whether my offer had been accepted but I do know that it hasn’t been rejected. I just wish the person would reject the offer already if that’s what he’s going to do. I hate waiting. I hate rejection.

I’ve been reading a book my sponsor gave me a week ago. I’ve been meaning to finish it this weekend but I’ve been busy attending meetups and getting the training I need to successfully promote my business.

I joined a Toastmaster’s Club. I didn’t know what a Toastmaster’s Club was at first, but I’m happy I went because what I learn with this group, I can use to promote my business. So, what’s a Toastmaster’s Club? Well, it helps you become better at public speaking, which is something I’ll need to be able to do when the time comes to pitch a script or motivate the people I sponsor into my business.