Girl Scout Cookie Hell

It's harder than it looks.

I’m a huge fan of the Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout. I understand the value in programs that help develop leadership in women. I support anything that will help girls become stronger and prepare them for life. Besides, I love cookies. Need I say more?

Unfortunately, every year, it gets harder and harder for me to buy cookies. I live on a rather tucked away corner. We have lots of neighborhood kids, but they usually don’t make it down to our house on Halloween before tiring out and going inside to eat their candy and play video games. Score another victory for childhood obesity!

Recently, I tried to buy some Girl Scout Cookies. Here’s how it went:

3 Reasons I Won’t Give You My Money

"You know you want me."

I’ve spent the better part of my (albeit short) career in nonprofit marketing and development. Now that I’m not working full-time in that industry, I have a whole new perspective on what it means to be a “donor.”

Precision Time: A Follow Up Post

I blogged last week about Precision Time and their horrible policy/customer service. And it seems someone was listening. (Ok, so I may have posted a link to my blog on their Facebook page.) In fact, I never realized so many people who could relate to my story would find my post and reach out to me to share their similar horror experiences. It grew quite larger than I’d anticipated when I started my rant.

Beware of Mall Kiosks: Just a Little Review of Precision Time

I do a few business reviews on Yelp, NOCO and right here on my blog. In fact, here is one I just wrote that was published this week.

I do my best to give businesses the benefit of the doubt and speak positively when I can. Because, let’s be honest, I want local businesses to succeed. Good retail is good for the local economy, and that is good for me as a resident.

That said, every once in a while a company inspires me to take a different approach to my reviews. This is one of those times.

I should have known better.

3 Easy Steps to Douchey Email Writing

OKAY?????!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to talk about a serious problem plaguing the internets today. The AOLspace and the Facetweets and the YouVideos of the cyberspaces are really the least of our problems indeed.

No. Today I am here to talk to you about a two far more serious matters: caps lock and excessive punctuation.

Lately I have been opening a lot more emails from these passive aggressive asshats.  The sad part is, they are usually high-level professionals. I would like to pretend that they don’t have a good grasp of proper internet communication etiquette. But I think they know exactly what they are doing.

I Love/Hate Dierbergs

I am a big supporter of local businesses. That is why it pains me to see Dierbergs becoming one of my least favorite places to go.

I get it. The economy is bad. Staffing is expensive. But really, guys, if you are going to tout customer service as something that sets you apart from those national chains, and expect me to pay a premium for it, then you gotta give me some customer service.

A Bad Day and Chick-Fil-A

My Favorite Childhood Book

Remember Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? We all have them. It seems like this past week I’ve had several of them. Tuesday was one such day. I’m not going to go into detail about what made it so terrible, but here’s how it got a little bit better.

Ode to 3 Awesome Gals

This post is dedicated to Julie, Roxy and Bam: three gals who have made my life happier in their own special ways.

I have known Julie for 12 years, having met her in high school.  She is not only an awesome person, but she is quite the entrepreneur. She launched her now highly successful Mutton Chops Pet Services, a combination pet services and pet photography business. By the way, she is so highly recommended, that her business was voted Reader Favorite by St. Louie Tails Magazine! For a long time I have wanted Julie to take pictures of my girls, Roxy and Bam. And a few months ago, I got my wish! Here’s how the session went.

Good Stuff, Bad Stuff, Baboon Stuff…and the DMV

This past week I had some ups and downs in customer service and some exciting baboon adventures in my town.

It all started when I got my dreaded renewal reminder for my license plates. No one likes this process. Not even the people who work at the DMV. The vibe there is similar to that of a funeral for a dead puppy. No one wants to be there. Everyone is pissed off. It sucks in general.

This is why I was thrilled to discover that I could renew my license plates online! Avoid a trip to the DMV alltogether? Yes, please!

Why Can’t I Join Gold’s Gym?

almost as hard as my pecs

Who knew joining a gym could be so damn hard?

I have been researching various gyms in my area and near my office because I want to join one. My elliptical machine works fine, but the electronic calorie counter is broken, and I really like to watch the calorie counter. The final push I needed to get my butt in a gym is that my awesome new company pays for half of my gym membership.