Flights
So I have realized today that I am a very worrisome person. I had no idea how much paranoia I actually have been fed and accepted over the years. I cam to this realization when I began to shuffle through listings of cheap international airfares for my summer vacation. I would find some cheap flights or some discount airfare for a whole airline and I felt that I had to do back research on the airlines. I don't feel that I have ever had any negative experience on any flight I have ever taken. My mother used to work for the airlines when I was a kid so we would fly places like every weekend and I never had a single problem in the whole time that I worked there. We used to fly on plenty of cheap international flights and I would never have thought about it twice. Now for some reason, probably from too much tv and exposure to the evening news hysteria, I am one of those zealots who thinks that everything is unsafe. I have not stopped my search because I know that I am going on a vacation one way or the other but my I have to really force my mind to just shut up and stop looking for a problem where there isn't one. I mean I have been looking at so many different cheap international airfares and none of the airlines hosting them have had any problems. I just think there is this blanket of suspicion that we are all being swaddled in and we need to push ourselves out. Even with my fears, there is no way I am going to pass up every single one of these cheap international flights. I mean I have got to get out of this town for a little while at least. It has just been driving me crazy this semester how I always feel like I am behind or like I am not getting everything done. There is always something else I could be doing. I guess the first step in all of this is admitting I have a problem and then deal with them one cheap international flights at a time.
Posted by Jen on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 @ 4:08 PM
VoIP
Things at work were overwhelmingly hectic over the last few months. Almost nothing was getting done. It was a daily routine for at least two or three employees to start arguing over busy signals and interference on the phones. It was good entertainment, but it did not take too long to get annoying. Work days just seemed so much longer because of the phones. My wife would get mad at me because I would turn off my phone once I left the office. Some nights, I would not even answer our home phone. It was easier for me to just let the answering machine record a message. I hated the phone. Thankfully, the situation at work is resolved. Everyone was arguing amongst one another so much that my boss had no other choice but to invest in a new communication system. Ever since, life around the office is so much more productive and hassle free. A pbx phone system was installed to help reduce the amount of traffic on the mainline used to contact people away from the building. If someone needs to talk with another employee within the building, they can do so now using a separate system. It is still possible to use outside lines through these phones, but it helps to manage internal traffic much better. The use of this second phone system has drastically improved not only the quality of work around the office, but also the morale of the employees. We are much more social and not as high strung. Supposedly in the near future, we are expected to get another upgrade in the company communication system. A few of the higher-ups are getting voice over ip capabilities where they can use the Internet to talk with people and do not even need to pick up the phone. As technology improves and there are more ways to communicate, it is evident that an effective way of contacting people can not be underestimated. In the long run, time is saved and there is greater productivity. Also, I find that some of these different systems are fun to use. It does not feel so much like work when you are on the Internet talking to someone. Using the phone definitely feels like work, but the Internet can provide a closer resemblance of face-to-face contact which is so much nicer.
Posted by Jen on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 @ 1:36 PM
bill consolidation
Debt and especially credit card debt is a very significant problem in our society. Unfortunately, like most things our government underestimates the number of American's in extreme debt situations. The one common problem among this group of people is that once the debt ball is rolling, it is difficult to stop. It is like a landslide out of control, robbing Peter to pay Paul or MasterCard to pay Visa is a common problem of debt. Once the bills are too high, or the income too low, there is no other choice. Although credit card companies will tell you that this is an illegal practice, I have in the past had credit card companies suggest this method for paying off their card. In other words, they don't care if you rob a bank, as long as you pay them. It seems to me that perhaps it would be in their best interest to help you resolve these debt problems instead of making you slide further into the hole.
Bill consolidation or bankruptcy may be your only way out when you reach this point. And I know from experience that most credit card companies will tell you no, if you make a suggestion like reducing your monthly payment. I have had debt collectors call and tell me that I owe for example $1000 and they have told me that they can let me pay $500 now and $500 next month. When I tell them that I can only afford $100 per month, they tell me to forget it. Does this practice make any sense? Truthfully no. If they can get some money from me why not take it? And yet they won't, sticking to their guns and charging me more interest and late fees.
If this sounds like a familiar scenario to you, then you probably need help. There are many companies out there that can significantly reduce your debt and provide bill consolidation loan. This can put all your monthly payments into one smaller bill that you can pay on monthly. In many cases they will work with you to help you get a payment that you can truly afford to pay and you can still eat each month! What a deal! In any case, if you have passed the point of being able to consolidate your debt, then you may have to consider bankruptcy. This method does wipe the slate clean and allows you to restore your credit in about 7-10 years. Although it may sound drastic, it sometimes is the only way out when your monthly bill payments greatly exceed your income.
Posted by Jen on Sunday, April 20, 2008 @ 3:12 PM
fax server
When fax machines first came out, they were a new and innovative way to send documents via your phone lines. With phone charges being so high and the cost of toner going up, this is no longer the best way to send your documents. There is a new and better way out there now to send documents and at a much lower cost. The method is FoIP (which stands for fax over ip).
Companies have been over the past few years offering VoIP (voice over IP) which is a phone line that runs through your computer without use of a phone carrier. This method allows you to use your internet connection to make phone calls with just the use of a simple to install adapter. The monthly charges only run about $25.00 per month to use this service which compared to the average phone bill is considerably less than you are probably paying. There is no additional long distance or international charges and there are no additional costs for services like voice mail or call waiting. This is an all inclusive service with the only difference being it costs significantly less than your current phone service.
Well, very similar to VoIP is FoIP, again you use your current internet service along with a fax server to fax over ip. This allows you to send and receive faxes (through a special phone number assigned to you) over the internet. You receive these faxes essentially in the form of e-mails. This is an extremely effective way to send and receive without having to take your documents and print them to a hard copy before sending them. You can also receive faxes anytime day or night without having to have access to a fax machine. This makes it very convenient if you are away from the office and working. You can send and receive important documents via your laptop in your hotel room or at home.
The great thing is that you can send to and receive from a standard analog fax machine. This means that just because you are using a FoIP system, the people you are dealing with can still send you faxes from their antiquated fax machine.
This step of moving forward will be revolutionary in cutting the high costs of sending and receiving faxes. In these unstable economic times, isn't it good to think that the cost of something is actually going down?
Posted by Jen on Thursday, April 17, 2008 @ 8:05 PM
Venice apartments
A friend and I took an amazing trip to Italy last year. We went to Venice, Rome, Tuscany and Florence. We were gone for 6 months and spent a year prior to the trip planning it. I had gotten an inheritance from my Aunt, and decided that it would be a great opportunity to see the world, before beginning my studies at Virginia Tech.
Needless to say, we enjoyed all of Italy. It was fun to drive from the passenger's side of the car and to drive on the wrong side of the road. If you have never been to Italy, you must go. The food was great and the people were so friendly, after 6 months it really started to feel like home. Fortunately we were both able to speak fluent Italian which was definitely a big help.
Rome was just an incredible city to visit. There was so much to do and see, I really hated to leave. The Rome apartments were quaint and we truly enjoyed our stay there. It is truly a city with so much history and incredible architecture.
In Tuscany, we stayed in Lucca apartments. The rolling hills of Tuscany were beautiful, but Lucca is a community that is completely walled in, a rather rare sight. This was a really old section of Italy with a lot of Medieval churches and some really old beautiful buildings, yet much different from the incredible architecture in Rome. These buildings had a simple old fashioned kind of feeling. It was a really comfortable town with a lot of feeling to it.
Florence is the part of Italy for art. There are lots of galleries and wine tastings. While staying in the Florence apartments, we took a cooking class and it was quite an adventure.
Venice was by far my favorite. They say that Venice is really just a group of islands put together and hence why all the canals and gondolas. Well, gondolas are awesome. We stayed in Venice about a month and a half, but I don't think even then that either of us were ready to leave. The Venice apartments were very comfortable and accommodating, and our apartment had a beautiful view. We just couldn't get over how reasonable it was to stay and how magical it was to be there!
If you ever have the chance to go to Italy, be sure to take it. And be sure to check out Venice, it is definitely like being on another planet.
Posted by Jen on Thursday, April 10, 2008 @ 8:20 PM
SIP phone
I have to be honest with you, I am one of those traditional kind of people who likes having a landline phone in addition to my cell phone. Cell phone reliability, although greatly increased over recent years, can still be ify sometimes. Especially in the case of weather emergencies, so I feel more secure using my regular phone. I hardly do speak on it, but it is costing me about $75.00 per month. I really am thinking I need to just get rid of it and use my cell all the time, until I hear something on the TV news that says that I can buy a device for my computer, which will allow me to hook up a phone (SIP phone) through my computer's broadband connection. They say this service is very reliable and costs a flat fee of between $20-$25 per month with no additional charges for phone calls made and no hidden costs or long distance charges. I think this sounds like what I have been looking for, and I head online to research it further.
I am always the skeptic, so I hop online to investigate SIP phone, then I read about VoIP phone also. Basically, they are as reliable as the company who is providing the service. They work like the news program had said. They give you a device to hook to your computer that allows you to hook your phone right into it. It is very simple installation and in a few minutes you will be using your internet connection to call all your friends and family, without worrying about how much it will cost you. They even offer business phone systems using this type of technology, saving companies thousands of dollars each year.
Finally, a way to free myself of my phone company, and still keep a home phone. Well, I think it is no surprise that I immediately called a company and got myself talking online in about a week. As for the reliability, so far so good and the price is awesome. Thank you to those who have created this technology. I just hope that over the next few years that the cost for this technology does not go up. I am sure that the more people learn about this new telephone advancement, the more people will be talking online. It just makes sense.
Posted by Jen on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 @ 5:38 PM
Acting audition
I am so happy that we are finally almost in the midst of the spring. This is my favorite time of year because the weather is changing, the days are getting longer, and it is just about time to start doing acting auditions for next year. Our school does all of its casting calls and theater auditions for its fall programs in the spring so that the students who are sticking around can get right to work over the summer, and they actually get more parts because of this. So in about three weeks I have my first set of auditions for two programs, one in the theater department, and one for a club. I am not an acting major so I can really only pick one if I am accepted to more than that. That's why I try to do as many auditions as possible so I don;t leave myself out in the rain without any parts for the whole season. I have had this strategy down since I was a sophomore in high school. I had been doing modeling when I was in middle school and was totally used to the whole audition process. The biggest difference was this whole idea of proximity and not waiting until the last minute to try out for just one part which you never get if it's the only one. That year I did just that and had to wait until the fall to try out for spring plays and that went a little bit better because I had learned the ropes. The modeling auditions had helped me in a way because I had the confidence to stand up and present myself as an asset to someone else before I ever even tried acting. I hope I get to do this till the day I die, but for now I just have to worry about getting a part and not slacking on my school work. It's always funny when I tell the people who are judging the auditions that I am a computer sciences major because that always seems to floor them all. Maybe that's what makes me so memorable to them now.
Posted by Jen on Sunday, April 06, 2008 @ 11:36 AM
Lisa Bongi
While doing a paper for school about motocross, I came across the name Lisa Bongi. I had never heard of this person, but I was soon to learn a little more about this interesting character. Lisa Bongi is by profession a blog designer, which is not unusual in our growing age of technology, but she is also a motocross rider. I found this very interesting as there are not too many female riders in that particular sport or profession.
I found an interesting interview with Lisa Bongi online. She spoke about how much fun it is to do motocross, and how she has always been a tomboy, even when she was a kid. She has always loved cars and bikes. Right now she blogs about off-road vehicles and what she calls cool cars and cooler bikes, and loves to do it.
She goes on to say in this interview that she has a new toy. It is an old jeep that she uses for off-road as well as commuting. Lisa recently traded in her bike, which she used to commute, because she had a few accidents with it and decided a jeep would be safer for traveling around in CA.
Lisa Bongi told that although her family is very proud of her accomplishments, they do worry about her safety. She tries to reassure them, that she takes all the necessary precautions to be safe, but still as she says there really are no guarantees.
She has been taught a lot about motocross from her uncle, and in exchange for his guidance, she has helped him set up a few websites. Lisa says the most important thing that her uncle has show her is how to land and how to fall safely, for which she is very greatful.
The whole interview was really interesting, and I checked out some of her blogs about off road vehicles and found there was some really good information. I have never really followed any sort of racing; however, I found it extremely interesting to find a woman who loves cars, bikes and racing.
Lisa Bongi seems to be a really outrageous person with a lot of drive and excitement. If you get a chance be sure to check her out. I really am glad that I came across her name while doing my research. She definitely added a little something different to my paper, that hopefully will get me the A.
Posted by Jen on Saturday, April 05, 2008 @ 4:02 PM
Life insurance
Selling life insurance can be a tricky business. Insurance leads for agents can be difficult to obtain, and although there are many companies out there that claim they will help you locate the leads that you need, some are just looking to make a buck. You must be very careful to choose a reputable company that will really help you get business using the latest state-of-the-art technology to help you establish the leads that will jump start your business.
You want a site that will take information from you as well as the perspective clients, that is accurate and thorough. You want to make sure they take a brief health history, as well as contact information from their clients. You also want to be sure that they include your name and contact information as well as your professional bio. This will insure that the life insurance leads that you receive will be good solid leads. There is no need to waste time with leads that are not exclusive. You don't want to be contacting someone who has been contacted by 3 or more other agents, chances of selling them insurance will not be good.
Everyone needs life insurance, but it is great to have access to a site that will help you match a clients needs with yours. It is a great idea to find a website that will help you do this, and to also include a picture of yourself and your office. These are things that will really help perspective clients feel a connection with you and a comfort level about coming in. People tend to be very visual and like to have this additional information about you.
There are many companies online that will offer to help you get the leads, but be sure that you are getting exclusive leads, ones that are only for you. Many companies will sell non-exclusive leads, which they sell to several agents at once. This reduces your potential leads by about 33%, so companies that deal only with exclusive leads have the greatest sales growth potential for you. Also, be sure that the company you choose has a continuous stream of new clients that will give you the greatest number of leads available. If they don't then you may get a few good leads, but will not build your business consistently in the way that you are hoping for.
Life insurance is a great product and is necessary for all, since we all face death at one point or another. It is a responsibility as an insurance agent to not only sell insurance, but also to make sure that the insurance sold meets the needs of that particular client.
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 @ 1:10 PM