Mixing business and pleasure

I remember the first time I heard about Facebook -- the summer before my senior year of college. My friend Amanda, who went to UW-Oshkosh, told me I should join. I hopped online and went to the site. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how in the hell to sign up. Turns out, UW-Stevens Point hadn't even been added to the list of FB-friendly colleges yet.

Back in 2005, the networking site was set up solely for college students; and not even all universities had the luxury of joining. Profiles were limited. Customization was non-existent. Members had a place for their picture, a wall for friends to send public messages to, and a section to fill out basic personal info like interests, movies and quotes.

As the networking site expanded, so did its members. Now, more and more people are joining Facebook. First with the addition of high schools, then expanding to the entire interactive community. That's all well and good, but what do you do when acquaintances at work, or professionals from your industry request to be your friend.

I never personally seek out anyone on Facebook. If I went to high school with you -- we'll leave it at that. No offense, but if we haven't talked in eight years, and barely conversed in high school, what do you think we have to discuss now? I don't care if you're "shopping at the mall!!!" or "have an aweful cold." Those everyday things can be left to your real friends.

In order to limit my invasion of privacy, I've severely limited my information posted online. I still have pictures up from drunken debacles in college, or family holidays. But, only about 30 people can see that information. If you can, consider yourselves lucky. If you can't -- don't be offended. The only way you know about those pictures is by that stupid newsfeed anyway. Not many people actually log on with the intention of looking at my personal page. If they do, they have full access anyway.

I'm reluctant to add friends by request too. Lately, more and more people from work add me to Facebook. My publisher, sales reps, cube neighbors... where do I draw the line?

I already set up the "Limited Profile" section, but to avoid embarrassing or more personal information from leaking out at work, I set up a "Work Profile" for people whom I hardly talk with, or have even had a conversation in person.

If you're not my friend, my picture and networks don't even show up.

A couple months ago, my editor decided to join Facebook. Once he established himself in the interactive community, he knew I was familiar with the site and came to me wondering how we could get our two magazines more face time with younger readers.

I was initially excited -- then reluctant. I set up Fan Pages for both magazines, added links to all the back issues, video of tool reviews and product previews, listed upcoming events. But that meant I also had to be a fan.

The Fan Pages are still a work-in-progress, but readers who are familiar with the networking site are becoming fans of our magazines.

It's a double-edged sword. The project itself has become my baby. And it looks good to integrate different communication mediums for our readers. But now, the lines are blurred.

So don't take it personally, this is strictly professional. If I don't know you, I just don't want to be your friend.

Meet Julio

My step-dad George is a pretty unique character.

Whenever he eats fast food, he gets the kid's meal so he can save the toys and give them away for Halloween, instead of candy. He has mated and attempted to sell a litter of his and my mom's Yorkie's puppies, always buys random crap from HSN (with the help of my mom), and frequently pushes for vacations to Vegas or Mexico.

He once seriously considered buying an alpaca farm. Yeah, those.

He bought 500,000 in Iraqi Dinar -- maybe about $500 US -- to give away as Christmas presents two years ago to all the kids and family.

So last year, circa June 2008, when my mom told me George was trying to grow avocado plants from leftover pits, I didn't think much of it. Just another crazy idea.

But it worked.

He submerged three pits in separate glasses of water. They sat for two months, until finally they split open and roots formed. My mom transplanted each to their own pot.

So without further ado (or, adieu?)... allow me to introduce you to the newest member of my plant family. Meet Julio!

Julio!

Notice though, how his leaves are starting to shrivel? They grow too big and start to brown and shrink up as new leaves grow on top. Julio's getting to big for his britches.

On the market, fo' FREE!

In the next week, I plan to move Julio to a bigger, better pot. It's like moving from an overstuffed trailer to a $1.2 million estate.

"I'm gonna be disss big!"

Then, he'll be able to grow into a real boy, err, tree. Maybe he'll even bear me some fruit.

Penny pinching

In an effort to save money, I've discovered some ways to stave off the spending demons.

Over the last six weeks, I've stuck to my guns (for the most part), and held back on wasting away my entire paycheck on frivolous crap. After about week four I started to get antsy, and thought my impulses might get the best of me. But I'm slowing finding ways to keep a balance between living like a homeless person and Kim Kardashian.

(Blatant props to Gregor for the majority of these tricks. If not for suggesting, at least for guiding me to come up with these frugal ideas.)

1. Look for sales.
Simple enough, right?
When I go grocery shopping, I now make it a point to write lists before I go. I don't always get a chance to check out the ads before heading to the store, but I'll still make sure to include the necessities (eggs, milk, bananas, etc.). Everyone needs fruits and veggies, but why not stock up on the cheaper stuff? 5-lb. bag of grapefruit one week, Golden Delicious apples the next. Variety is the spice of life anyway. Along with that, I make sure to cover the other basic food groups. Protein? cottage cheese and peaches, or tuna and crackers. Dairy? Yogurt or string cheese. But it's whatever I find on sale.

2. Take lunch to work.
If you eat fast food 3x a week, that can add up to $15 by Friday. I could buy a loaf of bread, sammich meat, lettuce, string cheese and a bag of apples for less than that, and it'll feed me the whole week. Plus, it's better for you.

3. Use what you've got.
I have a ton of shit in my pantry. I mean, some of that stuff expired in June 2008 (Hello, sugar-free caramel ice cream topping. WTF was I thinking). Why not make some crazy concoctions. I have tons of spices, flour, mac n' cheese, granola bars, oatmeal. Everything. Instead of buying more crap, why not eat what I've got? With all these ingredients, I'm also starting to expand my cooking horizons. For instance, I used up the week-old mushrooms in my fridge by adding olive oil, balsamic, garlic powder and thyme, then boiled some noodles. Voila.
On the list this week? Chad's PB cookies. I have every single ingredient in my cupboard already.

4. Shop consciously.
I've taken a few trips to clothing stores since Jan. 1; but I've done better than before. Instead of buying something just because it's on sale, I'll think "Do I really need that?" and "How many times will I wear it?" I'm a jeans and T-shirt kinda gal, so I'll generally go for the basics anyway. Places like TJMaxx (think the Big Lots equivalent to Wal-Mart) offer everything from suits and ties for dudes, to Express jeans and name-brand purses for ladies, all liquidated or discontinued from top-of-the-line stores. For at least half the price. Also check out Goodwill or other thrift stores. Besides some clothing, I've found crock pots and dishes, plus decorations for my apartment.
Also, starting in the next couple of months, people are going to start spring cleaning. You know what that means? Rummage SALES.

5. Take what you can fo' free.
Here's one example from today. I keep a filing cabinet full of important papers (insurance, bank statements, etc.) that needed expanding. I bought a new cabinet this weekend -- but why buy more folders and tags? Instead, I headed for my office's paper graveyard. Tons of magazines throw out and reorganize their info all the time, so they're constantly getting rid of hanging folders, manila folders, binders, etc. Now I'm just giving them a new home.

Also, I've been looking to replace my refreezable ice packets for my lunch since mine started leaking. On my way back to my cube, I came across a table full of free stuff. People were trying to get rid of vases and Tupperware containers. There I found some still-packaged Rubbermaid Blue-Ice re-freezable packets. Hot damn!


6. Turn off the lights.
This'll be a tough one when the time comes. Right now, I don't pay for heat or electricity. Or water. Hell, the only bill I have besides my chintzy cable is rent. Once I move out of my lavish apartment, I'll have to start being more conscientious about my consumption. For now though, I'll let that be my one luxury.

That's what I've learned so far. Got any other tips?

Thems the banks...

Rant #2 for the week. SRY.

Read this first: Associated Bank plans its own fiesta after bailout party.

That's right, Wisconsin's own Associated Bank has joined the list of bailout offenders to use federal aid to send 100 employees on a vacation TO A RESORT IN PUERTO RICO.

WTF.

President and CEO of Associated Bank, Paul Beidemann justified not canceling the trip by saying these "top performers" deserved to go, namely because the bank still pulled a profit last quarter.

Wait a tick; I thought I read you received $525 million from the federal government. That's millions of dollars of taxpayers money, being spent for bank employees to spend more than a week drinking watered-down daiquiris and getting sunburnt.

I'm not saying that employees shouldn't be rewarded for a job well done; but there's a time and a place. Give them a weekend getaway to a waterpark in GB, or a $100 gift certificate to Best Buy.

As a preferred stock holder and past employee of the company, I'm a little sore. As far as I'm concerned, the bank has two options:

#1. Take me on a vacation to Puerto Rico too. Or,
#2. Let me sell my stock for the price I initially paid, so I can stop supporting such an inept business.

Throw away your television

As some of you might know, Congress passed a law pushing back the DTV Transition conversion date from Feb. 17 to June 12. What this means is television stations broadcasting in analog will be forced to switch to digital no later than that date. If you want to know more, visit www.dtv.gov.

I'm not going into the differences, or the benefits of either type of broadcasting. Strictly speaking from a societal perspective, postponing the inevitable is just a damn silly idea.

The government has already spent millions of dollars on marketing to notify Americans of the change. Commercial after amateur-quality commercial has littered local stations for the past 18 months. Broadcasters have been advising viewers that they need to make sure they have one of the following:

1. Cable/Dish. If you already have an auxiliary jack flowing precious sitcom after sitcom to your TV, you're fine.

2. A TV that accepts digital broadcasts. I know some retailers have taken advantage of this, but they were forced to put up signs advising customers about the switch, and which TVs support the switch, sometime back in late 2007.

3. A digital conversion box. These are available at retailers too. And, the government will provide you a voucher for reimbursement.

One of the issues pushing the law back was the fact that the government is having trouble reimbursing vouchers for the $40 conversion boxes eligible to every American household. Fine. Hand them out for free then.

The fact is, only your grandma doesn't have cable; and you've probably already gone over to her house to set up her digital conversion box, or brand-new 42" HDTV with a remote she'll think is a telephone.

If by God's grace and having your head stuck up your ass for the last year and a half, you haven't heard the news, you will when you don't get a signal on your TV.

You've already been watching that much TV, so you must have seen the commercials. You should be prepared. I don't want to hear it. Stop wasting time and spending my hard-earned money to cater to a couch-potato society.

Tender tootsies

This weekend, I took the extra step in preparing for my future as a mediocre marathon runner. I bought running shoes.

A work colleague who runs marathons frequently suggested stopping at a custom shoe-fitting store for runners. He buys his shoes at "Fleet Feet" in Madison. Gregor and I headed to the Brookfield location out of convenience, so they could evaluate my feet and figure out how to stop the shin splints and prevent unnecessary injury while I train.


I sat down, and took off my shoes. My main concern was not knowing if the shoes I tried on would do the trick. I didn't want to drop part of my tax refund on something I could pick up at Foot Locker for half the price.

Rusty, part-owner of Fleet Feet, first measured my feet to determine my shoe size. I already knew my left foot was a half size bigger, at a size 10. He also determined that my feet were extremely flat, and that my arches must have fallen years ago.

And I have bunions. Now, that sounds more disgusting than it really is. I just don't like the word. It's like saying moist. Ugh.

Anyway, they are a joint deformity between the foot and the big toe, where the joint gets bigger and can push the toes together.

It's part what kind of shoes I wear. But, I can blame my parent's genes. He said however my mom's feet look, that's probably how mine will end up. Yikes. Except, with proper footwear, it shouldn't get as bad.

After that, I walked across the store and Rusty determined I pronate when I walk. I don't really know what that means. He showed me per a fake foot model how my bones move when I'm walking, and subsequently, running. He found a couple pair of shoes to try on. I needed a separate pad with extra arch support too.

Trying on the second pair, I then went outside to test and run with the Saucony's and realized that my feet did feel better. It felt like the shoes were an extension of my foot, and I could tell my heels and arches had more support.


I also bought some Technical socks, and The Stick to use before and after runs. It massages your legs and helps break up lactic acid build-up in your muscles. Plus it feels effing amazing, and already helped get knots out of my calves.

I still have to break in the shoes, and the extra foot pads, but I'm on the right track.

That leaves me one step closer to my goal set for the Green Bay half marathon on May 17. I'm still raising money too. Even if you donate $5, it'll help me reach and exceed my goal of $300. Plus, the money goes to support my hometown's charities (Boys & Girls Club, Salvation Army and Cerebral Palsy Inc.). To give, click here. I bet you can probably go without Subway for lunch one day this week.

All you can eat?!

Disclaimer: I haven't read Chelle's post yet -- if she has one up -- in case it's about the same thing.

Since filing our taxes last week and realizing we'd be bumped to the next tax bracket with the $$$ from our returns, Chelle and I decided we could afford the luxury of eating out one day this week for lunch. What better place to spend $6.50 than Fort's famous China Buffet.

So I've compiled a list of pros and cons for AYCE dining here. Without further ado...

PRO: Duh. All you can eat.
Some might consider this a con, but as a lover of all food, everywhere, I disagree. You get the choice of anything on the menu -- and as much as you want. I usually start with a salad to make myself feel good. Then, I head for the main course with rice, teriyaki chicken, steamed broccoli, eggrolls. Finished up by a full plate of crab rangoon. Which are no doubt the worst thing up there for you.

CON: Herds.
Have you ever been to Golden Corral? It's the largest buffet-style restaurant I've ever eaten at. ONCE. It's the equivalent of rounding up 10's of 100's of obese Americans, forcing them to stand single file, waiting to eat out of a trough. We hit upCB during the lunch rush, but it wasn't that terrible.

PRO: Free drinks.
Free hot tea. Soda if you like.

CON: Sanitation.
...or lack thereof? (Again, CB isn't as bad as other places.)
Imagine how many indecisive eaters find a food, scoop it to their plate, then decide it's a no-go. Another example: I opted for a full plate of crab rangoon for dessert, instead of ice cream. Why? Because the ice cream spoon sits in a metal bowl of cloudy, tepid water for self-service scooping. Why don't we all just lick the fucking thing instead?

PRO: It's cheap.
For a sit-down meal, and personal waitstaff attention, it doesn't get much better.

PRO: FRANCH dressing.
Sometimes foreign people misspell things on accident. Exhibit A -- French dressing. In honor, I decided to use french and ranch to create their crazy blend. (Have a nice fright!)

CON: Bathrooms.
Circa June 2007, I couldn't wait until getting back to work before relieving myself. That was the first and only time I entered their bathrooms. I'm sure there have been coat hanger abortions and knife fights in there. At the same time.

PRO: Other than that... Appearance.
The rest of the place, besides the WC and the ice cream scoops, are pretty clean at CB. They're really good about refilling, and making sure the food looks presentable.

CON: The people.
Fort's finest choose buffets as a means to cover all five food groups in one meal. Or are there six now?

PRO: Fortune cookies!
You have to crack them open and eat them first, before reading your fortune.
"You will be fortunate in everything you put your hands on." ...in bed.

I'd give this visit a B+. For less than $10, we made a pretty awesome decision.