Here's my short (and when I say short, I mean two-minute) CNBC interview from this afternoon on our survey. (Just scroll your mouse over the arrow below if you have high-speed internet and want to watch.)
I'll be back in February.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Fast-forward to February
Well, the back-to-school season is underway (according to us, at least, and the 20% of people who say they have already started shopping). And after this comes Halloween and after that comes the holiday season and after that comes our Annual Convention and...oh dear Lord, I don't know if I'm ready for this!
Here's my short (and when I say short, I mean two-minute) CNBC interview from this afternoon on our survey. (Just scroll your mouse over the arrow below if you have high-speed internet and want to watch.)
I'll be back in February.
Here's my short (and when I say short, I mean two-minute) CNBC interview from this afternoon on our survey. (Just scroll your mouse over the arrow below if you have high-speed internet and want to watch.)
I'll be back in February.
Monday, July 13, 2009
This just in...
A little less than a week ago, my boss (who is also my good friend, Scott) came up with a fabulous idea on how to really stick it to some groups with whom we had an ax to grind. Long story short, his fabulous idea morphed into a letter we wrote to our members, which worked its way into a conversation I had at lunch with the Wall Street Journal last Friday, which turned into an article that ran in today's paper, which led to appearances on CNBC and Fox and an Associated Press article and a Reuters story and a bunch of other things.
It also morphed into an entire Sunday worth of work for me, but I am not complaining. It's so fun to be the person behind the scenes pulling the strings with otherwise totally clean hands.
At any rate, after I had spent about 12 hours working on this yesterday, coordinating interviews and talking through messaging with our spokespeople and finding data and uploading things to our website, I was finished. And then I waited. For three hours.
That window of time, where you've done everything you can to get a story perfectly right but the magic hour of seeing the finished product has not yet arrived, can be a bit paralyzing. Little pieces of doubt start to creep into your mind: Did they find a retailer who is against our stance? Did our spokesperson say something that will be taken totally out of context? Did the "other" group or company or person say something that will just take us to the cleaners? Is this reporter out to get me or us...am I sure we have a good relationship? Are there any typos in my letter? Yikes, perhaps I should read it again...
So anyway, as I sat up last night watching the Cards beat the Cubs (sorry, Chad, it happened...) I was wondering how this manifesto in the Wall Street Journal would turn out. I hoped for a slow news day (if it wasn't, the piece might get bumped or put into a really crappy spot in the paper) and a good article. I got both.
At 12:17 a.m., as I
went online, I saw our story in all its glory on their front page, the article call us "the retailers' trade group" (with no mention of the "other" group that we almost merged with -- ha!), a link to the blessed letter I had just posted on our website and, oh, a quote from one of our retail CEOs completely supporting our position. A magnificent sense of euphoria flooded my entire being.
And then I couldn't sleep. But it was worth it!
It also morphed into an entire Sunday worth of work for me, but I am not complaining. It's so fun to be the person behind the scenes pulling the strings with otherwise totally clean hands.
At any rate, after I had spent about 12 hours working on this yesterday, coordinating interviews and talking through messaging with our spokespeople and finding data and uploading things to our website, I was finished. And then I waited. For three hours.
That window of time, where you've done everything you can to get a story perfectly right but the magic hour of seeing the finished product has not yet arrived, can be a bit paralyzing. Little pieces of doubt start to creep into your mind: Did they find a retailer who is against our stance? Did our spokesperson say something that will be taken totally out of context? Did the "other" group or company or person say something that will just take us to the cleaners? Is this reporter out to get me or us...am I sure we have a good relationship? Are there any typos in my letter? Yikes, perhaps I should read it again...
So anyway, as I sat up last night watching the Cards beat the Cubs (sorry, Chad, it happened...) I was wondering how this manifesto in the Wall Street Journal would turn out. I hoped for a slow news day (if it wasn't, the piece might get bumped or put into a really crappy spot in the paper) and a good article. I got both.
At 12:17 a.m., as I
went online, I saw our story in all its glory on their front page, the article call us "the retailers' trade group" (with no mention of the "other" group that we almost merged with -- ha!), a link to the blessed letter I had just posted on our website and, oh, a quote from one of our retail CEOs completely supporting our position. A magnificent sense of euphoria flooded my entire being.And then I couldn't sleep. But it was worth it!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Black and white
Some friends went out of town this weekend and we offered to watch their five-month-old puppy, Cooper. In the last two days, I have remembered how much puppies are like babies: they're cute, but man, they're a lot of work! (Just guessing on the babies part, obviously.)Friday night was complete insanity (think two boisterous dogs running sprints around our main level -- we didn't even eat dinner until 10:30), Saturday was a bit more tempered, and today I hesitate to say it seems calm. I think they've just worn each other out. Still, any thoughts I ever had about getting another dog have been entirely put to rest.
It's been funny to spend so much time with another dog that is so different than Lucy. She's super-timid, hates loud noises, and her definition of "playing" is chasing something around in circles. Cooper is much more bold and isn't afraid of anything--he sent something clattering to the floor and it didn't faze him while Lucy made a beeline in the opposite direction--and he loves to bite at Lucy's ears and tail. (She is not amused.)
Minus the ear-biting part, Lucy does like having her new buddy around. The past two mornings, she has walked over to the room where we keep Cooper's crate and sits outside it until we go in and get him. I think she enjoys the constant entertainment that another dog brings. But I have a feeling when Cooper goes home this afternoon, she'll be happy to take a nap without worrying about a puppy yanking on her tail. And I'll get out the mop. After having two rambunctious dogs in the house, my floors are disgusting!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Mind over matter
Ever since I decided to just get over it already, I've had a pretty magnificent week.
On Tuesday afternoon, I won a $100 gift card to a well-known restaurant in DC during a drawing at work. I put in $5 in the raffle, which went to our fund to send things to the troops, and came out the winner. Chad and I have never been, but we're excited to go!
On Wednesday night, we walked down to Shirlington and ate outside at a cute little sushi restaurant. It was a beautiful, magnificent evening that reminded me why I like summer.
Yesterday Chad appeased me and we watched a chick flick, He's Just Not That Into You. I liked it, he tolerated it. Beforehand, he even made me dinner while I went to the dog park with Lucy and our friend April (and their puppy Cooper).
And today, I got up and went to the gym, then had an incredibly productive--and busy!--day at work. I was even quoted on the front page of Marketplace in the Wall Street Journal!
On Tuesday afternoon, I won a $100 gift card to a well-known restaurant in DC during a drawing at work. I put in $5 in the raffle, which went to our fund to send things to the troops, and came out the winner. Chad and I have never been, but we're excited to go!
On Wednesday night, we walked down to Shirlington and ate outside at a cute little sushi restaurant. It was a beautiful, magnificent evening that reminded me why I like summer.
Yesterday Chad appeased me and we watched a chick flick, He's Just Not That Into You. I liked it, he tolerated it. Beforehand, he even made me dinner while I went to the dog park with Lucy and our friend April (and their puppy Cooper).
And today, I got up and went to the gym, then had an incredibly productive--and busy!--day at work. I was even quoted on the front page of Marketplace in the Wall Street Journal!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Pity party
I have done an admirable job feeling sorry for myself for...oh, about three months. To be fair, life has been a little chaotic. In addition to the merger and then the un-merger, I got an amazing job offer and turned it down, which I now regret. (Apologies to my faithful readers that I didn't clue you in on that little element.) I haven't been eating well or going to the gym, so I don't feel as good. My house is a mess (or at least it was until I went on a cleaning rampage Sunday). We've been eating out a lot and letting perfectly good food in our fridge go bad. In sum, I feel fat, wasteful, slovenly, broke, uninspired, and about a million other things.
It's time for this pity party to end.
This morning, I went to the gym and had a great workout. I decided somewhere between miles 1 and 2 on the treadmill that my woe-is-me mindset has gotten ridiculous. There is absolutely nothing that has happened to me lately that has been outside of my control, which means that it's time for me to take charge of what I can, work around what I can't, and embrace everything that's good in my life (really, there is so much!).
It's truly amazing how a change in perspective instantly makes things seem better. In the last three hours, I noticed how good the air smelled, savored my morning cup of coffee, sang along with the radio on the way to work, and already tackled a mundane task I'd been dreading.
Life is good. If I start feeling sorry for myself again, please remind me of this.
It's time for this pity party to end.
This morning, I went to the gym and had a great workout. I decided somewhere between miles 1 and 2 on the treadmill that my woe-is-me mindset has gotten ridiculous. There is absolutely nothing that has happened to me lately that has been outside of my control, which means that it's time for me to take charge of what I can, work around what I can't, and embrace everything that's good in my life (really, there is so much!).
It's truly amazing how a change in perspective instantly makes things seem better. In the last three hours, I noticed how good the air smelled, savored my morning cup of coffee, sang along with the radio on the way to work, and already tackled a mundane task I'd been dreading.
Life is good. If I start feeling sorry for myself again, please remind me of this.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Lucy's life
We received the following email from Lucy this morning. She apparently dictated her thoughts to Janice, who is hanging out with her over this long weekend.
------
Dear Ellen and Chad,
I just wanted to say thanks for going out of town! What a surprise that Janice came to pick me up yesterday after spending a day by myself. Woo hoo! We had SO much fun last night! We went on a walk, played fetch, ate dinner and then I found a brand new tennis ball in her purse which I helped myself to. After that I was so excited I couldn't contain myself anymore so I had to do a few shuttle runs. But then I got thirsty and drank a bunch of water so then I had to pee 4 times within an hour. Phew...
When she said 'time for bed' around 11 I knew she was just kidding. So I decided to sit by her bed and let her know I was still awake...playing her game. It was really fun. After that I had a GREAT nights sleep and woke up this morning at 4:00am refreshed and ready to go! Janice apparently didn't hear me get up, even though I vocally let her know I was awake, but she did around 5:30 and then we went for a 45 minute walk and played fetch AGAIN! Wow....so great. And then I had breakfast and played with my tennis ball while she got ready for the day.
So now I am just hangin around the house while Janice is at this thing called 'work'. Rumor has it, though, that Nick is going to stop by and play with me. Oooh boy I am so excited!
I'm having a great time here so don't hurry home. Anyway, I need to go. I'm going to go sit by the window to watch for Nick to come.
love, lucy
------
Dear Ellen and Chad,
I just wanted to say thanks for going out of town! What a surprise that Janice came to pick me up yesterday after spending a day by myself. Woo hoo! We had SO much fun last night! We went on a walk, played fetch, ate dinner and then I found a brand new tennis ball in her purse which I helped myself to. After that I was so excited I couldn't contain myself anymore so I had to do a few shuttle runs. But then I got thirsty and drank a bunch of water so then I had to pee 4 times within an hour. Phew...
When she said 'time for bed' around 11 I knew she was just kidding. So I decided to sit by her bed and let her know I was still awake...playing her game. It was really fun. After that I had a GREAT nights sleep and woke up this morning at 4:00am refreshed and ready to go! Janice apparently didn't hear me get up, even though I vocally let her know I was awake, but she did around 5:30 and then we went for a 45 minute walk and played fetch AGAIN! Wow....so great. And then I had breakfast and played with my tennis ball while she got ready for the day.
So now I am just hangin around the house while Janice is at this thing called 'work'. Rumor has it, though, that Nick is going to stop by and play with me. Oooh boy I am so excited!
I'm having a great time here so don't hurry home. Anyway, I need to go. I'm going to go sit by the window to watch for Nick to come.
love, lucy
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
On the road again
Chad and I are leaving this afternoon for a long weekend in Chicago. While there, we'll go to The Taste of Chicago, meet up with some of our friends in the city, go to the Cubs/Brewers game, and then head to Paul's 4th of July party in the 'burbs.
As I was packing my suitcase this morning, I thought about all the times I've packed it in the last two months (this is why I have not been blogging):
As I was packing my suitcase this morning, I thought about all the times I've packed it in the last two months (this is why I have not been blogging):
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Shenandoah Valley
- Charlotte
- Home
- LA
- Nashville
- Chicago
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