Jury Duty

I have been summoned for Jury Duty. Now, I am a good, American citizen and I would like to be involved in our judicial system - HOWEVER - the week they want me is the same week we are closing our store.

I know I can call and ask to be excused this time, but I believe it would be my one and one time only "get out of jail free card" (no puns intended here) and I am not sure I want to use it now. What if I get out of jury duty now and seven years from now they send me a notice and I'm due to be a grandmother? or I have a cruise booked for Alaska?

Decisions, decisions... I am tired of having to make them.

Summer

Since we are closing our retail store, I am looking forward to having a life again.

Here are ten things I am looking forward to this summer:

• having a garden
• planting flowers
  
• summer nights on the porch with my husband
  
• seeing more of my family
• learning to make my own Cosmopolitans
• spending time with my best friend, Mary Beth
• trying out a few new BBQ recipes
• going out for ice cream
• working from home again :-)
• enjoying my yard and pool (our new disco light for the pool should be kewl!)

:: sigh ::

Validation

A woman came into the store today and told me that she admired us (my husband and me) for having the courage to do what was "right" for our business (closing the storefront and focusing on our service-side of the biz).

It was nice to have someone tell us we were doing the right thing. We may know it, but it's nice to hear it from the general public too. :-)

Changes

We’re closing our store. My husband and I have been in business since 1998 and we opened a storefront in April, 2005. We sold computers, repaired computers, offered training, sold computer “stuff” and office supplies. We also had a UPS counter, made copies and provided fax services. It was a good business in an area that needed it and our locals welcomed our little store with open arms.

The business grew and celebrated a revenue increase of 187% (2003-2006). We hired high school kids each year and gave them a chance to see how a small business runs. Our customer base continued to grow quickly and we were happy.

Our goal with the storefront had been to grow the business into something that someone would want to buy in 10-15 years. After a few other local computer businesses closed and their customers came to us, we realized that the small amount of revenue the storefront generated would not be enough to make our business attractive enough to buy. We were still a services-based business and when we left the business (my husband and I) there wouldn’t be any business left.

We ran numbers and although business had been good, 90% of our expenses came from the storefront (rent, phones, security system, utilities and payroll) - yet the storefront only generated 30% of our revenue with the remaining 70% still being from our service side of the business.

So, we’re closing the store. We’ll stay in business though – just get a smaller office with less visibility. We have plenty of customers and work and we will be able to make money and not have to work such long hours. But part of me is sad – it’s been nice to be able to meet so many people and help them (I’m a fixer – love to “fix” everyone else’s problems!).

But change is good and with it comes opportunities for new things to happen. I’m also looking forward to being to work in my jammies again! ;-)

Rosie

I was home sick last week with a cold. This meant I could catch up on daytime TV, including The View. I didn’t really watch The View before Rosie O’Donnell – the format of the show (and the gals) didn’t really suit my taste. However, I had always watched Rosie’s talk show and found her style refreshing. I didn’t always agree with her opinions, but listening to other people’s views (no pun intended) is what makes life interesting and encourages discussions. So, when I heard Rosie was joining The View, I turned the channel to watch.

My schedule doesn’t allow me to watch much TV, much less daytime TV, so I would only catch The View a few times a month. However controversial you may have found Rosie’s comments, they made you think. Each time she “fought” with another at the table, it made you think. Hopefully, you were able to hear someone else’s view on the topic and consider looking at it from a different angle. This is what a talk show should be – fluff and stuff works too (I love a good recipe and tips for making my garden grow greener), but I prefer my TV to be stimulating – even at 11:00 in the morning.

I had heard (thru the tabloid blog-o-sphere) that Rosie was leaving the show and I caught her personal announcement on her blog. Her explanation for leaving was satisfactory and I wondered what she would be doing next – maybe a radio show? Take the summer off and be with her family?

However, was anyone prepared for the amount of media coverage regarding her departure from the show? Rosie herself discussed her surprise on her blog and I agreed – with everything going on in our world, was this really BIG news?

There are people dying in Iraq, people shooting people in broad daylight, the bees are disappearing and Rosie leaving a talk show is BIG news?

I agree with Rosie, something is wrong with this picture…

I'm Still Kewl - Aren't I?

So, I'm now in my 40s (44 this year to be exact) and I wonder when I became so "un-kewl" ? I expected my kids to find me non-kewl (they're 15 and 19), but I thought I would still feel cool and hip. I expected an automatic understanding and acceptance of others in my age group.

But the truth is, as I get older and try to keep up, I realize I am not kewl.

I don't know how to use my cell phone. Oh, I can answer it when it rings, make a call and check my missed calls logs - but I'm not too good at texting, sending pictures or surfing the web. My lack of cell phone skills don't make me un-kewl - the fact that I have no interest in learning how to do everything with my cell phone makes me un-kewl. This is what causes my 15-year-old son to roll his eyes and sigh, "Mom, you're OLD..."

I am too old to be cool.

I don't go places after 9 pm in the evening. I'm tired and want to wash my face and take off my clothes and read a book. The thought of dressing up and going out to a club - well, it just looks like work. Never mind that spending more than a few dollars for a glass of wine seems crazy to me...

I am too old to be cool.

I don’t want to wear anything tight or showing any more skin than I have to (nor would I want to subject anyone else to having to see me in anything tight or showing too much skin). I don’t think thongs are sexy and I have no plans to pierce any part of body.

I am too old to be cool.

There are no tattoos in my future. I don’t own an iPod. I wear little makeup and prefer to use body lotion without glitter.

Did I mention that I’m not cool?

Is there no hope for a 40-something-year-old like me? Well, I may be too old to be kewl, but I still do some cool stuff. I burn CDs – all the time – and I even download some of the songs from illegal places. I watch The Hills and MTV. I have a MySpace page. I am a computer consultant (this only means that anyone over the age of 50 thinks I’m cool because I can show them how to use their computer). I have my own business.

And now I have my own blog - how kewl is that?