Share your wealth, baby!

However cautious we may be about spending, our jobs and the possibility that the economy may go further down before a lasting upturn, our current personal situation is usually much better than it is for so many others. The truth is, many--not all--of us aren't really hurting. We're more affected by the perceptions and fears being circulated about possibilities that haven't yet touched us.

So here's a few ways to spread some of your blessings to others...and believe me, there's something to fit every wallet--even if it's only ten bucks or a few hours of your time. Some suggestions are:

• Getting your booty down to donate some time or energy to the food bank or Salvation Army. Here's a direct link to All Faith's Food Bank in Sarasota. If you contribute $1.00 to the All Faiths Food Bank, $.94 goes directly to the product and its distribution.
  
• Giving what you can to the Season of Sharing Fund, established to help families on the verge of homelessness. The money goes to agencies that disburse funds on an emergency basis. No red tape and no administrative fees. Every dollar goes directly to those in need. And you can choose whether your donation goes to Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto or Charlotte County families.
  
• Purchasing holiday gifts from a really cool organization, Alternative Gifts International--a nonprofit group that works with organizations all over the world alleviating poverty, helping the environment, providing health care, etc. You can choose a very specific project with a very specific donation. Your gift recipient will receive a card explaining exactly what you purchased for them in their honor.

Just choose one...or do your own thing. But share the wealth, baby! The truth is, we never know when we'll find ourselves in a situation where we need a little help. If you think all people in distress are there through their own choosing or lack of responsibility, you may just have a little visit from Mr. Karma one day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Insomnia--Pour Yourself a Cup

Ideally, I would have a burning project that I just have to stay awake for. Or a great movie that is available only at this hour. But there's not much begging for a page-turning during this 1 am book of late November. I'm just up in a quiet house and even the dog has no interest in joining me.

So for now, blogging is the new reading--the new sheep counting--of a night without sleep. I probably did it to myself, hitting the sack at 8:30 pm after what seemed like an energy sucking day. Naturally, I'm annoyed, knowing that deep sleep will hit just before the alarm goes off. But instead of bitching, I thought I'd list a few things I'm really grateful for:

• Having a job. I know it sounds dumb, but really, I am so grateful. Things are pretty rough out there for a lot of people, and I'm thankful to be employed without a large, looming threat of "walking Spanish." (Read "And Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris if you haven't already...it's hilarious.)
  
• Two living parents. Nerd & mom, are you reading this? Yep, I'm pretty thankful everyday that you're around and I don't take your presence and everything you do for granted. Mean it.
  
• A husband who's willing to go get new tires for me, do most of the cooking (to save himself from nasty casseroles), and be a supporting, caring partner. (Hey, I buy dinner a lot of the time, do the laundry, clean, and other stuff!)
  
• The reminder that I'll never get time back...ever. I probably think of this way too often (to the point of it being a doom and gloom type of thing), but I'm glad to live in the reality that I need to cherish each moment, even if it's the wee hours of the morning and I can't sleep.

What are you grateful for these days, and are you sleeping at night?

Ellenton: You Should Try It

Realizing the claim to fame for Ellenton is its outlet mall, many of you may have been up that way but may not have checked out the little crossroads for all it's worth. In your next scuttle up to the Columbia, Anne Taylor, Chico's and Nike outlets, may I make a few additional recommendations?

Pack yourselves a lunch, folks, and explore. Today I took my second tour in 6 months of the Gamble Plantation. It's a walk back in mid-1800's SW Florida--and well worth the trip. Our guide was a high school history teacher who drives all the way from Clearwater to volunteer there every Sunday. She's a big history geek as you might imagine, but let me tell you, her tour was the bomb. There's not much in U.S. history she doesn't know. And she was a great storyteller.

While you have your shopping shoes on, why not support some of the local stores where items aren't made by little kids in factories? When you walk in The Mermaid's Attic (right across the street from the Gamble Plantation), you'll feel like melting into sleep with the calm blue and white decour. Almost everything is either made new locally, or is vintage, adorable and in great shape. Very reasonably priced. You can find jewelry, peaceful home furnishings, beautiful ceramic bowls and a stylish and conversational store owner from North Carolina.

The Earth Box Research Center, supplying portable gardens of fresh, healthy veggies, is right in Ellenton, just 1 minute from the Plantation. It's a great place to stop and find a unique gift for your fam and friends.

Haven't been yet? Make an afternoon of it, and bring someone with you. It's a great place to share.

A Shaken Soda Can and A Karmic Mistake

I feel a bit like a soda can that's been dropped a bunch of times and is getting ready to be opened. I'm oversaturated with information from lots of clever people from all over the country and I'm eager to hatch out a plan to implement some of it in my corner of the world.

Tomorrow one of my favorite bloggers will speak. I've been wanting to meet Beth Kanter. Our brief conversation today revealed her as a genuine gal, full of informative wisdom and fresh with experiences from her work in places I'd love to visit. Have you seen her blog?

And there was good news for the cells in body--Loews did better on breakfast this morning and supplemented the regular lunch offerings with a good 'ole garden burger option. Alright! We're now at least getting to the 90's in terms of alternative food choices.

The Karmic Mistake of the Day: A large tray of cheese and fruit, a bowl of assorted nuts, and a $100 bottle of wine were mistakenly delivered to our room with a note to a gentleman I've never met. I called downstairs to inform them of the mistake, and the nice lady just told me to enjoy it. Repayment for the bowl of bare lettuce?

A Bowl of Dry, Romaine Lettuce

I guess I shouldn't complain since it was romaine, not iceberg. But really, Loews Hotel, really. This is a four star hotel on South Beach. Today during our keynote luncheon, a giant bowl of completely dry romaine lettuce (i.e. no dressing, no croutons, no shredded parm) was placed in front of me. The consolation prize for the token vegetarian was something a resort should be embarrassed about. I had no choice but to eat and laugh. And really, there are starving people in the world. I should shut up and be grateful.

Yet this evening, after walking a mile to our conference restaurant, I was getting a little on the angry side to find that none of our menu choices included anything remotely vegetarian. The substitute...a bowl of spaghetti. Hmmmm... in a place of such culture and international flavor, is this really the best you can do, Miami? One meal I can deal with. But after a few days of no sustenance but a little roughage and lots of carbs, I'm starting to feel really, really tired. Tired of crap.

The Conference Continues...

The view of Miami Beach from the balcony today was gorg. I've never seen water on the east coast so green. It almost rivaled our good 'ole Anna Maria Island (pictured right--that ain't no Miami Beach). Lots of friendly folk from around the country are here, open with sharing ideas from their corner of the world.

So what did I do today? I attended a 5 hour long session about Virtualization and understood about 4 to 6 minutes of it. I chatted with some techies who are up to some pretty neat things. And I reminded myself that I appreciate having a job and the opportunity to be here.

My co-workers and I placed the standard phone calls to husbands and kids, sending smoochy thoughts to the dogs. We had a bit of a strange dinner after a tiring day, populated by an interesting exchange of table talk.

As you've probably noted, surrounded by the same group of people for any length of time, one quickly learns that speech is bound to offend one or more in the party. After the niceties and catch-up conversation, getting-to-know you better questioning and general commentary wears off--that's when the barriers in thinking before speaking start to relax. It seems to be facilitated by the distance from home too.

There's a trite, overused saying that resurfaces from time to time. It's good advice. "Just be nice."

I Am SO Annoyed I Forgot the Camera

Today is Day 1 of a trip to Miami with four co-workers for a technology Conference. If there's one mistake I made already, it's the failure to bring my camera along. Already, we've seen some interesting things.

We all rode down together today in a white global warming bus (a large SUV belonging to one of our tribe that fit us and our motherload of crap quite comfortably). Our faithful and considerate IT man spent the 3.5 hour journey hammering away on his presentation while covering his mouth with a surgical mask. He's got a tiny sinus infection and was concerned about contaminating our car air. Aw, shucks, have you ever heard of anyone so thoughtful? I just wish I had a photo...

The hotel is beautiful, and we've got a nice ocean front room with two double beds. And we can enjoy the view of all of the freaks walking about on South Beach to our hearts' content. I'm in husband's home turf, the place where he spent hours working in the Cleveland and probably doing things I don't want to know about. I miss the bald man already...

Just found out that the two boys on the trip have a nice, comfy king sized bed to share.