I survived a school bombing…in 1988 May 31, 2018

My whole adult life, I have had problems in places with loud noises, lots of smells, etc., and I could never figure out why. Then I remembered and incident when I was in high school.

It was on my 17th birthday, in 1988, when a pipe bomb went off in a kid’s locker right across the hall from mine. A student a year older than my class had been bullied for years by the jocks.

My high school was small, in a small town, in rural Upstate NY, about 15 miles east of Buffalo. I went there from kindergarten until I graduated, and many of us knew each other that entire time. The middle and high schools were actually 3 different small towns, which had their own elementary schools.

Our school was all cliques. (I didn’t belong to any of them.) It was a good school, with an occasional fight, but that’s pretty much it. The school had a giant corn field across the street where kids would go to smoke, but that was the extent of naughty.

The jocks were exceptionally brutal, male and female. I was bullied for several years by the older girls there. I even got punched in the face once, but nobody really did anything about the bullying.

It pushed one kid over the edge. His friend got access to the master keys for our lockers. He crafted a mercury-switch pipe bomb, and put it in the sneaker of the bully.

It was just after homeroom when the bomb went off. (I am getting chills and close to tears writing this, because I never have before.) My clothing and books had blood on them. There was mass confusion, but one teacher got the victim to the nurse’s office, and we all went to first period.

We were on lockdown. At the time, we had a foreign exchange student, Natalia, from Spain. Our school had phones in every classroom, and I called hers to make sure she was ok. The school’s phone lines were all overloaded, as this was 1988.

Word got out, and the news showed up. We were locked in our classrooms for several periods, and were finally released early so the investigation could continue. At this point, nobody knew WTF had happened.

I finally realized last weekend that I have PTSD from this. THIS was that loud noise that has made a lot of events very grueling for me. Just a couple weeks ago, I had to leave one of my favorite networking events because the room got so loud, I started to panic. I can feel it, even now.

I did a quick Google search of the incident, and found a tiny newspaper clipping. This was the day after, so nobody knew quite yet what had happened.

Why You Need a Pro for Cannabis Social Media February 4, 2016

Oh, look. Another wave of cannabis Social Media bans. This time, dispensaries in Arizona (and other states) were shut down on Facebook for violation of the Terms of Service. You remember those, right? You hit “I agree” when you signed up for your Profile and Pages. That means you follow the rules of the network. It doesn’t matter if you are in a “legal” cannabis state. The network rules still stand. Period.

What shocks me most is that there is a LOT of competition out there in the cannabis industry, and it is growing every day. Yet, dispensary owners and product launchers know nothing about Social Media or branding themselves online. Meanwhile, accounts with a professional handling their accounts and profiles are flourishing.

In the cannabis industry, we focus so much on compliance with our product, but nothing else. Compliant Social Media is just as important. When you are removed from a network for TOS violations, you have to start over. And then you get banned again. And you have to start over. Again. Each time, you lose all your followers. Then you create a new account, and less and less will continue to follow you, every time.

Go where it’s ok to go. Follow the rules. If you don’t know them, hire a pro.

 

Ain’t That A Shame! July 23, 2015

Foodwinejunkie's Blog

I normally write about food, but today I’m going to write about something that, for many, is very closely linked to food: body image. Any regular readers of my blog will know I, like many women (and men), spent countless years of my life in a food fight. That is, I loved to eat, but I also was obsessed with fitting in with whatever body type was being exulted by the media at any given moment. So, I wasted so much time on crash diets, hating my body and basically, missing out on many of life’s wonderful moments. I mean, how do you truly enjoy a bubbling hot piece of pizza if all you are thinking about is what it MAY do to your thighs? You can’t. Luckily, with a lot of soul-searching I finally made peace with food and for the most part, my body.

Now, just because I…

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I didn’t choose to be an entrepreneur — it chose me. July 11, 2015

One day, at the end of one of my social media workshops, one of the attendees told me “I want my business to thrive so I can have pink hair, too.”

I was hired to do a private workshop (I’ve been having them for 4 years), and was chosen after a Google search revealed a Consultant with pink hair. “When I’m not at work, I like to put pink chalk in my hair,” is what I was told. Right on!

Wow. I’ve colored my hair since 1987. This past year, I went from a dark red, to fire engine red, to pink. I didn’t know how it would look, and I didn’t care. I’d try it, and if it didn’t look good, I’d color over it.

That is how life is supposed to be: You DO something new. You don’t “try to do,” you “do.” If it doesn’t work out or looks like shit, so what? At least you did it. You got out of your comfort zone!

My friend Jamie is my biggest cheerleader when it comes to my social media skills, and she told me to tell my story. Here goes:

About 4.5 years ago, I began the process to donate my kidney. (Go back to the beginning of 2011 in this blog to read more on that.) In the process, I was fired from my job. I had been very open about my decision to donate, gave them every appointment detail, and educated them on the process. I lost my job 2 weeks before saving a life. Within days, though, I was offered a job as a Social Media Manager for a family who owned a few businesses. We’d been following each other, and they liked what they saw in my skills.

I held that job for a year, but the company lost a big government contract and had to lay off about 50% of their employees. My boss said to me “You really should go into your business for yourself doing this.” At the time, I had been doing social media for myself for many years, because I started doing comedy and radio in 2003. I built a really awesome following by using social media to promote my shows.

Go into business for myself? What??? Seemed like something to just dream about, not implement! 41 years old, single, and all of a sudden, no job. Again. So, I talked to my friends and posted it everywhere that afternoon. I had 2 clients the next day.

I got my clients because of the relationships I have built over the years on social media. I got my clients by showing my constant learning and passion for social media. Never, ever, did I say “HIRE ME BECAUSE I AM THE BEST!” Nobody wants to be sold to. Nobody needs to hear you talk about yourself constantly.

It’s been over three years now, and it hasn’t been easy. In 2013, I was also making a documentary. I made $17K that year. It was tough, and I had to get some help from my parents, but I made it through. My income increased in 2014, but still not enough to take a vacation. I haven’t had one in 14 years, and my goal is to take one this year.

2015 has been really, really good to me. I’ve gotten into a niche industry that I love (more to come on that!). I’ve made really great connections. I’m on 18 months of monthly workshops for NetworkingPhoenix. I’ve changed my title to Consultant, and I’m doing more hourly consultations than I ever had before. I’ve spoken at Phoenix Start-up week, gotten back into doing the social media for Ignite Phoenix, and am on the verge of hiring an employee.

All of this…with pink hair. Because you know what? If you are awesome at what you do, the real people don’t care what color your hair is. Tattoos don’t bother them. If they do, I don’t want to work with them. I think my style shows I’m not afraid to take risks, and my creativity shines.

But, for me, it’s a sign of independence. Of giving The Man the middle finger. And, of showing that what’s inside your head could very well be reflected by what’s on top of it. It’s also a way for me to inspire other women to go out on their own.

My friend Dale and I were talking a couple years ago about working for myself. I said “I don’t make a lot of money, and it’s tough to make ends meet, but I work my own hours, in my pajamas.”

He responded with “That makes you the richest person here.”

It really does.

My clients don’t want what everyone else has. They want to stand out. Like me. Don’t be afraid of who you are. When your personality and passion shine, it will all find you.

Watch: David Letterman’s Final ‘Late Show’ Entrance May 21, 2015

I can’t even watch it. I’m so sad about it!

I toured a medical marijuana growhouse tonight! February 11, 2015

A few weeks ago, I got a notification on Facebook from a friend, inviting me to take a tour of a growhouse. I sent my RSVP, and waited for further instructions. They didn’t give out the name or address publicly. You had to be one of the first 50 to respond to get on the list and get the instructions. That’s super cool, in my book. I told my friend Jenny about it, and she got in, too. I also noticed a couple other friends who had replied that they were going.

Now, I don’t know about zoning or anything, so I don’t know how many of these are in the area where we went, in South Phoenix. I don’t know the size of the facility. It was just any old industrial warehouse with a fence around it.

We were not allowed to have our cell phones out at all during the tour. We were not allowed to take pictures, either.

We walked in and could smell the cannabis immediately. There were chairs set up for us, and we listened to a couple speakers before being taken on a short tour. The first room was smaller plants. (The smallest are in a “nursery” and are just too small to bother showing, and the room is tiny.) Each plant (in this facility, these strains), takes about two months to mature. For a certain amount of time, they are in one room, then they get moved to the next, and the next.

The lights started out as bluish, and we were informed that spectrum of light represents Spring and Summer, when plants are starting to grow in nature. As the tour progressed from room to room, the lights got less blue and more yellow-orange. The last room, with plants about 2 weeks from maturity, had lights that were the most orange out of all of them, such as in Autumn.

When I looked around at the crowd, about 25% of the people were older than 60. Two were in wheelchairs. Everyone else just looked like any normal people, and there were about as many women as men.

The best part about the entire night was this: education. There were people asking questions who knew nothing about the industry, or the benefits of medical marijuana. But, they wanted to learn and get involved.

Isn’t it best to have an informed opinion?

This is NOT the facility where we were. We were not allowed to have cell phones at all.

So long, #kidneychat! It’s been real. February 8, 2015

Last week was the last formal #kidneychat. After two years, I feel it’s run its course. But, real life is a priority right now, and I have a few businesses to run.

Over the past two years, I’ve met some awesome people! I’ve seen people get kidneys. I’ve seen people donate. And, most of all, I’ve seen a culture of kidney people, with an outlet to communicate, learn about each other and make new friends.

People have stumbled on #kidneychat from all over the world! Some don’t even have anything to do with kidneys, but they still show up because that’s what Social Media is all about.

Make friends. Build relationships. Learn about people.

It’s been real, folks! You know how to stay in touch. 🙂

I’m a nerd. I play Ingress. January 11, 2015

Last summer, I saw on a friend’s Facebook that they liked “Ingress.” I had no idea what it was, so I did a Google search and found a new addiction.

Basically, Ingress is a worldwide, GPS-based game that sends you to “portals” everywhere. For example, a mural on a building could be a portal. There are two teams: Enlightened and Resistance. Both have their own personalities. You can look those up. I’m on the Enlightened team because I like green more than blue. That’s seriously how I chose sides.

What I love about Ingress is that you have to physically go to each portal. Like, walk. Some people drive, some people bike, but I love walking. I have logged over 300 kilometers since I started playing in August. I can get up close to whatever the portal is and see something in my neighborhood I may have otherwise overlooked. That’s the second thing I love about this game.

Third, it’s a new social circle for me. I love meeting new people and making connections. I knew NOBODY at the first happy hour event I went to. I was 100% anonymous, and I loved it. I didn’t know a whole lot about the game, and it was good to learn from people who had been playing for a long time and were at a high level.

So, I learn new things. I meet new people. I walk a lot. Try it out. It’s pretty cool!

Why learning Spanish, not Mandarin, is the best way to globalize your ideas December 18, 2014

Cool thoughts on this! I’m fluent in Spanish. 🙂

My Picotope saltwater tank is ready! December 11, 2014

My client & friend Rachel gave me a Picotope for Xmas. I have been infatuated with the one in their office at The Neuromuscular Studio  and I house sit for a family that has a giant tank. I’m always so enthralled and sit and watch, sometimes for hours.

Last Friday I put it together. I added the sand, live rocks, and salt water. You have to let it “cycle” for a week, so everything gets acclimated to each other, before adding fish, coral, etc. This is it the first night, right after the sand settled.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the day to add “stuff,” and I’ve spent about a dozen hours on different websites and in different forums to learn about it. I have never had a salt water tank, and I’m pretty excited about this.

I knew I wanted to start with some coral and a hermit crab or shrimp. I went to my local tank store and came home with a frag (that’s the lingo for “piece.” Haha!) of zoa coral and a Halloween hermit crab. I am adding a sexy shrimp next week, when they get them stocked.

Here you can see the bags floating in the tank. That is to make sure they slowly come to the same temperature before you add them to the tank. You do NOT add the water from the bag, because it will have a different salinity. The frag of coral is glued to a “post,” which is what you use to place it in the tank. I read ahead of time about this one, and it does better higher up in the tank, so I have moved it around a couple times. After 10 minutes, you remove your new baby from the bag and place it into the tank. (Have a towel nearby. It can get messy.)

Here is the Halloween hermit crab. I am having a contest on Facebook to name him. I have decided it’s a boy.

I’m really in love with my Picotope! I am excited in the mornings to say “Hi!” to my new family members.