Interview w/ 5th Grade Class from Woodland Elementary School in Perrysburg, OH

Ok... This was the coolest thing! Folks from Woodland Elementary School in Perrysburg, Ohio found my Fine Resort Vacation site online, and contacted me about a project they are doing that incorporates several fields of study - science, math, social studies, etc.

Mr. Jason Hubbard's 5th grade class has formed an "intergalactic tourist board" to design a planet that will entice Darth Vadar to visit, relax, and shake off his evil ways.

So, they asked if I would participate in a question and answer session to help them understand what types of activities and ammenities might be good at such a resort. And since I market Global Resorts Network memberships which include access to thousands of different resorts (and since I visit them myself), I was able to add some insight based on my own experiences.

What we did was set up a video conference using Skype, and I have to say it was awesome! What a blast! The kids had great questions, and it was the most fun I've had in at least a week! :)

We also talked about the things I have seen based on my experiences in Antarctica and New Zealand. We discussed how New Zealand might be a good country to study since it is such a beautiful destination.

Anyway, I'll update this blog if I learn anything else about how the project turned out.

I'm very grateful to Woodland Elementary School for inviting me to participate, and quite humbled, as well. It was an honor to help.

My Old Antarctic Home

For some reason I found myself thinking about Antarctica this morning. Probably because I've been recently corresponding with a few prospective customers from New Zealand, which was one of my favorite stomping grounds after leaving "the ice" (as we called it) after a season of working in McMurdo a number of years ago.

It may also be because today, on the beach at Cherry Grove (North Myrtle Beach, SC), the wind is just howling - and it sounds just like it used to in McMurdo on some of the nastier days.

Aside from the internet marketing work I have embraced over the last year or so, I would have to say that working in Antarctica was some of the most enjoyable time I have ever spent. It wasn't necessarily the jobs themselves, but the people who made it such a blast.

Please indulge me as I take a little trip down memory lane...

During the numerous seasons I spent at McMurdo, I recall thinking that we were all part of Peter Pan's "Lost Boys," and that we just were all a bunch of kids at heart. There really weren't that many of us back then - during my first season in 1984 I think there were about 900 men and less than 100 women. Living conditions were a bit more primitive than they are now, but none of us seemed to care.

For my first few seasons, I worked in the sheet metal department with a group of the most hilarious and fun-loving group of guys I have ever known. Sometimes, we would laugh until we would be a quivering mess, slumped over the sheet metal table - laughing so hard that tears would be falling down our faces. Who knows what we were laughing about... I recall, at Christmastime when everyone would be looking forward to mail. If there wasn't any mail on any given day's flights, we would woefully sing a modified version of "The First Noel," replacing the "Noel" refrain with "No Mail...No Mail..." and a few other choice lyrics. What we did to butcher or modify other songs is not fit for print.

Sometimes our personal renditions of various songs, stories or poems would take on a rather bawdy form. I recall a number of us in the "Foldaway" - the large building housing the carpenters, electricians, plumbers, welders, and sheet metal workers, participating in a type of "round robin" style of poetry, where each person would take a juvenile-type of poem, and re-write a line while illustrating it in our own special way. The result would be about an 8-frame comic of some of the most insane rhymes one could think of. They were, of course, the kind of poems where "you had to be there" in order to understand their meanings. I still have copies of these (maybe one day I can scan one when I get back up north).

I still stay in touch with a few of my old friends - my songbird singing partners Ann and Dawn, with whom I spent countless hours learning how to sing madrigals (thanks to Ann!) - and we became known as the McMurdo Madrigals, where our star (and only) performance was at the Art Show that our friend Neal (who is beyond genius)somehow cooked up. The imagination and different talents people had were unbelievable.

On my occasional visits back to NJ, I see our former construction superintendent Steve - who is now my brother in law. Art is still going back & forth to the ice and New Zealand with the National Science Foundation, and we talk on occasion - but a visit with all these people would be far better!

I often think of Gary and Mike and Nick in the sheet metal shop, and wonder where they are, and if they still laugh as much as we did then. The sheet metal department holds some memories for me that are downright sacred. I miss my fellow "Bio Blondes" Kristin and Lisa, and Steve and Jim (who were honorary Bio Blondes) with whom I worked at the old Bio Lab (which was dismantled after my winter over season). Hmmm. We laughed like crazy in there, too!

Wintering over with Dave, Dawn, and J.B. was amazing - we spent hours upon hours singing folk tunes...

I have hilarious memories of laughing insanely with Neal over scenes in "The Sound Of Music" that he re-interpreted in a manner that absolutely defies description... the fun group in the Chalet - Stephanie, Diane, Art, and Dawn... and singing backup with Kerri for Neal, Dane, and "Falling Bodies," the band that entertained at any excuse for a big base-wide party.

Ahh. I find myself smiling over these memories as I sit here on the beach of Cherry Grove - looking over the ocean, wondering about all the people who were part of my life, and hoping that - wherever they are, they are doing well, and have the same fond memories that I do.

Nearly 20 years later, I have accepted that I will not be returning to Antarctica, although revisiting New Zealand is certainly a high priority for me. But, as I watch from the sidelines as the "new watch" get ready to deploy each October (there are a number of people from northern NH who participate in this annual adventure these days), I can only hope that they are enjoying their experiences at least as much as I enjoyed mine.

Thanks for indulging my little journey back to the land of the Lost Boys, those crazy years on the ice - back when "the men were tough, the women were few, and the penguins were nervous..."

Animal Rescue Site Helping to Feed Abused & Neglected Animals

Hello everyone! I heard from an old friend from my days in the Antarctic program, and she knows that I'm a pet lover. She found this site, where, thanks to many great sponsors, they are getting free food donated daily to help abused and neglected animals!

The site is called The Animal Rescue Site, they need people to visit daily, and click on the purple box labeled "Click here to Give - it's Free!"

It's one of the easiest ways I've seen to help. And, if you have a soft spot for animals, like I do, you can do it daily - just save it to your favorites.

Please feel free to pass this post along! Again, this doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.

Once again, here's the web site! Please pass it along to people you know.

Once again, this posted in memory of my little Kitty - who was also abandoned at one time.
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

Must Have Cats

We are really enjoying life here in South Carolina this winter. The last 2 days were quite cold by southern standards – and it chilled even us to the bone. It actually went into the teens overnight the other night – and this cold snap reminded us why we left New Hampshire this winter to begin with.

But it isn’t just the differences in weather that set each region apart. There are all sorts of differences that we’ve noticed. For example, last night we visited with some of our new friends down here (have I mentioned how friendly everyone is down here?), and the talk turned to our respective cats. First, if you’ve been reading along in the blog lately, you may recall in my entry about the Miracles of 2008 that we recently lost our own little Kitty. So, I still get choked up when we talk about cats…

I had never had a pet when growing up in suburban New Jersey. So, having a pet was a totally new concept to me. The idea of having a little furry companion initially appealed to me when I moved to northern New Hampshire, after having worked for several seasons in Antarctica. In the mountains of New Hampshire, I was alone for most of the year with no family, and I didn't know many people - this was a very quiet area. After the experience of working with hundreds of amazing people in Antarctica over the course of the last 7 or 8 years, life was pretty lonely. That's when cats entered my life, and I've never looked back.

During my years in NH, I worked for a short time for the Mount Washington Observatory, which is a great educational non-profit organization that has been monitoring weather from the top of Mount Washington since the 1930's. They have a wonderful staff, some of the best folks I've ever worked with.

And at the summit (of Mt. Washington), they also have a cat. This has been a tradition for decades. One of my favorite photos from the Observatory, taken of the crew that witnessed the world-record high winds of 231 miles per hour on April 12, 1934, includes a little cat being held by one of the observers.

Just a year or so ago (December 2007), a nationwide primary vote was conducted to find the next summit cat since longtime mascot, Nin, was retiring to live in Gorham, NH. It's a lot of work being the summit cat, and it was time for a younger cat to take the controls. About 8,000 votes came in, and the winner was Marty, a cat from the Conway Area Humane Society, who of course has big paws to fill, but as I understand, is adjusting beautifully.

Back to South Carolina. While we were at our friends’ house, I was petting her newest cat, an adopted shelter kitty who is battling to regain his health. Thinking of how much I miss my Kitty, I mentioned how difficult it is to find a rent that will accept cats – and yet, quite a number of places will allow dogs. Our friend explained one of the reasons for this – cat dander is difficult to remove from the rental units, and some people are highly allergic to cat dander.

Somehow, the discussion turned to the topic of bugs. You know, like spiders, and such. There is this unusual bug that we’ve recently encountered called the Palmetto bug. Oh. And another bug I had never seen before called the cockroach. Evidently, Palmetto bugs are ever so slightly different than the common cockroach – at least that’s what the Bug Man tried to explain when he came to our unit for the monthly pest control routine.

Now as I understand it, cockroaches are just about everywhere in this country. I just had never seen one.

When I did see one, I reacted how some people react when they first see a mouse.

Now, the funny thing is, some of the folks I’ve met down here have said that if they saw a mouse, they would freak out. I mentioned that up in rural northern NH where we have our house, mice are so common that I hardly even notice them.

Except when they skitter and scratch in the walls, waking me up during the middle of the night.

Of course, I noticed them when Kitty would leave one in the hallway at our bedroom door as a gift – obviously placing it there so we would be sure to find it (kind of like anticipating giving out presents on Christmas morning).

So it’s all kind of relative, I guess.

Back to last night. Well, after an absolutely wonderful evening, we drove back to the condo complex with our other new friends staying at the same place – who also have a cat. Fortunately, they were able to find a unit that accepts cats.

And, maybe this is a coincidence, and maybe it is not – but they don’t have any Palmetto bugs or cockroaches in their unit.

I then recalled that another new friend of ours here was telling me how her pets chase the bugs like mice.

And I got to thinking that these condo owners have it all wrong. They should be INSISTING that we all have cats. Even if they only caught a few bugs, the cats would certainly earn their keep. And think of how far this would go in helping raise the pet adoption rates.

John and I began talking about how we would handle mouse control at our New Hampshire house if we decide to use it as a rental property. After all, it is in a gorgeous area, and a lot of people really love the views we have. But, then I’d be concerned. What happens if our renters have the same reaction to mice that I have to the Palmetto bugs and cockroaches?

That’s when John said, “Well, that does it. They’d have to have a cat.”

So here’s our potential rental policy statement:
“You must have a cat. Any mice your cat dispatches can and will be used against the costs of rodent control. You have the right to more than one cat. If you cannot afford a cat, one will be provided for you.”

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention – When I see a tick crawling up my leg in the summer in NH, I react in a similar fashion to how I reacted when I saw the Palmetto bug.

At least the Palmetto bugs don’t crawl up my leg.

(Note: There are so many homeless pets, and it is absolutely heartbreaking to me when I visit animal shelters. I realize that we can't all have pets, and that some people should NOT have pets - and of course we can only have so many pets...

But, if you are in a position to have a pet - please consider adoption, and visit your local animal shelter, or visit http://www.petfinder.com/ or similar website.

This is a public service message from me, because I really miss my Kitty.

If you can't have a pet, please consider helping your local shelter in some other way. The Humane Society of the United States has a lot of information about adoption and how to help at their website here. Thanks for reading!)

So what DOES one do with an English degree?

I was just looking over my profile, and I chuckled at the part where I mention receiving a B.A. in English. Really... What WAS I thinking?

Actually, what I was NOT thinking was "Internet Marketing," or "Home Based Business." No. I think I had "Writer for National Geographic" on my mind - but since I feel out of place in Corporate America, I guess I'm glad it didn't go that way.

But, once - while working as a helo scheduler on the Ice (see my profile about Antarctica) I had the distinct pleasure of being on a helo trip with an absolutely brilliant National Geographic photographer (I think George Mobley is the name...), and watching him work really was an honor.

When I was about 7 years old, my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told him, "Either a fairy princess or a writer." He then wisely suggested that being a writer might be the way to go.

But who knew, in the late 1970's, what a writer would be doing in the 2000's? A short journey in the land of the freelance magazine writer proved quickly to pay about $2.00 per hour. That was my first foray into the world of "home based business." Surely, I was good and stuck if something didn't happen.

I almost gave up. I nearly bought into the idea that I just needed a "good job." Oh... the shudder of it all...

I played around with a variety of early models of home based businesses such as mail order. Once, my first husband and I tried an early model of network marketing. I think, if I could locate the bottles of the fiber wafers we stocked up on, they would probably be pretty moldy now - but the guy who introduced us to the concept was pretty successful. He drove a new Chrysler that his commissions paid for. Considering the fact that we drove around in a '72 Duster, that Chrysler looked pretty good.

I think that very short experience set the stage though. I have ALWAYS loved the concept of network marketing or direct selling as a home based business. Of course I never succeeded in those early years - but I never forgot about it (thank goodness!)!

Fast forward to the world of the Internet. It was on the Internet that I learned about the skill of copywriting (aka advertising writing). I love it! I have finally found a use for my writing skills. I now use them to create all the text on web pages on my Portable Garages website, http://www.portablegaragesandshelters.com/.

As far as my GRN business landing pages (http://www.truthtowealthonline.com/ and http://www.PresentingGRN.com hint... hint... hint) I have to hand the kudos for the development and writing of them to others! I've had a lot of people comment on the retail page (to sell vacation memberships to people who are not interested in the business opportunity end of things) - and while I wish I could take the credit for it, I cannot! Again, the great work of other copywriters: http://www.FineResortVacations.com

I use my skills when creating ads, running pay per click campaigns, doing internet research... and all sorts of things! I used help others develop resumes and cover letters - but I don't do much of that anymore. It's far too tempting for me to tell clients to forget about a 9-5 job and go for a home based business - preferrably an internet based marketing business - instead.

Anyway, to any of you aspiring writers or English majors out there - don't lose hope! While teaching is a grand and necessary occupation - it's certainly not the only one! Get some copywriting classes under your belt, join with a good home based business opportunity (pick me! pick me!), and broaden those horizons!