05
Feb 10

What I’m reading.

Today was a day of catching up on starred items from my RSS subscriptions and twitter feeds. I came across some really interesting stuff.

EXPLORING ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE OPTIONS


how to live rent-free MSN money has a really interesting article here. Talks about caretaking properties, housesitting, and “Workamping.”

The Guardian (UK) had a fascinating piece written by Katharine Hibbert who talks about life as a squatter/skipper; the Guardian has since taken down the article due to copyright limitations. The text of the article can be found here. I am absolutely fascinated by this lifestyle and had no idea that squatting was legal anywhere. I wish her book was available on amazon.

Get Rich Slowly has an interesting article about the Great Depression based around a book called “Hard Times: an Oral History of the Great Depression.” Read the review here

PREPARING FOR OUR BIG MOVE

Expatify.com (“inspiring expatriatism”) has a list: 15 things to know before you move overseas.

Recessionwire shares 11 steps to relocation

Unclutterer.com has an interesting post: mentally preparing to move overseas.

Chris Guillebeau on learning to travel lightly. Also, 28 things I wish I knew before I started traveling. And don’t forget Why you should quit your job and travel around the world.

04
Feb 10

overboiled

boiled eggs overdone



Most of my attempts at food preparation involving a rangetop end up in failure. I’m not exaggerating. Ask me about the frozen pizza sometime.


I imagine that the fact that I don’t cook on a regular basis (or… ahem… at all) is a point of constant worry for Ali’s mom. While we’re living at her house she has been plying us with elaborate homecooked meals every single day. The amount of time these Persian ladies spend standing in the kitchen for food prep makes me even less inclined to want to learn the fine art of cooking.


Part of me thinks that cooking is, and will continue to be, a lost art for anyone age 30 or younger. Although I’d love to have the skill set to enable me to cook anything I choose, I’m not really interested in putting forth the time and effort it takes to cook complex dishes.


Am I spoiled because we have enough money to buy pre-prepared meals?

03
Feb 10

haunting and beautiful

holga film wedding portrait

This is a film photo taken October 30, 2009 – my final wedding last year. I love the effect of the double exposure on 120 film, through a holga camera.

24
Jan 10

Groupon!

I am fascinated by Groupon. It’s a site that offers luxury lifestyle items – such as spa services and custom photo shoots – at steep discounts. The idea is that if a certain number of customers buy into a deal (usually 20 or more) then the deal is on… meaning groupon users now get a manicure for $10 or dinner at a five star restaurant for $30.



I first got curious about groupon when I noticed around the holidays, a Boston-area photographer was offering $40 photo shoots. That might not seem like such a deal, especially for the services of a photographer without an established business or style, but you have to realize that people can redeem their photo shoot for up to a year after the date of purchase – and the photographer has promised a custom session for each person which is MUCH longer time commitment than the 60 minutes or so you are on location with the clients. A San Francisco-are photography studio who does much better work and seems better equipped to handle the influx recently did a groupon for $35 photo shoots in their studio. Now they have 500 or so new customers to support this year.



Digging into the issue a bit further when angered over the Boston photographer who didn’t even seem to know how to take a technically sound photo – I discovered that Groupon keeps a cut of the earnings. So even though that photographer had 100 new customers to keep her busy, she’s not making $40 per session – Groupon may be keeping up to 50% of the fee. So she’s probably making $20-35 per photo session. The $35 studio is probably making $20 per session while Groupon walks away with $7500 for simply putting up a webpage and arranging the payments.



I remain fascinated by the groupon model. Is it shady or brilliant (or both?) to extort such a high percentage of the sales from business owners? They’ve done a good job of creating buzz and gaining subscribers which is of course why they can demand such a high commission.



I can see why groupon appeals to so many people – especially in the climate of the past couple of years. Everyone’s had to tighten their belts, and at this point they’re tired of sacrificing things. So back to luxuries – as much as you can get for as little as you can pay, of course.



And I realize that the business owners themselves volunteer to be put in this position. They are bullied by Groupon to put the price for their sale service at a sweet spot that Groupon customers will buy in bulk — meanwhile Groupon itself wants to guarantee that the service or product will sell well so they get their hefty commission. So me grumbling that Groupon is a ripoff for small business owners might be met by some who argue that the business owners put themselves there by choice.



This past week I took advantage of two different groupon deals — I got a haircut from the owner of a hip downtown salon for $30 and a 60 minute massage from a freelance therapist for $36. Both are services I previously wanted to have done. I went into the appointments ready to ask questions and find out some answers.



The salon owner let me know that she decided to do the groupon in order to bring in some new customers. She has had the same client base for years, and they tended to be men (not profitable cuts) and older ladies (not exciting). This cute, young, ambitious salon owner had lots of creative ideas she wanted to be able to try on a fresh crowd. The groupon set the phones ringing off the hook on a day when she was away with her son’s class on a field trip.



The massage therapist was a gem of an appointment. As soon as she started working I knew I had gotten way lucky! She rents a room in a commercial complex and it isn’t quite personalized yet, but as an independent business owner she was thrilled to go from 3 appointments every week to solid bookings every day.  Groupon clients tend to be people who demand a lot even for the deal, and some customers were angry they could not reach her right away or schedule an appointment for that same week. 1500 people bought the deal; she’s now expanding her business location and sending out the clients to other massage therapists. Groupon pays businesses in three installments, one is the week after the Groupon sells, then the other two 1/3 payments follow. For the record, Groupon wanted 50% from the massage therapist, but she got them down to less. So of the $36, Groupon kept $16 and she got $20. For a full 60 minute massage! Yikes.



I feel qualified to comment strongly only on the photographers offering their services on the cheap, although I imagine the feeling often transfers to other types of businesses as well. When you tell clients that they can get a custom photo shoot for $50, then they start to expect that from other photographers. I feel like the market drops a few points every time a photographer shoots for cheap. Photography is already an industry where the true cost of running a business is not appreciated by clients or by new business owners who think they can turn a hobby into fast cash.



I’m not really sure where to take this and have no neat thoughts to tie up this post, but want to say that I honestly cannot imagine being put in the position of suddenly having 100, 500, or 1500 new customers without an elaborate business model, plus the experience to support it. In running a groupon deal, you promise that your business will provide a deal with no real end in sight. Of course some people will forget about their coupon or choose not to redeem it, but you’re stuck honoring people and their super sale item even 350 days later when you’ve moved on and sighed in relief that the cheap people are done and only the good ones will become regular full price customers.



I suppose this is another area that reveals my snobbishness, but no thanks… I don’t think I want Groupon-type clients. I’m probably a little bit jealous that some random photographer who still uses blogspot for a business page would suddenly have 100 new clients, but I’ve been in business long enough to know that those who come in for the deal are very unlikely to be willing to pay full price for anything down the road.

20
Jan 10

tricking people into doing the right thing.

Stop men from peeing on the floor. Authorities at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam have etched the image of a black housefly into each urinal. It seems that men usually do not pay much attention to where they aim, which can create a bit of a mess. But if you give them a target, they can’t help but try to hit it. Similar designs have been implemented in urinals around the world, including mini soccer goals, bulls-eyes, and urine video games (seriously). Do they work? Since the bugs were etched into the airport urinals, spillage has decreased by 80 percent.

source: GOOD

20
Jan 10

photos from cookie-making

Every year around Christmas I love to cut out cookies with the kids in my life.

19
Jan 10

it hailed in san jose today

… for five minutes.

Here’s a look up at part of Boott Mills, a cotton mill in Lowell’s national park system where we lived in 2009.

18
Jan 10

not gazing, but looking forward

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupery

17
Jan 10

is there tupperware abroad?

I have probably spent way too much time wondering about the random things abroad. Should I bring sheets? Are the beds even the same size? Are we going to get stuck with ugly furniture in some random ugly apartment? Should I bring tupperware? It’s a serious question.

Katie B, a friend from my semester abroad and a recent wedding client says this about tupperware. Bear in mind she lives in the UK, with access to a US army base.


“Yes, they have tupperware here.  It’s not name brand and when I said Rubbermaid they looked at me like I was nuts.  But they do have plastic storage.  As for semi-disposable I’m not sure.  All the ones I have I either brought with me or bought on base.  This country is a little less disposable than the USA.  They don’t have much room for landfill so they are more concerned with you keeping what you buy and recycling it when you’re done.”

Katie’s is a profound answer when I took some time to think about it. I’m bring very AMERICAN to even care about tupperware right now, when Ali doesn’t even have a job, we don’t know where we’ll end up, and it’s probably better to blend in with the options available when we arrive instead of packing all kinds of american consumerism with us so we’re in a safe little bubble when we arrive.

Thanks for a bit of a wake-up call, Katie, intentional or not.

16
Jan 10

the things I regret.

I’m starting to realize how self-centered I am, that the regrets on my mind have to do with stuff I left behind.

That said, it’s interesting now that we have been away from our stuff for more than a month, the items I regret not bringing are specific (and pretty superficial) but still bother me:

  • saucony jazz trainers
  • jo malone perfume (??!)
  • vitamix blender

This blog is a place to write about what’s on my mind, and this is what I’m thinking about, even though it’s kind of obnoxious and reveals that my values might be misplaced.

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