Time For Go-Go Juice! - Still Struck with Kooties....

Having the Kooties is just no fun,
To whittle the day and get nothing done;
Get plenty of rest and vitamins too,
And pray that my Kooties don’t spread to you.

Time For Go-Go Juice! - My Cup is Empty Today...

Good Morning. I'm sorry, but my Kooties have gotten the worse of me and I'm going off to the hospital. No worries, I'll be fine - but wanted to apologize for not being able to make our Go-Go Juice chat this morning. Hope you all stay well. I should be back tomorrow. Blessings!

Time For Go-Go Juice! - Bridge Over Waters Can Be a Sight-Seeing Adventure!

Stepping out onto my porch, my eyes gazed upon the sun beams illuminating the hazy mist that emanated from the wooden rails and surroundings as droplets of water descended to the ground from an evening of rain. What a picturesque moment and wondrous chance to witness the beauty and awe of nature’s goodness. Good Morning. Well, it is no doubt time for a large cup of fully leaded Go-Go Juice, having had a very long, yet productive day yesterday. While the trip went well, I have to add one more issue revolving around “transferring” to airplanes as I described yesterday. Here is why it is important to read the airport’s schedule boards frequently when traveling. As I transferred in Houston, my plane parked in Gate E18. By my ticket, I had to walk to gate E9 which, was at least in the same corridor, but I walked a “horseshoe of a mile” to get to E9. However, once at E9, I learned that my New Orleans trip had turned into Montrose, Colorado. Huh? Last minute airline change, my transfer plane was to depart from gate C23. That’s right – way across the other side of the airport. However, to my fortune, Houston Airport has bubbly happy-go-lucky cart drivers willing and able to whisk you away and by drive you to where you need to go. So, I got an unprecedented tour of the airport. Very nice! And my feet were very thankful. With that said, meetings went well! I met a very nice Asian couple who again, give me reasons to why I love my job. New to my industry of hotels, they were all ears to hear ideas and ways to help them with a new investment. For me being new to New Orleans, what’s with all the bridges? And, there’s one bridge that crosses a rather huge body of water – you definitely want know where you’re going – it’s a hoot if you get on it by accident ‘cause there’s nowhere to turn around if it’s not the direction you wanted to go! LOL. So, I’m back in Ohio – which brings me to another quick topic to mention since the issues of jobs are on my plate. Ohio has now surpassed the national average of unemployment. As of February, the unemployment rate jumped up to 10.9%, whereas the national average in February was at 9.7%. Plus, the Labor Department in Washington reported that Ohio employers cut over 651,000 jobs last month. If you’re like me, striving to find the next opportunity, don’t feel alone. Be tough, be diligent, and be patient. You might want to get entrepreneurial too. See if there’s a service or product you can sell that people are in need of at a valued price they can afford. However, if the state’s government doesn’t lend a hand soon to potential employers and people with the right spirit to begin the creation of desperately needed new jobs and businesses, then the state will remain at risk of families and individuals willing to flee the state. That’s a huge loss of revenue. I highly recommend that if you live in Ohio – be voice for change! Hang in there and have a truly amazing day!

Time For Go-Go Juice! - Flying the Skies!

Hey sleepy head – at least you got to sleep in…it’s 4:30am and I’m off for a day to play in Cajun Country! Good morning! Did you remember to bring the extra Go-Go for my juice? Well, I’m cool – I’ve got a lot of Go-Go to get there! Ok – what part of flying do you despise? Everybody says “Security Checks” – taking off the shoes, emptying out your contents, throwing away your .00009 oz too much bottle of liquid, but really – when I have to transfer flights, why the heck does not the plane fly into the same gate that your other plane takes off at? Same company, same type of plane…I just don’t get it. You have to wait forever to get off the plane then dash across to the other side of the airport to another location. Why not just a few gates down? Not logical. I’m serious, if you’re trying to shed a few pounds, go by air – you get more exercise in one day of travel than you would in a pep step walk to the park. Whew! Now, for those of you just joining me, I am going for an interview. Job number 1,293,456,000,000 (ha – just kidding…there haven’t been that many jobs!) But, it is one more to add to my line up. I am not a professional interviewer, by far – but how many of you relish in the idea of walking into one? Not many. It’s the scenario where you’re judged, sized up and down and asked a ton of questions that revolve around one theme “why do you want to work for us”. Ok, just short of responding, “hey, I just need a job”, you must realize that the company can either make you or break you – just as you can do to them. But not all interviews are necessarily bad. As much as I would love to just “get down to brass tax – so, you’ve got the job, I’ve got the skill, hire me and how much and when do I start?” – the art of interviewing and environments can be rewarding. You’re building a new relation, you get to see behind the scenes footage, and sometimes you get to sample what the company is dishing out in product. I love hotels, walking the common areas, gardens, tour the rooms … it really is quite the experience. I learn more about a company and its ideas through interviews too. What’s most horrible thing about interviews? Its processes. The long grueling weeks of waiting for replies, hiring managers placing ads then taking off for vacation, going into stage two when they’re seeking and internal candidate and then you don’t hear anything because they promoted that candidate. Oh good grief, I’ve heard it all. But, if you can get through it, more power to you. Well, that’s it for the day – I’ll keep you posted on my progress - and if you’re a job seeker, connect with me. Networking is the ultimate in getting great leads! Have a great day.

Time For Go-Go Juice! - Don't Use Your Neighbor's Kid to Get Out of Work...

OMG! I bet you all thought I had fallen off the face of the planet! Good evening! Well, I must say, my Go-Go Juice has been overflowing aaalll day. It’s happy Monday – or shall I say it was. I’ve been running around getting things done while preparing to go to New Orleans tomorrow morning. Yep – that day is here. While it’s just a simple one day trip, I woke up to many requests from the brewing weekend. I’ve made a lot more connections and have some new activities scheduled. My cat had kittens and I learned I helped two people get a job! My new house guest just got an offer to be a “Nanny” and one of my former staff members called from a reference I gave her telling me that she too, was back on the payroll! Let me tell you folks – that’s such good news to hear in this hard economy! Bells and Whistles were blowing yesterday in celebration of both their achievements. Timing and patience is critical. Hopefully, they’ll start their new jobs without any hiccups for a long time. And speaking of new jobs, my neighbor got a new job a couple weeks ago and while I commend him for his efforts – he’s young, single and going to be a famous guitarist one day – but he’s like 20 going on 13! Let me shed some light – I know many people, line level employees to senior managers’ call in “sick” every now and then. Sometimes with the worst of Kooties and other times, just to enjoy the day. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, I’m just stating a fact. Now, let’s say your employee decides he’s worked more than enough hours for the week and said “I need a day off”. Let’s say, instead of calling in sick, you fabricated a bit and stated to your employer that your ex-spouse dropped off your toddler without notice and that you were “stuck” for the day preventing you from going to work. If that’s your story and you’re stickin’ to it, don’t go to your neighbor and ask to borrow their 3-year old toddler in case the employer calls back, especially with a beer in hand as you proudly display your stupid achievement in thinking you’ve fooled your boss. I mean good grief…is that what my staff does? I mean – I’ve heard people call and falsely cough on the phone or get someone else to call because the employee’s a coward, but really – borrow another person’s kid? I truly died laughing at the temerity of his request. How many of you have caught your staff members playing hooky and doing something stupid to get caught – like, call in sick, but then post all over Face Book with photos of the great summer beach party that was held instead of going to work ? Or like coming back the next day with concert souvenirs hanging all over your jacket? Or better yet, have a drunken party at home where your best friend takes a cell phone photo of you chuggin’ down at the keg and it gets forwarded to all your friends ending up in the hands of the boss? Come on – have some common sense – it’s too small a world, your boss is not stupid and would just as well rather throw the book at you making you the example of what not to do or worse, give you the big boot up your rear with a Hallmark Blessing “Sayonara!” Needless to say, Melissa did not perform her first acting gig. Enjoy your evening, what’s left of it. I do intend on greeting you before I fly out of here so do stop by. Oh and please – put a lot of Go-Go in the Juice tomorrow…I’m gonna need it if you don’t!