TGI . . .wait for it . . . Friday!
YEEEEAAAAAAAAH!
thanks BarneyHave you met Friday?

Networking with no one

"There's a fine line between being seen as a resource and being seen as a spam artist; don't send excessive or inappropriate email. Make sure that your contacts between meetings are relevant and pertinent to the business at hand."

So true. Excerpt from Beyond the Business Card. I have someone in my network who does this, but not once in awhile, but everyday something new. Sometimes more. This is what makes me not like you and not want to help you out. It is true, part of it is a numbers game, but be smart, play smart. Otherwise, I might just ban you from my network, and that would be bad.

"If you want the job, you have to look the part; if you want the promotion, you have to look promotable; if you want respect, you have to dress as well as or better than your industry standards require."

Susan Bixler
writer of The New Professional Image

I am having an affair.

I’m not even sure how it happened, it started about a month ago. You know, if I had time on the weekends, late night Sunday I would go out and pick out some fresh, ripe . . . apples. I’ve been cheating on my Fruit Stand guy. I used to get fruit from him every morning, peaches and nectarines in the summer, sometimes cherries. But every day that was going to be hot and humid, he would raise his prices. He's been good to me hand picking the best fruit, no bruises or dark spots. Smiling and saying have a good day. But it wasn’t enough. I wouldn't pay 30 more cents per peach. So I started visiting the local natural foods grocery store. They had all these varieties of apples and peaches and dried fruit as well. In my head and in my heart I decided I wouldn’t go back to the fruit stand guy. I was going to break it off. And I didn’t feel bad until one afternoon, I was crossing the street going home and passed his stand. I smiled and said hello raising my left hand in a small waving motion, totally forgetting I had my apple in that hand. And the worst part was that I'd already taken a few bites. He knew and he looked so sad. I wanted to tell him, "it wasn't another stand guy, it was a supermarket. I’m so sorry!" I didn’t know how to say it, so I just kept walking . . . I just kept walking.

touch.

you know, working in the city you see a lot of things and smell a lot of smells - they dont phase you after awhile. Ive seen squished pigeons, rats in the trash and subways, bums in blankets, but there is one thing I am afraid of, still. Bed bugs, now I didnt know they still existed. I thought it was just a saying back from the Medevil days, "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" But as it turns out, they are still around. And Im freaked out about it, totally.

The scary part is not that my hygeine is bad, or I sleep in dirty places, but TOUCH. Do you know how many people I touch or brush past everyday? Tons. On the subway, there is no way not to be squished between 5 or more people during rush hour. "Please avoid overcrowding" says the train conductor, yeah right.

Lets say one person had bedbugs on them, on their bag, on their pants. There would be nothing to stop the biting bed bugs from jumping from person to person. You are probably reading this and saying, he's freakin paranoid. But Im not. I actually asked one of my doctor friends and she said that if you do have bedbugs you would be itching or at least have a rash of some sort. So I guess I am a little relieved. But seriously people, stay away from those itchers and rashy people, otherwise youre gonna have to throw away your bed and new clothes. Freakin Bed Bugs.

You know . . .

The only link to this page is through my LinkedIn profile. So anyone reading this came through there and can relate. Some of my "contacts", you know the people who people collect, and just send out massive invites and such. The thing that bugs me though, and this is against the general rules in LI anyway, is when their names are:
!Thisismy Name (3000+ tname3001@hotmail.com). What is that? Seriously, I mean what are you doing?

If you are that desperate and so lame that you want to not only promote the number of your connections and add your contact information for number junkie networkers, then you need help. The most annoying part is that when I look at my contacts, your name crosses over from one column to the next.

Ive said it before, some old people on this site treat it like an adult myspace. Some adults are out of touch with technology and a bit confused with proper web etiquette. This is not Myspace, this is not the place to collect hot friends with fake pictures to show your cyber friends. No one cares about 5000+ contacts. The point of the site is networking and what your connections can yield. Do you know who all these 5000+ people are or do you just want to compare the size of your network with other people since you never thought it was big enough, and felt bad about it since that time in the showers after gym class.

Get a grip people. Desperation smells so bad.

I get pizza everyday from Caprese,its new, diagonally across from the Empire State building. Sometimes sausage, sometimes chicken. They make it right in front of me, a whole pie, in and out of the oven, and in a box for me to carry back to work - and a soda of choice or bottled water - totaling $6.50 (includes tax). Awesome deal and it tastes soo good. If you are ever in the area go there, I totally recommend it. It's new and clean, and the people behind the counter offer great service. Good eats, yes.