World of Mayja: June 2009

No Solicitation

Posted by Mayja | Posted in Annoyances, The Job

My boss said that I'm not a solicitor. This gave me a moment's pause. I thought he was joking at first so I laughed out loud. Then he said that he was serious. Whoa.

So-lic-it (v) to make a petition or request, as for something desired; to solicit orders or trade, as for a business. This is what I do. Ugh.

As a Special Agent Advisor, I must go from business to business and present my flyer and informative spiel. Honestly, it's not fun. Personally, I think I do it quite well. I'm not afraid to

Image via Wikipedia

approach people; to walk into someone's office and thrust my information into their hands with a smile.

But this is solicitation! And if someone wants to complain, I could get fined $500 and perhaps get nailed for trespassing! This usually occurs when you ignore a "No Soliciting" sign. Most of the time they just shoo you out of their office.

Of course, I mentioned all this to my boss. He shrugged and said that I have to chase every opportunity available to me. I don't think so.

I'm starting to think that this may not be such a good pursuit, even if I'm gaining sales experience. I'm not getting paid wages, I'm putting in tons of work and now I'm being asked to sidestep the law.

This is not what I bargained for.

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The King is Dead

Posted by Mayja | Posted in Random Thoughts

To Michael:

Your music has inspired me since I was a very young child. I collected your vinyl albums and your 45 hit singles. I still have your cassettes and CD's. And now your music lives in my ZEN MP3 player. No matter what the medium may be, your music will persist throughout time.

Your originality and talent have touched the world. And now that you are gone, there is an emptiness and a void that cannot be filled.

Thank you for the hits that I jammed to in my bedroom, that flooded my parent's basement at my parties, and rocked the house at school dances.

You will be missed.

Here is an excellent compilation of Michael's legacy on YouTube.

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Special Agent Advisor

Posted by Mayja | Posted in The Job

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I have one of the coolest job titles ever: Special Agent Advisor. Ooooooh! Ahhhhh!

It's got that whole spy connotation to it: James Bond, 007. Secret Agent Man. How neat is that? But once you get past the title, what does it mean? What do I do?

That's the point, really. It's catchy, it's cool, and it forces you to ask me those questions so I can start my sales pitch:

We provide free "key" business expense analysis for small to medium size companies. We look at their benefit/insurance plans and their telecommunications setup. We have our specialists review exactly what they're getting for their money and how we can get them the same or better services for less.

Who pays us? Our money comes from a consortium of local companies that have signed on to provide the services at lower prices.

Pretty neat, eh?

Once I make a connection with a company and they agree to participate with the free analysis, that's where my job is done. I receive my commission for setting up the appointment and creating a warm lead with my marketing skills. I will then also receive commission for any of the products/services they decide to switch to once the analysis is complete.

Not bad, not bad.

We'll see how this all plays out. It's intriguing, and I'm going to see where this goes.

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Too Intelligent for the Job

Posted by Mayja | Posted in Annoyances, The Job

"You're an intellectual."

I never thought that being an intellectual could cost me a job opportunity.

I interviewed for a marketing position in April for a rental property company that wanted to build an Internet presence. I found out in early May that they had chosen someone else for the job; someone they felt was a better fit. As it turned out, that person lasted two weeks before he quit stating that the position was too stressful.

Now that statement alone rattled me a bit. When I considered the job, it did not sound too stressful and in fact it sounded like fun! The recruiter had called me back for reconsideration and to review some of the changes they made to the job description after this other person left.

During this second interview, it was as an enjoyable a conversation as it was the first time around. Yet, I could tell that the recruiter was struggling with something. She still wasn't convinced that I would be the best person for the job. Her concern was that my customers (current and potential renters) were not as high a caliber as I was. "You have a college degree, and these are mostly blue collar workers," she explained.

I can see the possible reasons why this could be a problem: you'll get bored with the position easily, your intelligence will not be rewarded properly by the low salary or, most importantly, the challenges of reaching and communicating with your audience.

As a marketer, it is my job to know how to address, capture and retain ANY audience. If I am such an intellectual, wouldn't it make sense that I would have the know-how to find the niche, the slogans, the terminology and visuals to engage these customers? Not only am I smart, but I'm eager to put my intelligence to the test!

What is so ironic about this is that I was nervous that I might not be able to bring enough experience to the position since I have never worked with marketing rental properties. I knew that I had to build up my own confidence and remember that with my level of intelligence I should be able to handle the challenges of marketing to this audience. And I was so convincing to my potential employer that she felt that I was too much of an intellectual for the job.

Frankly, I am dumbstruck by this scenario.

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My Cat Wants to Kill Me??

Posted by Mayja | Posted in Random Thoughts

This is bad - I have two cats. I wonder if this is just an 89% chance that one will kill me or will it be a combined effort?

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The Learning Curve II

Posted by Mayja | Posted in Random Thoughts

I thought this was a great post to include here from my friend's blog:

The learning curve ll
Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Awareness. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Awareness. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Awareness. Blame. Blame. Blame. Blame. Awareness. Blame. Blame. Blame. Shift.

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WoW Scrapbook

Posted by Mayja | Posted in World of Warcraft

It's always great to pull out a photo album and flip back through the events and memories of good times. What's funny is when it's a compilation of screenshots from your online world.

Here are some of my favorite moments and achievements while playing WoW (in no particular order):

Probably my all-time favorite moment: Turning in the quest The Lady's Necklace for Lady Sylvanas and hearing the most beautiful and mournful song ever: The Lament of the Highbourne.

You must watch the retelling of this tale in HD through Blizzard's own music video of this event.

Standing in the city of Shattrath seeing the great phoenix mount for the first time (rarest mount in game)

Using the Brazier of Dancing Flames before entering the instances Zul'Aman and Gruul's Lair:.

Here's our victory shot over Gruul (I'm standing front and center and my hubby is the warlock sitting on the far right):

Coming home from BlizzCon with my new polar bear mount:

OMW to an Interview

Posted by Mayja | Posted in Annoyances

Image by assbach via Flickr

It's infuriating when you're in a hurry and everyone in front of you... isn't.

I had an interview scheduled for 9am this morning. It takes 5-10 minutes tops to reach downtown and park. I left the house running at 8:58am.

I must have cursed the names of five major automotive brands (VW, Saab, Ford, Honda and Kia) along the way because that was the only way to identify each individual in my way.

These people were literally driving in their own worlds with their own rules of the road. Some zig-zagged across the lanes while others would line up with each other and just crawl.

Most would say that it's my fault for falling behind schedule, but not this time. My interviewer had promised to email me the time/place for the interview on Friday afternoon.

Well, he didn't. And I had to catch him on the phone at 8am this morning to confirm that time and place.

By the time I got to my interview, I was running 7 minutes late (it took me 9min to get there). The good news is that it wasn't a one-on-one, and he had already begun talking with the other candidate.

Everything went well and I felt confident as I left the building, but I still had that residual "ARGH!!!" feeling grinding in the back of my teeth.

Egg Beaters and Egg Whites

Posted by Mayja | Posted in Annoyances

A bizarre first topic, I'll admit. But this is something that irked me this morning for some reason and this is certainly the place to mention it!

I like eggs - real eggs, not this Egg Beater/Egg White crap. Granted, I see the health benefits associated with both of these products. However, the idea of choosing an "egg product" over the real deal just puts me off. Not to mention, they cost more at the restaurant! And to be honest, every penny counts when both of the bread winners of the house are unemployed. The extra $.75 for egg beaters/whites adds up fast.

Egg Beaters are good for one thing at a restaurant: scrambled eggs. Personally, I'm an over-medium type of gal and love the process of dipping my rye toast into the center. Scrambled eggs have their place, and I'll enjoy a serving now and then. But when they come in the Egg Beater variety, there's something missing. It's a mass of pale yellowish "egg". *shudder* And they don't taste right. Something's off no matter how you try to conceal it with Red Hot.

What's interesting is how the company describes Egg Beaters on their website,

"When you separate the yolk and use just the white of the egg, you lose important nutrients found in the yolk. Egg Beaters Original adds these nutrients back in, providing an even better nutritional value."

Ack! So, they take out the good stuff and put it back with a chemical version. I guess if you're an egg fanatic and must have them on a daily basis, have at it. They do reduce your fat/cholesterol intake. But for me, there is no substitute for the real thing.

Egg Whites are just the worst. First, they just look disgusting on their own. And an egg white omelette is basically veggies floating around in a murky cloud. Gross! Then I'll see people add cheese to it. What's the point of saving yourself on the egg if cheese is still in the picture?

If you're going to eat an egg, just eat the egg. Don't beat around the bush with this other stuff. If you're freaked out about the health risks associated with real eggs, don't eat them all the time. Enjoy them in moderation.

World of Mayja

Welcome to Mayja's World

No Solicitation

The King is Dead

Special Agent Advisor

Too Intelligent for the Job

My Cat Wants to Kill Me??

The Learning Curve II

WoW Scrapbook

OMW to an Interview

Egg Beaters and Egg Whites

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