An Intriguing Tale Of Being An Owner

Seafest 2010 officially opens today – the children’s parade started at 1.10pm and the weather was really good too.  Despite the fact that it was raining yesterday – the kids’ spirit was really high as you can see here.  So what is Seafest – i hear people asked all the time – it’s a series of event for the town and its resident and hopefully the neigbouring county to come celebrate summer by the sea.

We used to sponsor some events some 10 years ago – and have our name printed on banners for the event we sponsored but lately they haven’t approached us – so that’s ok too.  I see this year a lot of big names were in their sponsorship – like Register.com – Pharmasave – Rudders – Eastlink Advertising – Canadian Tire – Boston Pizza – CBDC – City Drug Store – Coastal Financial Credit Union – Murray GM – Tim Hortons of course Warptech – all the big boys in this town.  I wonder why they didn’t approach Walmart eh?  Afterall, Walmart gets most of this town’s money in my humble opinion and put some outta business as well.  Oh did you see our new MLA ?  yes ! there he is!

So we closed the store for the first time – to head up to the city – because I had an eye doctor appointment and to look for  stainless steel drums.  I feel better closing up then to get in a part time employee to help for the day – because then you know that you don’t have to worry about anything. You have to make sure that the person you hire will not need  Cocaine Rehab, or have some other personal problems. After all when you have a good security system it is better to not chance it!
The store is secured with a new security company and we had put in more sensors even in the basement and on the windows in front and at the back of the store.

Of couse, I’m sure the spouse wasn’t really, really too keen on closing the store – but when you can’t find the right help – what can you do eh?  and the person we wanna hire – well, he just ain’t barging at all – hahah!!  you know who you are bugger     Anyhow – if i had it my way – i would stay another day – but this summer – with good rates from help from a customer – who works for Westin – we are staying longer – for sure.

Yes, we had a white out today ..!  and boy! i can just imagine what it would be like to be in some Caribbean Hotels just about right now – seven heaven..??  Yes.. right about now.. we could use some vacation.  But as you all know owning your own business doesn’t allow you to just apply for leave .. and then come back to a cushy job.   I really can’t wait to go for a good holiday – the Caribbean would be really  nice – my daughter’s godma Lynn – she goes there every year – because we wanna escape the cold.  A lot of us from Canada either go to the Caribbeans or Hawaii, in fact – sometimes you think that the Canadians and the Americans invaded the Caribbeans when you are there.  Are you ready to leave yet for vacation? we are!

A good customer turned friend just came back from their  All inclusive family vacations .. to hand me some food he had picked up for me.. in the city, since I can’t get any here. While chatting, he had explained that he killed many birds with one stone on his trips. And one of them were passport for himself and his daughter. The reason why he was doing so was because he said he was always on a look-out for good deals for a vacation. And as soon as one does appear with the local travel agency, he would be all set and leaving for Mexico.

Yes.. one can get great deals .. going to Mexico.. and not only can one get to stay in unique beach resorts, enjoy the sun and the sea, you also get an all inclusive vacation for the whole family without any stress of planning your next meal, for all meals are included. Lots of programs and activities to enjoy but most importantly, you get out of the cold. . and get some warm .. and some fresh air and relaxation. We should start planning too.

February is almost gone.. and every year we wonder when the warm whether is gonna come .. and we whined about taking a vacation and can`t wait till we get out of this cold and wet weather.  Orlando vacations are very enticing especially during the March break, I know of our regular customer heading that way with her entire family to escape the cold here.  If it wasn`t for the business, I will be the first to head out there.

This time of the year, if you ever go to Cuba, you would think that you probably landed in the wrong country. . or the Canadians owned Cuba.  Yes, the worst time of Winter.. is the time where all Canadians flocked to Cuba.  Travel medical insurance are highly sought after by the people here.. and I tell yer not all the Canadians are smart enough to think of that. But i make sure.. all our customers who are heading that way knows about the benefit of it. Just because we can leave the store.. and go holidaying.. doesn’t mean that we have to be selfish about what we know eh.

A lot of our customers are going away for vacation right after Christmas.  A customer turn into friend.. is heading to Las Vegas with the whole family just after the New Year .. and boy ..!! are we envious. Hotel in las vegas are awesome.. and i know it is cold there.. but not as cold as it is here in Canada.  And I told him not to miss those shows at Ceasar’s Palace as well.  Everyone whom we have spoken to, said we deserve one too.. and boy .. do we know..!! but how to leave your store.. when you haven’t got anyone to entrust it to. Afterall, the man is the only one who does computer work.. and since computer are our major thing.. there is just no way.. to up and leave.  *sigh* .. why do i have to be with a businessman..??

It gets really cold here in Canada.. and one place i would loved to go for a vacation if we could close for Christmas is to be in Las Vegas.  Sure it is cold there too.. but nothing beats the lights and all the cool stuff you can do in Vegas.  Of course, I would never missed the Las Vegas Shows and there are just too much to choose from.

But one can also book your tickets online depending on who you are going with.  If it is only for you and your spouse .. and you are leaving the children behind, I would recommend David Spade show.  But if I was going with my girlfriends.. the Mama Mia show is a must.  Getting your tickets at good price from www.showlasvegas.com is your best bet in getting good tickets at good prices.

We don’t get very many tourists in our store because we are an electronic store.  Even though we sell console games, they don’t want to buy it from us just in case something is wrong with it when they go home.  I can fully understand it of course because i wouldn’t want to deal with having to contact a shop from another country .. to get back a few bucks.  But scrapbooking business is another thing altogether and I know the tourist loves to buy stuff from this gift shop in town.  In the summer, we often wonder if we should have been in the scrapbooking business.

Remember a few months ago, we won air tickets to Montreal..??  Yup..!! the donation ticket that we didn’t buy ourselves.. but a customer turned good friend .. Sherri who had bought it for us as part of her Christmas present to us.  Nah.. we didn’t get to go.. because it’s hard .. to shut down the store for week.. and leave.  But if it was tickets to Las Vegas.. well.. you know who would be on the first plan outta here eh.  The las vegas strip is definitely a place to revisit.. especially if this time. .was with my spouse and not with my ex-bosses and ex-engineers.. it would definitely had been a great trip.

We are open for business on Canada’s Day .. ! Come spend money at our store..!!!

Yup..! i’m ranting again..! i need to go for a holiday.. and i need to leave the store to someone else’s care this year. I think we really deserved it. PB and I were looking at hotels in las vegas because we had thought that we were going for a convention there in September but what a bummer.. they changed venue. Now all my research work done.. is wasted.

We envy our customers who comes in and inform us about their family vacation in Cancun and I know the man’s extended families goes there on a yearly basis. I kid you not..! And they know the place so well and still goes back yearly because here is always something new .. to do for both the children and the adults.

Winter is the best time for Canadians to go for their trip at Karisma. As a foodie .. i would love to try out their new Gourmet inclusive. The all you can eat.. and different cuisine, I bet all my food blogging friends.. would envy me too. I love the all inclusive package because when you bring the family along for vacation… you don’t have to worry about carrying too much cash or over spending on food, as they are all taken care of. All you have to do .. is to bask in the sun.. and relax, now that’s my kinda vacation.

Going for a vacation needs some planning to ensure that a holiday goes smoothly and that everything is taken care of, so that one can relax and truly get rejuvenated when you come back to work. These days, they cater especially to the Spanish speaking folks especially through Hoteles who are the leader in the holiday industry.   This site is unique and is carefully thought for their special customers who feels alot at ease using Spanish.  So if you have a Spanish speaking boss like I had or a friend, you know where they should go for their vacation plans.  Absolutely stress free and hassle free..!

We must be the best bosses in the world.. because every summer.. we let our employees go for their holidays first.. and then we go when everyone has taken a break.. and rejuvenated. But it is not always so with employees, because they can promised to come back and work hard.. after their summer break.. but they usually break their promises.. and we end up not going anywheres.. like the time we had planned for our New York City travel holiday. In the end.. we stayed to work for those we had taken ill and didn’t show up for work. The price of owning your own business eh.

Nope, not us! the one of the many disadvantages of owning your own business sure does not leave you alot of time or enough employees to run the store when you are away. Even cheap hotels deals cannot enticed us to leave the store. And it’s not because we don’t want to.. it’s because we can’t find anyone to do the computer repairs for our customers.. and our customers only wants to deal with the man and no one else. So here we are stuck in our store, year after year. The JOY of being your own BOSS eh.

Toronto is a fascinating place .. and it’s HUGE! Well, it is the largest city in Canada. And for someone who had been to Toronto so many times both pleasure and work and yet still not familiar with alot of places, you can just imagine what I would have missed if not for the world wide web.

There are loads of fun things to do in Toronto besides the CN Tower and Canada’s Wonderland, check out some of Toronto Movies at some of their major movie theatres. And of course one must not miss the Imax while you are there. Plan your vacation ahead with the help of Terrific Toronto, for they just about covers everything from hotel accommodation, to restaurants and places to do fun stuff .. and shopping of course.

Like anyone who’ve been doing business for as long as we do, one always try to shop for the cheapest in hotel, flights and just about anything even when we want to take a holiday. We don’t want to come back feeling broke.

Going to Disney have been our plan since our brat was born and you and I know that Disney’s tickets are not cheap at all. Discount Walt Disney World Tickets are the best value and getting it from a legitimate company like OrlandoFunTickets is your best bet to getting reliable and trustworthy service. All smart holiday makers use them.

As much as everyone love going to Disney because it is touted to be a great place for the kids, I think that Branson Missouri is another alternative for family friendly vacation, definitely in terms of affordability and keeping to our budget, plus with the numerous shows and attractions, it is said to be the family friendly-Las Vegas.

My cousins who lived near Kansas, were so excited to see Andy Williams live in Branson Missouri during last year’s Christmas Vacation. It was a dream come true for Andy Williams had been their idol since they were kids. They boast about the Go Kart rides and how much fun they had with even the older kids. Many pictures were taken at the Silver Dollar City, the theme park where they boast of taking as many as 15 rides out of the 30 available.

They have various packages to suit your needs and they are really value for money. The Platinum Package with the $30 Red Lobster/Olive Garden gift card and coupon savings for shopping is what I am eyeing for. 3 days and 2 nights is just nice for us, for we can’t afford to be away from our business for too long. Planning for a holiday..?? try Branson Missouri, I bet you will keep coming back, because “Your Happiness Is Their Success”.

I’ve always dread whenever we go on a road trip.. and the man wants me to read the map for him. Firstly, I’ve got motion sickness, so reading a map in a moving car can be really taxing for someone like me. The next time we go on a road trip, I’m making the man invest on a GPS. I’m just no good at reading maps.