Ahh...Summertime

So we're into June now and the weather here in Victoria has been beautiful.

It was "Bike to Work" week last week and it was dry every single day... a rarity for the event. I tried my best to rally the troops in the hopes that I could get more than just myself biking to work. I'm pleased to say that of the whopping 6 people that I had on my team, 4 of us rode every day. The other 2 just couldn't get themselves on their bikes for some reason or another. That's okay though, because that just meant more treats for the rest of us.

Speaking of biking, this brings me to my next topic...biking without a helmet. I've lived (and biked) in Victoria for 22 years now and I've worn a helmet while biking everytime. It's the law, but it's also smart. I've had a few wipe-outs/crashes during the last couple of years and I've hit my head each time, and let me tell you...I was very grateful to be wearing my helmet. I constantly see cyclists riding without helmets and I just don't get it. Oh sure, maybe they've got it hanging from the handlebars, but that's not going to help anything. I don't know why I let it bother me so much. Really, these people are obviously already stupid, so I guess there's no reason to protect their brains. Quite frankly, I think the world could do with fewer stupid people, so we may as well just let them carry on. Maybe they'll get what's coming to them, maybe not.

To continue with the "stupid people" theme, there are also those idiots that are out there riding their motorbikes without proper gear. At the very least, people should be wearing jeans, a leather or ballistic nylon jacket, helmet and gloves. Helmets are mandatory in BC and I think "full face" ones are mandatory here in Victoria. Boots are also a good idea. Summer weather always brings out the idiot riders. You know the ones...guys (and girls) wearing shorts, t-shirts and sandals. I always shake my head at them and wonder how they could possibly be so stupid and careless. I've ridden motorbikes since I was 24, so I do actually know what I'm talking about. I've taken a bit of a break from riding, since we don't have a bike anymore, but all the time when I was riding, I was very adamant about proper riding gear. Granted, for the first few years, I didn't have any riding pants, so I wore jeans. I always had my legs fully covered and over the years I acquired proper riding pants. Anyone who says that it's too hot in the summertime to wear proper riding gear is full of poop (I don't use swear words, deal with it). I rode through Death Valley one year in the middle of July during the middle of the day...it was 130 degrees in the shade, and I had my full leathers on. I can just imagine the sunburn I would have gotten if I was just wearing shorts and a t-shirt; never mind the road rash if I had crashed. And then there's the heat that's coming off the bike as well. The riding pants help insulate against that too.

I suppose stupid people will continue to be stupid and as long as they're not causing harm to anyone else, we can just let them be. Like Forrest Gump's mom said, "Stupid is as stupid does".

My Brief Attempt at Breaking the (my) Silence

Here I am, back at the blog. 

I've taken a break for a bit mostly because I haven't really had anything worthwhile to say. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not one for small talk or idle chit-chat. This is one reason why I'm not good with large party situations or meeting people for the first time (or second, third, fourth or fifth time for that matter). I would like to be one of those people that can walk into a room full of strangers and strike up a conversation...it would make some parts of life so much easier and less stressful. Luckily for me, my husband is super chatty, so he gladly takes on the role of social butterfly while I either hang out at the food table or quietly sit in the corner with the resident cat or dog. 

I did try to overcome my shyness a couple of years ago when I signed up to be a Mary Kay consultant. I thought it would help me get out of my comfort zone, and it did for a little while, but then I just spiralled into a stress-ball and the fun factor quickly dissipated. I made the huge mistake of, what I like to call, being "blinded by the bling". I could get prizes and gifts if I ordered certain amounts of inventory and this was the biggest mistake I made. I ended up ordering way more inventory than I could sell. I managed to get a few "parties" done, but unfortunately a lot of my inventory was not what people wanted, so I ended up ordering more stuff. I did end up with 2 sets of nice coffee mugs, a sparkly t-shirt and a pair of sunglasses though :)

When I first started out, I thought that I would be able to do about 3 parties a week, so with guidance from my director, I/we ordered the suggested inventory levels to accommodate the anticipated customer orders. Big mistake. I should have just ordered things on an "as needed" basis rather that stockpiling products. I used the products and thought they were great, but that wasn't enough. I learned that booking parties is not as easy as "they" make it seem and I didn't want to be that annoying Mary Kay lady; constantly harassing people to have parties or place orders...that's just not in my DNA. I also couldn't adopt that "Ra Ra Mary Kay" attitude that was so important to get people introduced to the products. 

I quit selling Mary Kay about a year ago and felt such a relief when I finally made that decision. Believe it or not, up until a few weeks ago I still had items that I couldn't sell. I even tried to sell them at cost, but nobody was interested. I didn't want the products to go bad, so I decided to donate everything to the local Women's Transition House. They were very appreciative of everything and I felt really good about being able to help out such a great cause. To be totally honest, I felt way better about donating to them than I ever did about trying to sell the stuff. Some people are born salesmen and some aren't. I definitely am NOT a salesperson. 

I don't look back on my brief time selling Mary Kay as a regret, but more of a learning experience and life lesson. I was able to step outside of my comfort zone for a little while and talk to strangers, and I learned that I never want to run my own business. I am very happy to get up and go to work for someone else and then at 5:00, my work day is over and the rest of my day is my time. That feels really good. 

In the meantime, I'm going to a birthday gathering for a friend this afternoon. Wish me luck!