Remember the Sales Associates this Holiday Season

The snow has fallen, the trees are being decorated, Christmas shows are taking over the television, it is that time of the year again. I love the whole Christmas season... with one exception. Shoppers. (dun dun dun)

Being a slave in children's retail around Christmas means taking your sanity and will to live and checking it at the door. Here are a few things you shoppers should keep in mind next time you go to a store and deal with the people working there.

1. We are not there to make things difficult for you. We are trying our best to help everyone, much to your suprise we do not wake up in the morning and think about how we can ruin you day.

2. If we say we don't have it in the back, we really don't have it. Don't ask us if we are sure it's not there. If we've taken the time to go back and check and come up empty handed, we don't have it. We want you to buy it, why would we leave it in the back. Look around the store it is busy, other people have bought your item. Not our fault. I'm sure your daughter really wants it but there is nothing I can do for you, you should have shopped earlier.

3. Yes there is a line. You knew that when you walked into the store. There was a line last Christmas and there will be a line next Christmas. Suck it up and stand in line. And no you don't get to skip ahead because you are busy, you can wait in line like everybody else.

4. Gift Reciepts. When I ask if you need them and you say no, don't tell me after the transaction that you need them.

5. Just because it was on sale last week doesn't mean it will be on sale this week. Don't yell at me about it.

6. After you have just watched me fold an entire table of shirts, please, please don't unfold everyone. It will make me cry.

7. When returning, you get the same amount of money back that was spent on the item in the first place. Its not my fault you thought it was worth more.

8. You cannot barter the prices of the items with me. The price is on there for a reason, an dthat is the way it will stay, no matter how hard you try. I don't have the power to change it.

9. When debit and credit go down, I didn't do it. I would love for it to be working more then you know, and yelling at me about it is not going to fix it.

10. Yes the Christmas carols playing in the store are annoying. Just remember you get to leave the store, I'm stuck there for eight hours.

To all of the customers who don't complain, who understand that we are just doing our jobs, and who don't yell at me becauseit's five pm on Christmas eve, you didn't get all your presents and the mall is now closed. We, the poor sales associates, love you.

Just take the time to say "Have a nice day" and you can make our crazy day a little bit better. When you do your Christmas shopping, have a little respect for the sales associates, we probably want to be there about as much as you do.

Twitter.....

So today, after much protest and trying to put it off as long I could I was finally forced into joining the ever growing social media cult of... Twitter.
My PR insctuctor, Melanie, had the entire class join today and I must say its not quite as bad as I thought. I have been very carefully avoiding joining Twitter, but after being forced to join I have come to the conclusion that if I can ever actually understand it I may kind of like it.
A scray thought I know.

My first impressions were a mix of confusion and shock, however I did figure out how to change my background! I also was able to try to work my way around Twitter, but only because I had the help of my trusty "How To" paper! Thanks Melanie!

I hope that it will all become less confusing the more I experiment withthis whole Twitter thing, I guess this is a new adventure brought to me by CreComm.

I guess I'll just have to see how it goes....

A Real Life Hero

Joining the Armed Forces was never a question for Major Anthony Battad; it was in his blood. His grandfather served in the Second World War and he has lots of uncles in both the United States and the Canadian militaries. "It was also a way for me to get my education paid for, but most of all, a way for me to serve Canada," Battad says with pride.

Major Battad was deployed with 1 Canadian Field Hospital to Kandahar as part of the International Security Assistance Force for the first time in 2006. Battad has gone back every year since, for three months at a time. he is not scheduled to deploy again but "if I was told to go, I would. I don't question where my government sends me."

"It's always difficult being away, especially in a strange and dangerous place. We were very busy tending to the wounded in our hospital. We also took care of a lot of Afghan kids and civilians and got to travel to villages where we provided care. I got to know a lot of the local customs but it was still a difficult place to be." This last tour Battad wass in Kandahar over Christmas. "My daughters had a really hard time with it. My wife is an amazing, strong woman though, so there is never any worry on my part." Battad's favourite memories occurred on this tour. "I remember giving out candy at Christmas to all the kids who came to our camp from surrounding vilages. For a short time they forgot about the war around them, and they were just kids. Much like kids in Canada at Christmas. It was awesome."

The Canadian militery has been in Afghanistan since 2002. Many Canadians who have not been to Afghanistan wondeer if we still belong there and if we are helping, myself included. Battad is a firm believer that we are in fact doing more good then causing harm. "I think we are certainly helping the people of Afghanistan by building schools, providing security and providing needed medical care. If these changes are lasting, only time will tell."

"Remembrance Day for me is a reminder of the sacrifices people have made for our great country, not only the men and women of the Armed Forces, but also the men and women of the RCMP, the police forces and firefighters, etcetera. All the people who risk their lives, so we can live in a safe country. I have been all over the world, and I really do believe that our way of life, and the freedoms we enjoy are worth fighting for." Since Battad has returned from war his view on Remembrance Day has not really changed. "It just hits home for me a little more, since I've actually gone to war and lost friends." Battad normally goes to his daughters' school to participate in their ceremony, then on November 11 he takes his family to one of the services. "After the service, a few of us usually go to a Legion and have a drink with some of the older vets."

"Our war experience is different from the older vets in some ways, but in a lot of ways eerily similar. It just goes to show you that war sucks, no matter what generation."

Icelandic Love Poem

This poem is dedicated to my CW Professor at the U of M. Thanks for all the helpful feedback on it. Its also dedicated to... well you know who you are. Enjoy everyone!

Walking with the stars
sparkling ever as bright
the river reflecting in the glasses
that he wears hiding his feelings.
Hand in hand, step after step
their lives march ahead with time.
Has she been left behind?
Did she miss a step?
The man she now holds is a different man,
at times she still catches glimpses of his past.

In an ancient children's storybook,
the kind with princesses and magic,
is where she once lived with him.
He made her smile, believe all things were possible,
and made her feel safe-
she is still safe.
Her life changed the instant he walked in,
and has been changing ever since.

At all times she walks with the stars,
fascinated with what he hides behind the glasses.
Hand in hand, step after step
Aware that she'd remain there
regardless what time the pair were living in.
He will be the half that releases the grip.
Awaiting then, the pair will walk,
deeper and deeper, farther and farther
strengthening themselves, tied with desire.
He is she as I am you
And it shall remain as that.
Eg enn per

*Note from Sam: Eg enn per is Icelandic meaning me and you*

Trick-or-Treat

So Halloween is quickly approaching and I decided that with barely a week left it was time to finally figure out what Halloween costume I would be sporting this Halloween. Now I know it sounds silly but after just one year I had forgotten how much I hate buying a Halloween costume.

Reason #1: The Price

Buying a pre-made Halloween costume costs the most ridiculous amount of money, anywhere between $20 and $90, plus then you have to buy the accessories to go with the costume. In the picture the girl is all dressed up in all the items you need to make your costume perfect, but when you are actually holding the costume you quickly realize that everything but that little dress is sold separately. You almost need to take out a loan to buy this costume that you are only going to wear once, and only for a few hours at that.

Reason #2: The Line

Now this one is probably completely my fault. If I was smart I would either go during the day or earlier when the Halloween costumes first came out but I am a master procrastinator so this will never happen. Sadly it seems most of Winnipeg is like me and less then a week before Halloween we climb into our cars and drive out to the costume store. Party Stuff on Regent is my favorite; I go there every year, along with half the city... We go and look at those really small pictures on the wall then stand in line to tell that poor, underpaid worker what number and size we want, praying they still have it left. Then wait what seems like hours (actually only about 10 minutes) for then to find it in the back. Then you go up and down the crowded aisles to find all the necessary and the unnecessary-but-can't-live-without accessories to make our costume better then last year. We then look for the end of the cashier line, which wraps around the whole store... twice, cursing all these people for shopping the same day as you. No need to feel bad about this, they are all cursing you as well. After spending half your life in line you finally get out of the store, only to have to wait in line to leave the parking lot. It is at this point every year you tell yourself, Sam next year you will go early. And you believe it for about 5 minutes.

Reason #3: How Small Are These Costumes

Ok ladies, I have some news for you. You know who you are. Just because it is Halloween does not qualify as a good enough reason to wear a shirt for a dress or a top that shows everything from across the room. I know, I know that is pretty much all they sell these days. Maybe if you just look a little harder.... And to you people designing the costumes. Please, please use a little more fabric. For the prices you charge you can add a little more.

Now don't get me wrong. Really I love Halloween. It is one of my favorites, I mean free candy and getting to be whatever you want for a day, what's not to love. But costumes.... oh costumes.... you make me broke....

Happy Halloween Everyone!

This Thanksgiving I was thankful for....

This past weekend was one of my favourite weekends of the year. Thanksgiving weekend! I consider any reason to get together with friends and family and eat a HUGE amount of food, especially when its turkey, is a great thing. This year I was in charge of making dessert, so I decided, seeing as it’s Thanksgiving and all, to make some pies. Now I hate pumpkin pie, therefore I refused to make it. So after a long deliberation on yummy and not so yummy pies I decided on apple pie and lemon-meringue pie.

So my mom and me headed out to the grocery store to battle it out with the other shoppers for Thanksgiving Day cuisine. We managed to find everything and were so excited to get out of the busy Sobeys, both vowing to shop early but both knowing that was never going to happen. We finally made it home both alive only to find that we forgot to get the pie crust.

Now how in the world am I supposed to make my yummy pies with out the crust? I couldn’t come up with a way either; so back off to the store I went. Lucky for me I live only about two minutes from an Extra Foods, so there I headed… alone… I had no idea of what was about to happen…

So I’m walking in Extra Foods and all the way in the back corner is where they keep the pie crusts. I’m trying to make my way through the endless carts, hoping to make it out alive. Then I see it. The heavens open up and the angels start singing, it is the last box of pie crusts. The very last one.

I very happily open the freezer and grab the box, shamelessly doing my “I-got-the-last-pie-crusts” dance, and turn around to head for the checkout. This is the part where it starts getting messy. This old lady stops me and says, “I need those pie crusts”.

Now I’m thinking what in the world is this lady talking about. I must have had some weird look on my face as if I didn’t understand her so she repeated her previous comment as she grabs for the box I’m holding in my hands.

Now I’m standing in the aisle, pulling on one end of the box while the old lady is pulling on the other end.

“ I’m sorry but this is my box,” I said politely.

“But I need them”

“But these ones are mine”

“ There are no more”

“But I have this box, go find some somewhere else.”

“I want these ones”

At this point I am getting angry, and a little surprised at the grip this old lady has. But I manage to get the box out of her hand, almost falling to the ground, and book it to the check out with the old lady yelling stuff at me.

I walk home, pie crusts in hand, in total shock that I just had to fight and old lady for pie. But I will say those pies were pretty tasty! This Thanksgiving I was thankful for pie!

Buyer Beware

For our advertising class we were broken up into groups for a Buyer Beware project. My group decided to examine Planet Antares/ Wealth Builder seminar. We were sceptical when we first heard about this “business adventure” and thought it was worth looking into. We got lots of the information from the company itself, as John attended the seminar Planet Antares hosted. We noticed a lot of things wrong with this idea right away.

Things such as the idea of getting rich almost overnight, the fact that in the original material that they sent out to potential investors, an initial investment of $87,192 is expected and they do not give you very long to think the idea over. The company encourages you purchasing multiple machines for the get go and they recommend you maintain a secondary source of income.

We found by going out to possible venues for the vending machines that not many people use them anymore, and the locations with large enough traffic to potentially generate a profit already had contracts with vending companies. We found that on a Saturday during the peek hours at Cindy Klassen Recreational Complex the vending machines collected less then $10 in two hours. Taking the prices we found at Costco of products to fill the machines with 1 time cost an average of $137. Also once Planet Antares has you money for the vending machines they leave you on your own to deal with everything, from finding a location to filling the machines to repairing vandalism on the machines.

We also noticed that it was hard to find any complaints on the Internet about the company, which we found shocking. So we looked into them and found out that Planet Antares has the sites they control at the beginning of the search engines. It takes until the second page before you get feedback from other sources, and the feedback is not very pretty.

As a group we decided that Planet Antares is a scam and we hope that after reading this people will stop falling into it and other scams like this which are after your money and then leave you to pick up the pieces.

Think about it

I was reading Stephenie Meyer's hit book New Moon the other day and I ran across this quote:

Before you my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars - points of light and reason. .... And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizion, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no reason for anything

I love how she can put such feeling into these few lines. This is how i want my love to feel about me, and I'm sure when I find the right one he will.

I also ran across this quote, I'm not sure where but I love it and I fully believe in it.

To love is to risk not being loved in return, to hope is to risk pain, to try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard is to risk nothing

Think about it.

Thank you

Over the past 24 hours my life has hit a pretty big speedbump that i didn't quite see coming. Well looking back I knid of did but I avoided the signs and convinced myself otherwise. However hindesight is 20/20. Its in these moments experienced in life you find out who the people who matter really are and how supportive the people you are surronded with are.

I want to take this moment to thank all the people who supported me while at the Bomber game, all my friends who have taken the time to try and distract me and to my family for always being on my side, regardless. I was pleasently suprised by how many people in my life were able to be there for me as my world came crashing down. It truly means so much to me.

Thank you all so much!

My Sanctuary

I have travelled every summer since I can remember. My family has been all across the United States, most of Canada, a little bit of Mexico and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Europe. Every year we pack up and go, trying to jam in as much as humanly possible, often causing us to drive all through the night to reach our destination. Although I love these trips, they are filled with fun, adventure and learning, they are far from relaxing. It wasn’t until I met my boyfriend, Dave that I actually discovered first-hand what a relaxing vacation really was.

My First Relaxing Vacation

Dave and I had been together for about six months and we decided it was time for me to go visit his family and see where he grew up. This adventure was taking me to the small town of Roblin, Manitoba. If you have no idea where this is, its about four and a half hours north of Winnipeg, between Asessippi Ski Hill and Yorkton, Sask. Don’t feel too bad, I had no idea this place even existed until then.

Now I just want to take a moment to mention that I do realize that meeting your boyfriend’s family doesn’t sound very relaxing. The meeting the family part, I will admit was not relaxing at all, in fact it was nothing short of terrifying. But once you see the farm you have no choice but to be relaxed. It is pretty much like magic.

But anyway, back to my story. For me, a self-proclaimed city princess, the middle of nowhere didn’t exactly seem like my cup of tea. In fact I was actually smart enough to wear flip-flops and a skirt to the farm. I quickly learned that jeans and runners were a requirement not a suggestion. On the drive out to the middle of nowhere I couldn’t help but wonder what could posses people to live out here, so far from my kind of civilization. Then I finally saw it, Dave took me to the scenic field.

The scenic field is by far the most beautiful place I have ever, and maybe will ever see. I found myself lost looking into the distance, surrounded by nature, the sky glittering with stars. I could suddenly understand the magic, the draw. I knew now why so many of Dave’s stories center around this field. This was something one can never experience in a city; the city doesn’t have this kind of magic. This place gives you the most incredible feelings of hope, joy, inspiration and love. Sitting next to Dave in the tall grass, I felt so free and I was finally able to understand why people settled here, why they wanted to start building their lives here.

This is the moment, the feelings I relive when I am so stressed and the world feels like its falling down around me. This moment in time, just me and Dave, sitting without a care in the world reminds me that there are more important things in this world and happiness is possible, not just possible; real. It helps me to realize that whatever I’m stressing over is simply minor and that gives me the strength to move through it. This moment is my true sanity saver; it is my sanctuary.

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner

Today I write my blog with a heavy heart, as I am sure most of you already know Patrick Swayze died on Monday after his battle with pancreatic cancer. His career not only took on movies but also musicals. He was in a number of movies over his career but I believe his most well known works were Ghost and Dirty Dancing. He was nominated for three Golden Globes but never won one. He kept busy until his last days working on a memoir with his wife, Lisa Niemi, whom he married in 1975.

Ghost is one of the most emotional movies I have seen. I've watched it countless times and still cry everytime. I think the song on the soundtrack, "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers, fits the movie perfectly. It also adds even more emotional value and speaks right to your heart. This song is on my iPod and I listen to it when I need a break from life and especially when I need to believe in love again.

Dirty Dancing was my first introduction to Patrick Swayze and left me with a huge school girl crush on the man. When I am having a bad day this movie is the one I'm most likely to pop in my DVD player. It has the ability to make me smile everytime, not to mention get out of my seat and start dancing along. My favorite part of the movie is right at the end when Swayze delivers his famous line "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" and then they go on to prove their love to the world through their final dance. A few years back I was sleeping over at my friend Megan's house and we stayed up all night trying to learn this dance. Suprisingly I still remember most of it. Dirty Dancing has saved my sanity many, many times.

Thank you Patrick Swayze for being my sanity saver over the years. My thoughts go out to your family and those who were close to you. Rest in Peace. You will always be remembered.

Sanity Saver

Today's Sanity Saver is a quote I saw on a church sign while on my way to work.

"The worst moment is when you are in the middle of an arguement and you suddenly realize you are wrong."

At first glance this made me laugh, then I stopped to think about it and its very true. That feeling when you are so sure you are right and you get into such a heated arguement with someone over that topic, only to realize half way through that you are wrong is just awful. Especially when you have to admit to the other person that they were right.

So next time you get into such an arguement take the time to make sure that you really are right so you can avoid this feeling.

Lasting Impressions?

Everybody in the world has made an impression on someone or something at some point in their lives. These past few weeks have been huge (in my world anyway…) for making impressions. So I propose the question once you’ve made your impression on someone’s life can you ever really change it?

The first few days of school, no matter where you go, everyone is trying to make a good impression on all their fellow classmates and especially on their teachers. This makes sense seeing as you are about to be forced to spend at least the next year or so with these people and you don’t want to be that one person nobody really likes. But as the week goes on the people start to change and you start to see their true selves coming out, everyone had been all dressed up for the first few days then jeans and sweats start to make their appearances. We all seem to feel the need to be our absolute best at the beginning but then it starts to fade. Does all that dressing up and stuff we do to make us appear to be who we want others to think we are really last?

A few weeks ago I would have said that people are going to remember who you have been and that impressions can be changed, but I’m starting to reconsider my answer.

I along with everyone else get all dolled up to try and make a good first impression. I spent hours trying to figure out what to wear that first day and if my hair was good enough. I mean what would people think of me if my make-up wasn’t quite right? But I also very quickly decided that after a few days I was done dressing up and I was going to pull out the jeans and sweater. Hoping that I had already made a good enough impression that I could now become the comfortable student who doesn’t have time to put on her make-up in hopes of a few extra minutes of precious sleep.

I have started to realize that my first few impressions of people do not seem to change that much. If the impression is good I seem to make excuses for them when they do something mean or wrong. They must be having an off day. But if they make a bad impression, I have trouble ever really liking them regardless of what they do. I mean of course there are odd cases where I have changed my mind but actually taking the time to look at it impressions seem to be a big deal…. At least for me.

Now here’s the other part to this, can you ever really change your feeling after a really bad situational impression has been impressed on you?

A while back I was driving with my boyfriend, Dave and we were having on of those serious type talks about actually moving in together. Now first I just want to point out that he started this conversation. Anyway so we start seriously discussing it and decide that seeing as it really is a big decision we should both take some time to think about it. So we both give it a few days and then the topic comes up again only this time the conversation has a completely different tone. We both had decided that it was not the right time for either of us, me just starting the CreComm program and he had some issues to work out. A few years ago he had moved in with his girlfriend at the time and they broke up not long after they signed the lease, causing months of problems for the both of them. He said that he didn’t want that to happen again if we moved in together.

Now I am left thinking back on it and wondering if I have trouble getting over first impressions about the people I meet, how does one get over situational impressions such as that one? Is it even possible to fully get over impressions or do they last a lot longer then even we thought they do? Maybe to some effect people never fully get over impressions, I mean I know you can push them aside and move on but maybe your first few impressions really do leave a lasting mark.

Sanity Saver

So I find that music is key to keeping myself from going crazy so today I want to share with you a song that I heard on the long drive home today that made me smile. This is Darius Rucker's song "It won't be like this for long". Enjoy.

What I'm About

So I'm not sure how to start this so I guess I will just begin with the basics. I'm Samantha Pitsanuk. I'm a 21 year old student in the Creative Communications program at Red River. I'm currenly loving it, but I'm also living in fear of what is to come with this program. My goal is to come out of this program with a diploma and hopefully my sanity. I decided that that is what my blog will be about, my constant struggle to keep what I have left of my sanity. I hope to be able to write about issues that come up during these attempts and of course struggles with the CreComm course. Hope you all enjoy reading this.
Cheers!