natalie

Last weekend was a big weekend for Auburn fans. We beat one of biggest rivals UGA!! Not only did we beat them but it was a great game.  I was in the UGA student section with my best friend from high school that goes to UGA.  I cheered every time we scored except for the last time. I decided to just be quite so I didn’t get beat up. It really could have happened. We SEC fans have a lot of school spirit and some fans just get really riled up about the game.

Well now after that big game we follow it up with the Alabama vs. Auburn game this weekend. Which is an even bigger rival then UGA.  I am right now in the process of finding a ticket and the going price for a student ticket is $200.  WOW! Where do students get that kind of money to pay for a ticket? That’s outrageous!

However, the Alabama week/weekend it big, RVs and fans will start coming in tomorrow (Wednesday.)   They will tailgate the rest of the week until the game. I love tailgating because of all the great food.  I was never a college football fan until I came to Auburn and I never imagined it would be this crazy on game weekends.  It still amazes me every year and this is my forth football season.  It is going to be sad next year not being about to attend every game. There is nothing like football season in the south!!

I just got done reading about the Pennsylvania teen accused for shooting his girlfriends parents.  David Ludwig, 18 and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Kara Beth Borden, were arrested in Indiana after a police chase ended after they crashed into a tree.

It is said that Ludwig and Borden’s parents got in an argument about them dating because of their age difference.  The argument ended with two shots when accused gunman Ludwig shot them both in the head. Ludwig then called for Borden and they took off in a red Jetta.  It is unknown if Borden was kidnapped or if she went willing. 

Borden and Ludwig were supposals secretly dating because her parents did not approve of Ludwig because of his age. It was rumored that part of their secret dating was done over a blog. (The plot thickens)  Investigators can now research the blog for more details of their relationship.  Was the events premeditated or was it a spur of the moment thing?

It is amazing how much blogs are affecting the lives of people.  More and more people are using them and for a variety of reasons.  I do find it odd how people would feel comfortable publishing their deep thoughts about their life on the internet.  That is how stalkers begin.  But in this cause of Borden’s supposed blog it is going to possibly help out investigators in the case.  The question is: is the blog going to help Borden? It might be damaging to her because it could prove if she went willing or not.

 Obesity in America has been a problem for many years, but it is now becoming an issue for more and more people.  Being overweight or obese is the cause for at least 300,000 deaths a year. The upsetting part of that is the percentage is only getting higher every year and the death rate is only increasing.  Not only is this upsetting for the obese but it also affects all Americans because the healthcare cost for obese adult Americans exceeds $100 billion every year.  What is causing these people to be obese and is it a disease or is it a personal responsibility? 

Obesity is thought to be caused by many different factors such as psychological, genetic and most important environmental factors.  Or is obesity cause by the media?  You can not turn on the TV or open a magazine with out seeing a skinning size 2 model with a perfect body. Probably only 3% of Americans have a figure even close to they and most of them are still no happy with their body.  It seems to be an on going struggle.

Our lives are also cluttered with fast food and junk food that is bad for our bodies.  The worst part is that the things that are bad for you are also the quickest and easier so obtain. Is there anything the media can do to help prevent obesity?  Should the government enforce a “fat tax?”

I don’t know if you have noticed but people are already starting to decorate for Christmas.  Businesses are decorating their buildings, holiday TV commercials are on and some people have already put their tree up. The Christmas decorations have also been out at Wal-Mart since before Halloween. When is the right time to start celebrating Christmas?

I love Christmas it is one of my favorite holidays but I feel that every year we are starting to celebrate and decorate earlier and earlier.  Are people going to get burn out on the holiday if we start celebrating to earlier?  It is not even Thanksgiving yet. I thought it was a non written rule that we started to cerebrate and decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.

My family and I am sure most, began decorating and playing Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving.  It is also the biggest shopping day of the year.  I don’t know if I go shopping on that day for the sales or for the people watching. However, I read a third of people have already started their Christmas shopping and started on November 1.

If we continue to start celebrating so early we are soon going to be celebrating year round. Like I said I love Christmas but I like it just when it’s cooler outside and it makes it more special if it is just a short period of time.

So when do you think is the right time to start celebrating and decorating for Christmas?

I am currently waiting to get my car serviced at the dealership and I was looking around and thinking about all of the PR or lack of PR around the dealership.  I wonder what kind of thought process they went though while planning the layout if any at all.

All in all it is set up like any other dealership.  Up front are all the cars and the salesmen and in the back there is the service department.  When you look around all you see and read is information and pamphlets on buying a new or used car.  There is nothing talking about the types of services you can have done once you buy a car. The only thing that talks about the types of services is a posting of customer satisfaction and even there its only one page out of eight posted on a back wall.

Wouldn’t it be a smart idea to publicize and post your services?  That would encourage people to get there car serviced here after they buy it and continue there on after.  And discourage them from taking it to a random place to get their oil change and etc.

This is what I could do.  I would post/advertise their services in the waiting room and in the front of the dealership.  In the front of the dealership to catch the eye of potential buyers and then in the waiting room to better inform people who already service their cares here. I would also give incentives to service your car here.  Then the dealership could possibly bring up their profit in not only the service department but people might be more persuaded to buy a car where there is an excellent service department.

Halloween, I personally find it an overrated holiday and I skipped it this year for two reasons.  One because I had a lot of school work to do and two I was just not motivated to get all dressed up and go out on a Monday. Don’t get me wrong it can be a great holiday but I often wonder what is the big deal? Is it just a reason for little kids to dress up and eat lots of candy, a reason for college students to get drunk or a reason for older girls to get dressed up in what normally would be a sluty way and its okay?

Well according to wilstar.com the “word itself, “Halloween,” actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, “All Hollows Day” (or “All Saints Day”), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints.”  And according to dictionary.com, “October 31, celebrated in the United States, Canada, and the British Isles by children going door to door while wearing costumes and begging treats and playing pranks.”

Halloween is also a good holiday for movie makers.  There are hundreds of scary movies that have been made for Halloween or for the sprit of it.  That is one thing I did get in the sprit of this year, the scary movies.

Halloween has got to be a huge money maker for companies.  Think if all the costumes and candy that are purchased for this one day.  There are also cards and decorations.  Maybe Halloween has become what it is today just to bring in more money.

Is Halloween all that its built up to be? 

I have recently noticed how bad customer relations have gotten at local stores and establishments.  I don’t know how many times I have gotten the employee who doesn’t want to be there and doesn’t care if you buy something from them or not.  Or better yet the employee who is on a personal call the whole time you are there and makes it seem like a chore to help you or check you out.

Another customer relations problem I come across a lot is lack of professionalism.  For example today I went to rent a movie and the lady checking everyone out called every customer “little one.”  Calling people, I guess you could say “names” is not very professional at all.  It is also bad when employees are communicating with each other about personal issues or problems while helping a customer.  Employees’ appearances are also another common problem.

Managers need to train their employees to communicate better with customers.  They need to give employees incentives to want to help the customer and want to make them feel more important.  Managers also need to set rules and guide lines that need to be follow at all times.  If rules are broken there needs to be some form of punishment so the employee is less likely to do it again. There also should be a dress code and employees should be encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle. These seem like very simple things that one would assume managers are already doing but a lot of times this is not the case.

We all enjoy watching the lives of celebrities but where should we draw the line between their private and public life?  I have noticed lately that the media regularly over extends themselves into the private lives of celebrities. 

A good example of a celebrity that strives to keep her personal life separate from her career is Julia Roberts.   Julia Roberts is repeatedly voted America’s favorite actress and is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of our time.  Unlike many actresses, Julia is able to be both a serious actress and the girl next door.  However the media makes that harder for her then she would like by invading her personal life. Not only do the media sometimes invade her private life, it also heightens the expectations of the public for her. She is able to separate her personal and private life in a classy and dignified way.            

Roberts’s or any celebrity’s biggest struggle is balancing fame with their private lives.  Some stars let fame and media lead their life.  Is media a necessary evil?  It is vital for the publicity aspect to publicize a new movie or for entertainment when Roberts or whoever the celebrity may be agrees. Actors must have a professional relationship with the media.  It is part of the job.

However, they must also avoid the paparazzi because when it comes down to invading a celebrity’s personal life to take one bad picture when they are looking a little under the weather it’s gone to far.  Celebrities just like us can have a rough day.  They may be worth millions more than us but they still want a somewhat normal life.

No one wants to feel alone in the world and this causes the recent fads of personal PR to become more and more popular. Social networks are formed at many sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Live Journals and many others.  One of the main purposes of all of these sites is to create a profile that will give you positive (sometimes negative) PR about yourself.  You can post your thoughts, pictures and as scary as it is your friends can even post their thoughts. Then you either make new friends, let old friends get to know you better or even sadly enough meet a significant other.

From my personal experience with Facebook, I have learned that these sites can be addictive and you constantly want to check other people’s profiles and update your profile. It’s a never ending cycle.  I only have an account on Facebook but many people have numerous accounts on these various sites.  I would imagine they waste a good part if their day with these sites.

It is sad that personal selling/PR has came down to this.  However, I feel many people just see it as an easy way to make new friends and keep in touch with the old.  But is this type of social networking taking over our lives and taking time away from doing face-to-face networking?  I wonder if they are even a benefit to our lives or are they just a waste of time?

I am trying to get an internship in Portland for next fall. I flew home this last weekend to California to see my parents and on my flight I read an article on the city of Portland in “Sky” magazine.  The article made me really excited for my possible future in Portland.

The article is called “Our Kind of OREGON Trail” and is about what you need to know about Portland when you are visiting the city.  It is the only city on the West Coast that you can see on foot and being a runner this was good news for me.  Not only am I a runner but I also have a love for food and Portland has many world know restaurants. 

Great food and being able to run or walk everywhere is very exciting however I am even more excited about the warehouses that they have recently converted to trendy condos.  My beautician was telling me about these condos and that she has a friend that lives in one of them and loves it.  She also said they are fairly reasonable in price. The condos are located in the Pear District where there are many restaurants, shops and nightclubs.

I think more then anything I am just excited to move some where new.  I have lived most of my life in the south and I am ready to experience other parts of the US where I can meet new and different people.  I also have never been to Portland but I have only heard good things about the city.  I am excited to explore it and see all the great things I keep hearing about.