Is a job you love still possible?
My husband and I were talking recently about how when we first started looking for work, my friends and I really didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about what we wanted. The pattern seemed to be this: apply for all kinds of jobs; take the first one offered to...Threats from my ISP
This week, I received what I consider to be a threatening e-mail from my Internet service provider: “In the next couple of weeks, when you log into your Bell Mail [an aside: always known as Sympatico; are they changing it?] using your Internet browser,...Inclusive language
Some of the writing I do for Big Client #1 goes to American readers as well as Canadian. All along, the articles have gone on separate pages, so we stuck to American spelling with things written specifically for the U.S. page and Canadian spelling for the Canucks. Now...Freelancer follies
While Jake and I were out walking the other day, a bird crapped on my head. I’ve heard it’s good luck and maybe that’s true. In my mail that day was payment of an invoice that had been outstanding for months. In my e-mail, promise of more money....Message in a bottle
Hello, all you lurkers! Over the past couple of weeks, I was pleasantly surprised to find out about several people who are following my blog. Even if you aren’t necessarily saying anything, it’s nice to know you’re out there. When my friend Gloria...
Lee Valley Tools takes the right approach
Christmas catalogues are landing in the mailbox about as fast as the two maple trees next door dropped all their leaves last week. Today’s specimen: Lee Valley Tools. The company is based in Ottawa, but they have a dozen locations across Canada and a thriving...When sales are down, go back to what inspires you
In a column talking about the panic generated by the state of the economy, Andy Wibbels said, “You only have so much control of the chaos swirling around you – how can you batten down the hatches and still lay the groundwork for something new?” His answer: “When sales...Random misspellings
From the “glad I didn’t write that” files, some errors spotted recently in prominent places: …aged to a natural petina (patina) …receive a complementary gift with test drive (complimentary) …being completely wreckless with your future...