The Compassion Blog

So. Have you heard that Compassion recently launched a blog? It's just getting going, but I think it's going to be a really cool thing! Posts will be written by a variety of people ... our leadership, headquarters staff, field staff, and maybe even some formerly sponsored students!

So check it. Here's my first official post.

And bookmark it, because there's going to be some sweet stuff on here!

Frozen

I saw this video on another blog I read. And I just had to share it with you all.

It's a group called Improv Everywhere. Their tagline is "We cause scenes."

SO COOL.

Now THIS is seriously cool.

A few years ago I had this idea.

I was working out on the elliptical machine at the gym and thinking about all the energy that I was using to do a 30 minute workout. According to the little electronic calorie counter, it was roughly 300 calories. And almost every machine in the room was being used. There were thousands (or maybe even millions) of calories being burned!

I thought about how much I hear in the news about finding new sources of energy. And I wondered why someone hasn't come up with a line of cardio machines that can collect the energy used to operate them and convert it into a power source. If this was possible, then a gym could basically power itself. No electric bill. They simply store up the energy collected from the cardio machines and use that to power their lights or computers or air conditioners or whatever.

Now obviously I have no idea about whether or not this is even scientifically possible. Someone smarter than me should definitely weigh in here. Can a calorie be converted into a kilowat? If so, someone should invent this and patent it. (And then when you make millions, if you want to share a small portion with me, I wouldn't mind.)

I always thought of this as a silly dream made up in Beckyland.

Apparently not.

A guy I work with forwarded an article to me this morning. It is about an awesome organization called PlayPumps International.

Basically this guy invented a water pump that is also a merry-go-round for kids. As they play on it, the wheel turns, which operates the pump and stores the clean water in a tank. Then families in the community can draw water from the tank.

Currently there are nearly 900 pumps throughout South Africa and a few other countries in southern Africa. But doesn't this sound like something that could be used all over the world? You can find out more about this organization through their presence on many social networking sites.

Aren't you pumped? (Sorry.)

IKEA, Sweet IKEA

So have you heard about the guy living in IKEA?

IKEA agreed to let him live in their store for a week while his apartment was being fumigated. He will eat all his meals in the IKEA restaurant and will make a video each day that is posted on the web site.

Pretty innovative marketing, huh?

He also has another crazy video about Starbucks.

Play on, John.

I realize that many of my posts recently have been about John Mayer. One may say I'm obsessed.


However, I just can't get over how much I love to hear him play.
Check it out.

ht: Skip

Rice is Nice

Here's an easy way to make a difference in the world.
(AND as a bonus, you learn stuff too!)

www.freerice.com

According to their web site,

FreeRice has two goals:

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

I got up to 240 grains of rice (which is probably only, like, an eighth of a cup) but every little bit helps!

Ethiopia

I love that I get to work for Compassion! But sometimes it's hard not to get bogged down in the day-to-day work and forget that what we're doing is changing lives.

Thanks, Shaun, for reminding me.

Be sure to watch the video at the bottom.

Lynden

It's not very often I come across a CD where I literally love every single song on the album. But it happened.

Lynden recently released their first CD called The Act of Becoming.
And I. LOVE. IT.

If you haven't heard of Lynden, listen to them here.

Here. Read this.

I have many random things to post about, but haven't had the time. New posts are coming soon, though. I promise.

For now, enjoy reading my newest blog addiction.

She makes me laugh every day.

I now have a degree in Being Nice.

Last week I took a customer service training seminar for work. We basically spent eight hours learning how to be nice.

One of the more enlightening discussions we had was when we went around the room and each person shared past memorable customer service experiences ... good and bad.

I kept a tally of what people said. Without further ado, here is the list.

Places to avoid:

Bed, Bath & Beyond
Apparently it is a big hassle to return wedding gifts. Which is funny because, as I have observed from the one bazillion wedding showers I have attended, BB&B is, hands down, the most common place to register.

Sprint
This was mine. Nine stinking years of faithful patronage and not one good customer service experience! The only one to blame for my extended history of bad Sprint experiences is myself. I'm loyal to a fault, it seems.

Travelocity
Their TV ads claim you can call them any time, day or night, and they'll bend over backwards to help. According to my co-worker Mark's last vacation report, this is not the truth.

Orkin
Not that you have a lot of options when it comes to insect extermination or rodent control, but this seems like something you might want to get right the first time.

Walmart
Oh, so many places I could go with this. Suffice it to say, I'll just add "crappy customer service" as reason #3,763 I refuse to shop there.

Places to visit:

Pottery Barn
Again, according to my recently married friend, Pottery Barn is wonderful in going the extra mile to make sure you spread the word to all your engaged friends.

REI
They might sell [R]eally [E]xpensive [I]tems, but they'll treat you nicely as they do it!

T-Mobile
I finally left Sprint and switched to T-Mobile. They strive to be one of the top five companies known for their good customer service in the nation, among all businesses ... not just cell phone companies. So far, so good!

Lowes
In my single-female-visiting-a-home-improvement-store experience, Lowe's beats Home Depot any day of the week.

Firedog (Circuit City)
If you need any electronic equipment installed in your home, apparently Firedog is the company to call.

and my personal favorite ...

Chick-fil-A
Two words: "My pleasure!"

Any places you suggest I visit/avoid?

Mmmmmm ... pears.

All the time I spend reading blogs has finally paid off! (Pun intended. O.P.J. to my family ... awww, yeah.)

Occasionally when I read comments on other people's blogs, I will click on the person's name just to see where it takes me. The other day I randomly did so and it took me to The PearBudget. Now I have been wanting to find a good budget program for a long time. I've tried Money and Quicken. They are too complicated and too much for my needs. I've tried creating my own budget program, but couldn't figure out how to make it cumulative. I tried not budgeting at all but that seemed dangerous. So I decided the PearBudget was worth a shot.

It's GREAT!

Here are some good things about the PearBudget:

1. Free.
2. Downloads in a flash.
3. Easy to understand and simple to use.
4. Allows you to manage your money so well you can buy an iPhone.
5. Is compatible with your new iPhone!

The only thing I've found so far that I don't understand is the name. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical (and probably clever) explanation for naming it after a piece of fruit, but I've yet to figure it out.

Does you have a budget program you'd recommend?
If not, try this one! And let me know what you think.

So check it out. I may be behind the cyber-trend a little bit, but yesterday I came across the BEST web site I've seen in a long time! It's called Shelfari ... an "interactive social media site for book lovers." As if I needed to belong to another online community (read: the Black Hole of my leisure time.)

Basically, you can form an online community of friends who love books and share reading recommendations, list and rate books you've read, have discussions ... the opportunities are virtually limitless!

I just built my shelf. The books you see above are on my Top 10 list.

I am inviting all of you, my blog friends, to join me in this community. Create a profile and then request me as a friend so we can share in some book-lovin.

I love technology.