• It's June 23rd, I'm wearing a jacket, and the leaves on some of the trees are turning red. Did I miss summer? #
• Secret movie formula revealed! http://bit.ly/lb4yi (RT @keithcoogan ) #

• Shopping list for new home: Lavender, peppermint and frankincense essential oils, rusty nails and broken glass… #

• Busy packing up stuff. Glenn was busy watching me pack up stuff. #

It still has to go through Housing, but it looks like we have an apartment. As far as the landlord is concerned, it’s ours.

It’s half of a recently overhauled and unusual duplex. Most duplexes I’ve seen have two squarish units side by side. This one is front to back, making them narrow but long. Our unit is in the back. It’s three stories high and has three bedrooms. The floors are a little warped but I don’t care (I’ll just put the fish tank on the higher side). Everything but the refrigerator is brand spanking new.

Been packing since the beginning of the month because we have to be out of here, either way. If Glenn tells me that I have to put my “business” on hold to do more packing one more time (while he sits on his ass), I’m going to throttle him. Once again, just because I work at home it does not mean that everything else is more important. Asshole.

Since RCN isn’t available where we are moving to I spent half an hour signing up for FiOS, online. For about $20 a month less than RCN we will be getting slightly faster internet and a few more channels. The only downside has to do with the one thing I forgot to budget for: deposits. I had to cough up an additional $125 deposit for FiOS, and I realize now that I’m probably  going to have to come up with at least the same for the gas and oil. *sigh* Hopefully electric can just be transferred to the new address. NSTAR sort of has a monopoly on the area.

Our goal is to commence moving next weekend. Ben friends have been noticibly scarce around here, lately. I wonder why that could be?

The economy sucks. You know it. I know it. So, as a small business owner, this is what I’m not going to do about it:

• I will not introduce any new product… unless it has been well researched and I see that there is a definite demand for it.
• I will not increase my marketing budget. Making more folks aware of my presence will not necessarily increase my sales. Instead I will keep my budget as is and use cheap and creative methods to draw attention.
• On a related note: I will not use the word “stimulus” in any form of advertising. If it hasn’t helped the  economy, it sure as hell isn’t going to help me. I’m so sick of the word that if I see it in an ad one more time I swear I’m going to scream!
• I will not cut my prices. I offer quality goods at fair prices, and will not devalue them (or myself) by price slashing.
• I will not treat my customers like shit. This is, IMHO, the most important. Yet it is the one thing most businesses (large and small) seem to have forgotten. In this economy customers are looking to get the most out of their money. Being treated well is part of it, and being polite doesn’t cost me a dime.