Unprocrastination

People love my Christmas cards. I think the reason is I always overthink them, and by the time I actually get them out, it's usually Valentine's Day. By then, the winter boredom has set in and they have nothing better to do than read a long photocopied letter of me blathering and bragging about my brilliant child and all the hilarious things she did this year. (Hey, you're reading my blog. You don't even need the long, boring letter!)

But this year is going to be different. It's November, and I'VE ALREADY ORDERED THE PICTURE PART.

And the best thing? I got them for free. 100 of them. You can, too. Go here, read it, and do it. One of the codes expires on Saturday the 21st (tomorrow) but the other one doesn't, so you could at least get 50 free. No shipping, even.

I really liked their interface. The backgrounds were fine, I found one I liked, but the best part was that I could add as many photos as I wanted, wherever I wanted, in my choice of sizes, and could add captions and clip art and the whole works, so you can take something plain and really tweak it to your own liking. On the card I made, each photo is labeled with the month, some with the place, some with who the heck she was supposed to be (Halloween). The software was easy to use, and after giving it the OK, I was able to browse all my own photos on my computer very easily, which frankly kind of shocked me (no waiting for long individual uploads.)

So now, all I have to do is return the paper ones I bought, write a letter, copy it on the cute candy cane paper I got, stuff them, address them, put the return address on them, stamp them and mail them.

Yeah, OK, so I'm still thinking February.

Free Stuff

My mom worked at Coke back in the early 70's. She was in on the creation of Fresca (it's grapefruit flavor, BTW, and she hated it), was able to buy cases of "low-fills" for cheap thus becoming the coolest sister-in-law ever to my teenage uncles, and had a Coke baby outfit for me (which she didn't save, unfortunately. But I still have the booties from the Budweiser outfit I also had. I have no idea where she got that.) She worked as the office manager (I think?) and learned some important things while working there. The main one was that if you have a problem with a product and take the time to write a note or make a phone call, you get free stuff! Throughout my childhood, she would do this and we would receive coupons or vouchers for free items. She only did it when she had a true gripe (like when we found a rock in our chunky peanut butter), but it always worked.

So I do it, too. Yeah, I like the free stuff, but I also like knowing they are aware of my opinion. Once, when I opened a fridge pack of soda on the bottom shelf of our refrigerator, an hour after mopping the floor, and cans rolled out and burst all over my floor, I called the Coke company and told them to make better cans! (I was pretty peeved that I had to remop the floor.) And they actually did--they sent a package for me to mail in the can so they could test it, because they had recently changed their cans and were concerned about the strength! And I got 5 free cases of soda!!!

I recently wrote to Gerber, concerned about the #7 plastic baby food containers and the bisphenol A that is in them. They wrote back, promising coupons, but basically telling me that my concerns were worthless. I wrote again and said I'd only buy their glass jars, thank you, because despite what the federal government tells me, I still have concerns. I never received the coupons. I guess they showed me.

Anyway, my favorite shampoo-conditioner combo recently changed the scent in their conditioner. I hate it. So I wrote.

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 12:09 PM
To: Silk, Sun
Subject: Sunsilk Information

I have been using Sunsilk's extra- volume shampoo and conditioner (the yellow bottles) since it came out. I love the way it makes my hair react. Recently, however, you changed the scent in the conditioner. I just have to write to tell you that I hate it so much I will have to stop using your product. It smells like that crappy cheap potpourri people used to boil back in the late 80's. Yuck! Who wants their head to smell like "Orchard Fresh"? More like "dead cat rotting in a pile of plums left in the sun."

I'm really disappointed, and I hope you haven't made this change a permanent one. Thank you for reading this, and I hope you take it into consideration. I'd really rather my fully voluminized hair smelled fresh and clean, rather than like the floor in the back of a city bus in August.

Regards,
La Rêveuse

And got this reply:

Hi La Rêveuse,

Thanks for writing!

We are aware that response to fragrance is a highly individual preference. The scents created for our products are carefully tested before marketing, to ensure they meet preferences of majority of consumers. All product fragrances should be light, fresh, and pleasant.

We will certainly forward your e-mail to the Brand Manager and the appropriate staff. Consumer comments are important and evaluated on a regular basis.

Thank you for providing your address*, as we are sending complementary coupons of our products.

Chris Green
Unilever Consumer Services

*They ask you to provide your address, but I would have anyway, because I know how these things work.

So, I guess I'm on the lookout for a new, non-stinky Unilever product. A free one. Any suggestions?