I'm headed to northern Virginia this weekend to visit the little woman. I made an interesting discovery whilst in college about that area. Despite a nearly universally accepted abbreviation -- NoVA -- no one I've met yet in northern Virginia refers to the region by that abbreviation.
The Chevy Nova failed to succeed in Latin American areas, but initially, no one knew why. Turns out the translation of "No va" in Spanish means, "doesn't go." Go figure. This would be slightly better than naming a car for sale in the English speaking world, "Hits Things."
Speaking of failures, I saw an interesting clip from MacGyver the other day. I was just flipping through the channels, but I saw MacGyver mixing some household chemicals together to create a make-shift smokescreen to cover his escape from some bad guys. He throws this stuff down and watches the smoke come up. Satisfied, he turns, walks around the corner, and gets shot in the face, falling out a window. I thought MacGyverisms always worked! What happened?
No, there isn't really a point to this post. Enjoy, anyway, and have a good weekend!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Competition
See, the thing is, competition isn't really for me. I usually check my competitiveness at the door for everything except debates or discussions. But games never really did it for me. Now, I'm faced with an interesting dilemma. For reasons that shall become apparent, this post isn't going in the VMT blog. Quite the double-life I'm living these days.
The O. Winston Link museum is a fantastic museum. Its facility is top-notch (as most newly-renovated facilities are), its exhibits are well-designed, and its subject is relevant to the area (although I still feel it should be a gallery at VMT or at the Art Museum, but no matter). There's just this one little thing...
Their gift shop sucks. Yeah, they've got rail merchandise a-plenty, lots of reproductions of Link's prints for sale, and the obligatory Link-branded hats, shot glasses, and t-shirts. Only, they're missing something... customer service.
I've been in their shop at least five times. Not once was anyone present to help me find anything, and the one time I wanted to make a purchase, I had to walk into their office and tap someone on the shoulder to get her attention. Maybe I only come on bad days, but this is a bad first strike.
Perhaps to [over]compensate, they've begun stocking our merchandise. They've got t-shirts and DVDs featuring VMT's own #611 and #1218. I understand that the appeal of those engines in this area is relatively universal amongst those that know about them, but I can't quite figure out how t-shirts bearing the images of those locomotives enhances or supplements the educational experience a visitor would get from touring the museum.
The shop lacks character, but only for a lack of trying. They're in a great building, the shop is well laid-out, and their subject material, once again, should be an inspiration. I should be able to buy postcards, magnets, key rings, and puzzles with Link's pictures burned proudly into their sides. Instead, I have to buy the same items with only the logo of the Link museum, or a very modern picture of one of VMT's locomotives.
Here's the one that really kills me. They sell silver and gold charms OF THOSE ENGINES. They're not at the Link museum; they're at our museum. What's more, they're hocking them at a minimum of $55 (for the sterling silver) and up to $250 for the gold! Are you kidding me?!
I reached my competitive breaking point when I found out about this. I got a vendor out in California to reproduce the engines in sterling silver at a cost so that I can sell them for $19.99. Same quality (if not slightly better), but less than half the price. The Link can stuff that in whatever they like. If they're not going to respect their customers, I will.
I've made it my mission to make their store irrelevant when it comes to anything other than O. Winston Link-related merchandise. Every two weeks, I'm going to visit their store. Anything they carry that isn't related to Link and is related to VMT's collection, I will carry it and undersell them. I won't carry anything having anything to do with Link -- that's rightfully theirs. But I'm going to let everybody know about this, too. Competition, you see, is good for consumers.
Even if it isn't really for me.
The O. Winston Link museum is a fantastic museum. Its facility is top-notch (as most newly-renovated facilities are), its exhibits are well-designed, and its subject is relevant to the area (although I still feel it should be a gallery at VMT or at the Art Museum, but no matter). There's just this one little thing...
Their gift shop sucks. Yeah, they've got rail merchandise a-plenty, lots of reproductions of Link's prints for sale, and the obligatory Link-branded hats, shot glasses, and t-shirts. Only, they're missing something... customer service.
I've been in their shop at least five times. Not once was anyone present to help me find anything, and the one time I wanted to make a purchase, I had to walk into their office and tap someone on the shoulder to get her attention. Maybe I only come on bad days, but this is a bad first strike.
Perhaps to [over]compensate, they've begun stocking our merchandise. They've got t-shirts and DVDs featuring VMT's own #611 and #1218. I understand that the appeal of those engines in this area is relatively universal amongst those that know about them, but I can't quite figure out how t-shirts bearing the images of those locomotives enhances or supplements the educational experience a visitor would get from touring the museum.
The shop lacks character, but only for a lack of trying. They're in a great building, the shop is well laid-out, and their subject material, once again, should be an inspiration. I should be able to buy postcards, magnets, key rings, and puzzles with Link's pictures burned proudly into their sides. Instead, I have to buy the same items with only the logo of the Link museum, or a very modern picture of one of VMT's locomotives.
Here's the one that really kills me. They sell silver and gold charms OF THOSE ENGINES. They're not at the Link museum; they're at our museum. What's more, they're hocking them at a minimum of $55 (for the sterling silver) and up to $250 for the gold! Are you kidding me?!
I reached my competitive breaking point when I found out about this. I got a vendor out in California to reproduce the engines in sterling silver at a cost so that I can sell them for $19.99. Same quality (if not slightly better), but less than half the price. The Link can stuff that in whatever they like. If they're not going to respect their customers, I will.
I've made it my mission to make their store irrelevant when it comes to anything other than O. Winston Link-related merchandise. Every two weeks, I'm going to visit their store. Anything they carry that isn't related to Link and is related to VMT's collection, I will carry it and undersell them. I won't carry anything having anything to do with Link -- that's rightfully theirs. But I'm going to let everybody know about this, too. Competition, you see, is good for consumers.
Even if it isn't really for me.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Mile High Music-king
I'm headed to Denver on Thursday for the Museum Store Association Conference and Expo. I'm pretty pumped, but this is essentially my first real business trip. I traveled a bit when I was the National President of my Fraternity, but this is the big time. I come bearing business cards and credit references -- look out, Denver!
The weather forecast is a mixed bag. Continued cold through Friday (with a chance of snow) and into the 50s for the remainder of the weekend. I also have no idea what to pack. My casual attire is jeans and a t-shirt, neither of which fit quite right (I like `em loose). My work attire is fine, but not the most comfortable for long days of conferences, networking, and shopping.
Also, while the museum has offered to pay for my meals and parking, I've made arrangements to leave my car at my girlfriend's house in Northern Virginia (I'm flying out of Dulles) and my personal goal for the weekend is not to buy a single meal for myself in Denver in the hopes that potential vendors might wine and/or dine me. I'm fine with either. Yes, the Virginia Museum of Transportation is a pretty small catch in this particular sea, but I'm trying to create brand identity here -- impress me, vendors.
Meanwhile, my girlfriend and I celebrated our one-year anniversary on Monday. I know you don't read this, but happy anniversary, darling! Every day with her is better than the last.
Anyway, that's all for now, probably until I get back. Peace, love, other things.
The weather forecast is a mixed bag. Continued cold through Friday (with a chance of snow) and into the 50s for the remainder of the weekend. I also have no idea what to pack. My casual attire is jeans and a t-shirt, neither of which fit quite right (I like `em loose). My work attire is fine, but not the most comfortable for long days of conferences, networking, and shopping.
Also, while the museum has offered to pay for my meals and parking, I've made arrangements to leave my car at my girlfriend's house in Northern Virginia (I'm flying out of Dulles) and my personal goal for the weekend is not to buy a single meal for myself in Denver in the hopes that potential vendors might wine and/or dine me. I'm fine with either. Yes, the Virginia Museum of Transportation is a pretty small catch in this particular sea, but I'm trying to create brand identity here -- impress me, vendors.
Meanwhile, my girlfriend and I celebrated our one-year anniversary on Monday. I know you don't read this, but happy anniversary, darling! Every day with her is better than the last.
Anyway, that's all for now, probably until I get back. Peace, love, other things.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Is it so much to ask?
It's come down to my job and my girlfriend. I love both in entirely different, but wholly influential ways.
In the course of the nine months or so that I've worked for the Virginia Museum of Transportation, I've concluded that I will never have another job that challenges and rewards me in the ways that this one does. Other jobs may pay better and offer better benefits; any of the current VMT staff will tell you that's almost a certainty, shy of working as a chimney sweep in Dickensian London. There is no other job that will provide the same daily array of unique, difference-making opportunities, nor afford the same flexibility to do five different jobs without being distinctly qualified for more than three of them.
My girlfriend is a once-in-a-lifetime find, though. As incredible as my job is, what's even more incredible is having someone in my life to share my experiences with, and who actually seems to give a damn, for reasons passing understanding.
We've been talking about moving in together (in Northern Virginia), marriage, and children. While I've had those conversations with previous girlfriends, this is the first time I didn't feel at all nervous about any of those possibilities. Likewise, I don't feel like I'm not ready for any of them. I just don't know if I'm ready to give up the best job I'll ever have just yet.
City of Roanoke, I pose the question: Why doesn't your job market have room for a qualified financial systems specialist with better than three years of in-depth experience? If there were a job opening for her that offered even a comparable (not even better, but just roughly equivalent) compensation and benefits package, she would take it before she finished reading it.
It'd make my life easier, that's for sure.
In the course of the nine months or so that I've worked for the Virginia Museum of Transportation, I've concluded that I will never have another job that challenges and rewards me in the ways that this one does. Other jobs may pay better and offer better benefits; any of the current VMT staff will tell you that's almost a certainty, shy of working as a chimney sweep in Dickensian London. There is no other job that will provide the same daily array of unique, difference-making opportunities, nor afford the same flexibility to do five different jobs without being distinctly qualified for more than three of them.
My girlfriend is a once-in-a-lifetime find, though. As incredible as my job is, what's even more incredible is having someone in my life to share my experiences with, and who actually seems to give a damn, for reasons passing understanding.
We've been talking about moving in together (in Northern Virginia), marriage, and children. While I've had those conversations with previous girlfriends, this is the first time I didn't feel at all nervous about any of those possibilities. Likewise, I don't feel like I'm not ready for any of them. I just don't know if I'm ready to give up the best job I'll ever have just yet.
City of Roanoke, I pose the question: Why doesn't your job market have room for a qualified financial systems specialist with better than three years of in-depth experience? If there were a job opening for her that offered even a comparable (not even better, but just roughly equivalent) compensation and benefits package, she would take it before she finished reading it.
It'd make my life easier, that's for sure.
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