November's Editor Note,2013

Post date: Dec 12, 2013 1:51:54 AM

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and

creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

November 28th,2013

A message from the Editor,Founder and President of csaccac Inc;

The following Editor Note is an account of events past during the month of November: "It's mid week of November and I havent written one thought or commented on the events in the previous weeks. Thanksgiving is only two weeks away from the day. An like other uncharted chats,I ve got an idea of the stuff I want to chat about but something keeps me from peeling the layers and revealing my true thoughts. Big on tradition,I couldnt think of a better time than Thanksgiving to give thanks,to be thankful,to be grateful,and to count all blessings big and small.Somewhat odd,a bit unusual and out of the ordinary__,having not written one word,one thought,or comment kept me in a place of Gratitude."---January 4th,2013

twice the Luv,I am estatic you found your way back to this web page. As you know_ then again_if you dont know,I love and value each of you as readers,especially_our members. Without a question,I really enjoy the chats with each of you_as you might of surveyed,I been holding these informal chats inside the Editor Note for about four years. From the first chat, I looked forward to each of your responses each month. Of course-,the month of November isnt any different from other months when it comes to taking time out to share the stuff that matters to you as well as consumers and shoppers. Eventhough,I hit an impasse in the month of November thus causing this Editor Note to be extremely off schedule, I didnt want the impasse to block the message which I felt to be most important. To briefly state two of the messages I wanted convey in this Editor Note focus on choices __the end conclusion that" not making a choice is making a choice" and giving thanks. At this point,Im going to slow it down a bit, right here_ I want you to know that much has happened since our last chat in October. Yes, it took some time__actually,weeks after the deadline for the csaccac eNewsletter for me to post this Editor Note. During the impasse and delay, I posted parts of the csaccac eNewsletter to csaccac highlights this included November Birthday,significant achievements of women in the month of November,safety tips for the holidays, a special note encouraging consumers and shoppers to exercise their vote, along with special notes recognizing American Diabetes month and Veterans Day. Part of the delay of posting November's Editor Note, I attribute to a slow internet connection, while the other half of the delay I attribute to my reluctancy to peel layers,to be vocal,opinionated and reveal my true thoughts. Here's to Kelli London's Charly Epic Fiasco ,a good read and great intro "there's nothing you can't overcome." Back to the month of November, the entire month,I viewed as quite an eventful journey even with all of the highs' and low points,I worked my way through the month. I began the month with making new connections on meetme,Twitter and Facebook,lots of returns,&exchanges,I gained new experience, as well as experienced financial difficulties. Before__ I get ahead of myself, I want to apologize for this late entry__you couldnt be as surprise as I am,well,you might be more surprise if you're a frequent reader or member but as the cliche states "the show must go on." Throuhgout the years, Ive come to learn there's no excuses,only two facts, as a matter of fact and in fact. Im sure you probably have heard a ton of excuses if you're forty plus. While the truth remains elusive for some,explanations and even a good explanation could be based on some other persons, as a matter of fact. In speaking of cliches, given the two choices, Ive often re stated " to make no choice is to make a choice," Thus without much hesistation ,even after the deadline I whispered to my innerself it's the message that's most important. Certainly,I could've of waited until I felt I had every thought ,and comment perfected. However,looking pass the impasse of perfection,I felt I shouldnt wasnt any more time holding myself to perfection.Moving pass the impasse,I became resolute. In the next few weeks I hope to be able to go through my impasse without feeling quilt , less than sub human,below par,and more like the writer and Editor Ive averred to each of you and readers. Right at this moment,Ive just sat down to put pen to paper and string together my words,my thoughts to describe a few of the surprises I encountered in the month of November along with my message for the Thanksgiving holiday. And to be truthful, I rehearsed __quite a few times in the month of November the message I wanted to convey readers and each of you during the Thanksgiving holiday. Unexpected,uplanned,and caught off guard, I finally choose to become resolute in getting out my personal message for the Thanksgiving holiday. As I write this Editor Note,I realize several messages throughout this Editor Note might standout,however,it's up to you to choose the message that best fits your situation. Moving forward with November events,while everyone meaning consumers and shoppers prepared for the holidays,and making Thanksgiving plans,I also began to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday along with millions of consumers and shoppers within the United States. Specifically,at my place of residency, I began to prepare for a visit from my dad who planned to visit for a week.Straight forwardly speaking,honesty might not always be the best policy_dont quote me wrong ,as a former Girl Scout I encourage honesty and I really dont believe in small white lies. Dolefuly ,in some instance,honesty might not always be the best policy. For example ,in relationships,if being honest might hurt someones' self esteem,feelings,or cause them social embrassment, you might want re think your approach to avoid any wrong interpretationst. I mention honesty because I dont feel that Ive been upfront and completely truthful with readers and myself in a certain area of my life to be exact the frequent number of returns and exchanges I have each month. To be honest, when I discuss ,think,or analyze the number of returns and exchanges I make each it becomes a source of embrassment. So__I'll leave it at that, because I feel at forty-something I am a lot better shopper than I had been at twenty -something. Over the years,Ive made numerous observations,and the proceeding observation always leads me back to the same conclusion "when you're not truthful with yourself the only person you hurt is you", especially in dealing with toxic negative relationships,debt,and finances. Love the term "breaking bad", I havent viewed an episode of the television series but it never fails if I hear a term or slang that's catchy it sticks with me like "Girl Code", "Guy Code", "Man Flower"," Selfie",Twitterverse ,Yo crunch,what's up,whaddya ?, Get right and so forth. Oh really!, Im for real,,if I havent said anything that has touched home in previous Editor Notes then try this on for size " no two snow flakes are the same", each of us is born with a genetic blueprint that makes both you and I uniquely different. Reading,analyzing,and making sense of "Encoding" and "Decoding" the genetic codes is something that geneticist and scientist do for a living.And most Luv it otherwise they wouldnt make a pretty good living from it,lets face a lot of this stuff is dealing with the unknown and uncharted territory. Although, you and I might not be geneticist or scientist on the technical scientific platform "decoding" and "encoding" the path in life isnt always a straight line like the image of deoxyribonuclecic acid (DNA) but the ultimate responsbility ,and you could even think of it as your job to find your path in life that fits you.As a pre teen , I recall often being told to slow down and stop acting fast. Later in life, I would often re state an anynomous cliche not verbatim so please dont quote me. Basically the cliche stated, actually it made an observation of how two people could be traveling to be exact heading in the same direction ,on the same path except one is traveling at a higher rate of speed. Outrageously, bad,in this particular, bad meaning Bad . Ironically both end up in the same place execept one chose to travel at a higher speed. Somewhere between point A and B the message had been dont rush;stop to smell the roses and the coffee,in life you only get one dress rehearsal, be careful,be polite and be cautious because the person standing next to could be your next employer. Its been tested,tried,and proven , when you rush situations ,even day to day task you run the risk of eliminating you big break. As a rule of thumb,give each day your full attention, look both ways before crossing the street, and think before you speak. Hey, it sounds like Im giving a mini consultation. Alright,back to the month of November,you caught me an English major_speechless__please,dont call any of my professors, I have transcripts, I did graduate__off the topic again. So,I just had a brief moment of relief,it felt good. So,here I go again_what really happened in the month of November? Change of temperature,feelings of uncertainty about life in general along with feeling pressure to write a must read blog. Stepping back into the honesty realm,every

time,as the due date neared to have the Editor Note complete for the newsletter__each moment,I wanted to move forward something within my spirit wouldnt let me breakout of my shell. Eventually,I gave into the force of least resistance. Ultimately,I had to set aside the tasks,and,the work I wanted to complete the most;for instance,my blog . There's only writer,and Im both a Editor and Blogger. Being pulled in both directions,m y blog took a big hit because I chose not to post my writings as Id planned each month. A tough decision __,but it saved me from dealing with editing,revising,corrections ,and above of everthing else public scrutiny as well as embrassment. On the other side of the spectrum, by the delaying post,it causes me to feel inadequate and not well equipped to be a blogger. Most of the feelings I just described stems from the fact, I subcribe to other bloggers some who blog daily and others who blog weekly. Right at moment,I have a few bloggers that blow up my Inbox each week__,it's really exasperating,because they want you to read their blog on the spot. With the understanding that a lot of people have taken up blogging as a profession which usually entails 8 hours a day Monday thru Sunday. On the whole, the blogging profession is a time consuming, to be honest with you that kind of or level of commitment isnt always feasible or reasonable for people who have to make a living the old fashion way. Admittedly as an English major its a double whammie,a slap in the face,other than just being in your face every week__ , Im about talking the daily and weekly blogger,its an English major worst nightmare to feel that you have to write or read something everyday.And in all honesty, when I dont have my blogs complete,I am constantly thinking about my unfinish blogs in the same manner I think about completing my Editor Notes each month. For reason stated in previous Editor Notes,I am a monthly blogger,not to mention that it takes time to read and comment on blog post.As a result of the uncomfortable feeling attached to those frequent blogs posted in my Inbox, Ive found relief in postponing the reads_it works, __I got this Editor Note done,after the fact.Moving forward_, Ive said that a lot in this Editor Note and probably will say it a few more times before I reach the end of this Editor Note. Much has happened in the month of November,and as the New Year approaches, I feel that its important to keep moving forward,meaning learn from life's lessons and experiences while giving thanks.In speaking of Thanksgiving,__Thanksgiving,the word itself is self explanatory,to give thanks. Traditionally, the Thanksgiving holiday has been an excellent time to give thanks for all of the people who has touched our lives,as well as, has had a positive effect on our daily lives. In fact,Thanksgiving continues to a big family tradition in the United States. From a small age,the Thanksgiving tradition has been a part of my family lifestyle. From the clasroom to home,the Thanksgiving tradition,was taught, practiced, and included into the lives of nearly everyone that I knew. Moving forward to the some of the surprises and shock ,I received during the month of November,that included the closing of BlockBuster,finding a new Luv __FredFlare, then__losing my new Luv. First , on the list, the closing of BlockBuster video stores. Floored,shocked,and saddened to here and see the BlockBuster video stores had been set close in 2013,I took to Social Media___, specifically, Twitter,Facebook,and LinkedIn to vocalize my disbelief, in one post I stated "I didnt a unsecured credit card__I had my BlockBuster card" Weeks before the announce went public on National prime time news,I had visited the location where a BlockBuster had a store in the city I reside,it just so happened to be the same store where I registered and received my third or fourth BlockBuster card that's beside the point. Eventhough, I hadnt been inside BlockBuster for a while, I didnt make a big deal of the big yellow sign across the front of the store stating it was having a final store sale. At the minute I saw the big yellow sign,I thought the store was having sale getting ready for new inventory,a little bit surprised to see the sign. Then,I thought__oh,I just havent been to the plaza in awhile and made nothing of it. Until the a prime time new broadcast with announcing the closing of the remain BlockBuster video stores. Unequivocally,it's the end era,the closing of BlockBuster stores. As I listened to the newsport ,and even before the news report__I recalled all of the late nights I spent inside BlockBuster with my aunt and friends roaming the aisles,looking for a BlockBuster__a video to take home. I also recalled ,the new releases,three day rentals,late fees, follow by a major company media marketing pitch __no more late fees,and their final media marketin pitch before their exit_trade in videos. And_ sadly, you wont find sales associate at BlockBuster on my resume_ although, in my teens I strongly thought about putting in an application,. Honestly,I mean really,who wouldnt have wanted to work for BlockBuster__,it's a Dream Job. Instead,I chose to go a four year university.As Ive stated in a blog post on Owning Pink,in life Ive had very few regrets. Actually__,I prefer to think of it( the regrets) as lessons and experiences that have shaped and molded me into the person Ive become today. Do I regret attending a four year university? No,eventhough,I had reservations and raised some objections. No,I dont regret attending a four university. In speaking of regrets__which I rarely entertain,like never,I believe that life lessons and experiences draws you closer to the meaning of life. Yes,Ive probably had more than my share of lessons and experiences I would of prefered not to experience;for instance, the day I moved off campus to live in an apartment with a roommate off campus. For those of you who've attended a two or four year university or college Im sure you too could probably fill page with college lessons and experiences of friends and college roommates. How you view life's lessons and experience often has to do with perception. And in most instances,anxiety,stress,uncertainty,the external environment and actions as well as reactions of others influences,perception. Ultimately, perception determines how a person views an event or segment of life. Moving foward__on the topic of regret, a recent regret I experienced right before the holiday season happen to of been finding FredFlare.com an online specialty store that sold accessories and other stuff. I regret finding FredFlare while they had been in the middle of planning their exit from the internet. Surprised by the news,I followed the count down to the online closing to the end and Luv reading the notes from the founder capturing their journey from beginning to end. Also in between the anticipated exit, I had an opportunity to window shop online. And,I have to admit,I really enjoyed the online shopping experience. As the day for exit neared , I felt the sadness and optimism, at that moment I felt regret that I didnt find them on the internet at their most lustrous moments. Hello & Goodbye,Im sure all FredFlare customers will miss their online presence very much.Although,I only had a few moments with FredFlare.com they made a lasting impact on my perception of online shopping. .