Keep Cubicle Decoration in Balance
Your cubicle is your home away from home…kind of. If you’re like most people, you’ll spend more of your waking hours at work than you will at home, so the instinct to make your cubicle or other office space feel homey is understandable. But how homey is too homey?
Here’s a rule of thumb that will help you make sure your workspace keeps everyone, including superiors and important outsiders, happy: Take a good, long look around your office. Then ask yourself, “Whose level would I like to be working at a year from now and what does that person’s workspace look like? How audacious is the design? How many, and how obvious, are the personal items in that person’s area?”
Follow the design lead of the person who’s successful in the area you’d most like to call your own, and you usually can’t go wrong.
Source: Business Etiquette by Ann Marie Sabath
A New Way to Beat Jet Lag
Researchers now believe that starvation may be a way to combat jet lag. “When your body is deprived of its usual meals at its usual times, your internal clock goes into a pause mode, waiting for new instructions. When you eat your next meal, it starts up again, with the assumption it’s now breakfast time,” according to an article in The Week. Try to refrain from eating on the plane; instead, eat when you land.
My Favorites: Dr. Andy Chiou 
Vascular Surgeon Director of the Peoria Vein Center
My favorite restaurants growing up in Peoria in the 1970s and ‘80s (not in any order):
- Pantera’s Pizza One slice was equal to two meals or your required daily caloric intake. It’s where I learned to be a pinball wizard.
- The River Station (The first try). Best prime rib in town.
- Happy Joe’s Pizza The mushroom pizza remains my favorite (even though we don’t have a Happy Joe’s anymore).
- Steak ‘n Shake on North University. You have to wash your hands twice to get rid of the grease after a tasty Steakburger, thin fries and a shake.
- Vonachen’s Old Place (Junction City). It was cool eating in the train car.
Protection From Holiday Burglars
As the holiday season arrives and we start hoarding expensive presents in closets, basements and under the bed, more worry surrounds the possibility of robberies. Here are a few things you can do to protect your home and property from holiday burglars.
- Keep your garage door closed as much as possible.
- Put radios, TVs and lights on timers when you will be away.
- Make sure all windows and doors are locked before leaving the house.
- Don’t leave holiday gifts, wrapped or unwrapped, in view of windows or doors.
- Mark new, expensive gifts with your driver’s license or ID number immediately after the holidays.
- Don’t advertise what you got for Christmas by putting empty boxes out on garbage day. Instead, break them down so the writing is on the inside.
A Gift Guide for the Elderly
Can’t decide what to get for that senior citizen on your holiday list? We didn’t know either. That’s why we asked the nursing home community relations coordinators at The Petersen Companies. Here’s what they suggest:
- Gift cards to grocery stores • Gas gift cards
- Crossword puzzle books
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Magazines
- Rubber-soled socks
- Gloves, hats, scarves
- Playing cards
- Handheld casino games
- Gift certificates to local bingo halls
- Gift certificates to hair salons/barber shops
- Gift certificates to the post office
- Gift certificates to restaurants
- Digital voice recorder (for reminders)
- Bus passes
- Movie tickets to local theaters
- Blankets, electric blankets
- Home delivery of meals
- Lifeline memberships
- First aid kits to keep in cars
- Emergency cell phones
- Phone cards
Save Water, Save Money
Paul Roe, owner of American Leak Detection Serving Northern Illinois, says individuals can save significant money by taking a few extra steps to conserve water.
- Watch for signs and symptoms of wasted water, such as a constantly running toilet.
- Watch for leaks.
- Check faucets for drips.
- Install flow restrictors or other conservation devices on all faucets in your home.
- Use a pool/spa cover to cut down on water loss and heating costs caused by evaporations.
- Use drinking water and keep it in the fridge so you don’t have to run the tap until the water gets cold.
- Prevent tap water from running by scraping food from plates with a utensil instead of running water.
- Decrease toilet flush water.
- Use accurate and efficient sprinklers or drip irrigation systems instead of hand watering.
- Pull weeds. They steal water from desirable plants.
Fighting Online Shipping Charges
Luke Knowles knows that a rocky economy will cause many Americans to do their holiday shopping online this year. Yet steep shipping costs often cause reticence on the part of consumers. This is why Knowles and his wife, Maisie, launched FreeShipping.org—a one-stop destination for consumers to find online retailers that offer free shipping deals. Knowles offers the following statistics about online shopping:
- 61% of online shoppers prefer to shop with retailers who offer free shipping than those who don’t. (Forrester Research)
- 43% of shoppers abandon their shopping carts because of unexpectedly high shipping charges. (PayPal, comScore)
- 60% of survey respondents said free shipping is one reason they would be more likely to shop online. (Harris Interactive)
- Shoppers who call themselves “bargain hunters” account for 44% of shoppers who have made an online purchase in the past three months, up from 41% at this time in 2006. 90% of respondents said free shipping offers would entice them to spend more online. (The Conference Board)
Quick & Easy Voicemail
Tired of sifting through monotonous voice-mails? Try one of these sites to get the message faster.
Grandcentral.com offers many features for free. This Google service allows you to view voicemails like emails. You can listen to them in any order you choose, and you can even save them—forever. You can block numbers and forward calls to other phones or listen to callers as they leave messages.
Callwave.com sends text messages or emails of your voicemails. They can be summarized or verbatim. This service ranges from $15 to $50 monthly and may incur charges from your phone provider.
Time, Renewal, Rejuvenation
by Paola Hinton Five Senses Spa and Salon
A recent article featured on medicalnewstoday.com states that, “Americans are feeling more stress than they did six months ago.” The demands of today’s lifestyles, including personal and career responsibilities, are overwhelming and leave many of us with little time to ourselves.
Employers have the opportunity to encourage their employees and clients alike to regain a sense of relaxation and balance. They can give the gift of time, renewal and rejuvenation in the form of a spa gift certificate. It is the perfect way to show appreciation to both men and women and is a convenient method for deserving individuals to escape from their daily routines.
A corporate gift certificate program can show gratitude, reward accomplishments and pamper individuals who contribute to a company’s success. The corporate program can be used for reward and recognition programs, customer incentives, customer loyalty, referral programs, sales contests, client and staff appreciation, and thank-you, birthday, holiday and special-occasion gifts. iBi
