The Individual Guide

We all suffer from this little problem. It is what keeps away from reaching or goals, paying our bills on time, turning in that school project, making it to the gym or many other important things in our lives.

We leave everything until the last minute. It is something that is engraved in our genes, which is the reason we are always running around all over the place.

For example a couple of weeks ago it was my best friends birthday. I knew that this was coming but I put it off. I left good weekends perfectly behind where I could actually have gone to shop for her present, since it always takes me forever to find something that might fit her, but know I kept saying to myself, later.

Later came to later and the day arrived I only had an hour to shop and ended up giving her a gift card with some flowers. Completely impersonal. I wished I would have taken the time to buy a gift but procrastination got in the way.

This was a really not important event, but there has been enough important events that have been put off because of it, so I have started to keep everything written down in an agenda, and it really is helping. I have been able to accomplish my to dos easier and feel more organized.

Don’t you wish you could speak like a modern day presidential candidate? Do you have a hard time speaking in front of large groups of people? Do you feel like you aren’t living up to your full potential because of a lack of public speaking experience or knowledge? Would you like to improve your speaking skills through reading? If you answered yes to these questions then you might want to consider reading some public speaking books. These books are an extremely effective method of improving your public speaking abilities in a short amount of time. Best of all almost everyone can afford a public speaking book.

Public speaking books are written by professional public speaking experts or teachers. Reading such a book will help you learn the trick of the trade used by these individuals. These books contain the secrets used by the pros. You will learn how to become confident enough to speak in front of a large group of people. These books help determine the steps you should take to improve your skills while learning new skills to further up your game. As you progress through the books you will learn how to speak smoothly without hesitation. Whatever it is about your speaking that you would like to improve these books will help you improve it.

Blue spruce trees have been reported to be suffering from the
Blue Spruce Rust in the Newtown Pa. area. This Rust is difficult
to control. For this reason alone I would suggest that you NOT
plant the Blue Spruces.

If my farm were run like a democracy and one man one vote
applied for whether we should plant or sell Colorado Blue
Spruce, the vote would 100% against the Blue Spruce Tree. The
Blue Spruce also known as Picea pungens Engelm is noted for
being majestic, stately, with its silver blue color and
symetricle form. Its color can range from blue to green. The
color variations are genetic traits of the tree. For uniform
color from tree to tree one should use grafted cuttings, which
command premium prices. The Blue Spruce is widely planted
througout the US because it is tolerant to a variety of site
conditions. It has good drought, wind, and cold tolerance. The
Blue Spruce finds uses such as wind breaks and as an ornamental
in landscape designs. Deer don’t prefer to eat these trees
unless they are very hungry. Now you would think that this tree
would get our vote. But my boys hate to work with these trees
because they can be brutal on transplanting. Like wrestling with
a porkupine! You can see more of Bill’s plant talk at his web
site http://www.seedlingrus.com

Writing a cover letter to send with your résumé can be both confusing and frustrating. What exactly should you say? Are you saying too much? Are you only speaking about your needs vs. the company’s needs? Oh, what to do! In this “short” piece, I will list some ideas on how to craft your cover letter. I have also provided some important links — for additional assistance — particularly if you find yourself still needing outside help.

Basics

* Make sure you use exactly the same type of paper you use for your résumé. White with white is best, business paper is strongly advised, especially paper containing 100% cotton. Cheap 20 lb. copier paper is a terrible idea!

* A matching business envelope {#10} is acceptable. Tri-fold your copies separately; when you place the cover letter inside the envelope, make sure that the letter is shown first [when you lift the flap of the envelope up] followed by your résumé. Fold it so that your name and contact information is the first thing the recruiter sees. If you choose to use a kraft envelope make sure that is no smaller than 9×12 or bigger than 10×13. Place an attractive computer generated label on it with your return address shown appropriately. If you must write on it, PRINT your information and do not be fancy. Remember: you want the post office and the company’s mailroom to be able to read what you wrote! Otherwise, important time may be lost in the process.

* If you are emailing your information make sure that the job listing stipulates that attachments are okay. If not, don’t you dare send attachments! Instead, within the body of an email message you can write your cover letter [a brief introduction] and then cut and paste your résumé. I cannot tell you how many files never get read when the person does not do as instructed. You can also follow up and mail in a hard [paper] copy if an address is provided.

Beginnings

* Match the header on your résumé with the header on your cover letter. They can and do get separated! An example header should look like this:

* Include your personal website address only if that information is valuable. If you host a site that is weird, inflammatory, adult oriented, or otherwise controversial, simply do not expect any response from the company.

* Put today’s date on the cover letter.

* Next, include your contact’s information, which can include:

Ms. Ellen Snow
Human Resources Coordinator
FlyByNight Aviation, Inc.
1234 Orville Wright Lane
Serendipity, NC 27776

* Your salutation comes next and should look like this

– Dear Ms. Snow:

Body

* Keep in mind that your cover letter must not be lengthy. You can say all that must be said in no more than three, maybe four, brief paragraphs.

* Here is a sample:

Attached, please find a copy of my résumé for your review. I am interested in the position of corporate flight attendant listed online at www.flybynight.com.

I believe my three years of international flying experience along with my culinary background and language skills makes me the ideal candidate to serve FlyByNight’s distinguished clientele. Currently, I work as an independent contractor and have flown to top destinations in Europe as well as throughout the U.S. and Canada. FlyByNight’s need for a dependable, trained, and highly experienced team player is exactly the type of position I desire.

I look forward to meeting with you in person to discuss your particular needs and how I can help FlyByNight successfully carry out its mission as the best operator of private jets in the world. Feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience; I can be reached at 919-555-1212 or by on cell phone at 919-555-1213.

Byes

* Sincerely,

Jane Doe

Leave 3-4 lines from your “Sincerely” to your name. Your closing shouldn’t include other words including Regards [too plain], Cheers! [too British], Love [too personal], etc. Remember, this is a business letter.

In summation, keep it short and specific. Have three or four main points you can emphasize about your strengths, particularly, those points which match with the points listed by the company in their job details. In this particular case the candidate emphasized her culinary, language, and international travel experience, as well as her availability. All four points were stressed in the company’s job listing which read:

“…international jet operator is searching for an experienced cabin attendant. This position involves serving our on demand charter clients from east coast locations to destinations in the U.S. and abroad. Must have exceptional food service skills. Current training with FACTS, FlightSafety or similar training vendor; French or Spanish language skills: a plus…

You cannot avoid talking about yourself, but you can control how you talk about yourself.

Do not…

1. …beg for an interview.

2. …mention money or benefits. If the job listing “demands” that you list your salary requirements, simply state that salary is negotiable.

3. …overly boast about your skills: think about what the company’s needs are, do you think they care that you were the recipient of an NBAA scholarship? It is, however, okay to list scholarship awards on your résumé.

4. …name drop. Unless, you already come highly recommended by someone they know and like. Your mentor may be well known in this industry, but not universally liked. You can use them on your list of references, however.

March 21, 2005

Ms. Ellen Snow
Human Resources Coordinator
FlyByNight Aviation, Inc.
1234 Orville Wright Lane
Serendipity, NC 27776

Re: Corporate Flight Attendant Opening [this is optional, but it can be helpful especially if the company has multiple openings available.]

Dear Ms. Snow:

Attached, please find a copy of my résumé for your review. I am interested in the position of corporate flight attendant listed online at www.flybynight.com.

I believe my three years of international flying experience along with my culinary background and language skills makes me the ideal candidate to serve FlyByNight’s distinguished clientele. Currently, I work as an independent contractor and have flown to top destinations in Europe as well as throughout the U.S. and Canada. FlyByNight’s need for a dependable, trained, and highly experienced team player is exactly the type of position I desire.

I look forward to meeting with you in person to discuss your particular needs and how I can help FlyByNight successfully carry out its mission as the best operator of private jets in the world. Feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience; I can be reached at 919-555-1212 or by on cell phone at 919-555-1213.

Sincerely,

Jane Doe

Matt manages the Corporate Flight Attendant Community, the #1 resource center for business flight attendants online. You can visit his at http://www.corporateflyer.net or go to the message boards directly at http://www.cabinmanagers.com

By MaryAnn Linden © 2005 http://www.tiffany-glass-etc.com If
you publish this article please supply a link to
http://www.tiffany-glass-etc.com

When selecting a Tiffany lamp the primary consideration you must
look for, after deciding on a particular design, is the use of
the glass in the lamp. So then begs the question; what makes one
lamp shine with beautiful color and ambient light and another
with the same design looks completely flat? It is the type of
glass used.

Avoid Dull - Colorless Glass

Once you have seen a Tiffany lamp that has the dull colored
glass you will be able to spot them a mile away. When the lamp
is not lit the lampshade looks quite dull and almost colorless.
For instance, you think the color is blue or green but there is
no intensity to the color of the glass. A Tiffany lampshade
should be just as beautiful unlit as lit.

Textured Glass in Tiffany Lamps

Another thing to look for in the glass is the character or
texture of it. Even in pictures of Tiffany lamps you can see
that they have variegated or different hues of color in each
piece of glass. Also, clear glass is not the glass of choice. It
is used as a design element, because it will make the lamp
sparkle where the light comes through. Most times the clear
colored glasses are textured too to give more depth to the
picture the lamp is trying to convey. Because that is what a
Tiffany lampshade is, a rounded picture put on a lampshade. If
you look at it that way you will then be able to see right away
the lamp that doesn’t have anything to show. It will just be a
mishmash of glass slapped together trying to pass itself off as
a Tiffany lampshade.

Copper Foiling in Tiffany Lamps

The next thing to look for is the how the copper foil interrupts
the flow of the lamp. I say this because if the copper foiling
process, which is what holds the pieces of glass together, is so
obvious and thick that your eye is drawn to it, then you have a
bad copper foil job. I rarely run across a lamp with this
problem, but when I have it was very obvious, even online. And,
these were the same lamps that had colorless dull glass, and for
some reason also used a lot of clear glass too. I think the
manufacturer realized that the lamp was going to be so dark that
they needed the clear glass to give off some light.

Building a Picture

The last consideration is the way the glass was cut. This is not
always a truism, but as I look at my lamps I always notice that
there was a rhyme and reason to why a particular piece of glass
was cut with the grain or design going through it a particular
way. The leaves might have longer lines to denote length. A
flower petal will have the grain going one way on one petal and
another way on another. And, when you stand back you can see
what the artist was painting with the glass. And, if it is
obvious what the picture is then the artist has done his job
well.

You would think that I would say that price was a consideration,
but nowadays it really isn’t. With the advent of the Internet we
are a global market and Tiffany lamps are being produced all
over the world at varying prices. I have seen dragonfly lamps
that are absolutely beautiful priced at one online store in the
$100.00 range, and at another store in the $900 range because it
is made of Favrile glass and has six Favrile candelabra lamps
which light the lampshade. It all depends on what you are
looking for. They are all beautiful in their own way,
notwithstanding the price you pay.

So go out there and have a look at some Tiffany lamps. You won’t
regret it. They add a touch of class to your decor and a
wonderful source of light for any room. They come in table
lamps, floor lamps, hanging pendants, chandeliers, billiard,
sconce, shades for ceiling fans, mini or accent lamps, and close
or flush ceiling lights.