Fashion

All my life I have tried to establish my own personal style. Growing up in Wilmington and in my job at Sweetwater, I have realized that as a whole, people around here are scared to try something new or different. As quickly as some trends come in, they go out and you can watch that happen. We get so many cool or different items in at SW that we absolutely cannot sell. Last summer we had several styles of high top Vans that sat on the shelf. All the employees bought a pair but everyone else who tried them on said they wouldn't know how to wear them. We eventually put them on sale for 20% off and then yellow tag clearance them and we still have yet to get rid of a decent amount of them. Then there is bandeau style that is coming in. Two years ago Free People put out 3 or 4 different styles of bandeau's but no one bought them. People didn't know how to wear them. Even when we told them how to do it they still were not keen on it. Now bandeau's are coming back as something to wear underneath baggy tank tops. We have one style in store and more on the way. We also have lots of tank tops to wear it with. We put both items on our mannequin and explained to people how it is done. We have also worn this style ourselves but for some reason people won't take to it. It's frustrating to not order stuff that's AWESOME because no body would want it. I wear what I want and what I think goes well together. I don't buy something based off whether or not it is a trend but because I like it. I think that the bandeau idea is great and I have a couple of them from years ago. I wear what expresses my personality and I think everyone should. We shouldn't dress based off what other people think but by what makes us who we are. So be adventurous sometimes...you might find that you like it!

Tattoos

I have several ideas for tattoos that I am planning on getting in the next couple of years. I've wanted them for at least 6 years now so I know that it's something i really want. When my boyfriend and I met he had three. On one wrist he has "Let God" and on the other he has "Let Go" and a cross necklace on his right forearm. We have been together for three years and he now has 9. All of them mean something to him. He's straight edge so he has three for that, one of them for music, a portrait of Audrey Hepburn and then one for me. All of them are significant and he plans them out and thinks about exactly what he wants before he gets it. However, not everyone does.

People get tattoos because they think they are funny, or pretty or cool or whatever the reason and they don't always turn out that great. I decided to google search "bad tattoos." I could have never mentally prepared myself for what I found. This one for instance is funny, but not something that I would want on my body for the rest of my life. I can't even begin to formulate the reasoning behind this one. This is defiantly a to each his own type situation. There are literally thousands of results. Some of them are doubled but it's OK because those are the good ones that are almost to bad to believe they are real. I found one of a man who is extremely proud of his nick name. Again to each his own. He has Mr. Cool ICE tattooed on his body 9 times that we can see from these pictures. I would hope that this is really his nick name and that it is one he plans on keeping. If you are ever in need of a good laugh, I reccommend google searching "Bad Tattoos" because there are some freaking hilarious ones out there. My only plea, please think about what you are getting done before it is made a part of your body.

Please vote for my submission on Talenthouse

Please vote for my submission on Talenthouse

I need 25 votes by April 2 to make it to the semi-finals! Please help!

Art

I wanted to write about something completely different for this blog. I spent spring break in Key West with my mom, my boyfriend, my boyfriends best friend, one of my best friends, my brother, my brothers girlfriend and my moms best friend. Yes we partied and enjoyed the incredible night life of spring break in Key West but we also had our eyes opened to the other side of life in their culture. Key West has an incredible gay population and is very proud of it. They have at least four bars on Duval street for the gay and lesbian population. Two of the bars involved naked or mostly naked men dancing on the bar and the other two included men in drag. One of our first nights we went to a drag show and it was the first time I have ever had to pay $15 to get in to a bar while the guys got in for free. For the next 45 minutes we couldn't decide whether to call the performers hes or shes. I was excited to be in an environment where these people could be themselves and be who they want to be without any prejudice or judgement. They are proud people who know that there are those who don't approve or understand and they could care less. One of the performers made a joke about the straight men in the bar not being able to figure out how they hid "it." The drag queens stand outside of the bars at night talking to those who pass and proudly advertise their shows. I would guess that in one night with two shows, each queen makes around, if not more, $200 in tips alone. However, not everyone feels the same sort of acceptance. Another aspect of the gay culture is the community of street kids. On any given night 15 or so kids between the ages of 17 to 25 are seen begging for money and food. They are there because they are gay and were rejected from their families. A lot of people escape to Key West for a safe haven for being gay. It hurt my feelings to see these people who couldn't rely on their families. It made me thankful for my parents and for them loving me regardless of what happened or who I turned out to be.

Valentine's Day

For V-Day my friend and I ordered our boyfriends "Say-it-in-writing" sugar cookies. On each cookie is a letter and it spells out whatever the customer wants. It is $1.25 per cookie as well as a set up fee of $4.95 as well as shipping. Based on the pictures on the website we believed that the cookies were normal sized. It wasn't until after receiving them that we realized the cookies were the size of nickels.

My friend emailed them saying "Hi. I recently bought personalized cookies from you for my boyfriend for valentines day. I was very dissappointed to find out exactly how small they were. After seeing the cookies, I viewed your website and I finally saw that it says bite size beside the description. By the pictures and reviews on tv, I believed they were the size of a regular sugar cookie. I am very unhappy that I spent so much money on something I thought was a lot bigger. Please state on your website in bigger font and visable to your viewers exactly how small the cookies are. Please also take pictures of the items that do not fool your audience into believing something else. Thank you."

To our dismay she recieved this response. "WOW...I am surprised. I have never heard this before. I have written on the description many times regarding the size of the cookie being 1" and bite size. The front page of the category and the product itself. There is also a picture of a women holding a box of them. How is this fooling people? Sorry for your confusion. "
Hillary Souza

So my question is, where is the customer service? Where is the hospitality? As a person in a management position at my job I know that even if a customer is wrong, there still needs to be a level of professionalism when helping them with their discrepencies. I spent 30 bucks and she spent over $50 (because of shipping) only to be disappointed and then disrespected. When people say that chivalry is dead they are speaking a lot of truth. It is rare that we encounter customer service where the employee doesn't seem to be aggrivated or uninterested. A goal at the shop I work at is to always acknowledge every customer. We have had people tell us that they appreciate our help and that it is hard to come by these days. We have even had people come to our shop telling us that at the shop they went to before hand, the employees didn't even acknowledge their presence.

I want to always make customers feel as if they are just as important as the next person. I believe it is important to also have this mentality in our daily lives. We should always strive to show everyone equal attention and respect, regardless of the situation.

Haiti

I am sure that everyone knows the ins and outs of what is going on in Haiti. I think that it is incredible that so many people have stepped up to offer help. The Haitian people are still in desperate need of money, food and supplies. The amount of devastation they have endured is more than many of us could imagine. Yes, Katrina was devastating and a lot of people were injured and died from that storm but they, with help, recovered. The Haitian people were not living the same lives that we live in America. We are a blessed nation with a lot of opportunity and ways to get out of financial trouble when we need it. I have heard and seen a lot of comments about how we need to help our own country before we help others and it sickens me and saddens me to hear this. Yes, our country is in a ridiculous debt and we do have our own poverty and despair to fix here, but the people of Haiti just lost everything. They lost family members, homes, possessions and supplies necessary to live. We should all be thankful for what we have and willing to help others when they need it. It is going to take millions of dollars to rebuild their city and to feed them and it is hard for those who are going to help to even get to those in need. I feel that it is important to remember what we have and what we have been blessed with. I feel that it is important to give compassion to those who need it regardless of what state we are in. If we don't do what we can to help these people, then we wouldn't deserve help if our country or even state experienced devastation such as this. I am a firm believer in paying it forward and believe that if you show love and compassion to those who need it then you will be rewarded.

Celiac Disease

I wanted to write my first blog on Celiac Disease. It is something that has controlled my life for so long and will continue to be something that I constantly struggle with. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. People with Celiac cannot consume any shape or form of gluten. Gluten is a protein found in many grains. We cannot eat/drink/consume wheat, rye, barley, tritical, hops or Oats. To give you a bit of background I started to have issues when I was 10 or 11 years old. I would have extremely bad pains in my abdoman area and would have constant nausea and vomiting. It was terrible, I would be stuck in bed on pain killers for 3,4 and sometimes 5 days at a time. I would have these episodes at least twice a month. I was in and out of the doctor. I had blood work done, ultrasounds, exams, cat scans. Almost anything that you can think of I've had it done. I found out that I was lactose intolerant and anemic but that didn't solve my problem. A little over two years ago a friend of mine mentioned gluten. After a series of tests and trial and error we diagnosed the problem and figured out how to deal with it. I've been gluten free since November of 2007. I was recently diagnosed as having Celiac Disease. When people with Celiac Disease consume gluten the villi in our intestines break down and are extremely damaged and can no longer absorb nutrients. They either react intestinally with pain and discomfort or they react epidermically and their skin rashes. Celiac Disease if not treated can be chronic. Recent statistics state that 1 in 100 people have Celiac but 90% of those people don't know that they have it.
I felt like it was important to write about this because it is something that effects my daily life. I have to analyze everything I eat, if I am at a restaurant I have to know exactly what is in the food and how it is cooked. I am limited by the foods that I eat but consequently I am a lot healthier then a lot of people I am surrounded by because I am forced to eat natural foods and healthy foods. I believe that everyone can benefit from eating gluten free even if they don't have any allergies to it. If anyone wants to learn more about it I recommend reading "The G-Free Diet" by Elizabeth Hasselback. It is an extremely common allergy and at a point in everyone's life they will encounter someone who struggles with food allergies. If you are a waitress or waiter or a cook at a restaurant, it will be beneficial to know more about common food allergies other then nuts. I guarentee you if you are able to communicate with the customer about it, the process will be much smoother.