Red-hot brand?

Star Lawrence, is that a brand? “Her star is rising.” “Heavenly body.” No—not the last.

Anyhow, the new in thing is to brand yourself—have a unified message that just screams YOU!

Some guy named David Mathison branded himself “Be the Media,” because that was his book name.

“Hi, I ‘Be the Media.’”

All this branding takes place on Facebook and Twitter, apparently, so someone write me and clue me in, please.

A branded person would never say “clue me in,” unless being from the Wayback was a plus, which I gather it’s not.

I used to use the tag line: “I won’t be boring no matter how much you pay me.” Maybe I should go back to that.

Is it boring?

Ack.

OK—how about: “If you pay me, I promise not to bore you. So--where’s the money?”

Hell--let's drink

Mojito—MOH-heeto!—yum. Minty, deadening.

Can you tell I have been discussing charges with the phone company—I would hook up an IV of this stuff if I had the makings—or the makings of any alcholic drink.

A place out here has Mojito-Making Classes, which sounds like a nice thing if you’re unemployed.

They teach Ernest Hemingway’s recipe.

Each person gets a muddler (search me).

There is live music.

Each person also gets rum, mint leaves, sugar and ice.

Some people don’t bruise the mint enough. Shame on them!

2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
2 oz white Bacardi rum
1 heaping tablespoon of sugar
2-3 sprigs fresh mint
2 oz club soda
Splash of bitters
Lime wedges

Put 2 wedges of line, sugar, bitters and mint in a wide cocktail glass. Muddle these (crushing stirring). Add the lime juice and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add ice, rum, and soda.

Then you know what to do. Cheers.

Getting a job--kinda sorta

Alina Dizik, WSJ, July 28, 2009, tracks eight people the WSJ found out of work last December. They blogged on their fate.

Unemployment was 7.5—now it’s 2 pts higher. There are six unemployed people for every opening.

And not every opening is appropriate.

Now the WSJ has come up with 11 people and four of the original eight and the three added ones have found jobs.

BUT—five took pay cuts as much as 80%!

Three cuts exceeded a third of their former pay.

Two relocated. Four went from big to small cos.

One guy’s mother spotted the job listing he got when she was trolling for another relative. He turned down an offer to be on a reality show about being unemployed. He moved back to Chicago and has yet to sell his Florida condo.

Another guy said basically what the heck—he’d be home at night to see his son instead of working until all hours.

Most of them said having a blog on the WSJ site did not hurt them and could have even helped.

Every little thing.

eBay roulette

I love to look up jewelry items on eBay—say, magenta necklace--then bid the rock-bottom lowest, sometimes one cent, and pay mostly postage if I get it. You get a little treat…for pocket change…nice in these grim times.

One problem, though—my sister and mother cruise my bathroom like it’s a store. "Oh, THIS is nice…can I have it?"

But I also look up my makeup items on eBay—get them new sometimes for half price. Same for lingerie pieces or tank tops.

Worth a try, people. What do you have to lose?

I also buy severely on-sale items from my Avon woman, Kim. She is trying to get by, too—you help someone you know. Hand lotion, sanitizer, night cream—can be under $5.

Don’t forget those consignment shops—great for back-to-school.

The only problem with selling at consignment stores is when they politely decline your item. Sorry—no can do. Was it the shoulder pads?

In the olden days, I even traded a nice camera for a month of after-school care. Maybe your daycare provider would take a piece of jewelry.

Back to school--on the cheap

I remember when my child started parochial school—the list of “musts” they sent home with her totaled $80! I almost face-planted right in CVS. Then I cried.

Now we are back at it with kids going to school. More and more, parents are asked not only to buy the prescribed pencil boxes and whatnot, but also pay for teacher’s helpers and other “frills.” This happened back in DC, too—when times were better.

People used to be worried about where money was going, one wit said—now they are worried about where it is coming from. The average family with two kids in K-12 will spend $549 on school stuff, down from $594 in 2008.

Only buy on sale!

80% of people in one survey said they would buy fewer clothes, 49% fewer shoes. However, electronic buys will be up—including cellphones.

Get only what you need.

The discount stores are a good bet—also dollar stores. Thrift stores, too.

More people will buy the trapper-keeper and pencil-type stuff at drugstores, which are offering more of this. Also check the office supply store—or office supply section of the supermarket.

And teachers—don’t go nuts with these lists. We know you are plunking in more of your own money and we apprec it. But necessities only. On no planet is our bud Hello Kitty a necessity, although she can sure generate lively parent-child dialogue!

Signs of trouble

Ian Harrison, AskMen.com, says there are some signs you may be laid off.

Are you finding you don’t know about meetings or are out of the loop?

Has anyone told you to take a vacation?

Has anyone suggested you need an attitude adjustment? (My dog does this daily.)

Did you make a major mistake lately? Uh-oh.

Has your dept been swarmed by newbies fresh out of the MBA factories?

Do you stand out like a nun at a rave when it comes to the corporate culture?

If your company turns up on business cable—this could be a bad sign.

Do you think they are trying to document every little thing against you?

Since you read Do the Hopey Copey and have been networking, doing your job hunting workouts, spiffing the res, and the rest, you just need to redouble those efforts.

Three times a week job workout

You need to keep those job hunting muscles strong.

Gannett’s Andrea Kay writes about this—even if you are working, you need to have an organized networking and job workout plan.

Don’t see it as some terrible time-suck. Blow it over fast! Three times a week would probably do it.

Create a “career workout.”

Ten minutes a day on social media.

Ten minutes a day of online research. Create “Google Alerts” for mentions of companies you like.

Five minutes a day of sending quick thank you emails to people you talk to—or send a clipping or speech or something of interest to a person.

Just focus—and do.