Ah, Thanksgiving. Delicious food, great friends and family, lots of football and a few too many hangovers. It's a great day of celebration and relaxation. As long as we can get through the inundating Black Friday ads.
After getting punished with political ads left and right, quite literally, we're rewarded with a mutiny of holiday ads. Some are hits, many are misses.
On the misses front, what happened to Target this season? The discounter has struck a chord with the younger generation in the past, but it's off-the-wall psycho mom bargain hunter ads have really taken a stride from its traditional ad platforms. A stride that steps in a big pile of dog poo and stinks badly. Ultimately, I see the new Target ads as only confusing the crucial young spending crowd who has an attachment to the Target chain. Thumbs down to the Minneapolis-based retailer.
Looking at Black Friday ads specifically, it's hard to find one that doesn't smell like your uncle Ted who indulged a little too much in the Thanksgiving dinner, paying it forward via gaseous delight. At least Sears and Kohls have managed to keep the ads from having an in your face your missing the greatest thing ever sold feel.
The question we pose to you is: Have companies gone too far to publicize their Black Friday deals?
From Vebe's standpoint, we have now reached a level of consumerism of diminishing returns. Who really wants to get up and wait in line for 4 a.m. deals that usually only reach the first 10 customers in line?
How long will consumers continue to agree to being duped by guerrilla marketing just so the Big Boxes can get you inside the doors? And, at what point, will a store realize that opening at 7 or 8 a.m. will still produce the same sales results for the weekend as opening at a ridiculously early time?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
We're Back! Improved and Growing.
After a long hiatus from posting updates, Vebe Visual is back at it. And, what a long few months it has been.
Vebe has been in a bit of a transition here the last several months. We have moved our offices from Riverside to Orange County, which positions us closer to key accounts.
Also during that time, the V and B (Vogtman and Burns) of Vebe have merged once again. Chris and Tracy are now married! That's right, the company founders - who coincidentally were dating once Vebe started - got hitched Nov. 6 in St. Cloud, MN.
You might assume two communications professionals set high standards when it comes to wedding invitations, save the dates, wedding programs and the like ... you assume correctly!
It was a wonderful wedding with great programs, awesome name place holders and even the standard slideshow. All of this work was, naturally, done in-house.
Now, believe it or not, Tracy has said she would be willing to add wedding invitations to the lists of products Vebe can handle. So, now we handle them. Got a wedding coming up? Want professionally designed wedding invitations without the stress? Vebe is at your service.
Trust us, it's worth paying somebody to handle them. And, face it, nobody wants to send out those standard unoriginal, non-custom invitations you buy from Michaels.
Vebe has been in a bit of a transition here the last several months. We have moved our offices from Riverside to Orange County, which positions us closer to key accounts.
Also during that time, the V and B (Vogtman and Burns) of Vebe have merged once again. Chris and Tracy are now married! That's right, the company founders - who coincidentally were dating once Vebe started - got hitched Nov. 6 in St. Cloud, MN.
You might assume two communications professionals set high standards when it comes to wedding invitations, save the dates, wedding programs and the like ... you assume correctly!
It was a wonderful wedding with great programs, awesome name place holders and even the standard slideshow. All of this work was, naturally, done in-house.
Now, believe it or not, Tracy has said she would be willing to add wedding invitations to the lists of products Vebe can handle. So, now we handle them. Got a wedding coming up? Want professionally designed wedding invitations without the stress? Vebe is at your service.
Trust us, it's worth paying somebody to handle them. And, face it, nobody wants to send out those standard unoriginal, non-custom invitations you buy from Michaels.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Where Have We Been?
For those of you who are reading this, kudos, you've made it past the longest lapse in post history. It's hard to believe how busy things have gotten for us lately. Tracy has been busy putting in hours on back-to-back weeks making up for our trip back to Minnesota along with wedding planning. I've just been busy putting in hours. 11 hour work days are the norm again.
Unfortunately, 11 hour days sometimes happen on Sundays, as was the case yesterday. Work is work, but when it's work for somebody else on a Sunday, it's tough. I'm getting that bug to really start the Vebe business full-on (instead of part-time) and reap the rewards for a change. I've learned as of late that there are still plenty of people looking for quality work from businesses that care as much about the product as they do.
At KTM, we've tried finding quality vendors and damn near tried to give some people money and they couldn't come through. On the flip side, I know we could give clients the service they deserve at Vebe full time. It's difficult, though, to make that change solely on the faith you have in yourself. It's a scary world out there without a consistent two-week paycheck you can count on.
Unfortunately, 11 hour days sometimes happen on Sundays, as was the case yesterday. Work is work, but when it's work for somebody else on a Sunday, it's tough. I'm getting that bug to really start the Vebe business full-on (instead of part-time) and reap the rewards for a change. I've learned as of late that there are still plenty of people looking for quality work from businesses that care as much about the product as they do.
At KTM, we've tried finding quality vendors and damn near tried to give some people money and they couldn't come through. On the flip side, I know we could give clients the service they deserve at Vebe full time. It's difficult, though, to make that change solely on the faith you have in yourself. It's a scary world out there without a consistent two-week paycheck you can count on.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Earthquake at the Zoo
We've had a good time entertaining the Paske's from Minnesota here in Southern California. We spent the weekend showing them the San Diego area, including La Jolla, the U.S. Midway air craft carrier and Coronado. We even found time to hit up the Gaslamp District for dinner.
We decided to stay in San Diego for the night and scored a "Four Star" hotel for $90 including taxes in the Hyatt Regency via Priceline's "Name Your Price". The "Four Star" was much more like a Three Star but good nonetheless.
On Sunday we made it over to the world-renowned San Diego Zoo. We got there at 10 a.m. and put in some good miles seeing anything and everything the zoo had to offer. For the most part, the animals were sleeping or not that active. Then the 7.2 earthquake struck in Mexicali and shook San Diego considerably.
Needless to say the hippos were really excited. They jumped into the water and starting playing with each other, snapping their humongous jaws. We'll post some pictures here as soon as we get the chance. The earthquake woke most of the animals up from their Easter slumber, but the Kings of the Jungle in that of the lions really didn't seem to care!
Now, we can say the Paskes have experienced most of what SoCal has to offer. They've seen beaches, Hollywood, got stuck in a traffic jam, saw San Diego and the zoo, shook in an earthquake, gone to a winery and today they get to see Downtown Disney, another beach and the Twins vs. Angels season opener 6 rows up from first base. I'd say that it was a very successful 5 days!
We decided to stay in San Diego for the night and scored a "Four Star" hotel for $90 including taxes in the Hyatt Regency via Priceline's "Name Your Price". The "Four Star" was much more like a Three Star but good nonetheless.
On Sunday we made it over to the world-renowned San Diego Zoo. We got there at 10 a.m. and put in some good miles seeing anything and everything the zoo had to offer. For the most part, the animals were sleeping or not that active. Then the 7.2 earthquake struck in Mexicali and shook San Diego considerably.
Needless to say the hippos were really excited. They jumped into the water and starting playing with each other, snapping their humongous jaws. We'll post some pictures here as soon as we get the chance. The earthquake woke most of the animals up from their Easter slumber, but the Kings of the Jungle in that of the lions really didn't seem to care!
Now, we can say the Paskes have experienced most of what SoCal has to offer. They've seen beaches, Hollywood, got stuck in a traffic jam, saw San Diego and the zoo, shook in an earthquake, gone to a winery and today they get to see Downtown Disney, another beach and the Twins vs. Angels season opener 6 rows up from first base. I'd say that it was a very successful 5 days!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Nike: How Quick Are You Going to Get Up?
Nike has done it again. The marketing genius from ad agency Wieden+Kennedy continues to roll out creative ideas that tug at the emotions of athletes. And they've been at it with Nike since 1982. The newest ad "How Quick Are You Going to Get Up?", depicting athletes from most all competitive arenas Nike sells product in, is another notch in the belt for W+K and Nike.
As Nike states on its Facebook page, "The road to greatness is not marked by perfection, but the ability to constantly overcome adversity and failure."
The ad starts with a sprinter lining up at the starting blocks. But this is no ordinary sprinter, he's donning prosthetic racing legs called Blades and he's known as "the fastest thing on no legs". His name is Oscar Pistorius and he's the perfect athlete to draw you in to the commercial.
Add in athletes like Deron Williams (NBA), Sergio Aguero (soccer), Maria Sharapova (tennis), Mike Spinner (BMX star), LaDainian Tomlinson, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson of MMA fame and Livestrong creator Lance Armstrong and one can see how far Nike's brand reaches. W+K has successfully tied all these brands together, an impressive feat.
While the lineup of powerhouse athletes in this commercial is quite astounding, what stands out most is the addition of Nike 6.0 athletes into traditional ad spots. No brand has successfully reached the action sports crowd and tied that with their traditional stick and ball athletes like Nike. Growth of Nike 6.0 (surf, snowboard, BMX, moto, wake and free ski) has been tremendous over the last several years, gaining clout with the action sport masses -- a finicky spending force in the crucial 18-24 demographic. A demographic Vebe Visual has had a strong tie to over the last several years working with KTM and Husaberg.
"It's not how you start, it's how you finish. It's not where you're from, it's where you're at. Everybody gets knocked down, how quick are you going to get up?"
Did Nike miss an opportunity by not having its golf superstar Tiger Woods make an appearance? Considering how well the words in this song fit his personal struggles and toppling of his brand image, I'd say yes.
As Nike states on its Facebook page, "The road to greatness is not marked by perfection, but the ability to constantly overcome adversity and failure."
The ad starts with a sprinter lining up at the starting blocks. But this is no ordinary sprinter, he's donning prosthetic racing legs called Blades and he's known as "the fastest thing on no legs". His name is Oscar Pistorius and he's the perfect athlete to draw you in to the commercial.
Add in athletes like Deron Williams (NBA), Sergio Aguero (soccer), Maria Sharapova (tennis), Mike Spinner (BMX star), LaDainian Tomlinson, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson of MMA fame and Livestrong creator Lance Armstrong and one can see how far Nike's brand reaches. W+K has successfully tied all these brands together, an impressive feat.
While the lineup of powerhouse athletes in this commercial is quite astounding, what stands out most is the addition of Nike 6.0 athletes into traditional ad spots. No brand has successfully reached the action sports crowd and tied that with their traditional stick and ball athletes like Nike. Growth of Nike 6.0 (surf, snowboard, BMX, moto, wake and free ski) has been tremendous over the last several years, gaining clout with the action sport masses -- a finicky spending force in the crucial 18-24 demographic. A demographic Vebe Visual has had a strong tie to over the last several years working with KTM and Husaberg.
"It's not how you start, it's how you finish. It's not where you're from, it's where you're at. Everybody gets knocked down, how quick are you going to get up?"
Did Nike miss an opportunity by not having its golf superstar Tiger Woods make an appearance? Considering how well the words in this song fit his personal struggles and toppling of his brand image, I'd say yes.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Laughlin This Weekend
Tracy and I are headed to Laughlin, NV, this weekend to meet up with my grandma, dad, and aunts and uncles. It will be the first time Tracy has met my relatives from Idaho in our 3-plus years together. Go figure.
Meanwhile, we continue to work toward wrapping up Vebe Visual's website, but this little trip to Laughlin will ultimately delay the launch for a few more days. Truthfully, the goal at this point is to have the fully integrated website live by March 21. Crucial due to jury duty the following week. Yes, like Tracy, I was fortunate enough to get a jury duty request ... there's no shortage of crime in SoCal. Thankfully, it's the week before Jason and Carrie visit. Now, I hope I don't get picked for a long case. That would really, really suck.
Meanwhile, we continue to work toward wrapping up Vebe Visual's website, but this little trip to Laughlin will ultimately delay the launch for a few more days. Truthfully, the goal at this point is to have the fully integrated website live by March 21. Crucial due to jury duty the following week. Yes, like Tracy, I was fortunate enough to get a jury duty request ... there's no shortage of crime in SoCal. Thankfully, it's the week before Jason and Carrie visit. Now, I hope I don't get picked for a long case. That would really, really suck.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Temecula, Murrieta Graphic Design Company
As you can gather from the changes here on the blog, the Vebe Visual website will be relaunched soon. Shooting for Monday, but it might trickle into the second weekend of March. Hope you are enjoying the changes here!
For those of you who are new to the blog, we are always quoting new projects. quotes@vebevisual.com. Our posts won't always be about design ... you can find that anywhere! Our blog is a community where you will hopefully get to know us on a personal level.
For those of you who are new to the blog, we are always quoting new projects. quotes@vebevisual.com. Our posts won't always be about design ... you can find that anywhere! Our blog is a community where you will hopefully get to know us on a personal level.
Working On Some Changes
I'll be updating the look and feel of the blog here in the next few days. Right now, the black and gray is in it's trial phase. I'll be implementing a better background in the days ahead.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Crock Pots Are Neat
Lately, I've been employing the Crock Pot for cooking duties. With Tracy getting home around 6 p.m. on 24-hour Fitness workout nights, we usually don't even start dinner until 8 p.m. That's a late dinner considering we go to bed at 10! But, old Betty Crocker and her amazing Crock Pot have been a big help lately.
After making some chili a few weeks back, which was ready once we got home from working out, the Crock Pot is starting to see more action. Last night I made Italian Chicken and it was pretty much the best thing ever.
We were buying generic Stater Brothers (grocery chain in SoCal) frozen chicken breasts, but I'm starting to think they taste salt-laden and terrible. I bought some Golden Plump breast fillets, and the taste was unmatched from the generic. I guess the I was swayed by the Foster Farms plumppers commercial to not buy generic, but somehow ended up going home with Golden Plump.
So, here's the recipe. I know I'll be making it again. I kind of ad-libbed from the recipe a bit to spice it up and for better flavor. We cooked it on high for 2.5 hours and it was perfect. I'd suggest cooking on low for 4 hours for the ultimate chicken flavor.
The Recipe
10 oz. can of cream of chicken soup (We used the healthy 98% fat free Campbell's)
1/4 cup water (we substituted 1/2 cup milk here)
8 oz. soft cream cheese
4 oz. can of mushrooms (we went with organic)
1 packet of Italian dressing mix
4 frozen chicken breasts (we used 8 smaller Golden Plump fillets)
And, here's what we added that wasn't in the recipe:
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp cracked pepper
Serve over cooked fettuccine noodles. Add mozzarella cheese on top as desired. Total cost was about $12. Makes 4 large servings.
I can't wait to have the leftovers. I might have to eat them today already! Next up in the Crock Pot, ribs!
After making some chili a few weeks back, which was ready once we got home from working out, the Crock Pot is starting to see more action. Last night I made Italian Chicken and it was pretty much the best thing ever.
We were buying generic Stater Brothers (grocery chain in SoCal) frozen chicken breasts, but I'm starting to think they taste salt-laden and terrible. I bought some Golden Plump breast fillets, and the taste was unmatched from the generic. I guess the I was swayed by the Foster Farms plumppers commercial to not buy generic, but somehow ended up going home with Golden Plump.
So, here's the recipe. I know I'll be making it again. I kind of ad-libbed from the recipe a bit to spice it up and for better flavor. We cooked it on high for 2.5 hours and it was perfect. I'd suggest cooking on low for 4 hours for the ultimate chicken flavor.
The Recipe
10 oz. can of cream of chicken soup (We used the healthy 98% fat free Campbell's)
1/4 cup water (we substituted 1/2 cup milk here)
8 oz. soft cream cheese
4 oz. can of mushrooms (we went with organic)
1 packet of Italian dressing mix
4 frozen chicken breasts (we used 8 smaller Golden Plump fillets)
And, here's what we added that wasn't in the recipe:
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp cracked pepper
Serve over cooked fettuccine noodles. Add mozzarella cheese on top as desired. Total cost was about $12. Makes 4 large servings.
I can't wait to have the leftovers. I might have to eat them today already! Next up in the Crock Pot, ribs!
Friday, February 26, 2010
For Those of You...
...who always question what it is we do here at KTM. Here's a three-page Q&A with me about the ATV industry: ATV Scene.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Engagement Photos
We had a good weekend back in Minnesota / Wisconsin and took time on Thursday for our engagement photo session. We even managed to get out of the studio and play in the snow without winter apparel. I've posted a few photos here, but for those interested we will share a link from Yuppy Photo so you can see the entire collection and make any purchases you would like. Tracy and I will have a hard time selecting our free 8 x 10!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Back To Minny Today
Tracy and I are headed back to Minnesota for the weekend to shore up some wedding planning. Well, actually Tracy is shoring up the the wedding planning. I'll be taking off for a three-day weekend of snowboarding and debauchery with 8 of my friends. Either way, it sounds like we both have a good weekend in store.
On Thursday we're meeting with the female pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran in St. Cloud at 11 a.m., taking our engagement photos at 1 p.m. and trying to take a deep breath at 4 p.m.! Thursday night I'm back to the cities to meet up with Siegrist to get the snowboarding trip started.
Tracy's wedding fun has only begun, however, as she heads to St. Paul on Friday with her mom and friends to pick out bride's maid dresses. She's also got a meeting scheduled with two bakeries for cake tasting on Saturday. Somehow she's managed to schedule those back to back. Good luck avoiding the sugar high. She'll probably feel like a 7-year-old all coked out on sugar. Meanwhile, I'll be on my third or fourth beer at the ski lodge.
On Sunday, Tracy is heading to Bethlehem Lutheran to take in a church service there with her mom and get a better feel for the pastor's sermon style. Hopefully she takes some time to pray for all my sins. I'll probably be on Bloody Mary two already by that point. After the church service, Tracy is heading to the Blue Line Bar & Grill with her mom for a meeting with a DJ. She'll be on beer one. Meanwhile, I'll be on beer seven.
Finally on Monday, Tracy is meeting with a florist and I'll be recovering from a three-day hangover. When we meet back in the cities for our 4:30 p.m. flight home, hopefully I'm coherent enough to take in all Tracy's wedding activities. Considering I haven't drank in three weeks, it could be a LONG trip home from Michigan to SoCal on Monday.
On Thursday we're meeting with the female pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran in St. Cloud at 11 a.m., taking our engagement photos at 1 p.m. and trying to take a deep breath at 4 p.m.! Thursday night I'm back to the cities to meet up with Siegrist to get the snowboarding trip started.
Tracy's wedding fun has only begun, however, as she heads to St. Paul on Friday with her mom and friends to pick out bride's maid dresses. She's also got a meeting scheduled with two bakeries for cake tasting on Saturday. Somehow she's managed to schedule those back to back. Good luck avoiding the sugar high. She'll probably feel like a 7-year-old all coked out on sugar. Meanwhile, I'll be on my third or fourth beer at the ski lodge.
On Sunday, Tracy is heading to Bethlehem Lutheran to take in a church service there with her mom and get a better feel for the pastor's sermon style. Hopefully she takes some time to pray for all my sins. I'll probably be on Bloody Mary two already by that point. After the church service, Tracy is heading to the Blue Line Bar & Grill with her mom for a meeting with a DJ. She'll be on beer one. Meanwhile, I'll be on beer seven.
Finally on Monday, Tracy is meeting with a florist and I'll be recovering from a three-day hangover. When we meet back in the cities for our 4:30 p.m. flight home, hopefully I'm coherent enough to take in all Tracy's wedding activities. Considering I haven't drank in three weeks, it could be a LONG trip home from Michigan to SoCal on Monday.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
I'm now Brand Manager
I failed to mention in my previous blog today that I am now transitioning to Brand Manager, overseeing KTM's brand marketing techniques specific to KTM's product line, print and online advertising, web presence, viral marketing, video marketing and PG&A. During the transition, I will continue to work on ATV and Husaberg dirt bike product management from conception to the showroom floor.
Here's a quick banner ad I made for our new bike / era in motocross starting this spring. Just one of the many I made today. Banner ads, either flash or static like this one, seem to be the norm for my job duties lately. I can count on one hand the amount of Brand Managers I know who actually do the design work too! It's a cool gig having complete control over the brand!
Here's a quick banner ad I made for our new bike / era in motocross starting this spring. Just one of the many I made today. Banner ads, either flash or static like this one, seem to be the norm for my job duties lately. I can count on one hand the amount of Brand Managers I know who actually do the design work too! It's a cool gig having complete control over the brand!
Oakland Was Already A Week Ago
It's hard to believe, but our trip to Oakland was already more than a week ago. We stayed in the town of Alameda at our friends Missy and Danny's house, so we didn't really make it in to Oakland. We did, however, hit up San Francisco for some sights and food.
What we didn't bargain for was an anti-abortion, pro-life rally to take over the city by the bay. Thankfully, we made our way over to San Fran across the Bay Bridge before the rally got under way. We had a ferry to catch over to Alcatraz and beat the crowd by an hour. It was my first in-person protest (we took no part in this one of course), so it was a unique experience.
Better was seeing Alcatraz. Once a maximum security prison and now a tourist trap, go figure. It was definitely worth seeing, though. The ferry ride took about 20 minutes and $26 round trip, your National Park dollars at work, to get to Alcatraz. Still, it was $26 well spent. The island is full of history, and the buildings are starting to show they're from another era. We definitely recommend doing the audio tour if you ever make it to the island. From the attempted escapes to the particular prison cells like Capone, the audio covered it all.
Outside of that, small things have kept us pretty busy lately. Somehow the weekend got burned up doing chores and running errands. We did manage to see Extraordinary Measures. Slow-paced, feel good movie. Recommended for rental, not worth seeing at the theatre.
We'll try and post some pics from our trip to Oakland tonight.
What we didn't bargain for was an anti-abortion, pro-life rally to take over the city by the bay. Thankfully, we made our way over to San Fran across the Bay Bridge before the rally got under way. We had a ferry to catch over to Alcatraz and beat the crowd by an hour. It was my first in-person protest (we took no part in this one of course), so it was a unique experience.
Better was seeing Alcatraz. Once a maximum security prison and now a tourist trap, go figure. It was definitely worth seeing, though. The ferry ride took about 20 minutes and $26 round trip, your National Park dollars at work, to get to Alcatraz. Still, it was $26 well spent. The island is full of history, and the buildings are starting to show they're from another era. We definitely recommend doing the audio tour if you ever make it to the island. From the attempted escapes to the particular prison cells like Capone, the audio covered it all.
Outside of that, small things have kept us pretty busy lately. Somehow the weekend got burned up doing chores and running errands. We did manage to see Extraordinary Measures. Slow-paced, feel good movie. Recommended for rental, not worth seeing at the theatre.
We'll try and post some pics from our trip to Oakland tonight.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Lucky Post 100
It's taken a lot longer than I thought it would, but I've reached post 100 here on the blog. I guess I haven't had anything much of interest to say lately or there would be more posts!
In all reality, we are getting much closer to the launch of the Vebe Visual website. I've had some coding errors with different web browsers so it's in troubleshoot mode now. The basic foundation is there, however, so a launch around mid-February isn't unrealistic. The website works just fine in Safari and Firefox, but Explorer is providing a host of problems. I've never liked IE from Windows, and now I dislike it even more.
I'll be taking a weekend off working on the coding errors for a short little vacation. Tracy and I are heading to Oakland this weekend to visit an old friend from Ehlert, Missy. It's just a quick flight up on Friday evening and an early flight home Monday. No vacation needed for this one. Best of all, flights round trip were $89 and there's no baggage fees on Southwest. "Why do you charge for bags!" Oakland ... where neck tattoos are a rite of passage!
In all reality, we are getting much closer to the launch of the Vebe Visual website. I've had some coding errors with different web browsers so it's in troubleshoot mode now. The basic foundation is there, however, so a launch around mid-February isn't unrealistic. The website works just fine in Safari and Firefox, but Explorer is providing a host of problems. I've never liked IE from Windows, and now I dislike it even more.
I'll be taking a weekend off working on the coding errors for a short little vacation. Tracy and I are heading to Oakland this weekend to visit an old friend from Ehlert, Missy. It's just a quick flight up on Friday evening and an early flight home Monday. No vacation needed for this one. Best of all, flights round trip were $89 and there's no baggage fees on Southwest. "Why do you charge for bags!" Oakland ... where neck tattoos are a rite of passage!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Merry Christmas to Us
Thanks to a gift of money from my wonderful parents at Christmas, Tracy and I were able to sign up at 24-Hour Fitness and pay for both our first and last month's membership with money left over.
We checked out LA Fitness, but didn't like the fact that their "manager" wouldn't budge on the membership initiation fee of $99 total for both of us. I was surprised that she let $60 a month ($29.95 per person) walk out the door in this economy over $99. She said she could make a deal with us and wave the initiation fee for $34.95 a month fees for both of us. Seriously? Terrible negotiating lady, don't lose your job at LA Fitness for a sales job at a car dealership. You wouldn't make it a day. At that rate, our initiation fee would have been paid for in 9 months.
So, we promptly went over to 24-Hour Fitness and scored the same deal ($29 a month) sans membership fee. The best part is, there's no contract. It seems fitness centers have wised up lately and are discontinuing the contract policies they previously had in place. 24 Hour Fitness doesn't have locations in Minnesota, unfortunately, so we'll have to end our memberships if, strike that, when we move home.
We could have bought 2-year memberships at Costco for $299.95 each, but we just don't have that commitment right now. That would have been roughly $12 a month, which is really hard to beat. But, let's face it, there's no way we'll be here 2 more years. At this rate, I hope we can hold out until after the Branger's visit in mid-June. Maybe it was just Christmas and seeing family and friends or Tracy's 2-plus hour commute to work last week, but a bout of home sickness has hit. Strangely, during 0 degree weather in Minny while we are enjoying 80 degrees here. Go figure.
We checked out LA Fitness, but didn't like the fact that their "manager" wouldn't budge on the membership initiation fee of $99 total for both of us. I was surprised that she let $60 a month ($29.95 per person) walk out the door in this economy over $99. She said she could make a deal with us and wave the initiation fee for $34.95 a month fees for both of us. Seriously? Terrible negotiating lady, don't lose your job at LA Fitness for a sales job at a car dealership. You wouldn't make it a day. At that rate, our initiation fee would have been paid for in 9 months.
So, we promptly went over to 24-Hour Fitness and scored the same deal ($29 a month) sans membership fee. The best part is, there's no contract. It seems fitness centers have wised up lately and are discontinuing the contract policies they previously had in place. 24 Hour Fitness doesn't have locations in Minnesota, unfortunately, so we'll have to end our memberships if, strike that, when we move home.
We could have bought 2-year memberships at Costco for $299.95 each, but we just don't have that commitment right now. That would have been roughly $12 a month, which is really hard to beat. But, let's face it, there's no way we'll be here 2 more years. At this rate, I hope we can hold out until after the Branger's visit in mid-June. Maybe it was just Christmas and seeing family and friends or Tracy's 2-plus hour commute to work last week, but a bout of home sickness has hit. Strangely, during 0 degree weather in Minny while we are enjoying 80 degrees here. Go figure.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Yuppy Photo
Tracy and I have chosen our photographer for the wedding. You can see his portfolio at Yuppy Photo. He shoots as a tandem with his wife, and we were pretty impressed with his work. Yapuncich Photography gives anybody who signs our guest book a $5 credit. All you have to do is go to this link and pre-register. This gives you the option to log in and view our photos from the engagement session or wedding. Our engagement session will hopefully be when we come back in February.
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