Boxes and Boxes

Yes it's that time of year, but for us it's the first time of year.

Wait, what?

LMA started Girl Scouts last year and this is her first cookie drive.  Needless to say our expectations on how many we could sell are very high and given we've been at it for 10 days, there's a good chance she'll get a lovely prize.  Ideally we want to sell enough so that she can go to camp for free.  That would be excellent.  The rest of the prizes are kind of astronomical and require a marketing and PR firm more suited for superbowl ads than local cookie drives.  For instance, if you sell 3000 boxes, you get (along with all the prizes leading up to it) an iPad2.

Doesn't sound like much at first, especially when you think of how often you hear about these cookies and how much people like them.  (By the way, they do contact crack, it's on the ingredient label.  Swear.)  But when you break it down, it comes down to about 100 boxes a day for a month.  Now on our best day so far we've sold maybe 80.  Over a weekend we did away with almost 200.  But I don't know if this is something we'll be able to do.  1000?  Very likely.  3000?  Um....

So if I haven't spammed you about it, this is your warning.  I have them at work and the Ladies are shopping them around to the places they frequent.  We haven't done booths yet but we might as the weeks go on.  You have to be careful of how you sell these.  There are rules in place, mostly to protect the girls, but also to promote some qualities the group maintains, such as teamwork, leadership, confidence and character.  You can earn a lot of that being rejected by 95% of the people you talk to.

Aside from cookies there isn't much going on.  G-Man is also in a group, Campfire USA.  It's a very non-denominational scout group.  They go camping and have trips to see local city things, have projects immediately impacting their community.  It's pretty nifty and it's giving him a good opportunity to meet some new kids.

Tiger Lily has found a job and is working at a local bakery.  She's in a terrifying stasis mode wherein she has no control over what's going to happen to her next.  She's applied for five grad schools, has sent off her letters of intent and her financial paperwork and is now just waiting to hear.  She's also applied for an internet research internship in DC and is waiting to hear on that too.  TL doesn't do well with waiting so she's spending her down time catching as many Pokemon as she can.

I'm currently not doing anything of importance.  Still drawing robots, still pining for the days I can spend sorting Lego or building something.  I'm online a lot and that's about all I can say.  My job is fine; got a good review and a cost of living raise.  TL and I are going to taekwondo twice a week and we've recently received our yellow belts.  I'm having fun with TKD but it's obvious I'm not getting younger by the way my ankles protest during the class and my back complains afterward.  I also try to ride my bike at least once a week.  Despite that I haven't lost any weight, though I haven't put on any either.

So, nothing major going on.  I'm boycotting the Star Wars 3D movie and getting ever closer to actually putting all my design ideas to paper and get them on some shirts.  I'm also convinced this Lego idea I have is going to be huge if I can ever get it going.  But, that's what hobbies are for, keeping you entertained until you retire.

Carry on.