The Truth Will Set (Your Wallet) Free!

I am a person who is always looking for the best deal. Many times that requires comparing products, price shopping, and adding coupons into the mix. Sometimes I can only employ one or two of these factors and sometimes it requires all three. However, sometimes it just takes a little luck and a smidge of effort in order to get the best price possible… FREE!

As of late, I have been picking up a few items here and there at job fairs which have demonstrated varying degrees of quality and usefulness. This is a great way to collect a mismatched set of plastic cups, travel mugs, and random memory foam stress relievers (best used when you hear the words “we’re not looking for someone with your background at the moment”). All in all, nothing is really worth bragging about (both the item and where you got it).

My wife has also been picking up a few free items lately. She came home yesterday with a grab bag of literature from an all day conference she attended at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia (the conference was also free which is a find in itself). I was going to attend the event with her but Mr. Sandman was being a particularly persistent bastard yesterday. Anyway, while the information may not be helpful to many it was useful to her and, therefore, a great free find.

My latest two acquisitions are of a completely different free breed. High quality useful items are something I am always looking for and getting them for free is just a bonus. The two items pictured will be used and used a lot… one right away and one in the future.

I came across the free Siddur while browsing through my Facebook feed. A few friends had shared the link for the giveaway and when I saw it I had to claim my copy. This was not a contest; it was on a first come first serve basis. Simply click on the link and fill in the shipping information.

I knew the company, Koren Publishers Jerusalem, and have other Siddurim from them so I had no qualms about sharing my information. A few weeks later and the book was waiting for me at the front desk. Now I just have the simple task of learning Hebrew and this will be a heavily used addition to our library. Like I said earlier, this is the item that will be used in the future.

An item doesn’t have to be fancy to be a great freebie. Sometimes it’s the simple items that prove to be the most useful. A perfect example of this is the map I received from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The arrival of this enveloped was met with some trepidation because usually when you have an envelope in your mailbox with that return address and your registration isn’t due it means bad news. So, when this parcel arrived, I was ready to break out the check book and survey the bank account. I find it both impressive and disturbing the pucker power an envelope can have when the return address it related to a government agency. It was a pleasant surprise to find something useful enclosed in the PennDOT stationary.

With all of the traveling that we have been doing lately and all the trips that are planned over the next several months, this map is something that will be used over and over again. For me, old school maps are a much better way to find those out of the way places that the Maps App on my iPhone can’t pronounce. We often forget that technology has its limits and sometimes the best way to find something or someplace that you didn’t know you were looking for is by flipping through the pages of a book or unfolding a map on the table.

It just goes to show that free stuff (and clichés) can be found all over the place. All you need to do is pay attention and be willing to commit about 30 seconds in filling out your mailing information. Note that some of you may have to take off the tin foil from your noggin to accomplish this. Some of the items are going to be more useful than others but, who cares, its free. If you really don’t want it I’m sure someone you know will or you can donate to charity (which would, in turn, make it free for them).  

What are some of the items you have gotten for free? What are some of the items you wish you didn’t get for free?

Job Insecurity – The Marco Polo Paradigm

Ever since my wife and I returned from Israel and moved back to the Philadelphia area, my employment situation has been in flux. Since the beginning of 2012, I have had a couple of sales positions as well as my current position working the desk of my apartment building during the night. It has been difficult to land a job that was a good fit for me where I know I was adding value to the company and I enjoyed going to every day.

As many of us experienced during our childhood, I feel like I am treading water in a deep pool yelling “Marco” with the anticipation of hearing the response “Polo”. To this point it has been a one way discussion (no, I have not started answering myself). But, just as you did when playing the game, you keep calling until you get your bearings and find the right direction you need to travel. I know there are fish in the water I just have to catch one.

Throughout that time I have longed to return to my chosen profession, the industry I left to move back down here from Manhattan, Public Relations. Over the years, I found this profession to be rewarding both creatively and socially with writing and pitching being my two strongest areas. I thrived on finding ways to get the client’s voice heard and I enjoyed making the connections and getting to know reporters in order to make mutually beneficial introductions.

Of course, this is something that I have continued to do on a personal level both through Rotary, Masons, and other organizations. I have given both my time and creativity to help others and I continue to write for the sake of my own creative sanity. However, it would be nice to find a place, to find a company, where I could bring those to areas of enjoyment together again.

As many of you may have seen, I have posted an open position on my LinkedIn profile to this effect leaving the name of the company blank with the start day coinciding with the current month. PR is applicable to so many businesses and industries that I can’t limit my search… with that said, the recent trips that my wife and I have taken have open my eyes to one of the logistical roadblocks that I have, until now, place before me.

Prior to our explorations, I have limited my search to Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. Basically, I have been an idiot. Now I am expanding my search to include the entire southeastern part of the Commonwealth (Pennsylvania is a commonwealth not a state) as well as the counties immediately north of that area. With writing permeating the bulk of my educational and work experience, and where my natural talent lies, I am also opening up to a wide variety of opportunities where writing could possibly be the centerpiece of my efforts. I can always find a way to add PR and networking to the mix in some way, shape, or form (travel writing is an idea that comes to mind).  

For those of you unfamiliar with my background, please consider the following bullet points:

·        Seasoned PR professional with placements in both national and trade publications including (but not limited to) The New York Times, ComputerWorld, Forbes.com, Baseline (byline author), ReadWriteWeb, and Processor.com.

·        Experienced social media strategist accomplished in the creation and implementation of media campaigns simultaneously across multiple platforms.

·        Strong writing and editing skill set applicable to numerous industries with experience ranging from internal communications, speech writing, and press releases to bylines, reviews, and social media posts.

·        Diverse writing portfolio which includes publication in both print and online mediums ranging from poetry and short stories to blogs, editorials, and research pieces of a personal and business nature respectively.

·        Research experience encompassing a wide range of topics including (but not limited to) genealogy, Holocaust studies, public relations, and business and social media trends and statistics.

·        Accomplished public speaker, emcee, and event planner. 

·        Proficient in Microsoft Office, SalesGenie, ProfNet, BusinessWire, Cision, Factiva, and numerous social media platforms (and the business applications thereof) including Blogger, Wordpress, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

·        Active in local community and nonprofit organizations with a wide variety of leadership duties and charitable causes.

So, I will finish this brief post / employment update by requesting your assistance. I am open to new opportunities, new challenges, and a new chapter in my career. If you happen to know of anyone looking for someone who possesses the above set of skill please reach out to me by sending me an email at seanmt4d@yahoo.com. Of course, I also enjoy the opportunity to meet new people so if you happen to be in the area or know someone in the area I would like to get together over a cup of coffee so that I can properly introduce myself. I look forward to hearing from some of you in the very near future.  

Brother to Brother - אח לאח

Since becoming a mason I have tried to stay organized and get all my applications and petitions submitted in a timely manner. For the most part I am keeping on top of all the items on my Masonic to do list. One of the most interesting things on that list was completing my affiliate membership.

A little over a week ago I got an interesting envelope in the mail. It was a package that I was not expecting to arrive for another several weeks as it had to come from a significant distance. Once I opened the envelope and examined the contents I was able to officially say that I am an Affiliate Member of the Holy Land Lodge #50 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Affiliate memberships are not something done by all Masons but, for me, this was very important if not necessary. It is another tie between my home and my home land and it brings the connection between Masonry and my faith together in a meaningful way. As many of you already know, faith is essential in Freemasonry and now Freemasonry is enhancing my connection with my faith.

It is connections such as this one that increase my awareness of the bond I have with G-d in all my actions. Discovering such links in my life has been essential in the transition that my own personal faith has taken. While I may no longer be observant in the traditional sense, my awareness and appreciation of G-d has been heightened to a level of faith and awe that I have never experienced before.

My observance lies in attentive perception of and gratitude for all that Hashem has given me. No matter what your specific beliefs may be, faith deepens when we pay attention and admire G-d’s work. It is in His creation that the opportunity exists for us to honor our creator in both heartfelt prayer and actions.

Each of us must find the best way to connect with G-d and explore the different means by which we can bring G-d into our daily lives. For me it is a matter of keeping it simple and bringing little pieces of my Judaism into every aspect of my life such as my affiliate membership. Sometimes, it is the little things that can have a biggest and most lasting impact on your life. 

I am just a simple man trying to simplify the world around me and what works for me may not work for you. Maybe you need those big decisions or stringent rules to bring about a deep connection. There is nothing wrong with practicing your faith in that way… it may be the best way for you to understand G-d. 

Regardless of belief or practice, we need to keep in mind that we are all brothers of the same Father and like children we all have different ways we connect with our father and we all have a bond that is both common and dissimilar at the same time. Remember this simple truth and support your fellow brother. Let them find that connection and support them as they discover their own personal link between their faith and the fraternity.  

Shabbat Travel: Enjoying What G-d Has Given Us!

Many of you have read my last two posts which were about the day trips that my wife and I have taken over the last couple of weekends. As was previously stated, this is a significant change to our weekly routine as we have previously attempted to observe Shabbat in the more traditional Orthodox way. The purpose of this post is to address this observance shift and explain a little with regard to why we have made this change.

What we have found over the last year or so was that while we were so focused on how we observe Shabbat that we had lost sight of the real purpose of the day. We had been focused on limiting ourselves about what we could and couldn’t do that we weren’t able to see what we could do and what was available to us. We were separating ourselves from our family, our friends, and the community and not spending any real time together. We were withdrawing from the world.

We both wrestled with the question of what Shabbat really means to us and how we honor G-d on this day. In the end, it came down to a simple question that we both had to answer for ourselves: does G-d want us to serve Him through solitude or by showing our deepest appreciation for all that He has given us in this world and in our lives?

Needless to say, we both agreed that there are too many beautiful gifts that have been bestowed upon us for us not to show our boundless gratitude by doing our best to embrace as many of them as we can. This is what led to our decision to make Shabbat our day of exploration and discovery. Not only are we taking the time to appreciate the people in our lives but also all the places around us that we have never taken the time to visit.

This past weekend was a time for my wife to meet with friends and for me to make new ones as I we had previously never met. The week before that, we were able to explore a place we had never been… just the two of us on the road taking a part of the world previously unknown to us. Making these connections has not only brought us closer to G-d but has brought us closer together and has already served to strengthen our marriage.

This change allows us to not just pray with words but with our actions. We will never be able to see all that G-d has created nor will we ever be able to meet all those created in His image but we are going to try to see as much as we can and meet as many people as we can. It may not work for everyone but this is what connects us with G-d and the journey is what brings us together and I pray that this exploration will continue to increase our appreciation of what we have and what we have yet to receive.