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Friday
March 21, 2008 The End of the Roadshow… Out with a Bang, Not a WhimperFiled under: ASI Shows, Fun, Travel Hey there Everyone! My apologies for just getting this final blog installment from last week’s Advantages road show through the Midwest to you now. Frankly, it took a few days for my internal organs to stop quivering. Some people may leave their hearts in San Francisco, but my lungs and liver are in Des Moines and St. Louis.
Friday
March 14, 2008 St. Louis & $250 worth of fireworks is a felony waiting to happen…Hi Everyone — So because we had a 4 1/2 hour bus ride from Kansas City to St. Louis, we pulled over at a rest stop and bought $250 worth of firecrackers (thank you Tom Vann, aka “Tommy T-shirts,” Eddie Roth, aka “E” from Aunt Beth’s Cookie Keepers and Tom Ngo!) Yes, fireworks are legal here and yes, we totally realize this is a recipe for disaster. Tim Andrews , if you’re reading, call a good bail-bondsman and keep your cell phone on!!! Stay tuned for the photos and mugshots!!!
Thursday
March 13, 2008 Kooks Invade Kansas City; Locals Flee in FrightFiled under: ASI Shows, Fun, Travel Hi from Kansas City, where it is day four of the Advantages Roadshow though it feels like day 8, 895. You’ll all be happy to know that Kansas City has been a blast and today’s attendance at the show was 199 — suppliers are freaking ecstatic. “The quality of the attendees has been really good across the board,” says Tom Ngo, director of sales and marketing for Key-Bak and the person who has been my handler on this trip. Tom has also been the bartender extraordinaire on the bus — he is like “Isaac the bartender” on The Love Boat.
Wednesday
March 12, 2008 Imaho in OmahaWell, now that I have your attention, hi from Nebraska! Thanks to all of you who are reading my blog, which I can tell from the many e-mails I’ve received. First, yes, I do have the most fun job ever and second, yes, there really were two awesome gay bars in Des Moines. The consensus among my Merry Band of Revelers is that no one remembers the name of the first bar, but the second one was called “Blazing Saddles.” It was a blast, and if you’re ever in Des Moines I highly recommend it!
Thursday
March 6, 2008 Ball of FireHi Everyone — Well, we celebrated Ron Ball’s 30-year-anniversary with the company in fine fashion last week at a local bar restaurant called the Black Bull — which is perfect for Ron because black’s his color and for those of us who know and love him, no one flings the bull like Mr. Ball. See below for photos from the evening, and some classic Ron moments…
Friday
February 22, 2008 No Tools in this ShedOne of the questions I get asked most often from people in the industry, second only to the ever-popular, “You work for ASI?… Seriously???,” is “So, what’s Tim Andrews really like?” Maybe because people are accustomed to those holding the title of president or CEO at a company being aloof and unapproachable, many assume Tim is like that too. Well, if my employment at ASI (as well as Ron Ball’s & Christian Brandt’s, for that matter) isn’t proof enough of Tim’s sense of humor, I’m here to tell you — if you haven’t met him yet or don’t know him well — he’s a lot funnier and down-to-Earth than you’d think. Much like Jon Stewart (who I’ve decided is indeed the sexiest man alive), Tim’s got a whip-smart, razor-sharp wit, with hearty sides of snark and self-deprecation thrown in for good measure. He loves his Grey Goose chilled, his jokes racy and — as the Supreme Ruler of Michele World — I bestow upon him one of my highest compliments: He’s not a tool.
Friday
February 15, 2008 Come Fly With Me (Or Not)Hi from Philly! Well, after traveling to four shows in three countries already this year, I am thrilled to be home in PA for a few weeks. The great part of traveling, of course, is getting to spend time with friends, as I did this past weekend in Austin, TX. After the ASI Dallas Show, I went to hang out with my favorite industry family, the Lindermans — Michael, Jane and Matt. Austin, if you’ve never been, is a very eclectic, idiosyncratic blue reservoir of liberal cool in a big ‘ol red state. Its slogan, of all things, is “Keep Austin Weird” — which should tell you a lot about why I love it so much. Michael & Jane Linderman, who are not weird but definitely fun, took me to an awesome area of Austin called the Domain, where fantastic restaurants, fire pits and upscale shops like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. reside. There are condos above the stores and don’t think for a moment that if I lived in Austin, I wouldn’t buy one just so I could say I live at Tiffany’s.
Friday
February 8, 2008 Get Yer Za-Za OutHey Y’all — The first day of the ASI Dallas Show was a good one, with lots of happy, friendly Texans and some awesome new products. My favorite? Selco’s new “Hardcore” watch line (see photo), which is hip, edgy and totally cool. After the show Christian Brandt, ASI’s executive director of catalog sales and my show “handler,” and I went out to dinner with Mark Hobbs from DeyRey Nuts and Nadine Panetti from PromoBiz at the sensationally swanky Hotel ZaZa (www.hotelzazadallas.com). It was just awesome and it is definitely the place where the beautiful people congregate. Mark and Nadine are two of the industry’s pretty people and as a couple, they look like celebs. We should just merge their names together and call them “Mardine” — like Bennifer and Brangelina. (See photos) |
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