give me until after this weekend..

and i'm all yours!!!!!!!!!!!!

between cpb, jobhunting, relay for life, and having a life.. i am everywhere!!!!!!!

i can't help but wish i'd pass out and wake up on sunday. definitely after relay.

ta ta!

jaja

The L.A. Fitness Gimmick

Last month, L.A. Fitness opened up their brand new location in South Elgin. And prior to that, the marketing and sales department of said fitness center has been working triple time to promote their opening and sell memberships. And of course, they wasted no time in promoting themselves inside the halls of Elgin Community College. The gimmick? Hand out free passes to students to get their attention and convince them to sign up for memberships. The offer? A membership fit for your budget with a one time set up fee and no yearly contracts to manage, only a month to month membership. The price? Not cheap, but reasonable. A fully equipped gym with machines, weights, studios, work out classes in big air conditioned dance/exercise studios, three racquetball courts, a basketball court, a lap pool, Jacuzzi, and a spacious locker/shower room with a sauna for less than fifty dollars a month.

So how do we get these people to voluntarily walk through the doors of L.A. Fitness and sell them memberships instead of our sales team walking around and all over town in search of a clientele? Free passes. Or more specifically a 3 on 3 free work out pass: Three people can work out for free for three consecutive days at the gym. Who would want to try a new gym by themselves anyway? You need someone to exchange opinions with. So you bring two of your friends and explore the place. Work out and talk and whatnot. Sounds just about right. So you walk in with your two buddies with the golden free gym pass at a three week old fitness center. And right off the bat, a sales person will give you a “tour” of the place. Basically selling the gym to you, when the only thing you want to do anyway is just get your workout of the way. After the tour, they sit you down and bam, a sales pitch ensues. Now, I may not be an expert at selling stuff (trust me, I did it once and never doing it again.), but I am a Marketing and Retail Management major. So I know that the rule of thumb is not to sell something to a client, but “help them buy”. Meaning you stand at the client’s side, not be on the opposite side of the table (not literally of course.) They even went as far as calling upper management to see if they can “extend” a more appropriate offer. Something that is between you and them alone, a la customized membership fees. So you show the sales person your golden ticket to three free days at the gym and he tells you that you cannot possibly achieve results in three days, that it takes 21 days to form a habit, and instead of using it to work out for three days, you can cash it in for a discounted one time set up fee and a reduced price for a membership fee. So the regular $149 one time fee and 39.99 monthly fee is now $99 and $35, respectively. But you tell them you have nothing on you right now and it’s not the right time to set up a membership, maybe down the line, but for now you just wanna check the place out. Mr. Upper Management even “went there”, when he asked me and my friend “Not even $60 between the two of you?” And I’m just thinking, really? Seriously?

The one big thing that bothered me when I was sitting there with my friend and my boyfriend was that, as frank as we were that we were not interested in purchasing a membership, the sales person right off the bat showed no interest in doing his job knowing full well he will not be getting our signatures at the end of his spiel. It felt like he was just forcing himself to do his script and go through S.O.P., all the while you can tell by his body language, tone, and facial expressions that he just want to get this over with. And I even had this weird feeling that had I been able to literally read the tip of his tongue, it would have said that we can’t work out. So pretty much that whole 15 something minutes we were sitting there felt like a drag, a waste of time. He had no charm, no conviction, no sincerity.

Of course we still managed to work out and tried out their facility short of jumping into the lap pool and steaming our butts away inside the sauna.

But does this really bad marketing/sales training stop there? No. The gimmick actually doesn’t even start there. That was just the icing on the cake. A sneak preview, a peep show. The real gimmick, which leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, starts the following day.

So my boyfriend and my friend ended up going back the next day to stake their claim on the second of three days of free gym pass. As if they purposely wrote our names down “just in case”, as soon as they walk into the gym and straight into the front desk, one sales person came up to them and said something along these words, “The 3 on 3 passes can only be used by people who want to purchase a membership in here.” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these two future potential clients were denied access to the facility because they are not interested in purchasing a membership at that time. So my boyfriend tells them about what he thought about their cunning advertising. About how that’s false advertising right there because, as whoever handed out those passes to ECC certainly did not include or bother to say that those passes are only for people who are sure to purchase a membership. My boyfriend even went to say that he should then tell the students of ECC about their bogus promotion and that it’s not fair at all. And what did the guy do? He just shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “What can I do? I just work here. I don’t make the rules.” Too bad my boyfriend didn’t get his name, or it would have been here in my rant, in bold, underlined, italic and highlighted letters, font size 50.

I understand the concept of their promotion, I really do. I think it’s genius. Why give away one week passes to individuals (Fitness 19) when you can get 1 person to come in with two of his friends. That’s three times the chance to sell memberships and reach your daily goal. But I believe that everyone is a potential client. Not today, but somewhere down the line. And if these sales people have just taken a sales class, word of mouth is the strongest publicity one can have.

Here’s Sales 101 for you L.A. Fitness employees:

1.) People rarely talk about the good customer service they got. They are more inclined to go on a rant rampage because of bad customer service, bad quality, bad service, etc. Have you heard anyone ever say, “I had a good experience today at [insert business or store here]. They really filled up my cup of drink with just the right amount of ice.” Granted, maybe that person will say it once. But find me a person who will talk to anyone they come across ranting and venting about how he told the server “no ice, please” but ended up with an cup full of ice? People remember the bad stuff and will talk about it ten years from now even. So that window of opportunity you have to make an impression to a customer? Make it a good one. Because to that person, you will only have your fifteen minutes of fame one time.

2.) It is six times harder and more costly to gain a customer than to keep one. Confuzzled? Let me rephrase. It only takes 1/6 the effort to keep a customer than to gain one.

3.) Here is the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule: 80% of your income will come from 20% of your customers. Meaning you better make nice with everyone that walks in your gym, aka potential clients. Because the 20% that walk through those electronic doors will give you 80% of the funds you will need to maintain your facility, your equipments, and your employees.

4.) AIDA: attention, interest, desire, action. You got my attention, now I’m showing interest. How will I establish desire when you’re action is to disqualify me as a potential client?

5.) Sell the sizzle, not the steak. A car is just a box with wheels until you make me realize that the world is too big to discover it on foot. A school is just a brick building with books until you make me see I need an education. A gym is just a museum of gadgetry until you make me experience it.

6.) Don’t focus on the price, but on the value. And you’re telling me that my access to the facility is denied unless I come into terms of payment with the price of your membership.

My final thoughts on this proud representation of bad advertising is this: When you go down the food court of your local mall and you see “Free Taste” on one of the food chains, it doesn’t come with the watermark of “Only When You Buy It Afterwards”.

So here’s a little something for you, Mr. L.A. Fitness Sales Person: Fitness 19 is just down the street, and they certainly don’t twist your arm before/during/after you use up your free pass. Because everyone knows you just have to “make nice.”

Jaja

to be or not to be.

so, i've been thinking lately. well, more like been thinking about it for the past year something. and there's this fact that i've come across and is kinda ignoring slash denying myself of its truth: i don't think my boyfriend's family likes me.

i mean, it been 859days/28months/2years and 4months. that's a number of birthdays, christmasses, new years, mothers days, fathers days, halloweens, masses, karates, dinners, lunches, movies, etc., etc., etc. yet i don't honestly feel like i'm any closer to being a part of their family. not in the "married to your son" kind of way. but the "we like you a lot" kind of way. how many times have i shared awkward hugs and smiles and greetings with danny's family? countless of times. how many times have i dreaded seeing them at church or their house or danny's play? quite a handful, i must say. and that's not just his mom, dad, and sister. it's his relatives as well. hey, at least i'm "kind of" friends with his cousins. -gah-

and the funny thing? i think danny's family as cool as hell. i have super high respect to his cousins and relatives. i think his mom is the bomb because she's cool, understanding, and just plain awesome. i think his dad's funny as hell and reminds me of an uncle of some sort, also because he talks to me in filipino. i used to think of the world of christine too. i mean seriously, his mom invited me to celebrate christmas one time at their house coz my family wasn't celebrating that year (but then again, that was a couple of weeks before we started dating). his sister even said i was her hero coz she thought i was cool. heck, she even pulled a "i'm gonna show you something but don't tell my brother" thing which danny almost got mad at me for.

the even funnier part? whenever i'm in their relatives' house, i have this strange feeling where they want to talk about me but too bad they can't coz i can understand both english AND filipino. that only leaves them with ilocano, but then again, that's a close call they shouldn't risk.

i thought that his family liked me. apparently, i believe they just don't have anything bad to say. which, i understand, are two different things.

of course, they're gonna be protective of him. he's the youngest boy in the family (cousins and all), he's a good kid, he loves his family, and he's the favorite. the only person they've ever approved for him? this girl kendra. who's kendra? she was danny's dream girl in highschool. they dated for a couple of months and she pretty much dumped him. but why did/do they liked/like her? coz she goes to church, and obviously that includes of them being the same religion.

and then, there was this one other girl rachel, that they wanted him to go out with, since i think it's pretty convenient that she's already best friends with his cousins and all. but it never happened coz of -- baggage issues?

the really sucky "stab the heart, twist, pull, and repeat" part of it? danny's mom thinks that i love/need his son more than his son does for me. ouch.

all i can say is that i have been nothing but nice to them. it hurts to think that i love his family and that i imagined myself part of their family (like i said not the "married to your son" way but the "adopted daughter" kind of way). i still wish about that from time to time, hoping that they'll change their mind about me. accept me, and trust me. and not see me as "that girl who wants to take their beloved son/nephew/brother/cousin away from them."

the really, really, REALLY sucky part? since my family's moving to california, i was really, really, REALLY wishing to be closer to them, so that i can still have a family.

and of course, who's gonna want to marry a girl that the family disapproves right?

i really wish, they'd like me more but -

i can only try for so long. i don't want to insist myself upon people who already made up their mind about me.

jaja

maybe when pigs fly?

leadership banquet

2005-2006 leadership banquet: red carpet
asian filipino club: best event on a shoestring budget,

2006-2007 leadership banquet: sock hop
asian filipino club: distinguished member award, outstanding president award

2007-2008 leadership banquet: broadway
asian filipino club: most creative marketing plan, distinguished officer award, distinguished club award.

2008-2009 leadership banquet: awesome 80's
college programming board: distinguished member award, best event on a shoestring budget, distinguished club award.

i have been to four leadership banquets, with four different themes. four outfits. four pairs of shoes. two clubs. 9+ awards. i finally got my own. an award with my name on it. but that's not my biggest celebration. my biggest celebration is that i've proven to myself, and others, that wherever you put me, i have something to bring. that i can bring something to the table. and that i am not a nobody. i give myself 100% to a cause that i believe in and i cross that finish line with my head help up high. because even if there's twelve more awards down the line, i don't see my name in any of those recognitions, my work reflects my heart and those awards reflect my passion.

thank you, college programming board, for letting me make a difference.
congratulations! we all deserve it. don't stop rockin'!

jaja

after-after-parties

Gah.

I need to get a job. Soon! Because all of a sudden I partying after an after party. Or hanging out after a hang out. Aaahh! It's like taking a vacation after coming back from a vacation. I can't afford this recent discovery of a lifestyle if I don't get a job. Soon.

Last friday was ECC's Best Dance Crew hosted by the Spartan Sweethearts. And Noah, Nikki, and Danny formed a crew and called themselves Devil's Persuasion, or DP for short. Haha, I know, I know.

And seriously, with all the competition, it was like their crew was made to win. Haha. Well, plus they were just osang (ooh I missed using that word). And they were the only crew who had special effects. Fog light and spot lights. So the effect was very silhouette-ish. But yea, DP won!!

So yea, basically, after the dance competition there was supposed to be an after party. But then it was moved to the next day. But DP and their close friends and family went to afterparty at Nick's Pizza. Special thanks to our sponsor, Nikki's dad Angelo. Hehe. And then we were supposed to afterafterparty at jHo's house but we stayed at Nick's for way too long and it was already late to go to jHo's house.

screw you okay??

Okay. This really should not be a big deal to me, but it is, and so I need to vent. Big time.

Yesterday, I was reading some congressman's letter on this website I found and Molly and Nick were to my right doing Molly's paper on something. Out of nowhere, FrickinDavid walks in yelling "Shatner! Shatner! Shatner!", like he's cheering or something. They told him to be quiet because they're doing a paper and then I turned to him and made the "SSHH" sign. After a few seconds, he walked up behind Nick and started yelling "Shatner!" again. And then I turned around and gave him the "SSHH" sigh again, then Nick told him to be quiet. AND-frickin-THEN, FrickinDavid looks straight at me and says squarely, "Make me, Janis." All serious and shiznit.

That was it. I snapped. I snapped hardcore AND bigtime. I turned back around and started yelling my head off and wagging my finger and whatnot at FrickinDavid. I was all like, "How dare you talk to me like that. You have no right to speak to me that way. Here I am being nice to you and you're telling me I'm being rude by telling you to shut up when I never did. I am done. Make me? Make me, David? Go find yourself another friend coz I'm done." or something to that effect. And then I turned back around. And ignored him. And I plan on ignoring him for the rest of my life. Ugh.

He just exed himself on my list.

Screw you FrickinDavid.

jaja

is it selfish?

my sister is getting married. supposedly, it was for march 2010. but since she's so "excited" to get married, she insisted on having it sooner. so now, it was pushed for november of this year. four whole months early.

my mom and her family is moving to california at the end of may. that's pretty much the main reason why i got an apartment in the first place. they're moving because my mom can't pay for the mortgage anymore. my mom can't pay for the mortgage anymore because my stepdad decided to quit his job because he was treated unfairly when he requested for an emergency leave. YOU don't quit YOUR job because you were treated unfairly, because YOU have three mouths to feed, my mom just gave birth, AND you have mortgages, property taxes, and bills to pay.

i got into this huge mess some time in february. now i'm in big trouble. like, unimaginable deep shit. and because of this, i don't have a job. i have an apartment, utility bills, school, a lawyer, a car, and a cellphone. i don't have a job because i was fired. i was fired because of the stpupid thing that happened with stupid people that i thought were my friends. now, i have to pay my rent, my bills, tuition fees, lawyer fees, car payments, insurances, cellphone bill. and unless i have a friend with a trustfund and can throw at least 10 grand, i'm royally screwed.

a month ago, my grandma (my mom's mother) was hospitalized. now she has to do two dialysis sessions a week. and she keeps going back and forth in the hospital. now my mom has to send her at least $200 a week for her treatments.

oh, and did i mention my sister's getting married?

so now, my mom can't help me because she's the only provider in her family, her mother's sick, they have to go to the philippines, move to california AND help my sister with her wedding. and then there's me, her embarrassment of a daughter.

my sister can't help me because she's getting married, she has bills to pay, a luxury car to maintain, travel between her and matthew, and her shopping here and there. and then there's me, her embarrassment of a sister.

my other relatives can't help me because they have their hands full with helping my dad. and their other finances too. and the fact that i've come so close to cutting ties with them. and then there's me, their embarrassment of a cousin/niece/granddaughter.

my boyfriend can't help me because his hours were cut back, he's been applying for a CNA job, he doesn't have a lot of personal training clients, and he's already spent WAY too much money on me that i feel like i'm getting expensive for him and i don't want to do that to him because it's not fair for him because i'm not his burden (i shouldn't be anybody's burden), and he already helps me out with little stuff here and there like food, and gas, and emotional support that i just can't ask him for anything more. and then there's me, his embarrassment and failure of a girlfriend.

none of my friends can help me because they don't know what's going on. a.) i just can't tell anyone because it's embarrassing and i don't want them to lose respect for me. b.) i am not their burden or responsibility. c.) i'm not really supposed to tell anyone. and then there's me, they don't really know it, but i'm an embarrassment of a friend/leader/role model.

how did my life become such a failure? greed and mistrust of so-called friends. i let myself believe that there is "magic", that there is a quick solution to problems. and now, i have become the failure that i have always tried to avoid. i wish i can undo these mistakes, but it's too late. and no one can help me. however soft or loud my cries for help go, no one can help me. i want to turn my life around, to improve my life. but i can't. before i improve it, i have to go through this shit and fucked up life that is mine.

just shoot me now please.

jaja

tuesday

hmm.. it's only 11.51a and here's what's happened so far..

• i woke up way too early [read: before 8] and i decided to get ready for the day, even though i don't have anything BIG planned. ugh.
• after going through all that stuff, i decided i need not rush. so.. i went to finish my book.
• and off i go to school.. with nothing to do. so now i'm selling shirts. as usual.
• and i got 2 weeks free gym time from fitness 19. YAY-YUH! well, it's actually 2 1-week ones. so yeah. and hopefully i win the one month free gym time >> for being danny's girlfriend. HAHA!!

my laptop battery's dying. UGH.

jaja

Recently, I’ve been having this feeling that my brain is getting duller. I don’t know. Like, school is just not doing it for me anymore. I mean, I love going to school. For the most part, being surrounded by people and learning. But learning inside a classroom? No. Learning about life? Yes. I don’t want to learn how to dissect a frog, or to point out where the medulla oblongata is. I don’t want to differentiate mission from vision to core values. I don’t want to dive 5,205 by 243.4 and subtract that from 54 raised to 3. The answer is 157402.62 by the way. Although those things can be interesting, I feel like I’m stuck in a rut. I know people who are younger than me who already graduated college, who already have careers. I know people who are the same age as me who finished school, have their careers, have their houses, even families. But I’m Janis, I’m 24 and I’m still a nobody.
“I know who I am and what I can do. But I don’t know where to go.” This thought came across my mind when I went to a leadership symposium a couple of weeks ago. And I can say that “It sucks, man!”
So I’m thinking, what do people who don’t go to school do to sharpen their minds again? (Mind you, it sucks that my drive to get an associate’s degree, let alone a bachelor’s, has dwindled down a bit and I need to refocus and get back on track.)
So I’ve decided to feed my brain. I mean there will always be –ugh, my window’s open and there’s a motorcycle revving down the street for the past ten minutes and it’s annoying me!—arts and crafts to keep me sane. And there will always be school (because society AND family dictates that I go through). And there will always be intellectual conversations. But I need something else. Something new. Something to challenge my brain and sharpen my dulling mind.
You know that thing about shampoos? Apparently, you’re supposed to change your brand of shampoo every two weeks. Or at the very least alternate shampoo brands every two weeks. They said that your hair gets used to that one brand that its effect on your hair will not be as much. So you use another brand. And then you switch. Blah, blah, blah.
So with this whole feeding my brain thing. I’ve decided on reading more books, and watching more foreign films. I’m doing it. For the year of 2009 I will have read a lot of books and seen a lot of foreign movies that I will be smarter. Or at the very least, keep my brain from getting duller.

Here's my Reading List for the week:
(All from Meg Cabot)
Boy Meets Girl
Size 12 Is Not Fat
She Went All The Way?

Here's My Movie List for the week:
Slumdog Millionaire [check]
Cinema Paradiso
Off Side
Volver
Quinceanera
La Dolce Vita

jaja

weird....................... #2

So..

I was voted Vice President of the College Programming Board. And yet, yesterday, when we conducted our first member meeting with the new e-board, I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Why? I'm not used to being in charge of CPB. Like legally, actually in charge of the club. I'm used as the rebellious "I will stand up against you and defy you" member of the club. Now, I'm "the Establishment". I would actually HAVE to enforce the rules. Ugh.

Jaja

weird..............

So..

CPB had a novelty event today. We just had an arcade out by the Hub. We set up a couple of TVs with Wii Games, a plasma TV for Guitar Hero World Tour, and then an air hockey table off to one side (waaayyy away from TVs). But that's not the point of my blog.

It's this..

There were a bunch of dudes by the vending machine who were standing around on a circle and they were all holding lunch trays. And then they were passing around this crumpled coffee cup by hitting it using the trays. It's kinda like hackey sack but with a crumpled coffee cup and trays instead of feet. Or knees. Or elbows. I guess they weren't limber or coordinated enough to use appendages. Not That Appendage.

And the funny thing was..

From the looks of their faces, it looked like an intense game.

*shrugs*

Oh college kids.

Jaja

Movie List

So, have I ever mentioned I don’t have Internet and cable TV in my apartment? Nope? Okay, here goes: I don’t have Internet and cable TV in my apartment. Ugh. And it’s not because of an inability to pay for the bills and it was disconnected. I wish that it was, because that merely meant that I am capable of having one, but failed to be consistent. Nope, actually, I never had one to begin with. Since I moved in. So most of my “connections to the outside world” stuff happens outside my apartment: school and my mom’s house. And then on spring breaks and at times when school is closed, Panera. But a friend suggested Caribou. My reaction? Yay. Because I always feel obliged to buy more than a drink when I go to Panera.

Anyhoo, I seem to have gone sidetracked. My purpose in this rant is that since I don’t have Internet and cable TV at my apartment (and may I add I haven’t had service on my phone since a couple of days before my birthday last month, springbreak.) I have taken to watching and REwatching my DVDs. And since I haven’t bought any new DVDs in the past, oh I don’t know, a million years ago, my movies are kinda old.. not to mention I’ve seen them squillions (-thank you Rebecca Brandon nee Bloomwood) of times.

So, I’m sharing my movie list (which I’ve chosen from my “vast” DVD collection) for the week to anyone and everyone who reads my blog. And maybe, possibly, get a movie suggestion or two.

· Hollywood Homicide

· Material Girls

· Can’t Hardly Wait

· The Terminal

· Swimfan

· Almost Famous

· Matchstick Men

· Pretty In Pink

· The Forgotten

· Footloose

· Catch And Release

· Intolerable Cruelty

· Foxfire

· Mission: Impossible III

· Brokeback Mountain

· According To Spencer

· The Break-Up

· Hustle And Flow

· Charlotte’s Web

· Children Of Men

· Dane Cook: Vicious Circle

Off to eat breakfast!

Jaja