Last time I went to the annual convention, I came back with a huge tote bag filled with trade show promotional items. Even the tote bag was free – a gift from one of our suppliers when we checked in at the convention center.

The sales convention is always excellent. We have a variety of speakers, from Million Dollar Club brokers to CEOs of mortgage and finance companies, to sales training professionals and motivational speakers. Some of the motivational speakers over the years have been the highlight of the event. My personal favorite was General Colin Powell. Another memorable speaker was Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, who played football for one game at Notre Dame and was the subject of a movie that was the story of his life, called, “Rudy.” After his 30 minute speech about going for the gold, so to speak, he spent another hour in the ballroom, talking to people, shaking hands, having his picture taken with anyone who asked. What a nice guy and a very inspiring story about overcoming all odds.

This time I am going to be on the hunt for specific freebies and giveaways. I want an insulated, travel coffee mug and if I can get two or three of them I will consider the trip to be a success.

There are challenges for a lot of reasons. Some people are getting married and need a starter home. Other people are retiring and need to downsize from a large home that requires a lot of maintenance and high utility bills to something much smaller and easier to manage. Others have to move because of employment, like my friend, Wes.

Wes is a DJ and if you know about the entertainment industry, DJs tend to change jobs frequently. They are subjected to ratings changes, format changes, and flaky management at the corporate radio stations of today. Wes was let go from a large market radio station changing format and he found a job in middle Illinois. He needs to find affordable housing in Rockford and if he can’t find what he needs available now, he will have to find temporary housing and build his own house.

Wes already knows about manufactured homes in Chicago from living and working in the Windy City the past 6 years. Now that he is moving to Rockford, he doesn’t have a lot of money from the sale of his house. Six years is not usually long enough to build up any equity at all, and with the depressed real estate market, many people are underwater with their mortgages instead of having the equity they were expecting.

My good friend, Nick, just returned from the U.K. where he had attended a two day medical teaching course, in hopes of easing away from his medical practice and doing something a little different, like mentoring younger doctors. He already works with some interns at the medical school here. I think it is great that he wants to give something back to his industry.

The best doctors do find a way to give back. They teach and mentor through a teaching hospital or they give seminars and write for medical journals. For a doctor who has never actually taught a class or seminar, there are classes designed for doctors who want to teach. Someone like Nick who is serious can sign up for a teach the teacher course
and learn about the teaching craft before they jump into a classroom setting without the proper preparation.

Of course I would love to take the wife for a holiday to Scotland. Tina told me about a website to find an Edinburgh Apartment that would be perfect for us as a base while we explored the island.

The website has a variety of choices for accommodations. I like the idea of a bed and breakfast, but they also have guest houses, cottage apartments, and even hotels on the site. Scotland would be a good launching point for a side trip to Ireland, as well. The whole idea of taking two weeks in the spring and touring Great Britain is getting me very excited. I’m sure my wife will be thrilled at the idea, and it would be wonderful to see Tina again and meet her husband.

If you are not familiar with the Edmonton and Calgary corridor, I can tell you that the region is considered Canada’s version of Silicon Valley. All the Canadian tech companies have either their headquarters in Edmonton or a presence there. The population is highly educated and the standard of living is very high.

There are many fun things to do in Alberta, Canada, from snow skiing to snowmobiling to summer camping, fishing and horseback riding and the world famous, 10 day long Calgary Stampede held every July.

My company is really big on putting their name on everything. They order custom printed pens and pencils for the stock room, and because we do a lot of trade shows, they order a lot of other items for giveaways. We search out the unusual things and like to give away items that generate a certain amount of buzz. Once other vendors or exhibitors see what we are giving away they realize that people are coming to our booth just to get our special giveaways. And it is always good to get in front of potential customers first.

We are thinking about sending some care packages oversees to our troops and including custom stuffed animals. Except this time, instead of printing our company name on the items, we want to print something patriotic. That way, when the soldiers get the stuffed animals and give them away to the little kids in Afghanistan and the other countries where they are stationed, the kids will have not only a toy but something with a message about how great America is, to help reinforce our message about why our troops are over there.

Anyone moving to the Chicago area can get online and find Illinois Moving Companies. I bet no one uses the Yellow Pages anymore. I know that I sure don’t. I just toss that big heavy book right into the dumpster when someone drops it off every year. I use the internet and personal referrals when looking for a company.

If you know anyone who is Moving To Illinois, I’d appreciate the nod to compare notes. I have a good friend who is a realtor and another friend who is in mortgage banking. So once I’ve gotten over those hurdles, I’ll be ready to pack and head north.

Even if all you know about South Florida is what you see on CSI-Miami, if you pay attention you will notice the floors are beautifully polished marble, granite and tile. Part of the reason for these types of floors is that it helps keep buildings cool in the high heat.

These types of floors need a craftsman to lay them down and then they a special type of maintenance that includes cleaning, sealing and polishing. It is best to leave that to professionals. You can find granite floor polishing plantation with a quick web search.

There is a father-son business in the South Florida area that I found searching for granite polishing plantation that I suggested to my former classmate’s parents, now living in Boca Raton.

If his parents lived in Miami instead of Boca, the same company serves all of Miami-Dade County and can be found searching for granite cleaning Miami and getting everything you need to know from their web site.

The son of a real friend (as opposed to a Facebook friend) is in the Navy Seal training program. He is on a carrier in the Pacific and is able to post on Facebook almost every day. It is interesting to read his accounts of serving in the Navy and the discoveries of visiting other countries.

Another friend’s son is serving in Afghanistan. He has asked for several specific items to be put into care packages and sent to where he is stationed. Interestingly, something he requested was small, stuffed animals. The soldiers like to stuff their pockets full of Beanie Babies and other small toys and they when they go into villages they give them away to the kids in the village. I love that idea!

I found a photo of a doe and her fawn. The fawn is smaller than the rabbits in my backyard. Isn’t that amazing?

How do you find a dentist when you are out of town? Or new to an area? I was worried about that very thing when I moved out to California. Luckily, I found one near the hotel that I lived in for the 2 months it took to find a condo out there. They helped me with regular dental work and they recommended a good Periodontist for me, too. After all, just about everybody over the age of 40 is at risk of gum disease.

Although my dentist in California was very good, I found out when I got back to Tennessee that her prices were more than double what I would pay here in Nashville. After all, the cost of living is very high in California. so you have to expect that the professional services will be higher, along with everything else.

Mom is helping her BFF, Ms. Jinx, moved into her new house somewhere in the Tampa Bay area. Everyone in my mom’s generation dreamed of retiring and moving to Florida. It’s how they put up with the harsh winters in the DC suburbs all those years. So Ms Jinx is finally living her dream. I’m truly happy for her and glad my mom is able to be there to help.

The Castro Area is known for the upscale, interior designers and fashion icons, with an assortment of Gay bars and boutiques.In fact, The Castro is notorious world-wide for being a gay hotspot. There are always fun things to do in The Castro, especially if you like people watching.

My focus while living in the San Francisco area was to try as many different Restaurants as I could afford to explore. There are almost no chain restaurants anywhere, so you have to be brave and try all the places with unfamiliar names. Some are real hole in the wall places, and many are inside or nice hotels. But it helps a lot of you know someone who has already been there or at least have a good place to look them up online for reviews.

I also really liked the Coffee Shops and made a point to spend at least an hour or two every weekend at a different cafe, reading the Chronicle or people watching. It was a really nice way to absorb the flavor of each community.