What's in a name...

A lot! This is coming from a girl whose name is not exactly simple. My Cuban parents wanted a fun, French name, but didn't like the original "Y" spelling of it, so they went with Ivette. When I was little, I would dream of having a more common name and for a while I made my mom call me Kim because I loved the character from "Different Strokes."

There have been a lot of articles lately about names -- CNN asked "Does your name shape your destiny?" (http://bit.ly/ddBPRw) I'm not sure, but I know that loving yourself and loving your name play a big role in your life and your level of confidence. As I got older, I learned to appreciate having a different name and have embraced it everyday since. I can't imagine having any other name.

My other big thing is making an effort to remember people's names and get the pronunciation right. This is a huge pet peeve of mine because so many people get my first and last name wrong ALL the time. I've learned to laugh it off because some of the pronunciations people come up with are hysterical. But I try my hardest not to be that person who massacres everyone's name, even if they've met the person a million times.

So I've made it a priority when I meet someone to learn their name and then use it as many times as possible while I'm around them to ensure it's ingrained in my mind. I especially make it a point to learn the names of servers at restaurants. I've never waited tables, but I can imagine how annoying it would be to have someone yell "hey you!" or "lady..." instead of asking for me by name. I find that learning a server's name and actually using it equals better service and more enjoyable dining experience.

What are your name issues? Do you like your name? Do you think a name can affect certain aspects of your life? Let me know your thoughts.

The Crossfit Challenge

If you know me, you know I LOVE food. But I also enjoy working out to burn those calories. I've been a spinning instructor for a few years and really enjoy it, but my body has gotten used to it. I decided I needed to add another dimension to my workouts and have since joined Crossfit Black Box. Only one word can describe Crossfit -- INTENSE.

I work out regularly, but when I left my first training session at Crossfit Black Box I could barely move and it felt AMAZING. This training session included one on one attention from a personal trainer and a variety of exercises like pull ups, push ups, dead lifts, sumo lifts, and much more.

I have another session tonight and am so excited to see the results of taking my workouts to the next level. I'm on a mission to continue growing and challenging myself...I'll keep you posted on my sore muscles and workout progress.

Communication Breakdown

I've been in home improvement mode lately and decided to hire a professional painter to paint our living room, kitchen and upstairs bathroom. It was supposed to make life easier, but it's been challenging...especially in the communication department. At first it was fine, we had an initial phone call and then he came to our house, met with my boyfriend and sent us an estimate. Everything was moving in the right direction and then I received a text.

Nothing against text messaging, but I'm in the business of communicating and I DON'T text my clients. It's inappropriate. We're not friends. We have a professional relationship. Since he was hired, I haven't received any calls to discuss the number of issues we've been facing. He texts, using bad grammar and abbreviations, or emails occasionally.

I'm a huge fan of all the different forms of communication and technology available to us, but at the end of the day if you're going to do business it should be done in a more traditional way. I appreciate face-to-face meetings, phone calls or even emails...but I don't see a text message as an effective form of communicating with a client or potential client.

Have you experienced similar communication issues? Do you think texting clients is okay or a huge don't?

At last...

So I do the Facebook thing, am in love with Twitter, taking advantage of LinkedIn and contemplating FourSquare, BUT what I've always wanted to do is start a blog. I've talked about it, brainstormed potential names, topics, etc. So today, after being inspired at the FPRA meeting - I decided to stop talking AND start doing. So voila...my blog.

Although I'm involved in a gazillion things, now that I have my APR (Accredited in Public Relations) under my belt...I have some spare time. My goal is to blog about being me -- being in PR, being a volunteer, being a foodie and a shoe addict and whatever else is on my radar at the moment.

I want to have fun and hopefully share useful information. I welcome questions and ideas for future posts. I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures, thoughts, ideas, issues, etc. If nothing else, this will be a way to document my life and the crazy journey ahead.

Happy reading...