zedaker's website

Here's the website for the barn where I ride-
I have been working on it for the past week.

Man. Building a website is a real pain in the ass and especially when you have a computer that was on the market not long after 8-track tapes and abcus's it slow going. Seriously, you can buy a computer like mine on eBay for about $50-$100.

I used to think that the Wacom tablet was too technologically advanced for me, but now I won't even touch a mouse, no matter how optical it is (In fact, they should just start selling the macs WITH the Wacom tablet). I also used to think that having two monitors was way to confusing for me...I'm really starting to see the light on that one too.

So. I'm learning DreamweaverMX 2004 with the help of Garo Green and Lynda Weinman. I was turned on to Lynda by Summer and found a book by them in the HOT (Hands On Training) series on sale a while back. I have never had any formal classes on how to build a website and this book made it easy. Kinda. It's a whole 'nother world compared to print design...
So my site's not TOTALLY AMAZING but I think it's a start.

BUY COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR.

I have a pair of Columbia Boots that I love. Well, they ripped for virtually no reason. I got online, and tried to email the website but it only had a form to fill out and you never get to REALLY email anyone. When I clicked on the form, I felt like I put my conundrum out there floating somewhere in internet space.
SO.
I set up an email message including the photos I took of my boots and sent it to an address I thought would get some action- gboyle@columbia.com I tried to make it a little campy to get noticed. Straight to the Chairman of the Board Gert Boyle. In computer geek, which I am pretty fluent in, the company's emails HAVE to be "at Columbia dot com", right? and as a consumer of fine, fine Columbia Sportswear THAT'S the face I see. Gert Boyle is the marketing icon used to gain consumer trust. So its kind of like seeing their marketing campaign WORK- right?
here's my first email:
"Dear Ms. Boyle,
First, please let me tell you that I am a huge fan of the Columbia brand and I have never been disappointed by anything I've ever purchased with your name on it.

I have a pair of boots that I love very much, they are Columbia boots. I bought them about two years ago and they have only been out in the weather a few times. I've only worn them to romp around in the snow and they kept me feet warm and dry in the Northeast Ohio winter.

I work with horses now and the weather being as muddy and sloppy as it is I was almost glad because that meant that I would be able to wear my great boots. I took them out of the closet the other day to find them looking less than wearable. The stitching that holds the upper onto the sole has deteriorated and now there's a big gap to the inners of the boot. They weren't like that the last time I wore them and I have no idea why they look like this, no one else could have worn them. If you look at the photos, the soles aren't even worn.

Please advise. I really would love to give these boots the life they were made to live and wear them into the manure pile (haha). I just know that they will hold up.
Thank you,
Christine Ravenwood"

and I sent these photos:




Two days later I got this reply:
"Ms. Ravenwood,
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the Columbia boots. At Columbia we do everything possible to ensure our products hold up and last as long as possible under normal wear; however it appears your boots may have had some production quality issues. In the spirit of standing by our product quality please forward us your name, address and boot size as we’d be happy to replace your boots. Please keep in mind this exact same boot and color may not be in our inventory; however we’ll do our best to supply you with something you’ll be proud to wear. Thank you for your e-mail and being a loyal Columbia customer.

Regards,
Joel Enderle

Senior Director Footwear Manufacturing"

YESss! My email actualy went somewhere!

Then, in another exchange that I thanked him and asked him if I needed to send the old ones back, he replied:

"Thank you Ms. Ravenwood – we’ve ordered your replacement boots and they’ll be on their way to you in the next 5-10 days.
No need to send back your old boots thanks.
Have a great day,
Joel"

*The part where I REALLY STRESS how good Columbia boots really are is here. Listen to this. Even though they were ripped all across the side I wore them to the barn anyway. I was stepping in mud puddles a foot deep and my foot NEVER got wet. OR COLD. I'm a scorpio, I'll call bullshit on some bullshit. These boots are no bullshit. I'm totally impressed.

I have been working diligently and I mean diligently on getting my work up on the world wide web. Right now I'm rockin out with 8th House Design, Rollin with some Illustrations and some Graphic Design Galleries...so, please go check it out!

I'm putting a special section on there for Custom Photos. I think this will be interesting because I have been doing a lot of work with funky photographic collage type layouts. OMG! the brushes at Designfruit are so inspiring.

p.s. I sit here staring at my BRAND NEW iPod Nano that I cannot use because I have to upgrade my whole operating system to be able to use iTunes 7- then I began looking at new computers on eBay, I can get one for CHEAP so- please keep in mind, I'm hirable.

ooh! some celebrity sightings!

The Dutchess works at "The Fish Market" which is located in the Westin Hotel in Pittsburgh. She's always telling me about celebrities and athletes she waits on, including Charlie Batch (the same Sunday night of the Steelers vs. Raiders grose-ness).
I got this email and I HAVE to post it because, well, just because.

"Anyway, did I tell you that they have been filming another movie in Pittsburgh called Smart People for the last two months and still filming? You can IMDB it. Dennis Quaid has been in the restaurant almost every night. He's there every night I work, but he always sits at the bar. SJP just got in last week for her part, but I've missed her both times she came in to eat. I REALLY want to see her!!!!! And that girl that was in Hard Candy? Ellen Page? Yeah, I waited on her and didn't even know who she was. She was with an older woman, her mother maybe? Anyway, when I took her order I went and said to one of my co-workers, "That girl at table 27 is really strange. I can't figure her out. She looks like she's 12 and talks like she's 20." She is SOOO tiny!!! Built like a 12 year old girl. But indeed, she is 20. Her IMDB profile says that sushi is her favorite food. Guess what she ordered?!"

If you haven't seen the movie "Hard Candy" you're missing a hell of an hour and a half.

I found some really cheap airline tickets and went down south to visit my friends. I was in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia for five days.

Thorndike came to pick me up at the airport in Atlanta and I couldn't wait to tell her about the security woman that rummaged through my make-up case for about two full minutes, which is MANY MANY minutes when you're going to miss the plane because your ride decided to show you the super-secret-back-way to the airport. I couldn't check my bag with all the gels and liquids that I was going to use to blow up things. Things such as my great new name brand hair stuff, two tubes of mascara, some Badger Balm, Burt's Bees face cream and a hairtie. "There are about eight items that I could've used to destroy the world right there in my makeup case." I thought, standing there totally vunerable in my argygle knee-socks.

Thorndike had a lot of exciting things to do planned when we got back to Athens but first we were going to meet Tote and The Falcon at their place and go grab some eats. Tote took us to a Vegetarian Indian buffet. I had no idea what I was eating, but I was hungry and it was good. The desssert was like a soupy creamy mixture that had honey and cream with rasins and nuts in it, and it was HEAVENLY.

Back at the house, I got a conga lesson from The Falcon. THAT was exciting. Just a few basic tecnique pointers and I was wailin away. Breakin out the beats like Shiela E. meets Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The Falcon said I was a natural. I'm sure he's right, I mean he would know. He used to play the drums for Dokken.

A few hours later, Thorndike and I headed to Athens. I was excited to see this:


Home of the DAWGS, and Thorndike!

I couldn't wait to see her little place, she really loves it and since I haven't been down there since she's lived in Athens, I was really excited.

We arrived and couldn't believe how awesome it was! It's like a little beach house. There's a deck on the front and the sun shines through the sliding glass doors. We sat out and had coffee and Bailey's each morning.





When I brought my bags in I discovered that inside my make-up case (that was so heavily a threat) there were: two pairs of cuticle scissors and tweezers. Thorndike told me that her friend had two-hundred dollars worth of make-up taken by the airport security not long ago. So here I am, having flown successfully with multiple weapons and Leigh can't get through with her designer make-up. I could stab everyone around me, but she can't plump everyone's lips. So just to let you all know, that's how safe we really are. I have sympathy for how serious it is, but I think it's almost comical. I'll totally laugh and laugh and laugh when that one good citizen stands up and saves the plane- by stabbing to death the hijacker using the cuticle scissors the airport screener over-looked.

TD took me to meet her friends and have dinner at one of her favorite restaurants in Athens, The Grit. A Vegetarian splendor. After that we walked directly passed the Christmas Parade crowd and to the other kind of spirits. Which is espically nice because down there they don't mess with the Pepsi. I ask for a Jack n Coke and I GET a Jack and Coke. NOT A JACK AND the "P" WORD. Here, I'll proove it.



Rob "G Money" Whitlock came to visit too! While working on his Masters he has gone into Shepherding. German Sheperding. He lives on some land in Alabama and after owning and raising many German Shepherds, he decided to buy out a breeding facility. They're mostly all Black and BIG!

I haven't seen these dogs, but the excitement in TD'S eyes when she talked about being in the PUPPY KENNEL was enough. These puppies take the canine equivelant of the SAT's and ACT's before they're a year old!

On Friday TD had to work in the morning so....
more to come...this has been sitting on my computer for four days and I haven't been able to finish it so read this.