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Category: Blog (Page 146 of 153)

Behind Door #1

May 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

No more wondering what’s behind that tinted storefront glass – the name is finally up on the door!

Part of the delay was computer-related. First I had to reassemble my little computer network in the new location. (Network = two old desktops with data that I can’t seem to transfer and don’t want to lose, connected by router to my laptop.) Then, the original design that was scraped off the old front door had to be updated to reflect the bistro’s coming addition.

Finally, I had to find a company to produce the design in vinyl letters.

An agent from a Tulsa company happened to be working on a neighbor’s window and made a proposal before I was ready. I wanted to use the old-time-y style letters that are on the business cards but couldn’t provide them until I had the computers hooked up. She provided a near-match in a huge graphic that would have spanned several panes of the front glass. It might have been a real eye-grabber, but I wasn’t sure about the idea of having the letters interrupted where the panes of glass were joined. At any rate, she didn’t get to the price, which I’m sure was going to be another eye-grabber.

The company that had done the outdoor sign on the previous location told me by telephone they’d be happy to look over my newly-designed graphic if I’d send it over. They never replied to my email with attached graphic file.

Finally, Tulsa Signs (actually in Broken Arrow at 61st and Aspen, next to the McDonald’s at the BA Expressway) provided a price quote that was cheaper than an internet graphics firm that was going to tack on an additional ten dollars to ship the lettering by UPS. I was happy to do business locally.

They did a one-day turnaround and even gave me a quick installation demonstration and application squeegee to get me up to speed.

Naturally, I was outside taping the thing to the front door in the midst of near gale-force winds this afternoon. Since I don’t have a third arm, I had to hold the edge of the backing in my teeth as I slowly worked the other edge loose. It’s a little nerve-racking, realizing there is just one shot, and if it goes bad the letters have to be scraped off and re-ordered.

In the midst of that tension, I apparently bit off the corner of the backing and the adhesive sheet stuck to my lower lip – unbeknownst to me. When it got a little more manageable and I reached up to take the corner from my mouth, I ripped off skin.

Yikes!

The fellow at Tulsa Signs forgot to mention that little installer’s cautionary tip.

At any rate, the letters are on the door and I believe it will help those people who have been pressing their hands and noses to the glass to peer through to know what’s inside.

Maybe I need one of those red “Come In!” signs for hesitant door-openers.

Reading in the bookstore?

May 21, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Any number of people have told me how they’d love to have a bookstore – or work in one – because they love to read.

Here’s a bit o’ unsolicited advice: If you love to read, find a position as a night security officer or toll-booth change attendant. The only reading I’ve been able to squeeze in is my dose of news in the morning, courtesy of the screen on the computer.

Maybe if the business was in its twentieth year of operation, with every imaginable system fully implemented and every book in its proper place, there might be time to dip into a chapter now and then.

The bathrooms got scrubbed on my day off. The floor out front needed it, too. Dishes and cooking utensils were washed Monday morning, part of the prepping to get the Bistro operation lined out.

As an added feature in the new location, there is a conference table at the back of the store to accommodate out-of-office meetings and such. I sat down in one of the chairs and it wobbled like Jello. They’re pretty new chairs, but needed tightening up. An Allen wrench and twenty minutes later, the nearly dozen wooden chairs are secured and stable.

Now it’s nearly mid-afternoon.

There are two bags of books on the table in front of me that require checking in. I just finished creating a new Special Order form to replace the one that must have been lost in the harddrive crash and recovery.

Science and technology books are sideways on the shelves, waiting to be organized, along with several other subsections. The kids books are a disaster awaiting a presidential declaration.

I could list all the things on the to-do list, but I just don’t have the time to do that right now.

At least I can cross – Update the Website – off the list.

Moving day: Virtual men and a truck.

May 18, 2012 /

Back in the day – and fortunately I have survived so long as to be able to relate this – it was a simple matter to change locations. Move the stuff and the sign, and when the bank checks run out, order new ones with the correct street number.

Voila.

Oh, sure. There are a few minor and obvious details – like changing the mail delivery address and the utilities. Pretty straightforward modifications.

In this age of the internet those alterations just aren’t enough.

This morning, the phone rang with a question about THIS LAND, a Tulsa-based newspaper that was described to me as a local literary publication. The caller wanted to purchase a copy and was asking how to find the store.

It was clear she was looking at an internet map as she asked for details about the exact location.

When she hung up, I set aside a copy for her, as requested, and ventured onto the internet to find out whether the mapping services can be updated. Sure enough, I found that Google was displaying the old location. After logging in (thankfully the browser knew my password, for I certainly didn’t remember it), I was able to update several items associated with the store, include the hours of business – which were listed as from midnight to midnight.

Talk about a long day. I’m not quite ready yet for QuikTrip’s workday.

Now, I am wondering how many other websites dedicated to directions and information are still listing the old address.

Taking down the weathered wooden storefront sign and tacking it up to the new building just doesn’t cover it any longer.

I require a digital nail and hammer.

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