C Tann-Starr

So, I'm walking out of the shower thinking I need to take the little minions to Yotveta so we can have a stellar breakfast when I spy the shortie in the window dancing. I go to kiss the wee one good morning and discover he's raided the freezer. Most mommies would have taken the treat away, but I'm a blogger addicted to eye candy. What better way to start your morning than having a chuckle over your PDD-NOS son?

Three year olds. Ya' gotta love them... I'm crazy for the Blur Minion. That's my Guy Pie. :-)

I answered a question regarding the ActiveRain Community Guidelines and was asked to make it a blog post.

Okay. Here it is: Here's a short set of fave ActiveRain quotes that I spend a lot of time writing and chatting about when I'm not playing in the Rain:

"Being a part of any community requires a certain level of trust. Don't abuse the site or your fellow members. By joining the ActiveRain community you are given a platform to present your ideas and opinions to a large number of people. We trust you to be responsible with that platform; thousands of other ActiveRain members are also counting on your trustworthiness.

* The ActiveRain community and real estate industry as a whole will only be respected to the degree of character represented by the actions of it's professionals. Do not conduct yourself in a way that disgraces your fellow member's on this network.

* Do not take malicious action against the network.

* Do not advertise yourself or your services in the comment section of another members blog post.

* Do not personally attack another person.

* Do not slander another person.

* Do not send unsolicited emails, or faxes, or make unsolicited phone calls to another member."

Group Founders, Administrators and Moderators who are serious about their responsibilities and active in their groups take the community rules of the network very seriously. We love ActiveRain and when we form groups and work across the blogosphere together to advance our concerns and causes, we spend a lot of time recreational reading to monitor where our group dynamics are going. Comment spam is always annoying to deal with... Sometimes it is accidental and people don't understand what it is, so they put their spin on why it is okay when it is not and we have to work twice as hard to educate them why it's wrong.

If the owner of the post gives permission for a link to be there, or if the link is to further enhance the conversation, it is not the same as people who run around blatantly advertising their stuff at the expense of another writer. All links are not comment spam and randomly accusing writers of it is always offensive to the writer who is not engaging in the practice. I say practice because a lot of people do this and will immediately point to someone else doing it as an example as to why it is okay.

Members need to read the community guidelines and the examples and explanations given by ActiveRain rather than make up their own definitions. Just because I trade links with my friends doesn't mean I trade links with everyone. The relationships people cultivate here will determine the permissive will of the writers. Some people like links and will actually ask for them (like I do at times) and others wont tolerate a single one, even if it is to help explain the answer to a question, because they feel it takes traffic away from their post. Their post is about advertising their business and ideology.

Each writer must moderate their blog and determine what is best for them.

Each founder must moderate their group and determine its purpose and membership criteria.

I hope this explanation has been useful to you. Gotta get back to the Club Chaos members only par-tay here and here (LOL).

Enjoy your day in the Rain. Regards, C. :-)

ClubChaosAgents.com

(LMAO) I love irony... ;-)

Everyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I am a huge Donald Trump fan. I like the Trump University website and find them very interesting because of their think and do approach to investing. Today they have me wondering what type of investor I am...

When you are working with scaled down resources you have to stop what it is you think you are doing long enough to figure this out. It's a huge mistake not to. Seriously. Warren Buffet figured it out. If it's good enough for Warren and Donald then my premise is that one may no longer assume the information isn't useful because he or she is not flinging millions at a project. If an astute Realtor figures it out before you do you may find yourself off on an adventure you did not anticipate. Depending upon the professional you retain, this can be a good or a bad thing, so you may want to get comfy so you can take a moment to figure this out.

Like discovering one is an Alpha Male or Type E Personality, the type of investor you are colors what you decide to do when you finally get around to allocating funds for your project. Will you, as a buyer, be an owner occupant? Do you embrace the cash flow model and seek a continuous streams of income? Are you seeking tax shelters? Do you think your bottom line is capital growth? (Capital Growth is the biggie in residential sales. Did you know that most homeowners seek this sort of return on their investment not realizing they are engaged in this process? 'Tis true - LOL)

Turns out that I am an amenity purchaser, which sort of tweaks the above points a normal investor would be driven to accomplish into a different direction. My motivation for investing in land has to do with the location of my loved ones first, then I overlap into the regular investment considerations of best use, possible subdivision, sustainability, utilities, recreational versus residential rental, flipping the project, etc.

As Realtors we have to keep in mind that investors generally value properties for their rates or return, and amenity investors add that extra quirk of desiring a property to fulfill a specific business need (e.g. like location). There really is a distinction that drives them. They can also overlap, so don't be fooled into thinking you have your buyer and seller pegged. You will have to listen very carefully to what a client is saying to figure out the two. It may require you to actually asked a few astute questions rather than assume (LOL). I'm, just sayin' ;-)

The Outside Blog Minion Report

YOTVETA

One of the things I love about Poppy Dinsey is that she, like I, enjoy taking pictures of her food. When you are really enjoying your meal it is very cool to be able to share it on Facebook, Flickr, ActiveRain and a host of other available social media blogging platforms.

Yotveta is becoming a fave spot to dine when in Fresh Meadows. I must tell you about desert. It's yummy. Creame Burlee, Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry with Whipped Cream... lots of seasonal fruits to do very interesting dishes. It is the first dairy kosher restaurant I've had the pleasure of experiencing. I'm working my way through the menu with my gal pals. I may have to do a slide show. So many dishes, so little time (LOL). It's a great place for a social media tweet-up. Had three so far. Looking forward to many more. For all you people who don't get Twitter, Facebook, ActiveRain, here's a thought:

Social media is harnessing real time events for leisurely digestion or instant gratification. There is a wealth of knowledge floating through cyberspace. You can find just about anything if you look diligently for it. Once discovered, or created, you can savor the virtual moments with your friends and always catch up in real life at some point. No rush. Just log in and see who is updated, live, missing, tweeting or direct messaging. Sometimes my favorite posts are simple, small micro-blogged statements like, "brought a new CD/DVD," "about to go watch a movie," "bubblebath time," "meet me at the bar..." and my all time silent favorites: " :-) ;-) :-P :-D :-S :-/ :-J "(LOL). If you spend enough quality time in cyberspace with the people you care about you can discover just about anything at any given moment. Where we like to eat, vacation spots, music picks, gaming habits... I recently discovered I like flipping quotes back and forth with some of my friends. Being an ardent Dr. Seuss fan, you never know what kind of quote you're going to get from me (LOL). My last three flips:

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Dr. Seuss

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." Dr. Seuss

Needless to say we DM a lot. If we didn't, our home pages would be a disaster (LMAO). There are some conversation that shouldn't be posted on one's Facebook wall. ;-) The fun thing about flipping quotes is that it makes you think about what you're going to share or tease your buddies about. Here's a few more nuggets from the Life Is Short - Have Desert First crew:

"As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do." Zachary Scott What do you regret not doing? I regret not traveling more, so I've been making up for that by visiting with my friends and driving them stark raving mad. I don't always blog about where I've been or where I am going, but I have been quite mobile lately, spreading my special brand of insanity one county at a time. Yes, there is eye candy to be had from my wanderings... and many a drooling lunatic left in my wake. I'm sure when they get off their meds they'll think of a deliciously wicked way to retaliate with their love gifts. My friends always give as good as they get, that's why we're still friends (LOL). ;-)

"To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions." William James You do not have to tell me this twice. I get it. Seriously... This is the button my gym buddies love to push. I am now a New York Sports Club fanatic. ;-)

"Life is not lost by dying. Life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways." Stephen Vincent Benét I played an awful lot of phone tag behind this one (LOL). Can you say touchy-feeeeely? Bet they regret pushing the old mush button (LMAO). Word of advice, never hint to lunatics that they don't care about you. They may agree (Oh horror!!!) or they may go out of their way to prove you wrong. ;-)

"If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance." Andrea Boydston I love this quote. It's on my fridge. It makes me laugh everytime I start whining about something that I ought not to be whining about.

Life is short. You really should have desert first. May I suggest the Chocolate Mousse? (LOL) BTW:

"May you live all the days of your life." Jonathan Swift

Every person you meet, whether a client, customer or prospect, has (1) unique requirements, (2) special needs and (3) specific motivations when he/she/they decide to work with another person.

It doesn't matter what profession you are in. What matters to him/her/them is whether or not you can help them.

No one is perfect.

You can not help everyone, but you can be there for someone. When you decide to be there for a person, then be there for that person. It doesn't mean you wont have issues, it just means they are relying on you and you have to do the best with what you have at the time of each individual life event.

It doesn't mean jumping through ridiculous hoops, being afraid to disappoint them, or that you will not make a mistake or two down the road. It simply means do the best you can and be honest about your business. There will always be an issue to resolve.

What separates the professional from the amateur is how you decide to resolve it.