The AntiSyphus Effect

Five(ish) Things

Kathy Sierra, of Creating Passionate Users, has tagged all of her readers with a Five Things about Me meme. Being a passionate reader of Kathy's blog, I feel obligated to respond:

0) What's your name and website URL? (optional, of course)

My name is Kathleen DeFilippo; my URL is http://antisyphus.typepad.com/.

1) What's the most fun work you've ever done, and why? (two sentences max)

Managing a temp agency during the late eighties and early nineties. It was fun because there's nothing like the kick I got out of helping people find work and improve their skills (it's also where I started honing my skills as a trainer).

2) A. Name one thing you did in the past that you no longer do but wish you did? (one sentence max)

Performing in musical theater productions.

B. Name one thing you've always wanted to do but keep putting it off? (one sentence max)

Learn karate.

3) A. What two things would you most like to learn or be better at, and why? (two sentences max)

I'd like to learn how to play the guitar, because I've been known to come up with terrific song parodies (and being able to perfom said parodies would probably be useful in speaking engagements). I'd also like to learn Irish Gaelic, because I'm of Irish descent, and I think that it'd be a blast to go to Ireland one day and be able to speak in the native language (yeah, I know they speak English there; humor me).

B. If you could take a class/workshop/apprentice from anyone in the world living or dead, who would it be and what would you hope to learn? (two more sentences, max)

I would love to take a vocal performance class from Ella Fitzgerald.

4) A. What three words might your best friends or family use to describe you?

Funny, persistent, creative

B. Now list two more words you wish described you...

Athletic, artistic

5) What are your top three passions? (can be current or past, work, hobbies, or causes-- three sentences max)

My first passion is being a good mother (raising my son to be independent, happy with himself, and brave enough to follow his true calling in life - whatever that may be). Another passion of mine is helping business leaders to really get that making their employees happy will lead to more success than any other initiative they can implement. Finally, I'm passionate about fun as a cornerstone of a good life (silliness is the original anti-aging potion, if you ask me).

6) (sue me) Write--and answer--one more question that YOU would ask someone (with answer in three sentences max)

Question: In what way has your life turned out differently than you'd planned?

My answer: In a way, my life turned out exactly as I planned it: I started off wanting to be a performer (theatrical actress, singer); although I'm not an actress or singer, I consider speaking and training to be every bit as much a performance art. And I have that child I'd always planned for. Life may not be precisely as I planned it, but I seem to have matched up pretty well to the big picture.

[Bonus: What is one question you wish people would ask themselves?]

What will I do today that will get me closer to the life I want?

If you've read this, consider yourself tagged. So get to writing, and send a link back here.

Packaging counts

If you have children, you've no doubt felt the frustration of dealing with gifts. Whether holiday gifts, birthday gifts, or toys for no reason, parents have to deal with the horror that is the packaging of toys.

When I was a child, toys were simple: we'd take them out of the box and play. Nowadays, however, we've moved far beyond simple boxing. Instead, we have toys that are held in with wire twisted into configurations so complex that string theory seems simple in comparison. We have extra plastic pieces that are literally screwed into said toys, making it impossible to remove the packaging without precisely the right screwdriver. To get to a fairly inexpensive toy, one needs the handyman skills of Bob Vila.

I'm accustomed to this, and it doesn't ordinarily bother me. But today? Oh, today is a different story. My son and I ran off to Target so that he could buy a few items with the gift card he'd received from a friend. The first thing he grabbed was a small, remote-controlled car. Its price? A very reasonable $10.00. After picking out a few more items (including Season 3 of  Arrested Development - the best sitcom ever - for Mom), we returned home.

My son started to take the car out of the box, only to discover that he couldn't; this particular toy had both the plastic-covered, twisted wires and screws holding the car into the box. (I can't help but wonder how inexpensive this toy would be without all the extra packaging.) Not a problem, said I: just get the screwdriver, and unscrew the toy. Ah, if only it were that easy. In this case, however, we had an additional challenge: of the three screws holding the car to the package, two of them were fully stripped. No amount of work is going to remove these screws. This thing couldn't be more secure if the car were welded to the cardboard.

After a good half-hour of frustration, I gave up. Mind you, we cannot return the car to Target, because the majority of the packaging was destroyed in our attempts to loosen the screws. And so, I've sent a polite but firm e-mail to the manufacturer, asking for a replacement car. The company, for the record, is Jakks Pacific. I fully expect their Consumer Relations department to be responsive and responsible, so that I can end this story on a happy note and remind everyone that good Customer Service doesn't necessarily mean perfection; in fact, the best indicator of a company's level of Customer Service is the manner in which they handle problems. I'll be sure to update accordingly as the situation unfolds.

But I do have to wonder: why must toy companies make it so hard to enjoy their wares? I realize that the additional packaging is an attempt to minimize shrinkage (no, not the Seinfeldian shrinkage; I'm referring to the retail variety). I get that, and I support it. However - and it's a big however - is it really necessary to punish the paying customers in order to do so?