Jenna M. is the winner of the first Hi, Society! Design Studio product giveaway.

The question to answer: Did I call my friend on her lame excuse or did I let it slide, and why?

Jenna’s winning response:

I don’t think you said anything to your friend about it. She was probably really embarrassed about not getting back to you sooner, and you let her save face.

Jenna has won a set of the Hi, Society! calling cards of her choice!  (Jenna, I’ve already sent you an email with the details of how to claim your prize.  Enjoy!)

Thanks to everyone who participated.  Keep your eyes peeled for another opportunity to win!

Sometimes being a good friend requires completely ignoring the B.S. reason given as to why your friend didn’t get back to you in a reasonable time period, which would be, say … fewer than 10 weeks.

And sometimes being a good friend means you’ve gotta call them on it.

The question to answer: Which one of the above did I choose and why?

The prize: One lucky duck will win a set of their choice of personalized calling cards from Hi, Society! Design Studio.  That’s a value of $55!  (I’ve always wanted to say that, like they do in in informercials.)

The details: Email your entry to contest [ @ ] hisocietyds.com (without the spaces and brackets, of course).  Oh, and did I mention?  You must be a fan of Hi, Society! on Facebook in order to win.  (Need the link to our Facebook page?  Here ya go.)

Entries close on Friday, March 20 at 11:59 pm,  and the winner and his or her entry will be posted here Social Tools on Monday, March 23.  Only one entry per person, please.  Winning entry may be edited for brevity or clarity.  Contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Missed Part I?  Read it here.

One of the best parts of this trip was getting to see my longtime friend, Constance.  We met in 6th grade, and she has been one of my best friends and partner in crime ever since.

The last time we saw each other was in 1998 at Oxmoor Mall, one of our regular mischief-making haunts.  We used to window shop there all day, get lunch in the food court and try to hit people with food we tossed over the balcony.  We were Trouble.

(One time, Constance dropped a piece of her baked potato into some lady’s hair.  The woman didn’t notice.  To this day, we’re both amazed that we were never kicked out of the mall.  The lesson, kids?  You can be a troublemaker as long as you don’t get caught!)

(more…)

I decided to venture out late this afternoon.  With my new handy-dandy laptop, I headed to Flemington, NJ, to The Great Lodge, this cafe I’ve passed several times since moving here.  I was hungry - it’s dinner time - and I have work that I need to do.

I can see through the cafe windows that a band is setting up to play although the place is largely empty.  When I walk in through the door, everyone looks surprised to see me walk in.  I can see it on their faces.  They all pause.  Time stopped ever so briefly.  (more…)

I have a friend who reads Social Tools and loved my post about accountability where I decided to make getting my graphic design company’s site up and running a priority.  Every time he saw me on Facebook or when we spoke on the phone, he’d ask me, “So when will your site be up?”  And this constant questioning bugged me because honestly, I didn’t know.  But this is what happens when you publicize that you’re going to do something; people hold you accountable.  It’s a good thing.

This friend asked me again just a few minutes ago - we’re both night owls and are up chatting on Facebook - and I told him again that I didn’t know.  He replied, “Your [post] was so inspiring and motivated me, and now I see the truth of the matter.”

Hmm.  Ouch. (more…)