All About Me?

all about me
Above: All About Me Sneakers

All about me! What’s in it for me? And why me?

These statements reflect different perspectives mountain lake resort residents might take. You might immediately envision a particular person for each statement–I know I do.

This last week was full of a few misadventures and discoveries for just about every one of them.

All about Me
Do you ever attempt to have a conversation with someone in a group and they always have to one up a story or experience of everyone else in the group. Eesh, I hate that but that is one aspect of the “all about me” syndrome.

Locally we tend to think about it in terms of the visitors who head into the market express lane with a large basket full of goods and make it hell on everyone who has the sanctioned 15 items or less.

Then there are the ones that stop in the middle of the highway to take photos. Yep, they just leave their car right in the middle of the road while they snap a few pictures.

Of course, our favorites tend to be the ones that speed down the highway and then pass OVER the double yellow line (usually on a curve) even though the rest of us are adhering to the speed limit.

Now some locals are all about me–like the contractors that do work in town and think it is okay to blast their music so loud that you can hear it blocks away. Uh, that is what the iPod buds are for and most of us live here because we would rather hear the birds. Funny how they never have their business signs out or never answer their phones when they do.

What’s In It For Me?
Know when it comes to customers, they usually want to know what is in it for them.

For instance, last Saturday we stopped over at DIY when they finally opened up. Like most locals, we wanted to snoop explore and discover what the advantages of such a place might be.

Strolling down the aisles we could see good deals and more selection than has been the case in this valley–but some prices were not much different. However the convenience of location and the helpful staff (Thanks Charles!) is something that might be hard to beat.

In contrast, there are some merchants who are not keeping regular hours, who decide to close at will, whose employees ignore us, or some other stupid thing. They say there isn’t enough business but when locals (like me or a few buddies) go to shop–well, such actions prevent us from buying.

Another thing…recently I was excited to move my support to a local business (and willing to pay a premium price to do so). But alas, when I arrived home, I discovered the product was old. It was a shame but my original supplier is happy I won’t be going elsewhere. Just wonder how many other people have made that same decision.

Then, in a recent shopping spree a vendor asked me a question and I answered. Imagine my surprise when she told me that I was wrong!

Uh, no.

In this case, when I shared a personal preference, she would have been better keeping her mouth shut or whistling in amazement–anything but chastising a personal choice.

Okay so, GG has been creating a stir since she has been out in public a lot. So much so that people have been commenting about it.

So, I’ve been throwing out some special advertising offers for the Fawnskin Flyer and during a chat with an ol’ pal who could have used some targeted (and reasonable) advertising–someone standing next to us chimed in with “you should advertise with me” but she was talking to me!

Truth be told, if I have just met you and you haven’t shared anything about your business nor showed any interest in mine, well that is just wrong…’cuz what’s in it for me?

Why Me?
Finally we get to the whining, and when it comes to lamenting locals, some are worse than others.

GG attended the Chamber of Commerce mixer in Big Bear Lake last week and got two points of view. The first was someone who was ranting over how great it was to see business people being proactive about networking and doing something about business rather than whining about it.

The second POV was saying, why me? In fact, they did not want to explore possibilities but simply complained about their current situation.

Oy!

So, what group do you belong to?

Thanks for indulging me, and now for the breaking news from the exciting mountain lake resort of Fawnskin.

Fawnskin Breaking News
Dale and Rick have been working furiously over on the old Hog’s Haven building. Locals are ever hopeful that something exciting is happening to spark new commerce in the area but alas, it ain’t so. Dale is fixing the place up and bringing it up to code so someone can open a business there in the future.

Rumors about the Fawn Lodge have been circulating once again with someone saying that new work is to begin on the place. I say, as usual, don’t hold your breath. JP was rumored to have explored purchasing the place but I have no verification on this. Since I have not explored the happenings since the last Fawn Lodge news update (2008), I figured it was time to revisit the topic. I am waiting to hear from the Njus family now.

Poachers or Pollutors? Call 1-888-DFG-CALTIP

Something fishy was going on last weekend over on Grout Creek when some idiots decided they would ignore the “No Fishing” sign. But as luck would have it, they got caught and the fine? $3,000 EACH. So, that should teach ’em.

Speaking of Grout Creek, it is fast evaporating and some of the trout are being left high and dry. Leave them alone and let nature take its course or you could wind up with a fine. Plus, remember that they are good predator snacks.

North Shore Trading Company is getting a facelift with new primer and paint.

The DWP finished digging and working on the well near Fawnskin Reality and the tree removal on Brookside was quickly done.

Word on the street is that there is another reason that the PaddleFest was moved out of Fawnskin–which is what I suspected, but my main issue with this move is that it involves members of the Fawnskin Chamber and takes the event out of the area. Fawnskin seriously needs some commercial activities and events to bring visitors and money to town.

Last but not least, Big Bear noteworthy items
The Big Bear Healing Room provides for those who are in need of the power of prayer. Located at 40880 Pedder Road at Knickerbocker in Big Bear Lake they are open on Saturday from 10am until Noon and can be reached at (909) 467-6742.

The Big Bear Film Festival (September) shared that the Film Society will screen independent films and allow attendees to meet the filmmakers, ask questions, and learn how the film was made. The independent films will be shown at the Best Western Plus Chateau. If you are interested you can purchase the series, attend on a film-by-film basis, or purchase your Film Festival tickets now with the Film Society privileges included.

The Film Society screening at the Chateau tomorrow (April 30, 2011) at 7:00pm is Limbo Lounge with Writer/Director Tom Pankratz.



Thank you for reading this post. You can now Read Comments (2) or Leave A Trackback.

Post Info

This entry was posted on Friday, April 29th, 2011 and is filed under Activities, Mountain Lake Resort.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the Comments Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Previous Post: »
Next Post: »

Read More

Related Reading:

2 Responses to “All About Me?