Meet the New Staff!

As both the promotional product side of the business (The Simple Laugh) and the geocaching web store side of the business (Geoprovisions) continue to grow, I decided to organize a team for assistance in the New Year.  My parents owned a restaurant in Pittsburgh and they hired cheap labor...US...the kids.  My two sisters and I participated in restaurant duties anywhere from doing dishes, prepping food, and bussing tables to packing empty beer bottles into boxes from the chute.  So, following in my parents' footsteps, I decided to do the same in bringing on the "kids".  After all, it *is* a family business.

Introducing the new staff for The Simple Laugh/Geoprovisions:

Biscuit - Inventory Manager

Responsibilities: Track both inventory levels of catalogs and samples for The Simple Laugh, as well as geocaching products for the Geoprovisions online store.  (A business degree is not required and neither are two front legs nor two ears.)

Restrictions:  Goods delivered by UPS/FEDEX will be received outside by the owner, in order to avoid *SQUIRRELS* and fast-moving vehicles that may cause more bodily damage.


Nestle - Accounting Manager

Responsibilities:  Maintain both accounts payable and receivable reports, as well as preparing monthly, quarterly and year-end reports.  Restraint in chewing the calculator is required.

Restrictions:  Frisbees are not permitted inside of the home office, and will not be thrown outside until the work day has ended.



Hershey - IT Manager

Responsibilities: Provide computer support by installing new software, repairing hardware problems, installing new hardware and troubleshooting problems.  Most importantly, ensure computer cables do not become disconnected while hiding under the desk on top of them.

Restrictions:  Power strip licking is forbidden.


Peanut - Shipping Manager

Responsibilities:  Ensure smooth-running operations in the warehouse (attic), on the loading dock (front porch) and within the logistics office.

Restrictions: Sleeping on the shipping materials while on the job will not be tolerated.  On the other hand, we adopted her from the "hood" in Norfolk, named her "Queen Latifah-Shaniqua-Shanene-Peanut-Jones-Jackson" and we know that she will cut a b*tch, so we will allow it.

On behalf of The Simple Laugh/Geoprovisions Team, I wish all of you a healthy and happy New Year, and I thank you in advance for supporting my small family business in 2014 by keeping my four girls busy in their new positions!

Signed,
~Jodi...Owner of The Simple Laugh/Geoprovisions and Full-Time Pet Sitter

Geocaching 102

I'm sure that by now you've all seen me mention "geocaching" in several of my posts. If you are not already familiar with the term, you can learn all about the worldwide sport thru geocaching.com by viewing their "Getting Started" video, or you can purchase "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching". If you're impatient like me and want to know right now, here is my quick and dirty definition: Geocaching is high-tech treasure hunting using a GPS device. Geocachers hide geocaches (waterproof containers) with treasures (chotchkies) inside, then other geocachers search for them. The geocacher takes something out, signs the log, then places something inside in return. I know what you're thinking..."What do I want with a small piece of worthless crap?" Geocaching is not so much about finding gold, it's about the hunt! Essentially, you're a high-tech pirate...minus the rape, pillage and plunder part, of course.

Most of all, geocaching forces you to explore places where you would not have normally chosen to go. My fiancé and I started geocaching in March of 2008 during our vacation to Sedona. We were so anxious to find our first geocache! And then, we learned from reading the geocache description that it was small in size and located at an elevation of 4660 feet somewhere on Bell Rock. Oh, crap! We followed the direction according to our GPS receiver as we climbed the red rock, and after a while of searching in the hot Arizona sun...there it was...a plastic container hidden in a desert tree! We were so excited, you would have thought we just found Davy Jones' Locker. But then, we didn't have to worry about others hearing our exclamation because we were so far off the beaten tourist path. We would have never had explored this part of Bell Rock and much of the Sedona area during our entire vacation if it hadn't been for geocaching.

Following the vacation, we started geocaching in our own place of residence - Germantown, Maryland. I remember downloading the coordinates from geocaching.com for the closest geocaches near our home. I couldn't believe the number of geocaches in our neighborhood that I drove by, walked by, ran by, and merely happened by every day and I didn't even know it. In fact, I learned that there was a trailhead to the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail within walking distance of our house! I lived in my home for 15 years and I never knew there was a 16-mile trail so close-by. Needless to say, this was a dream for me and my fiancé since we are trail runners. Thank you, geocaching, for introducing us to the challenge of the find!

So, step away from your Wii, your iPhone and your cozy couch, and become one with nature as a treasure hunter - ARGH! You can tweet when you get back.

Geo out,
~Jodi...Hi-Tech Pirate and owner of "The Simple Laugh" web store

For trendy geocaching apparel and accessories, go to: The Simple Laugh Shop!