Read Marsha Burdick

It's absolutely crazy at work! Every business in Milan is preparing for either (or both!) the EXPO or the  Salone del Mobile - which is only the biggest international furniture fair in Europe. My translation business is involved in the preparation for these events, so I'm doing lots of furniture or tourism related text. It's interesting to get to know the history of a thriving company, and the passion that helped it get where it is now. At this difficult time for the economy, companies are looking to attract customers and, naturally, sell their products. The buzzwords? Natural , environmentally friendly , innovation , convenience , comfort, timeless beauty , durability , and my personal pet peeve for this year: avant-garde . Why o why has every copywriter starting using that word? Anyway, have you read any good business books lately? Business books are filled with marketing tips and encouragement, and they don't beat around the bush. It's as plain as da...

Writing I decided to work on a short story for this round of Camp NaNoWriMo, though I already know it's going to be hard to finish. This time of year, I've always got a ton of work to do, especially at the beginning of April. We'll see what I can manage to get done. My story is about a woman who makes a big decision when she is young, without really realizing how important it is until much later. I'm trying to explore our need to give and receive advice, and why we are willing to believe certain things or people. What do you think about advice? Leave a comment and tell me about it. EXPO 2015 The  World's Fair  will be opening on May 1st in Milan and everything is really crazy. Some of the construction work isn't finished yet, and there have been the usual accusations of politicians spending all the money before things were actually paid for. In fact, last year I saw advertisements for volunteers to work the stands! It seems that there is no money to ...