This time last year I signed up to get a free iPod.

So far 27 people have followed the link and not completed their end of the deal…. but two of you have… which means I only need three more people to follow this link and complete your end of the deal so you can get your own free iPod.

I thank the two of you who have gotten me closer to free iPod goodness. I can only hope that some of you will spread good Christmas cheer and help me get closer to my free iPod.

Thank you… and yes, Mango… I am a whore.

I just wanted to say thank you to my Secret Santa for buying me ::amazon(”0887306640″,”this book”):: This will definitely give me something to read over the Christmas holidays and then I can start the year out right with BischSlap.com!

Thanks again Secret Santa, whoever you are!

If you still haven’t bought me a Christmas gift yet, here’s my gift list.

Today is December 10th… and if you’ve clicked on the Secret Santa icon on my sidebar and joined in the fun, you know that today is the day that they announce who your Secret Santa recipient is.

Since we buy off each others Amazon Gift List, I thought I’d briefly talk about what’s on mine… in case any of you guys wanted to buy me a Christmas gift too… (hint, hint).

First thing I know you’re gonna ask is “Bisch, why the hell do you have Harry Potter on your list?”. Well, longtime readers will remember my rant on people standing in line at midnight for the latest book. After getting an overwheming number of comments (and emails) about it, I decided to issue a challenge… put your money where your mouth is. If you think the books are so good that I should read them, then buy them for me.

Next thing you might notice is the books on etiquette and such. At work, I’ve taken on several new roles lately and I thought it would behoove me to refresh my social networking skills after being a loner on the road for three years.

And as for the multitudes of IZ CD’s…. well, most of you know I have a love affair with Hawai’i. Yes, someday I will live there, or at least have a house there…. I love Hawai’i.

So… buy me something already, would ya?

I feel just like Navin Johnson in ::imdb(”The Jerk”, “The Jerk”)::, I have been accepted into the Shitty Blogs Club!

But waitaminute, doesn’t that mean that my blog is shitty?

Well, yeah, it is… go back and read my posts from a year ago and then read entries from last week. You’ll see that the quality of my posts have gone way down. Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me that I suck? Geez.

Better stories will come your way soon, and if I ever let the blog get this shitty again, slap me around a little, would you?

Well, my 2005 roster really didn’t go anywhere. Only one of my picks kicked the bucket. Maybe I’ll research it a little better this year and have a better year.

What am I talking about? The Dead Pool, of course. Haven’t you ever played? You pick 15 people you think are gonna kick the bucket next year and may the best roster win. Go read the rules.

The only new rule I’m not particularly excited about is the posting requirement. You have to post about your picks over at The Dead Pool website, which equates to 60 posts a year…. I have a hard enough time posting on my own blog, let alone someone else’s…. sigh. The things I do to win fabulous prizes.

This is Lurkers Amnesty Week… all of you who come and read my blog without ever saying anything… this is your week to make a comment or send a TrackBack from your own blog. C’mon, it only takes a second… besides, it’d be nice to hear from you if you take the time to stop by!!

Another friend has bought my friendship for the week. This time it is The Rock Bitch, who has been a reader (but I’m not sure for how long)… but the best part is, she’s a reader who comments occasionally.

From her website: The Rock Bitch is a low maintenance gal with a high maintenance personality. If you figure that out you advance to the bonus round. Also known as a survivor of Ovarian Cancer prone to hormonal rage due to sudden menopause and people pissing her off, The Rock Bitch loves rock n’ roll and deejays on Hard Rock Radio Live.

Her blog is often entertaining and more often than not, she posts a great rant about something that I totally agree on. If you haven’t already checked out her blog, you should! As always, my newfound “paid” friends can be found under the “Buy My Friendship” link on the sidebar, just below the blogroll. Have fun!

As often as I disagree with the things Bob Parsons of Godaddy says and does, the other day, he posted a message on his blog about he saves some time by not being so “polite”.

For the past few months I’ve been saving time and headaches by managing my email box. I divided my inbox into “Action”, “Hold”, “Projects”, “Waiting”. I read each email as I get it and either reply to it right away, or copy it into one of those four folders. Action - Things I need to take physical action on; Hold - Things are not of major importance and can wait until the end of the day; Projects - Emails related to projects I’m working on right now and I’ll need quick access to this information shortly; Waiting - Emails where I am waiting for someone else to get their butt in gear and do something before I can respond. All other emails are responded to immediately or stored in my Archive, where I have a folder for each employee in my workgroup.

Every day I go through the four folders in my inbox first thing in the morning, right after lunch, and just before I leave for the day. I don’t set my email program to automatically check for email. I manually check it at the same time I’m checking my folders. This way I’m not constantly distracted by email coming in over the course of the day.

I think I’m going to incorporate Bob’s take on the voicemails and phone calls the same way. I have a couple of people at the office who always ask for me, even though there are other employees that work for me who are fully capable of answering the questions (maybe not as quick as me, but they are capable). These people are the largest waste of my time over the course of the day, which adds to my stress level. My hope is that I can train them not to rely on me all the time, and allow my employees to answer their questions.

I also have the constant “stranger” caller problem… I’m definitely looking forward to using the “Get to the point” message…