I've been experiencing a eureka realization lately. It's another simple concept. Just ask; nicely. It's harmless to do, and never hurts... and what you can get in return can be huge. Here's a couple cases in point... A few months ago I miscalculated my bank account and had 5 overdraft fees. (ouch! at $35 a pop, you can only imagine the sting.) So I marched my little self right on down to the bank. Apologized for the lack of responsibility on my end, smiled sweetly, and asked it they could give a girl a break. They kindly took of 3 of the charges and made me one happy lady. A few months ago I took my fun phone (as in "i") on my trip with me to Brazil. I didn't check it too much and didn't make any calls with it... just email and the bane of my existence facebook. I knew I'd incur some extra charges, but officially dropped my jaw to the floor when I got served a bill for $560! I called AT&T, again apologized for my lack of information on the costs of global roaming, and asked if there was anything on earth they could do to alleviate my extraordinarily large bill. They subtracted $400 from it for me. I freelance for a national wedding photography company. I recently got assigned to a wedding that will take 2 1/2 hours to get to one way. Travel pay and accomodations weren't included in my assigned pay with said company. I wrote them, explained the distance of travel and length of hours spent shooting the wedding plus drive time, and asked for a hotel at their expense. Done and paid for from their pockets. Now, I'm not encouraging you to work the system everytime or become an official leech of good customer service. I work in a restaurant a couple nights a week. And there's nothing more irritating to me (ensuing rant: beware) than when someone complains about a dish. But doesn't want it replaced or remade. Eats it all, and is upset when charged. I've worked in retail when people make returns on items clearly very used. I've bartended and had people not want to pay for drinks that weren't full enough or strong enough. Don't be that person. All I'm soapboxing about is how far being nice and asking nicely can get you. Stay sweet, take responsibility, be patient, and kindly ask if there's anything that can be done. I'm far more likely to not charge someone for their meal or drinks, if they remain kind about it. If they get upset or take it out on me, my care for them and their pocketbook goes down the drain. I'm leaving town tomorrow for a little birthday excursion. So I'm going to try and stay away from computers for the next three days. But when I return some of those website changes I keep talking about will finally show up.... as well as one or two new/different websites. Keep posted! xo, brookelyn oh, and here's one last pic from hawaii and her majestic banyan trees!