Decemeber 1998

Decemeber 1998 - Rental Rag

Presidents Message

With the arrival of Santa at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade the holiday season is in full swing. It's also time for me to say thanks to my staff for a job well done with their various contributions to the Rental Rag and the association. These are, after all, "volunteer" positions and so any time spent is greatly appreciated.

Our November meeting was an educational success with 3 alternating round table discussion groups actively participating in topics such as, "How to Communicate Effectively with Employees in the Field," lead by Tom Lade with Nextel Com devices; Horror Stories of the Year," with insurance expert and VP, Brian Higgins at the helm; and, of course, our night's gracious host and computer guru Steve Kohn with, "What to do When Developing a Website - an Inside View."

A safety tape in proper hitching (and we're not talking marriage here) was presented by Dave Hinck. The vendors contributed with their specials and general news.. Thanks to all for participating and a special thanks to Steve for having us.

What will the new year bring for our association? Already plans are underway for a murder mystery dinner (Jan. 29, 1999) where we guess who dunit? Was it Mrs. Smith in the conservatory with a hairpin? Of course your 20 billion dollar rental industry will have its national convention in Las Vegas (Feb. 8-11). Bet on the red, your wallet usually ends up in the red in Las Vegas anyway.

Bell Atlantic will present a telephone seminar (March 17, 1999) in successfully managing your most irate callers with lasting effects and smiles. I guess this is a kill them with kindness type of deal.

And finally, Congressman Bill Archer's New Year's resolution is to get the IRS out of the individual lives of all Americans with a Tax Reform and Consumption Bill. Please voice your opinion on this or any other beef on our NJARA.org website.

Wishing you a Healthy, Wealthy, and Fulfilling New Year.

Sincerely, President, Tony Perrotta

*Special Note

The membership of the ARA-NJ extend sympathies to Curly and Joan Boelhouwer on the passing of Curly's Dad, Jasper Boelhouwer, Sr.

YOUR ARA-NJ CALENDAR

January 24th - Murder Mystery Dinner at the Coach & Four Restaurant, Route 33, W. Hightstown. A Sunday between playoffs and the Super Bowl. 4 PM is the time.

March 17th - Regular Meeting, will advise- Plus education event - sign up -

April 14th - Nite at the Races at Pegasus

June 16th - Regular Meeting, will advise

ARA- NEW JERSEY COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

National Liason - Steve Kohn (Miller's Rentals) Phone: 732-247-8888 Fax: 732-494-0344

Legislative - Joe Mihalko (Do-It-Yourself) Phone: 973-887-2251 Fax: 973-887-0686

Education - Howard Heller ( M & R Sales. Inc.) Phone: 908-508-0658 Fax: 908-508-0658

Membership - Kalki Joisier (J K Data) Phone: 800-743-1943 Fax: 201-818-0185

Safety - Dave Hinck (A Party Center) Phone: 973-575-1190 Fax: 973-808-7192

Social - John Futcher, Jr. (Unirents) Phone: 973-835-1750 Fax: 973-835-5918

Associate Rep. - Roy Peragallo (RLM Agency) Phone: 973-835-6171 Fax: 973-835-6704

Administration - Carl Sparacio (ARA-NJ) Phone: 201-327-2495 Fax: 201-236-8934

Can you help on any committee? Give the committee's chairman a call - he'll be happy to hear from you

RENT-A-GIFT

Thanksgiving has gone and Christmas and Chanukah are coming. You know what that means? You've been receiving catalogs for months now, that should have been a hint. No, it's not time to gather them for the paper drive - they're telling you the gift giving season is here! Sneaked up on you, didn't it?

I used to love the excitement of last minute Christmas shopping - it wasn't Christmas shopping unless a deadline was near and desperation had set in. This meant I spent more than I could afford because last minute gift selections are limited to dregs (like a belly button lint remover) or the very best (the stuff I can't afford in Nieman Marcus' catalog).

I've given up last minute Christmas shopping - it's gotten so I can't stand the heart pounding excitement of hunting for a parking space within walking distance of the mall. Call me picky but I require that stores be visible on the horizon when I park. Besides, I'm too old to assume long term debt (I'd feel terrible if the family had to pay for the gifts I'd given them should I be trampled by a team of disgruntled reindeer before I pay down my credit cards). So it is I now shop early and sensibly. Mostly early.

More and more I utilize catalogs. My favorite catalogs are toy catalogs. We receive toy catalogs almost daily in season. I was at a loss when our kids grew out of toys and favored funny clothes and noisy record albums instead. That was the dawning of the money gift card era. I never felt receiving money was fun - you don't get a box to open (though I can imagine being happy with a box of money). There was a long dry shopping spell until our grandchildren came along to fill the void.

I've been looking through the latest toy catalogs for the best gifts for our grandchildren. It's not easy. I adhere to strict guidlines to insure that each child gets the right toy. Of course safety is an important criterion but the prime consideration is whether or not it's something I would enjoy playing with. This isn't self serving when you consider that I'm usually the one pulling playmate duty.

Toys for little girls present more of a problem than boy's toys (I'm not comfortable with dolls that eat and mess their pants). One of our little girl tots is into Barbie dolls. I can handle Barbie because I've had experience. Our oldest daughter was an original Barbie doll enthusiast. She still owns Barbie number one, the one in the zebra striped bathing suit. It would be worth a lot of money if we hadn't thrown away the box. Today the box is worth more than the doll. There's a lesson there somewhere.

I've dressed a lot of Barbies in my time and never felt selfconscious. A Barbie doll, after all, has no relationship to reality. They're shaped much like super models who also lack any relationship to reality. If dolls were "full figured" instead, say like Marilyn Monroe, doting grandpas playing dolls with their granddaughters would be arrested as perverts.

Action figures for boys are a lot of fun. It's hours on end of, "BAM, BANG, YOU'RE DEAD!" and I never tire of snapping their outlandish uniforms on and off. Come to think of it, action figures are not built like normal human beings either. Is it any wonder so many kids grow up mixed up.

On the bright side, it's easier shopping for Mrs. S. than it used to be. We're at that wonderful place in life where each of us wants and needs only each other. No matter, we always end up with soimething anyway. I'll say, "What shall we give ourselves for Christmas this year, Dear?"

"Do we need anything?" she'll ask. "Need? I don't think so," I'll answer. Well, then, let's just skip it," she'll suggest as she does every year. "No, then it wouldn't seem like Christmas," I protest, as always. "Since we're not wanting for anything it will be a fine Christmas," she'll say. "Aren't we wanting a 36" big screen TV set?" I'll ask, "one with surround sound?" And so begins month long negotiations.

Last year we gave each other the new computer I'd been wanting but she refuses to go near it. I suppose it's because the only time she's aware that computers exist is when the bank tells her their computer is down and she can't make a withdrawal.

If she rejects the big screen TV I might suggest a new Lexus instead. She's sure, then, to look upon the 36" TV in a more favorable light.

Hmmmmm, maybe I should suggest a Mercedes and go for the 48 incher with picture in picture.

Happy Holidays,

Carl

A Tool for Everyone

Many of you have asked the following. What is that Internet stuff good for anyway? Well here are some things you might consider using it for:

Ÿ Find an acronym - http://www.mtnds.com/af - Decode those mysterious abbreviations. Who knows what SMART stands for

Ÿ Find anyone - http://www.people.yahoo.com - search by name, city or state. Located those rental deadbeats who owe you

Ÿ Find an apartment - http://www.allapartments.com - working too late at the office - wife says come home or leave - here’s an alternative.

Ÿ Find an ATM - http://www.visa.com Convention is in Las Vegas this year, might want to bring the laptop and stay away from John from Unirents.

Ÿ Find an Attorney - http://www.lawyers.com I know of some attorneys I want to loose, but you never know what kind of trouble you can get into

Ÿ Find Company Information - http://www.hoovers.com Get a snapshot on any company by its name ticker symbol, keyboard or CEO.

Ÿ Find a Computer article - http://www.cma.znet.com Want to find out about that printer or scanner your planning to buy, here is the place

Ÿ Find a Definition - http://www.onlook.com 2 million words to look up - even the bad ones! What is the true meaning of RENTAL?

Ÿ Find a discussion Forum - http://forumone.com What do you want to talk about today? How about that ATM machine that ate your Visa card or The Lawyer who took you for a ride.

Ÿ Find a Domain Name - http://www.netamesusa.com What to call your web site? Rent-from-me.com., you better check here first.

Ÿ Find directions - http://mapquest.com Door to door directions to anywhere in the U.S. How to you get to that next renting meeting in Podunk?

Ÿ Find a File - http://ww.filez.com - Hey, want free software, here is the place. Need upgrades and patches, this place has them all!

Ÿ Find a house - http://www.realtor.com - That apartment not big enough, current house getting clogged with nic nac’s and old rental brochures. Here is the place to find that big 5 bedroom villa you have been looking for.

Ÿ Find a job - http://www.careerbuilder.com Rental business got you down, want a fresh start. Search by keyword, state, location or salary. Yes, it will accept 7 figured numbers!

Ÿ Find Legislators voting record - http://www.vote-smart.com- Find out how corrupt and unethical your current elected officials are. Find out who voted to lower your property taxes and raise your business taxes twice as high to compensate for the lose.

Ÿ Find a phone company - http://www.teleworth.com AT & T is not the only game in town, Would you believe there are over 100 long distance carriers to choose from.. Enter your area code and prefix and a list of available carriers will appear along with plain and simple rate plans.

Ÿ Find a Mailing list - http://www.liszt.com Want to be a member of The "Leave it to Beaver" fan club. Here is where you can join the mailing list. Imagine getting E-Mail from Eddie Haskill, Lumpy and Wally. This site is a must for anyone who really loves to find junk in their mail boxes.

Ÿ Find Medical Info - http://mwsearch.com Rental business got you down, loose your shirt in Vegas, Attorney charged you too much, too much junk mail, phone company over charged you and your feeling down. Find out what ails you and the solutions you need.

Ÿ Find an Old friend - http://www.classmates.com Ever wonder what happened to your old high school sweetheart, old friend, classmate or rental buddy. Check here!

Ÿ Find Online Events - http://www.onnow.com;events.yahoo.com Those old episodes of "Leave it to Beaver" aren’t stimulating anymore and you have had enough of painting white wood chairs, then take a spin here

Ÿ Find the weather - http://www.accuweather.com Enter a city or zip code and the weather info is at your finger tips. Maybe you won’t need to take that shirt to Vegas anyway. That way you won’t loose it. Will today be a good day to rent snow plows?

Ÿ Find yellow-page information - http://www.switchboard.com Search for businesses nationwide by entering key words such as bail bondsman, or paint removing. Say you’re in a jam away from home, on a convention, and you need to find a local chapter of gamblers anonymous, here is the place to go.

Ÿ Find a zip code - http://www.uspc.gov/ncsc - Your wife has to mail you money right away, Let us say, you’re in Las Vegas (on business) and for some strange reason you run out of cash, the ATM ate your card, your phone carrier can’t wire you money, your legislator voted against out of state loans, your old girlfriend can’t be found and there just doesn’t seem to be an acronym to describe your situation. 89193 Boys!!!!

I hope you will find this guide a handy one. As a special bonus, if you read this article online at http://njara.org you will be able to click on the hyper links to go right to these sites.

Sincerely,

Steve Kohn

The ARA of New Jersey's

MURDER MYSTERY DINNER!

All members are invited to our first social of 1999 - a mixture of good eating and murder!

You are the detective (or maybe even the culprit - dare we mention "victim"?) and you'll work to solve the mystery between courses of great food.

This will be a fun event - come share the laughs with your friends of the ARA-New Jersey

The Festivities will be held at the

Coach & Four Restaurant,Route 33 W. Hightstown

on Sunday, January 24th, 1999 at 4 PM

RSVP

by January 7th, 1999

cut this out and fax back or E-Mail response

Choose from: _____ Chicken Francais _____ Prime Rib
______ Salmon ______ Pasta Primavera

Name: _____________________________________________________________________

Number to attend: ___________________________________________________________

All this for just $45 per person

Mail check to: ARA of New Jersey, c/o Carl Sparacio, 28 Refy Avenue, Ramsey, NJ

You've been mailed an invitation - but use this form if it's more convenient. Don't forget to choose dinner(s).