Let’s be honest, nobody is ever ready for back to school. While I don’t have kids, my wife is a teacher. Since the beginning of school, it has been non-stop routines and schedules. Gone are the spontaneous trips. They are now replaced with hours of lesson planning and grading. Despite these routines, things are no less simple in our day to day lives, so when we find a program that takes a bit of stress off our plate, we tend to take full advantage.

Our routine throughout the school year surrounds a bit of normalcy. We fall into the pattern of our evening dinners, weekends together and gatherings with friends. There are also the non-fun parts of it, like cleaning the house, paying bills, grading papers, writing curriculum and working out budgets.

Yea…budgets. So many services these days fluctuate their prices based on demand and a whole slew of other parameters. That means we don’t always get it right when it comes to the expected payout. CenturyLink is stepping up with an incredible Price For Life program that has caught our eye.

To find a service that we already love bringing one simple, set bill every month helps with budgeting and stress. It is one last area we need to worry about. No contract, no bundling needed, no rate hikes and no promotional pricing.

The best part? It’s even saving us money. Before we had to jump from promotion to promotion with fluctuating bills. Now we are saving $10 a month with the exact same services we received before. The only change has been the money spent. And even if you don’t have kids in school, fall is the time things start to normalize after a busy summer of travel and fun.

So with one last thing to worry about crossed off our list, even something as small but no less important as internet access, it’s always nice to see a few extra dollars in the bank than before.

The post Worry less with Price For Life from CenturyLink appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Shit.

So one weekend I decided to go check out some higher-end options, walking into a warehouse of suits to see what I could find that would cost me a little more and fit a bit better than the options in my closet. Walking around the store, followed by a very eager sales rep, I became overwhelmed with the sea of blacks, blues, and grays. Being a broad shouldered guy, my selection was even more limited to a small corner of the store, and while custom could have been an option, it was not in my price range or time requirements. Begrudgingly, I selected this boring gray suit option that was neither the cut I was thinking nor the look I was hoping for but accepted it none-the-less as what I could get in my time frame. Off the rack, with minor hemming here and there, I was out $1300 for something I felt zero connection with emotionally.What was done was done and I headed home.

As I sat at home that evening, browsing Instagram as I tend to get sucked into, an ad flew through my feed for INDOCHINO, a company claiming to be able to do a custom suit for less than $1000. As a matter of fact, what caught my eye was the sale for $389. No way. I scoffed it off as it must be made of rayon or something very heavy and cheap, but was curious none-the-less. Heading over to the good ole sub-Reddit r/malefashionadvice, I decided to see what was being said about this group. Overall, the responses from the biggest male fashion critics in the community were positive, and not one mention of rayon, crappy blends, or weird issues.

So I bit the bullet. I contacted the INDOCHINO social media team about my timeline to see if it would be possible to get a suit in time, and they came back with ‘if you’re sized by next week, yes’. The ball was in motion. While I could opt for doing my own measurements, I decided to jump into the full experience and booked a fitting at their Beverly Hills store the next week. I had enough miles to get out to LA for the day as well, which made this an interesting day trip planned out. Disappearing from work for the day to get a suit sized was different…it was exciting. I hadn’t felt this before when it came to suit shopping.

Arriving the next week at the Beverly Hills INDOCHINO, I met Shayna Green, the Showroom Manager who was going to guide me through and get me fitted. From the very start, the experience was different from the warehouse. I walked into a sea of options, colors, and styles. Shayna would ask questions about what I wanted and would guide to the best options to fit that, but never pushing me to choose. It was all up to me, from the stitching to the liner, number of buttons to the collar peak. This was the full custom experience I had never known I wanted or needed. I was hooked.

After selecting more details in a suit than I thought were possible, Shayna directed me upstairs for the fitting portion. Step-by-step, she measured everything to get the perfect fit. This was the part that made me so glad to have a professional taking care of it as I knew my ego would have gotten the better of me if I had measured at home. Others, probably not, but this moment made the early morning flight worth it alone.

After all the numbers were recorded, Shayna grabbed a few test pieces for me to try on, from which she was able to adjust her numbers based on how I wanted something to fall on my body or fit. Going for a specific look with a suit, I respected the time and evergy put into this whole experience all while being blown away by the price. I was more involved with my fashion choices in this moment than I had been in all my previous suit buying experiences combined, emotionally connected and excited about what was to come.

At the end of the hour I spent at the Beverly Hills INDOCHINO, Shayna had not only gotten me emotionally invested into a suit but shown me the value of the custom. I walked out that day with a tie and pocket square and a receipt delivery estimates of 3 weeks before my big day. Now, I will have to say I was lucky to be able to get this suit in time, and would not recommend waiting to when I did for the full custom experience. I was lucky, admittedly. And with INDOCHINO’s integrated system, now they had my numbers recorded so I could order another suit with different options at any time, sized just for me, all through their online system. And with more showrooms opening up all over the US, I could always pop into one of them to update my numbers if I needed to keep my profile up to date, or even have a local tailor give me new numbers to submit through my online dashboard. Now that is an experience to remember.

All in all, this whole experience with travel from Denver to LA, breakfast at Randy’s Doughnuts, and the suit came out to less than the off-the-rack warehouse suit I had previously guilt purchased.

No more warehouses for me. INDOCHINO has my business for life.

This is a sponsored post. The opinions shared are my own.

The post The Custom Suit Experience with INDOCHINO appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

One major ingredient to education is technology. Gone are the days needing to scour random books and encyclopedias to find interesting topics or subjects. Research materials beyond anyone’s expectation now exist at the fingerprints of all who are interested in expanding their mind.

While many students are exploring the technological world from the comfort of home, hopefully doing their school work, my wife scours the web for the latest and greatest science news, facts, and labs to bring into her classroom. As a 6th and 7th-grade science teacher, she works hard to present timely information to her students.

The last few years have seen rapid advancements in the technological sphere as far as young children are concerned. This change can be witnessed both at the school, as well as the college levels. Students are being encouraged to know more about financial transactions and trading on software. They are being taught about new developments like Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain.

One major ingredient to education is technology. Gone are the days needing to scour books and encyclopedias to find interesting topics or subjects. Research materials now exist at the fingertips of all who are interested in expanding their mind.

While many students are exploring the technological world from the comfort of home (and hopefully doing their school work), my wife scours the web for the latest and greatest science news, facts and labs to bring into her classroom. As a 6th and 7th-grade science teacher, she works hard to present timely information to her students.

That’s a major step forward from the old way of teaching, always relying on the latest edition of a book that has hopefully been updated. Instead, multiple sources can be found, feedback provided and entire lessons built over the internet. Education is the foundation of our society, and timely information is the key to getting there. CenturyLink has long supported education and the technology that fuels learning with their Teachers and Technology program. During the month of May, CenturyLink will be awarding grants worth a total of more than $145,000 to 32 teachers across Colorado in support of enhancing the innovative use of technology in their classrooms.

As happy CenturyLink customers, we appreciate the company’s dedication to the classroom and teachers. They continue to promote the use of technology in education, whether it’s before lesson planning or for one of her students exploring the wonders of the cosmos.

There is no doubt that technology is the key to education, and with CenturyLink around as a supporter of teachers and students, it’s a bright future ahead for all involved.

The post The Key to Education is Technology appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.