I just donated to the American Red Cross.
You can too at www.redcross.org
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
This is Ellll Aaaaay
I fully understand why people drive convertibles in L.A.
Winter has been a little brutal the past few weeks. Freezing temperatures, snowstorms, dry skin, and a particularly nasty cold have left me a little over it. Throw in power outages and holiday commuting and life has taken a stressful turn. Lets just say I was pretty lucky to have scored the trip that I'm on.
I am in Hollywood. There is actually a view of the Hollywood sign from my hotel. I grew up detesting California for some reason but as an adult, its seriously paradise. San Fran all the way down to San Diego. From the lush foliage to the mountainous terrain, the gorgeous seascapes and soaring architecture, the romantic fog and the gentle heat of the sun, no wonder people love it here so much.
I went on a Hollywood Homes tour today. We saw Dr. Phil's house, the Spelling Mansion, the entrance to the Playboy Mansion, Bella Lugosi's old house complete with gargoyles. We sat in an open air cargo van, getting windblown and sunswept, as our tour guide drove us down the Sunset Strip, past and thru Beverly Hllls and Bel Air, up the Outpost.
My hotel is near Mann's Chinese Theatre and there are workers busy setting up for the premiere of The Book of Eli. Its so busy around here.
I went and used the gym at the hotel today. I didnt do my usual intense workout (hello, sick for the past week) but its partly because of all the toned people who were in there, making me feel a teensy bit out of place - okay it was actually alot because they all were size 0s with nonexistant asses! WTF! I have a midwest butt, I guess!
Anyway, it was a great day, beautiful weather, and I love my job. :)
Winter has been a little brutal the past few weeks. Freezing temperatures, snowstorms, dry skin, and a particularly nasty cold have left me a little over it. Throw in power outages and holiday commuting and life has taken a stressful turn. Lets just say I was pretty lucky to have scored the trip that I'm on.
I am in Hollywood. There is actually a view of the Hollywood sign from my hotel. I grew up detesting California for some reason but as an adult, its seriously paradise. San Fran all the way down to San Diego. From the lush foliage to the mountainous terrain, the gorgeous seascapes and soaring architecture, the romantic fog and the gentle heat of the sun, no wonder people love it here so much.
I went on a Hollywood Homes tour today. We saw Dr. Phil's house, the Spelling Mansion, the entrance to the Playboy Mansion, Bella Lugosi's old house complete with gargoyles. We sat in an open air cargo van, getting windblown and sunswept, as our tour guide drove us down the Sunset Strip, past and thru Beverly Hllls and Bel Air, up the Outpost.
My hotel is near Mann's Chinese Theatre and there are workers busy setting up for the premiere of The Book of Eli. Its so busy around here.
I went and used the gym at the hotel today. I didnt do my usual intense workout (hello, sick for the past week) but its partly because of all the toned people who were in there, making me feel a teensy bit out of place - okay it was actually alot because they all were size 0s with nonexistant asses! WTF! I have a midwest butt, I guess!
Anyway, it was a great day, beautiful weather, and I love my job. :)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Sick of Being Sick
Yep. Still sick. This headcold SUCKS! I went to work on Monday, I had a great trip, productive hours, yadda yadda yadda, but when I got to work I couldn't really hear out of my left ear. I went to the clinic in Newark, hoping to score some good drugs (that sounds so naughty but you know I really just wanted some painkillers and decongestants) and when the nurse checked my ears she found some blood. In my ear.
YIKES!
So I got pulled off my trip and I wasn't allowed to fly. BOO!! Honestly, I was feeling pretty crappy, and breathing wasn't coming so easy so I stayed overnight in Newark and then drove home. It wasn't a bad 7 1/2 hr drive, I had a Nissan Rogue rental and was pretty happy with it (in my neverending search for a new car, I'm always taking notes - incidentally I'm liking the new Honda Crosstour and I see that Hyundai's 2010 Tuscons are now available). I found a nice coupon code online too.
So I've been kind of housebound for the past three days or so, not really wanting to venture out into the cold, waking up from naps to blow my nose. I don't want to get too graphic but the phlegm production has been prodigious and colorful. I went to the doctor yesterday though and she cleared me to go back to work.
Oh and I paid off my flatscreen tv. I know, big week, right? Have a good weekend!
YIKES!
So I got pulled off my trip and I wasn't allowed to fly. BOO!! Honestly, I was feeling pretty crappy, and breathing wasn't coming so easy so I stayed overnight in Newark and then drove home. It wasn't a bad 7 1/2 hr drive, I had a Nissan Rogue rental and was pretty happy with it (in my neverending search for a new car, I'm always taking notes - incidentally I'm liking the new Honda Crosstour and I see that Hyundai's 2010 Tuscons are now available). I found a nice coupon code online too.
So I've been kind of housebound for the past three days or so, not really wanting to venture out into the cold, waking up from naps to blow my nose. I don't want to get too graphic but the phlegm production has been prodigious and colorful. I went to the doctor yesterday though and she cleared me to go back to work.
Oh and I paid off my flatscreen tv. I know, big week, right? Have a good weekend!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
MLM's
I follow more than a few blogs. Many are friends of mine and it's a nice way to peak into their lives. There are a few bulletin boards I follow too, most are trade related and specific to my life and career. Then there are the blogs I read related to Amway.
I've found most of them to be very critical. Over the past year a couple I know got involved with it and I couldn't help but be curious because when I was a kid in the 80's all I heard about it was that it was a pyramid scheme/scam and the adults talking about it would snigger and roll their eyes.
So I started researching. There is a lot of information out there, about Amway and other MLM's like Mona Vie and even Mary Kay and Avon. There are a whole lot of extremely negative things being said about these businesses, mostly about tool scams (tools are DVD's and books that your upline want you to buy to learn how to market your business, but a lot of this stuff is motivational crap that only makes money for the diamonds at the top who are selling the DVDs - their usefulness is peripheral at best and cuts significantly into the IBO's bottom line at worst) or forced purchase of inventory that never get sold. I looked and looked for blogs that appeared to be independent of company propaganda for positive spin and could never find any.
Finally, I've come across one Amway blog about a twenty-something who has just become an IBO and she is writing a play by play of her experience. She is getting weary, however, of the former IBO's who are posting advice in the comments section. I am interested to see where her Amway journey takes her, as I have a feeling it won't be a great experience. I really want to ask her if she has another job or if she is depending on her Amway sales and recruiting to support her.
I know of another woman who quit her fulltime job to sell Mary Kay products. She wound up almost getting evicted from her home and had to find another job several hours away from where she lives. I just found an article about how Mary Kay scams half a million women a year out of small chunks of money to start their own MK business by buying inventory that they can never resell. I personally don't use Mary Kay products, but I've tried them in the past and have been unimpressed with their quality.
I think alot of the time people who become involved with MLM's forget that the reason why they joined was to make money. When they fail to make significant headway with that they rationalize their continued membership by recognizing all the wonderful friends they've made and how their affiliation has given them a new, more positive outlook on life (even though they've almost been evicted and foodbanks stop by every so often to deliver food).
From my research, I have discerned that only about 2% (yes I actually did some math, Mona Vie actually publishes sales figures from their IBO's and I did some number crunching - too much time on my hands? I think so! ) actually make a liveable wage off of their work. The product that they sell is some sort of acai berry juice that comes in a corked wine bottle type thing that ostensibly (I love this word) boosts your immune system with all the antioxidants, helps with arthritis along with many other wild medical claims that are incidentally not medically documented by any professional medical association, if only you buy four bottles of it a month! The bottles themselves are about $30 each. Their IBO's get a discount and are expected to buy a certain amount every month for their own consumption and are also given bonuses based on how much their downline sell. Only about 2% make $45 - 50k/year. Apparently, eating an apple a day is a healthier and cheaper option.
Of course, the question I always wonder, is what is each IBO's personal goal? A little extra pocket money? Are you trying to run a whole household on your earnings? Do you really think you are going to be rich in five years when it's clear that only a very tiny minority are ever actually successful? From what I can tell with the Amway business is that the American market is saturated. The company itself clearly makes money but the sales are being generated in emerging markets like India.
There are all kinds of schemes out there designed to relieve you of your hard earned money. Be careful what you throw it away on.
I've found most of them to be very critical. Over the past year a couple I know got involved with it and I couldn't help but be curious because when I was a kid in the 80's all I heard about it was that it was a pyramid scheme/scam and the adults talking about it would snigger and roll their eyes.
So I started researching. There is a lot of information out there, about Amway and other MLM's like Mona Vie and even Mary Kay and Avon. There are a whole lot of extremely negative things being said about these businesses, mostly about tool scams (tools are DVD's and books that your upline want you to buy to learn how to market your business, but a lot of this stuff is motivational crap that only makes money for the diamonds at the top who are selling the DVDs - their usefulness is peripheral at best and cuts significantly into the IBO's bottom line at worst) or forced purchase of inventory that never get sold. I looked and looked for blogs that appeared to be independent of company propaganda for positive spin and could never find any.
Finally, I've come across one Amway blog about a twenty-something who has just become an IBO and she is writing a play by play of her experience. She is getting weary, however, of the former IBO's who are posting advice in the comments section. I am interested to see where her Amway journey takes her, as I have a feeling it won't be a great experience. I really want to ask her if she has another job or if she is depending on her Amway sales and recruiting to support her.
I know of another woman who quit her fulltime job to sell Mary Kay products. She wound up almost getting evicted from her home and had to find another job several hours away from where she lives. I just found an article about how Mary Kay scams half a million women a year out of small chunks of money to start their own MK business by buying inventory that they can never resell. I personally don't use Mary Kay products, but I've tried them in the past and have been unimpressed with their quality.
I think alot of the time people who become involved with MLM's forget that the reason why they joined was to make money. When they fail to make significant headway with that they rationalize their continued membership by recognizing all the wonderful friends they've made and how their affiliation has given them a new, more positive outlook on life (even though they've almost been evicted and foodbanks stop by every so often to deliver food).
From my research, I have discerned that only about 2% (yes I actually did some math, Mona Vie actually publishes sales figures from their IBO's and I did some number crunching - too much time on my hands? I think so! ) actually make a liveable wage off of their work. The product that they sell is some sort of acai berry juice that comes in a corked wine bottle type thing that ostensibly (I love this word) boosts your immune system with all the antioxidants, helps with arthritis along with many other wild medical claims that are incidentally not medically documented by any professional medical association, if only you buy four bottles of it a month! The bottles themselves are about $30 each. Their IBO's get a discount and are expected to buy a certain amount every month for their own consumption and are also given bonuses based on how much their downline sell. Only about 2% make $45 - 50k/year. Apparently, eating an apple a day is a healthier and cheaper option.
Of course, the question I always wonder, is what is each IBO's personal goal? A little extra pocket money? Are you trying to run a whole household on your earnings? Do you really think you are going to be rich in five years when it's clear that only a very tiny minority are ever actually successful? From what I can tell with the Amway business is that the American market is saturated. The company itself clearly makes money but the sales are being generated in emerging markets like India.
There are all kinds of schemes out there designed to relieve you of your hard earned money. Be careful what you throw it away on.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Too Good to be True? Probably
The other day I came home to some interesting mail. It was a single page informing me that I was somehow entitled to a mortgage reduction of $48,000 per some government intervention and I should check out http://www.mmaoption.com/ for more information. The letter even provided me with my own pin number to convey a certain governmental officiality.
So, me being me, I hopped online. I admit, I was curious. Skeptical, but curious. I typed in the web address and was auto-redirected to a different website, http://www.ufirstfinancial.com/. It's not a name that rings any bells. I scanned the website for some useful information but didn't really find any other than apparently this company offers some sort of program that allows me to manipulate my debt by something called strategic interest cancellation. Oh, and it wanted my name and address so it could send me stuff. Um, HELLO? You already sent me stuff. Clearly you already know where I live. Of course, the government is not involved in this, either.
There was also a video about how this debt manipulation thing, called a money merge account, works. It turns out that for a nominal fee (of about $3500) they will send you some software that will look over your finances and then add all the money that you have leftover every month and put it toward your mortgage so you can pay it off early.
Well, I don't want to pay my mortgage off early, and I don't need your stinky expensive software to do it, either, if I wanted to.
I love my shredder. That's exactly where this note went.
So, me being me, I hopped online. I admit, I was curious. Skeptical, but curious. I typed in the web address and was auto-redirected to a different website, http://www.ufirstfinancial.com/. It's not a name that rings any bells. I scanned the website for some useful information but didn't really find any other than apparently this company offers some sort of program that allows me to manipulate my debt by something called strategic interest cancellation. Oh, and it wanted my name and address so it could send me stuff. Um, HELLO? You already sent me stuff. Clearly you already know where I live. Of course, the government is not involved in this, either.
There was also a video about how this debt manipulation thing, called a money merge account, works. It turns out that for a nominal fee (of about $3500) they will send you some software that will look over your finances and then add all the money that you have leftover every month and put it toward your mortgage so you can pay it off early.
Well, I don't want to pay my mortgage off early, and I don't need your stinky expensive software to do it, either, if I wanted to.
I love my shredder. That's exactly where this note went.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Goals for the New Year
I'm not a fan of New Year's Resolutions. Mine have generally gravitated around losing weight, but that can happen at any time of the year and I'm in the middle of ramping up right now anyway so going to the gym regularly is already happening.
I much prefer to set goals. So for 2010 I plan to accomplish the following:
1. Hang ceiling storage in my garage
2. Fly 90 hours a month
3. Pay off my credit card
4. Save for a car
5. Paint the house
6. Go to Hawaii
7. Go to Paris for the weekend
8. Get down to see my nephew and my brother and my sister in law once every few months.
9. Hang the mirror in my bedroom or throw it out
I am sure I will add to this, but so far that's what I want to get done.
What do you plan on accomplishing in 2010?
I much prefer to set goals. So for 2010 I plan to accomplish the following:
1. Hang ceiling storage in my garage
2. Fly 90 hours a month
3. Pay off my credit card
4. Save for a car
5. Paint the house
6. Go to Hawaii
7. Go to Paris for the weekend
8. Get down to see my nephew and my brother and my sister in law once every few months.
9. Hang the mirror in my bedroom or throw it out
I am sure I will add to this, but so far that's what I want to get done.
What do you plan on accomplishing in 2010?
Saturday, December 26, 2009
"Cleaving"
I recently read Julie Powell's new book, Cleaving. You may remember Ms. Powell from her book Julie and Julia which was recently made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. I had read the book but hadn't seen the movie until last weekend when I was flying down to West Palm - the plane had DirecTV which was pretty cool.
The book Julie and Julia is based on Powell's blog, The Julie/Julia Project and I looked at it for the first time today after finishing Cleaving. She's a bigshot writer now (every lowly blogger's dream I think!) and has another blog here at http://www.juliepowell.blogspot.com/ and I couldn't help but feel a teensy bit six degrees of separation because here indeed is my own blog hosted at blogspot!
And also, Ms. Powell and I share a mutual admiration for Joss Whedon and Buffy the Vampire Slayer although I don't think she likes Firefly and Nathan Fillion as much as I do. Also, after Julie and Julia was published, she proceeded to have a torrid affair, which is what Cleaving is sort of about. Also, it's about become a butcher.
It was an interesting, although not great, read. I had some problems with it, mainly, I found it to be self-pitying and whiny. Here is a woman who has seemingly a wonderful husband and a decent career and yet is insistent upon going down some crazy destructive path, engaging in anonymous unfulfilling sex in order to drive her lover out of her head and yet she will not set her husband free. They decide, in so many unspoken words, to open the marriage and they each go off and have affairs. Yet, her husband is always angry with her and yet tender and comforting by turns. Its confusing. Part of me wanted to tell her to grow up and move on.
In her defense, I got the impression she's been with her husband a very long time and perhaps did not date around so much when she was younger, unlike myself who has dated a lot and experienced all kinds of mental anguish, from being with a guy who treats you like crap and yet still compels you to stay with him, to wanting to leave and not wanting to break anyone's hearts at the same time. I get it, life is full of heartbreak, but have the balls to break it off when it becomes unbearable! Don't endlessly whine about having your cake and eating it too! I found I had to dig deep to find some sympathy.
There was another part that really disturbed me. Julie takes a trip to Africa and spends some time in a Masaai encampment. After having a drink one night with her guide, another man follows her back to her tent and propositions her. When she rebuffs his advances he comes back and tries to rape her. Then he steals her BlackBerry. Never once does she scream out for help. Instead you get this crushing feeling that on some level Julie feels she deserves to be assaulted. Maybe I am misreading but she never defends herself.
Interspersed throughout the book are BtVR references. My favorite is a quote from Spike about how much he loves someone: "Eyeballs to entrails, my sweet..." I think I need to watch Season 6 again.
The book Julie and Julia is based on Powell's blog, The Julie/Julia Project and I looked at it for the first time today after finishing Cleaving. She's a bigshot writer now (every lowly blogger's dream I think!) and has another blog here at http://www.juliepowell.blogspot.com/ and I couldn't help but feel a teensy bit six degrees of separation because here indeed is my own blog hosted at blogspot!
And also, Ms. Powell and I share a mutual admiration for Joss Whedon and Buffy the Vampire Slayer although I don't think she likes Firefly and Nathan Fillion as much as I do. Also, after Julie and Julia was published, she proceeded to have a torrid affair, which is what Cleaving is sort of about. Also, it's about become a butcher.
It was an interesting, although not great, read. I had some problems with it, mainly, I found it to be self-pitying and whiny. Here is a woman who has seemingly a wonderful husband and a decent career and yet is insistent upon going down some crazy destructive path, engaging in anonymous unfulfilling sex in order to drive her lover out of her head and yet she will not set her husband free. They decide, in so many unspoken words, to open the marriage and they each go off and have affairs. Yet, her husband is always angry with her and yet tender and comforting by turns. Its confusing. Part of me wanted to tell her to grow up and move on.
In her defense, I got the impression she's been with her husband a very long time and perhaps did not date around so much when she was younger, unlike myself who has dated a lot and experienced all kinds of mental anguish, from being with a guy who treats you like crap and yet still compels you to stay with him, to wanting to leave and not wanting to break anyone's hearts at the same time. I get it, life is full of heartbreak, but have the balls to break it off when it becomes unbearable! Don't endlessly whine about having your cake and eating it too! I found I had to dig deep to find some sympathy.
There was another part that really disturbed me. Julie takes a trip to Africa and spends some time in a Masaai encampment. After having a drink one night with her guide, another man follows her back to her tent and propositions her. When she rebuffs his advances he comes back and tries to rape her. Then he steals her BlackBerry. Never once does she scream out for help. Instead you get this crushing feeling that on some level Julie feels she deserves to be assaulted. Maybe I am misreading but she never defends herself.
Interspersed throughout the book are BtVR references. My favorite is a quote from Spike about how much he loves someone: "Eyeballs to entrails, my sweet..." I think I need to watch Season 6 again.
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