June 24th, 2010 |
Las Vegas,
Personal,
What's Going On
(Bye bye Mini Cooper and Old Blue Truck!)
Jen and I are sitting in an empty house with nothing but a folding chair, folding table, a 13″ TV, some food, and our computers. At least we still have internet and DirecTV for a few days! Actually, we have our bed until Sunday, but then the people we sold it to pick up. So, we borrowed an air mattress from Robin for Sunday night. I think we are going to go to my grandparents from Monday to Tuesday, so we will be fine. In the interim, we are car-less and stranded here. I am waiting for a call back from the rental car agency, so hopefully I can have a car later this afternoon.
I have to say… This has been an incredible experience. The goodbyes that I have had in the past week have been a bit sad, but that’s life I guess. In the immortal words of John Fisher, I prefer to say “Ciao” instead of “Goodbye”. I have been blessed with being surrounded by some amazing people in my life – from family, to friends, and colleagues. I will miss them all as I begin my next chapter in life, but this is the path that needs to be taken. And I am looking forward to turning the page.
To be continued…
June 16th, 2010 |
Las Vegas,
Personal
I am often asked what I like about Las Vegas so much… So I decided to outline the things that I like and the things that I will miss when I leave the Northeast.
What I like about Las Vegas:
- Weather – Hot in the summer, warm in the spring and fall, mild in the winter. I like the dry weather, but just because it’s dry does not make the summer heat any less intense.
- Nature – I love the mountains, the National Parks, the desert, Lake Mead, the Colorado River, etc… There’s something about the west that is captivating
- Food – Las Vegas has some of the best restaurants in the world.
- Entertainment – I can see a show or concert and not have to make an entire day out of it. There are lots of things to do beyond “the strip”. There are lots of community activities and events. I am looking forward to having all of this in my backyard without having to make it an all day event, like I would have to do now.
- City benefits without being in the “city” – Las Vegas is unique in its composition. Our house is in a very nice neighborhood, surrounded by nice neighborhoods. It is not like the suburbs of New York or Philadelphia at all. If you came to our house in Las Vegas and were not told that you were in Las Vegas, you’d think you were in a regular town in the west.
- New Opportunities – There is a world of new opportunities for me. It’s all new… Going from a small town to a big city opens up a world of new things for anyone.
What I will miss about the Northeast:
- Rain – I love rain, especially at night in the summer. I love falling asleep to the rain.
- Family – I’ve had them all close for all of my life, so this will be a change.
- Friends – I will certainly miss them as well.
- Fall – I love the changing of the leaves in the Fall, especially in the mountains. (But I won’t miss it that much)
- Animals – My backyard is like a zoo. Deer, squirrels, turkeys, chipmunks, groundhogs, birds and foxes.
What I will NOT miss about the Northeast:
- Snow, sleet, ice, freezing rain – Need I say more? I am all done. If I desire snow, I’ll go skiing or sledding at Mt. Charleston, about 30 minutes away. No more snow plows or shoveling. No more driving in icy or snowy road conditions.
- Lawns – I do not have a green thumb. I’m tired of cutting the lawn, mulching, weeding, etc… Bring on the desert landscape!
- Bugs – Bees, hornets, mosquitoes, gnats.
- Taxes – State Income Tax and Local Tax. When my PA house finally sells, I will add Property Tax and School tax to this list.
June 1st, 2010 |
Family
Today is the 21st anniversary of the passing of my grandfather Vernon Perroots. Reflecting back, I have missed him my entire adult life. Perhaps because he is the first person that I had ever lost. I was only 16 years old, but 21 years later, he is still in my heart.
May 3rd, 2010 |
Personal,
Technology
I don’t “Facebook” anymore. To be totally honest, I really don’t have the time, and the time I do have is better spent doing something else. Nobody cares about a little one-line status and why in the world do I care to even post it online? So my “friends” can see it and comment? Ughhh, most of it is just plain pointless and a waste of time. Yeah, it can be neat to have online conversations or reconnect with people from your past, but I think it has outlived its usefulness.
And the whole “friend” thing is totally annoying. If someone you know is not your “friend” on Facebook, it’s like you committed an online moral sin. And God forbid if you delete a friend… That causes nothing but problems and destroys friendships. I’ve seen all of this over and over. So, again, I ask, what’s the point? Having a Facebook account is like going back to high school, or even worse, grade school.
I’ve been blogging on this site for years. And the only ones who read these blogs (most of the time) are the people that are actually in my life. And if someone else stumbles across it, great! I enjoy blogging on my site and I’ve enjoyed programming it and updating it for years. But so many people these days spend much of their online time on Facebook, I wonder if that has had an effect on this website… Maybe part of the reason is that I hardly find the time to blog or update this site it as often as I used to. I guess I have less of a desire to put my entire life online for the world to see.
If you know me, you’d know that I have a love/hate relationship with technology. Many times, I’m one of the first to have the latest electronic gizmo. But I am feeling the pendulum swing to the other side. I am becoming less infatuated with technology as the days go on. I certainly spend much less of my free time browsing the web. About the only web surfing I do these days is getting my news in the morning and browsing a few forums on topics that interest me. I have spent the better half of my adult life in front of a computer and the internet and many times I just want to leave it all behind.
I am serious when I joke about the day when I don’t have a cell-phone. I don’t want to be connected all of the time. I don’t want to get your text message when I am spending an afternoon with my family. I don’t want to hear the ding sound from my iPhone letting me know that I got an email when I am relaxing at night. The truth is that I will probably always have a cell phone. It’s a great tool and there are many positive things about having one. But powering it off once in a while is a good idea. Maybe you should try it too.
Lastly, I don’t care if you deleted me from Facebook or that you and I aren’t “friends” on Facebook. The relationship that we have in “real life” is the only thing that matters. If you have something to say that is really important, call me or tell me when you see me. Don’t send me an email if something is serious. I would rather hear your voice. Although technology is in my blood and is the way I make my living, I find myself straying away from it in my everyday life.
I want to get back to the roots of what life is about. Going outside. Taking a walk. Playing ball with the kid. Playing a board game. Going for a walk in the desert with a magnetic compass and not a GPS.
December 22nd, 2009 |
Looking Back
Each year, I write a blog reflecting on the main events that occurred over the past year. In keeping with that tradition, here is my update for 2009.
The biggest thing to occur this year was the new house that we had built in Las Vegas. We were originally going to buy a foreclosure and fix it and sell or rent it, but there’s no real way to do that while living here in PA. Not only that, prices of new homes sales plummeted, so to us it made sense to build a house to our specs for the future. The house is truly beautiful. We upgraded everything with no compromises. Granite kitchen with full granite backsplashes, 20″ ceramic tile laid diagonally, upgraded structured wiring throughout the house (dual coaxial, ethernet, extra jacks, etc…), extra large lot bordering US Government land (nobody can build behind us – gorgeous views of the mountains), upgraded carpet and padding, upgraded bathroom fixtures and much more. Of course, the best part of this house is the rooftop deck, with breathtaking views of the mountains and the city. We are so excited about this house, it’s pretty much everything we ever wanted and we are so fortunate to be able to have it in this difficult financial times.
We spent Thanksgiving in our new house this year. The family is not crazy about doing this, and I can understand that, but things change and evolve. It’s all good. It was our 3rd Thanksgiving in Las Vegas in the past 4 years. But it was the first time that Jen cooked a dinner in the great state of Nevada. The first time we went out there for Thanksgiving, we ate out. That was totally disappointing. The second time we were invited to a friend’s house in Las Vegas. And this year, we had turkey in our new home. A home isn’t a home until you have Thanksgiving in it.
Everyone always asks me “Are you moving to Las Vegas?“ I should jokingly fire back with the question “Is there tea in China?“ But seriously, we have gone back and forth on this question several times. One day we are moving, the other day we are not. I think it’s safe to say we will move there at some point, but with the economy the way it is, who knows what’s going to happen and when. If I could cash out on our PA house today, I’d move tomorrow.
In the meantime, we will continue to do what we do – travel several times back and forth per year. For me, I’ve been there 6 times this year and have spent a total of 51 days (including travel days) in Vegas. Jen and Arianna slightly less, since I took a 2 trips there without them (to close on the house and CES). In a way, we already partly live there. I like to think of it as “dual-residency”. If and when we actually move there, it will most likely be the reverse. We have family and too many friends not to come back several times each year.
This year, I got my insurance license back after many years of being out of the business. I am licensed in 7 states and have sold insurance across the country. It has certainly been different selling insurance over the phone and over the web, but I am glad that I moved forward with doing so. I’m always looking for new opportunities and businesses, and this has always been a part of me. At times I consider starting a software company, but I am back and forth on doing that. I’ve started writing a program that brings two of my interests together – finance and software. It is not done yet and I’m not sure if I want to make it commercially available or if I just want to use it for my own personal use. Creating the program for sale will require a lot of time and focus. I’m not sure if I am ready for that right now, nor do I think I have enough passion to write software anymore.
Over the past year, we had the chance to bond with our friends the Puringtons as well. We are all friends – husbands, wives and kids. A nice combination. We all went to Las Vegas this summer together in July and Jim came out to Vegas with me in October to help me move furniture into the new house. It’s not every day that someone offers to hop on a plane across the country, leave work behind and help a friend. That was totally rockstar… Thanks Jim.. I mean Jake…
I’m looking forward to Christmas with our families. I’ve been working so much, and it’s been hard to be incredibly festive, so I am looking forward in celebrating life with our families. I can’t wait to taste Frank’s homemade wine and taste my Mom’s cooking.
Most of all, I can look back at this year and say it was a great year of love, family and friendship. I am going on almost 13 years of marriage next year, and it just keeps getting better. I’ve got a beautiful daughter who is such an incredible kid – I am so proud of her. It’s great to be alive.
Ciao.