December 31st, 2006 |
Clichè Buster
Here we go again. New Year’s Resolutions. Sounds like a nice thing. Everybody is "supposed" to make them. Many of these resolutions themselves are clichè. Some of the most popular ones:
- Lose weight
- Save money
- Get out of debt
- Get a new job
- Stop smoking
- Travel
All of these things are good resolutions, even though they are cliche. What irks me is that people use January 1 as the time to make such commitments, like the day actually meant anything. I think that these resolutions are used mostly as an excuse not to do these things until January 1 arrives, and then, like most of these New Year’s Resolutions, they fall by the wayside.
There’s no need to ever wait until January 1 to begin any new goal. Not that there is anything wrong with it, because there certainly is not. What I am saying is that many things do not need such a formal date to be set. Just do it! Besides, a goal is only as good as the plan that is built and executed around it. When setting such goals, you need to do the following:
1. Set a goal to achieve and write it down.
2. Determine exactly what you are willing to give in order to achieve your goal (There is no such thing as "something for nothing")
3. Set a date for the goal to be achieved.
4. Create a plan for achieving your goal and begin at once… Even if you are not ready.
December 20th, 2006 |
Looking Back,
Personal
What can I say… I am really glad that 2006 is over. This year has been one hell of a roller coaster ride in many facets. And now continuing with the tradition that I started last year, I will sum up the last year of my life.
Work
Picking up from the end of last year when I was notified that I was being laid off from my job of 6 1/2 years… My last day was supposed to be January 31. Two weeks before my anticipated end date, I received a call (while working from home) that the company was rescinding my termination and that my employment would continue. Well, after ruining my Christmas and going through all of the mental and emotional things you would expect, I was flabbergasted. After giving it a day or two to sink in, I became angry. I decided that I wanted my company to honor the original severance agreement. It was time to move on, even though I had no idea where I was going. The company agreed but asked me to stay 4 more weeks, which I did. Within a few weeks of unemployment, I found a new job close to home, which actually worked out for the best for me in several ways. I now work for sanofi pasteur, which if you don’t already know, is the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis
Travel
This year has been a decent travel year. In February, I went to Las Vegas by myself to furnish our condo. (That was an awful experience… All by myself, away from my family.) In March, we went back to Niagara Falls, Canada, as we did the previous March. What a great time that was. There’s nothing like seeing the frozen falls. We took a helicopter tour over the falls which was certainly breathtaking! In June, we went to our condo in Las Vegas, then just a few weeks later in July, we went back. We were supposed to go to San Francisco in August, but we had to cancel the trip due to the sale of our Laundromat. We went to Atlantic City twice, once in the spring and once in the summer. Both times we stayed at Caesars, because the rooms are usually free for me there. We had a top floor “mini-suite” both times. For Thanksgiving break, we decided to go back to Vegas. For the first time, we went to the Grand Canyon. We took a small airplane – the views were spectacular! Jen wasn’t so crazy about the flight, but Arianna and I loved it (Pictures coming soon). Our last trip of the year will be Disney World. We leave 2 days after Christmas and return on New Year’s Day.
Business Ventures
We sold our duplex in Stroudsburg for a nice profit. We only owned the property for 17 months, used none of our own money to purchase the property and had a positive monthly cashflow! That’s the right way to invest in real estate! And we proved that such a method works. At the end of last year, we bought a laundromat. We thought that it was going to be a great business, but truthfully, it was an aggrevating mistake. What a pain in the rear. We were lucky to break even every month with all of the expenses. With great struggle, we managed to sell the laundromat and made our profit at the end. Since then, we haven’t been able to find any real estate deals that make any sense for us. We will see what 2007 has in store for us. I have a few ideas…
Family
Arianna continues to be apple of my eye. She is growing up so fast. It’s exciting, but sad at the same time. This year, she was a Girl Scout until the end of kindergarten. Then she decided that she wanted to do something different, so in September she started art classes. She is doing well in school and is such a smart and happy child. Jen has started substitute teaching in our school district and is trying to break into teaching full time. This summer, we had our annual summer party, and it was a success like no other. We had an outside tent and lots of friends and family. Little did we know at the time that that would be the last family gathering we would have with my cousin Tracy, who unexpectedly died one week later. And just several months before that, my Aunt’s mother died. So perhaps now you can begin to see why this year has been such a roller coaster ride.
Misc.
Jen and I consistently blog, so you can always keep up to date with the latest events by coming back to our website. But, just a few more highlights:
- I bought quads for the whole family. It’s been a lot of fun to ride together!
- I took an introductory flying lesson in December and I have decided to pursue getting my Private Pilot’s License.
- Went to a Disturbed concert early this year.
- We finally finished our Retro Room. We have created a 60s-70s Austin Power’s type room out of our bonus room over our garage. Complete with funky wallpaper, a giant lava lamp, red lights, disco ball, a ball chair, beads and a 70s-style cocktail video game console. I really need to post some pictures someday. It’s a total blast! A little crazy but very fun.
December 19th, 2006 |
Clichè Buster
What eggs? What basket? This is a response that someone makes when they cannot think of any logical answer to the matter at hand. Now, we wouldn’t want to take any risks, now would we? That would be placing all of our eggs in one basket! Grrr… This cliché is associated with taking risks – as if that is always a bad thing. There are two types of risks: stupid risks and calculated risks. I prefer to take calculated risks, well thought-out risks. And when I make them, I am violating the Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket rule. This rule seems too generic and broad in scope. How in the world could it apply to everyone in all cases? Continue Reading…
December 12th, 2006 |
Music
Over the past year or two, I have begun to acquire an appreciation for old Italian music. It sure is a nice refreshing change and is not only romantic and soothing, but can also be funny as well. For example, Lou Monte’s “Who Stole My Provolone“, “Lazy Mary” and “Pepino The Italian Mouse” are hilarious. Dean Martin’s “Hey Mambo” has some funny parts too.
And then there are some songs which I absolutely love…
- Dean Martin: Besame Mucho, Bona Sera, Come Back To Sorrento, Volare, and Daddy’s Little Girl
- Emilio Pericoli: Amore Scusami
- Frank Sinatra: My Way (of course), That’s Amore, Fly Me To The Moon
- Jerry Vale: Innamorata
- Tony Bennett: It Had To Be You, Stranger In Paradise, I Left My Heart In San Francisco, Make Someone Happy
There’s more, but I’m not to list every song I like… The more I listen, the more I like it. Even though some of the songs are 100% in Italian and I have no idea what they are singing, the music still speaks to me. I feel like I have discovered a whole new world of music.
Now if I could just figure out who sings that “What’s a matter you, you got a no respect” song, I’d be set! Anyone know? I bet my Uncle Chuck knows… In fact, I specifically remember that song from when I was little over his house in Levittown.