Apple store

I'm at the Apple store blogging from an iPad. I've been on this wonderful little machine for a couple of hours now. They haven't told me to leave yet. This would be the ultimate gift for whatever occasion. I like this machine much better than a laptop. Oh how I want one. It is so hard to keep from buying one.

Speaking of which, I would totally have to get that program that helps find a missing iPhone or iPad. I read a news story about a guy who got his iPad snatched out of his hand but the bags string amputated his pinkie finger. I won't be buying one from the store unless I get that program installed before I leave the store.

I'm actually surprised the iPad does not have a camera. The new iPhones will have a front facing camera. You'd think they'd put a camera on the iPad, too. I think I will wait until the second generation iPad.

Getting an iPad

I don't have any pictures to post of me using an iPad but I do know from using it in the Apple store that I want to get one. I think the feature that impressed me the most is Keynote. I'm going to have to do many presentations and Keynote is easy to use on the iPad.

This little machine will be much easier to carry around than my laptop and I can use it for my business. I tried to go to my business website on my phone and just could not get to it. It's a totally different story on the iPad. Not only was I able to get to by business website, I was able to login and look around.

I can totally see myself registering clients on the go. I'm going to have to sell a lot of product to get my new favorite toy. If I get an iPad, I won't need a laptop anymore.

I do see one drawback, it is difficult to type on an iPad. My wrists have already started to bother me but it is still worth it if I can save my back from having to lug around a laptop!

Poppies!

Priorities

I'm sorry to stop when I'm almost a quarter of the way through this year's blogging project but I must do what I must do if I want to hit my goals for this year. I don't need to worry about blogging on a daily basis. I'd rather spend the little energy I have left when I get home reading or working on putting together information packets for my business.

Blogging is an unnecessary distraction. So, while I won't be blogging everyday like I've been doing, I'm definitely going to try to blog once a month just to give an update on how/what I'm doing.

Day 72

Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead 1 hour.

Day 71

I haven't been feeling well lately. I think it's the constant change in weather that has everybody's sinuses going wackadoo. I know quite a few people with pneumonia. I'm trying to stay far, far away from them too because I don't want to get sick.

I'm very anxious to get my taxes done. I still need to do my travel logs but I won't have time to do any of that this weekend. I'll be headed to Bakersfield tomorrow.

Sorry for the short posts. I didn't realize how much this blogging thing would take up my time. When I was in grad school, I was already on my computer so much it didn't matter if I took a break from my studies to goof around a bit as blogging was my only break. But now that I have other things on my plate, I'm rarely home enough to do any blogging. I still haven't figured out how to blog from my iPhone.

Surprising

I've never written any serious posts about our President.

I remember a conversation I heard while deployed to Afghanistan. I group of 30 something black men were discussing Obama's chances at the Oval Office. One in particular commented Obama didn't have a chance of being elected because he's married to a black woman.

Michelle, is not Halle Berry, Mariah Carey, or Carly Simon black. She's just black. I'm personally not used to seeing a black with Obama's high ambitions being attracted to, let alone being married to a black woman.

And I don't actually care. I was shocked for about 5 seconds. And then I started thinking about food.

I still haven't written any serious posts about our President.

Peace

Aches

I went to crossfit again tonight. I had fun. I still don't like working out. Why do people torture themselves? My body aches!

At least crossfit is short (but intense). The only thing worse than working out, is working out for hours.

I wish I had more to blog about but I'm tired and I have to get up at 0400 hours to pray. So off to bed I go!

My graphic tonight is super lame.

More rain

I like the rain we've been getting. It comes and goes but never stays for days at a time. That's the one thing I like about the rainy season in California.

I remember the monsoon season in Korea. Once the rain started, it never seemed to stop. It made living difficult because the buildings I worked and lived in molded.

I wish I could find all those pictures. I must have them on my iPod.

Dang. I need to get better file management.

Anyways, in a few weeks, I'll be able to go take some photos of the poppy reserve. I don't think the flowers will bloom like they did in 2005 but I still like to get out there with my point and shoot and take some pics.

Calling it a night

I don't feel like blogging. I'll try to blog about something worthwhile tomorrow. I need to get to bed.

Uneventful day

I didn't do much today except go to the Toastmasters contest. I have four speeches left and I can't wait to finish as I will have more time to work on other things that are more important.

It seemed to rain all day today. The rain always makes me a little depressed. I came home did some shopping and took a very, very long nap.

My body aches from crossfit. I need to dope myself up and get back to sleep.

Crossfit

I went to crossfit tonight. I'm exhausted. I didn't realize how intense it was going to be. I'm not sure that's what I want to do. I don't want to commit myself to it because I want to keep my schedule as free as possible and hate the idea of tying up 3 to 4 hours of my week to one more activity.

Something for me to ponder.

I want to take some classes to get certified on a trikke. I would really enjoy riding a trikke. I just can't figure out how to move it.

That's it for today. Hopefully I will have something to report for tomorrow.

Blogging

At the moment, I don't feel like blogging. I think I picked the wrong year to do another 365 project. I just feel like reading.

I finished reading Am I Making Myself Clear? Good read. If you've read Dale Carnagie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People or Frank Betzger's How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling then you've read Am I Making Myself Clear?

This week I'm reading John Maxwell's Developing the Leader within You. I can't wait to finish it.

Well, I'm going to go to bed now. I have to get up early and get ready for work. I also have to get my workout clothes together for tomorrow. I'm going to participate in some cross fit training. I'm not looking forward to it either because I don't want to deal with my hair.

Early night

I'm going to make this an early night. I have to catch up on some of my reading. I'm three days behind reading Numbers. I have to tell you, after Exodus, it seems to go all down hill. The Old Testament is really hard to read.

I also need to make an appointment to get my taxes done but I want to call my mentor to ask some questions about filing my taxes.

Hair blues: the workout

I was invited to go cross training today but turned it down because today is Tuesday and I just washed my hair and don't feel like being bothered with washing it until Friday.

I've been thinking a lot about my hair lately and how much time I spend on it when I do put effort in how it looks and I how it doesn't seem like I do anything to it when I do spend time on it. The only thing stopping me from getting Sisterlocks is not having seen them on someone in person. I have the money but when it comes to doing something more permanent with my hair, I want to ensure it's really what I want.

So if anybody with Sisterlocks is reading this, and you live in Southern California, and some skinny chick runs up to your asking you a million questions about your hair, don't beat her down with your purse or whatever you happen to have in your hand. It's just me and I want to get a good look at your hair.

I really should have gone to workout tonight. I just need to do it. Both of them. The hair and the workout.

Does size matter?

When I keep hearing people say they don't like large churches, I'm left speechless.

Here's my thoughts on this. I attend a large church and I have to admit, the size did intrigue me. If you understand the basics of Christianity, you'll understand why I'm puzzled that some people prefer small churches. Jesus tells eleven disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations...Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you...".

When Christians share the gospel, the church has no choice but to grow. Small churches stay small because the congregation does not share the gospel.

If Jesus says we are to share the gospel, then a church in any community won't stay small.

Back to why the church I attend intrigues me. I've seen some great examples of networking since I've been attending church. It's been a great lesson on how to multiply an organization and how to leverage the talents of each member.

So size does matter, at least to me. A Bible believing, Bible preaching, and Bible teaching church is a church that is contantly growing. Now if only I can learn to use what I've learned for soul winning and business building.

Self improvement

No matter how much I try improve myself, I find new things I need to work on.

Forgiveness is one of them.

Patience is another.

I understand the process of improvement is a recurring process, but I would like to see the results of the things I'm doing. See why I need patience?

I need to get some rest. Good night.

In Los Angeles

If this post has posted, it means I didn't get home in time to blog. Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. I know you just love reading my blog on a Saturday night.

Now, get a life. You shouldn't be reading my blog on a Saturday night! You should be having fun! Like I am, which is why you're reading this. I wrote it yesterday because I'm out hanging out and having fun.

Do the same.

Have a good night.

Hair blues

I hate the process I have to go through after washing my hair. Nothing sends me into a hair funk like having to blow dry my hair and then flat ironing it. I just want to let my hair be.

I've been thinking a lot about Sisterlocks lately, mostly because I'm tired of my hair and can't figure out what to do with it. I think I need to make an appointment with a consultant to see if Sisterlocks are the way to go. I would love to do more living and less worrying about my hair.

I need to get some sleep. I have to get up early for Toastmasters and then I'll have a very long day. I'm planning on meeting some folks from one of my meetup groups and hanging out in LA. Gotta love how I have to travel so far for a social life but folks up here aren't trying to do anything fun.

Romantic Mystery

I got the lamest fortune cookie from Panda Express today. I can't figure out what it means. What is a 'romantic mystery'? What is it? Is it a book or a person? What?

I don't take fortune cookies seriously, but when everyone in your life tries to blow out your light, the message on a fortune cookie can help keep the light burning.

But this one, with this fortune cookie I have no idea how to interpret what it's saying.

What do you think this fortune cookie means?

Anyways, I keep hearing people tell me about how now is the time to buy a house (in California). Says who? I want to know who is saying this because I don't think now is the time to buy a house, especially with the banks trying to sell houses for more than what they are worth. Plus, every person I know who is part of the baby boomer generation plans on leaving California when they retire. What happens with real estate when there are more houses for sale than there are buyers? The price of real estate goes down.

Something to think about.

Forgetfulness

I seem to be unable to remember a lot of things. For example, I had a really great post in mind for tonight but now I can't remember. I know it was really good too. Geez. If only I could remember.

I'll probably think about it again when I don't have pen and paper or any way to document what's in my head.

I need to get some rest before I fall asleep at my desk.

What I'm Reading

I'm an avid reader. There's nothing better than reading a good book. For the past year, I've been reading books on business, relationships, and finance. My reading interests have everything to do with my business. I'm new to business, I enjoyed learning finance in school, and I happen to not be so good at relationships. :sad: I tend to let my relationships fall to the way side. I get so goal focused I forget about my relationships.

I'm working on it. My goal this year is to spend quality time on my most valuable relationships. I don't have a significant other so I don't have to spend time on that.

This week, I'm reading Am I Making Myself Clear? by Terry Felber. A must read for me as I don't think I'm always clear when I communicate verbally. Or physically. I'll let you know what I think.

The other book I'm reading is the Holy Bible, Numbers and Mark. I'm not a fan of Old Testament books. Too bloody for me. I barely got through Leviticus without almost becoming a vegetarian and I love eating tasty animals. I'm loving the New Testament. I just wish there was more. My goal is to get through the Bible in a year. I started reading in September and I haven't fallen behind. :happy:

Marriage

Someone I was friends with in high school contacted me. She's married now, which is why I didn't recognize her name at all. I love hearing about people getting married because for a split second, I can see myself married.

And then I'm snapped back into reality. Getting married isn't top priority on my To-Do list. Even if the right guy came along, and it hasn't happened so far, I wouldn't make time. Then there's the fact that the guy I would be interested in, wouldn't feel the same for me (and this has happened too many times to count).

So, my options are to settle, which I would never do, or wait. For a long, long time.

So, I keep myself unbelievably busy to pass the time.

Day 52

I don't feel like blogging. Sometimes blogging everyday sucks. I need to get done with my expenditures list.

What?

I took my mom out to dinner last night and we got to talking about our businesses. I just want to get to the point as I don't feel like blogging all night long, but my mom said she likes having unprofitable businesses for the tax write offs.

WTF?

I don't want to keep my business small or unprofitable. I want the opposite. I want my business to grow so I can leave my job. That is my goal. Replace the income from my job with the income from my business. I don't think my mom understands the difference between how much an employee pays in taxes versus a business.

My goal is to purchase my first home under my business name. I actually want to purchase all my assets under my business name. I want to be poor as dirt on paper so I can't be sued.

I just spent the last five hours printing invoices and receipts for my business so I can type my expenses into my expenditures file. I hope this makes it easier to do my taxes. I definitely need to get caught up for 2010. I think I still have to print out my phone bills.

I'm so bad

Yep, I'm bad. I completely planned on getting my paperwork, receipts, and travel logs together so I can get my taxes done. But instead, I'm watching tv on the Internet.

I actually don't want to watch tv. I sat and listened to someone at work talk about all the tv watching that occurs after returning home from work. I don't want that to be me.

Blogging doesn't help me with that but blogging is a cheaper alternative to a psychologist.

Crazy, Shavonne.

I realized today that I put too much of my personal life on the web. I don't care. I just wish I had something interesting to share.

I absolutely hate Private Practice. Addison Montgomery is a baby killer! She likes snuffing out the life of unborn children and when one is born alive she wants to kill it too.

Getting fired, laid off, downsized, whatever you want to call it

No, I didn't get laid off or fired but someone hired up my chain of command did. It's really sad. I think this person had spent 20 years with the company. On top of that, there is a job posting which this person could have qualified for.

There's no such thing as a secure job.

My job isn't secure by any means, which is why I'm working on building other streams of income. I need to keep working it. I will never give up. I'll have more security with my business than with a job. You can't control your job, how much money you make (companies would pay you less if they could) or how high up the corporate ladder you go. Some say you have control but you don't. For example, it seems the first people to go are those in management positions.

I need to stop thinking about this. I'm getting depressed. I'm thankful I have a job and that's all I should be thinking about and building my business.

Taxes

Ah, it looks like I will have the time to get my receipts together and done with for tax season. I can't wait to get this over with. It will be interesting to see just how much I will get back in taxes now that I have a home-based business. I will definitely have to blog about my refund.

I'm actually excited about it. Yippee. The way I see it, as long as I don't owe money, I'll be happy. I hate owing money and since I don't have the regular tax right offs others enjoy (i.e., dependents) I need something to help me get some right offs.

I'm thinking of maybe buying a house next year. Right now, the banks seem to be going through some things and not really compromising on the price of the homes. I don't think the houses in the AV are worth what the banks are asking for but I think it's because I don't see the AV as worth the cost. I actually still might not buy anything next year now that I think about it. I don't want to get something and not be able to sell it when it comes time to leave this state.

Occupied

Sorry for the short post. I just had to get something posted. I’m in Bakersfield.

Spam

Why was spam invented? I'm not talking about the canned meat, I'm talking about email, blog, and any other kind of spam for electronic/Internet communication. I don't get it.

I've been getting an unusual amount of comment spam almost to the point where I want to turn off comments. I don't want to resort to that. However, something's got to give, right? Anyways.

I have to get ready to go to the movies. I have to do a couple loads of laundry. I didn't get anything done this weekend. Next weekend, I was invited to the firing ranges. I really want to go but I have not had time to get my paper work done for my taxes. I need at least a whole day for that. I might skip out on the mileage/travel log because that's just too much to have to enter into the computer. If had been entering it on a monthly basis I would be okay. As for 2010, I'm already behind. Urgh!!

Is today a holiday?

Happy Valentine's Day

The potluck was fun. I enjoyed myself. I feel guilty because I didn't go outside to dance but I didn't feeling like listening to the music. Some of us preferred staying inside and watching the Winter Olympics.

I didn't meet anyone I could see myself being married to but I did meet some people who I think I could become good friends with. You can never have too many friends.

Happy Valentine's Day. I celebrated yesterday so today is really a normal day for me.

Valentine's Day Potluck

I'm in LA stuffing my face at a potluck for singles. I'm hoping one of these dishes is good ! I'll let you know if there are any great men here.

Unemployed

No, I'm not unemployed but it seems everyday I'm reminded my job is never secure. I can't really go into details, but another way of saying "You're fired!" is "Here's a severance package."

Fired, laid off, downsized, outsourced, early retirement...all terms for the process of becoming unemployed. :sad: Sometimes you're given a warning and sometimes it happens unexpectedly, but I'm sure the fear and the damage to your savings are the same.

Why do people continue to want to work for somebody else?

Why do people continue to believe Social Security and Medicare will provide for them in their old age?

What's my business?

I like it when people send me personal messages about my blog much more than comments. I always try to answer my emails when the time permits but my schedule sometimes prevents that.

Now about last night. I had a blast. It was great being around people who want to take control of their lives instead of having their lives control them. I spend 40+ hours a week with people who do nothing but complain about the economy, taxes, Obama, and everything else under the sun. These people have no one but themselves to blame about the state of their lives. It's one of the reasons why I started a business.

My business isn't traditional by any sense but it definitely isn't illegal. I would never be a part of something illegal. I didn't have to take out a loan to start my business. In fact, it cost approximately $160 bucks to get started. The success of my business is 100% dependent on me. Notice I didn't include failure? My business can't fail unless I quit. Quitting is something I'm not willing to do. I see much more potential to provide for myself in my old age with my business than I do with my 401K or Social Security. My 401K will be taxed as if I was still working and the value is dependent on factors I can't control, like the economy and the stock market. My business is one that grows during economic recessions. All direct selling or network marketing businesses grow during recessions.

I did a lot of research on Avon when I was in grad school and learned a lot about the network marketing industry. My business is not Avon. I just wanted to clear the air. Avon is a great company with great products, but Avon didn't have the characteristics of a network marketing business I wanted to get into. The characteristics that I was looking for are:

1. Must have low cost entry. (I'm not trying to borrow tens of thousands of dollars.)

2. Must appeal to both men and women. (Cosmetics are not appealing to manly men.)

3. Must have products I'm willing to use myself. (If I'm happy with the products, I'm more willing to recommend them to people I know.)

4. Must have an excellent training program and mentorship. (It helps to be mentored by someone who's built a successful business.)

5. Must be Internet based. (A commerce business not on the net is a business going out of business.)

6. Must have longevity and a proven track record. (How long a company has been around is as important is the products. I don't want to spend my time building a business only for it to go out of business.)

7. Must be able to earn residual income. (The Kroc family [McDonalds] earns residual income from the thousands of McDonalds restaurants.)

8. Can be built in my spare time.

I found a network marketing company with these characteristic plus a few more that I hadn't thought of like being DEBT-FREE and owning all operations of the business. I don't like the idea of a network marking business having shareholders. Shareholders are liabilities because a company must pay the shareholders for their stock options. In other words, stocks are a company's way of borrowing money and the network marketing business I'm in has no shareholders.

Exhaustion

I'm totally exhausted. I haven't recovered from the last few days. I didn't get home until 3 am this morning. I didn't sleep in long either. I got up after 8 and frantically searched the house for my mail box keys because I was expecting an order.

Anyways. I just barely got home from church. I had to go through my order to ensure I have everything and get my clients order ready. I told him I would have it for him on Monday but Monday came and my order didn't. I'm going to go to bed now. I need to get up early so I can get to work on time. I will blog more about this in tomorrow.

Day 40

I'm in Anaheim learning how to grow my business. I need a energy I get from being around people who want to take control of their lives rather than have their lives control them. Sorry about yesterday's post. Hopefully, I will have something good to share.

Day 39

I wish it was okay to vent about things that are going with me during the day but it wouldn't be kosher. So, I will just have to keep it to myself.

Anways, I dislike sour pusses and I'm trying to keep my blog on the positive note because nobody wants to read a negative. I don't want to write a negative blog. I want my blog to be all sunshine and daisies and smiley faces. But after spending all day at that place where I earn my wages, I need to vent. I just want to tell people to shut up or get some help because I can't be around the sour pusses. I don't want to hear the Woe-is-me nonsense when all that person has to do is make a decision to change and do it. It's not hard when people are willing to help you. You just have to say YES!

This week

I have a lot to do this week. I hope I will be able to post to my blog. If not, I will at least post a lovely graphic.

Anyways, Fox does it again. Dollhouse got canceled and I'm not happy about it. I swore after Sarah Connor Chronicles that I would never watch Fox again. Now I have a reason to stick to that.

Shopping

I hate shopping. I think I'm one of the few women to hate shopping. The more clothing a store has on it racks the more frustrated I get and leave. I like stores with the clothing organized by color, size, and style. The more organized the store is, the more I'm likely to stay and shop.

I'm not one for discount shopping as I find discount stores are often disorganized. I almost went into Ross today but remembered how much I dislike the organization of the store. I only shop there when I'm in the best of moods.

I need a shirt to wear for the Valentine's party I'm going to next weekend. I couldn't find anything red. You'd think they'd have plenty of red but apparently the color's gone out of style or something. Ha!

So I will wear a shirt I already have but haven't worn yet. It will be perfect. It's a bright green color and I'm sure I'll be the only person wearing bright green. :smile:

I wonder if He will show up? Don't ask who He is as I don't want to mention his name. It would be nice to see him.

Day 36

I think the dog's gone senile or something. He keeps messing in the house. The poor dog. Lost his brother four years ago and his girlfriend 3 months ago. He must be lonely.

I think this will be his last year with us. He's ten years old and for a chow, is pretty dang old.

I don't feel like blogging much today. The rain has given me the blues. Until tomorrow.

Love - feeling or choice?

I was curious about love after posing the question to someone I work with the other day. Is love a feeling or a choice?

The person I work with is around my age and hasn't been married long. His answer to the question was love is a feeling and he explained that he never felt more love and hate for a person like he has for his wife. This is his first marriage and again he is young. So, I decided it would be best to ask someone who's older and has been married a lot longer.

Today, I asked a man who's been married for 20 years to the same woman. I also asked a man who's been married twice; the first marriage lasted 10 years and the second marriage lasted 5. They both said when you first marry, love is about the feelings but after they got used to their wives, love was about the choice.

I've read the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, and he says eventually the 'in love' will fade and people are faced with a choice: do they stay together or go their separate ways. With the high divorce rate, it is clear people choose to separate.

What are your thoughts on love? Is love a feeling or a choice?

Day 34

It was a productive day in a that I have been tasked with two projects. I'm actually looking forward to what I find and can get accomplished.

I'm also looking forward to the Valentine's Day potluck next weekend. There will be 80 single people attending, which means I should be able to find one single male who could possibly be a good match for me. I'm trying to stay positive about this as I often get discouraged at the possibility of marriage. I want to marry but I want to marry but it seems like the men attracted to me aren't worth my time.

So I focus my energies on other things and try to keep busy to pass the time. Always looking for a way to avoid going home after work. After two years of not having much of a life during my deployment and grad school, I wanted to get out there and live more.

For the next couple of weeks, I have to plan my trips and also work on my tax documents. I am 10 months behind on the expenditures and travel logs and I'm even behind on this year's documents and I want to catch up and schedule an appointment to do my taxes.

Day 33

I've been told I don't have a social conscience because I don't believe in socialism. The people who have told me I lack a social conscience are people who weren't born in America. I'll let the Europeans have socialism. Let those living here in America who want socialism move to Europe.

I don't believe in taking care of people who can but are unwilling to take care of themselves.

Now, I can see why Europe has become the land of opportunity - for droves of Muslims looking for free speech and opportunity for a better life. Remember the Mohammad cartoons in Denmark? What about how Paris suburbs almost went up in flames? Wonderful examples of free speech and social welfare at its best. Give me some of that! :roll:

I heard an interesting quote in church the other day.

Do you really think giving money to people is going to do them a bit of good? You can give people money until you're broke, but after all is said and done, not only will they still need money, but you'll be broke, too. The problem with socialists is, many of them don't believe in God and a lot of them either can't do simple math or are in complete denial of where money comes from to see that social programs bankrupt governments!

Perhaps, the quote would make more sense to socialist if it read like:

Doesn't it make more sense to teach people how to do for themselves? Make their own money? I blog a little bit about a quote (actually a Chinese proverb). I love Chinese proverbs as much as I love the Bible's book of Proverbs.

So, I don't think I lack a social conscience, it's just my ideas on how to help people who need, want, have the ability, and actually desire an improvement in their lives will be better off with some mentorship and funds from charitable donations instead of government run programs funded by forced deductions.

Chinese proverb.—The International Thesaurus of Quotations, ed. Rhoda Thomas Tripp, p. 76, no. 3 (1970).