A Mini Presentation
So... I'm rolling up to one of the VPs offices tomorrow to give a little spiel on something I think might possibly help the college I work for improve on things. I mean, I guess that's how I roll?
Haha. I don't know. It's really not that big of a deal. Basically I know about something, I'm not entirely sure the cabinet knows... I just figured it might be worth passing the info along. It's up to them if they want to use the information.
Here's my thing, some people are all like, dress to impress, try to make it to the top... Honestly? The top is WAY to much responsibility. I don't want to be at the top of anything. Plus, I'm afraid of heights.
Well, okay not REALLY.... But I mean, I don't know. I guess I'm just not driven in such a way that I want all the power in the world. I mean, okay, let's review real quick.
When I was born into this world, my grandparents were 1 percenters. I mean, it is what it is, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Their net worth fit the profile of the top 1 percent. But to me? It's just like... So what? Who cares.
My thing is, I like being where I can help people. I can make a difference in individual lives.
I don't need a castle. I don't need obnoxious amounts of wealth. I just like to connect people. I like to make things work. I like when things come together.
You know? I like when people really benefit from things. That's my goal for tomorrow.
I know about something that I think might be able to be used to net something even greater in value.
That's the stuff I love. Like, for example, if I meet one person, and they play guitar, and they are looking for a band, and then I meet a second person who plays drums, and they are looking for a band, and then I meet a third and fourth bassist and singer... What makes me really giddy is rounding those 4 people up and introducing them to one another.
Some people are like... Well, you surely would charge a fee, or want to do it because there's something in it for you?
Umm... Nah. I just like that those 4 people formed a band and that they found one another because of me.
I mean, yes... I have financial backing from what's left of that 1 percent birth wealth... So I guess unlike a lot of people, I don't really care about making even MORE money because I'm already getting investment income off the money I already have. Okay, so I'm no longer a 1 percenter... But still...
How much money does one person REALLY need anyway?
So, to me... It's just the joy of fixing something, helping someone, making something come together in a synergistic manner.
That's that stuff I love.
So tomorrow, I'll march up to the higher up and hand over some papers that I've printed out and highlighted the important bits and give a little 2 minute summary of why I need 2 minutes of this person's time... And then hopefully something productive comes out of it. That would bring me joy. That something productive came out of it. I don't subscribe to the whole, what's in it for me, thing.
I'm not looking for a promotion, or a raise... Or any kind of special attention. If they like it and use it and it helps the college community on the whole, great. If not... That's cool too.
I just want to see positive things come out of hard work. That's my jam.
But if you're thing is raises and promotions and moving on up to the apartment in the sky... That's cool too! I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Whatever is anyone's jam, is all good.
The Gävle Goat
Recently I found out about the Gävle Goat. Basically, every year they build this giant straw goat. And every year... People in the town attempt to burn it down. That's pretty much all there is to it. They get upset that people burn it down. They try to think of ways to stop it from being burned down. It still burns down. It's an on going gag. For some reason it just made me laugh a lot. I don't know why. Just did. Anyways, watch the video to get caught up to speed on the goat!
Curbside Pickup
I guess it's true that one person's trash is another's treasure.
Tomorrow is trash pick up... I put out the second of my old lawn mowers around 6pm. Like clockwork the junk guy came around and took it just like he did last week.
He comes around and inspects trash the night before to look for anything he can use in some way/shape/form. I'm guessing that he's either collecting raw metal for scrap, as I found out that you can actually make money off bulk scrap. Or, maybe he takes things and then fixes them up and resells them.
My thing is... If he can do that, and he can feed his family or whatever... Pay bills... More power to him. It saves me from having to deal with someone extra and call to schedule some pickup. I know that the trash people get cranky when you put too much out, or you put out bulky items. So, if it takes some of the burden off the trash people, it's a win win win!
It actually feels pretty good to have flow. My thing is, I like getting rid of things to make way for new things. So, I bought a couple of new lawn cutting items, and got rid of some as well. It's all about circulation. In order to buy new things, you have to get rid of old things... Curbside, or eBay, or whatever...
This is my master plan. Use my dividend circulation from my investments coming in, to buy items to make my house a tidy house... And then in the grand scheme of things, use the incoming cash to make home improvements... Then... Sell the house.
Buy my next house, use the income generated from investments to fix that house up... Sell that house. Buy another. And the cycle continues.
What I'm actually hoping is to make enough money off this process to be able to move about the country buying and fixing up houses around the country, or even the world maybe. Then, I can travel by just living in and fixing up houses and then selling them. Which would be fun.
We'll see. For now I'm just cleaning out an item here or there, and letting the junk guy take it away. Then I replace it with things as needed.
Out with the old, in with the new.
As I was watching the junk guy take away the old lawnmower... I had a funny thought... That's kind of how dating works.
I mean, not exactly... But in a way, we're all kind of discarding one another in favor of something new. But the people that we meet, were at one point with someone else. And those people were with other people. And those people decided that they didn't want that person anymore, so they kicked them to the curb, and someone else met them and decided they were a treasure.
I kind of think maybe that's how things will happen for me. I'll meet someone who she was with some other guy, and then they didn't work out, or maybe he just decided he didn't want to be with her anymore, and then I'll be like... Well I think you're pretty swell. I'll take you.
It's kind of like the lyrics for this one song by a band named Reliant-K, the song is called "My Girl's Ex-Boyfriend".
He says in the song that he owe's it all to his girl's ex-boyfriend. That's kind of how it works I guess. I mean, some people just meet their first loves and stay together forever. But other people are with lots of people until they finally meet that one who is their other half.
Right now my other half is the pizza I'm about to go pick up for dinner after I finish doing some work at Starbucks.
Another First Date
So, I went on another first date today. It was okay. I don't think we had sparks. But, it is what it is.
I really want to meet someone to date OUTSIDE of the online dating thing. It's really weird because I go on dates from the online dating world, and during the dates I just think to myself... Where would I find this girl in the real world. I mean... Everyone I know is already married. They are all la-te-da with someone and have found the love of their life somewhere. Annnnnnnd then there's me. Still just going out to events and things alone.
I sat and did work at Starbucks tonight for 2 hours.
Last night I went out to get a pumpkin beer up the street after the gym. It's just funny because at the gym, there were no women at all, all dudes. And then at the bar, there were pretty much ALL couples, married ones.
So, I just kind of laugh and think... Where do single women hide in real life outside of dating sites?
Maybe they just don't go out in public or something. I have no clue.
So, anyways, I might try finding a regular open mic, and karaoke place. And then maybe as well do a meetup event or something.
In other news I've kind of stopped posting stuff on Facebook after that one post had a lot of likes and shares. I think it's cool. I don't think I can top that. Also, it's just been nice to not be posting on there.
I'm going to post a lot more on here just because people can't leave annoying comments on my blog posts. I have that disabled.
So, I write what I want, and that's that. Also, I can write more on here than on Facebook.
Hmmm, well anyway, so yeah I'm going to try and search out new places where single women my age might actually hang out in real life.
I think the trick is that it has to be recurring. Like, so you see the same person over and over again week after week. If you only go out to a bar and see them once, that's no good. Because there's nothing to make it stick. Unless you swap numbers and there's a LOT of mutual attraction.
But if it's something like going to karaoke week after week at the same place and she's there every week, and I'm there every week... And then we see one another, and don't think much of it, and don't even talk to each other until like the 4th time we both are there, and then maybe we become friends and then after friends we start to kind of find a romantic connection. That would be nice to find.
So, I just need to find weekly things that are in the real world and not online where it's something week after week where we see one another over and over again. I mean, I see the same people over and over again, but all of those people are already married... or whatever.
Honestly if you ask me, I think there should be a service where you sign up for it... And then you show up, and they just match you with someone, and they operate on each one of your brains to make you both fall in love. That would just make things SOOO much easier. Like they implant some little love device that keeps you in love with each other. Take all this guesswork out of finding "the one".
It would be nice to go to more events with more single people my age... I mean, I go out to these events but every time I strike up a conversation eventually she'll drop those dreaded words in some kind of response. Like, I'll say I play guitar and then she'll be like... "Oh! Well, my significant other also plays guitar blah blah blah...".
It's always the same.
They really need to make a single people festival where you just show up and mix and mingle and drink and enjoy food trucks and what not. And then you just go around with a card that has green on one side and red on the other, and you just talk to people and then at any point you can hold up your card, green means you're interested, red means you want to end the conversation and talk to someone new.
Anyways, so, yeah, everyone else has found someone special. I'm still just single as can be. That's kind of the reason why I'm not really going on Facebook at the moment... everyone is all posting about weddings they are going to or whatever... So, I'm just like... Eh. I don't really want to know all that crap. Good for them I guess. But it just makes me feel like crap because it reminds me how I'm still single and all these other people out there have found someone special. Oh well. Just have to keep hoping and waiting...
I guess she's out there somewhere...
Brutal
So.. I had an idea for a site/service. Basically, it's called Brutal, and it's just that, brutal honest feedback. I mean, we all basically want to do it anyway, think about every public comment forum. Everyone just likes to speak their mind when it comes to being anonymous in comments... But most people don't do it in real life.
This really pertains to dating. So, what you do is you sign up and you basically do that whole swiping thing. But instead of going on dates with someone that you want to get to know more... You go on dates to basically pick the person apart.
The date would be a normal "romantic date". Coffee. Or, a drink. Whatever. You go on this date as you would with someone you're trying to woo.
Then after the date, each person fills out a feedback page. They tear them apart. Everything from the way they walked, and talked, to the content of their discussion. How they dressed. How they looked. How their hair was.
Basically, have at it. Be mean. Be Brutal.
Then, it's up to the people to take that information and use it for when they go on a date with someone from a dating site. Or, a date in general.
So, if you have a Tinder date lined up on a Saturday night, go on a Brutal date on Thursday. Then keep that information in mind for your date.
The problem with friends, or yourself, or family, is that they won't give you honest feedback. They will tell you that things are fine or great, when they aren't. They will tell you an outfit looks fine.
A Brutal date won't. They will tell you that it's the worst outfit known to human kind.
Time to go shopping.
Your haircut looks like a 5 year old cut it.
New haircut needed.
You're chewing with your mouth open.
Right, I'll keep that in mind.
You speak too quietly... You slouch... Are you checking out other people while we're on a date? No. Just. No.
And the name of the game is, be honest, be brutally honest. Feel free to totally rip that person to shreds and tell them exactly how you felt on the date.
Brutal dates make you better at dating by being brutally honest with the feedback.
Bored With Life
So, I'm kind of bored with my life. I guess. I mean, I'm single... 34, soon to be 35... No kids, no significant other. I've been on THOUSANDS of first dates from dating sites... 99 percent of them just ghost. No reason why, no feedback... Just stop responding out of the blue. It's hard to keep people interested I guess. Or get people to care about you. That's REALLY hard to do.
I mean heck, even Miss Daylight/Miss Plantation eventually lost interest. You only started reading my blog when a hurricane was on its way. The minute that was over... The hits stopped.
I guess the thing about you is... In my mind you're already married to that guy that you were dating the last time I looked at your social media. Which was why I stopped. I really don't wan to know. If you're also single, then I'd totally want to know. I mean, it's the same for my college girlfriend. I stopped wanting to know the minute she met her current husband. I guess I don't get that... Who wants to know? I don't want to know someone I had feelings for and wanted but they didn't want me back is all gaga with some other guy.
I mean, I wonder a LOT about you... Things like your living situation, did you buy a house? Are you still renting?
I wonder about your cats... Are they still healthy and meowing? Or did anything happen to them?
Are you still getting promoted like crazy? In my mind you're like... making 100k a year plus... And you're some super world traveler. Who knows. I mean, also in my mind you're married to some guy who is a multiple billionaire and you have a mansion that you live in down in South Florida.
Who knows what is true though. I'd LOVE to know... But... You know... I don't want to know.
Anyways, so I'm continuing my Starbucks streak. I'll go to the gym after this. I'm at a Starbucks where basically there's only like 2 other people besides me.
My newest favorite thing to do is sit in front of someone and opening up my trading account... Then let my screen face back towards that person with the "grand total" of the account zoomed in.
Then I make some kind of noise or scoot my chair so they look over and see the screen. I did this last night and the girl's eyes went wide. Apparently she thought it was a lot of money. To me it's not a lot anymore... You get used to it. It just becomes the norm. I'm considering flipping houses, or buying property to rent out to people. I'm not sure yet. For now it just sits invested in accounts.
Like I said, I guess I'm just bored though. You gotta find things to do when you're bored!
I'm thinking of maybe seeing if I can find a community theater or something to join. I mean... I don't know, I'm just bored. Hah.
I think I'm sort of "waiting". Like, I know, eventually I want to move somewhere new. My biggest goal in life has always been to meet that special someone... Start a family... Do that whole marriage thing.
Hasn't happened yet. Everyone else I know is all married. Annnnnd then there's me.
Even sitting here in a Starbucks there's no one.
I keep swiping on dating sites... No luck there either.
Who knows. I wish I knew where to go to meet someone special. Like where would be the most likely place to meet a single girl my age who would also be interested in me romantically.
Karaoke, quizzo... Maybe open mics or something? Not sure. I suppose I could start volunteering somewhere. I don't know.
I was going to do meetup.com stuff. Maybe I should do that.
Who knows. What does a single 34 year old do with one's life.
I think I'm just going to wait things out. Right now I'm in the process of throwing stuff out. I throw one thing out a week around the house. I've been doing that for a while now. I'm actually starting to notice things getting lighter. Eventually, I'll put the house up for sale, and then maybe move out west or something. Who knows. Maybe I'll go back to school and get some little small one bedroom apartment somewhere. Not really sure. I honestly have no clue what I'm doing with my life. Everyone else seems to have it figured out, married, kids... House... Etc. etc.
And then there's me. I'm just bored. I have no clue what I want to do.
I guess for now I just do work at Starbucks and then go to the gym every night.
And do this blog thing. Although, today I had no hits, so... Maybe even posting blogs is pointless since no one really reads them I guess. Eh who knows.
Starbucks and Gym Part 2
So, my latest thing is definitely getting work done at Starbucks. I'm just not good at doing work at home, I mean, mostly... It's because my cats take turns begging for my attention. But, also, I just do better work out and about.
Anyway... So, really, I don't have to pair Starbucks and the gym... I could just pair any kind of place that sells caffeinated beverages, with a physical activity. Tonight, I actually went to yoga... Now I'm at Starbucks. So, I guess the order isn't exclusively one thing and then the other.
The fun part about, let's just stick with Starbucks and Planet Fitness... Is that they are chains. So, since they are all chains, that means there are a lot of options. I could go to a Starbucks and then a Planet Fitness every single night of the week and go to a different one each night to keep from betting bored.
I guess these are the things that one does when they are single and still waiting to meet that special someone. Hah. Who knows? Perhaps I'll bump into her at a Starbucks somewhere, or the gym... Never know... So far that has yet to happen, obviously.
Well, that's my update to my previous post. I should just make it my goal to sit in every Starbucks on the planet... And work out in every Planet Fitness. Hah. Single people life goals, I guess?
Anyway... So the hour that I've been spending a night has let me catch up on much needed work which helps me to stay ahead, which is how I like things, staying organized and staying ahead.
Starbucks and Gym
This week every night after work I went to Starbucks followed by the gym. Well, home after work, make dinner, then Starbucks, then gym. Then home. I just work on things. Mostly work I wasn't able to get done during the day at work.
I'm a fan of staying on top of work. I like to have all my tasks sorted and organized and know what's coming up. I'm not a fan of just the chaos. I don't mind the chaos during the day as long as I can organize that evening and prepare for the next day.
Basically I sit at Starbucks, and slurp on an unsweetened iced tea (usually green tea) and then head to the gym.
I feel extra focused from it. Or, something like that. It just let's me stay organized and on top of things. One of the things I hate is when I don't feel organized. Like, when I feel overwhelmed with things. I need to have things lined up, ducks in rows... That sort of thing.
Temporary chaos is fine, but then I need to scoop up that bucket of randomness everything has been tossed into and sort it all out.
Anyways, I just go to Starbucks and then Planet Fitness. The good thing about this routine is... Most places in this country have a Starbucks and a Planet Fitness.
That means, it will be a good routine to keep me grounded when I move somewhere new... Which is my plan in the long run. Not that I really have any kind of "goal" to reach. I just think it would be fun/cool to move somewhere new just for kicks... Because why not? Just a change of pace. I can always move back if I don't like wherever it is I end up moving to.
Right now I'm still in the process of cleaning things out and organize the chaos of my own home.
I'm not opposed to staying here but... I'd like to SOMEDAY do that whole marriage thing and kids thing... Which doesn't seem to be happening here in Philadelphia. So, I figure maybe in the next couple years I'll try something new. Maybe that one that I'm meant to marry and spend the rest of my life with just doesn't live in this area. Not sure where I'll move yet. Might just roll the dice and see where it lands. Setup a dart board and just pick somewhere new.
We'll see. For now, I just keep on organize and doing things to streamline my life and get things going in the direction I want them to go in.
Cats Gone Viral
So, I shared a news article on my Facebook. It was just an article about the Hemingway cats and how they survived Irma...
The most amazing thing happened. It went viral. At least, I feel like it qualifies as viral. I mean, okay, first, what defines viral? Over 10 shares? Over 100 shares? Over 1000 shares? 1 million shares...
Maybe it didn't go viral.
But here's the thing, it definitely blew up. Like, my phone is blowing up, style blow up.
Anyway, so I posted this thing. People started liking it and sharing it... I mean, people I don't even know. I was just like... WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?!
AND THEN... People got into comment wars. Someone was like who cares about cats, and others were like CATS ARE LIFE!
It got serious.
I weighed in on the comments a little just to kind of throw my own thoughts in the mix.
But okay, guess what the total shares and likes were?
Go on... Guess?
75 shares, 132 likes.
Wild. I've never had that happen before. I almost felt like a famous person when they post something and all these people are randomly liking it and hitting like.
Here's some real talk discussion though. SO there are 54 cats right? How do we know ALL those cats are actually decedents of the original Hemingway cats? Did some just sneak in, like... "I'm with him".
Did they check IDs at the door? Or was it just an honor system?
How many litter boxes did they have?
These are the things that I like to know! Anyway, my thing is, I had no idea that the Hemingway house or cats were even a thing until like about a week ago. Now I'm all about them. I want to go visit! Like, really bad.
Well, since the Hemingway house cats seem to be getting back to normal, hopefully everything else in Florida is starting to get back to normal too.
Things in PA are same same. Tonight I went to Starbucks and then to the gym. It's been a productive evening. It's hard to be productive at home with 3 cats. I don't have 54 like the Hemingway house, but even just with 3 there's always one trying to get on your lap or meow at you for treats, like they just take turns on and off.
Just read an article that apparently some residents in Florida may not have power for weeks. So, I'm just kind of, trying to think about that and my own situation where we just take this stuff for granted instead of appreciating it. Although they also have dispatched 30 thousand line workers to work on restoring power. So, hopefully it comes back soon.
I know I went without power for 10 days when Sandy hit and it wasn't fun at all. Although I still remember that moment when I came home on that one Saturday after work and power had been restored. The first thing I did was take a super long hot shower, make some food, and watch a movie in my PJs on my couch.
Simple things in life I guess.
Update on the Miss Plantation situation... I still haven't peeked at any social media. It's not that I don't want to. It's just... Well... You know. It's complicated. I wonder what your situation is down there... I definitely wonder. I saw 4 hits yesterday... So in my mind, that's kind of you waving "Hey, I'm here". Hmmm... It's complicated.
Fire and Wine
Last night I had a couple glasses of this Spanish Tempranillo wine. I started the bottle two nights ago, and still have a good amount left (I'll probably drink a little more tonight). It takes me forever to drink a bottle of wine. Anyways, I also made empanadas and had some other snacks by the fire. I just kind of watched the moon and sat by the fire. Enjoying the calm...
See, here's the thing... I was thinking about how a lot of people, like everyone in Florida, and the Caribbean Islands, would really do anything to have that calm. To have power and running water on in the house, AC, washer and dryer working, fridge running, oven working... A lot of people don't have that at the moment, and maybe it's a temporary thing, and maybe it's going to be a much longer ordeal.
So, I mean, those calm nights can be nice when all things are considered out in the world.
Hmmm okay soo I had this wine... My plan was to have enough to have the "liquid courage" to do some poking around on social media. I fell asleep instead and woke up with 3 cats cuddled up around me, one was basically on my head and another to the left and the third to the right.
BUT, I did take a look at my analytics today... Soo I KNOW that Miss Plantation didn't get scooped up Dorothy from Wizard of Oz style at least. I read a bunch of news articles about how 10 million people lost power. So, I mean, odds are, there's no power. Which would mean no AC, which would mean if you did lose power it's hot as balloons wherever you are hiding out from this storm... See, these are the things I think about. Hopefully you have bucket loads of ice.
At least you're surviving enough to tap buttons on your phone! Which means you have all your arms and fingers and what not. It's comforting to know that you weren't scooped up in a hurinado/tornadicane.
Anyways, I don't know... I had some very strange dreams last night which involved being in the hurricane thing. I had a dream that I was sleeping over in the Hemingway house with their 54 cats... Probably because of the wine and my own 3 cats sleeping all around me.