Showing posts with label financial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label financial. Show all posts

Wednesday

Interesting Money Management Ideas

Due to various financial issues, we have found ourselves living much more meagerly lately. Thankfully Chris has wholeheartedly stumbled upon the couponing idea to help us save money on our groceries.

Essentially we are out of debt, other than our house. However, we find ourselves still using credit cards all of the time for various purchases. And it always feels like we are just one step away from ... (who knows what).

Do you ever have that feeling?

I saw this article and was intrigued by a couple ideas presented in it.

Most importantly were these 2:

1. Opening ING Direct savings accounts that automatically withdraw money from your checking account into an interest bearing savings account that you can use later.
Essentially, he is proposing creating different savings accounts for different goals you have - vacations, electronic gear, new vehicles, etc - so you can slowly save up and pay for them.

2. Using prepaid credit cards - instead of traditional credit cards (which rack on fees and interest rate hikes, etc).
This idea says you will use these prepaid cards to maintain any ongoing accounts, online orders, hotel booking, etc. - instead of using traditional credit cards.


Both of these seem like very interesting ideas to help people move out of dependency on credit cards and banks who think of us as money instead of people anyhow.

I just thought I would share, and see what you think about the idea.
I'm not sure I'm ready to go this route yet. But it is a very intriguing way to battle back against the insanity of the current economic environment we face.

Merry Christmas!
Al

Friday

Winn Dixie Winners!

I've finally done it.


What, you ask?

In an attempt to increase (or maybe a better way to say it is 'expand') our shrinking grocery budget, I've been tracking coupons and sales for the last couple months. My ideal goal is to walk out of the grocery store with $100 worth of groceries that I've only spent $10 on.

However, today I made a pretty sweet step in the right direction of achieving this goal ...

When all was said and done, I saved more money than I spent. How cool is that?

Savings - $21.71
Spending - $17.97

Step in the right direction - Priceless


Anyhow, I was pretty excited when the lady at the store read me the total savings, and I had to tell Al when I got home.

It was a great success!

Tuesday

3 Day Weekends ... Could they become a reality?

When I used to work at the Intel Fab, we had 3 and 4 day weekends EVERY week. Talk about outstanding time for relaxation and free time.

For some reason that concept has not caught on in the cubicle world.

However, maybe with some people actually thinking about cost savings, energy savings ... and workers wondering how they can claim more freedom ... the 4 day workweek might start gaining some popularity.

Check out this recent test by the State of Utah:
Four Day Work Week
the state of Utah actually tried this and had state employees take Friday off and work longer hours the other four days of the week. According to Scientific American the results were impressive:

For those workplaces, there’s no longer a need to turn on the lights, elevators or computers on Fridays—nor do janitors need to clean vacant buildings. Electric bills have dropped even further during the summer, thanks to less air-conditioning: Friday’s midday hours have been replaced by cooler mornings and evenings on Monday through Thursday. As of May, the state had saved $1.8 million. …

Monday

The Skinny on the Govt's Cash for Junkers Program.

Christy and I were just talking tonight, about what kind of money you could expect to get from Uncle Sam when you turn in your old hunk of junk vehicle.

We couldn't understand how it might be possible to turn in a big, old gas hog ... for a NEW, big gas hog?

Maybe this will explain some of it:

Here's the quick read on the 'cash for clunkers' rules just published

Galpinpg-horizontal

You can read a PDF of the whole thing here, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration basically says:

The eligible clunker has to be driveable and can't be more than 25 years old. In the case of "very large" pickups and vans (8,500 to 10,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight), they must have been made since 2001. 
The program runs through Nov. 1.

Friday

Money and Me

I'm no money mogul ... although Christy and I have had fairly good success at staying above the waterline over the years.


So ... I guess, in some ways, we consider ourselves ... experts! Ha Ha


Anyhow ...

I did read a cool book not all that long ago. And we've been implementing it for the last few months.

It's called ...

The Storehouse Principle
By Al Jande and Van Crouch



It's a pretty good book. It's a quick read, and definitely worth taking a look at ... in my honest opinion. You can pick it up at Amazon.com.


Basically - if you boil it down to it's essentials, it says this:


Much like ants live (as the Bible points out) ... storing up little bits of food and provisions throughout the good times ... so that they 'have' savings in the future when needed.

In the same way ... we need to set aside a small portion ... everytime, all the time ... of all that we make, so that we are also prepared for the future.


Mostly, I just wanted to let you know a little bit about what I've read recently. And put a tickle in your ear to check it out as well.

Al

Thursday

No camera = No Photo

I was going to snap a picture or two, to throw something strange and relatively uneventful up here tonight.

But alas ...

Christy has the camera with her at work. So I can't.



So, instead, you get to hear me ramble.


But actually I do have something I wanted to chat about:


Not too long ago, Christy and I were planning on (and actually started) a site about family traveling. We started out with a bang ... but it quickly blew out in a cloud of smoke, as just another time waster.

And I'm realizing that I have a tremendous amount of these minor, little time wasters that I can't keep up with.


And getting to my point ... and some advice ... if you care to listen? (Some of you may want to read on, I know, because a couple of you have actually asked for my thoughts on this - so my ramblings are not totally from out of nowhere)


Here's my point:
Cut out the extraneous stuff that doesn't get you where you want to go. This comment is particularly in regards to running online businesses.


Here's what tends to happen with websites ... you build one and get it running. And then you get an idea for another ... and so you get it running. Pretty soon, you have ten of them going, and you can't keep any of them updated or current. And then, you're not getting anywhere.

Not to say I haven't learned a lot, and that I haven't gotten ahead through all of this practice. BUT - my point is this - I think I could have been much farther along if I had focused on one or two things I was effective at. Instead of pursuing 15 separate topics.

To be honest, I'm still planning on keeping several of my best sites running. But over the next few months I will probably start phasing out the ones that are irrelevant, that don't bring in any money, and that I haven't touched in months. And then after that - I think it would be smart to look at how to sell the profitable ones and develop them into even more profits going forward.


Imagine ... that was free! That was pretty good - huh?


And, to think, I was the Best Man for a guy who suggested that no one should ever follow my financial advice.


Here's just a little warning - take everything I say with a smidge of patience.

Monday

When in Florida, this might help you stay cool

Sadly - I think we're getting a little bit used to the heat.

That's not to say that we like it. It just seems our bodies are growing accustomed to the sickeningly oppressive nastiness of it all. I still sweat when I ride my bike. But it doesn't always feel super hot when we walk outside. Last year, it just FELT hot every time we cracked open the door.

HMPH!


Anyhow...

I read this article the other day. It had some decent ideas for beating the heat. I thought you might enjoy it.

Here was the best part. This comes from the little comment bar from the side of the article:
TIPS FOR STAYING COOL

The Internet offers dozens of tips for surviving the summer without air conditioning. Among them: Sleep in wet socks. Position a fan to blow at you across a pan of ice. Suck on a mint. Eat spicy foods. Try yoga.
Energy efficiency experts, however, say your best bet is to weather-proof your home. Here's how:
• Install ceiling fans. They can cool a room by several degrees, for just pennies a day. Box fans work well, too.
• Use a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature to match your daily routine. Letting the A/C rest while you're out at work can shave as much as 12% from your bill.
• Maintain your air conditioner at peak performance by changing the filters and dusting the coils regularly
• Shade the air conditioner's outside condenser. This will improve its efficiency.
• Caulk around windows and weather-strip doors to prevent cool air from leaking out. A $3 tube of caulk can make a big difference.
• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use less energy and give off less heat. Over the life of one bulb, you'll save about $25.
• Use window curtains or shades to keep out the sun during the heat of the day
• Insulate your attic. Otherwise, the sun's heat beating down on your roof will penetrate the house.
• Cook on an outdoor grill or in an electric crock pot to avoid using the oven.
Sources: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; Lowe's Home Improvement Stores; Xcel Energy.


Al

The new job - an interesting company...

Hey ...

It's been awhile, but there's good reason for it.

We had some crazy South African's over here staying at our place for about 3 weeks. And then we've been trying to recover over the last few days.

We'll put up more about that a little later.

But, a few of you have been asking about my new job. So I wanted to give a little run-down for you.

The funny thing is - it's not the same product as I used to sell - however we do sell to some of the same companies as I used to sell to. In fact, one of my old customers at Komatsu, is now a customer here - at my new company. Which is quite strange.

Anyhow, I am learning a tremendous amount about fluid systems, and piping, and tubing, and other things along those lines. It's very MANLY type stuff, which I know nothing about. Sometimes it feels like I'm trying to become ... Tim 'the-tool-man' Taylor here at work.

Here's an article about one of the projects they're involved in supplying.
Hydrogen House

Picture - David Biello / © SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

You can see the logo in one of the pictures. It's a pretty high-quality company. The do a lot of cool stuff.

I'll talk more about it later, but I don't want to mention too many names, so I can protect the innocent.

Talk soon,

Al

Sunday

Sick and Tired of the Energy Crisis

Hi,

This is going to be a bit of a rant. However, instead of just complaining about the problem, I am actually doing something about it.

It was only about a year ago that I started writing about the rising costs of fuel. At the time, I was asking WHEN people would start feeling it enough to actually do something about it.

I thought we'd be getting to the point, now - at $4 per gallon - where people would really start doing something.

But I'm not seeing a whole lot happening. I guess the things that are happening right now are...
- driving less miles (getting more stops into one trip)
- Apparently no bigger vehicles are selling at lots - but I don't see any less on the roads.

What really seems to be the bigger issue - is safety. Although people don't want to pay the prices, they really don't want to drive around in smaller vehicles.

Yeah, well... then quit complaining about prices.

If you're gonna complain, do something.

As for me - I've started riding my bike again - in 90 degree, pathetically hot heat.

PLUS - we picked up a new vehicle recently, and we'll be doubling our mpg with it - once we get it licensed, and registered, and ready to drive.



The thing that really excites me, though, is what it is causing people to do here in America...

Things like...
- build electric cars
- start designing more fuel efficient vehicles
- relying less on gasoline

The part that has me excited, is that OPEC, and the Saudi's, are realizing this isn't good. It's kinda like looking into the future - and realizing you've got the energy source the world 'USED TO' need, so you were living happy and high on the hog. But then, all-of-the-sudden, your important position starts to drop. Why? Because you've screwed people over so often that they get sick of it, and go around you to get where they were wanting to go anyhow. And eventually you will have dropped your way right out of that spot.

I can't honestly say that we'll ever get there. But, it would sure be sweet to knock them right in their freaking pocket books. BAM!

Could the American people do it? Yes, they can. Will they? Probably not - we're just too short sighted to see how much impact we could really have on them. Imagine what they would do if people didn't buy gas for 7 days? Period! Nothing! They would hurt. No doubt about it.


Al

Saturday

Home Foreclosure Auction - A specific example

Hi,

Now that we've been in our new home for over a month, and I'm a little bit distant from the heat of the buying moment - I thought I'd share a very specific example of a Home Foreclosure Auction.

Basically - we've heard about these, and we thought about doing this, but no one I know could give me specific details on how to pursue a home at a Foreclosure Auction.

So... in the end... we just let it go.

Essentially, this was the first home we made an offer on. I think we made the offer around the end of February.
Originally, we offered the bank $150k for this place. It was a little under what they were asking, but not too much.


Anyhow...

They rejected our offer, and decided to put the home up for auction.

Our realtor, I don't think, was going to get any benefit from us buying at auction, so she definitely didn't advise us to pursue the place.

We were able to figure out that the home was going up for sale at the end of March.

Interestingly, we were able to find the actual auction listing and the final sale price after the auction.

Final price offered the bank - $127K.

2215 BLACKWOOD DRIVE MULBERRY, FL 33860 was the address of the home.

And here was the auction listing:
http://cms.williamsauction.com/print/printpages.php?pid=6567&id=185086

And here's the latest Zillow zestimate

I can't deny that it was a 'kick butt' house. And I would've loved to own it now - especially at the $127 price. But, now that we've been in this place a while, I've come to like it pretty well too. You can't be stopping and looking back at life full of regrets. You gotta play the cards you have, and go with them, and make the best of what you've got.

Anyhow, this is mostly just a personal FYI, to anyone who might be wondering how good, or how bad, the home foreclosure auctions really are right now.

All the best,
Al

Friday

Something Amazing... a JOB.

Well - I am a little bit surprised to be saying this...

I had my 5th interview at this place, just this afternoon.

That's not the amazing part - apparently multiple interviews is normal these days.

What is amazing is this...

Before I left, they actually offered me a job. A real, legitimate, 100% bonafide position with their company.


Wait a second...


I had to pick myself up off of the floor after I said that.
Yep - it's true.

Actually it sounds very similar to the type of job I had at Komatsu. So I think I should be pretty capable of actually doing it.

Since there are only about 2 weeks left of actual school time, this has come at a perfect time.

Is it providence?

I guess I'm not sure how else to say it.
It has to be!

I haven't been able to get a full time job since July of 2007, and then... now that there's only 2 weeks left until schools out - I finally get one.

Some things just can't be explained under normal circumstances.

Sure, it seems simple enough, but there's just something amazing about how it all has fallen together at this time.


All the best,
Al

Thursday

A Snail's Pace

I don't know if it's just the times that are changing? Or just this place?

I had what would be considered a 3rd interview tonight after I got off of work - and I STILL don't know if they are planning on hiring me.

I mean...

How long does it take, and how many times do you have to talk with someone before you figure out if they are going to be good for your company?


Really - it's okay. It's just my life, my time, that's being wasted by the process. But I can't imagine it's easy for these people to cut out an hour here, an hour there, just to interview me 20 times.

Anywhoo...

This looks like a pretty cool company. Very similar to Komatsu - just different products. We'll see how it goes.

Most importantly - because we only have one vehicle, Chris had to take the girls to work with her. And then I had to ride my bike from Mulberry clear across the south side of town, as fast as I could.

CRACK!

It's about a 16 mile ride - and I actually did it in about 1 hr 15 min.

The funniest part is...

When I got off the bike, my butt hurt! And I could hardly even stand up.

Have you ever seen professional wrestling? They have this move - where they wrap a guys legs around one of the corner posts of the ring, and then they just ram his leg right into the post...

WHAM!

Yeah - that about what my rear-end felt like...

WHAM! Unlike in wrestling - where the guy recovers instantaneously, bounces right back up, and jumps across the ring in a flying, death, drop-kick - I didn't want to move an inch.

Even though a bike is a good alternative transportation option...
we're gonna have to get a different option pretty soon.

On another note - I weighed myself at Christy's office (after the ride), and I weighed 176 pounds. I haven't weighed that little (that I can remember) since high school. The last time I remember hitting the 170's was at Willamina High School. Of course - it's not all muscle anymore - but WOW was I ever proud to see that number.

It's a LONG way from the 200 I was hitting back at the office in Oregon.

Just a silly, quick update.

Love,
Al

Sunday

Work and Money? OR Dreams and Risk?

Many of you know we've been here since July of last year. We left behind a life of relative security, for a belief in a calling to something different.

So, it was interesting to get this truly amazing question from one of my good friends...

'Do you think that it's good living "on the edge" instead of doing the daily grind and having more "security" financially???'


And so I thought I'd share some of my deepest thoughts on this one...

If you're interested?


The funny thing is - I've thought about this concept a tremendous amount lately. And I'm not sure I have the correct answer.


In Oregon - we had a lot more money coming in through work, but we weren't living within our means as well as we should have. So we never 'felt' caught up or secure.

Here - we are using up our money. But, the way I figure it, we are only one good job away from doing much better financially. No other debts holding us down. Now, the house is a big one, BUT we were paying this much for the apartment anyhow (LITERALLY), so it's no big deal.

HOWEVER - I can't seem to come up with that one good job yet.

If you would have told me 10 months ago that I would still be looking for a full time job in Florida, I'm not sure I would have been as gung-ho to do it. But I still have to believe that this is going to end up somewhere good.


Probably the very hardest part for me has been this... I have literally felt that God wanted us to come here. I believe it in my heart. But, to my natural eyes, nothing has worked out right here - the way I thought it should. So, it has forced me to question whether my belief in what I thought God was saying even matters anymore. Does that make sense? i.e. - should I have done what I felt I thought God wanted us to do? OR should I have done what I personally would have liked to do more? That is my biggest question right now. And I think it's still up in the air for me right now. But, sometimes, you can't look at things just with your eyes. You have to have a dream, and a belief, that things will work out.

We never came here with the expectation to stay that long. We have felt it would be 3-5 years maybe, but never permanently.

Sure... not having enough money coming in is hard, and stressful. But I really feel like if you think it'll go somewhere good in the end, then you'll make it work and struggle through it. However - if you do it all, and then you realize that it isn't going to work out to your benefit after all, then what? Have I chased after a dream and a hope, only to have my entire efforts come crashing down? That would SUCK!

Anyhow, it's a tough choice, and one that I'm not sure I'd do the same way now that I'm on this side of it. But I still think it might work out okay, even with the struggles. I DO think, if I had already had a job lined up here in Florida, I would probably have NEVER pursued the teaching thing. And I would have never known if it was a good fit for me personally.

Living on the edge isn't as easy as I would have thought. All things said and done - I want a full-time job. I will continue to run my side businesses even when I get a full time job. I want the higher income that I feel like I'm worth from a job. I definitely want the health benefits for my family (that has been another HUGE issue for us here). I will still pack up and leave here when I think our time is done, BUT I think I might have a more definite strategy planned for what will happen when I get to the other end of the move - i.e. I will probably have a job already lined up, and I may not move until I do.


Anyhow...

Just some thoughts from someone who's tried something that a lot of people have thought about, maybe even dreamed about doing, but maybe aren't ready, or able, to take those risks.


What do you think?

Al


P.S. - on a similar note - I read this interesting article at yahoo tonight, and thought I'd share it with you....

It talks about strategies for working into your dream job - no matter if you're in your 20's, or your 50's.
6 Tips to Getting YOUR Dream Job

Saturday

Small Business Thoughts

It's funny...

I find it strange to write about this topic, and yet I LOVE to write about it.

Websites - are a big passion for me.


Recently, I've been working on improving several of mine, and my sales are going up.

One of the sites I wanted to share with you - covers a rather strange topic...

Bats

Not baseball bats, but rather the flying kind.


What's weird to me, is that I actually charge people money to know this kind of information. That's true! Honest! And people actually pay me, for what I know. That's true as well! Honest!

Ha!


Anyhow...

I first discovered this topic while doing research on 'houses'. I was thinking about making a product about home renovations, and I noticed the topic of bats kept coming up in some of my searches.

From there - I went and looked at 'bats' and tried to figure out what was going on with them. Soon after that, it became clear that there was one key question a lot of people had about bats.

And so - I decided to test out the market with a quick little one page website. I set up the site and sent website visitors to the one page. And I started getting a response right away. So I knew it was going to be a good topic to create a product for.

It's taken me about 6 months now, to finally be able to start creating my product. But I expect to create it, and start selling it in the next month or so. I'll let you know how things go as it progresses.


I just felt like sharing a little bit about how the whole process works out, and how these obscure little ideas can really have a big impact on your life.

You know... one little topic can have a small affect on you. But if you throw together 5-10 of these things, then all the sudden, you're talking about a lot of little things having a big impact.

I might make more from my websites than my teaching job this month... SICK!



Talk soon,
Al

Wednesday

Home sweet home

Well...

It looks like things may be settling down on the home front.

We ended up putting in an offer on another home. The seller accepted our offer. We had a home inspection today, and for the most part everything looks pretty good - other than a few minor issues with the place, which we think won't be too bad to deal with.

Anyhow - here are some details.

In Oregon, our home sold for over 200 thousand. It was a little over 1100 square feet.
It was a well-built classic from 1980.
Here was the old place in Oregon
All-in-all it was a fantastic home, and it treated us well for 8 years.


Here's a little bit about our new home....

We are getting it in the mid-150's. It was built in 2003, with over 1500 square feet.
3 bed, 2 bath, and a family room, plus a 2 car garage.
This is one of the homes I wrote about in a previous post, it's the home on Sangria Pass.
This is a photo taken from just outside the front door. Looking into the entryway and
into the living room. It is all tiled in big 18x18 in Tiles. Something that I will have to get used to because it does not feel as cozy as I think a living room should. But it is very popular here in Florida.Also you can see the door way to one of the girls bedrooms on the left.
This is a photo taken from the living room looking into the dining room and kitchen. the kitchen is so much bigger than the house we had in Oregon. I love that. There is also a little eat in area in the kitchen but you can not see it in this photo. And it has a big pantry! So much storage. Got to love that!

Another look at the kitchen.

This is the other living room walls and looking back down towards the door way and the girls rooms. You can see the window of the second bedroom in the back of the photo. This is the window that is in the front of the house.

Here is the room that is behind the french doors off of the living room. It used to be a screened in porch. But the old owners finished it out and made it in to another room. we will use this for our office/art room! And you can see a bit of the back yard.

And this is looking out of that room back into the dining and living rooms.

This is the Master Bedroom. the door way on the left leads to the living room and the door way in the middle is the master Bath. The door on the right, that you really can't see in this photo, is the huge walk in closet that the girls really would like to have for a hide out! Again not the best photo but really there is just walls and windows on the other side.

And here are the crazy girls already trying to claim that space for themselves.


And here is another really cool part, the master bath! This tub is so huge that the girls have decided it is actually a swimming pool! It will be waiting for you Sissy!! No worries you can even fill it all the way up!

Here you can see the sinks and shower for the master bath. On the other side of the shower is the toilet, nicely tucked away so that you don't have to look at it if you are soaking in the tub! Someone was thinking when they came up with that design feature!

This one is not all that exciting but part of the home anyway. this is the laundry area of the garage. With the left over tile and grout from them having just redone all of that and the carpets in the house. So it is all fresh and new inside! They also painted the entire inside but I will most likely be redoing that myself.


So - we just thought we'd share a bit more about what is happening here.

We're pretty excited, because we'll finally be free of our 'neighbor of love'. And the girls won't feel so trapped, doing absolutely nothing, inside the tiny little apartment. While the payments seem a little scary, it's really not that much more than our rent payment anyhow - about $100 more per month - but now we'll be able to write off a bunch. We are set to close on the 28th of this month. So thankfully we will not be moving in in the heat of the summer like we had to do when we moved in here in the apartments. That was no fun.

Love,
Al & Chris

Friday

Home update...

Hi again,

Just a quick update on that home post.

We did put in an offer on a home. It took 2 days for a response - and the response...

The bank took the home off the market, after receiving our offer, and decided they would rather sell it at auction.

So that home is a no go - as are the other ones we had listed.



Sorry for the mis-information. That is exactly why we have never liked sharing details too early in the process. It makes me feel like 'the little boy who cried wolf'.


Anyhow...

The search continues - we looked at 2 other possibles today.

Here's one:
Lakeland home #1


And the other:
Lakeland Home #2
This one has a monstrous price tag - but apparently the owners are willing to look at offers much lower? (Shhh! - that's according to the agent insiders)



We're not sure if we liked either enough to put in an offer.
I posted them, just in case you'd want to look.
One of them was close - but as a whole package we're not sure if it'll work.

I'll keep you posted.

Love,
Al


P.S. OHHHH, man I almost forgot this...

I had called the bank to get pre-approved, about a month ago.

At that time the interest rate they gave was 5.875%. So anyhow, when we got the revised truth in lending statement (from the bank) in our effort to buy this last house - the rate had jumped up to 6.6%. That is over a half a point in about 30 days.

Umm - hello - I thought rates were going down? I thought our economy was in a crunch? I thought the housing market was tough?

Apparently it wasn't quite as bad as I'd been hearing about.

Oh well. One day - I will be the lender, NOT the BORROWER!

Saturday

The home search in Lakeland

Hi,
Well, it's been awhile since we've posted. But don't think we haven't been doing anything. I've been working quite a few days as a sub, and I'm trying to submit resumes to get on as a teacher somewhere. My websites are still doing pretty good, and Christy is working lots of hours. So we're starting to make due, at least a little bit.

We've also ventured out into the area to see some other historical sights and places.

Most importantly - we've been hunting for a place to call our own. Apartment life here, although not life-threatening, hasn't been what I had hoped. We still get banging on the floor from our neighbor, and rather than go postal, I'd rather move on.

So, we have actually visited a few homes in the area. I won't say which one we're looking at the most, because we've never been into giving out all the details. BUT - here are a few of the runner ups that we're thinking about...

You can see some of the pictures of the homes in these listings.

This one is in Mulberry - which is JUST below Lakeland - Mulberry #1


This one is also in Mulberry - Mulberry #2


Another one in the same area - pretty much just across the street from the first 2 - Lakeland #1


And here's one last option - although this one doesn't really fit our family lifestyle right now - Lakeland #2



Anyhow, just wanted to let you all know we're kinda looking. Hopefully if anyone decides to visit us, we'll have a place for you to crash.

Love,
Al

Tuesday

Students - You GOTTA love em

Hello,

I had a great little story to tell you about. It happened, at school, the other day...

Imagine - standing in front of a classroom of 25 high school kids. All of them sitting at separate desks. They're actually listening to you, because class has just started. They actually care what you have to say because a grade could depend on it. (COULD being the operative word)

Anyhow...

You start to say something to them, when you realize there's some sort of high pitched music coming from somewhere in the room.

You stop.

You scan the room - looking for something, anything that could be causing the strange sound.

You see...

Nothing!

All of the students are actually looking at you - intent on hearing every word you are about to say.

That's Strange!
What is going on - you think?

But still - there's that sound.
Is it in the classroom, or is it outside somewhere?

But it's so loud - there's no way it could be outside.


You know it's music now, but you're not sure where it's coming from. Or who could possible be playing their headset so loud.


So - in an uncertain gesture - you look directly into the eyes of the kid sitting closest to you. He's looking at you with expectation on his face. As if he's been waiting all day to hear the words you're about to speak.

You realize that he has long hair, and that you can't see his ears.

Hesitantly...

You ask...

Are you listening to music?

Still looking at you as if all the world is at peace, he replies...

'Yes.'

And then a sly little smile crosses his lips, as he realizes...

He's been busted!

He almost got away with it.


ALMOST...


Another day as a teacher.
I love it!


Love,
Al

Friday

Teaching - the Ups and Downs

Hi again...

Just a quick little update on my new career move.

It's definitely NOT the pay I was hoping for. And it doesn't seem like the kids really care about having me there - :-) - But it's still pretty cool.


One day - earlier in the week - I had 2 girls who refused to do something I asked them to do...

SIT DOWN in their seats.

It was fairly frustrating for me. I came home pretty bummed that day.

BUT - the next day I asked an administrator how I should handle it, because I know good-and-well it's going to happen again. I can just guarantee it. So he gave me a few ideas - including getting back-up help, sending them to the office, writing them up, and a few other choice options.

Anyhow...


The next couple days have gone MUCH smoother. I've had the absolute pleasure of writing up 4 kids now for detention who - after repeated warnings - refused to do something I was asking.

Man - does that feel good. And I don't feel the slightest bit of guilt, because I am WAY more lenient than their regular teachers.

It's funny... I am definitely NOT a confrontational person. But having these kids just sit there and talk over you, and other blatant nonsense like that, makes me really fired up to unleash all kinds of unpleasant-ness onto them.


Anyhoo...

Most of my classes have been with middle schools, which are going pretty good.

I really enjoyed working at the high school level last week. I even got the chance to hang out in a computer / biz. ed. tech classroom for a few hours - which was totally cool. Just based on my website experience I could really enjoy teaching those types of classes.


Talk soon,
Al

Sunday

The chicken coop connection

As many of you know, I've had a pretty successful chicken coop website for several years. You can find out more about it at...
ChickenCoopPlan.com

Anyhow, when we were in St. Louis, we dropped into President Grant's old homestead. Amazingly, his wife kept chickens there. And the national park service has kept the chicken coop as an example of how they lived back in those days, during the middle of the 19th century, before the Civil War.

Here's a few shots, from our visit, that really portrays some of the major considerations a chicken owner might face:

Here's an example of a raised nest box. Nest boxes are super important for your hens to be happy and able to lay their eggs.


Here's an exit door for the chickens to be able to leave the coop and roam (or 'free range') around the yard during the day.

This is an egg basket, similar to what they would have used back then. Ironically these baskets are still used today to collect eggs.

This is mostly just a personal update for anyone interested in the stuff I am doing on the side. I can, of course, use this information on the website to add a little more interest and historical relevancy to what I'm doing.

Al