Tuesday, November 29, 2005

What Is The Worst Gift

I drove to work after an extended Thanksgiving holiday and on the radio the morning DJs were talking about the worst gift. What is the worst gift to give? I thought to myself. The answer is gift cards. I think gift cards are the worst because they are just like cash except the cards must be spent at their retail store and they are lazy gifts such that one can shop for groceries and pick up a gift card next to the cash register.

I admit I gave out gift cards, but it was a long, long time ago @__@ I thought Macy’s gift cards were the best gift cards. Macy’s has a lot of selection for men, women, and children. Everyone has to wear pants, shits, blouses, and underwear. *Hee, hee* The prices are a little on the high side; however, the value and sale discounts are good.

If you have no idea what to give, give cash. Write a check. The receiver can do anything with cash? Go to his/her favorite stores, shop online, buy stocks, pay bills, and, in a nut shell, buy goods and services. Cash is good. Investors know cash is good because it’s flexible. The best gifts are flexible gifts. Some people say giving cash is a boring gift. It’s not! And cash can’t be a re-gift.

Another thought. Why do companies give employees gift cards instead of cash? I think the reason is gift cards can be tax write offs :->

What about fruit cake? Second worst gift. Happy holidays!

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

24/48 Rule

Every consumer has experienced the urge to purchase the big ticket item, the must-have durable good, the product to keep up with the Joneses. Chances are the pricy thing such as the plasma TV, V8 automobile at bargain price, or the elegant dress is very expensive. Do you have a problem controlling the urge to splurge?

I like to share the 24/48 rule. The 24/48 rule is 24 hours and 48 hours. When the consumer has the urge to splurge, the 24/48 rule activates. The consumer must wait 24 hours to purchase an item less than $100.00 and 48 hours to purchase an item $100.00 and greater. The 24/48 rule dollar amount threshold is a judgment call. The rule works for me because the next day or two, I lose the urge to splurge. I think to myself, "Did I really need to buy it?"

The 24/48 rule is helpful for marriages and their spending. When someone has the urge to splurge, the spouse must follow the 24/48 rule and communicate to the partner I wanted to purchase the item--I had to urge to splurge. After the wait, if the item is still desired to purchase and the partner approves, then he or she can purchase; otherwise, the item to purchase was an urge to splurge and partner approval was not needed.

Anyone can save a lot of money and a lot of headaches with the 24/48 rule. The rule saved me a ton of money, less junk in the house, and sometimes when I waited, the cost of the item went down in price or upgraded. Good luck adapting the 24/48 rule if you choose to $-)

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Friday, November 25, 2005

I Fried Fry's Electronics

I woke up at 3:30 A.M. today to participate in the Black Friday. Black Friday is the first day of shopping for the Christmas holiday and it's always the day after Thanksgiving. Why is it called Black Friday? The reason is retailers are supposed to make money—be in the "black" meaning make a profit $$-))

On Thanksgiving day, I looked at the ads. None of the stores' sales interested me. I choose to go to Fry's Electronics in San Jose. At 3:45 A.M., I went to 7-Eleven to purchase a newspaper for the Fry's ad. I arrived at 4:00 A.M. to line up. The line was long and stretched from the entrance towards the back of the store. It sprinkled a little and there was a three car accident outside the store parking lot. The crash sounded like a sonic boom. Many heard the sound and turned their heads towards the accident. I read the ad three times. Most of the stuff I was neither interested nor was interested but not needed. I planned to purchase a projector screen, an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), and a 9-in-1 USB card reader.

It took 20 minutes to enter the store. Some people cut in line by climbing the dock high loading docks. The entrance line was disorganized. I overheard some people saying last year was more organized.

I entered the store at 5:20 A.M. Man, some areas of the store were scary :-O In particular, people were quickly lining up for the cheap ass prices for memory, $14 DVD players, and bargain LCD TVs. And at the Apple section, people pushed and shoved for the Apple Nanos. I successfully got my projector screen. I failed to get the UPS and the 9-in-1 USB card reader. I lined up for checkout. The line was the second worst line ever. Disneyland lines were much better! The line moved very, very, very, very slowly. Grrrrr! I moved 24 feet in 30 minutes. It was a blessing in disguise because I thought to myself the projector screen didn't have a stand. No wonder why the screen was cheap. I rather pay more for a complete projector screen with stand and, perhaps, not as heavy. I anticipated at least a three hour wait. It's not worth the $50.00 rebate, and the screen remains unopened because I delayed shopping for an LCD projector because prices are too high. I returned the screen back to the place where I got it and I left the store happy ^__^

BTW, the worst line was Anime Expo 2004 registration. LOL!

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Focus Now, Focus

Hello. It’s been more than a week. Recapping the events in November, the first two weeks of November I experienced a minor, minor depression. Like many depressions, there is an ending and a lesson learned. The lesson I learned is strength and courage goes together. It takes strength and courage to be a great person and not let others piss you off. I know I’m making the strength and courage simplified because, in a way, it’s a simple lesson ^^

I feel much better today XD I’m back to what I was before the first two weeks of November with a new lesson learned on life! I’m at work catching up from the days I took off work and I’m listening to 98.5 KFOX Beatles A-Z Marathon. KFOX is playing all Beatles songs by title alphabetically starting with A and ending with Z.

Last weekend, I went to Salem, Oregon with my parents and my uncle and aunt. We were there for both business and pleasure. The business part is looking at the residential real estate market. The pleasure was visiting Indian casinos, shopping, visiting Portland, and visiting a water fall for which I forgot the name. I submit a blog for each day in Oregon. The Oregon Trip Blog is going to be shorter than the Washington Canada Blog since the trip was a four day and three night trip and fewer activities were done LOL!

For my Thanksgiving vacation, I’m going to catch up on my Blogs. I have a list of Blog topics I like to share with everyone. Also, and most importantly, spend time with family. And I’m going to sneak in some time for stock research $-)

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

A Realty Check

Continuing from the last Blog entry, I am experiencing a minor depression. The last time I was depressed was between June 2004 and August 2004, and the depression was really, really minor. During the time in 2004, I felt down, but not out. I felt bored and I lost interest in my activities, but I maintained my focus. I felt confused, but not lost. You know what, I feel the same way now and for the past two and a half weeks just like the time between June 2004 and August 2004. I guess I can’t blame Daylight Savings Time. *Hee, hee*

Before, I have been dealing with everything I hate successfully such that I shrug them off and my enjoyable life goes on. I know that I control what I control and I don’t control what I can’t control. It’s just now I’m not being myself such that anything I hate gets on my nerves. I was ready to burst out of anger and become the “don’t give a shit” person. BTW, you don’t want to know me as a “don’t give a shit” person xx< It’s like when Ned Flanders lost his temper on The Simpsons episode when the hurricane hit Springfield. Fortunately, I’m getting a lesson on courage. The last two and a half weeks I tell ya it’s taking a ton of strength and courage to keep my cool, do my job, and help others when people ask me X.X

Well, then. You may be asking how 2005 is going. So far, 2005 is the best year in my life. I have done a lot of new things, I have been planning ahead short-term and long term, and establishing goals to accomplish. The activities and moments worth noting include the Washington Canada Trip, buying new stocks and selling losers, meeting new people, reading lots of books, and establishing a new gym schedule. Nothing lasts forever. Perhaps it is time for me to slow down, time for me to feel down, and time for me to rethink the present.

Depressions are temporarily. (Chronic depressions require professional help.) The best part about feeling depressed is there is always an end. And when the end is reached, a lesson is learned which is what to do when the next depressions hits and how to deal with it. I think of depressions as a realty check. Use the realty check to re-evaluate your life. What can you improve? What can you change, I mean, innovate? Recheck your goals, recheck your daily activities. Is there anything new you always wanted to do? If the answer is yes, perhaps it’s the time to begin. How about establishing a temporarily schedule to help deal with the depression? For example, last week, I didn’t go to the gym. I was big time tired and not interested. Rather, I did other activities I normally don’t do or rarely do such as watch Reba on the WB. It helped a little T_T

Good luck and enjoy life! Remember, the world didn’t come to an end! (()) and :**

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

The Blues

Since November 1 . . . no, since Daylight Standard Time began, I have been in the blues. Fortunately, I’m not near being depressed. I find some fun here and there, even if it’s short. It’s just me and my surroundings have been in the blues.

This week, there are some brokers who are using the Research Department in ways they never used before. In the beginning of 2005, many brokers were using Research in unordinary ways because they were worried about not fulfilling their 2005 targets. Moreover, January 2005 was kinda in the blues for me—heck, I remember the radio station DJ lacked enthusiasm. The brokers inside work and me outside work were concerned how the year 2005 was going to be.

As of today’s blog entry, many of those brokers achieved at least their minimum targets. And currently, there is concern for the year 2006. The economy remains uncertain. There is going to be a new Federal Reserve chairman because Alan Greespan retires on January 2006. Is inflation going to remain in check?

Furthermore, I’m being slammed at work. Some of those requests are time consuming requests. It’s not difficult, just takes a ton of time—something that should not happened which is another subject ;-) I took a late lunch today and yesterday and I’m sooo behind in my primary responsibilities!

The fun, the excitement, and the joy of doing stuff outside work such as updating my webpage, going to the gym, reading books, and more don’t exist currently. Maybe it’s an adjustment period to get used to the dark at 5:00 P.M.? Maybe it’s because I’m tired? Maybe it’s something else? All this week when I come home from work, I’m tired. I don’t have the energy to do all my activities. Yesterday, I was reading a book and I became really sleepy. I didn’t even brush my teeth. Just too tired to get out of bed which I hate to do. On the other hand, I was able to do my 100 sit-ups. I probably going to have one blog entry for the week :-<

And today, I was supposed to go to the gym. No gym today. I went home early from work because I could not concentrate. Today everything is haywired . . . no, the week is haywired . . . no, again, the last two weeks has been haywired.

Tomorrow is another day. Maybe something good happens tomorrow. The world didn’t come to an end today :-))

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

A Week of Tricks

Here I am late night typing the latest blog *yawn* (-,-) To continue from the last blog, the tricks continued. The week was full of tricks I tell ya!

On my way home on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I heard the Bevery Hills song from some singer on Today’s Best Mix 106.5 FM. Another trick! I don’t know who the singer and maybe I should not. I listen to 106.5 FM on the way to and from work because the station talks about the latest entertainment news consistently. Outside driving, it’s 98.5 KFOX, 102.1 KDFC, and 740 KCBS.

Another trick was today at work. Today I finished my monthly portion of calculating statistics and I finished entering comparables. Usually, the comparables take two to three days depending on broker request. Here was a trick in my favor.

On the other hand, continuing at work, my co-worker talked to me the last three days. I don’t know why? We rarely talk to each other. There is nothing to talk about. Really. BTW, my department only has two people. There are others who help; however, officially, it’s two people.

Today, Saturday, it’s errands day. Got to do some shopping. And then later, update my webpage. Hope everything have a nice weekend :-)

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

It’s All Tricks and No Treats

So far this week, everything is Wakko. I’m calling the current Wakko as Tricks in the spirit of Halloween on Monday T_T

Currently, I just ate dinner and I’m now typing my latest blog. After I finish, I do 100 sit-ups, take a shower, prepare lunch for tomorrow, read, and drink green tea.

On Monday and Tuesday, I received late afternoon requests from the brokers. The requests were out of the ordinary, non-research requests. Fortunately, I was able to complete them because I know how to do them >.> I went home late on those two days. Those two work days were Tricks.

Monday evening, luckily, was a Treat. I drove to Safeway to purchase Crystal Geyser one gallon water for home. In Safeway, I saw some trick-or-treaters, and I saw more trick-or-treaters when I drove from Safeway to home. I drove extra slowly. Later in the evening, I watched some Monday Night football, checked my first aid kit, and updated my webpage.

On Tuesday, however, the entire day was a Trick. I could not check my personal email nor do some Internet browsing. I came home half tired and didn’t finish my nightly activities.

The Tricks continued today. At work, it took a while to check my personal email because I didn’t check on Tuesday while at the same time updating 36 building records by uploading the building picture. It was boring. I could not enjoy reading and responding to my personal email. My mind was in a jumble concentrating on too many tasks. I went home on time because my Mom purchased furniture. She needed me to drive the truck to pick up the furniture. Don’t ask dwhy my Mom purchased additional furniture. To paraphrase Dilbert, if you don’t like the answer, don’t ask the question.

And now here I am. No updating the webpage tonight. I’m going to sleep early because I’m going to the gym on Thursday and Friday. Need to rest up. Oh, and one side note: there were lots of Tricks this week which I don’t want to mention because they were really, really Tricky :-X

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

First Aid Kit

Another Halloween has come and gone. Yesterday, I didn’t pass out candy. Last year, I passed out candy. My immediate neighborhood has lots of cul-de-sacs, and many of the families stayed within the cul-de-sacs. Very few trick-or-treaters went to my house this year and last year.

What did I do yesterday? Unfortunately, I came home late. There were some extra requests during the last hours. When I came home, I ate dinner and watched a little Monday Night Football. Next, I updated my first aid kit which is the subject of the blog entry.

A first aid kit is important in a household. First aid kits must contain accessories, medications, bandages, and more. To build a first aid kit, check out my webpage www.innovateinfinitely.com/firstaitkit.html for a list of items to include.

What did I update? I checked the expiration dates on the drugs, creams, and medications. Any outdated drugs, creams, and medications are replaced. On Saturday November 5, I’m going to the drug store to replace expired first aid items. By the way, the bandages, cotton, and miscellaneous accessories don’t need to be replaced *__*

After updating the first aid kit, I updated my webpage. Yesterday’s update was identifying anime cosplayers I didn’t know. And what did I do last weekend? Paid my credit card bills, sorted my expenses, mowed the lawn, and . . . updated my webpage XD

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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.