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Friday, August 27, 2004

August 27, 2004
10:31 p.m.

Hello faithful few who frequent my not so frequently updated blog. I had a busy week this past week, and what I thought was going to be a dismal month for business turned into me setting a new best sales month. In the 7 months that I have been on my own, this month now qualifies as the best month yet. That’s good news, however cash flow still sucks, and not having the frequency of a weekly paycheck gets tiresome at times, but I am adjusting.

I want to talk about something I know a lot about, and that happens to be cars. I love cars. For those of you who don’t know me real well, know this, that the automobile is one of my passions. I love driving, and I love cars. I love to simply go look at cars in my free time, and when offered a test drive, I rarely say no.

I am spoiled; I am the first to admit it because I have had access to a fine selection of automobiles during the 14 years I have been driving. I have driven everything from a ’65 Mustang, to a Mercedes CL500, with a vast array of machines between those two extremes. I have driven numerous Porsches as well as most sport compact cars, or sporty “wanna be” cars.

For those of you who share my passion, I would like to encourage you to drive a BMW. If you haven’t driven a BMW, you haven’t driven. Love them or hate them style wise, performance wise there is no car that compares. I have now had access to 3 BMW’s plus a Mini Cooper S. I have to say, that of all the cars I have driven none compares to the size, the handling and the performance of the BMW 3 series. I currently drive a 330i, I conceded and got the automatic since Geta doesn’t drive stick, and refuses to learn. The automatic transmission has three modes, normal, sport and full manu-matic. For an automatic, it performs very similar to a true manual, holding the revs in the sport mode anticipating the acceleration exiting a turn, and using the engine to brake the car when slowing down.

If you have the chance, I would highly recommend you make a point to drive a BMW. I think you will agree how well this car performs. I have driven quite a few BMW’s, including but not limited to a ’80 320i, ’86 325i, ’89 325is, ’93 325i, ’97 328i, ’98 M3, ’99 323i (my own), ’99 328i, ’02 330ci, ’04 545i (with iDrive which SUCKS) and my current ride, the ’04 330i.

These cars unite power, performance and pure driving spirit in a way no other make does.

Take my advice, drive one, and you will agree with their assertion that they truly are the Ultimate Driving Machine.

Take care.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

August 25, 2004
7:05 a.m.

Happy Wednesday!!!

LBJ, good luck to you while you stand in line. May you be at the front thereby enabling you to get in quickly to do your thing. I expect you to call me the moment they tell you you are going to Hollywood.

I know you can do it, you have the talent, now just use it to the best of your ability.

I need you to win, I want to finally borrow money from you!!!

Good luck, if I was there, I would come wait in line with you, and for you.

Take care.

Monday, August 23, 2004

August 23, 2004
11:15 a.m.

Hey, a week off is still a week off. Hurricane or not a lot of people were left with nothing to do, and with me taking the week off, obviously they had nothing to do with themselves.

Which is why it is of tremendous importance that I blog on a regular basis thereby adding additional meaning to life.

Libel my dear sister would be stating something that is not true, for instance, “you are a drunk.” We both know you are not a drunk, hence making this libel. You took a week off, so be it, we all know why you took that week off, and you are therefore excused.

I love you LBJ.

Take care, perhaps more later.

Sunday, August 22, 2004

August 21, 2004
9:03 p.m.

I am very sorry to all of you out there who frequent my website. I took a week off. It is not that I had nothing to say, but rather I have been involved with a couple of pressing issues.

I need some help from someone who can help me design and publish a website. The ideal candidate will work for free, and should be knowledgeable in HTML as well as Photoshop. The candidate would be willing to go with my design ideas, and implement them with their own creativity and inspiration. Interested, drop me an e-mail at jlukawitz@yahoo.com. I will give you a quick run down of what I want done, and then set you free to create. Be warned however, this website is retaliation website, targeted at one person who will need to villianized using Photoshop and pictures supplies by me.

On Thursday I swerved to avoid getting hit by some old person who shouldn’t be driving in the first place and hit a curb scratching my passenger side rear rim. Man was I pissed. I know it is just a car, but it looks so bad. Wednesday it goes in to be repaired. Thank God for rim repair companies.

That’s all for now. I will be more consistent this week I hope. I know you need your daily fix. Hey, if my sister can take a week off, so can I.

Talk to you soon.

Saturday, August 14, 2004

August 14, 2004
9:30 a.m.

I got a phone call from Rachel this morning, and she told me that she is OK, and that they sustained only minor damage. I was glad to hear that, I was really worried about her last night.

Last night was Poker Night. It has been a long time since I played some decent poker, the last game I went to the guys were more worried about drinking and smoking cigars, and the games they played were at times STUPID. Since the game was at my home, I set the rules. We played Limit Texas Hold’em. It was a good night of cards, and I look forward to playing again soon.

Aside from my daily ritual of playing on Pokerroom.com, I haven’t played cards since the tournament at Osman Castillo’s house earlier this year. That was the $200 + $15 buy-in tournament that paid $1800 for first place. I took second place with a prize of &750.

We are heading to the Wilson County Fair today. Don’t know what to expect, but anticipate the typical fair atmosphere with people who you often have to wonder if they are there to visit, or perhaps part of the “freak show.”

On a non-politically correct subject, I have wanted to get a midget for a while to keep as a pet. I thought it would be fun to have, and I know that I would be able to provide it a good home. I was at Wal*Mart yesterday, and there was a midget. I chased it down, and had it caught, except its skin was greasy, and managed to weasel out of my grip. Oh well, almost had a new pet. Of course, that would be in addition to the 2 dogs, 2 cats, 1 fish and the hamster Cornel just bought. I think a midget would be a nice addition to my pet collection. Oh well, maybe I’ll see a midget at the fair today that I can catch. If the circus can parade around the country showing off their midgets, why can’t I parade my midget around the neighborhood on a leash?

That’s all for now, have a good weekend.

Take care.

Thursday, August 12, 2004

August 12, 2004
5:15 p.m.

I blog because I care about you, my faithful readers. I blog, so you can share perhaps just a taste into the excitement that is my life. I blog, so that you have a reason to use the internet. I blog just enough to wet your appetite, but always leaving you wanting for more.

My name is Jason Lukawitz, and I am a blogger with a community of people who I routinely sustain with my thoughts, my opinions, and my tirades. I am an entertainer, an educator, and a motivator. I am, what I am, and I cannot apologize to you, for I am who I am.

I like what it says on the top of Jim Pereira’s website, www.bakerstreet.ws on the very top of the browser. “I have a Mac and I know how to use it”

I also have a Mac, three in fact. I am proud to proclaim, “I have 3 Mac’s, and I can turn them all on and off without referencing the manual.”

I bought an iPod this week. Actually, Geta got me an iPod for my birthday next month, but we have a policy that presents can be given up to thirty days in advance of a holiday or birthday. Hence, I have an iPod. I got the iPod to iPod my BMW (http://www.apple.com/ipod/bmw/). First the good news, I love the iPod, I have only had it for a few days but seriously am questioning how I lived without one. The bad news however, the connectors from Apple for the BMW are on national backorder. More bad news, Apple / BMW are having a compatibility problem with BMW’s with the premium sound system. From what I told today, that is not a fact that either company is publicizing, however they are trying to get a revised connector out there immediately given the demand for the connector.

I have the Harmon-Kardon 12 speaker “premium” stereo in my BMW. The sound quality is excellent. It would be even better with my 450+ CD’s loaded on my iPod to be enjoyed while I drive.

Not going to happen. At least for the time being.

So I am left with the stupid FM modulator iTrip. WHICH SUCKS.

IT SUCKS, IT SUCKS, IT SUCKS!!!

Anyways, that’s all for now. Let’s hope Apple gets this connector fixed, and in my car.

Take care.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

August 11, 2004
6:00 p.m.

BASTARD!!!

That’s what I am. Nothing but a no good rotten bastard. Add that to the seemingly endless list of names I have been called. Arrogant, Cocky, Conceited, heck even self-righteous, and now Bastard.

That’s what I am. Nothing but a no good rotten bastard.

AND DON’T FORGET IT!!!

For those of you here to be entertained, welcome back.

For those of you here to be pissed off, welcome back, as well.

For those of you here to be educated, leave, and leave now, I have nothing to teach or share with you today. No wisdom to share with the masses. Just ranting, and you don’t need to be here for that, you are for too intelligent to want to read this dribble, and so I implore you, leave and leave now.

Good, that’s better. Now that it is just those who want to be pissed off, and those who need to be entertained, I can get down to business.

My mother’s phone number is available to those who wish to call her to tell her how badly she treats me, or to comfort her in dealing with such a bastard. Either way, and no matter whose side you choose, let’s just say she really pissed me off today.

The math of the matter is rather simple, and laid out here. She landed a job today making $31,000 + Bonus & Incentives. That translate into $596 a week, to keep matters straight, we will use $600 as a base. This works out to about $2580 per month prior to taxes. We live in Tennessee, which has not state income tax, so factor in a take home check of about $2257. Now, she has a $550 car payment, a small credit card with a minimum payment of $30 and a monthly expense for storage of about $250. That leaves $1427 left over. Of course right now she has rent, so another $500 is consumed there, but housing will always be an expense.

Now, lets assume she buys a home for $145,000.00. Since she has no money for a down payment, she will get a first and second mortgage. The first would be $116,000, and the second would be for $29,000. The monthly payment of the first would be $733.20 at 6.5%, and the second would be $243.85 at 9.5% for a total monthly payment of $977.05 plus $114.79 in property taxes on a monthly basis. Of this amount, approximately $10,200 is deductible interest, or $850 a month, and that doesn’t include the fact that property taxes are deductible as well.

So, the $2580 per month that is gross works out to almost $2400 in take home. Take off $977.05 for the house, $114.79 for property taxes, $550.00 for the car, and that leaves $757 a month for food, and utilities. I am assuming that once she gets a home, she would cease the storage unit. Furthermore, the storage unit doesn’t show up on her credit, and as such would not be used for calculating her debt to income ratios. Calculate the tax advantages, and you will quickly see that she is far ahead by buying a house. Even at only $31,000 a year.

Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch bitch.

You see, it is easier to bitch, than it would be to take a hard look at the numbers. Assuming she made $60k in California, that translate into $5k a month before taxes, even a $300,000 (try finding something for less than that in California) condo would cost her $1516.96 at 6.5% for the first, and $482.77 at 9.5% for the second, plus property taxes of $3000 per year, or $250 a month, and her monthly payment there would be $2249.73. This works out to be 44% of her monthly income versus the 42% of her Tennessee income.

Doesn’t sound like that big a deal?

Well, one more important fact, the median priced home in Nashville is $129,675 whereas the median priced home in Orange County California is $540,000 (links to support my claim are as follows: Nashville http://money.cnn.com/best/bpretire/details/4752006.html & Orange County California http://www.dqnews.com/RRSCA0704.shtm scroll down to see the breakdown by county). Now, factor in the cost of an average home in Nashville versus Orange County, and watch how quickly the percentages go out of whack. In Nashville, $31,000 a year gives you .23 score, where as Orange County scores .11. The closed that number is to 1 indicates the closer the gap between cost of housing versus income levels, and based on that number, my Mom at only $31,000 is more than double the chance to own a home in Nashville.

What does this all mean, I can’t tell you. All I can tell you however is if you take a long hard look at the numbers, you will see that at the lower salary here, she is far more likely to own a home, than she would be in California.

I rest my case, and as such finish with this dialog.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

Sunday, August 08, 2004

August 8, 2004
1:15 p.m.

For those of you easily offended readers keep reading today, I am going to piss someone off. For those of you open minded thinkers, keep reading, I am going to challenge you today. For those of you reading for entertainment or educational reasons, keep reading, I think I have a little something for you today as well. As always, the opinions expressed are mine, and mine alone. You are welcome to disagree, I encourage you to disagree, and at times I even want you to disagree.

With that being said, today’s topic encompasses church, religion and the Plymouth Brethren Church. Here we go…

A brief background is in order, since not all of you will be familiar with this particular denomination of church. It is a Christian, God fearing, hell, fire and brimstone church where women are to remain quiet. They are essentially a second-class citizen, and are typically treated as such. Women do not speak, pray, or preach while a man is present. They will ask you to leave, or be quiet should a women speak up while men are present. They can sing a solo in front as a “special music” however they are not allowed to comment on what they are about to sing or have just finished singing.

The services are arranged as follows, the first service on a Sunday morning is called the Lord’s Supper, or The Breaking of Bread Service. This is essentially an invitation only event for those that the elders of the church have determined to be in good standing with the Lord. (I think this violates the thou shalt not judge thy neighbor chapters of the Bible, but that is just my opinion.) During this service, there is no leader, rather the men, and I do me the men, can share with the others at any point during the service anything that is on their hearts or minds. This typically included scripture passages, personal insight, and also songs from a hymnbook, which is almost always black and published way before most of us were ever born. About 40-45 minutes into the service, a man will pray for the bread, it will be passed and partaken, and than the same man, or perhaps another will pray for the cup, and it also will be passed, and finally a prayer for the money. This is typically the only service were money is collected, again because if you are worthy enough to be invited to the service, you obviously read the chapter in the Bible about giving 10% and are expected to do so.

Normally at the conclusion of this service there is an hour dedicated to Sunday school, which then leads into the final service of the morning, the Family Bible Hour. This service is typical of a traditional church service, less of course the collection of money. What makes this service special however is no one church has a “pastor” who preaches on a weekly basis, rather a traveling group of men go week-to-week, and Plymouth Brethren church to Plymouth Brethren Church sharing “the word.” As such, in a course of a month, it is not unusual to have 4 different people preaching at the same church. Which brings me to why I have started this dialog.

My mother is a devout attendee of this style of church. She has told me that when she is not in this style of church she feels as though something is missing. She has told me how she has seen men grow up through a church and become such valuable contributors to the church. While my parents were still married, she was one of the most outspoken and demeaning participant at meetings, where she technically was supposed to keep her mouth shut. My dad on more than one occasion was directed by the board of elders to silence his wife, as she was speaking at a place that did not permit the contribution of woman.

Interesting format for her to attend, at least I think given her outspoken manner. So why does she attend a church like this? I think I know the answer, and would like to share it with you, for I don’t think that my mother is an exclusive member of this group, rather I think as a whole my theory would prove to be the norm.

The idea of a roving preacher is not a new concept; it has been around for years and years and years. In today’s context, a typical church has a pastor hired by the elders, who leads the church in a defined direction. This typically involves series of sermons with a common thread designed to move the congregation towards a predefined goal or objective. In the Plymouth Brethren church however, since there is not pastoral staff, each week a congregation will hear a sermon, which has no correlation of relation to the previous weeks teachings, or any thing that would tie in to the following weeks. Week in week out, you get a 40 minute sermon of, to quote my mother, “…what the Lord laid on their heart.”

I am not mocking the direction of the Lord; rather I would like to illustrate the common thread that binds. Almost exclusively the sermon is either one that encompasses “The Good News” or one that tells you essentially how lucky you are to be saved. Given my research on the subject, this seems to be the 2 general sermon directions. I sat in a Plymouth Brethren church for 7-8 weeks this past year, and during that time, the same exact message was given for 6 of those weeks, and that was the salvation message. Granted, each week the particular speaker may have referenced different scripture to arrive at his sermon, but the underlying theme was identical.

Given the assumption that the vast majority of people in attendance are already Christian, why would they need to hear the same message week after week after week. More importantly, why wouldn’t they want to be taken to a deeper level and challenged, in a way that a consistent pastoral staff would do by having sermon series?

The answer is simple, and again based on past experience with this denomination; I think I have the answer to offer. The majority of these people are happier telling you what great Christians they are, than they are actually doing the things it takes to become great Christians. Having seen my mom, and others within more traditional churches get their feet stepped on when the sermon hit too close to home, I think that the Plymouth Brethren environment provides a haven to let others know what great Christians a person is, without having to put it to work or application. Since the message is essentially the same week in and week out, nobody has to worry about having their feelings hurt, or worse being convicted by a message, and when the sermon is done, everyone feels all warm and fuzzy knowing what good Christians they are, and how lucky they are to be saved. They quickly pat each other on the back, and leave until next Sunday when the whole ritual starts over again.

I played piano at a Plymouth Brethren church for a period of time last year, and was asked by the board of elders to join their church. I told them that I did not like the format, and didn’t feel at home. They asked me what I thought could be changed to make the church more appealing, and I offered some suggestions. As the weeks continued, nothing changed, and was finally told that after meeting with the elders, it was decided that the changes I had suggested would not be implanted as they did not want to change what they thought worked.

Given that on an average Sunday the church has less than 30 people in attendance, and the majority of those people were retired, I would venture a guess and say that the church is a dying breed. It is funny, Jesus adapted his style for the situation he was in, and yet we as humans who are supposed to be more Christ like tend to fight with each other when change is suggested or occurs. If Jesus was able to adapt to his environment, why can’t we?

I can’t speak for anyone else on this, but I personally like being challenged at church. My feet have been stepped on, and feelings hurt, but to me that is the Lord trying to make me a better Christian. If you are not being challenged, what is the point? Church shouldn’t be a feel good pat yourself on your own back telling others who good you are, it should be a place to challenge and grow new Christians to continue the great commission that was laid out for us in the Bible.

With all of that said, it feels better getting it off of my chest. This is one of the topics that I would like to hear your opinion as well. Drop me a line, tell me what you think.

Take care

Saturday, August 07, 2004

August 7, 2004
7:15 p.m.

First and foremost, a big thanks to Geta’s sister Doina who works at The Gap main distribution center for the discount coupons to Old Navy, The Gap and Banana Republic. We saved a ton of money, and got some really cool fall clothing.

My mother went with us to the mall while we shopped. The afternoon started with yet another reference to finding a “rich” man to marry. I told her she should look for someone who could make her happy versus rich. She quickly retorts, money can’t buy poverty, or some ignorant statement like that. Very frustrating.

For the record, contrary to the tall tale that my mother tells about her circumstances in moving to Tennessee. Yes, Geta and I encouraged her to move here. We felt that there was an opportunity for her to get settled, and more importantly into a home of her own, In the process of her coming here however, she has distorted the truth, and has gone around telling anyone who dares to listen, that Geta and I threw her out of our home, and left her homeless. The truth is from the onset of the discussions of her moving here, she was told point blank that she could not reside in our home.

There is not a house big enough to hold her and anyone else, since she takes over the house. For the 5 days she did stay with us, she created a hostile home environment with her deliberate defiance of our rules of our home. I work too hard, to have my home taken over by somebody else, and as such we enforced what we told her we would enforce, mainly the fact that she could not live with us. If we did not enforce this, she would still be with us today.

During the week she did stay with us, she dictated what we could and couldn’t watch on TV. As well as overstepping the limits as to what she was expected/told not to do. A good example of her defiance came this past week, when she was invited over for dinner, After dinner, Geta and I retreated to our master suite to wash up. While we were upstairs, my mother took it upon herself to clean the stove, which entailed taking it apart, and lifted the stovetop to clean underneath. She was not asked to do this, quite the contrary in fact. Geta and I have both told her that while she is a guest in our home, she is not to do anything in terms of cleaning or chores.

And she has so much respect for us, that she took it upon herself to clean the stove.

Nice, really nice.

Well, if you listen to her, I really am a bastard, and that’s OK with me. This bastard is done for tonight. Have a great Sunday, and keep checking back, this really is getting to be fun.

Take care.

Thursday, August 05, 2004

August 5, 2004
3:15 p.m.

What a long strange trip it’s been. What, a long, strange, trip it’s been.

Many, many thanks to Jared Keller (I don’t know how to hyperlink, or any of that other fancy HTML stuff, so just deal with it) who single handedly opened up a portion of my memory I hadn’t visited in years. The names, the faces, the events, all brought forth, and in the process a smile. A smile, for what truly was a different time, a different place, and, perhaps most importantly, a different world.

Jared Keller in his blog remarked as to visiting the principal’s office for an alleged dirty joke he told. Funny thing is, I visited that same principals office for a dirty magazine. One of my classmates had ripped out pages from Daddy’s Playboy, so that I could look at pictures. I know I was in the 7th grade, so that puts it at ’87-’88 in terms of school years. A 3-day suspension was the punishment. The scar on my permanent record, the reminder, even today, of that event! Ah, the permanent record. It truly has followed me throughout life, perhaps defining the man I am, or, perhaps, predicting far in advance the man I was to become. Who knows?

What is interesting is the fact that at the ripe age of 12 or 13, I was removed from school for looking at pictures that today wouldn’t even get a second glance. Where the pictures full nudes? I don’t remember. Playboy has always been more art than pornography, so chances are they were nude with cleverly placed pillows, or sheets. There is certain innocence to what I did. Especially when you look at these kids now, bringing guns and bombs and knives to school with the intent of killing others. There was no intent on what I did, simply a curious 12 year old.

But guns, and knives, and bombs, and who knows what else all being brought with intent. Intent to harm. Intent to kill. Intent to fix what is perceived as what is wrong with that particular situation.

There was a kid who transferred to CCCA, his first name was Ben (I think that was his name, but for this story we will call him Ben), don’t recall the last name. What I do remember was his parents or somebody close to him had died, and that he (and his brother if memory serves true) where now living with relatives. Ben had anger and hostility. Ben also liked to pick on me. He was really quite cruel as I recall, had a real mean streak in him. I recall going to the Denver National Western Stock Show on a field trip. We buddied up with friends, and were allowed to roam freely, meeting at designated spots at designated times. What strikes me as funny is that year I bought a Swiss Army Knife at the show. Just a small one with a 2 1/2” blade that would hardly cut butter. I hid it from my parents, and from my sister, but each and everyday it went into my pocket and with me to school.

Funny how life is, an event that now would get me kicked out of school and on the national news, probably wouldn’t have even raised an eyebrow then. My intent however was to “protect” myself from Ben, who liked to pick on me. I never did pull the knife, not that it would have even broken the skin. I am sure today that if Ben even remembered picking on me, he would surely say that it was just schoolhouse fun, and that he didn’t mean anything by it.

Sure is funny, how a couple of pictures of a dilapidated building in Colorado can bring back so much in terms of events of a lifetime long since past. It sure has been fun remembering however, there is so much more that I recall, and as time allows I will write it down.

For those of my faithful readers who check daily to see what I have been saying, thank-you. We just past our 20th visitor to the site. We are truly excited by this. We hope to reach 100 visitors by 2010. Lofty goals perhaps, but everyone needs a dream.

Take care, and check back often, this is getting fun.

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

August 4, 2004
10:30 a.m.

Perhaps the funniest thing about Geta going to work is suddenly I am cast into a series of weeks, and weeks and weeks of endless boredom as the person who I like to spend my time with is away at work while I am at home “trying to make a living.” The thing that I love about Geta is the fact that she is so motivated, and actually wants to succeed in life. This fact is the thing that I have always admired in her. She wants something; she goes out and gets it. She figures out a way to achieve the goals she has set for herself.

Which would make one wonder why we aren’t making more money than we currently bring in. Perhaps I am the one who is lazy. Well, lazy is not the right word; I am a hard worker, just not in a physical sense. Perhaps that is why I rarely break a sweat doing what I do, nor do I ever come home with backaches, or sore muscles.

I always say that I work smart. Most people work hard, or harder. I work smart, and smarter. I think it is time to make smarter a daily move, as opposed to the occasional move.

I look at how hard my mother works. While she was in California, she would work in excess of 50-60 hour weeks. For what? That is no sort of life. I look at Cornel; he is currently working in excess of 60 hours a week. For what? In his case, $10/hour and $15 for overtime. You need to work an awful lot of hours to get a decent paycheck. I try to get him to see how little I work, and how much I have. Notice, I didn’t say my job was easy; rather it is just the method to which I go about it. I work smart, not hard. Cornel, my Mom, and the vast majority of working stiffs work hard, not smart.

The vast majority of working stiffs will never truly know true success, either personally or professionally. People who I assimilate myself to tend to know that working smarter is the better route, and as such we typically take advantage of those who work hard and think that that route is the road to success. Meanwhile those of us who are busy working smarter sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor basically on the backs of those who do think that working harder will get you there faster.

On a completely unrelated subject, knowing that I am a Republican, and proudly display this fact on both cars via bumper stickers, I have to laugh at those who proudly display their ignorance on their bumpers with the Kerry – Edwards’s bumper stickers. Perhaps working harder and democrats go hand in hand.

Maybe Republicans are smarter workers. Who knows...

Anyways, that is all for now.

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

August 3, 2004
3:30 p.m.

It is funny how quickly I can go and jinx myself. Just 2-days ago, while talking with Cornel he commented on how fast I drive, and how he doesn’t understand I repeatedly avoid tickets. I jinxed myself. This morning, while driving near my home, I was stopped for 54 in a 40. The officer had parked his car on a side street, and had a wireless laser gun to nab speeders with. I must’ve been going a little to fast because he stopped me.

After writing the ticket, he asked me how long I had been here seeing as my driver’s license is still a California license. I told him since April. He told me he wasn’t used to having the people he stopped smile, and make friendly conversation, and that my best bet would be to show up in court on the day indicated, track him down in the court room and he would offer up traffic school.

Funny thing, I don’t know if I made his day, the officer certainly made my day however. I know I drive to fast, I told him that point blank. I told him I had a very heavy foot. He went as far as to tell me to watch my speed in the area, as they would be patrolling it for the next few days. I said something that made him laugh, and we parted ways. I hope that smile that I brought to his face made an impact. He told me he would remember me as the person who smiled at him when stopped. Who knows, we will see if he remembers me in a month from now at court.

In other news, I would like to take this moment and publicly state how proud I am of Rachel and Jim. Sometimes the help or motivation that you need is staring you right in the face. Rachel, I know you have lived with Jim’s mom for a while; I am glad that you two are able to get along so well. Perhaps living with your own mother for so long prepared you for the impossible.

If invited, I would be honored to come to Orlando and see your new home once you are in it. Geta and I and most likely our puppy dogs will make that drive and come celebrate with you.

Of course, we would need to be invited…

I have been toying with the idea of getting a part time job. For those of you who know (most of you don’t) I had bought a Rolex Daytona off EBay in early June. The watch turned out to be a fake, however in the process I managed to make a new friend, the manager of the Jewelry store at the mall. One thing led to another, and next thing I know he is talking about hiring me part time to do sales at night and weekends. I know I can sell, so it seems to make sense. Another long story short, but last night I was offered the job.

And suddenly, it just didn’t feel right. I can’t quantify the feeling I felt, just define it as “my gut.” Something doesn’t feel right about this job. I thought it would be fun, and give me a little extra money. Since it is a commission position, I know that I could be and would be successful, but there is something there that I can’t put my finger on, and it just makes it feel not right for me. So now I need to resign.

From a job I never started.

Go figure, my mother has been here since early June, and hasn’t had any job offers except one that changed their minds, and between Geta and I we have managed to land 3 jobs, plus a possible offer coming from Texas later this summer. I moved to Nashville to work less, not more!

I really should start working on my book again, I have the first chapter or two done, I want to try to make it a point to write each and everyday, until such time as I have a completed book to take to Kinko’s and publish. I know where I want to go with the book; I just don’t know how to get there yet.

Well, that’s all for now…

Sunday, August 01, 2004

August 1, 2004
10:43 p.m.

In case you haven’t noticed, I have been trying to write my thoughts a little more often. I don’t want to become lazy, and since I actually enjoy writing, I am going to try to keep this thing going. Worst-case scenario is that it will force you diehard pundits to keep coming back and reading what I have to say.

With all of that being said, let me share with you our weekend. First and foremost I would challenge anyone out there that I live in the friendliest neighborhood anywhere. There doesn’t need to be a reason for a party, they just seem to materialize. The finishing of a new deck happened to spur Sunday night’s party. Another neighbor who we previously had met only when walking the dog, invited us over for a cookout to enjoy their new deck and patio area.

That being said, I want to steer tonight’s writing in the direction of the movies I have seen this week. Anchorman, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Bourne Supremacy, The Manchurian Candidate and The Village. The Bourne Supremacy and The Manchurian Candidate were my two favorites; The Village left me very disappointed. I really liked The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Signs was good, but The Village, I don’t know, it felt flat, and one dimensional with very little true tension that felt scary.

I was truly disappointed. I was hoping for so much more and left feeling empty. I like movies that make you think and in terms of provoking thought, The Manchurian Candidate did just that. A though provoking movie that was truly enjoyable. I really enjoyed this movie, however my favorite movie was The Bourne Supremacy.

This movie was awesome. I like the first, however the second was truly awesome. It captivated your attention from the beginning and carried it all the way through to the end. Action adventure at its best. This is one movie I will be buying on DVD.

This weekend was a good weekend. This will be the last weekend before Geta starts her new job. The job with the fancy title, “expense analyst.” Fancy title for accounts payable. She was bored staying home all the time, and took it upon herself to find a job. She ended up with 2 different companies competing for her, and she ended up getting $1.50 more per hour because of that.

Take care, and keep checking back for more frequent updates.

July 31, 2004
5:45 p.m.

The week in review

As most of you know, I have allowed Geta’s younger brother to live with us until his parents make the move from California to Tennessee. He will 19 this next month, and while I consider him to be a good kid overall, he really has a problem with authority and responsibility. He has one phrase that drives me absolutely nuts, he will be told the right way to do something, or not to do something that I know will get him in trouble, and he will turn and with a straight face say, “I know, but…”

“Yeah I know, but…”

It needs to be repeated, so that you understand the ramifications of it. He takes a I am indestructible attitude towards life, and I am really afraid that one day it will get him in tremendous trouble, or worse

Recently, however we have attempted to get him to help out around the house with some chores. All told, if you took all the chores and added the time necessary to do them together it would culminate in less than 2 hours per week. The hassles we have gone through in attempting to get these chores done however has turned a relatively peaceful co-existence into a battleground. And young Cornel is convinced he will win, and I have told him that failure to comply will ultimately result in eviction.

I am not being a hard ass here, but rather demanding the respect that I deserve for being the Man of the house. The main reason my Mom is not welcome to live with us is her utter disregard for the rules of the house, and the authority that I possess by being the Man of the house. Authority that I take very seriously. Authority that is not all-powerful, but rather all encompassing in terms of decisions made under my roof.

(Written 8/1/04, “the morning after”)

After nearly 3 hours of debate, it was decided by Cornel that perhaps the chores assigned to him were not unbearable, or even that time consuming. A funny thing happens when you react, as opposed to being pro-active; you quickly realize that those who already have a plan in place outwit you.

In the case of Cornel, he kept trying to rearrange the chore list, or suggest alternative chores, and each time he would make a suggestion, the ramifications of his new “idea” quickly became apparent as his idea of an easier chore usually encompassed more time or tasks that he didn’t realize was part of that aspect of keeping the house clean.

With that being said, he has agreed (which is in his best interest!) to do the chores as listed on the list. I told him that after doing the chores my way for at least 2 weeks, if he felt they could be rearranged to make them more efficient, that I would be willing to discuss at that point in time.

Long story short, but he told me most of his arrogance and defiance the past couple of days are a direct result of homesickness. Interesting, for a kid who hated his parents, to be missing them so shortly afterwards. I am glad to see he does care, and for that I am proud of him.

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