I know how it all started. I was talking with some people at work and started tossing around the idea of having a group attend a Rough Riders game down the street. At the time, our offices were located near the Rough Riders ball park.
We have put together two game outings. The first one was the "All You Can Eat" Seats. We got a section of seats for $20 each. Then, you could have all you can eat/drink hot dogs, brats, nachos, and soft drinks. We had a huge group - people brought their kids and everyone had a good time.
The following year, a co-worker and I decided it would be a great idea to get a "patio" for the next event. Having dealt with the "all-you-can-eat" trough business, we thought it might be a better deal. You get a catered meal, beer and wine, and soft drinks. Only problem - the price. It was double, but we could justify it because we were renting the patio and furthermore, free alcohol for about 2 hours.
That event had a good turnout. Issues - not everyone got a souvenir hat and popcorn was too salty. Bonus - since no one was renting the two suites, the ball park opened them up to us to use.
Last year, we did not get enough feedback for the event. We were late on scheduling and could only get a patio for the last week in August. No one wants to be out there in the sweltering heat and many were taking that last summer vacation before school started.
This year, we got started early. We decided to go small - get a patio in the outfield. Let's be honest, many are using this a social event, not to see the baseball game. We figured - what would be the point? We got pretty much the same deal as the year before regarding the food and drinks.
We managed to get just above the minimum required to attend the game, so it is officially "ON". I am getting people who were sitting on the fence to come up and ask if it is too late to pay to go. Luckily, we can keep adding, so it is not a problem.
Where did I go wrong? Yours truly had already paid for a concert ticket for the same night as the group baseball game. DOH!
I cannot believe I did that. However, you know what - I will still attend the concert. I may not be there at 7 PM when the doors open, but I am sure the show won't start until 8 PM - that would be the opening act. However, the main act will be taking the stage at probably 10 PM. That should be plenty of time for me to attend the baseball game and concert. It will be tight, but it is a Friday night, so no expectations for the following morning.
Still, I cannot believe I did that.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Dealing With Ever Changing Technology...
Last weekend, I decided to sign up for a course at Collin County College. The courses are taken over the internet, thus no physical presence needed to attend class. Also, the price was right - $109.00. Try taking similar course at a 4+ year college/university - that would cost $2000+! Stinking ridiculous, if you ask me.
I am in the process of clearing out stuff, but I have a lot of computer systems - DUH! I am a computer nerd, so what do you expect. So, while I go through all of these changes, such as a complete network overhaul, I thought I had better use my new Toshiba laptop I got in 2012 and used for the high school reunion.
I am so used to Windows 7 operating system. Now, I have Windows 8.1 on this particular laptop and it is at times a struggle to get acclimated with the new environment. Today, I decided I needed to get the shareware software needed to take the course. I think I have spent the past 30 minutes trying to figure out where to change the PC locking screen and display to remove the high school pictures I set up to rotate. Next, the system needs to be updated. I have not turned the laptop on since the reunion!
Trying to sort through that console to locate everything has been a bit of headache. I know we all must get used to change, but wow - do we have to change things so drastically?
I thought about the changes I am willing to make with my group. I had the opportunity to talk to a few people who want to move with the corporate strategy. They like my ideas and are very encouraging. My old boss is still stuck with only using the product line he knows and the company is striving to go away from that. I will admit, it was nice to hear that for everything he proposed, his ideas got shot down by management. What I had to suggest has been embraced. Funny how that changed.
The technological world out there has so many great ideas and strategies. I may not get to "grow it myself", but I want the opportunity to use it and apply it. I only wish my former boss would get with the program.
I am in the process of clearing out stuff, but I have a lot of computer systems - DUH! I am a computer nerd, so what do you expect. So, while I go through all of these changes, such as a complete network overhaul, I thought I had better use my new Toshiba laptop I got in 2012 and used for the high school reunion.
I am so used to Windows 7 operating system. Now, I have Windows 8.1 on this particular laptop and it is at times a struggle to get acclimated with the new environment. Today, I decided I needed to get the shareware software needed to take the course. I think I have spent the past 30 minutes trying to figure out where to change the PC locking screen and display to remove the high school pictures I set up to rotate. Next, the system needs to be updated. I have not turned the laptop on since the reunion!
Trying to sort through that console to locate everything has been a bit of headache. I know we all must get used to change, but wow - do we have to change things so drastically?
I thought about the changes I am willing to make with my group. I had the opportunity to talk to a few people who want to move with the corporate strategy. They like my ideas and are very encouraging. My old boss is still stuck with only using the product line he knows and the company is striving to go away from that. I will admit, it was nice to hear that for everything he proposed, his ideas got shot down by management. What I had to suggest has been embraced. Funny how that changed.
The technological world out there has so many great ideas and strategies. I may not get to "grow it myself", but I want the opportunity to use it and apply it. I only wish my former boss would get with the program.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Making Poor Choices...
Last week, I shared a picture that summed up my health issues. It basically said "I need to hire someone to knock the bad food out of my hands before I eat it." Nutshell, so much truth to that. Unfortunately, I know me and I would end up firing that person after the first knock.
The thing here - I need to own that. These are my decisions and no one else made them for me and no one certainly forced me to eat those cookies or cake.
With that being said, food is not "bad". The amount of food you eat can be bad. I got tickled with a friend of mine the other day. He does all of the cooking in his home. His wife was finally diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I told him to make sure they both attend the class - insurance will pay for it. So, he was telling me about a meal he prepared the other day and ended with the statement - "We will only have potatoes once a week." I had to laugh and explained that you can have potatoes, but make sure it is only 1/2 cup and the rest of the meal has a large amount of non-starchy vegetables.
However, is that a bad idea? Having that one particular food that you like once a week? Not really. I mean, I have to believe in the 80/20 rule. You follow whatever lifestyle choice you want 80% of the time and 20% of the time, reward yourself with something you enjoy. This way, you never suffer from cravings or over indulgence. It really makes a lot of sense.
(Notice I said "lifestyle choice" because I refuse to believe in "diets". "Diets" do not last.)
This morning, I woke up with the most excruciating tightness in my glutes and quads since June. Walking the dogs was a real chore and heaven forbid if I tried to stretch that area out before walking the dogs. Chloe was in right bitchy form this morning.
Also, my blood sugar for the past month has been averaging around 287, which is horrible. Lack of exercise and poor eating habits have lead to this. Nutshell, this is of my own doing and no one else's. I will own this and work on turning around the issue. Time to go back to drinking the meal replacement shakes and get my steps in each day.
I know I have been hungry in the past when doing the shakes, but lately, my system is not liking what is going on. There are days my stomach feels like it is going to explode. So, maybe it is time to crack down, eat less, and work on being more active.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I will finish out my current workout contract with my trainer. However, I will also start setting up my schedule to visit YMCA for yoga and strength training classes. Those are free to members and I should take full advantage.
Time to own this. Also, I need to work on what I started - trying to discover the physical person with less fat. Who is that person?
The thing here - I need to own that. These are my decisions and no one else made them for me and no one certainly forced me to eat those cookies or cake.
With that being said, food is not "bad". The amount of food you eat can be bad. I got tickled with a friend of mine the other day. He does all of the cooking in his home. His wife was finally diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I told him to make sure they both attend the class - insurance will pay for it. So, he was telling me about a meal he prepared the other day and ended with the statement - "We will only have potatoes once a week." I had to laugh and explained that you can have potatoes, but make sure it is only 1/2 cup and the rest of the meal has a large amount of non-starchy vegetables.
However, is that a bad idea? Having that one particular food that you like once a week? Not really. I mean, I have to believe in the 80/20 rule. You follow whatever lifestyle choice you want 80% of the time and 20% of the time, reward yourself with something you enjoy. This way, you never suffer from cravings or over indulgence. It really makes a lot of sense.
(Notice I said "lifestyle choice" because I refuse to believe in "diets". "Diets" do not last.)
This morning, I woke up with the most excruciating tightness in my glutes and quads since June. Walking the dogs was a real chore and heaven forbid if I tried to stretch that area out before walking the dogs. Chloe was in right bitchy form this morning.
Also, my blood sugar for the past month has been averaging around 287, which is horrible. Lack of exercise and poor eating habits have lead to this. Nutshell, this is of my own doing and no one else's. I will own this and work on turning around the issue. Time to go back to drinking the meal replacement shakes and get my steps in each day.
I know I have been hungry in the past when doing the shakes, but lately, my system is not liking what is going on. There are days my stomach feels like it is going to explode. So, maybe it is time to crack down, eat less, and work on being more active.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I will finish out my current workout contract with my trainer. However, I will also start setting up my schedule to visit YMCA for yoga and strength training classes. Those are free to members and I should take full advantage.
Time to own this. Also, I need to work on what I started - trying to discover the physical person with less fat. Who is that person?
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Financial Monitoring Update...
Last week, I got my bonus and paycheck. I took the bonus money and opened another checking account that is strictly used for the vet bills. I felt really good about that.
In regards to keeping an eye on my spending habits, Quicken has helped tremendously. I finally got all of the sync kinks sorted. I have removed a majority of my credit cards and that has helped enormously in curbing spur of the moment spending.
I still have that business of mulling over a loan to pay off the high credit card bills. I know if I could pay off those bills, that would be a huge relief. Also, getting that lower APR would be nice as well.
Still, I have to remind myself if I do this, it will affect my 401K. I would like for this to be the only time I take out such a loan against my 401K. I am hearing all of the reasons not to do this. At the same time, I am looking to do something to make my life better. This is not about buying a new car or TV. So, this is not a decision I am lightly making.
One thing I want to get a handle on is grocery shopping. I find myself buying more than I really need, even though I make out a list. I have cut out buying a lot of meats in order to clear out my freezer. I have been pretty good about staying out of the inside aisles, especially since that is the area for processed foods.
The changes I have made are small, but are starting to make some impact. That helps me reinforce in my head how change will make a good difference. Later today/tomorrow, I will go back over all my bills and see where the change is happening.
This plan is making differences and I am starting to feel a little bit better about my own situation and the things I need to manage. I did get a good chuckle yesterday. A FaceBook/Live Journal friend posted "20 Things That Prove You Are Doing Better Than You Think". One was paying all of your bills and having money left over for other things.
There you go...
In regards to keeping an eye on my spending habits, Quicken has helped tremendously. I finally got all of the sync kinks sorted. I have removed a majority of my credit cards and that has helped enormously in curbing spur of the moment spending.
I still have that business of mulling over a loan to pay off the high credit card bills. I know if I could pay off those bills, that would be a huge relief. Also, getting that lower APR would be nice as well.
Still, I have to remind myself if I do this, it will affect my 401K. I would like for this to be the only time I take out such a loan against my 401K. I am hearing all of the reasons not to do this. At the same time, I am looking to do something to make my life better. This is not about buying a new car or TV. So, this is not a decision I am lightly making.
One thing I want to get a handle on is grocery shopping. I find myself buying more than I really need, even though I make out a list. I have cut out buying a lot of meats in order to clear out my freezer. I have been pretty good about staying out of the inside aisles, especially since that is the area for processed foods.
The changes I have made are small, but are starting to make some impact. That helps me reinforce in my head how change will make a good difference. Later today/tomorrow, I will go back over all my bills and see where the change is happening.
This plan is making differences and I am starting to feel a little bit better about my own situation and the things I need to manage. I did get a good chuckle yesterday. A FaceBook/Live Journal friend posted "20 Things That Prove You Are Doing Better Than You Think". One was paying all of your bills and having money left over for other things.
There you go...
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Procrastinating Again...
I have been bad about procrastination for most of my life. At UNT, I even did a speech on procrastination, which I had waited until the last minute to do, and got an A for doing it. Well, I guess when you are an expert, you will always do well.
Right now, I have rescheduled my U-Verse installation four times because I am not happy with how far I have gotten on cleaning. I am allowing for too many distractions and that is on me and no one else. Luckily, I am staying home today and tomorrow (day off!) to take care of the majority of issues. That way, next weekend, I will not feel so overwhelmed.
It is important for me to get U-Verse into the apartment as it will allow me to reduce the amount of money spent for cable and internet services. My email addresses will be changing, but I am prepared. I will send out emails to everyone and as I do my bills, I will change my email addresses that way. I know I will have to leave TimeWarner and RoadRunner in place for a month, but luckily, I am on the deal where I won't have to pay a U-Verse bill until July/August time frame. That should allow plenty of time for me to re-route everyone to the new email address.
I may consider moving all accounts to my G-mail account and have that forward over to my new email accounts. That is definitely something to look into doing. It would help me immensely.
Last night, I met with a couple I only get to see about once a year. I met the wife while attending Tarrant County Junior College in the mid-80's. We both went to North Texas State University in 1986 - she stayed in the dorm and my parents had me drive back and forth to school. I had wanted to live in the dorm, but neither wanted that. In fact, they would have been happier had I went to UTA.
Anyway, my friend met her husband at UNT and soon after that, she dropped out of college and moved back home. Then, she and her husband got married and had a baby. During that time, I got a job with IBM and we stopped seeing one another. It was through FB that we reconnected and I am much happier to have found both of them. Life was so crazy in the early years, but now, it is so wonderful so see them and get some great laughs. Maybe this year, I can fly out to Atlanta and attend their annual Halloween party. Back in the day, my friend would throw some awesome Halloween parties, then with her husband in the mix - the parties were more outrageous, but so much fun.
So, I procrastinated from doing what needed to be done to see them. I do not mind - it was worth it as I never get to see them these days. I had a lot of fun and wished I was not such a wimp when it comes to drinking. I got to feeling pretty light headed last night, so I could not tell if it was due to the alcohol or high blood sugar. So, I tried to get something that might pull me together. All the same, I had a wonderful time getting to see this couple and their friends last night.
Now, time to start on the apartment!
Right now, I have rescheduled my U-Verse installation four times because I am not happy with how far I have gotten on cleaning. I am allowing for too many distractions and that is on me and no one else. Luckily, I am staying home today and tomorrow (day off!) to take care of the majority of issues. That way, next weekend, I will not feel so overwhelmed.
It is important for me to get U-Verse into the apartment as it will allow me to reduce the amount of money spent for cable and internet services. My email addresses will be changing, but I am prepared. I will send out emails to everyone and as I do my bills, I will change my email addresses that way. I know I will have to leave TimeWarner and RoadRunner in place for a month, but luckily, I am on the deal where I won't have to pay a U-Verse bill until July/August time frame. That should allow plenty of time for me to re-route everyone to the new email address.
I may consider moving all accounts to my G-mail account and have that forward over to my new email accounts. That is definitely something to look into doing. It would help me immensely.
Last night, I met with a couple I only get to see about once a year. I met the wife while attending Tarrant County Junior College in the mid-80's. We both went to North Texas State University in 1986 - she stayed in the dorm and my parents had me drive back and forth to school. I had wanted to live in the dorm, but neither wanted that. In fact, they would have been happier had I went to UTA.
Anyway, my friend met her husband at UNT and soon after that, she dropped out of college and moved back home. Then, she and her husband got married and had a baby. During that time, I got a job with IBM and we stopped seeing one another. It was through FB that we reconnected and I am much happier to have found both of them. Life was so crazy in the early years, but now, it is so wonderful so see them and get some great laughs. Maybe this year, I can fly out to Atlanta and attend their annual Halloween party. Back in the day, my friend would throw some awesome Halloween parties, then with her husband in the mix - the parties were more outrageous, but so much fun.
So, I procrastinated from doing what needed to be done to see them. I do not mind - it was worth it as I never get to see them these days. I had a lot of fun and wished I was not such a wimp when it comes to drinking. I got to feeling pretty light headed last night, so I could not tell if it was due to the alcohol or high blood sugar. So, I tried to get something that might pull me together. All the same, I had a wonderful time getting to see this couple and their friends last night.
Now, time to start on the apartment!
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Physical Break...
A couple of weeks ago, when Mother Nature decided that Texas needed some of the arctic blasts as one last hurrah for winter, I found myself in a rather twisted situation. I had over committed myself.
I had hockey tickets and games I wanted to attend. I also signed up for a personal trainer to help me with losing weight. Well, with my financial plans, I have decided to forgo renewing my season tickets. Hockey will always be there.
I love my personal trainer, but honestly, something in me is not working. In the beginning, I was good about watching what I ate, working out, and so forth. After the agonizing pain in June and subsequent back issues, I am not so keen on exercise and not because I do not care for it - I cannot stand the pain.
Furthermore, when I started, I had a solid ground of having lost 35 lbs on my own. I was walking and getting my 10,000 steps in each day or close to it. Also, the trainer and I were working out in the evenings on Tuesday and Thursday. As time went by, my trainer became the workout teacher for Body Shred courses at YMCA, which I think is fantastic for her. It started as one class a week and has expanded to two. Now, it is more difficult for us to get together.
We tried doing early afternoons, around lunch. My schedule at work has become a mess. Now that I am a development manager, all of these people want me on a call to make decisions. So, I am the one that usually has to cancel.
It is a bit depressing, so when the winter days hit along with a version release, I asked my trainer to suspend our sessions for two weeks.
Yes, I have been horrible about eating and exercising. However, I also noticed something today. My back pain has not been there. I do have serious tightness in my glutes and quads every morning and I am working to figure out how to stretch out those areas. It makes walking the dogs a torture session in the mornings. I have noticed that if I walk a lot, then that pain eases up. I figure I may need to flip my bed around and see if that helps since it happens in the mornings.
I know I have probably gained a lot of weight and I will just have to accept that. I feel my body is telling me something - go back to your basics and work on that. At some point, you can go back to strength training. Take advantage of the gym membership by attending evening classes such as yoga and body shred. Get the stretching and exercise you need there as well.
I believe that will be my plan of attack once my workout contract with the trainer is over. It is not because of her, but me. I need to get my head back to where it needs to be. Otherwise, I am wasting both her and my time.
I am not giving up - simply taking a different approach.
I had hockey tickets and games I wanted to attend. I also signed up for a personal trainer to help me with losing weight. Well, with my financial plans, I have decided to forgo renewing my season tickets. Hockey will always be there.
I love my personal trainer, but honestly, something in me is not working. In the beginning, I was good about watching what I ate, working out, and so forth. After the agonizing pain in June and subsequent back issues, I am not so keen on exercise and not because I do not care for it - I cannot stand the pain.
Furthermore, when I started, I had a solid ground of having lost 35 lbs on my own. I was walking and getting my 10,000 steps in each day or close to it. Also, the trainer and I were working out in the evenings on Tuesday and Thursday. As time went by, my trainer became the workout teacher for Body Shred courses at YMCA, which I think is fantastic for her. It started as one class a week and has expanded to two. Now, it is more difficult for us to get together.
We tried doing early afternoons, around lunch. My schedule at work has become a mess. Now that I am a development manager, all of these people want me on a call to make decisions. So, I am the one that usually has to cancel.
It is a bit depressing, so when the winter days hit along with a version release, I asked my trainer to suspend our sessions for two weeks.
Yes, I have been horrible about eating and exercising. However, I also noticed something today. My back pain has not been there. I do have serious tightness in my glutes and quads every morning and I am working to figure out how to stretch out those areas. It makes walking the dogs a torture session in the mornings. I have noticed that if I walk a lot, then that pain eases up. I figure I may need to flip my bed around and see if that helps since it happens in the mornings.
I know I have probably gained a lot of weight and I will just have to accept that. I feel my body is telling me something - go back to your basics and work on that. At some point, you can go back to strength training. Take advantage of the gym membership by attending evening classes such as yoga and body shred. Get the stretching and exercise you need there as well.
I believe that will be my plan of attack once my workout contract with the trainer is over. It is not because of her, but me. I need to get my head back to where it needs to be. Otherwise, I am wasting both her and my time.
I am not giving up - simply taking a different approach.
Working on My Plan...
Yesterday was bonus/paycheck time. I got my bonus and bi-monthly paycheck all in one check. I do not really care for that because I would like to know how much my bonus was without my paycheck in the mix. However, it is what it is.
Today, I am going to open a checking account and place my bonus money into that account. This account is strictly for the dogs' care. I will add money to it, so that I can maintain a certain amount of money for emergency purposes for them. I feel that this is the best thing I could do for both my dogs and myself.
Next, I am still looking at how to battle the credit card debt. I have a plan for that as well. It is a plan I do not take lightly, either. That is why the decision to go through it is taking me a little while to just jump into it. It makes total sense, but at the same time, it could backfire. That is more of what I want to prevent.
It is nothing illegal. It is based on advice from those who have done similar actions. This may help me more than anything.
Another piece in the money puzzle is to reduce the amount of money paid for internet and cable services. Monday, I have U-Verse being installed and I am actually looking forward to that. I hope that this will be a good start to getting my office back from being the junk room. I am working on clearing out a bunch of stuff and have a lot of plans for setting up a server to stay up and running.
With my father's plans to get rid of the house, I will probably take the lower end Samsung 32" TV from my parents home. I figure, I could put that in my bedroom and the current TV in my bedroom can go into the "office." I could always order another U-Verse box, but I will probably wait before doing that. More or less - just see where I am and see what makes the most sense.
One of the things I really want to do is go back to school and finish my degree. It weighs on my mind a lot. Basically, it is unfinished business. I have seriously thought of getting my degree on-line, but not very sure if that is the route I want to go. I know of some free courses I can take from MIT to help me with that decision. The last thing I want is to take an on-line course and not really get much from it.
Of course, that line of thought is a distance away from where I am now. I will get there - just give me time.
Today, I am going to open a checking account and place my bonus money into that account. This account is strictly for the dogs' care. I will add money to it, so that I can maintain a certain amount of money for emergency purposes for them. I feel that this is the best thing I could do for both my dogs and myself.
Next, I am still looking at how to battle the credit card debt. I have a plan for that as well. It is a plan I do not take lightly, either. That is why the decision to go through it is taking me a little while to just jump into it. It makes total sense, but at the same time, it could backfire. That is more of what I want to prevent.
It is nothing illegal. It is based on advice from those who have done similar actions. This may help me more than anything.
Another piece in the money puzzle is to reduce the amount of money paid for internet and cable services. Monday, I have U-Verse being installed and I am actually looking forward to that. I hope that this will be a good start to getting my office back from being the junk room. I am working on clearing out a bunch of stuff and have a lot of plans for setting up a server to stay up and running.
With my father's plans to get rid of the house, I will probably take the lower end Samsung 32" TV from my parents home. I figure, I could put that in my bedroom and the current TV in my bedroom can go into the "office." I could always order another U-Verse box, but I will probably wait before doing that. More or less - just see where I am and see what makes the most sense.
One of the things I really want to do is go back to school and finish my degree. It weighs on my mind a lot. Basically, it is unfinished business. I have seriously thought of getting my degree on-line, but not very sure if that is the route I want to go. I know of some free courses I can take from MIT to help me with that decision. The last thing I want is to take an on-line course and not really get much from it.
Of course, that line of thought is a distance away from where I am now. I will get there - just give me time.
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