WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE? I just can’t figure this out! Seems like every time I turn on the TV, another Bank has been robbed. Or at least another ‘attempted’ robbery. Seems like most of them don’t get away with it and those that do make it out the door end up with a bag full of blue dye.

Now, I realize that times are tough and people have to do what they have to do to survive. Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m in NO WAY condoning ANY type of illegal activity. Not whatsoever. In fact I couldn’t be more against it.

I’m ‘old’school’ in my thinking and I believe we all have to work for what we get in life. And the harder we work, the more money we make. Or at least that’s how it should be anyway.

Our Country was founded on this principal and I believe that’s what has helped to create the Superpower that we are today. Well, that we were at one time. Not too sure where we stand in the ‘global’ scheme of things these days but I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to say.

But hard work seems to have been replaced by taking the easy way out. How can I get the most for doing the least. The world ‘owes me’, now gimme mine! And no doubt that type of mentality is going to be our demise.

Which brings me back to all these Bank robberies. There probably aren’t as many attempts as it appears, due to the vast amount of Banks that are out there in relation to the amount of attempts, yet they always seem to make headlines. Whether it be in print or online, there’s no shortage of ‘bad guys’ lookin’ for a ‘free ride’.

This got me to thinkin’. I know, uh oh, there he goes thinkin’ again. This COULD be dangerous! No really, this is starting to bug me. Recession or no recession, there’s just no excuse for stupidity. If you’re going to do anything in life, do it right the FIRST time.

I don’t know about you but I can’t EVER recall walking in to a Bank, completely avoiding the ‘mini~maze’ that guides you to the Teller windows [yeah, the one with the huge sign that says ENTER HERE!], proceeding to walk straight up to one of the Tellers that is just waiting for you with open arms and saying “Gimme ALL Your Money, NOW!”

First off, seems to me like just as soon as you walk in the Branch, someone, whether it’s a Guard or somebody in New Accounts will make eye contact and smile. I always like to smile back, it makes for a better day.

Next obstacle is the Maze, a series of ‘twists and turns’, designed to create some semblance of ‘uniformity’ and to guide you to where you REALLY wanna go.

Not that it hasn’t happened but it’s very rare, like one out of every forty times, that this maze is empty. Like I mentioned, extremely rare. Yet even on those special occasions, I STILL do as the sign tells me and I begin my journey at the entrance to the maze.

Don’t get me started on those ‘rule breakers’ that, once they’ve taken care of their banking, INSIST on walking backwards through the maze. What are they thinking, don’t they KNOW they are breaking the rules? Apparently not or they wouldn’t do it in the first place, right? Actually I’m not too sure but it definitely makes no sense to me. Perhaps they like to live life ‘on the edge’.

So chances are, once you get to the ‘line up’, there will be at the very least one or two people in front of you. More than likely there will be many more than that but let’s just assume that you won’t be the only person waiting for a Teller.

Some people filling out Deposit slips, others scratching out there info on a Withdrawl slip, HOPING that they will have sufficient funds to complete the transaction. Some even on their Cell Phones, trying to look important, in an effort to make the Tellers hurry up. Good luck with THAT one.

Of those making withdrawls, most of these people need a different amount of money than what the ATM has to offer. And if you’re at all like me, you’ve had those times where you needed cash but your account balance showed less than $20. Yep, I said it. LESS than the $20 minimum and NO, I’m not proud of that statement.

That’s when you HAVE to take the ‘walk of shame’, going inside the Branch and asking for your $18. But you need a balance of at least $10 just to keep your account open. Then it’s decision time.

With about forty eyes staring at you from the lineup in the maze, burning holes in the back of your head, PRESSURING you to HURRY UP and make up your mind so they can complete their transactions and get back to their day, you HAVE to make a split second decision. ‘On the fly’ no less because you surely weren’t prepared to make such a ‘life altering’ decision when you walked in the door.

Hmmm, should I take out $8 and keep my account open or just say screw it, take the entire $18 out and close it down? But if you close your account, won’t that mean you’ll have to fill out a bunch of extra paperwork? Oh, the anxiety.

That in itself could take even longer than YOU planned. But what the hell is $8 gonna buy you? One trip to the Jack in the Box ‘Dollar Menu’ and that pretty much blows you’re wad. YIKES, What SHOULD I Do? Just thinkin’ about this is stressing me out, I gotta move on.

OK, so you’re finally at the front of the line. So close you can almost read the names on the little ‘signs’ next to each Teller window. Out of the thirty eight teller windows available, only three are open. Why is that?

Where the hell is Denise, Becky, Sherrie, Lisa, Tanya, Robin, Shaniqua, Melissa, Terri, Carla, Justine, Ricki, Charlene, Dustin, Christy, Yolanda, Shana, Missy, Barbara, Deborah, Mary, Joshua, Katherine, Brandi and all the other ‘missing peeps’. Why aren’t they at work? Don’t they realize I’m in a hurry? I’ve got places to go, things to do, people to meet! I’ve got to get on with my day. Jeez, if you’re not gonna show up for work at least have the courtesy to take your sign down the night before. It just looks tacky, you and your time off, rubbin’ it in our faces. Why must you mock us?

That’s about the time that I see IT! The giant HD Big Screen TV monitor, seemingly staring at me. Actually, it’s difficult to avoid looking at it since it’s right in front of you, staring back at you.

Hmmm, that guy looks kinda familiar. I’m not the least bit into guys but he’s kinda handsome, a bit rugged lookin’. Perhaps he’s a GQ Model? He looks a bit like me but 20lbs. heavier. Wait a minute, that IS ME! That’s ME staring at me! But from a completely different angle. How can that be?

Then it dawns on me that I’m being filmed by some kinda ‘Nanny Cam’, probably in the ceiling or something. That answers the question about the weird angle. Jeez, I feel like I’m at the local Indian Casino, about to lose my last dollar on some ‘rigged’ game of Blackjack.

Wow, until now I never thought about the similarities between the two establishments, the Bank and the Casino. Taking out my last dollar, about to throw it away. ON CAMERA! Not good.

And I sure hope I wasn’t cussing out loud about all the truant employees, they’d have it on file. I’d sure hate to have them treat me differently after viewing the footage, that would truly be a shame.

“Ummm, I Can Help You Over Here!” A bit startled, I’m faintly aware of a voice coming from somewhere far off in the distance. I look around and then I see IT. Scanning the entire counter, spanning just about the same distance as the front straightaway at the Indy 500, down near the end I can barely make out a slight movement above the counter top. Is that a Hummingbird? Nope, it’s the Tellers hand waving to me, signaling me to head in her direction.

Can’t really see any more than her hand, especially from this distance. The Teller ‘wall’ is kinda tall so it makes it difficult to actually see anybody until you’re directly in line with the window. So I begin the long walk, kinda like in the movie Nine Mile and I start to hear the crowd in the maze chanting Dead Man Walkin’ and…ooops, gettin’ a bit side tracked.

Finally, face to face with the Teller. Such a beautiful smile, perfect for a Teller. Looking at her ‘sign’, I break the ice with a “Hi Brittney, how are you today?” Of course, as I’m saying this I’m just hoping that she’s working at her own station and not somebody elses. That would really be embarassing if I called her by the wrong name.

“Please swipe your card.” Well, I guess that’s about it for the idle chit chat. She’s got a job to do and she wants to get it done. No BS’n around today. Which is more than fine with me. After being in line for what seems like forever, I’m about ready to get this whole thing over with because by now it’s just about lunch time and there’s bound to be a huge lineup in the Drive Thru at Jack in the Box!

With the transaction completed, I begin heading for the front door. Why is it that they have everything so blocked off that you’re forced to walk by all of the angry people still waiting in the maze, dying to get to the ‘cheese’? Cruel I tell ya’, just down right cruel.

Getting back in my car, I can’t help but reflect a bit on this mornings ‘experience’. This whole banking ‘thing’ seems rather ridiculous at this point. Isn’t it MY MONEY? Last time I checked it was anyway. If so, then why the hell is it so hard to get it back in my pocket? I could go on and on about this but I won’t. That’s an entirely different story, one I’ll save for later.

Finally, made it to Jack in the Box. Jeez, I’m starving, can’t wait to get me some food. What the heck is this, another lineup? You gotta be kidding me! It’s not even lunch time yet. Good thing I got out of the Bank so quickly, any later and this line could have really been bad.

As I stared at the “If you can read this, YOU’RE TOO CLOSE!” bumper sticker on the minivan in front of me, I began to think about all the people waiting in the Drive Thru in front of me. Then I noticed the ‘Mi Familia’ stickers on the back window. You know which ones I’m talking about, the little ‘cut outs’ that show the entire family, right down to the dog.

Yikes, there’s Papi, Mami and about fourteen kids. Oh, and their dog Pepe’. I sure hope they aren’t ordering for the entire family AND the dog, that could take forever. Oh well, I guess I should be grateful that I made it this far. I mean, there could have been some friggin’ idiot tryin’ to rob the bank at the same time I was in there so in essence, I’m pretty lucky.

Which got me to thinkin’ about the Bank again. And the fools that try to pull off these heists. I guess what intrigues me the most is how on earth are these so called ‘Bank Robbers’ getting through the maze and up to the Teller windows without being spotted? I mean c’mon, they don’t seem to posess a whole lot of creativity, not to mention zero individuality.

It’s as if they all bought BANK ROBBERY FOR DUMMIES, glanced over Chapter One on How to dress properly for the occasion, then got so excited that they didn’t read any further before they ran to the Bank to test out all of their newly discovered knowledge. All of them seem to exude such a high degree of stupidity, it amazes me that so many of them make it as far along in the process as they do.

It’s hard enough for us ‘regular’ folks to get to the Teller window, how in the heck are THEY making it with such apparent ease? Especially when they are wearing some of the most ridiculous disguises ever conceived.

Just a quick heads up to all the Bank Managers and Tellers out there. When you see a guy [or gal] walk in the front door wearing a Baseball Hat and Sunglasses, there’s a pretty good chance that they’re up to no good and you might want to think about keeping an eye on them. Perhaps even put your hand on the secret button, just in case. I don’t know, it’s just a thought.

And is it just me or is this THE most popular Bank Robber ‘outfit’ out there? Running a close second has to be the ‘Hoodie’ with the bandana around the neck. After that, you’re pretty much in the ‘Ex Presidents Mask’ Category and at that point, it’s pretty obvious that you’re not there to make a Deposit. No doubt it’s going to be an Illegal Withdrawl and things are gonna get ugly real quick!

A bit startled, I hear “My name is Felicia, would you like to try our new Jackalicious Jackburger Combo Meal Supremo for only $14.99?” I’m thinkin’ jeez, for that price it better come with a Lobster Tail. And butter.

Somewhat stunned, I mutter “Uh, no thank you, I can’t really afford that. Can I just get two Chicken Sandwiches, small Fries and a small Diet Coke?” To which she replies, “OK, so that’s two Chicken Neckwiches, Le Mini Fries and a Dixie Cup Size Diet Coke? That’ll be $17.88 at the first window. Please pull forward!“

Dang, that seems expensive! Maybe I SHOULD have gotten the Jackalicious Jackburger Combo after all. Too late now, I’ve already ordered and I sure as heck ain’t gonna try and back up. Too many people in line behind me. Man, if these prices keep goin’ up, I’m gonna have to rob a Bank!

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Focus. Such a simple word. Heck it’s only five letters, how tough can it be? Apparently extremely difficult, for me anyway. I seem to be surrounded by so many distractions these days, each of them prying me away from all of my intended tasks.

Every night I create my ‘tomorrow list’ , my list of goals for the next day. Sure, no guarantee that I’ll get any of them done but more than likely I’ll accomplish at least one or two. Not too much to expect, is it? Which in turn gives me some semblance of moving forward towards my goals. And to be honest I need to feel as if something is getting done, otherwise the days fly by and at the end of the week, all I have to show for my effort is the same list I started with, only it’s five times longer than Mondays list.

Very defeating to say the least. Give up, pack it in, forget about everything I'm trying to accomplish? Nope, I just keep pluggin' away at it, hoping to make it through another day of relentless interuptions. Yet at the end of the day it seems to be more or less the same ol' story. Nothing to show for it but a headache and an ulcer. Not exactly what I was looking for, that's for sure.

Kind of reminds me of Tiger Woods and his Father Earl. Tiger would be practicing, hitting golf balls on the Driving Range or wherever and just as Tiger was in the middle of his backswing, his Dad would knock over his golf bag or throw a couple balls in front of him, something to that effect. Anything he could do to distract him from what he was doing.

At first, all this did was anger him. You know Tiger, I'm sure he was cussin' up a storm. But as time went by, he gradually began to learn to cope with these distractions and 'play through' them. If you follow golf at all then I'm sure you've seen Tiger stop his golf swing, at the beginning of his down swing because of some type of distraction. For anyone that's ever played golf, you know how difficult this is. Once the body is moving, it's nearly impossible to halt all of that forward momentum. At least not without throwing out your back in the process.

Yet Tiger has done this on many occasions, choosing to 'cancel' the shot rather than hitting the ball when he's not 100% commited to it. He would much rather start over completely than to hit a shot that he's not comfortable with. That takes some split second decision making, not a maybe I will, maybe I won't attitude. Again, only a rare few are able to even attempt this, let alone pull it off. In fact, I was watching a Tournament a few weeks ago....sorry, I kind of lost my focus for a minute. Back to my original thought. What was it again? Oh yeah, Focus. Highly sought after yet one of the most elusive of all traits.

This morning is a prime example of letting all the distractions around me take over, redirecting my focus to other areas and not allowing me to focus on the task at hand. Five TVs going at the same time but only two people home [and one of them is on the computer]. Most of the TVs seem to be on the same channel, yet all of them are about 3 seconds out of 'sync' and so it seems as if they are all screaming from various 'bottomless pits'. HELLO, HELLo, HELlo, HEllo, Hello.....HOW, HOw, How......

Dishwasher roaring away, the soapy water whooshing back and forth as the dial 'clicks' from position to position. Click, Clack, Bammm! With each cycle change I can hear the 'system' go through the motions. Lather, Rinse, Repeat! Oooops, that's if you're shampooing your hair. Lost my focus a bit there.

As I was saying, with every cycle change of the dishwasher a new distraction is evoked, causing me to lose my train of thought again. Hmmm, why is it so easy for me to focus on the sounds of the dishwasher but nearly impossible for me to continue to focus on my writing?

Then the Tea Pot starts to whistle it's never ending tune. Like a screaming Steam Locomotive barreling down on me, my mind instantly travels back to the 60's TV show, The Wild Wild West and that bitchin' Train Jim and Artie always ended up celebrating on at the end of each adventure. Jeez, that Caboose was so beautiful inside. Funny how they never showed the Engineer. I wonder if there was anybody piloting that train? And that coolishly evil 'mini~me' guy, Dr. Miguelito Loveless, he was such a great nemesis. Did you see the episode where they....sorry, distracted again.

What's THAT noise? Oh, the friggin' vacuum. Yes, that is a necessary task around the house but does it have to be done NOW? Why can't it be done when I'm out of the house, running errands or something? Who does the scheduling around here anyway? Then it occurs to me. I should probably help out around here a lot more and I could start by doing some of that vacuuming myself. How will I find the time to fit THAT in to my schedule as well as all the other things I need to get done? Then the guilt starts. Yep, I better put that on my list.

Where the heck is that list anyway? Oh, here it is. No, this can't be it, it has a date on it from two weeks ago. Unfortunately this IS the correct one. I never bothered to start a new one, just kept adding to the old one. Didn't have anything I could cross off so might as well keep it going. Why waste the paper? Oh, that reminds me. I need some new legal size yellow tablets to write out some rough drafts for some of my future Blog Posts. Hmmm, where's my Office Depot list? Have you ever been to Office.....sorry, distracted AGAIN!

Holy crap, what was THAT? Sounds like the Space Shuttle just took off from Bryans Air Force Base! As I run to the window, I realize it's the Tree Trimmer guys that pulled up across the street earlier this morning. My ear plugs helped to deaden most of the chain saw noise but when they fired up the Chipper, no ear plugs invented are ever gonna knock down that turbine from hell. At this point all I can hope is that they attempt to shred a limb that is just way too big, jam the machine and have to call it a day. I mean, I hate to have anybody miss any work but it sure would be nice to have them call it a day a bit early. Hmmm, I wonder if they get paid by the hour or if they're on salary? I had a salary job once and I nev...sorry, distracted again. Dang It!

As I was saying, Focus seems to be so hard to come by these days. With the world around us so full of noise pollution, it's nearly impossible to find a place to 'hide out', far away from all of the distractions that seem to keep us from our intended mission. All I want is just a little peace and quiet for a change. Is that too much to...hang on, somebodys at the door. BRB....

"No thanks, we just rent here. Sure, I'll give your card to the Landlord but I know how cheap he is so I doubt he'll want any of these trees trimmed. I'm sure he'd much rather just wait for the next storm to do the work for him and save some money. His theory is to let Mother Nature take care of it. If it's meant to come down, it will." Speaking of storms, just a few days ago we had an incred.....ooops, got a bit distracted there.

Focus. Why is it so easy to focus on all of the outside distractions and not on the more important tasks? I want so badly to get these things done. This got me to wondering. Am I'm just making excuses? Cheesy reasons for never getting any work done? Shouldn't I be able to write in the middle of a hail storm, with the doors and windows wide open, all the TVs on, stereo playin' full blast, gardner weed whackin' the bushes and a.... uh oh, what the heck is THAT THUMPIN'?

Not another Police chase! That helicopter sure is flyin' low and now it's doin' circles! THUMP, THUMp, THUmp.... Maybe they have the guy surrounded already? That sure would be nice, then perhaps they could 'wrap it up' sooner. Just drag the guy out of the car already! I mean c'mon, guilty until proven innocent, right? More than likely he carjacked the Minivan anyway and now that it's absolute junk from the Spike Strips and the PIT Maneuver you put on it, commence with the 'beat down' and haul him to the Gray Bar Motel. Speakin' of police chases, did you see that last episode of Worlds Dumbest Criminals where the guy tried to....dammit, distracted again!

OK, no more excuses, I gotta stay focused or I'll never get this Post finished! I'm not usually one to just start writing a new Blog Post from scratch. It's very rare, if ever that I just sit down and write one 'on the fly' but for some reason I feel very inspired this morning and no doubt I need to vent a bit. Normally I do a rough draft first and then whittle it down so that it's only way too long as opposed to being WAY WAY TOO LONG!

Yes, I admit I have an issue with overly long Blog Posts but I hate to feel 'cramped' and to have my thoughts stifled by the so called 'rules' of the Blogosphere. Who made up these rules anyway? And who's gonna enforce them, some kind of Cyber Sheriff? Flyin' around in a 'Virtualcopter', screaming out on his bullhorn, "That Post is TOO LONG! Delete It Immediately! Put your two typing fingers in the air and step away from the computer!"

Like in that movie that Sly Stallone did called Judge Dread. He was some sort of Lawman from Outer Space, flyin' around and passing judgement on all these Cyberdudes. That was back when movies only cost about $7.00, nowadays they are outra....jeez, gettin a bit off track again. I gotta work on that.

I really have to get better at staying focused, that's for sure. I'm beginning to feel like an Octoblogger with thirty five arms, each of them working on something without the others knowing exactly what that something is.

Multi~multitasking, which is never good because for the most part none of the tasks are ever completed and the few that are are basically done half assed and by no means anything to be proud of. I take pride in everything I do. That's why I tend to put 110% in to whatever it is I'm doing, regardless of its level of importance. Doesn't always show but I know inside that I did my best. I think that all started way back when I first....Damn Dogs, what are they barkin' at NOW? Hold that thought, I'll be RIGHT BACK....

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Honest, I did my best. I really tried my darndest to resist temptation. Although I know all the reasons, too many calories, too much grease, any way you choose to look at it, just not healthy for me. Yet, here I was, caught in it’s greasy grip, the mile long line up at the In ‘N’ Out Burger Drive Thru, anxiously awaiting placement of my order.

With the line being so long I still had time to do the ‘right thing’, to turn around and go back home. After all, this burger wasn’t something I had to have, only something I wanted and that alone wasn’t really a good enough reason to indulge. Or was it? Like an invisible magnetic force, pulling me closer and even though I did resist, I still found myself being pulled forward toward that little red framed window. It was at this point that I came to the realization that there was no turning back, no matter how hard I tried.

As I watched the line continue to grow behind me, I was amazed at how many people were obviously on the same wavelength. How can it be so crowded at 2:00 in the afternoon? Hasn’t everyone already eaten? I purposely waited until way after the basic ‘lunch hour’ to avoid all this commotion but apparently it didn’t do me much good. On the other hand, maybe it did. It’s quite possible this line was even worse a couple hours earlier.

Sitting there, sunroof open, soakin’ up the sunshine along with a few great tunes, it seemed we weren’t moving at all. Goin’ nowhere fast. That’s when I noticed a huge gap in front of the car directly in front of me. Why isn’t this idiot moving? Doesn’t he realize that there are about 100 cars behind me, filled with starving people chompin’ at the bit to get up to the speaker box? I can already feel about 400 eyes burnin’ holes in the back of my head, wonderin’ why I haven’t moved forward in quite some time. Don’t make me go all crazy and start honkin’ my horn!

Then it dawns on me. He’s not moving because there’s a girl taking his order on a faux Ipad and transmitting all his info electronically to the ‘insiders’ way before he ever get’s to the speaker box. Keep in mind we’re nowhere near the giant lifesize outdoor Menu yet, not even close and yet she expects us to know what we want. I guess it’s easy to assume that most everybody has a pretty good idea what they want already, especially considering the Menu only consists of about ten choices.

Sure, there’s a choice of with or without onions, even how you want them prepared and a few other intricacies that aren’t actually ‘spelled out’ on the board but for the most part, everybody has their favorites and one would assume they get the same thing every time. I know I do, that’s for sure. While I might change up the drink choice once in a while, it’s very rare that I’ll mess with the rest of the order. Why mess with a good thing? For those that do choose to risk it all, there is the “Not So Secret Menu” which would allow for some ‘out of the box’ thinkin’ but I don’t really need to go there.

Finally, I get the ‘signal’. The sign from Olga the Order Taker to please pull forward. “Wait! What’s going on here?” As I move forward to fill the gap in the lineup, she walks forward at the same time, seemingly mocking my forward progress. Is she making me chase her? Does she just want to feel wanted? Needed in some way? Typical woman. At this point she HAS to know she’s both wanted AND needed as she’s the direct connection, the ONLY connection to the powers that be. Without her, me and everybody else in this huge pile of people behind me are pretty much screwed. Up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

It’s then that I realize she’s just moving forward to allow everyone to fill the gap in the lineup and to give the impression that we are actually making some sort of progress. Inching ever closer to the promised land, the land of the free, the home of the brave. Well, the place where you pay for your food, which is just about the same thing.

All of a sudden, I heard a voice come over the outdoor loudspeaker. “Nine hundred sixty nine, number nine hundred sixty nine!” Hmmm, that answers that. As I was waiting in line, I found myself wondering if it would have been faster to walk inside but as I scanned the faces of all the people that were standing in line and sitting at the outdoor tables, I got the impression that they were just as irritated at the overly long wait. In fact it almost looked like they were somehow blaming those of us in the Drive Thru for the outrageous amount of time they had to wait for their food. Good thing I didn’t walk in.

Finally, so close I could almost touch it but not quite. One more car and I’d be there. Well, not exactly. More like one half of a car. I would have to pull all the way forward, more than likely hitting the bumper of the guy in front of me in order to be able to climb out my window to hand my money to the girl with the headset on. This was due to the fact that a guy a couple cars in front of me had decided to tow a trailer through the Drive Thru [which I can relate to but that's another story that I'll save for later] thus causing the line to be a bit out of kilter.

“Ok, here we go. Here’s my money, now where’s my food?” “Your food? Oh, you pick that up at the next window.” Hmmm, the NEXT window? What next window? I can’t see another window. Are you sure there’s another window? There must be some kind of mistake!

“No mistake. Please pull forward!” Hmmm, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, about an hour ago when I placed my order with the girl holding the Ipad. Here we go again. Up ahead I can see a curve in the road, perhaps the window of which she speaks is up around the bend. Now, when I say road, this ‘road’ is similar to the old Autopia Ride at Disneyland in that it has high curbs along the sides that seemingly ‘guide’ you to the promised land. If you somehow ‘jump’ these curbs, you’re either extremely drunk [again, saving that story for later] or you really didn’t want your burger bad enough after all.

After negotiating this final curve, through the haze and the ‘ripple effect’ coming off of the overheated cars in front of me, I can just make it out. Like an oasis in the desert, a lake surrounded by palm trees, it’s the little window with the red trim. The window that the girl with the headset spoke of oh so long ago.

But this window is different. Very different. Not quite sure why but I just know it is. Then it dawns on me. It ‘smells’ different. Yep, this is THE ONE! The one I’ve waited all this time to get to, the one I ‘broke all the rules’ for. As she read my order back to me again, I wasn’t even listening to her. I just kept saying “YES, YES, YES! Whatever, just give me my food!” The food I ordered about two hours ago. The food I payed for about an hour ago. THAT food.

At this point I pretty much couldn’t care less how close the contents of the bag were to my actual order. In fact, I’m so dizzy and light headed that I can’t even remember WHAT I ordered!

“Says here you’ll be taking it home to eat it, so we’ll bag it up.” “YES, THROW IT IN A BAG SO I CAN GET THE HECK OUTTA HERE!!!” I’m so hungry at this point that the bag is a mere annoyance, I’ll most likely eat that as well while on my way to the burgers.

“Oh, also says here that you ordered a Chocolate Shake.” “I did? Oh yeah, I did.” That was such a long time ago I more or less forgot. Good thing she remembered or I would have had to come back. Heck, I’m not even sure I could have handled that and more than likely I wouldn’t have bothered. I would have just cut my losses. To go through that line again wouldn’t have been worth it.

And we’re off! Got my bag of burgers ‘n’ fries, my Shake and I’m outta here. The way they designed everything here, in order to get back out to the street, you have to wind your way back through the parking lot, skirting the lineup of folks in the Drive Thru lineup. Hmmmm, what a small world.

Just think, only a few short hours ago I too was in this lineup, anxiously awaiting my dream meal. If they only knew. Only had a clue as to the journey that waits ahead for them. I wonder if they’d stay in line if they knew how long it was gonna be before they actually got their food?

As I continued to weave my way between the mish mash of cars, all of which seemed to be in a big hurry to go nowhere, I noticed the changes on the faces of the occupants. The further I got away from the end of the burger rainbow, the more the faces were filled with anxiety and anger. Before I knew it, it started to look like a freeway onramp at 5:00 on a friday afternoon just before a three day Holiday weekend.

Tempers were flaring, blood was beginning to boil, horns began honking, people were cutting other people off, all signs of courtesy being thrown out the window only to be replaced by BURGER RAGE! It has to be seen to truly be understood but there it was, continuing to manifest itself right in front of me. No doubt about it, this was absolute Burger Rage and there was no way to stop it.

How could this have happened? How could a simple trip to the local burger joint turn into an anxiety filled stress test? Only one answer. It’s gotta be the LAW OF STARVATION. Since the beginning of time, the hunt for food has brought out the most savage of tendencies in man and this was just another example of how some things never change.

Upon nearly making it to the exit of the parking lot, almost free, I decided to just find an open parking space, relax for a few minutes and eat my burger in peace. I was pretty much worn out from the whole experience and believe it or not, even hungrier than when I first arrived there oh so long ago.

Sitting there, thankful that I had gotten my food and my time in line was over, I enjoyed my burger and fries. Every last deep fried greasy bite of it. Topped off, of course, with that exquisite Chocolate Shake. To say it was delicious is an understatement.

Upon sucking that last bit of Chocolate scrumptuousness through the straw, a strange thing occured to me. All that frustration, anxiety and stress that I had just suffered through such a short time ago was nearly gone from my memory. All that Burger Rage had been erased, only to be replaced by the sweet memories of a great burger [with grilled onions], real potato fries and an incredible shake.

Some kind of magic? I think not. Will I be coming back again? You bet. It’s the law. THE LAW OF STARVATION.

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Grow Up? Who, Me?? Not likely. At least not anytime soon. Sorry to say but growing up is right up there with getting old and neither one are in my immediate future. At least not if I can help it anyway.

Recently I was over at a buddy of mines house, a friend I haven’t seen in about three years. We were hangin’ out, BS’n about BS. You know, the usual. Inside the garage sat his recently purchased Harley Davidson, a bike he had wanted for quite some time. Needless to say I was super happy for him.

It’s a sweet bike with all the accessories anybody could want. As I looked it over, one thing that really grabbed my attention was the license plate frame. I’ve been into Cars and Motorcycles of all types from as far back as I can remember so no doubt I could easily appreciate a bike as nice as this one. But for some reason it was the license plate frame that stood out the most.

At first it didn’t strike me as all that odd. After all, during the last few years I’d seen this ‘saying’ plastered all over. Whether it be T~Shirts, Coffee Mugs, Window Stickers and yes, License Plate Frames, I’ve seen it everywhere. I’m sure most of you have as well.

As I mentioned, I’ve been involved with antique and collectible cars for quite awhile, mainly Woodies and you see tons of this stuff at all of the Woodie Events. The Woodie crowd spans quite a few generations, so no big surprises there. Never thought too much about it, one way or another.

Although as far as I’m concerned, I never really felt like I could relate to it. While I was fully aware of what it meant, I just never felt that it applied to me whatsoever. At least not in the same way that many others seem to be able to relate. Definitely not on my ‘wavelength’, that’s for sure.

Not to sound too harsh but it’s great for the ‘older’ crowd but surely no one from ‘MY’ generation would nor in my opinion should ever be caught displaying anything of this sort on their Woodie, let alone on their body or anywhere else. It’s an ego booster of sorts for the older folks but not anybody my age.

Yet here I was, standing ten feet from my buddies Harley and there IT was, seemingly mocking me. Like staring into the blazing inferno known as the Sun, it hurt to look at it yet I found it nearly impossible to look away. It had me under it’s spell and I couldn’t figure out why. No flashing lights, no Disco Ball, nothing whatsoever to really draw ones attention to it. Yet there it was, proudly displayed for all to see. Only about five inches by about eight inches or so, not like a giant Billboard on the side of the freeway. Yet, judging by it’s impact on me, it might as well have been. In small, one inch high letters, for all to see, it read “OLD GUYS RULE!” WTF???

I say proudly because he keeps his bike super clean and I’d be shocked if there was anything mounted anywhere on this bike the he didn’t feel was a reflection of his personality. From the full fairing with lowers right back to the saddle bags, this baby was meant to be a comfortable ride and ride it he does.

Weird then how the first thought that popped into my head was that this must be his Dads bike. Only one problem, his Dad doesn’t live in San Diego and he surely would never leave it at his sons house anyway. His Dad loves to ride, so he’d have his bike with him at all times. Nope, this HAS to be the Harley that I’d heard about him buying a few months ago. The one he picked out himself, his “Baby”.

So, what gives? How in the hell could he have something like this on his cycle? If it wasn’t meant to be there, perhaps from a previous owner or something of that sort, he sure as heck would have already taken it off and if I had anything to say about it, it would have gone straight in the trash.

After all, he’s only a year or so older than I am. Matter of fact, we both graduated from High School the same year so I’m havin’ all kinds of trouble wrapping my head around what I’m seeing. Who’s out of touch with reality here, him or me?

While I openly admit I’ve always had ‘trouble’ with age, especially mine, this was definitely something I wasn’t prepared for. Yes, as time goes by we all get older. But exactly when are you supposed to consider yourself an ‘old guy’? I guess if someone is younger than you are, hopefully quite a few years younger than you are, then perhaps they can look at you as an ‘old guy’ but when you’re the one calling yourself an old guy, that’s when it gets weird. It does for me anyway.

Kinda like the first time somebody calls you ‘Sir’. “Excuse me SIR.” “Can I help you SIR?” “Right this way, SIR!” Talk about sending shivers up your spine. Not the warm ‘n’ fuzzy kind of tingles either. More like Edward Scissorhands relentlessly dragging his ‘scissors’ across a chalkboard. YIKES!!!

My mind raced, not knowing whether or not I should even bring it up. How on earth could he consider himself to be an old guy? I did my best to take into consideration the fact that at this point he must weigh over three hundred lbs. and perhaps the fact that he struggles to walk around, not to mention just getting up out of a chair is a workout, might have something to do with his feeling old. Not that I can run a four minute mile or that I go to the gym five days a week but in my opinion I still get around ok. Well, for an old guy anyway.

Could it be just a matter of numbers? At sixteen, you get your Drivers License. At eighteen you’re allowed to vote. At twenty one you’re FINALLY allowed to drink alcohol and at forty nine you’re officially an Old Guy? Not cool, that’s for sure.

You hear people say all the time that age is just a number and you’re only as old as you feel. Now that I think about it, seems like it’s always the older folks that say this, not the younger ones.

When it comes right down to it, I still feel like I’m twenty nine and in actuality, I say that mostly out of guilt because in reality I still feel like I’m twenty three. But it seems wrong for me to even say that. Kinda sounds like I’m being immature and not facing facts. Not facing the fact that I’ve seen forty nine Xmas’, not twenty three.

OK then, who’s out of touch here? Him for throwin’ in the towel early and calling himself an ‘old guy’ or me for not allowing myself to face the reality that in todays world, I just might be an old guy too? Such a dilemma.

My Cousin just turned forty and it brought back a flood of memories, all the thoughts that had gone through my mind when I turned forty. No doubt she was a bit freaked out about it or at least I would imagine she was. Everybody builds it up to be such a major milestone in ones life that it’s pretty much guaranteed to have a huge impact no matter how much you try to go with the flow.

Even though they say that forty is the new thirty, you can’t help but wonder if all the so called ‘fun’ that you had in your twenties and thirties will now be replaced by a never ending downhill slide, grasping at anything you can hang on to before you slide off that huge cliff known as fifty on your way to that giant pit of quicksand known as sixty, slowly sinking your way down to your seventies and beyond. Well, let’s hope you continue on anyway.

I’ve got news for her. As with everything else in life, perception plays a huge part in your outlook and more than ever before, attitude IS everything. It’s entirely up to you. You can choose to be grateful for all you’ve seen, done and accomplished throughout your life or you can choose to wallow in the regrets from all you haven’t. The choice is yours and no one elses. Choose wisely.

As for me, I’m doing my best to let go of my regrets. While I haven’t come close to conquering this issue entirely, I’ve gotten much better at letting go and not continually beating myself up over the choices that I’ve made, both good and bad, throughout my life. After all, I surely can’t change the past and to continue feeling guilty about it doesn’t do me one bit of good. Again, I’m a work in progress.

One of my favorite sayings has always been “When all is said and done, the only regrets we’ll have are the risks we didn’t take” and it really helps me move forward. Not to say that as this pertains to dating and asking women out, I still tend to let the fear of rejection hinder me much more than I’d like it to but overall, I feel I’ve made great strides in this area as well.

I guess what it really boils down to is that he and I are both looking at our age from different vantage points. He’s been working for the same Company pretty much his entire life and it’s paid off in a big way. He’s just about to take early retirement and really looking forward to it. Me on the other hand, I’m the flake that never really stuck with any job longer than I had to and therefore it looks like I’ll be working for quite a few more years. Not that I wouldn’t like to retire early, hit the EZ Button and just cruise through life from here on out but that’s just not in the cards for me.

But I’d have to think that that might have some effect on his perspective on life. He’s lived his life according to the basic ‘schedule of life’ set out by those that came before him. In fact, he did it so well that he’s actually ahead of schedule and I can’t help but give him tons of kudos for a job well done. Obviously I never could have pulled it off, it’s just not ‘me’ to be one of the ‘herd’ so I give him all the credit in the world.

And maybe somewhere on this ‘schedule’, there’s a certain date circled where you officially become an ‘Old Guy’. Again, if there is such a date it’s very apparent that I never got the memo. It’s just as well because had I gotten the memo I surely would have torn it up and thrown it away anyway.

I’ve spent my entire life refusing to allow myself to get old. Marriage, kids, all those types of things were for old people. Definitely not for me. It’s funny though, now that I’m at a point in my life that I’d love to get married and travel the world with my wife, my life partner, she’s seemingly nowhere to be found. Apparently I waited too long. Guess I should have grown up just a little bit sooner.

But that doesn’t mean I intend to allow myself to grow old. Nope, not me. In my opinion the minute you do that, the second you allow yourself to ‘think’ and to ‘feel’ that you’re old, in essence you’ve given up and there’s a rockin’ chair in your immediate future. The way I see it, Fifty is the ‘new’ Thirty! Apparently deep down I’m still a ToysRus Kid because I just don’t wanna grow up.

And if you EVER see me drivin’ down the road with an Old Guys Rule license plate frame, feel free to call the Cops because at that point I’ll more than likely have Alzheimers and I shouldn’t be driving anyway.


If you can relate to not wanting to grow up, let alone to get older, I’d enjoy hearing about it and if you liked this Post, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with your friends.

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Is that so wrong? Too much to ask? It’s the age old battle, I would assume pretty much since the beginning of time. How can I spend my days (or nights) doing what I love, following my passions as opposed to spending an entire lifetime following the rest of the sheep, herded along the freeways, taking the safe road to nowhere and needless to say not too happy about it?

After all, isn’t working at what you enjoy more or less like not working at all? Wouldn’t you much rather spend your days with a big smile on your face as opposed to a permanent frown? I know I would, that’s for sure.

And when you do something you’re passionate about, you end up with a much nicer end result. Such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment from a job well done. Can you just imagine the feeling of never wanting your day to end because you’re having so much fun? Only to be surpassed by the relentless amount of sleepless nights, laying there, so amped up thinking about all the things you want to accomplish the next day. Heck, who needs an alarm clock when you never actually fall asleep anyway. Hard to imagine lack of sleep being a ‘good thing’ but I guess in this case it would be.

No doubt that’s the life I wanna live. Knowing that tomorrow is going to be even better than today was. Wouldn’t that be the greatest life ever? I’d have to think so.

OK then, now that we know HOW we want our life to be, how do we go about creating the life of our dreams? In essence, how do we cash in on our passion?

First off, we need to identify what it is we are actually passionate about. Basically it comes down to a matter of deciding what it is you’d look forward to waking up and doing every day, rain or shine, regardless of whether or not you were getting paid to do it.

I can name a few things right off the bat. I’ve always had a passion for Antiques & Collectibles. The thrill of the hunt, the rush of the ‘discovery’, the interaction with the current ‘custodian’ as it relates to purchasing the object, overcoming my overwhelming desire to own every rare antiquity on earth & finding a ‘new’ caretaker and lastly, the ‘warm ‘n’ fuzzies’ I get from knowing that my ‘find’ is on it’s way to a new home, increasing the enjoyment of all others that get to view it. And then the process begins again. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but it never seems to diminish the thrill of the hunt.

Another dream of mine, ever since I wrote my first short story back in Elementary School has been to be a Writer. Most likely fiction but as much as I enjoy writing from my heart, it’s entirely possible that I would also dabble in the non fiction genre a bit. As I’m sure you can tell I’ve never actually taken any writing classes or persued it in any way so perhaps it’s the fact that Stephen King and I share the same birthday (NO, not the same year!) that might have something to do with my passion for writing, I’m not exactly sure. One thing’s for certain though, I really love Blogging and would truly enjoy taking it to another level.

I’d have to say that the third thing on my ‘list’ would be painting Murals. My goal would be to learn how to paint Trompe L’ O’eil, “Trick Of The Eye” Murals for both indoor and outdoor applications. For those unfamiliar with this style of art, in essence it’s creating the realistic feeling of something that although you know darn well it’s not really there, it appears so realistic that you have to question yourself as to what you’re actually looking at.

This can be as simple as a Faux plaster finish on an interior wall, maybe a ‘window’ with a view of the vineyard in the distance all the way up to a giant ‘hole’ in the outside wall of a building, thereby allowing a ‘peek’ inside at the huge Bank vault within, containing all kinds of untold riches.

Of course, all of these scenarios are only limited by ones imagination. Unfortunately, this painting technique requires years of training and as such will have to remain a ways down on my list of ‘wannados’. Right next to scowering the oceans of the world in search of sunken Spanish Gallions and Pirate Ships. I’m so enthralled by the thought of uncovering undiscovered treasures, one of a kind artifacts, things that mere money can’t buy. I get tingles just thinking about it. I guess I have some sort of an Indiana Jones complex.

So with the last two ‘passions’ on my list being a bit out of reach (for now) it’s still entirely possible that I could make a go of the other two. I’m enamored with history and to be able to travel the globe in search of the ‘rarest of the rare’, ‘only one in existence’ type items, with unlimited funding from a long list of interested buyers eagerly anticipating my next ‘find’ would truly be a dream come true. To peruse thousand year old buildings throughout Europe in search of who knows what and learning everything I can about the countries and their cultures would just be icing on the cake. And then to top it off, if I could write about my adventures along the way. My life truly would be a dream come true.

So with all that being said, now comes the difficult part. How do I go about creating this so called ‘dream life’. How do I bridge the ‘gap’ between following my passions, in hopes of making money rather than merely trying to find something that will keep me afloat for now, another ‘quick fix’, regardless of whether or not I enjoy it. No doubt it’s gonna take a huge leap of faith on my part to even remain focused long enough to give it a shot.

Especially in todays turbulent world, it can be very difficult to risk everything (or in my case what little I have left) to take a chance on living a life full of fun & pleasure. Not that there are any guarantees of making money these days by following a safer, risk free path yet it can still be much more dangerous to climb out on the ledge and take a leap of faith, hoping for a smooth landing.

If you’re anything like me, I grew up thinking that work was a necessary evil we were all forced to endure in order to survive. Definitely not something to look forward to, that’s for sure. Anything you wanted to do or enjoyed doing would have to be squeezed in ‘after’ work hours.

Getting over that ‘guilt trip’ is a challenge in itself. Let alone coming up with a way to monetize my passions. It’s no wonder I never attempted this transition to fun and freedom prior to this, it appears to be a road filled with land mines, all of them just waiting to explode.

Should I even allow myself to dream of such a fantasy life, a life of traveling around the world in search of the unknown? An endless list of anxious buyers, eagerly awaiting my latest Blog Post direct from a beautiful white sand beach in Bora Bora, boasting of all my newly found treasures. A life where my biggest problem is where to have these treasures shipped and remembering which bank account in Monaco I want the money to be deposited in. I get the warm ‘n’ fuzzies just thinkin’ about it.

I guess what it truly comes down to is the fact that it’s entirely up to me to change my life. To create the life of my dreams. No one else is gonna do it for me, that’s for sure. In fact I’ve come to realize that mentioning to others about how you plan on changing your life for the better only brings out feelings of animosity and then the negativity begins to flow. “How dare you try to enjoy your life when I’m stuck here at my 9 to 5 job, kids, mortgage, car payments, living paycheck to paycheck and no way out.” At least from those that still have a ‘regular’ job, not exactly a gimme in todays economy.

I’ve always known I wasn’t a 9 to 5er, yet I lived that life for many years. It was a miserable existence and one I’m not eager to go back to. I enjoy Real Estate (at least the way it USED to be) but until the RE Market comes back, not much guaranteed income there either. Hmmmm, what is it then that I’m really risking here? No wife, no kids, no mortgage, maybe there really is no better time than now to give this thing a shot. Why not? Why not cash in on my passion? The only thing stopping me….is me.

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

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With the millions, possibly billions of Blogs currently floating out ‘there’ in the Blogosphere, is there any room for yet another Blog?

Wikipedia defines the Blogosphere as: The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities) or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions.
The term was coined on September 10, 1999 by Brad L. Graham, as a joke. It was re-coined in 2002 by William Quick, and was quickly adopted and propagated by the warblog community. The term resembles the older word logosphere (from Greek logos meaning word, and sphere, interpreted as world), “the world of words”, the universe of discourse. Anyway, happy ten year anniversary to the Blogosphere. Now, back to my Post.

I found I recently had to ask myself this very question before I began the arduous task of building a Blog. First thing I had to ask myself, Why bother? I mean, who on earth would ever read it anyway? That’s when I realized that I’m ‘Old School’ and I’m blogging more for my own ‘release’ than for others reading pleasure. Sure, I’d enjoy knowing that someone, somewhere was able to gain something from reading it but that still wasn’t my main focus.

My interpretation of a Blog is also a bit different than the mainstream Blogs of today. I look at them more through the eyes of a writer than an online marketer. Not to say that one is better or more important, just two entirely different perspectives.

I’ll also be the first to admit that I’m a huge fan of Social Media. Whether it be Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Digg, LinkedIn, or the myriad of others out there, I think they have all done wonders in helping the world to connect like never before. Here again though, the Spamathoners and the X~Rated Webcammers have initiated their massive onslaughts on these Sites, thereby continuing their oversaturation of the internet and the further deterioration of the integrity within those Sites. Not that they can completely take away the integrity of every individual on the Site, but the ratio of Spambot to ‘real’ person is being drastically swayed. Truly a shame as it causes everyone to think twice about trusting anyone.

That is why it’s so refreshing when you actually find a real person on the Net these days, a true individual floating out there in the ‘Sea of Spammers’. Lately I’ve been very lucky in this respect as I’ve connected with more than a few people that still believe as I do. Their focus is much more on how they can help others, how they can add value to their lives and help them along through lifes journey as opposed to how can I get them to think that I just made $10K last night while I was on the couch watching CSI.

While both are concerned with ‘traffic’ per se, the Internet Marketer is much more concerned with the new FTC rules and how they will impact their ability to flood the Net with their promises of making a million a month for life overnight while laying on the couch watching reruns of Friends ‘opportunities’ than I am. Which of course makes me wonder if I will even find one person out there that even cares enough to take the time to read a Blog that is all about reality and lifes lessons. After all, I’m no ‘Snake Oil Salesman’ and I surely don’t claim to be.

Back in the ‘Old Days’, way before I even owned a computer, Blogs were basically online diaries. A means of spilling ones guts, in essence a stress reliever of sorts, without any hidden agenda whatsoever. That was until the spammers started trying to devise ways of using them to spread the word about their incredible Biz Opps, which in turn spelled the demise of personal blogging. All trust was wiped away in an instant as readers began to wonder about the hidden agenda behind each posting and was it really Grandma with the knitting needles writing the post or just some guy with greasy hair, in a plaid suit, smoking a cigar, waiting to pounce on them.

Not that I’m against making money, that’s not it at all but when all Bloggers are looked at as ‘Used Car Salesman’ [nothing against those guys & gals, just an example], then that puts those of us with an honest message in a bad light. This was recently brought to my attention as I had an online acquaintance say to me that he didn’t really believe what I had to say and that I had to earn his trust.

Now at first this seemed a bit strange to me. “What’s he thinkin’, doesn’t he know me?” I’m all about spilling my guts, good and bad, no false promises, all in hopes that others might be able to learn from my mistakes so they didn’t have to repeat them themselves. But then it occured to me that he has been experiencing the same thing I have. I am at a point where I can’t trust nor believe anything that I read on the internet. And that’s not a pleasant feeling. Hate to sound so negative but with all of the outrageous claims being strewn about and knowing that only 3% [if that] of the people online are actually making any money, I had no other option but to agree with him.

Even though I prefer reading the Personal Blogs as opposed to the Biz Blogs, I can see where both have their place. And if a Biz Blog has valuable content, then I’m all for it. I hate to see the personal blogs fade away like VCRs and Cell Phones the size of suitcases but that’s progress and nothing we can do about it. But have you looked at some of these Biz Blogs lately? Well, I have and for the most part they have turned in to psuedo ‘pit stops’, nothing but SEO keywords and Links to other Blogs that are full of other content that was ‘swiped’ from another Blogger whos post had risen to the top of a Google search. Zero originality, let alone any amount of useful content of their own. After awhile you get tired of scowering the internet, looking for useful information, only to find watered down bits and pieces of the original content that is more or less irrelivent now as it was originally posted some three or four years ago. And as we all know, the internet is growing at such a fast pace that what was new six months ago is more than likely way out of date.

The emphasis seems to have changed from good, useable content to who can find the best software to Spambot themselves to the highest Search Engine rankings in order to sell their software to the next “SEOSPAMBOTKEYWORDOPTIMIZERINGURU” that comes along searching for a way to make 9 Figures Overnight while on the beach in Fiji. While I may sound bitter and I surely don’t want to, I’m more disappointed than anything else.

As a matter of fact, one in particular stands out as she really caught my attention with her content and blogging style. Both are extremely similar to my own, which of course it goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of my own stuff. Needless to say it’s been great communicating with her and regardless of whether or not we share the same viewpoint on a certain subject, I feel as if I can relate to where she’s coming from and therefore how she was able to reach the conclusion she did. Most of all though, it’s the trust aspect. I don’t feel as if there are any ‘smoke and mirrors’ involved and that’s just a pleasant feeling to say the least.

All this got me to wondering, could this be a trend and a welcome one at that? Or am I on a ‘Lucky Streak’, just happened to find a few needles in this very large haystack of marketing mayhem? Is it possible that this flood of ‘fakes’ is causing a resurgence in personal blogging or is it just wishful thinking on my part?

When it gets to the point that you have to analyze every Tweet, Comment and Email, looking for the ‘hidden’ message, wondering what they are trying to sell, scam or spam me with, needless to say it can be very exhausting. Not to mention all the doubt it creates when you have to ask yourself who’s really hiding behind every fake avatar and profile pic wondering what virus will be left behind in their wake. Definitely a workout.

While I might be looking at my monitor through rose colored glasses, imagining a spam & scam free Internet, I know that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. But the recent glimpses of an Internet that can be trusted, believed in and one that thrives on bettering the lives of ‘real’ people have brought with them a renewed feeling of hope that somehow the truth will still prevail. Let’s hope so anyway.

Like they say in Business 101, people only do business with people they ‘know, like and trust’. Somehow that principal seems to have gotten lost and it’s floating around somewhere out there, in the Blogosphere.

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What is that saying again? A thought without action is just a dream? Something like that. Well, that truly seems to fit me perfectly. Lately anyway. Well, now that I think about it, for quite some time now I have had lots of trouble getting anything accomplished. While my mantra had always been, “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?”, I had hoped to change that aspect of my personality. I’m sure there are others out there like myself. Oh, you know who you are. So many dreams, too much time. Paralysis by Analysis. The list goes on and on. I’m sure there is a bit of procrastinator in all of us.

Don’t get me wrong, this is surely not something that I am in any way proud of but as with any flaw, be it physical, emotional or otherwise, the only way to overcome and to get beyond it, in essence to recover from it is to first admit that there is a problem. Only then can it be conquered. Once and for all.

Where to begin? I’ve known that I’ve suffered from this ailment for quite some time but for some strange reason I just assumed it would disappear on its own. Yet it hasn’t. Go figure. Naturally I thought some kind of selective Mind Magic would just unprogram it from my brain and I would instantly run around getting all kinds of stuff accomplished. Yet, here we are, nearing the end of 2009 with no sign of a ‘dethroning’ in the near future. The King of Procrastination is alive and well. Unfortunately, he is me.

Not that I wouldn’t like to give up the throne, to crown a new King. Oh, how I would enjoy that but it’s not exactly as easy as one might think. Turns out there are many others equally as qualified as I am, yet they continue to procrastinate and never step up to assume this glorious position of power. Perhaps someone will in the near future but more than likely not. Only time will tell.

Time. It’s one of our most, if not THE most precious resource we have. One that we can never get back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever, never to return. Strange isn’t it, how we continue to waste it as if it’s a renewable commodity that will never end. Unfortunately, as far as I know, that is surely not the case. We only have one life to live. This isn’t a practice run, a dress rehearsal. This is it, the real deal, good or bad, for better or worse. This is the only chance we have to make it happen, to live the life we want, the life of our dreams.

Why is it then that we continue to put things off, excuse after excuse, merely to stay in our ‘comfort zone’? If your comfort zone is anything like mine, in actuality when you really think about it, it pretty much sucks. Worst part is that even though I know mine sucks, it’s still a place I like to hang out because for the most part I have a really good idea of what’s there and I guess that’s what makes it so comfy. Add to that the fact that it’s chock full of all kinds of excuses and who in their right mind would ever want to leave such a fabulous place? Well, I for one. I’m sick and tired….of being sick and tired.

All of the changes that I had planned on making after 2008, which up to that point in my life had been one of the worst years on record, have definitely not even begun to materialize. Not in the slightest and while I truly believed that with all the devastation of that year, 2009 just HAD to be better but in fact it turned out to be even worse than ’08. Now that’s saying alot and none of it good.

So with ’09 coming to a close I’m being forced to ask myself how could this have ever happened? With ’08 being so miserable, how did I not learn from that? I was without a doubt going to do everything in my power to make ’09 so much better. Why then didn’t all my scheduled ‘changes’ take place? After all, they were on my List of things to do. Some of them were even labeled Top Priority! You know, The List. The list that for some reason continues to get longer rather than shorter. Check one thing off, add two, check another off, add two more in it’s place.

Hmmm, I think I’m beginning to see a pattern here. No wonder any feelings of accomplishment that might possibly occur are quickly wiped away by the vast amounts of Post Its strewn about my desk and the surrounding walls. Ok, also the ones on the bathroom mirrors, refridgerator doors, car dashboards, you get the picture. Next thing you know, you’re swimming in a sea of ‘post its’ wondering how in the hell am I ever going to tackle all this stuff? And so at that point you have no option other than to just hop on the EZ Train. Next stop, the Comfy Zone! Overwhelmed with Paralysis by Analysis and Precision Indecision, it’s very easy to head for the Fountain of Excuses. That endless gold mine of built in reasons for never getting anything done.

Like it or not, this all comes right back to me, falling in my lap with a huge thud. Dang it! Not that I like to play the ‘blame game’ but with all my high hopes, how on earth could this be my fault? Yet it is my fault, nobody else I can lay the blame on. Even with all my great intentions, apparently I rarely seem to take action on any of my thoughts and as such they continue to remain in the dream stage. Who’d a thunk it? Me, of all people. I used to be the guy that would set a goal and follow through on it but obviously that has all changed. It’s not that I give up. It’s more that I guilt out.

That’s it, time’s up! I refuse to lose again in 2010! I have got to come up with a way to remember the misery of the last two, make that three years to insure that 2010 is not a repeat performance. How do I go about that? What is the best way to guard against continuing this downward spiral, allowing me to redirect my life in a more positive direction and moving forward on a more positive path towards achieving all of my goals?

Seems to me that the first thing I need to do….is to do the first thing. That should be simple enough, right? That appears to be where most of my troubles begin, with a failure to even take that first step. It’s not so much the fear of failure as I have pretty much always been able to do anything that I set my mind to. But it’s more the inability to even choose which step to take first, to make a decision on which direction to take and to stick with it long enough to know for sure if it’s the path I should be taking or not. Lately I seem to bail on my choices shortly after getting started out of pure guilt, a nagging fear that I am wasting too much time, yet I have wasted so much time already by not following through on anything. Which of course only leads to more guilt. What a vicious cycle.

This has got to change and so with that, I will somehow force myself to pick a direction and see it through so that I know for certain that I’ve explored it’s full potential. Right or wrong, at least I will come away with the satisfaction of knowing I gave it my best shot.

Of course along with that comes the fact that I will have to change my mantra. Something more along the lines of “Why put off until tomorrow, what I CAN do today?” Hmmm, I think I like that one better anyway. From here on out I will be relegating the throne to whomever may want to take over my kingdom. Needless to say, only true procrastinators need apply. I’m going to build a new Kingdom, one of my own choosing. Not one I inherited by default but one that I created, filled with all the hopes, dreams and accomplishments of which I know I’m truly capable of yet I have postponed for a lifetime.

So that also means it’s time for a new List. Not merely another Post It tacked on top of the millions of others but an entirely clean slate. This time I will also force myself to check items off at relatively the same pace at which I am adding other items to it. First thing on the list? Take Action! CHECK!!!

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Jeez, is it just me or does Instant Messenger suck just as much as Texting does? Or do they both suck equally, just different size screens? I don’t know about you but the frustration level between what I’m trying to say and what is actually coming out on the screen can be brutal. Those that read my earlier post on texting pretty much have a good idea about my thoughts on texting. While it does have its place, you just can’t have a relationship of any substance, let alone with zero emotion, through texting. Quick snippets here and there are fine but an actual conversation, no way.

It’s beginning to appear that IM is more or less the same thing, only with a larger screen. Now, I have to admit that I am lagging rather badly in my typing skills and with that being said, I’m more than willing to admit that this negative attitude toward IM’ing could clearly be due to my lack of skills. I find myself constantly having to type as fast as possible, smoke coming off of both of my fingertips, all in an effort to keep up with a question that was asked four or five lines ago. By the time I finish semi proofreading and look up at the screen, just before I hit ‘enter’, my response is no where near where it should be in relation to everything that’s on the screen.

So here again, do you quickly delete this response before you even send it or do you at least respond to the question that was asked many sentences ago? Oh, the angst that fills my body is excruciating. I don’t want it to appear that I’m not listening or heaven forbid, not participating in this cyber conversation but the confusion just seems to mount as time goes on.

Then it’s the dreaded “HUH?” Huh, what? you ask yourself. As you scroll up you see that the other person could be referring to so many things and you have no idea which one of these questions was left unanswered. Are you ignoring me now? Are you mad? Nooooooooooo, I’m not ignoring you and I’m not mad! Why would you think that? I’m typing as fast as I can!!! All the confusion begins and then it’s a rollercoaster from hell, barely hangin’ on the tracks by two wheels, one more tight curve and we’re airborne with the ground comin’ up awfully fast!

How could all this have even happened.? The conversation started off so well. I’m soooo happy to hear from you. Ohhhh, me toooo! But then how on earth did it turn in to a tennis match, and one so uneven at that. Like a game between David Letterman and Venus Williams, someone’s gonna lose and I seriously doubt it’s gonna be Venus.

Perhaps there needs to be a written exam before you can even download IM to your computer? Some kind of an IM License needs to be issued, at least of WPM test. Sure, it all seems like a great idea at the start. Direct connection, no waiting in between messages and best of all, no stupid 140 character limit to edit your thoughts. Yet, those are the aspects of IM that can take you down. Literally.

Here again, the discrepency between the two IMers has so much to do with how well the conversation will go. While the skill levels can never be exactly the same, the rules must be set forth in the beginning regarding the speed of the reply, the spelling errors, lack of punctuation, etc. in order to keep the doors of understanding wide open. If not, all hell is gonna break loose. It’s only a matter of time.

So I for one, admittedly lacking in IM skills, will be the first to admit that I might [most likely am] be the cause of most of this confusion. As such I would ask for a bit of compassion, maybe even a little extra understanding for my plight. While I’m doing my best to get and stay caught up with the conversation, I truly am going as fast as my two fingers can type. Please take that in to consideration before you get upset and wonder why the hell I would say whatever the hell it is I said in such a way that I said whatever it was that I said. OK?

The technology of today has created so many incredible ways of communicating, all meant to enhance our lives but we all must keep in mind that some of us are further along in this learning curve than others and therefore a bit more leeway is needed in various situations. And so with that, I will give both of my fingers a break for now. That way I’m fresh and ready to go the next time I see that flashing orange box, letting me know the race is on!

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What the heck was that? As it approached, I had no idea what it was. And since I’m such a car buff, I was personally offended that I even had to ask myself that question in the first place. Yet there it was, driving by right in front of my eyes and I seriously had to ask myself what I was seeing.

We have all noticed that as gas prices and insurance costs continue to skyrocket, as “GREEN” becomes the ‘in thing’ and so many changes have taken place around the globe regarding transportation in general, cars are getting smaller, safer and more fuel efficient.

While I try to stay semi up on the latest hybrids, deisels, electric powered, even hydrogen powered offerings from all over the world, somehow this still hit me as an extremely odd vehicle. The overall lines, let alone the size seemed familiar but yet as I looked closer, something just wasn’t right. What on earth could this be?

I thought to myself, “Has something completely new hit the market? A car that I was totally unaware of? How did it get past my ‘Bradar’?” Not that I am in any way an expert on the latest auto offerings but since I do love cars, mostly high end European sports cars and Woodies, I scower many various online sites and so I’m exposed to lots of new vehicles along the way. Yet this little machine still had me doing a double take. I take great pride in being as prepared as possible in many situations and nothing worse than being unprepeared for the latest trend, even though I’m more of a trendsetter than a follower. And even if I’m not that ‘into it’, I still want to be able to interact with others that are passionate about all the different niche vehicles available today.

Luckily ‘it’ stopped at the signal up ahead. As I did my best to decipher exactly what it was that I was viewing, that’s when it struck me. I finally figured out what the heck it was under all that ‘bolt on’ drama. I recognized that emblem. I think most anybody, car afficianado or not, would recognize that little ‘circle of heaven’. Of course, those that aren’t true car lovers might think this was another ‘add on’, just another attempt to fool the masses but if you are up on your ‘carknowledge’ then you already know that the manufacturer of these vehicles is indeed Mercedes Benz.

Like everyone else on earth, the first thing you think is “How on earth could MB be involved with a car like this?” As it turns out, these little babies have passed every test needed, Safety, Mileage, etc. to allow them to be sold in this country. The US has the most stringent requirements on earth and if you can market and sell your car here, you can more or less sell it anywhere in the world. Except of course for the Communist countries, that’s an entirely different animal. Who knows what the heck is going on in those countries. You can buy a brand new car there for $2000.00, how can you compete with that? I think it even comes with a ‘Thirty Minute or Thirty Foot Warranty’, whichever comes first, so it has that going for it. But regardless of my thoughts, if Mercedes Benz is going to build and market these cars, they deserve a bit of respect in the auto world.

So that was it, I finally figured it out. It was a Smart Four Two. I still question myself every time I see one of these as to just how smart the owners are for buying them but I have to do my best to keep an open mind about it. Who on earth would want to look in their rearview mirror and continually see the license plate of the car behind them, towering high above their head? Personally, I sure wouldn’t but that’s just me. And therefore I really need to work hard to keep an open mind.

Just as I need to keep an open mind as it relates to my favorite marque, Porsche, building that uglier than ugly Panamera. The Cayenne SUV was hard enough to swallow but I can easily see how it relates in its attempt to get a piece of the huge world wide SUV market. But a giant luxury four door sedan, with the worst rear three quarter view on the market today, still not feelin’ it. Especially when the luxury four door ‘saloon’ market is flooded with all kinds of high end heaven, not too sure how big of a piece Porsche could even hope to garner. Yet I’m sure they did their research long before they ever began production so it’s just a matter of time to see how all that pans out.

As I stared at this ‘thing’ in front of me a bit more, I realized why I had so much trouble guessing what it was. The endless amount of bolt on ‘bling’ had rendered it more or less unrecognizable. Perhaps this was exactly what the owner had hoped to achieve, some way to ‘disguise’ it and if so, well done. The original vehicle was more or less nowhere to be found. Although the basic platform was there, it seemed as if this was almost more of a trailer full of aftermarket parts as opposed to an improvement over the original factory offering. Yet there was no tow vehicle in sight. To each his own, I reckon, but one would have to wonder just exactly what the heck this guy was thinking. I truly wonder if he isn’t asking himself that question as well but after spending all that money on all those ‘extras’, he’s left with no other option than to leave everything on there ‘as is’ and just act as if it’s his dream come true. Whether it is or not.

Tires and Wheels, Body Kit, Paint Wrap, Tinted Windows, Suspension Kit, Exhaust System, Trick Lights and these were just things that I noticed while sitting at the signal. Who knows how much other ‘stuff’ was inside and under the hood. I have a good feeling there was more than likely an upgraded Stereo, GPS, maybe more interior ‘doo dads’ and who even knows what’s going on under the hood. That list alone is so overwhelming I hate to even begin adding more to it. Yet this guy (girl?) felt that too much could never be enough. What’s even more amazing is the fact that all this aftermarket ‘crap’ is even available for these cars. I had to remember than even tough this particular car has only been available in this country for a relatively short time, it has been marketed around the world much longer. To be honest there really isn’t a car built these days that doesn’t have a ton of available aftermarket goodies built just for it.

Light turns green and there it goes. Wwwaaaaaaaaaa, wwwwaaaaaaaahhhhhh, wwwwwaaaaaaa…… the ‘new’ exhaust resonating as it bounced down the street. Yes, I said bounced. It appeared that the new lowered suspension had in some way compromised the original ride, making it appear even more like a toy than an actual car and a bad riding toy at that. To each his own, I guess. Yet I had to wonder when too much was too much. It was more than obvious that common sense was indeed sacrificed in the chase for individuality and while I am a huge advocate of those that blaze their own trail, I was still left having to ask the question, “When is enough too much?”

To all of you out there that prefer to fly your own “Freedom Flag”, I commend you as that’s what makes the world what it is today. Without those that choose to create their own way in this world, those ‘free thinkers’ that aren’t afraid to do what they want in life despite what others may think and feel, we might still be riding in horsedrawn wagons and buggies, being pulled along by “Rusty” and dodging the numerous ‘road apples’ along the way. It’s diffcult to say for sure but it is something to consider. So to all of you out there that choose to pave their own path, my hat is truly off to you. But I still have to ask that common sense be taken into consideration when searching for ways to show your individuality.

Which brings us back to my original thought, which is how do you know when too much really is too much? If you have endless time on your hands and plenty of extra money? Then who cares, I guess you can think way outside your box, whatever that box may consist of. But when you are spending more money, time and effort in an attempt to individualize and enhance your SMART(?) car to the point that you have spent so much more than it would have cost you to get a new BMW 335i Convertible and the credibility that comes along with owning a truly desirable vehicle, that’s when you really have to ask yourself, “Are you TOO SMART for your own good?”

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Hmmm, can’t figure it out. Somehow I lost my MOJO and I have no idea where it went. I have a pretty good idea how I lost it. That’s relatively easy to figure out. Heck, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that have lost theirs recently. You don’t even need to watch TV, read the newspaper or go online to know that the economy is hurting these days and it has more than likely affected someone you know. Family, friends, coworkers, perhaps even you yourself have been affected in one way or another. Recession has become another household word.

Unemployment is hovering around 10% but here in So. Cal. it seems more like 25%. For the most part, ‘basic’ jobs are non existent. The days of walking in to your local auto parts store, grocery store, even a pizza delivery place, plunking down your paper application and at the very least landing a part time job are over and done. Nowadays you pretty much need a PHD to bag groceries. Well, at the very minimum an MBA. There are so many over qualified people out of work these days that it has created a major bottleneck at the door to HR.

Add to that the fact that if companies aren’t outsourcing all their job openings, then they are eliminating the jobs all together. When I think about the hourly wage required to survive in this country, it’s no wonder businesses are looking overseas for labor. Add to that the taxes, insurance, etc. and it’s just off the charts. We just can’t afford to hire our own. Not sure how or even if we will ever get back to ‘normal’, whatever normal is. Been so long since we’ve seen anything normal around here, if it does show up more than likely we won’t even recognize it.

With the general consensus being that the entire country is pretty much in the crapper, no wonder I along with quite a few others have lost our Mojo. Now I define “MOJO” as motivation, drive, desire, pretty much any reason to get out of bed in the morning. A reason to get out there and battle another day, to struggle against all odds, continuing to hope for a better outcome. A better life. When the odds continue to be stacked against us, with no signs of clearing up anytime soon, it’s tough to continue forward knowing that it will indeed get better. Difficult to even find a reason to keep trying let alone stay focused on it.

Then I got to thinking about the world and the economy in general. After all I’m sure most would agree that the entire world economy has been affected, not just in the US. With the media continuing to create this feeling that the sky is indeed falling, on everyone, it’s no wonder this ‘viewpoint’ is so wide spread. And being a Realtor, watching the housing market drop off the cliff and into the ocean, a big chunk of the world as I knew it has left the building and more than likely won’t return anytime soon.

But let’s take a look at this from the other side. So Real Estate, New Constuction, both Residential and Commercial Real Estate in general have gone south right along with the Stock Market. Everybodys 401Ks are worthless, most peoples Portfolios have lost at least half of their previous ‘perceived’ value. I stress the word perceived here because just as in Real Estate, it’s only money once you sell the home or cash in the stock. Until that point it’s all play money. So in essence you never really had the money anyway. You were just banking on the rest of the world order following suit which would cause your ‘paper’ to go up in value. Well, as we all know that didn’t happen.

So lets take an overall view of this situation. Even if Real Estate, the Stock Market, Auto Makers and basic Unemployment were all taken into account along with the general slowdown of the economy itself, that still leaves plenty of people out there working. Continuing to bring home a paycheck, paying bills and buying goods and services. The whole world hasn’t gone under, just a very large portion of it but it seems much larger than that as the media continues to focus on the bad news, as they always do because as we know all too well, bad news sells better than good news. And if you tell people that things are bad enough times, they will begin to believe it and they will also tell the people around them so that they have someone to commiserate with, someone to feel their pain. Next thing you know, the world is waiting in a big line at the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off.

But hold on here. Just because a very large portion of our population is hurting doesn’t mean they all are. I was reminded of this over the last few days as a friend of mine has been going through lots of struggles lately. He’s in the constuction trade, a very hard hit segment of our economy. Work for him has been pretty much non existent over the last couple years. When he does find work, he’s working for half of what he used to make and begging to get those jobs at that. Competition is very fierce as so many big companies are drastically cutting their labor rates, making it difficult to say the least for the ‘little guys’ to survive.

Which brings me around to my point. His father bought an old ’32 Ford Coupe sometime to prior to my buddy being born. He had hopes of restoring it someday but like many before him, life and his family had to come first and so the project was put on hold.

The car sat covered up in the back yard, just a dream that never came to fruition. His father passed away I believe approx. eight or nine years ago and his mother passed a couple years after that. My buddy ‘G’ had loved that car since he was a kid and after his mother passed, he was the most likely of the family to ever get it running and so after jumping over a series of family hurdles, it became his. Not having the resources to do it justice, it remained in pieces yet all the while the dream was still there to resurrect it as his father had always hoped to. Imagine the sorrow he recently felt when he finally had to give in and realize that after 50 years, he was going to have to let go of the family dream and sell it. The guilt was overwhelming but money problems and his own dire situation have forced him to have to face a harsh reality, one where survival meant having to let go of a family ‘jewel’.

Long story short, the ‘new’ owner came by with the money last monday, the car and all its parts were loaded up and off they went. Lots of tears were shed as reality sunk in that the dream of restoring it was never going to come true.

He held on as long as he could but yet he couldn’t fight the inevitable. All he could hope was that the new owner would do the car justice, restore it the way both ‘G’ and his father had hoped to. And I have to admit that I truly felt bad for him. I have been involved with antique and classic cars from as far back as I can remember. My father was also a car buff and so I couldn’t help but feel his pain as the life long dream of the family was on its way down the street, hopefully to fulfill the dreams of another family elsewhere.

That’s when it really triggered me, forced me to realize the guy that just bought this car had just plunked down $20,000.00 without really thinking much about it, with plans of putting another $50K in it! Yes, he plans on having a minimum of $70K in the car. That’s alot of mortgage payments, monthly bills and pork ‘n’ beans. Obviously he’s not hurting for money. Come to find out there was another interested buyer in Washington that was ready and willing to purchase the car also, if the ‘family friend’ decided to back out of the deal. More proof that not everyone in the US is broke.

We continually hear so much about the demise of the economy, how the recession has a grip on the whole country so that the thought of another person having any money just seems purely absurd. And yet, here are two gentlemen that have obscene amounts of money, money that they have no problem spending on ‘toys’ or whatever else they decide they want. And so it got me to thinking, “I wanna be like them!” I want to be in a position to be able to do what I want, when I want and not have to be able to worry about not having a dollar to do it. Now, I myself have never stopped thinking about money since over the last couple years I have more or less lost everything but more recently what I had lost was the desire to fight, to go out and get mine! Sure, that’s a lofty dream and I realize that everyone more or less has that same dream but I also know that many of us have gotten so wrapped up in the demise of the world that we have lost all hope, any sort of faith that there truly is a way out of this mess. A way of living a much better life, for our families and for ourselves.

So with this little scenario playing out more or less right in front of me, it surely opened my eyes to the fact that there is still hope out there. I’m a firm believer in the ol’ saying, “If one man can do it, so can another” and so I am going to do my best to stay focused on that, to keep my eyes on the prize because one thing’s for sure, I’m in it to win it and if I don’t keep trying, I’ll never get there. I have a feeling that more than likely I’m gonna find my Mojo again as well. Matter of fact, I’ll bet it’s right around the corner.

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