Why are we humans so afraid of change?  What perversity is at work within us that makes us LONG to escape the "hamster wheel of life," yet so FEARFUL of doing anything new?  And why are we so quick to believe a negative report (without ever checking 'it' out for ourselves), and yet so doubtful and reluctant to believe the positive report?  Is it genetics, environment, parenting, or early childhood trauma?  My inquiring mind wishes to know!

I am 47 years old ... so for 30+ years and counting, I have been playing it safe, staying within my bounds, walking the wide and accepted road that is jam-packed with three-quarters of the rest of my fellow man ... all of us trying to eek out a living from an ever-decreasing slice of the pie.  Sure, we hear the testimonies of those who have broken free; those who have dared to cross the line into the murky depths of the entrepreneurial ooze ... but we quickly distance ourselves from those "free radicals," who might in some way bring death to our mortal misery.  "You heard about so-and-so, didn't you?  Yeah, they're off doing some sort of wacko network marketing deal.  I always knew there was something a bit off about her."

Preferring to be right rather than loyal, we shut our friends down; warn them that all MLMs are scams; and distance ourselves from them until they either fail (at which point we'll take them back into our good graces), or we become so threatened by their continued persistence to succeed on their own, that we eventually let them fall by the wayside ... soon to be replaced by other friends less unconventional.  We quickly lose track of them and hope for their worst.  [Don't give me that look; you know I am telling the truth!]

So here I am, a newbie on the network marketing track!  For all of my adult life, I have been telling myself that I am a "marketer - NOT a sales person." (Whatever the heck that means!)   People who knew me would say things like, "Really?  I think you would do really well in sales."  And I would say, "No, not my personality.  I just can't do sales.  I never have been able to be that pushy."   What a crock!!

I woke up this morning having had an epiphany that has been many years in the making: network marketing is about connecting with people and building relationships!  It's about caring enough to take the time to share something really great, with someone really great, over and over and over, one at a time, relationship by relationship.  I am an ENFP, baby!  If there is one thing I CAN do, it's meet people and SHARE. 

I am a single mother of three sons, receiving zero assistance from their father.  I work full time, and have precious little to show for it.  Do you have any idea how much BOYS can eat?  It boggles the imagination!  My sons deserve so much more than what I have been able to give them thus far ... and time is running out!  I need to get to steppin' if I want to open some new doors before my sons move out on their own. 

Change is good.  Change is energizing, activating, tantilizing and SCARY.  Scary like a roller-coaster; not scary like open-heart surgery.  Yes, death is a very real possibility ... you could definitely kill something ... like your fears, your chains, your bonds of poverty, your self-doubt, your intimidation, your track record for failure.  You might have to change addresses ... you might have to move up to a different level of provision, fun, contentment, philanthropy ... might even have to change tax brackets!  But would that really be such a bad thing?

Concerning network marketing and MLM opportunities, take your time.  Investigate.  There are bad ones out there, but there are plenty of good ones, too!  Don't be sucker for the hype.  Instead, build some relationships, get to know some people, figure out who has some integrity and who doesn't, and then TRY something.   Invest yourself and a little bit of cash (only as much as you can afford to lose) into something and give it your all.  Give yourself some time to build a base, and don't give up!  Don't let your well-meaning, but safety-addicted friends and relatives talk you out of an opportunity that you have investigated, if you know it will work.  Just plan your work and work your plan until you achieve the breakthrough! 

Are you ready to escape the hamster wheel?  Why not check out my opportunity?  Join for free, investigate until you are satisfied it is legit, and when you DO activate, know that you are covered by a 110% money-back guarantee!  Now THAT is cool.  And, it is only $50 per month.  I spend more than that on lattes every month!  I have decided to stop investing in Starbucks Corp. (no offense - love the coffee!), and to start investing in myself and my sons!  YAHOO!!!  www.89204.everymonthamillion.net

Be blessed!

Reminds me of a friend who, after listening to a very moving speech by an eminent scientist at some event in college (yes, I did go to college .. at some point of time .. seems pretty blurry now ...hmmm...where did I go?? <thinking> :-P), was so moved that he gravitated towards the door -> towards the parking lot -> mounted his bike -> rode home -> hit the sack -> dreamt of great things -> promptly forgot them the next morning :)

The man who can smile when things go wrong has thought of someone else he can blame it on.

A foolish man tells a woman to stop talking, but a wise man tells her that her mouth is extremely beautiful when her lips are closed

Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.

True friends are those who, When you make a fool of yourself, Don't believe that this condition is permanent

Develop a built-in bullshit detector.

It's a funny thing that when a man hasn't anything on earth to worry about, he goes off and gets married.

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about coffee?'

When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes

A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; We grow old because we stop playing.

By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day :P

What do you call the knee of a bee ?..... Don't know ? - bikini ...... don't get it ??? bee - ki - knee !! :P

-peace

You already know when new Ne-Yo hits the inbox I have to post it. Here goes the official remix to his single, Miss Independent, featuring Jamie Foxx & Fabolous. Good looks YK! You guys better cop The Year of the Gentlemen on September 16th. Ne-Yo is one of the most talented artists in this R&B game. Period.

DOWNLOAD: Ne-Yo - She Got Her Own (Miss Independent Remix) f. Jamie Foxx & Fabolous | MediaFire
PREVIOUS: Ne-Yo - Miss Independent (Video)

The past couple of weeks have been hectic, due to having visitors, visiting people, planning cross-country visits, attempting to stay on top of the "real" job hunt, and feebly starting an apartment search... not to mention the latest temp job from hell (TJFH). I've been feeling like there is so little time to do anything -- the weekend passes so quickly, and there is cleaning, cooking, searching, planning, stressing... and that was even before the TJFH came in. Even thinking about things I normally find fun, like reading and cooking, suddenly became stressful. I don't think I spent more than 15 minutes at my home computer when I was working there...

However, the TJFH has ended, and turned out to have an accidental perk -- I met a couple of cool chicks who for various reasons are temping and were as unfortunate as I in being deceived into accepting the TJFH. Misery may love company, but its rare that the company is so outstanding. To happily dismiss the disaster, the girls and I went to my favorite Oakland bar, The Trappist. Opinions about the job and the people we worked with were forthcoming, temping horror stories were traded, political views bandied about, and personal lives laid on the table -- what can I say? A great bar, awesome new friends,  and lively conversation sponsored by a bit of my favorite Tripel Karmeleit was exactly the release I needed. I mentioned this bar in my previous post, but I don't think I can ever say enough about it -- back when I lived in A'dam one of my favorite haunts there was another specialty bier bar... but the Trappist is the perfect combo of the past and present, A'dam and Oakland in one place.

I'm now at a different temp position, just as inane and without the fantastic co-temps, but much more comfortable. Just me, a computer, and a deadline. I worked 9 1/2 hours, but don't feel nearly as tired. I had a great time with the ladies last night, and tonight I had the chance to be at home alone. I cleaned the windows and mirrors, thought about how fun last night was, made a bowl of soba with mushrooms and chard and rewatched some episodes of Doctor Who. End of unfortunate situations, good beer, and new friends; cleaning house, restorative food, and time alone dorking-out. Maybe not the most thrilling adventures, but it seems to be exactly what I needed to be able to take a deep breath for a moment or two.

... this is hilarious. Watch (this is from the Daily Show, hosted by Jon Stewart):

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card

(If I find something similar from the other side of the US political spectrum, I'll post that too. Promise.)

And for some reason, they're also some tiny spots appearing around the ulcer.. damn. What is happening?

Anyways, he has discarded yesterday's prescription (waste of $) and put me on a total new course of antibiotics; specifically, 2 new eyedrops to be administered 1/2 hour apart on an hourly basis for 24 hours, which means, I don't need to zzz today!?! (Mum says that's nonsense.. wahahahaha!)

And I've got to head to TTSH tml morning again @ 9am for a review.. urgh.. kill me..

And yep, I reluctantly rescheduled my trial makeup and hairdo to a week later (13 Sep) 'coz no point la. I'll probably look TERRIBLE tml and I guess eye makeup, fake eyelashes, etc. will aggravate the condition..

I have to repeat - how UNTIMELY this is! Shit!

- "Hoschton has plenty to (scare) crow about":

Will Hoschton take away the Cincinnati society’s straw-filled crown? Bettis, who contacted the Guinness people earlier this year and got the approval to challenge the world record, wasn’t ready to declare victory.

“There will be some scarecrows they [Guinness] don’t like,” said Bettis. “It may be November until we know.”

City Clerk Kristen Smith was willing to, well, crow a little bit about the town’s accomplishment.

- "Paw prints in judge's office spell end for masked bandits":

But the raccoon goofed: it left a trail of tracks across a stack of federal memos. The judge called in his staff and others to solicit their opinions. Their verdict: Procyon lotor, a raccoon, had busted in.

I know Thomas Wheatley is getting jealous and needy just reading this post about another reporter for another paper! Well, with the double shake-up at Creative Loafing I got a little uneasy about him as well. But I'll finish the script for our pilot for ABC Family and we'll be golden. It's a situation comedy about a journalist, a grad student, and a professor/former city employee who live as roommates in a downtown loft and negotiate their ambivalent feelings about gentrification while trying to get book deals and roles in major motion pictures.

Previously: This Incoperable Lande: Mark Davis on Zoo Atlanta

第一次是宿舍網路。因為被分配到的是全新宿舍，所以抵達時甚至還有一些房間都還沒佈置完成、網路也還沒建構好。因為是全新的，當時也沒有太要求說為啥沒在我們抵達前一切就緒（理論上是該如此，我們八月第二週到，學校卻收我們整個月的房租），心想算了，想說忍一下沒網路的日子，而且他們承諾是在一週內會完成。一週後，網路有了，但是一戶只有一個 port 能用 =.= 而這個 port 又剛好在我室友房間，於是我又忍受了一週沒有網路的日子，而舍監也公告說那週會完成網路佈置。

又是一週後，一切卻沒有任何改變… 已經有點火了，因為學校的所有相關消息都是透過 Email 發送，orientation 已經開始，在那段時間只能拿著筆電到唯一有網路的 lounge room 上網收收信，每天都一堆的信件，一堆的更新消息。於是，我寫了封信，跟舍監抱怨了一大篇，然後請他給個確切的日期何時要把每戶裡頭的網路搞定，隔幾天終於回信跟我說他們要動工了 =.= 然後要我給他 apt #，他會優先處理。隔天，我回家時就在門口看到字條說明網路已經完成，動作迅速。而其他人呢，據我瞭解，網路從我們這邊的南棟開始，隔了兩天後，四樓才安裝完成，而我這邊的六樓，一直到又一週後才看到人來每戶安裝，而北棟咧，還在等… Orz

第二次是飛行哩程累計。當初在購票時，其實已經提供 US Airways 會員編號供紀錄了，只是三個禮拜過去，啥消息都沒有，連 pending 都沒出現。於是我就手動紀錄，結果他說是別家航空公司的機票（同個聯盟），要我把登機證和購票證明寄過去。因為是透過旅行社購買，手上只有中文的證明，也只好就這樣寄過去。很快，隔幾天就收到航空公司的來信說機票已經歸檔了，但是還缺購票證明，要英文的，旅行社的證明不可以。我只好乖乖的去跟旅行社聯絡要證明，沒想到得到的答覆竟然是公司沒留底，航空公司那邊也刪掉了，還寫封信來說當初都有寄給我了…||| 這種結果真的是讓人很感冒，但是我也覺得很火大，於是我就寫信給 US Airways，一開始先說明情形，接下來就開始說我覺得這樣很不合理而且根本是找麻煩，應該是要我在機場 check-in 時電腦就自動紀錄，怎會要求我要做這些後續動作… 最後我說，寄過去的那張裡也有訂位代號，你們有辦法就自己查，沒辦法就把機票還回來，我要去別家航空公司登記，人家都可以讓我直接上網登記… \_/ 隔天，很快收到一封處理中的信件；當天隔沒多久，又收到第二封說我的哩程數已經自動累計，請上網查詢啥的官方信件 =.= 看到這封信真的很想罵人，這根本就是在耍人啊，明明很簡單的事情就一定要這樣麻煩人家搞得很複雜…

這兩次的經驗其實只說明一件事，會吵的人就有糖吃～ 惦惦不講話，人家也就當你沒事了。權益真的是要自己去爭取的。

Friends,

I am kicking myself right now.  I left the house last night just before Rudy Giuliani’s speech to go to the library.  Apparently, I missed something special.

According to Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, the biggest punch line during this Republican National Convention is: ‘community organizer’.  The credit for launching the ‘community organizer’ mock-fest goes to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani who told the convention Wednesday night, “You have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education.  He worked as a – community organizer.”  He paused and then said, “What?” as if to express befuddlement at that job title.”

Really?  Since when is community organizing a bad thing?  Maybe Mr. Giuliani just doesn’t understand what community organizing is.  Let’s see if we can help him out.  According to Wikipedia, which we all know is an inerrant authority, community organizing is a process by which people are brought together to act in common self-interest or to help others.  Community organizers create social movements by building a base of concerned people, mobilizing these community members to act, and developing leadership from and relationships among the people involved.

Sen. Obama was in fact a community organizer.  Right out of college, Obama worked for a group called the Calumet Community Religious Conference to help unemployed people find jobs.  According to the Chicago Tribune, the group also urged the city government to fill potholes and put up stop signs.

My friend Walker works as a community organizer in East Waco.  He helps keep kids off of drugs and in school.  He helps community members improve their schools and neighborhoods.  I think he’s good people and is doing more than his fair share to change the world for the better.

My friend Meredith works as a community organizer as well.  She works for a national organization that seeks to feed those in poverty in the States and internationally.  I think she’s good people and is doing more than her fair share to change the world for the better.

Surely Mr. Giuliani, Gov. Palin, and the RNC as a whole simply misunderstand what community organizers do.  They wouldn’t intentionally mock those who dedicate their lives to caring for the impoverished and the infirm, would they?  This certainly isn’t an indication of their political ideology, is it?

Do you, as an active Reform Jew, practice a Jewish tradition simply because that is what Jews have always done?

If you read the entire post, you'll see that Donny is asking about circumcision in particular. Unwilling to believe that Reform Jews do anything en masse just because our ancestors did it, he inquired of the lefty Jblogosphere why we think Reform Jews continue to practice brit milah.

At my most downright poetic, here is my answer:

Sounding the shofar. Building and sleeping in the sukah. Eating matzah. Fasting. Snipping our little boys' willies.

These five things are amongst the most primal, ancient, visceral experiences Judaism has to offer us. Amongst their other meanings is this: We are as old as the dirt.

Before Socrates philosophized or anyone imagined a scientific mindset, dusty nomads roamed west from the fertile crescent, perhaps already worshiping a singular and unified god.

They slept in tents, communicated over vast distances with horns, ate flat breads, fasted out of devotion and mourning, and snipped their little boys' willies. In remembrance of our ancient, dirt-covered, wandering fathers and mothers, we do these things.

We live in an anesthetized world. We sit in the airconditioning, freeze a loaf of bread for a week before turning it into toast, call friends half a world away on cell phones, and don't give two moments of thought to extraordinary happenstance that is the reproductive function of our naughty bits.

So above all other reasons, we blow the shofar, eat in the sukah, embitter our lives with matzah and fasting, and we snip our little boys' willies to reconnect with the world in the gut-wrenching, intense ways that our ancestors did every day.

This...is potentially the spot of a new political/talk podcast from Ryan Anderson, who previously brought you the Divine Movie Blog podcast.

What happens?

Stuff. When you subscribe to this podcast, and If I start posting episodes, I'll be discussing current events, my various thoughts and feelings, and all sorts of other stuff.

What are your thoughts on cream cheese?

I like it on bagels, but whenever they put it on for you they use entirely too much. That's just gross.

This nigga pops up like he aint been ghost since the "Hot Summer" warnings, still its good to see that Killa is tryna get some of his shit back. Spotted at the Dopehouse.

I'm essentially using this as an excuse to dump my "Montolio reaction" images I've been making here and there out of boredom. Now, of course, this isn't Montolio, I have no idea who it is, but he looks sort of how I'd imagine and old Montolio to look, plus he has the HAPPIEST face in the world.

I guess you didn't know but, 4th Septembre is Montolio's birthday, I dunno if WoW months are the same as normal ones but whatever, yesterday (technically today by american reckoning) was indeed, his birthday, and something... .VERY SPECIAL began. You shall see what that is soon enough, needless to say, I hope you find it interesting.

Thus, the Montolio reactions begin.

Montolio see's Sayoko.

Montolio notices a picture from the new Dragonball movie..

Montolio doesn't like weeaboos.

Montolio..this one..yeah.

To conclude, I won't say what.. but this weekend, could have a very joyous occasion for a certain individual in our IRC channel.. we'll see. We shall see.

..Or does she?

My friends and I "Umm... what?? That's not true at all! That's actually way worse than not voting... so much more worse!"

Read the full article.