From thriving to struggling

PERSONAL FINANCE

Saw it on USA Today front page: as economy falls, success is being redefined and expectation lowered.

That's sad. I know that as long as I have a job, I am secure. However, to prosper, it's not enough to have a job. You need to have two. Also on today's issue (March 10, 2009) in Money section: Automotive industry let one family make a life, there is a detail how the elder Faust would moonlight other jobs. That is the same approach that Jay Leno is taking: one to live, and one to save. The benefit is that you are becoming more resilient and be able to withstand downturn better. Just like Amy Beers who now depends on her moonlight job to weather the downturn.

In the meantime, though, I am being reminded of my lesson to keep humble. I think all self made millionaire are like that. My expenses didn't really skyrocket after last year's spectacular income level increase. Just an extra $200 a month in rental space, and an extra thousand in my annual Christmas shopping spree. Okay, so I went out hogwild on books and magazines, but those are education investments, something that will stay by me for life.

So now that economy is tanking and my income level dropped, it's business as usual, minus a few books. That's all. I'm not living paycheck to paycheck, and that's the way it should be.

Also there's an article about how CEOs' philosophies become more refined after close to dying. As Steve Jobs puts it: "Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true."

In my opinion, nothing clears your life like the threat of dying. Ask yourself this: If there's only one thing that you can accomplish before you die, what would it be?

That is your life's work, and once that is accomplished, you have succeeded, and you can then die in peace and contentment.

Steve Jobs: "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." Once you know what to do with your life, everything becomes easier. You have become guided. You can plan your life easier.

Always keep in mind the long haul, and you will prosper. Just don't forget to take life pleasures every now and then.

Bad things happen, and they happen to good people. What you should do isn't wondering what you can do to prevent it from happening, but what you should do if it happens to you.

That's what life is really all about: Decide what you want to do with your life. Develop a plan to do achieve it. And, uh, have Plan B. That's all there is to it.

Airplane on ceiling

TRAVEL

I was at Kansas Turnpike Travel Plaza at mile marker 65. I was surprised to have looked up and saw a real airplane, a biplane, hooked up on a slanting wall up to the ceiling. My first though was: an airplane!? INSIDE a hallway!? How can that fit?

It was a real airplane as far as I can see. It was made out of aluminum. After staring at it open mouthed for some time, I finally looked down to the bottom portion on the wall, and there was an explanation that Kansas has great aviation industries including Boeing and Lear Jet, thanks to mostly flat and straight nature of the state.

The plane that I saw was a popular homemade kit biplane with 65 hp engine. The wingspan is merely 18 feet! No wonder it fit inside there.

Hey, do you think I could build one just like it? Nothing more than a few aluminum tubing, aluminum siding, and a few rivets, right?

Maybe I should get me a pilot's license. My car's engine put out 106 hp and it's cheap.

Cherokee Nation

TRAVEL

I am not sure whether I did something bad today or not, but I can tell you that I do feel the sort of guilty pleasure feeling that you'd feel when you do something irresponsible yet fun. What I did today was that I ate a Buffalo, a state animal in Oklahoma.

Okay, not a whole buffalo, just a little meat patties. I like it very much. Leaner than the usual beef patties. I can't help but think that people prefer juicy meat, yet here I am eating, and liking lean cut of meat. Of course, I like chicken as well. Overall, I was impressed. The price was $10 for breakfast deal, but unlike Tokyo Joe's Salmon meal, this features more meat and food. So the price is relatively cheap for exotic meat.

I decided to walk around the back and see exactly what kind of animal I was eating. I guess I should have done that before I ate the meat. Not a big animal that I see. I hope I'm not thinning buffalo population unnecessarily. I wonder, though, why cows are prevalent. Buffaloes are native to these lands, yet people chose to cultivate cows, instead of buffaloes. What a great waste that was.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. So, if you come by Oklahoma I40 exit 108, be sure to stop by here and see the buffaloes. Better than Chester Chicken on west side, not that I have anything against chicken. It's just that seeing the live animal in a pen out back does make it a fuller experience, and at least in my case, appreciative to what I ate.

Oh, about the guilty pleasure feeling? I like it so much that maybe I should throw away any notion of eating state animal and do it again! Now, about that bald eagle creature. I wonder if they have that as a menu item. >8)

February is wasted

RANT

I don't know what's going on anymore. January was pretty good. Come February, though, it seems like time is frozen in partway in January. I got sick and the ceiling collapse has something to do with it, but it is kind of hard to believe it took all of February. I'm looking at my Journal, and it is still stuck in January. The only stuff in February is what I put in January. Now March is here. I see a lot of catching up to do. I wonder how everybody else is doing, whether or not they realize productivity is down or business as usual. I started seeing a lot of non-accomplishment by other people. I wonder if they care?

I did accomplish something. I managed to complete the shooting range in Silent Scope game. Then it leads me to believe that maybe I can finish the main game, too. I like the one in Colby, KS. I also saw a Korean version of it. I don't like that one. Too touchy!

I also some fires down a farm in Texas. I also put in some pics from Tulsa OK turnpike.

Nielsen rating

PERSONAL

The trouble with being on the road all the time is that I don't get to check the mail too often. This particular run has been extremely long and hard, and got me sick. So, I got home, and what do I see? A big hole on the ceiling due to water seepage from upstair neighbor. Ended up moving quite a bit of stuff to make room for the repair man.

Also, I found out in the mail that Nielsen, that TV survey, send me 2 dollars to get my opinion of current TV program. It was due on Jan 27th. What can I say? Late. I was late on apartment rent and credit card bills, too.

Anyway, I put in my answer that I don't have TV, that I think current programming is totally unsatisfactory, that I only watch news on TV.

I do watch movies, though. I recently completed watching the Neon Genesis Evangelion. I don't know what's special about it. It does feature heavy psychological and biblical issues, which a lot of people find interesting. I was watching the episodes, and can't help but think that they run out of money at the end. Turns out, that is the case. The set has 4 director's cut episode, which delved into further details. But missing is the event between episode 24 and 25, which is where Nerv HQ got attacked.

That missing thing is featured in the movie, The End of Evangeliom, Death and Rebirth. I get kind of upset, since I specifically asked for the complete version. Apparently, there are 2 different companies that released this. So, I wonder where I can get that movie? I'm also hunting Lucky Star episodes. Got episode 1-4. Waiting for 5 to come out. I also saw Nadia, secret of Blue Water collection box. I may get those, too.

Groundhog?

TRAVEL

Kind of hard to believe I still don't know the difference between groundhog, prairie dog, and gopher. Critter Gitter is what I call them. Certainly looks like rabbit holes to me. I do know they're not rabbits.

Ford Woodhaven Plant

TRAVEL

I was going on I75 Northbound in Michigan. All the signs say use I75 for Bridge to Canada. I guess Windsor is just across the river. Didn't realize it at the time. Anyway, I saw this huge building with a Ford logo on the side. The front building says Woodhaven Stamping Plant. The place was definitely on the massive scale. I guess I now know where those billions went. I wonder if they allow a tour inside?