k.unwrapped

I’m driving to the nearest train station that has free parking so I can head downtown to work. A man, his two children, and his girlfriend jump in my car as I’m stopped at a light and demand that I drive them to New Jersey. I tell them to get the f&*! out of my car. The man then takes control of the wheel and stomps on the accelerator with me still in the driver’s seat. I pull out a machetti and slit all of their throats.

That dream speaks VOLUMES to how I feel about my car…

Tyra: Thanks for tuning in today. I have Naomi Campbell on the set and she’s here to give advice on personal finance issues.

Naomi: Thanks for having me Tyra. Today, homeowners treat their equity like a Mac machine. They’re running up ridiculous amounts of credit card debt and tapping into their equity to fund their frivilous spending habits. If you make 80k a year, you should live as if you make 40-50k — that’s how to build wealth and stay out of debt. You don’t need a Benz…remember that you need a car to get from point A to B – don’t use it as a status symbol…don’t waste 50k on it.

This dream gives away my nightly routine. I watch the Tyra show on Oxygen at 11pm every night while I read personal finance news articles (and blogs) on my laptop. The night that I had this dream, the show was about Naomi’s habit of going "oops" upside people’s head with cell phones. Naomi giving personal finance advice…imagine that! LOL.

I saw this at sun shower sweet…

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.
That’s me 

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You like serious, smart and determined people. You don’t judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren’t necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people’s eyes.
Sure I like those kinds of people…but I DEFINITELY judge a book by it’s cover, at least to a small extent. We all do.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.
Very true. Sure I’m open to being in a relationship and I feel that I’m ready, but I need tangible evidence that me and a dude are compatible and he’s of above average character before I’d consider anything serious.

The seriousness of your love:
You are very serious about relationships and aren’t interested in wasting time with people you don’t really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.
This is SO me.

Your views on education
You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you
You’re a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you’ll be set for life.

How do you view success:
Success in your career is not the most important thing in life. You are content with what you have and think that being with someone you love is more than spending all of your precious time just working.
I often think about how I’m going to balance a demanding career and family life as I move up the success ladder. Right now I’m just starting out so my job not as demanding most of the time. I look at some of the women at my job who are in their 30’s & 40’s and at the top of their careers making that six-figure salary and I don’t envy them. Six-figures = 90 hr work weeks…how do you balance family life? That is going to be my dilemma at some point. I couldn’t see myself putting my family on the back burner for a company that ultimately considers it’s employees disposable.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It’s time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.
This part really stood out the most to me. I’ve learned that other people’s opinion of me matter way too much and it’s been heavy on my mind lately. My logical self knows that letting other people’s perception affect me is akin to believing that so-and-so’s opinion of ME matters more to me than my own. That’s stupid! But shit, just because something is right in your mind doesn’t mean your heart agrees.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Good stuff overall

Panda Bites Man, Man Bites Back: Man in Hosipital
A drunken Chinese migrant worker jumped into a panda enclosure at the Beijing Zoo, was bitten by the bear and retaliated by chomping down on the animal’s back, state media said Wednesday.
Read the rest…

Man plummets 50 feet to grab missing $20
Mark Giorgio figured a 50-foot fall was worth $20. Giorgio, 47, was counting his money Monday while walking across the U.S. 41 bridge over the Manatee River when a $20 bill blew out of his hand and flew over the rail.
He followed. And plummeted 50 feet into the river.
Then he swam about 100 yards to fish the bill from the water.
"I got my money back, hell yeah," Giorgio told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "Twenty bucks is a lot of money when you’re broke."
Read the rest…

Police use MySpace.com to find 27 vandalism suspects
Bensalem police said this morning that they intend to arrest and charge three adults and 24 juveniles with 1,500 acts of graffiti that caused more than $100,000 in damage throughout the township over the last year.
Read the rest…

I attended my first bridal shower on Saturday. The bride-to-be didn’t want skrippas; however, a good time was had. My old roommate from college is the maid-of-honor and she asked me to help out with the planning. That chick is so creative…she will surely be planning my wedding (unbeknownst to her hehe) if  when I get married. On Friday I went to dinner with an old friend (Don) from high school. Talking with him reminded me that Black men MUST go to college, trade school, or the military if they ever hope to be able to support themselves and/or a family. If not, they’d have to be genius, lucky, or know people who can get their foot in the door to get ahead. Black women are able to squeak by (as long as they are reasonably articulate) without education/training more often than Black men (but don’t try this at home kids).

Since high school graduation Don has struggled to get and keep jobs. The ones he does get don’t pay much nor do they offer decent benefits so he can’t afford to have his own place and reliable car, at the very least. I’m not one to kick people when they’re down so I didn’t say "when you had that opportunity to go to Virginia State on partial scholarship you should have taken it instead of staying around the neighborhood and fathering two kids." Fortunately I didn’t have to say it because he did.

My thinking is that it’s almost never too late to turn your life around, go back to school, get more training, etc., if that’s what your heart desires. We find a way to obtain the things that we TRULY want. If six years have passed and you have nothing to show for it, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and rework the plan. My advice is to continue living with his brother, work full-time (he does have 2 mouths to feed!), and go back to school part-time to be a contractor (maintenance/construction) because that’s what he has some experience and an interest in. He said he’d think about it so we’ll see.