Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Drinks! China Seeds? Kombucha!? $1 Each!?

So aside from trying to make and hoard money as badly as I do, I like to sample different drinks from around the world.  Today, I have Kombucha!  I heard that it's great for your health, especially with added chia seeds for fiber.  Well, they just add in chia seeds and let it soak in the drink.  It has a strange, fluffy taste to it.  I don't recommend chia seeds at all, but it's good for nutritional benefits apparently.  The sugar content remains low at 4g per servering.  The smallest bottle ranges from 10 oz and the largest to 16 oz.  They had a wonderful $1 sale on all drinks.  I've never seen such a great deal before, so I wanted to sample everything on the menu!  With the low sugar count, it's a good buy!  A lot of the fruit flavored drinks out there and even the higher priced juices contain A LOT OF SUGAR.  "All natural" and "organic" can never be trusted these days, because of the soil.  Yes, the soil maybe contaminated with pesticides and other chemicals, but everyone still labels their produce as "organic".  In any event, I like the ones without the chia seeds to be honest.  I know chia seeds mean well, but they taste too funny and chunky.  So far I only tried out two of the flavors.  I want to know what the tumeric one taste like.  I selected it specially, because of the tumeric label on it.  It's suppose to be especially good for your brain!

So I've spent a total of $10 on drinks, and I have no regrets.  I love to try out new things that are pleasant.  As long as it's on sale for $1 each and not $4.99 I'll buy it!  I have yet to try all the flavors of the rainbow.  I hope to post an update when I'm through with all 10 bottles!

Keep on reading my blog and thank you for the visit!  

Monday, September 28, 2015

Pay Day! The Birth of A New Life!


Well, there's my new pay check.  Yes, I am proud of it.  Unfortunately, I have to pay $520.52 in taxes after making $1860.38.  So, I only get to take home $1339.86.   Well, at least it's a lot bigger than my unemployment checks.  I have no complaints here.  I went in each morning on my days of work and did my job.  I made sure to go back if I needed to.  I tried my hardest not to leave any of my patients behind.  Well, now I need to maintain and be better at my craft in the medical field.  It's no laughing matter.  They do check your work, and you have to listen.  Failure to do so can cost you severely.  If you know me, I've been in hot situations before.  Shit happens but that is all the reason to stay on your toes and be careful at all times on the job.  Sometimes they'll want you to work on the days you are off.   In such an event, they can catch you off guard.  While you think you're doing the company a favor, you are actually risking your ass going back in the field where you are constantly critiqued and judge.  Based on my experiences, it's much safer to just stay home and not come in if you're not schedule.  Of course, the company is desperate and will try and pull you in.  Just remember, they'll try to throw a low blow at you regardless.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.  I worked hard for this piece of paper.  I stayed up Monday and Thursday shooting x-rays in the hood.  I had to drive down south and back north 1 hour each way.  I had to deal with the elderly, sick, and the bed ridden.  Without a doubt, I saw some pretty hard to deal patients that week.  It was not funny at all.  I'd stay the hell away unless I was getting paid for my time.  Well, there is one inspiring member of the human race "The Pope" that the patients generally like to watch on TV.  He came this week and everyone tuned in.  I felt that they really appreciated someone who has the capacity to care about them, the elderly and sick.  Taking care of people in any way is no easy task.  It requires a lot of confidence and communication skills to say the least.

So what will I be doing with my new found fortune?  Well, I hope to reinvest it into stocks and education.  I'm not such a big spender after seeing how so many people go nuts and lose it all so fast.  People accuse me of being cheap, and they're absolutely right; but it's for the safety of myself/family/community as a whole.  I don't want to be a financial fugitive with all kinds of crazy spending habits.  I'm more about saving, investing ,education, and learning.  Well, thank God my paycheck came in this week.  I can stop worrying.

Thank you for tuning in and reading!  I hope to write more!


Thursday, September 24, 2015

Welcome to the Pits


Well, it's the last day of my Monday-Thursday off.  Yes, I get 4 days off to do whatever.  I mostly spent my time organizing my room/office, eat, sleep, workout a bit, listen to music, watch some videos, and constantly enjoy whatever time I have on my computer reading random articles online about business, how to be more productive, and trying to earn a buck or two.  Have I once made money during my stay at home and "doing nothing"?  Yes, I have actually.  I sold a few items using Amazon Seller central.  No, I did not have to go door-to-door and talk to people in person.  No, I don't believe or ever want to do in "direct marketing".  Having to meet someone face to face to buy something is just primitive to me.  I don't like the extra, added attention of having to drive and meet someone in person.  I believe that everyone is perfectly safe and fine to be purchasing stuff online without having trust issues.  No, everyone does not agree with me on this and will always promote direct sales.  Well, I hate meeting up with people to sell them something face to face unless it's a big purchase item like a house or car.  Sure, we all have trust issues when it comes to spending money, but Amazon is a safe company to make transactions with.

Journeying further down the road, I still can't seem to make up jolly and full of heart in the morning.  I make sure to gulp down some fresh water and lemon.  The only time I ever need to spring out of bed is when I'm called in for work!  They text me orders, and I need to respond as soon as possible.  My work hours always begin at 10AM, but I'm encouraged to wake up much earlier and drive to my designated sites at least thirty minutes before!  When I start work earlier in the morning, I know I'll make it home at a reasonable hour.  I hate working past 9PM because that's when everyone locks their doors.  You usually have to ring a bell and talk through the intercom, which means you have to wait for a live person to respond.  This whole locking the door thing at night time drives me nuts, but they have to ensure the bad guys don't get inside their business as well.

So during my 4 day "staycation" I had this urge to apply myself to do MORE.  I emailed the other x-ray company to try and see how my interview went.  I also reapplied to Costco.  I just wanted to do MORE with the time I have.  Well, I did what I could.  This is the best I can do.  Yes, I'm fully aware that being a bum is not the way to go but that's how life is a lot of times.  Companies will not reach out to you EVER.  You have to go out there call like a maniac and grab their attention.  You need to know names, numbers, and most importantly ask who's the boss/manager to speak to.  No one else can do anything but the boss in charge.  It's not like a movie or TV show.  You just keep calling and calling.  If you don't know, just ask.

Well, I've also tried to organize my own business seeing how hard it is to get into someone else's.  I've tried listening to some pod casts and reading up on some recommended business books that can be downloaded for free.  All fingers point to finding your passion and working hard!  Time after time again, there's no cheap substitute for hard work.  I also personally believe in sleep so you can absorb the information you've learned and rebuild the body.  Successful people often don't sleep much often.  They wake up very early in the morning and do their thing.  I guess that's my downfall.  I'd rather sleep than work really hard in the early morning.  Is it possible for someone who sleeps all morning find my own company and make things work?  There must be a million and one things I'm doing wrong to promote growth within my own organization and business and that's why I constantly try and learn from others through books, internet articles, and whatever podcasts that  I come across about super successful people.  At this rate, I'm better off working for Costco as a stock boy than to be serious about my first startup.  IT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE LAZY.  This is why I don't have my own book published; this is why I don't have my own successful startup business; this is why I don't have a lot of fancy things for myself that I want.  One day, I hope to be able to take the baby steps I need to ensure that I can do something BIG.  

Thank you for reading!  I hope to see you next time!        

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Keeping up with Video Content and Skills

Well, here's another one of my video examples.  Yes, I play Heartstone from time to time.  My favorite class is the Warlock, because he's so unpredictable that it makes the game fun.  Other classes can be quite boring.  You know they either do damage, heal, or just block things all the time.  Again and again, it gets old and repetitive.  On the other hand, the Warlock brings the element of surprise and what the hell just happened effect.  No other class is as unique and surprising as the Warlock.  When you think you're going to lose, you can win at the last moment.  It's just that crazy!

Well, I'm still working on my video and editing skills.  I hope my viewers are understanding that I'm trying to make videos and learn things to be good at something.  That pretty much summed up my day today besides my random shopping sprees, cashing in checks, and trying to earn a buck.

Thank you for watching and I hope to see you next time!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

JUST WORK!

Well, I've been off since Monday.  Now that I have some time to recuperate from my weekend shift, I'm determined to write another article in my blog.  I guess I was restocking my inventory in my private, underground "shop".  Yup, these are the new Nerf Rival guns.  I must have 9 of these things.  I got them on sale.  Hell, I purchased A LOT since my new paycheck.  So this is what I do with my paycheck money?  I restock my inventory for what seems to be a makeshift toy store?  I should write reviews for toys.  I mean I do have access to a lot of the new stuff here in New Jersey.  It's not like I'm in Africa where children are starving.  We have an abundance of resources here.  Why not write reviews for toys given what I have?  It could be because I'm cheap.  It could also be because I don't want to open any "new" and sealed packaging.  I like to display things in their original packaging.  Once I open it, it's no longer "new".  I guess I'm able to operate because there's very little or no overhead.  I don't do anything special but stock the basement up with toys that go on sale or on clearance.  I find customers using Amazon.  I also have ebay as an option, but it doesn't work as well as Amazon.  Amazon does not play games with bidding or buyers trying to negotiate.  Customers see a price and they buy it or they don't.  In terms of operating a business that anyone can do, Amazon is definitely my number one choice.  I don't like things that are overwhelmingly complicated.  I rarely have resort to Craigslist or anything that is too ghetto.  My goal is just to have multiple sources of income.  I would like a steady customer base and to retain existing customers, but my level of product output and management is very limited to what I have in stock that I get from nearby department stores.  No, I don't go over the top and have a super amount of purchasing power like a real company; but I do sell things that are hard to find that retail stores no longer carry.  This is where most of the income comes from.  "Storage" is basically what I have to offer.  I obtain products, store them, and later people will spend premium for whatever they can no longer buy at their local department stores.  It's a simple and basic concept of supply and demand with very little or no overhead.  



So I need something to do professionally MONDAY - THURSDAYS.  I just had a job interview last week.  I was certain that the owner would call me and inform me, but I guess I need to do the calling.  Well, you have to be proactive to get a job.  Even if they say they'll be the ones to first call you, 9/10 times you will have to do the calling first.  Although I do feel tired and worn down working the weekends, I still want to keep working.  I like having my days off, but something inside of me just wants to push it to the max.  More money would mean a lot more options for me to pay student loans, better food, and maybe even my own place.  It would be nice to own my own place, but everything is so expensive these days.  It's a luxury to have your own home.  After seeing a lot of my patients, most people live with other people in all kinds of home property.  It's rare that anyone ever lives alone even if you hate and want to kill your roommate.  It's just that everything is SO EXPENSIVE.  $1000 for rent is the average in an area that isn't overpopulated by hoodlums.  $1000 for rent!?  Do you know how much food, utilities, water, and savings that is?  That's a lot of money per month.  Appreciate what you have I guess.  There's no easy way to explain this, but I really need to work hard if I ever want stuff.  The same rules apply for everyone else.  You need to work hard, sweat your ass off, and be extremely persistent in your field if you ever want something worthwhile.  I'm planning to make some phone calls tomorrow and see if there are any options.  I'm considering COSTCO, because I want a simple second job that won't try to run me over with a tank.  There's no other way around it people, you have to keep calling; making connections; network; be persistent; and be readily available once you get the job.  Sure, we can all recede back in our tight, niche comfort zones but there's work to be done.  It's only until you really want something that something will actually happen!  YOU HAVE TO WANT IT!  When there's a will, there is a way.   

Well, thanks for reading.  I hope to come up with some new material for next time!

  

Monday, September 14, 2015

JOY TO THE WORLD - MY PAYCHECK IS FINALLY HERE











Well, here we are again.  This is it, this is my first paycheck for doing x-rays.  Finally!  This is it!  It took two years of long studying, but I've finally did it.  I can't believe it.  I worked hard and in exchange I got my paycheck that was uniquely issued to me.  To thinking in terms of "everyone" or "the masses" is just wrong.  Every person is individually unique in their own special way.  The moment you try and clump people together is when you'll find out real quick that it doesn't work.  People can be trained and retrained for whatever task or job is at hand, but you can't "clump" people together to get something functioning.  Everyone is born at different times and have their own set of strength's and weaknesses.  It is up to us as unique individuals to find a career that best matches out strengths and interests to reach our highest potentials.

What can I say?  I finally made some money.  I can finally be able to pay that child support.  Looking over my check, I've noticed I'm paying $462!?  That's a lot of money for taxes.  That's just about how much I would make every two weeks of retail work.  You need to have a specialized skill to separate yourself from the average day laborer.  So why do schools promote well rounded individuals when high paying jobs only want individuals with uniquely specialized skills?  What's the point of being educated to be "well rounded" when it doesn't work in the job market?  I guess you're not suppose to take high school all that seriously.  You're just suppose to expand your horizons and see what you really want to devote your time to as an adult.  Undergrad is long gone for me.  Now, I know better.  I know that good jobs only cater to those who are specialized in a specific skill, trade, market, and/or field.  To be a well rounded individual is just a bunch of fluff you tell yours kids so they'd look good on paper so they can get into some overpriced, loan infested college.

That's how you do it.  You can a trade skill, and you work your ass off day in and day out.  I've noticed I make up to $30.75 (time and/a-half) after the 59 hour mark.  My starting pay is $20.50, which is a hell of a lot of money for someone like me.  Well, I did it.  I continued to study and graduated x-ray school.  Now, I'm making the money.  Yes, I'm sweating and have to deal with patients; but I'm getting paid for it finally!  No, it's not easy work.  No, it's not a walk in the park.  IT'S HARD WORK.  THAT'S HOW I GOT PAID.  THAT'S HOW I EARNED MONEY.  In exchange for hard work and sweat, I get a paycheck!

Well, thanks for reading!  I'll see you next time!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Happy Labor Day! Wait what? No such thing as Labor Day?

Well, welcome back to the fatness.  I thought I'd have Labor Day off, but they called me in for work.  They want me to do a better job and spend better quality time with my patients if I have to.  Doing the job and running out of there will not do it.  I am trained to stay with the patient as long as it takes to get a diagnostic x-ray image for the doctor at hand.  Yes, I have to run back and forth using locked doors, elevators, stairs, ramps, sidewalks, more doors, asking people for directions, and watching out for random people who can easily slip or fall.  Long story short, I have to do the job right the first time or go back out and repeat whatever for them to not yell at me.  Well, the yelling may not even be towards me; it maybe done towards the management.  The yelling of course is triggered by the doctor who is responsible for ordering the x-ray images for their patient, so they can take care of them.  The whole business model in the healthcare industry involves the doctor on top making orders and yelling at everyone and of course we're the ones on the bottom of the totem pole who just carry out the orders and get shat on.

From my standpoint, business is crazy.  You constantly have to reach out and retain existing customers.  You can't be passive, and you can't ever expect free handouts.  You have to be proactive, show initiative, be aggressive, and confident at all times.  There's no such thing as a free lunch.  You also have to be able to establish trust.  Being good at what you do will definitely put you over the edge and on top of the competition.  I guess that's something I need to work on.  Being good at what I do and establishing trust are my priorities.  You'll attract more audience being really good at something like how children are drawn to the class clown.  It's something that just happens naturally when you're good a something.  People will be excited and interested in what you do.  Of course there are also a handful of trolls and haters out there, but the point is that you keep going and being persistent no matter who doubts you.

JUST KEEP GOING!  Be persistent and keep doing what you're doing until the next big thing decides to show up on your lap.  Grit and working on your craft each and everyday will help set your shit straight.  Just keep doing what you're doing, and eventually you'll see success roll in.  It's a basic universal concept, but overtime it actually works.  One day, all the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place; and you'll be able to see the bigger picture.

Thanks for reading!  I hope to post more original and better content next time!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Starting to Film

Hello my faithful readers and welcome back!  It's another clip of me trying to do something new and unique for myself.  Well, it's a basic video of me and what I would look like being filmed.  I guess I'm doing some very basic body shots, movement, and poses.  I'm well aware that I'm hideous and not too many people will notice but whatever.  I just want to learn something out of my comfort zone.  The most important thing I've read today is SHARE.  Yes, share your work with your audience so they know what's up.  I just want to be more open with my guests.  I may be someone completely new or strange to you.  I don't know either.  I hardly even know who I am really.  I just want to be who I am and to share my work like others have.  Some make it big, but I'm just one of those low key people you've probably never heard before.  Yes, I'm very well aware that I'm the new kid on the block and no one knows me or will even give me the time of day but whatever.  I just want to give you guys a little show of what I'm like.  Well, without any further a due here's my short film.

Yup, that's basically what kind of film I was shooting the other day.  I just wanted some basic ideas of what I would look like on screen.  The beauty of it is that I learned how to shrink the file size and be able to upload stuff on youtube in a matter of seconds/minutes.  This particular short piece took no time whatsoever.  I use to think I needed 2 hours to load a 1 minute video; but I didn't give up learning new tricks of the trade.  I became very curious as to how others have done it, and I wanted to do it to.  Being autodidact is a very important skill that they'll never teach you in school or anywhere else.  It's the ability to learn by yourself that will put you over the edge of competition.

Well, I tried something new today and shared it with my audience.  It's a good start for me.  That was my goal, and I did it.

Thank you for watching and support!

I hope I get more readers as I continue my journey in the world of blogging!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

My Crazy Week Trying to Get Hired

Hello my readers!  I've been gone for such a long time, but I'm back.  Where have I been exactly!?  I've been trying to get out of my comfort zone of course.  Random companies call me, and they want to see me for an interview.  The catch is the only kind of companies that ever deploy this kind of aggressive strategy is sales.  Basically, they want you to sell their "product" door-to-door, face-to-face.  They even give it special jargon "direct sales".  The first company wanted me to sell them "energy".  Of course no one wants to discuss their PSEG bill with a strange salesman.  The idea is to establish trust with the owner of the small business and proceed to convince him/her to reduce energy bill by buying their energy directly through whole sale through the company, whatever that means.  If everyone has had a bad experience with scam artists and confusing paper work, why would anyone wall for this kind of trickery?  Well, they throw in a fancy business term call "the law of averages".  You go around and ask 50 people to signup for your product; only 2 of those people will ever say yes; 10 maybe interested; and the rest of the people will tell you to get the hell out.  To be a salesman is to play the game.  If you don't play the game, you'll never sell their product; hence you'll never make any money.

So the next company that called me was Verizon.  Much like the energy company "Hess" that wanted me to sell their crap, Verizon wanted me to sell their Triple Play package door-to-door.  The good news about their management was that they only target the houses that's on their master list, residents who have shown interest in the past; but because a lot of people are already happy with their existing cable company it makes it a lot harder to sell them Verizon.  Hence, Verizon has deployed all these bundle packages, special limited time deals, gift cards, reduced pricing on installment, and all this other crazy shit to convince people to switch.  You have to learn their product and tell your audience that Verizon gives you faster speed, better image quality, and more channels.  It's a lot to learn, but it's not rocket science.  There's also a billion channels and to make matters worse there's another billion more channels involving sports.  Sports this, sports that, sports, sports, and more sports @_@.
"The law of averages" also plays a vital, key role in Verizon sales as well.  They want you to knock on 60 select homes and sell their product.  The average salesman will get about 1.  If they are lucky maybe 2.  If it's me, probably 1 ever other day.  You earn about $100 each time a person signs up for the Verizon package.  Ultimately, the company wants to train you to be a manager.  They emphasize how managers last a lot longer than the player.  Their teachings and philosophy seems to be accurate, but what happens if there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians?  Not everyone is cut out to be a manager.  It's definitely a lot hard and takes on more responsibility.  It requires experience, time, and persistence as with anything else in life.

Out of the blue I get a call from my x-ray mobile company to start working, because the other guy left.  Wow, great finally here's my chance to work.  Well, I listened and had to drive all the way down New Jersey for my interview and introduction.  Because my manager believed in giving people a chance, he gave me a chance!  Someone gave him a chance, now he feels that it's only right to give others a chance as well.  My manager is a great leader.  He hired me, because he trusted me with responsibility.  We met in person and eye-to-eye.  There was nothing to hide.  A resume is just a piece of paper, but when the time comes you'll have to meet face-to-face with your employer.  So I was patient enough to spend the next 2 days with him.  He agreed to pay me for training and everything.  He even provided me with food.  Wow, what a great boss!  Of course, he was older but held a sense of responsibility like a father figure.  You just have to get over the fear of meeting someone new and respect them for who they are.  I knew I was in good hands.

During the week of training and working, I got a phone call from downtown hospital. They invited me in for an interview for the very first time.  I was going to go to them first, but I never made it because of my laziness.   Any who, I knew the supervisor/boss there; and they needed a full time employee.  Although they were confident in my abilities to perform, hospital jobs are very political and there's always a laundry list of people of applicants because they desperately want the state benefits associated with working in a hospital.  They recommended me highly, but at the same time it wasn't even their call.  The human resources department makes the final decision.  So I can keep calling them or whatever, but I would probably never get a honest response simply because of the messy, political nature involved.  They like to hire people from the inside who are per diam who want to be full time, or like everyone else they hire a blood relative.  Either way, the job is a big responsibility.  Not everyone can work in a hospital.  It requires patience, smarts, communication skills, a degree, hard work ethic, and networking skills.  Some of the patients weight in at over 300 pounds, so the nature of what you'll be dealing with from the start is pretty damn hard already.  Yup, it's an emergency room kind of hospital.  The first ebola lady was even sent here.  As x-ray students, we had to intern here all the while she was being kept in the secret basement somewhere in the other building.  Well, it's tough out there.

So I get Mondays through Thursday off.  I only work Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  That means I have to find something to do with myself from Monday to Thursday.  I'm an adult now, but I still feel like a kid.  I go food shopping a lot.  I even buy toys sometimes for my hobby shop.  I called Costco the other day to see if they have any jobs available.  The lady was nice enough to tell me to call back mid-September/October for seasonal work and whatnot.  It sounds like a plan.  Of course I've been trying to apply for other x-ray jobs, but you really need to have "word of mouth connections".  It's hard is all I'm going to say.  Sometimes they want you, sometimes they don't, sometimes they'll hire someone else, a lot of times they'll never even bother, and a lot other times it feels like it's 100% up to you to find employment so you keep calling and doing followups in the most annoying way possible.  Well, that's it for me today.  I came, I saw, I got overwhelmed with the shit I had to deal with, and I'm going to say my good byes until next time.

Thanks for reading all!