I think this will be TR's lullaby, sang by Mr. A and I.
I've been playing various versions from youtube. TR kicked a couple of times during the Billie Holiday version. I like the Fantasia and Jill Scott Version. I love Ella but not her version.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Inspire and Admire
This past weekend I met with one of my aunts at her office. This aunt is my father's eldest sister. Aunt M.
Aunt M. is probably nearing 70 and is retired from the job that gives her a pension. I believe she went to work at about 18 and retired at 48. I know she was fairly young when she retired. While she worked that job she also worked for a realtor.
She told me the story last weekend. The owner of the real estate firm used to pay the staff and the office rent late. One day while she working in the realtors office, the owner of the building came in and told the owner to just buy the building. He gave the realtor time but she couldn't come up with the money. My aunt said there were about 20 white folks working in that office and none had the money to purchase the building.
She was young and asked the man what about her. She said he seemed surprised. She told him she had a deal, she owned a vacant lot in a nice part of town and would trade him that lot for the property. The deal was done.
She said she cried everyday after that trying to figure out what she'd gotten herself into. Back then the going rents were only about $100 and she had taxes and upkeep to maintain on the property. The building sits on a corner space and has a parking lot, it is dircely across the street from the court house and some county buildings. She eventually opened a real estate firm in that space and said a lot of her business came from the foot traffic of the county workers going from their offices to the restaurant near her.
When she bought it, it was priced in the $100k's, now its in the millions. She rents out the other spaces and operates her businesses from a large suite inside the building. I told her I wanted office space- but I wanted to own the building. She said that is the only way to go.
Aunt M has a lot of other businesses and at least 13 real estate properties that she rents out. She's owned them all since the 80's and all are paid off. She is a tycoon and a business woman. She doesn't play. If a family members tries to borrow money from her she produces a contract that sets out the interest rate and she may make you give her a lien on your property as collateral. People who make money also know how to keep it- so I'm not mad at her.
After our meeting Aunt M. dropped me off at bigmom's house (bigmom is gone but her house is still the meeting place for the family, there is still love there) and she was looking at my sister's car.
Aunt M mentioned that she admired us because we all had advanced degrees and how that opened doors and how she wished she'd been able to do that. She said we were all smart. I looked at her in major surprise, she's the smart one with the business acumen. Her success didn't need a degree.
I told her how many of us cousins looked up to her as a model for what we can do. We always say "I wanna be like Aunt M. Aunt M is about the business." I told her how much we all admire her and look up to her as an example. She seemed very surprised.
Could she really not know how impressed her neices, nephews and cousins are with her?
It's amazing how you can look at someone and think what they have accomplished and are accomplishing is spectacular and they might be looking at the things you do- which seem like nothing to you- and think you are amazing?
So beyond the business story one lesson is to tell people when they inspire you and when you admire them because they may not know how their existence encourages your life.
Aunt M. is probably nearing 70 and is retired from the job that gives her a pension. I believe she went to work at about 18 and retired at 48. I know she was fairly young when she retired. While she worked that job she also worked for a realtor.
She told me the story last weekend. The owner of the real estate firm used to pay the staff and the office rent late. One day while she working in the realtors office, the owner of the building came in and told the owner to just buy the building. He gave the realtor time but she couldn't come up with the money. My aunt said there were about 20 white folks working in that office and none had the money to purchase the building.
She was young and asked the man what about her. She said he seemed surprised. She told him she had a deal, she owned a vacant lot in a nice part of town and would trade him that lot for the property. The deal was done.
She said she cried everyday after that trying to figure out what she'd gotten herself into. Back then the going rents were only about $100 and she had taxes and upkeep to maintain on the property. The building sits on a corner space and has a parking lot, it is dircely across the street from the court house and some county buildings. She eventually opened a real estate firm in that space and said a lot of her business came from the foot traffic of the county workers going from their offices to the restaurant near her.
When she bought it, it was priced in the $100k's, now its in the millions. She rents out the other spaces and operates her businesses from a large suite inside the building. I told her I wanted office space- but I wanted to own the building. She said that is the only way to go.
Aunt M has a lot of other businesses and at least 13 real estate properties that she rents out. She's owned them all since the 80's and all are paid off. She is a tycoon and a business woman. She doesn't play. If a family members tries to borrow money from her she produces a contract that sets out the interest rate and she may make you give her a lien on your property as collateral. People who make money also know how to keep it- so I'm not mad at her.
After our meeting Aunt M. dropped me off at bigmom's house (bigmom is gone but her house is still the meeting place for the family, there is still love there) and she was looking at my sister's car.
Aunt M mentioned that she admired us because we all had advanced degrees and how that opened doors and how she wished she'd been able to do that. She said we were all smart. I looked at her in major surprise, she's the smart one with the business acumen. Her success didn't need a degree.
I told her how many of us cousins looked up to her as a model for what we can do. We always say "I wanna be like Aunt M. Aunt M is about the business." I told her how much we all admire her and look up to her as an example. She seemed very surprised.
Could she really not know how impressed her neices, nephews and cousins are with her?
It's amazing how you can look at someone and think what they have accomplished and are accomplishing is spectacular and they might be looking at the things you do- which seem like nothing to you- and think you are amazing?
So beyond the business story one lesson is to tell people when they inspire you and when you admire them because they may not know how their existence encourages your life.
Challenges in Building
I think the biggest challenge- for me- of Mr. A trying to build a business are his expectations.
He expects income just because someone said they were sending it, and expects people to be instantly receptive to his business proposals. These are things I didn't think to prepare him for because after some years of dealing with it, it has become natural to me. I don't expect the check to come when the person says. The larger the client the more likely it is to be late. I think his expectations are the remnants of working in business for so long.
Mr. A left his job in November 2006. We spent quite a few months just enjoying the freedom and enjoying life without the fetters of a 9 to 5. Then Mr. A got involved volunteering for a high school football team. That time commitment was major and I believe that is a challenge to pursuing self-employment, especially in these incubator stages.
When I started working for myself as an adult, I was subbing and then working to build my business, not enjoying the freedom to exercise my passions. My hobbies had to get enjoyed after 7 p.m. Part of the reason I subbed- beyond income- was to have something and somewhere to go to every morning. I enjoyed subbing but not enough to want teaching to be my career. Being there always reminded me of my goal. I looked forward to letting my credential lapse and not returning.
Football doesn't pay Mr. A, and he loves coaching those kids. Unlike me while he is there, he probably isn't thinking about building a business so he can get away. He would love to do coaching or something to help kids on a full time, everyday basis. You would think he'd want to adopt but he doesn't. I've actually been encouraging him to get some of these rich kids and coach them. Parents are paying for that type of thing because they want their kids to be very well-rounded on college applications.
When we first began in earnest to build our joint business, Mr. A notified everyone and described what we did. We got our first client fairly quick. My cousin here in L.A. retired from nursing and she and some of her colleagues opened a nursing school. They hired us. Then Mr. A went deep sea fishing with his childhood friend's family and got a new client. The friend's father owns a lot of fast food franchises in L.A. and surrounding cities, so he hired Mr. A to make his business more efficient. Mr. A created a program onto the locations computers and trains the store managers how to use it. He has saved everyone from top to bottom hours a day.
Mr. A is still working on that project and has acquired other jobs. All of this occurred by word of mouth and networking.
In the meantime Mr. A continued to submit bids and proposals for government contracting. I know its "our" business but he is the one who works at it. I act as a second pair of eyes on the proposals.
Mr. A's degrees are in engineering management and civil engineering. Engineering management is a degree that enables engineers to operate in the business environment. His post college/post military job was in management at a division of Pepsi Co where part of his duties were to develop processes for the company to become more efficient (save money and time) each year. Mr A was probably 23 when he entered his career in corporate management, so with his military background and his entire career spent in management he has a huge amount of skills.
This skill in helping business and government agencies, develop standards and track systems to become more efficient seems to be the one that is sought after. This is the skill that has large firms contacting him asking him to work as sub consultant.
It's been year or so and we are just now getting the foot into the door we'd been trying to get open for some time. It all happens in stages and we've been patient and steady. Soon enough we'll be the prime and hiring sub-consultants. I don't expect the challenges to end, but I do expect they will change as we grow.
This has taken time, it has required strategy and sacrifice. But its all worth it to us. I think the sacrifice has been more of a struggle for Mr. A. He isn't used to depriving himself. I guess going from a salary that is comfortable in L.A. to having to budget diligently- but still in L.A.- is tough.
The thing that is super confusing is Mr. A can help business track their efficiency and figure out ways to help them save money but when left to manage our household finances, I have to pray for the strength not to attack him.
Soon I will blog about what a business owner does when you had at least a 5 month expense cushion and the bulk of it gets spent in under 2 months but no bills are paid. How to recover financially and build again without cutting the person who was in charge of the management. Then I will write about why it is of major importance to maintain a financial cushion when self-employed.
He expects income just because someone said they were sending it, and expects people to be instantly receptive to his business proposals. These are things I didn't think to prepare him for because after some years of dealing with it, it has become natural to me. I don't expect the check to come when the person says. The larger the client the more likely it is to be late. I think his expectations are the remnants of working in business for so long.
Mr. A left his job in November 2006. We spent quite a few months just enjoying the freedom and enjoying life without the fetters of a 9 to 5. Then Mr. A got involved volunteering for a high school football team. That time commitment was major and I believe that is a challenge to pursuing self-employment, especially in these incubator stages.
When I started working for myself as an adult, I was subbing and then working to build my business, not enjoying the freedom to exercise my passions. My hobbies had to get enjoyed after 7 p.m. Part of the reason I subbed- beyond income- was to have something and somewhere to go to every morning. I enjoyed subbing but not enough to want teaching to be my career. Being there always reminded me of my goal. I looked forward to letting my credential lapse and not returning.
Football doesn't pay Mr. A, and he loves coaching those kids. Unlike me while he is there, he probably isn't thinking about building a business so he can get away. He would love to do coaching or something to help kids on a full time, everyday basis. You would think he'd want to adopt but he doesn't. I've actually been encouraging him to get some of these rich kids and coach them. Parents are paying for that type of thing because they want their kids to be very well-rounded on college applications.
When we first began in earnest to build our joint business, Mr. A notified everyone and described what we did. We got our first client fairly quick. My cousin here in L.A. retired from nursing and she and some of her colleagues opened a nursing school. They hired us. Then Mr. A went deep sea fishing with his childhood friend's family and got a new client. The friend's father owns a lot of fast food franchises in L.A. and surrounding cities, so he hired Mr. A to make his business more efficient. Mr. A created a program onto the locations computers and trains the store managers how to use it. He has saved everyone from top to bottom hours a day.
Mr. A is still working on that project and has acquired other jobs. All of this occurred by word of mouth and networking.
In the meantime Mr. A continued to submit bids and proposals for government contracting. I know its "our" business but he is the one who works at it. I act as a second pair of eyes on the proposals.
Mr. A's degrees are in engineering management and civil engineering. Engineering management is a degree that enables engineers to operate in the business environment. His post college/post military job was in management at a division of Pepsi Co where part of his duties were to develop processes for the company to become more efficient (save money and time) each year. Mr A was probably 23 when he entered his career in corporate management, so with his military background and his entire career spent in management he has a huge amount of skills.
This skill in helping business and government agencies, develop standards and track systems to become more efficient seems to be the one that is sought after. This is the skill that has large firms contacting him asking him to work as sub consultant.
It's been year or so and we are just now getting the foot into the door we'd been trying to get open for some time. It all happens in stages and we've been patient and steady. Soon enough we'll be the prime and hiring sub-consultants. I don't expect the challenges to end, but I do expect they will change as we grow.
This has taken time, it has required strategy and sacrifice. But its all worth it to us. I think the sacrifice has been more of a struggle for Mr. A. He isn't used to depriving himself. I guess going from a salary that is comfortable in L.A. to having to budget diligently- but still in L.A.- is tough.
The thing that is super confusing is Mr. A can help business track their efficiency and figure out ways to help them save money but when left to manage our household finances, I have to pray for the strength not to attack him.
Soon I will blog about what a business owner does when you had at least a 5 month expense cushion and the bulk of it gets spent in under 2 months but no bills are paid. How to recover financially and build again without cutting the person who was in charge of the management. Then I will write about why it is of major importance to maintain a financial cushion when self-employed.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The Business
Since I've been working for myself for so long I don't often consider some of the ways I made it work in the beginning. We spoke at a career day last week and I realized a lot of people may not realize the level of work, financial committment and sacrifice self-employment requires.
- When I initially started my business, I worked as a substitute teacher because it was flexible and enjoyable. I'd try to do kindergarten classes because they are 1/2 a day, or special education classes because they had shorter days and aides. Since my mother is a special ed teacher, she put the word out among her colleagues that I was available. Most subs avoid special ed classes but I knew that was the most relaxed and pleasant day a sub could have. I'd bring my laptop to school and do my work when the kids weren't there. That worked well for me because it was either do my work or stare at a wall.
I realized that clients would not be knocking just because I spread the word that I was in business, so I didn't take on any expenses that were built around expected income. I think that was the main thing that enabled me to be self-employed. If I'd had a car note or rent to pay, then I wouldn't have had the flexibility to take the self-employment journey.
I learned how to use the money I had. I couldn't rely on expected income. When I first got an office space (that I had to pay for), I remember one month having earned quite a bit of money. No one paid me, not even my corporate clients( just re-read one client paid). Back then my mother managed my money and she's great with money, so I was able to meet all expenses and remain comfortable. I blogged about it back then here is the link
Eventually I took on more things, my brother and I did a lease/purchase option and I took his house. He had purchased a new and more expensive home and told me that I needed to pay on time or else he'd have to pay. I had over a year of expenses saved at that time, so I was always able to pay him early. When I moved into that house, I also had the office space. Only looking back do I realize I was doing pretty well, I was gaining momentum. When you are in the moment its hard to notice the moment- at least that is true for me.
I eventually got engaged, moved to L.A. and had to start over. I worked for a firm for a while and learned alot about special education law and attracting clients in this area. I had a hard time separating myself from that firm because I was fearful. I didn't know if I'd be able to build a strong business here. I probably would have stayed but I got tired of getting a percentage of what I was billing at. As they say, if your boss is paying you $100k, you are making them a million.
Now the only folks I have to share the proceeds of my earnings with are the IRS, CA FTB, Social Security and the rest of them abbreviations.
Next post, I'll try to tell about how Mr. A has built his/our business. When we started that, the goal was to get gov't contracts. We started out working for private businesses and now his phone and email are ringing off the hook with companies asking him to sign on as their subconsultant for government projects.
Building a business does take a while and we were in a unique position to both quit our full time jobs and pursue self-employment. So I'll probably blog later about those challenges.
TR is currently kicking me A LOT. I usually eat my first morning meal by 7:30 a.m. its 8 a.m and I think my baby is protesting the meal delay. Must end now.
- When I initially started my business, I worked as a substitute teacher because it was flexible and enjoyable. I'd try to do kindergarten classes because they are 1/2 a day, or special education classes because they had shorter days and aides. Since my mother is a special ed teacher, she put the word out among her colleagues that I was available. Most subs avoid special ed classes but I knew that was the most relaxed and pleasant day a sub could have. I'd bring my laptop to school and do my work when the kids weren't there. That worked well for me because it was either do my work or stare at a wall.
I realized that clients would not be knocking just because I spread the word that I was in business, so I didn't take on any expenses that were built around expected income. I think that was the main thing that enabled me to be self-employed. If I'd had a car note or rent to pay, then I wouldn't have had the flexibility to take the self-employment journey.
I learned how to use the money I had. I couldn't rely on expected income. When I first got an office space (that I had to pay for), I remember one month having earned quite a bit of money. No one paid me, not even my corporate clients( just re-read one client paid). Back then my mother managed my money and she's great with money, so I was able to meet all expenses and remain comfortable. I blogged about it back then here is the link
Eventually I took on more things, my brother and I did a lease/purchase option and I took his house. He had purchased a new and more expensive home and told me that I needed to pay on time or else he'd have to pay. I had over a year of expenses saved at that time, so I was always able to pay him early. When I moved into that house, I also had the office space. Only looking back do I realize I was doing pretty well, I was gaining momentum. When you are in the moment its hard to notice the moment- at least that is true for me.
I eventually got engaged, moved to L.A. and had to start over. I worked for a firm for a while and learned alot about special education law and attracting clients in this area. I had a hard time separating myself from that firm because I was fearful. I didn't know if I'd be able to build a strong business here. I probably would have stayed but I got tired of getting a percentage of what I was billing at. As they say, if your boss is paying you $100k, you are making them a million.
Now the only folks I have to share the proceeds of my earnings with are the IRS, CA FTB, Social Security and the rest of them abbreviations.
Next post, I'll try to tell about how Mr. A has built his/our business. When we started that, the goal was to get gov't contracts. We started out working for private businesses and now his phone and email are ringing off the hook with companies asking him to sign on as their subconsultant for government projects.
Building a business does take a while and we were in a unique position to both quit our full time jobs and pursue self-employment. So I'll probably blog later about those challenges.
TR is currently kicking me A LOT. I usually eat my first morning meal by 7:30 a.m. its 8 a.m and I think my baby is protesting the meal delay. Must end now.
Monday, February 18, 2008
An L.A. Day for $1.50
We spent our day at the L.A. County museum and our entire outing was a mere $1.50. We refrained from buying $10 snacks at the museum so that is good for us.
We took the bus to the museum, and paid $1.50. The bus ride was super quick and we didn't have to hassle with or pay for parking. The museum was free and on the way back the thing you put your money in on the bus was broken, so we paid nothing.
The museum has an Egyptian section. It never fails that whatever musuem I go to, the noses of the statues are always rubbed or chipped off, when its a broad nose. I mean folks who discovered Egyptianhistory really tried to do all they could to rid all remnants of the broad noses. There was one statute and the lips had been rubbed down. I realize these items are extremely old but if the skinny noses can make it, why not the broad ones?
One of the buildings held an American History gallery. It was quite pitiful. I realize the history of America is short compared with others and the only true telling of that history has to include the long held institution of slavery. The gallery apparently didn't want to get into slavery and without that the story of America doesn't begin until the late 1800's. Can you imagine being in a museum with furniture from the 1960's as a representation of history? There was a bit more but not much. We finished that building in under 10 minutes and it took that long because I was moving a bit slow. Carrying an extra person can slow you down.
I enjoyed our day. Next museum we plan to tour is the Getty. It's always free (except for parking) and they have picnic grounds so we'll be packing a lunch.
We took the bus to the museum, and paid $1.50. The bus ride was super quick and we didn't have to hassle with or pay for parking. The museum was free and on the way back the thing you put your money in on the bus was broken, so we paid nothing.
The museum has an Egyptian section. It never fails that whatever musuem I go to, the noses of the statues are always rubbed or chipped off, when its a broad nose. I mean folks who discovered Egyptianhistory really tried to do all they could to rid all remnants of the broad noses. There was one statute and the lips had been rubbed down. I realize these items are extremely old but if the skinny noses can make it, why not the broad ones?
One of the buildings held an American History gallery. It was quite pitiful. I realize the history of America is short compared with others and the only true telling of that history has to include the long held institution of slavery. The gallery apparently didn't want to get into slavery and without that the story of America doesn't begin until the late 1800's. Can you imagine being in a museum with furniture from the 1960's as a representation of history? There was a bit more but not much. We finished that building in under 10 minutes and it took that long because I was moving a bit slow. Carrying an extra person can slow you down.
I enjoyed our day. Next museum we plan to tour is the Getty. It's always free (except for parking) and they have picnic grounds so we'll be packing a lunch.
Holiday Weekend
I had a work thing on Friday out in Long Beach. It was my plan to go to Chic-Fil-A while on that side of the world but I forgot and just wanted to get home. Seems like bloggers are always mentioning that place.
I've gotten out of the practice of driving so the 30 minute trip and the traffic coming back to L.A. proper had me exhausted. Mr. A had some work stuff to do and then a h.s. basketball game but he came home and made dinner since he figured I'd be too tired to function.
I have much respect for those people who can drive to work, work a full day, drive back home and then cook or do household stuff. When I was in Oakland, I rarely worked a full day outside home and on those days that I did, I had my mother who had dinner prepared.
I spent Saturday at home and Mr. A went to his friend's house to watch a fight. We had planned to hit the L.A. County Museum that afternoon- it just finished being remodeled and looks very beautiful- but it seems like today is a free admission day, so I figured we'd wait. So that is our plan for today.
I've spent a few weeks lobbying for us to go to church at West Angeles. I'd been thinking about it, but that Bill Clinton incident set me on a path of change. Then I've been reading S30's post about her church and West Angeles is one that has lots and lots going on and lots to be involved with.
On Sunday, Mr. A was supposed to go with the ski club to help the kids learn to snowboard. They were going to Mount High, which is cool for a quick inexpensive excursion. Because it was a holiday weekend the lift ticket price was raised to $50 or $60. It's usually $40, because it really isn't much of a mountain. The better mountains are cheaper so he decided not to go. I totally supported that budget decision.
Because Mr. A had planned to go to the mountain I was going to go to West Angeles. When he decided not to go, the plan was still to go to West A. We did our pre-marital there and he loved it but he has been oppposed to going to there for church. I admit much of it is my fault. I had told him how "Hollywood" West A is. The church we attend is almost 20 miles away and West A is super close.
So Mr. A kept singing "One Night Only" to let me know he was giving the church one shot. I think Bishop Blake is great but it can feel like an award show sometimes. It's a great place to go when you don't live in L.A. But if you live here and see celebs at the grocery store, nursery, Roscoe Chicken and Waffle, then the excitement will fade.
So yesterday the church did a tribute to the officer who was killed in the line of duty last week. Then Bishop Blake announced that Judge Mathis was going to be our speaker. Yes, Judge Mathis. It was too late to go to the other church by that point. I mean maybe its not meant for us to move to West A for Sundady. Maybe we'll just be involved in the stuff there. I also prefer Bishop Jones messages so maybe we need to be stable.
So Judge Mathis just spoke. Mr. A said he thought he was doing a sort of stand up.
Then after that, Bishop Blake gave a shout out to Natalie Cole (who I see pretty often at Roscoe Chicken and Waffled on Pico and La Brea) and they put a pic of her on the big screen. She looked great.
A lot of celebs attend the church we go to but they are never put them on the big screen or given a shout out. They have to find a seat just like everyone else. Although there was that one time he called Keyshia Cole and Angie Stone out the audience and forced them to sing. But usually they treated like everyone else.
I wish L.A. and Oakland were closer so I could enjoy the best of both worlds without having to travel a long distance. But its probably for the best. If the Bay was close to L.A., there would be smog and then I'd have nowhere to go when I wanted to leave L.A. and enjoy air that has been cooled by the bay breeze.
I've gotten out of the practice of driving so the 30 minute trip and the traffic coming back to L.A. proper had me exhausted. Mr. A had some work stuff to do and then a h.s. basketball game but he came home and made dinner since he figured I'd be too tired to function.
I have much respect for those people who can drive to work, work a full day, drive back home and then cook or do household stuff. When I was in Oakland, I rarely worked a full day outside home and on those days that I did, I had my mother who had dinner prepared.
I spent Saturday at home and Mr. A went to his friend's house to watch a fight. We had planned to hit the L.A. County Museum that afternoon- it just finished being remodeled and looks very beautiful- but it seems like today is a free admission day, so I figured we'd wait. So that is our plan for today.
I've spent a few weeks lobbying for us to go to church at West Angeles. I'd been thinking about it, but that Bill Clinton incident set me on a path of change. Then I've been reading S30's post about her church and West Angeles is one that has lots and lots going on and lots to be involved with.
On Sunday, Mr. A was supposed to go with the ski club to help the kids learn to snowboard. They were going to Mount High, which is cool for a quick inexpensive excursion. Because it was a holiday weekend the lift ticket price was raised to $50 or $60. It's usually $40, because it really isn't much of a mountain. The better mountains are cheaper so he decided not to go. I totally supported that budget decision.
Because Mr. A had planned to go to the mountain I was going to go to West Angeles. When he decided not to go, the plan was still to go to West A. We did our pre-marital there and he loved it but he has been oppposed to going to there for church. I admit much of it is my fault. I had told him how "Hollywood" West A is. The church we attend is almost 20 miles away and West A is super close.
So Mr. A kept singing "One Night Only" to let me know he was giving the church one shot. I think Bishop Blake is great but it can feel like an award show sometimes. It's a great place to go when you don't live in L.A. But if you live here and see celebs at the grocery store, nursery, Roscoe Chicken and Waffle, then the excitement will fade.
So yesterday the church did a tribute to the officer who was killed in the line of duty last week. Then Bishop Blake announced that Judge Mathis was going to be our speaker. Yes, Judge Mathis. It was too late to go to the other church by that point. I mean maybe its not meant for us to move to West A for Sundady. Maybe we'll just be involved in the stuff there. I also prefer Bishop Jones messages so maybe we need to be stable.
So Judge Mathis just spoke. Mr. A said he thought he was doing a sort of stand up.
Then after that, Bishop Blake gave a shout out to Natalie Cole (who I see pretty often at Roscoe Chicken and Waffled on Pico and La Brea) and they put a pic of her on the big screen. She looked great.
A lot of celebs attend the church we go to but they are never put them on the big screen or given a shout out. They have to find a seat just like everyone else. Although there was that one time he called Keyshia Cole and Angie Stone out the audience and forced them to sing. But usually they treated like everyone else.
I wish L.A. and Oakland were closer so I could enjoy the best of both worlds without having to travel a long distance. But its probably for the best. If the Bay was close to L.A., there would be smog and then I'd have nowhere to go when I wanted to leave L.A. and enjoy air that has been cooled by the bay breeze.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Free Financial Book.
Suze Orman is allowing a FREE download of her book "Women and Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny" until February 14, 2008 at 5 pm CST (I think it's CST).
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200802/tows_past_20080213.jhtml?promocode=HP14
I guess this is true. I hope its not a virus. Use at your own risk.
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200802/tows_past_20080213.jhtml?promocode=HP14
I guess this is true. I hope its not a virus. Use at your own risk.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Our Weekend
Mr. A and I had a nice weekend.
On Friday Mr. A and his friend went to Big Bear to board. I've never been there but he went to Snow Summit and told me the mountain was huge. He was home by 2:30 p.m. and had a great time. They got to do about 10 runs
I plan to brave a snowboard once TR has finished cooking. I just know falling is painful and unless you have some experience on a skateboard it can be quite challenging.
On Saturday we walked to our neighborhood park- with our lawn chairs. Mr. A was reading his book and I had a bit of an attitude but I did enjoy the sun. We went out to dinner because I wanted to get out of the house. Mr. A said it wasn't a date because no one had asked the other out. He said just because you are married doesn't mean you can't court. So I'll probably ask him out on a date soon. How much notice does a lady give a gentleman when asking him out?
During my walk to the park I had an epiphany of sorts. I may blog about it.
On Sunday we went to the 8 o'clock service, got there at 9 as usual- time to hear the word. I made a pancake breakfast before we left home. I usually snack before church and on the way home we grab something for me to eat.
I think I'll arise early more often to do breakfast. Makes the day go much better.
We came back home, relaxed a bit, had pizza and Mr. A made strawberry smoothies. He should open up a business because his concotions are great. At one point I tasted something tart. I love tart. I told him to tell me what it was. It was vitamin C. He's been sneaking vitamins in my smoothies!! Then he said "why do you think I don't mind making them. Mr. A is already taking great care of TR and me too.
We went to the grocery store for our dinner meat and a few items. After the grocery store we went to the farmers market and got a huge amount of incredibly sweet strawberries for $5 and I also got pomegrante seeds. Yummy. The fruit was crazy expensive at the grocery store and I knew our neighborhood farmers market would be much better with the quality and pricing.
After dinner we relaxed and Mr. A went to our neighbors house to play chess and chat. Our neighbor is a late 50's plastic surgeon with the cutest dog. One day the man and the dog were walking down the street and I just stopped and started cooing over the dog. Mr A was with me and started talking to the man.
I later realized that just like kids get lured with candy, I allowed myself to be lured by a cute and obedient toy dog. The guy walks at night, and I always hear women stopping outside (in the dark) to talk to the dog.
One day I saw the guy taking a phot of his dog and the neighborhood cat. This is major a pet and baby walking neighborhood.
Now its Monday and time to return to the world of work and dealing with my adversaries. Do people tell young aspiring law students that part of your work day will be spent dealing with adversaries? I don't mind the court stuff, but I hate the phone calls. I don't mind dealing with older lawyers, I prefer them. They understand that its better to be cordial because who wants to spend their day battling about nonsense like dates. Its those fresh new young male attorneys who annoy me. Law firms always give them to me- at first. They look at my bar number, which at this point isnt' that fresh and assign one witha similiar number.
So annoying.
In other great things. I'm more than 1/2 through the cooking of TR and I must say that TR is an excellent passenger. He is laying just right so my pregnant belly looks cute. If a person didn't know me they might wonder if I have a small gut. I love the way my belly looks (most days). I walk around the house in my shortest workout shorts and a tank. Mr. A seems to love this pregnant body. I love it too, so he is not alone. I'm hoping these hips of mine serve me as well in childbirth as they are in child carrying.
I'm feeling soooo much better.
EDIT:
In Networking things:
During the writers strike my brother and Mr. A were discussing ways to enter that arena. Mr. A had an idea for a reality show. Being the supportive spouse and great sis that I am I set out to find a connection to help him figure out who to pitch his idea to.
I called my sister who used to work in t.v. and she called a couple folks and now I have the number of an old friend of mine, who just produced a successful reality seriers for a major network.
Gosh I have a great family. Someone just called me the other week and told me they are glad to know my family because we cover so much. We've got media, law, education and politics covered. With Mr. A and we cover military and science/engineering too.
On Friday Mr. A and his friend went to Big Bear to board. I've never been there but he went to Snow Summit and told me the mountain was huge. He was home by 2:30 p.m. and had a great time. They got to do about 10 runs
I plan to brave a snowboard once TR has finished cooking. I just know falling is painful and unless you have some experience on a skateboard it can be quite challenging.
On Saturday we walked to our neighborhood park- with our lawn chairs. Mr. A was reading his book and I had a bit of an attitude but I did enjoy the sun. We went out to dinner because I wanted to get out of the house. Mr. A said it wasn't a date because no one had asked the other out. He said just because you are married doesn't mean you can't court. So I'll probably ask him out on a date soon. How much notice does a lady give a gentleman when asking him out?
During my walk to the park I had an epiphany of sorts. I may blog about it.
On Sunday we went to the 8 o'clock service, got there at 9 as usual- time to hear the word. I made a pancake breakfast before we left home. I usually snack before church and on the way home we grab something for me to eat.
I think I'll arise early more often to do breakfast. Makes the day go much better.
We came back home, relaxed a bit, had pizza and Mr. A made strawberry smoothies. He should open up a business because his concotions are great. At one point I tasted something tart. I love tart. I told him to tell me what it was. It was vitamin C. He's been sneaking vitamins in my smoothies!! Then he said "why do you think I don't mind making them. Mr. A is already taking great care of TR and me too.
We went to the grocery store for our dinner meat and a few items. After the grocery store we went to the farmers market and got a huge amount of incredibly sweet strawberries for $5 and I also got pomegrante seeds. Yummy. The fruit was crazy expensive at the grocery store and I knew our neighborhood farmers market would be much better with the quality and pricing.
After dinner we relaxed and Mr. A went to our neighbors house to play chess and chat. Our neighbor is a late 50's plastic surgeon with the cutest dog. One day the man and the dog were walking down the street and I just stopped and started cooing over the dog. Mr A was with me and started talking to the man.
I later realized that just like kids get lured with candy, I allowed myself to be lured by a cute and obedient toy dog. The guy walks at night, and I always hear women stopping outside (in the dark) to talk to the dog.
One day I saw the guy taking a phot of his dog and the neighborhood cat. This is major a pet and baby walking neighborhood.
Now its Monday and time to return to the world of work and dealing with my adversaries. Do people tell young aspiring law students that part of your work day will be spent dealing with adversaries? I don't mind the court stuff, but I hate the phone calls. I don't mind dealing with older lawyers, I prefer them. They understand that its better to be cordial because who wants to spend their day battling about nonsense like dates. Its those fresh new young male attorneys who annoy me. Law firms always give them to me- at first. They look at my bar number, which at this point isnt' that fresh and assign one witha similiar number.
So annoying.
In other great things. I'm more than 1/2 through the cooking of TR and I must say that TR is an excellent passenger. He is laying just right so my pregnant belly looks cute. If a person didn't know me they might wonder if I have a small gut. I love the way my belly looks (most days). I walk around the house in my shortest workout shorts and a tank. Mr. A seems to love this pregnant body. I love it too, so he is not alone. I'm hoping these hips of mine serve me as well in childbirth as they are in child carrying.
I'm feeling soooo much better.
EDIT:
In Networking things:
During the writers strike my brother and Mr. A were discussing ways to enter that arena. Mr. A had an idea for a reality show. Being the supportive spouse and great sis that I am I set out to find a connection to help him figure out who to pitch his idea to.
I called my sister who used to work in t.v. and she called a couple folks and now I have the number of an old friend of mine, who just produced a successful reality seriers for a major network.
Gosh I have a great family. Someone just called me the other week and told me they are glad to know my family because we cover so much. We've got media, law, education and politics covered. With Mr. A and we cover military and science/engineering too.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Barrack in California
All I can say is Alameda County- where Oakland lies and San Francisco County chose Obama by over 50%. He also won counties where the electorate is more educated and less Latino.
If Hillary wins (by some choice of evil) I'm choosing the lesser of two devils and will be walking for McCain.
Edit:
I'm hopeful Obama will gain a larger vote count and Hillary will drop below 50 percent. She is at 51.9 and when the count of absentee ballots is done, it could happen.
If Hillary wins (by some choice of evil) I'm choosing the lesser of two devils and will be walking for McCain.
Edit:
I'm hopeful Obama will gain a larger vote count and Hillary will drop below 50 percent. She is at 51.9 and when the count of absentee ballots is done, it could happen.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Leave me Be
I voted weeks ago, by absentee ballot. I voted for OBAMA!
I voted prior to South Carolina and prior to Bill Clinton acting a fool.
We tried to get our church on but Bill Clinton disturbed those plans. I'm not against a minister allowing candidates or their supporters to come to church and have a word. I am strongly opposed to a minister that allows a candidate- or that candidates husband to come into the church and talk for a lengthy period and then cause the minister to try to deliver a message in 10-15 minutes.
I will be writing Bishop Noel Jones and his church administration a letter. I needed a word, some scriptures, not a message from Bill Clinton. I pray for the president- whoever that person may be- and I realize God reigns supreme. Because God reigns supreme and people come to church for a word, a politician on the campaign trail should not trump the reason we go to church.
Hmmm, we left that church early because after being bombarded with election stuff when I was trying to get a word, we ended up leaving early. It just destroyed the vibe. I went to West Angeles where the purpose of church was not set aside for a few votes.
I want to thank the Obama people for not polluting the purpose of church.
Sending Bill to a black church that he has never been too, is akin to sending the overseer to the slave house to reminding the slaves that he was good to them and gave them those chitterlings and to dance on cue at the watermelon seed spitting contest.
Oh and Bill wasn't getting cheers as I'm sure he probably expected. It was quite calm. HA HA HA. When he said Hillary as president he got very little. Just those few die hards who tried to clap really hard. As we were walking in, there were news crews outside and people kept asking excitedly "is Obama here" when they heard it was Bill the consensus was no one wants to hear him. Lots of deflation when it was discovered to be Bill.
I'm not against Hillary or Bill but I do recall how hard they made it for democrats as they departed office. They made the country yearn for a change from the filth of the Billary years. Sure the economy was good but the white house had to be disinfected and the Clintons vandalized the place and stole things. Lets not forget that they were charging to allow folks to spend the night in various rooms in the white house.
I DO NOT want to go back. If Billary gets back in the democratic party may never recover.
I am grateful to my California residents for making Hillary worry. She thought she had us on lock. She thought she could ride on Bill's coattails. I remember the days of Bill stopping by to raise money. They other politicians would ask him to stop because he was taking all the money. Hill isn't earning those dollars. She can't even leave this state because Obama's numbers are surging. There are elections in 21 other states but she is here pandering to the Latinos, and stealing Barracks stump speech.
Had Bill Clinton not showed up at church and spoke for so long- as if he has a right to stop church- then I wouldn't be upset. I'm upset at the minister too. What type of religious leader allows this type of thing to happen? I've been to church many times on the Sunday before an election- NEVER- in life have I seen the pulpit turned over. Is this an L.A. thing?
I voted prior to South Carolina and prior to Bill Clinton acting a fool.
We tried to get our church on but Bill Clinton disturbed those plans. I'm not against a minister allowing candidates or their supporters to come to church and have a word. I am strongly opposed to a minister that allows a candidate- or that candidates husband to come into the church and talk for a lengthy period and then cause the minister to try to deliver a message in 10-15 minutes.
I will be writing Bishop Noel Jones and his church administration a letter. I needed a word, some scriptures, not a message from Bill Clinton. I pray for the president- whoever that person may be- and I realize God reigns supreme. Because God reigns supreme and people come to church for a word, a politician on the campaign trail should not trump the reason we go to church.
Hmmm, we left that church early because after being bombarded with election stuff when I was trying to get a word, we ended up leaving early. It just destroyed the vibe. I went to West Angeles where the purpose of church was not set aside for a few votes.
I want to thank the Obama people for not polluting the purpose of church.
Sending Bill to a black church that he has never been too, is akin to sending the overseer to the slave house to reminding the slaves that he was good to them and gave them those chitterlings and to dance on cue at the watermelon seed spitting contest.
Oh and Bill wasn't getting cheers as I'm sure he probably expected. It was quite calm. HA HA HA. When he said Hillary as president he got very little. Just those few die hards who tried to clap really hard. As we were walking in, there were news crews outside and people kept asking excitedly "is Obama here" when they heard it was Bill the consensus was no one wants to hear him. Lots of deflation when it was discovered to be Bill.
I'm not against Hillary or Bill but I do recall how hard they made it for democrats as they departed office. They made the country yearn for a change from the filth of the Billary years. Sure the economy was good but the white house had to be disinfected and the Clintons vandalized the place and stole things. Lets not forget that they were charging to allow folks to spend the night in various rooms in the white house.
I DO NOT want to go back. If Billary gets back in the democratic party may never recover.
I am grateful to my California residents for making Hillary worry. She thought she had us on lock. She thought she could ride on Bill's coattails. I remember the days of Bill stopping by to raise money. They other politicians would ask him to stop because he was taking all the money. Hill isn't earning those dollars. She can't even leave this state because Obama's numbers are surging. There are elections in 21 other states but she is here pandering to the Latinos, and stealing Barracks stump speech.
Had Bill Clinton not showed up at church and spoke for so long- as if he has a right to stop church- then I wouldn't be upset. I'm upset at the minister too. What type of religious leader allows this type of thing to happen? I've been to church many times on the Sunday before an election- NEVER- in life have I seen the pulpit turned over. Is this an L.A. thing?
Friday, February 01, 2008
Holding My Peace
So......
A school district is suing my client. It's an educational issue and all administrative. My client decided not to mediate, we're giubg straight to hearing.
The attorney for the district called me and fussed at me and grilled me about why my client won't mediate. I told her she is tired of the district- long story but I'm tired of them too. The parent doesn't want her kid in that school because she doesn't like how they manhandle the kids.
So we're on the phone and she tells me that she knows what I'm doing, that I'm trying to build another civil suit. I had to look at the phone. I guess she forgot they were the ones suing my parent. They are suing my parent and she's accusing me of trying to build a case. I had to tell her goodbye.
I guess I made her sue my client.
A school district is suing my client. It's an educational issue and all administrative. My client decided not to mediate, we're giubg straight to hearing.
The attorney for the district called me and fussed at me and grilled me about why my client won't mediate. I told her she is tired of the district- long story but I'm tired of them too. The parent doesn't want her kid in that school because she doesn't like how they manhandle the kids.
So we're on the phone and she tells me that she knows what I'm doing, that I'm trying to build another civil suit. I had to look at the phone. I guess she forgot they were the ones suing my parent. They are suing my parent and she's accusing me of trying to build a case. I had to tell her goodbye.
I guess I made her sue my client.
