Cold Feet

When the temperatures are low and the wind blows, my feet suffer. For many years now, I have not been able to handle cold weather like a champ. I double up on everything and still can't keep warm. Swimming outdoors, especially in the evening is not always the easiest thing to do. The air can be cold and pool warm yet the moment I slip my sandals on, my feet freeze, for hours. As of late, I have felt warm and well enough to sleep however my feet, especially the right, take three hours to warm up. I put on socks, use fleece sheets, turn on the heat, fold my leg under my butt and grab them with my hands to try to transfer heat. Nothing works. Today is a cold and windy day but not enough for me to put on a thick winter parka. I swam this morning and felt fine. I returned home shortly after 9a and now, nearly eight hours later, my feet are still cold. It feels as if I have been standing on ice. Burr! In talking to my father about this problem, he has informed me that he too, suffers from the same, even with the right foot. Genetics. I am amazed how much he and I suffer in similar ways but at times, I wish my mothers genetics would take over so that my feet would not be as cold as they have been.

Revolution in the Arab world

Some weeks ago Tunisians revolted against the government then the Egyptians followed with great force. So much force that after three weeks, Hosni Mubarak relinquished his power to the Vice President who will also step down once his term is over. The military will have to figure something out to create a new Egypt so that the people are all equal and possibly have jobs. Hours after Egypt was "liberated," Bahrain and Yemen went up in smoke too. Many have been killed yet not enough to stop the revolution. These people want an immediate change. Since the power of the people is growing stronger day by day, Libya is now on fire. Libyans are tired of Ghaddafi and so is the rest of the world. After 42 years in power, the man should give up even if power be handed to his stupid sons.
Ghaddafi is another crazy leader who thinks he is sane and everyone, insane. He gave a speech today telling the people to be happy and dance in the streets. What a buster. these are the very people who hate him with a passion. They want a change, jobs and a better life, not a leader who is mentally ill and has billions of Euros hidden in European bank accounts. Forget about all of means he has to kill his own, send foreigners out of the country or whatever else his followers wish to do but this man is going down, fast. If he does not pass of old age or mental illness, he will be executed by one who will be considered a martyr, not him. Give up Muammar!

Dumpster Diving

I have seen and read about the small American population who dumpster dive because they are disgusted with corporate America and the overall waste created. I completely agree with these groups of people because I am not a fan of waste of any sort, especially that of food. There are major supermarket chains that simply dispose of day old or soon to be baked goods, produced or damaged items they cannot or chose not to sale in the stores or donate to the local food banks. Once this food is tossed in the dumpsters, it is fair game for people to take at their own risk. A lot of the supermarkets will donate such items to some food banks or missions to make use of.  Being that I volunteer weekly at the local mission, I see more waste than imaginable.
I always thought that any soup kitchen would make use of all foods donated because of the large populations served. This is not the case. I am a witness to shear waste. Whenever I am volunteering, I see large amounts of good foods being tossed and/or destroyed. Most of it being baked goods such as cakes, loaves of breads, bagels and pastries. I have checked the expiration dates and noticed some still have a week left. It is all in the trash bin waiting to be tossed. Shucks! No one bothers to make croutons or crisps, they simply toss it.
On occasion, I, along with another volunteer take some of these items home and share them with others. Because of this, I am able to save a little money and have food to eat. I am not a bottom feeder but one who wants to save money and hates waste.
There is nothing wrong with dumpster diving, as long as others are able to benefit from the waste of others.

Big time rebate

The other day I purchased a set of bike pedals and a taillight from Nashbar.com because shipping was free on $50 or more. I had a few items in my shopping cart for some time waiting for the prices to drop. Some of the items I could not justify so I just purchased the two. Before finalizing my purchase, I logged into my account at Shopathome.com to see if Nashbar.com was an affiliate so that I could get some money back. I saw that a 4% rebate is offered so I was happy and made my purchased. I then checked my account and noticed I have $123.60 for the bike I recently purchased from Departmentofgoods.com.
The bike purchasing price was $799 because it was on sale at deep discount for some weeks. With a listed rebate of 4%, I was expecting $32 in return. The listed price prior to deep discount is $1199. There was something going on that I did not know about or an extra rebate given when not listed. Yeehaw!
Many times have I come up on a great deal but never did I expect to be able to save nearly $1000 on a bicycle. I will never stop scrounging around for another good deal.

Age discrimination

The other evening I was watching CNN about unemployment and the 99 weekers. One man said that he will make a trip to congress in order to ask for another 14 week unemployment benefits pay out because he is, like many others, flat broke. This man was bringing in a six figure salary now cannot find work because he has been out of work for so long and not getting any younger. My father wore the same shoes many years ago. He could not find a job because of his age and the rapid growth of the technology we use today. Just because a person is older doesn't mean they can't make things work.
Fast forward to this morning. I went fishing with Blue in mind because I received a few e-mails from some fish that seemed to find interest in my profile. I explained to them my intentions about how I am being selfless and trying to help out a friend. I came across a good looking man with a nice profile. I sent him a message to see if he was real. He seemed to be. I sent his link to Blue and replied stating she thinks he, in his 50s is too old. Too old for what? The man is well educated, employed, divorced and has adult children. This is the kind of man who would treat Blue a nice dinner on the pier, vintage bottle of wine and a rose over just a six pack of beer. Heck, he is the kind of man that I would eat up in a heartbeat.
Blue should not discriminate based on age because she could be missing out on the world. I know that in her quest to find the perfect job, she would not want a potential employer to pass her up because she is no longer in her 30s.

Donald Trumps twin daughters

Steven Cojocaru                                                          Ivanka Trump

Rambro

I met Rambro last summer through a classified listing website. At that time, I had a room for rent in my house and he needed to find a place to live for a while as he claimed to be going through a divorce. A place that was not far from the fitness center and close to public transportation in case he could not travel using the motor scooter he had. After doing a criminal check on Rambro, I agreed to allow him to move into my house. I explained to him that I do not want him in my business and wanted community space to be kept clean. He agreed as well as informing me that he is out of the house a lot so the chances of us seeing one another regularly are slim. This is what I wanted.
For a few months, Rambro was on a motor scooter as a main form of transportation however, it was a piece of junk. Rambro paid $1300 for a honking piece of trash that had a crack in the frame and puttered like one could not believe. Rambro did not have a license to drive this bike, no insurance or registration yet he had enough riding gear short of a machine gun to help him fight a war against the Taliban, hence the name RAMBRO. I ride a scooter too but never does it take me a good 10 minutes to get out of the door to head to the swimming pool.
 Rambro keeps to himself as do I however, after many times of me telling him, he continues to throw all of his trash in the recycle bin, including food and chicken bones. This is irritating because he knows better and I am not interested in inviting creatures in my house or on the porch. This guy has his mind on Pluto at all times.
Some time ago, Rambro sent an e-mail regarding the rent. Rent is due on the 1st with a three day grace period. He told me that he would be late and may have to give notice. I don't care what one does as long as I am paid. Rent arrived on the 8th and no notice to vacate was given. Rambro told me that he had to borrow money from his sister and was without transportation due to a scooter wreck that was not his fault, as he said. A two days after rent was received, Rambro mentioned something to me about a car because he wanted me to tell the neighbors that he has one. He did not want to come out and tell me to inform them of this, he tried to do it subliminally. Oh please, spit it out like an adult! I looked out of the window and spotted a brand new car. "Was not the rent late a few days ago?"I thought. MESS! Is the first world that I wanted to spit out.
Rambro has received a few unemployment checks and ten letters from California Child Support Services over the last few weeks. I wonder what is going on with this man.
Since the car has been in his life, Rambro has not been around, which is nice but I do not mind him, as long as he doesn't say anything stupid.
My father, who lives in the house out in the backyard does not like Rambro. He thinks he is a pain in the neck and is always saying something stupid, for no reason. For this, he does what he can to avoid him at all costs.

UPDATE:
 This evening, after a few hours of blogging about Rambro, I received this e-mail from him:

Bionic;

Was not able to come up with the balance of my deposit for the car in time; only owed $600 more and they would not wait another week till my next pay day so I turned it in.

I will be getting another car by tomorrow or Wednesday; will let you know once I get it what it is.

Going to a different dealership.

What is this? I do not understand why he would pull a rabbit from his hat when he is not a magician. Buy only what you can afford is the only way to go furthermore, buying a used vehicle of using a Zipcar makes more sense than having to return a new car. This is Rambro for you.