Surprising
I’ve never written any serious posts about our President.
I remember a conversation I heard while deployed to Afghanistan. I group of 30 something black men were discussing Obama’s chances at the Oval Office. One in particular commented Obama didn’t have a chance of being elected because he’s married to a black woman.
Michelle, is not Halle Berry, Mariah Carey, or Carly Simon black. She’s just black. I’m personally not used to seeing a black with Obama’s high ambitions being attracted to, let alone being married to a black woman.
And I don’t actually care. I was shocked for about 5 seconds. And then I started thinking about food.
I still haven’t written any serious posts about our President.
Aches
I went to crossfit again tonight. I had fun. I still don’t like working out. Why do people torture themselves? My body aches!
At least crossfit is short (but intense). The only thing worse than working out, is working out for hours.
I wish I had more to blog about but I’m tired and I have to get up at 0400 hours to pray. So off to bed I go!
My graphic tonight is super lame.
More rain
I like the rain we’ve been getting. It comes and goes but never stays for days at a time. That’s the one thing I like about the rainy season in California.
I remember the monsoon season in Korea. Once the rain started, it never seemed to stop. It made living difficult because the buildings I worked and lived in molded.
I wish I could find all those pictures. I must have them on my iPod.
Dang. I need to get better file management.
Anyways, in a few weeks, I’ll be able to go take some photos of the poppy reserve. I don’t think the flowers will bloom like they did in 2005 but I still like to get out there with my point and shoot and take some pics.
Calling it a night
I don’t feel like blogging. I’ll try to blog about something worthwhile tomorrow. I need to get to bed.
Uneventful day
I didn’t do much today except go to the Toastmasters contest. I have four speeches left and I can’t wait to finish as I will have more time to work on other things that are more important.
It seemed to rain all day today. The rain always makes me a little depressed. I came home did some shopping and took a very, very long nap.
My body aches from crossfit. I need to dope myself up and get back to sleep.
Note: This post was indeed posted on March 6; however, because the servers were down, I could only post it to my blogger blog at shavonnesworld.blogspot.com.
Crossfit
I went to crossfit tonight. I’m exhausted. I didn’t realize how intense it was going to be. I’m not sure that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to commit myself to it because I want to keep my schedule as free as possible and hate the idea of tying up 3 to 4 hours of my week to one more activity.
Something for me to ponder.
I want to take some classes to get certified on a trikke. I would really enjoy riding a trikke. I just can’t figure out how to move it.
That’s it for today. Hopefully I will have something to report for tomorrow.
Blogging
At the moment, I don’t feel like blogging. I think I picked the wrong year to do another 365 project. I just feel like reading.
I finished reading Am I Making Myself Clear? Good read. If you’ve read Dale Carnagie’s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People or Frank Betzger’s How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling then you’ve read Am I Making Myself Clear?
This week I’m reading John Maxwell’s Developing the Leader within You. I can’t wait to finish it.
Well, I’m going to go to bed now. I have to get up early and get ready for work. I also have to get my workout clothes together for tomorrow. I’m going to participate in some cross fit training. I’m not looking forward to it either because I don’t want to deal with my hair.
Early night
I’m going to make this an early night. I have to catch up on some of my reading. I’m three days behind reading Numbers. I have to tell you, after Exodus, it seems to go all down hill. The Old Testament is really hard to read.
I also need to make an appointment to get my taxes done but I want to call my mentor to ask some questions about filing my taxes.
Hair blues: the workout
I was invited to go cross training today but turned it down because today is Tuesday and I just washed my hair and don’t feel like being bothered with washing it until Friday.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my hair lately and how much time I spend on it when I do put effort in how it looks and I how it doesn’t seem like I do anything to it when I do spend time on it. The only thing stopping me from getting Sisterlocks is not having seen them on someone in person. I have the money but when it comes to doing something more permanent with my hair, I want to ensure it’s really what I want.
So if anybody with Sisterlocks is reading this, and you live in Southern California, and some skinny chick runs up to your asking you a million questions about your hair, don’t beat her down with your purse or whatever you happen to have in your hand. It’s just me and I want to get a good look at your hair.
I really should have gone to workout tonight. I just need to do it. Both of them. The hair and the workout.
Does size matter?
When I keep hearing people say they don’t like large churches, I’m left speechless.
Here’s my thoughts on this. I attend a large church and I have to admit, the size did intrigue me. If you understand the basics of Christianity, you’ll understand why I’m puzzled that some people prefer small churches. Jesus tells eleven disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…”.
When Christians share the gospel, the church has no choice but to grow. Small churches stay small because the congregation does not share the gospel.
If Jesus says we are to share the gospel, then a church in any community won’t stay small.
Back to why the church I attend intrigues me. I’ve seen some great examples of networking since I’ve been attending church. It’s been a great lesson on how to multiply an organization and how to leverage the talents of each member.
So size does matter, at least to me. A Bible believing, Bible preaching, and Bible teaching church is a church that is constantly growing. Now if only I can learn to use what I’ve learned for soul winning and business building.
Self improvement
No matter how much I try improve myself, I find new things I need to work on.
Forgiveness is one of them.
Patience is another.
I understand the process of improvement is a recurring process, but I would like to see the results of the things I’m doing. See why I need patience?
I need to get some rest. Good night.
In Los Angeles
If this post has posted, it means I didn’t get home in time to blog. Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. I know you just love reading my blog on a Saturday night.
Now, get a life. You shouldn’t be reading my blog on a Saturday night! You should be having fun! Like I am, which is why you’re reading this. I wrote it yesterday because I’m out hanging out and having fun.
Do the same.
Have a good night.
Hair blues
I hate the process I have to go through after washing my hair. Nothing sends me into a hair funk like having to blow dry my hair and then flat ironing it. I just want to let my hair be.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Sisterlocks lately, mostly because I’m tired of my hair and can’t figure out what to do with it. I think I need to make an appointment with a consultant to see if Sisterlocks are the way to go. I would love to do more living and less worrying about my hair.
I need to get some sleep. I have to get up early for Toastmasters and then I’ll have a very long day. I’m planning on meeting some folks from one of my meetup groups and hanging out in LA. Gotta love how I have to travel so far for a social life but folks up here aren’t trying to do anything fun.
Romantic Mystery
I got the lamest fortune cookie from Panda Express today. I can’t figure out what it means. What is a ‘romantic mystery’? What is it? Is it a book or a person? What?
I don’t take fortune cookies seriously, but when everyone in your life tries to blow out your light, the message on a fortune cookie can help keep the light burning.
But this one, with this fortune cookie I have no idea how to interpret what it’s saying.
What do you think this fortune cookie means?
Anyways, I keep hearing people tell me about how now is the time to buy a house (in California). Says who? I want to know who is saying this because I don’t think now is the time to buy a house, especially with the banks trying to sell houses for more than what they are worth. Plus, every person I know who is part of the baby boomer generation plans on leaving California when they retire. What happens with real estate when there are more houses for sale than there are buyers? The price of real estate goes down.
Something to think about.
Forgetfulness
I seem to be unable to remember a lot of things. For example, I had a really great post in mind for tonight but now I can’t remember. I know it was really good too. Geez. If only I could remember.
I’ll probably think about it again when I don’t have pen and paper or any way to document what’s in my head.
I need to get some rest before I fall asleep at my desk.
What I’m Reading
I’m an avid reader. There’s nothing better than reading a good book. For the past year, I’ve been reading books on business, relationships, and finance. My reading interests have everything to do with my business. I’m new to business, I enjoyed learning finance in school, and I happen to not be so good at relationships. 
I tend to let my relationships fall to the way side. I get so goal focused I forget about my relationships.
I’m working on it. My goal this year is to spend quality time on my most valuable relationships. I don’t have a significant other so I don’t have to spend time on that.
This week, I’m reading Am I Making Myself Clear? by Terry Felber. A must read for me as I don’t think I’m always clear when I communicate verbally. Or physically. I’ll let you know what I think.
The other book I’m reading is the Holy Bible, Numbers and Mark. I’m not a fan of Old Testament books. Too bloody for me. I barely got through Leviticus without almost becoming a vegetarian and I love eating tasty animals. I’m loving the New Testament. I just wish there was more. My goal is to get through the Bible in a year. I started reading in September and I haven’t fallen behind. 
Marriage
Someone I was friends with in high school contacted me. She’s married now, which is why I didn’t recognize her name at all. I love hearing about people getting married because for a split second, I can see myself married.
And then I’m snapped back into reality. Getting married isn’t top priority on my To-Do list. Even if the right guy came along, and it hasn’t happened so far, I wouldn’t make time. Then there’s the fact that the guy I would be interested in, wouldn’t feel the same for me (and this has happened too many times to count).
So, my options are to settle, which I would never do, or wait. For a long, long time.
So, I keep myself unbelievably busy to pass the time.
Day 52
I don’t feel like blogging. Sometimes blogging everyday sucks. I need to get done with my expenditures list.
What?
I took my mom out to dinner last night and we got to talking about our businesses. I just want to get to the point as I don’t feel like blogging all night long, but my mom said she likes having unprofitable businesses for the tax write offs.
WTF?
I don’t want to keep my business small or unprofitable. I want the opposite. I want my business to grow so I can leave my job. That is my goal. Replace the income from my job with the income from my business. I don’t think my mom understands the difference between how much an employee pays in taxes versus a business.
My goal is to purchase my first home under my business name. I actually want to purchase all my assets under my business name. I want to be poor as dirt on paper so I can’t be sued.
I just spent the last five hours printing invoices and receipts for my business so I can type my expenses into my expenditures file. I hope this makes it easier to do my taxes. I definitely need to get caught up for 2010. I think I still have to print out my phone bills.
I’m so bad
Yep, I’m bad. I completely planned on getting my paperwork, receipts, and travel logs together so I can get my taxes done. But instead, I’m watching tv on the Internet.
I actually don’t want to watch tv. I sat and listened to someone at work talk about all the tv watching that occurs after returning home from work. I don’t want that to be me.
Blogging doesn’t help me with that but blogging is a cheaper alternative to a psychologist.
Crazy, Shavonne.
I realized today that I put too much of my personal life on the web. I don’t care. I just wish I had something interesting to share.
I absolutely hate Private Practice. Addison Montgomery is a baby killer! She likes snuffing out the life of unborn children and when one is born alive she wants to kill it too.
Getting fired, laid off, downsized, whatever you want to call it
No, I didn’t get laid off or fired but someone hired up my chain of command did. It’s really sad. I think this person had spent 20 years with the company. On top of that, there is a job posting which this person could have qualified for.
There’s no such thing as a secure job.
My job isn’t secure by any means, which is why I’m working on building other streams of income. I need to keep working it. I will never give up. I’ll have more security with my business than with a job. You can’t control your job, how much money you make (companies would pay you less if they could) or how high up the corporate ladder you go. Some say you have control but you don’t. For example, it seems the first people to go are those in management positions.
I need to stop thinking about this. I’m getting depressed. I’m thankful I have a job and that’s all I should be thinking about and building my business.
Taxes
Ah, it looks like I will have the time to get my receipts together and done with for tax season. I can’t wait to get this over with. It will be interesting to see just how much I will get back in taxes now that I have a home-based business. I will definitely have to blog about my refund.
I’m actually excited about it. Yippee. The way I see it, as long as I don’t owe money, I’ll be happy. I hate owing money and since I don’t have the regular tax right offs others enjoy (i.e., dependents) I need something to help me get some right offs.
I’m thinking of maybe buying a house next year. Right now, the banks seem to be going through some things and not really compromising on the price of the homes. I don’t think the houses in the AV are worth what the banks are asking for but I think it’s because I don’t see the AV as worth the cost. I actually still might not buy anything next year now that I think about it. I don’t want to get something and not be able to sell it when it comes time to leave this state.
Occupied
Sorry for the short post. I just had to get something posted. I’m in Bakersfield.
