Shaine Mata Blog

I've come to terms with my need to do more. I let Liz know that I will be looking for other opportunities in 2006. I am doing all I can to prepare the team so that they can work without me. For the most part, they do a great job. There are some things that I do that they don't. I want to fix that. I also have some ideas that I wish to implement before leaving the store. This was a tough decision for me. I like working with everybody at the store. That's what made it so tough. I want to do other things, and I wish I could take them with me. I can't. I don't anticipate how long it will take me to find the right place to work. I don't want to just jump from one place to another. I want to take my time. So, it may possibly take me months to get out. The point was to let Liz know that I am looking and may find something so that everybody is prepared when it does happen. It's a way of quitting without quitting. The reason for giving such advanced notice is that so...

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You know, sometimes it's tough to see what is important when you are being pulled in a thousand directions at once. You lose sight of where you want to go and wind up getting sidetracked. There are basic demands that a person has that must be met before delving into side ventures. You need to decide what is important and do that. If there is time left, you can do other non-essential work. This applies to your time and your money. This realization and simplification of life came about when I realized what the financial books were talking about when they say you need to save a part of your money for you and use what is left over for necessities. We have chosen what is important to us in spending our money. If we can, we will cashflow our essentials before delving into our savings. Now we have savings, by the way. So, we distinguish between spending money and our money. Spending money goes to pay for our wants and needs. Our money consists of our savings. We decided we will only spend...

I recently came to a realization that took more than 6 years. This has to do with personal finance. I had read a book titled The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. This book is a classic amongst the personal finance books. There is one lesson in there that has eluded me. The lesson is that a part of what you earn is yours to keep. It's a simple lesson. I understood the idea very well when I read it years ago. It is only recently that it not only makes sense. It actually means something to me. I don't know how you do it. I learn things the hard way, usually. Here is what I mean. Typically, I would cash my meager paycheck and separate 10% into savings. For a while, I stashed cash in a safe deposit box. The stash was basically meant to cover emergencies. And it often did. I would have to pull out money from savings to cover a big bill, or to avoid overdrafting. The net result would be that I would have spent all the money I had worked so hard to earn. So, when an emergen...

I figured out my problem, lately. I was just reading the latest issue of Entrepreneur. It's an article called Close Quarters, which is about twentysomethings. The article is a plug for a book about the Quarterlife crisis. This crisis is about some of the following issues: student loans uncertain job market insane housing costs search for meaning and direction Although I am past the twenties, I identify with the issues. The quarterlife crisis is different from the midlife crisis in that in the latter, you feel like you're running out of options. In the former, you're paralyzed from all the options from which to choose. That's me right there. I feel like I can do more, and I get offers from people who want me to join their teams. I just don't know where to go. So I don't go anywhere. I'm tired of the safe, secure job route. It sucks for me. I want to work where I can go out, find a job, do it, and move on. This is why I was thinking about doing the door-to-doo...

I read all kinds of books about business, leadership, and money. You could say I am a voracious reader of these kinds of books. I usually learn from and use the information I read. Some books are worthless. I've rarely had a book speak directly to me. I finished reading "Who Took My Money?" by Robert Kiyosaki. Some of it is a repeat of old stuff, which is expected. There is one page that reached up and smacked me in the face. Here are excerpts from it. ----------------------- Poor people and lazy peple use the word can't more often than successful people. They use the word can't because its easier than saying can. If you say you can't do something, you don't have to do it... even if you can. It's easy to work hard and go nowhere. It's easy to stick to a job and blame your boss for not giving you a bigger raise. It's easy to say 'I can't afford it.' It's easy to say 'I can't do that.' It's easy to blame your husba...

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I was up late last night working on the China Wok and Quick Wok online menus. You can check out the menus at http://www.thewoks.com and at http://wap.thewoks.com . The first is for regular online browsing. The second is for wireless web browsing. There was a lot of copy and paste involved. Finally, I'm done. Yesterday, I stopped by the Quick Wok in Mission after work to put letters on the drive-thru window to tell our customers about the site. Hope it makes things easier for them. Last night after closing, I put letters on the Edinburg Quick Wok door too. I just need to do the same for China Wok later. Maybe I'll do that after work today.

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This was not a good weekend for our household. We have all got something. I have a headcold. Alma has a viral gastroenteritis. Magnus had vomiting and fever. All except Tien. She has escaped any illness thus far. She'll get hers. She was boasting about hour good fortune today. We all know that this will bring heaps of bad luck upon her. We are not well yet, although we are close to it.

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Today I learned something that is really useful. I've had a cell phone for a while now. I only started text messaging when I worked at T-Mobile (I had practically unlimited sms). Most phones have a feature called T9 or Predictive Text. If you've ever used it, or tried using it, it freaks you out. This happens if you try to use it the same way that you use the normal text entry. Once you learn T9, which I did today, text messaging is SO MUCH EASIER! In fact, it was so easy that I taught Alma, my wife, how to do it in less than one minute. Now, she is doing it too. You can learn T9 by visiting http://www.t9.com and using the demo. There are many advantages to T9. First, it's faster. Second, it learns words that you use. And, third, it's really easy to learn once you understand the concept. So, visit the site and learn T9. If you use SMS often, you'll be glad you learned.

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Alma and I are on a quest to find Financial Peace. I've read Dave Ramsey's book, Total Money Makeover . I've joined us up at MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com . We made our first budget this weekend for the month of November. We are at Baby Step #1. We need to have a stash of $1000. Here are my challenges. I want to go to school in the Spring. It seems I will have to put that off until Summer or later. I've been cutting monthly expenses, especially the automatic payments. Those, in conjunction with dining out and other impulse buys, break our budget every month. Of course, I always get the dirty look, "where did you spend our money?" I don't know, I just paid the bills and got gas. Anyway, by eliminating these little auto payments, I am preventing some of the problems that result in bouncy checking. I should eliminate Paytrust too. I'll just have to be more careful not to lose bills. The extra checking account can go too. We are being nickel and dimed to debt...

RGV Life I did some work for RGVlife tonight. It's late. Going to bed. Have to work tomorrow morning at Confetti .

I've been busy working the Confetti website . I added a blog to the site. This is to make us more human to the public. I think a lot of businesses are considered to be cold and impersonal places where only business happens. Confetti is more than that. We're people. We have repeat customers who frequently visit. They don't go there for the prices. Many people know that they can go to Wal-Mart for the EDLP (Every Day Low Price). Then, why do they keep coming back? We should ask that. We hope it's because we are friendlier than the other stores and because we do more.

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Listen to today's audio post. Woke up late. Had oatmeal and eggs for breakfast. Going to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Alma has a headache. Lazy day. Watching movies.

Listen to today's audio post. On the way to Edinburg. Went bike riding with Liz this morning. Details on the route we took. Family breakfast. Chatted with Alma. Napped. Went to work. We had good business today because of new banner. Phone call came in.

Got books at BN. Guerrilla Marketing for Free. What I learned from Sam Walton. Enjoyed Sam's book as much as Jack Welch's book. Going for kids.

Tuesday. Going to Edinburg. Late customer. Late to do the rounds. Morning, dropped off kids. Spent some time with Magnus. Wanted me to stick around and watch superman with him. Gave my Virgin Mobile phone to my mother-in-law. Went home, posted blog. Washed dishes. Have fire ants. Put amdro. Went to work. Unique merchandise. Working tomorrow morning. Trained Erica. Read paper this morning. Monitor put Edinburg news on Mission Monitor. Going to QE. McAllen may be closed. Tomorrow, will get meat grinder, take to CW. Need to take cash to CW anyways. Pick up kids from Madero. Alma is waiting for me.

Listen to today's audio post. Woke up late. Went to work. Got new nokia phone, activated. Had dinner. Did rounds. Ran into Eddie at QM. Reflections over money.

Woke up late, went to Madero for menudo. Had lunch with Cindy de Leon at Peter Piper Pizza. Came home, posted on rgv blog. Helped Alma with laundry.

Listen to today's audio post. Today was our 11th Wedding Anniversary. We had a pretty ok day. I got Alma a copy of The Phantom of the Opera dvd. Not a pirated copy of the DVD, a store-bought copy. I bought some roses too, but I really only wanted to give her one with the gift. The others are bonuses. She really liked her gift.

Notes on QE, Qm, Alma, and Tien.

Alma told me this morning that Tien had a fever last night. Alma decided against sending Tien to school. I'll drop her and Magnus off at Madero.

I have a podcast address if you'd like to hear the crap I call in. http://shainelee.audioblog.com/rss/shaine_mata_uncut.xml

We just got a new employee at the store, Erica. She is friendly, easy to talk to, and seems able to get right to work on whatever needs doing. I let her do a twinkle candy bouquet after showing her to do one, and she did well. She needs to work on her bows a little, but that comes with practice. Today was just a long orientation. Tomorrow, we'll get into the serious business.

New hire at work. I'll need to train. Entry for Mission. And, end of day review.

Here are three entries I made for today. I am testing out the playlist feature for Audioblog.com. Summary: woke up late, posted to blog, went on a date, went to UTPA, and fixed computer.

The other morning, I awoke at 5:30 in the morning. Normally, the alarm wakes me up to get my daughter up for school. What awoke me was the need to go to the bathroom, but I could not sleep afterwards. What kept me awake was the dream I had prior to waking up. In my dream, my life was different. Alma and I were divorced. In the dream, it was already a done deal. We had long separated and worked out our issues. There was no going back. We had separate homes. She had remarried. Tien was staying with me and Magnus was staying with his mom. Alma also had a stepson with her new husband, about Tien's age. In my dream, we lived within walking distance of each other, which probably served to shorten th length of the dream. What was really disturbing was the emotion of the situation. I felt happiness for Alma, that she was able to move on with her life and find happiness without me. I did, however, feel a sense of loss. This was similar to the loss you feel when somebody dies. It was a longi...

Listen to today's audio post. http://calendar.yahoo.com/shainelee

Listen to today's audio post.

Listen to today's audio post. http://calendar.yahoo.com/shainelee

I was just learning how to use playlists over at http://audioblog.com . Using playlists, I can call in a post without publishing. Then, at the end of the day, make one playlist of calls and make one single post. I'll use them later. I don't have a use at this moment.

I filled up on gas before the price gets jacked up again. Also discussing hurricane Rita.

Listen to today's audio post. My first entry did not post until I recorded this. I tried a second test recording and both posted.

Listen to today's audio post. This is my first test post using the new service through Audioblog.com. I got it going as a journal entry.

Up late at night waiting. Alma is in pain. I need to wake up early for a bike ride.

Late night entry before going to bed. Changed phone plan. Reading Made In America by Sam Walton.

Audio entry of my restlesness of recent.

I am good to go insofar as being caught up with my student loans goes, except for an emergency loan at UTPA, which I will be paying at the cashier's office. Costep is happy; Conserve is happy. I am happy. I just need to make Pan Am happy. My admission application is in. I await an admission letter. Things are looking up for school. I will absolutely take my classes seriously. I am living the consequences of not finishing school. Not cool. Once I graduate, I will be shooting for the stars.

I didn't have an luck finding the lost sales. I have a suspicion of what happened, but no proof. Jason still had me do the rounds last night, so I suppose he generally trusts me to do the job. We have not had a chance to speak yet. I wanted to quit doing the rounds. Alma suggested it would be a good idea. I'll deal with it tonight. I wouldn't mind spending time with the family, although we could use the income. I'm iffy right now. I have debts to pay off so that I can get into school and to achieve some other goals. The extra income, although meager, is steady and allows some planning. For sure, my doing the rounds will have to stop in January. All I would be doing is moving up the schedule.

I lost last yesterday's sales for Mission. I feel really bad as it is the second time this happens. I remember picking up the money after wrapping it with the rubber band and putting on the summary. I assume I put it in the money bag. I don't know for certain. Usually when I leave the money on the counter, it is next to the register where I put the sales temporarily to leave change. I did not open the bag until Edinburg when I put in yesterday's sales there. That's when I realized, "where's Mission?" I even checked my truck even though I did not open the bag in between locations, just in case. I don't know what to do. Perhaps I shouldn't close anymore.

I opened up an account with Texas Commerce Bank back in 1999. Soon after, they merged with Chase Manhattan. A couple years later, JP Morgan joined up and the bank became JP Morgan Chase. Now, my bank has merged with Bank One. In all these years, I have not had a problem with my bank. Everything has been straighforward. I deposit, the money goes in, I spend it. No problem. Yesterday, I deposited and nothing happened this morning. So, I went over to my nearest branch and asked. They are sorting it out. In the meantime, they allowed some direct debits from my checking to go through and take me negative. I checked online a while ago and it looks like they found my deposit. When it clears tomorrow, I need to go back and ask for the NSF fee refunded. Overall, I am happy with my JP Morgan Chase & Co. account. This one problem in so many years. Actually, make it two problems. They just changed the automated system so that whenever I call, I get routed to a rep instead of getting my balanc...

Having said that, last night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings where I had beer with my dinner. We had an alright time. Alma tried a berry margarita. We both played the trivia game. We wound up coming in 3rd place. What threw us off is that they changed Countdown from general trivia to sports. We are not sports fans, so we blew it, he he. Oh well. There was no prize anyway. Afterwards, we took the kids to Barnes and Noble. I got a Men's Health magazine. They got books and the boy got a train.

So much is going on in the U.S., the Rio Grande Valley, in Mission, Texas, and in my life. So little of it has direct impact on my life. I am starting to focus my attention on some of the more important things. I am now narrowing down my attention to getting into UTPA and now getting into the ROTC. In order to get into the ROTC, I need to qualify for the National Guard. In order to do that, I must be able to do some of the following: Run 2 miles in 17 minutes ( 8 minute miles) do a minimum of 40 push-ups do a minimum of 45 sit-ups walk 3.11 miles (5 km) 3' Wall Lane Guide Ladder on Ground Cement Culvert Cargo Net Low Crawl Wire 3' Across Jump Box 30" Balance Log Culver 40" Deep Trench Horizontal Ladder Over and Under Hurdles Night Trench High Crawl Window Wall 40" Wall High Stepper 5' Jump and I am learning more. There will be a 10 km march and a 15 km march It seems I have a lot of work ahead of me to be able to successfully get through basic training. My bi...

Here is a story of leftist grandstanding. It's pathetic how artists and other celebrities use a disaster to try to give themselves free PR. Kanye West is another example of an artist moron. These people need to stick to what they do best, entertain. Nobody expects any serious opinions from them because art is generally divorced from practical experience and logic. These are things that traditional people use to shape their thoughts. It's fine to question tradition and the status quo, as artists often do. However, questioning and practical use are often completely different propositions. It is incumbent upon Americans to realize that celebrity has no claim to knowledge and wisdom.

Here is evidence of the left wanting to hurt President Bush for his ineffectiveness in the Katrina disaster relief. Nevermind that most of the crisis management for New York on Sept. 11 was by Rudy Giuliani. The New Orleans Mayor seems unable to do anything or to command any authority. This is a deliberate effort by the media to smear the president with something to fight his great job on Sept. 11.

Kanye West decided to inject some racial friction into the Katrina Reliefe effort with his recent comment in which he voices some of the nonsense that other black artists like Martin Lawrence say for humor. If you saw Boomerang, you know the comments. How come the black olives come in a can and the green olives are in a jar? The can is another word for jail. Why is it that in pool, the last ball in is the black ball? Why is it that the white ball hits all the others? Martin Lawrence says these absurd things because they are funny. Kanye West shows his level of thinking by muttering similar absurdities. What is really funny, is that you get liberal writers like Robert Hillburn from the LA Times supporting such out of place comments in the middle of a disaster recovery. The president could not go to New Orleans for very practical and technical reasons. First, where would the president land if he is on Air Force One? Our relief efforts would be much faster if we could fly supplies in and...

If you want to pump gas fast, stop here. Pumps are quick.

I was just over at Investopedia.com to read up on some information. One of the current stories is The Indiana Jones Guide to Getting Ahead . I like getting ahead and I like Indiana Jones. This made the article a good read. In the trading simulator at Investopedia, I am at a $101,243.97; which includes $23,469.97 in cash. I made a good chunk on shorting BIDU. The rest of the gains, despite my capital loss, is from interest and dividends. $271 in interest and dividends last month. My interest and dividends for September, so far, is about $75. In my real purchases, over at sharebuilder.com, I had three purchases pay dividends last month. That account is not big yet. I'll start working on it later as more cash comes in. On the retirement front, I am expecting to get another share from dividend reinvestment. I wasted the first few years of the IRA going for growth. Growth is good, but unreliable. I need reliability for planning ahead. So, recently, I exchanged funds from growth to incom...

It's late at night. I am listening to today's archived Dave Ramsey show. It replaces the Phil Hendrie Show on KURV . It's been on for about a week. I think I've seen his book at Barnes & Noble. I may buy one. After listening, and knowing that my financial position is undesireable, I am tempted to try some of his advice. For now, I want to get myself back into UTPA to finish my degree in Finance (ironic, isn't it?). Then, I want to start making money to pay back my debts. I had been in a funk the past couple days. I came to a realization after speaking to God for a while. I realized that people behave in the way that is natural to them. That is such a relief and disappointment at the same time. What I do is reflective of my nature, except that I can choose t change my nature. Anybody else can do the same. However, in general, most people don't pay attention to their natural behaviour and end up acting it out. My despair was short-lived. This week is not as...

Long day. Helped World Market Liquor & Imports move out. Learned some things. Alma's upset. Don't want to go home. Nobody to talk to.

Feeling a bit down.

Despite my optimism for the near end of my misery, I managed to have a lousy morning. I spent most of the morning putting out fires. On the bright side, I had the opportunity to order business cards for http://MissionTexas.net . I made them really simple to emphasize the site and not me. I got the cards with Annette Chavez over at PostNet by Quick Wok at Stewart Plaza. I ordered 1000 for good measure. I still have a ton of the Missionhsreunion.com cards remaining. I think the http://MissionTexas.net business cards should be easier to give away. I'll be working all day tomorrow and I have a morning delivery. After this post, I am going to bed. I've been working on the new http://thewoks.com website for the restaurants. It's going to take a considerable amount of hours to finish. Once that is done, I want to buy vinyl letters to advertise the site on the doors of the restaurants. Good night.

The crappy work is almost over for the week. Liz and Jason will be back by Wednesday evening. Due to my schedule, I'm screwed all day Wednesday. I need to drop off the kids, get change and deposit, and work the lunch rush at QM. Afterwards, I need to go to work at 3 PM. I'm really getting tired of this shit. It's like they rub my face in it. Here I am, doing everything in my power to keep the operations going. When you total up all the time I put into my work, I get less than minimum wage. My truck is falling apart. I can't afford to get somebody to watch my kids. I can't afford to quit. I'm screwed all around. I have to keep working. I'm glad that they are able to enjoy life. It's my turn. I'm not an employee. I can make a better living elsewhere. I'm with them to help them out and I get a big "fuck you" in return. Every once in a while, I get special treatment. That doesn't pay the bills. Definitely, I will go back to school and f...

I was up last night catching up on Andromeda. It appears that there won't be a season 6 of the show. They are sticking with 5 seasons, which is sufficient to go into sydication 5 days a week. Lucky for me there are episode synopses on the website that allow me to figure out what the whole show was about. I figured out that the first part of the show was about putting the Commonwealth back together. In later episodes, when they are in the Vedran system, I didn't really follow. I still don't know what's going on, but thanks to the site, I can figure it out.

Liz and Jason decided to skip town and head for Dallas. This last minute escapade has left me holding a lot of loose strings. On top of that, I have my own crap to take care of. Yes, I just ended a sentence with a preposition. This morning, I registered Tien at school, took the boy to grandma's, hauled ass home to pick up some stuff, went to PostNet for my mail, went and dropped off a check for Joe to pay the shrimp guy, picked up the change bag at Jason's, went to pay the sales tax, picked up the plumbing snake, gave Adrian (my brother-in-law) a ride home from school, then went back to McAllen to find a payroll processing program, and then I had to go to work where I took some time to calculate the payroll hours. I made some time to call Mission and Edinburg to call McAllen early with their list. When I get to McAllen to pick up the supplies, the bastards didn't have anything ready. So, I got out of there late, which made me late to leave Mission and Edinburg during the ro...

What was going to be a good night goes bad. I just can't get a break tonight. All kinds of stuff is going wrong.

While heading out to do the rounds, I call in a journal entry with good news and some optimism. Things are going good and I look forward to having a fun evening with my family.

The great news is that I will be going back to school to finish my degree. I imagined it would be so difficult for me to get current and go back in. All I had to do was go to CoSTEP, consolidate my student loans, which would bring my account current and defer payments. Now, all I need to do is get ready for the Spring Semester and go to school. I never thought I would be so happy to go back to school.

Today, I've got to do: Drop off kids Cash check Renew License Call mom, wish her happy birthday Deposit Visit CoSTEP , get deferrment I have until 3 PM, then I have to go into work. I could do plenty of this tomorrow on my day off, but then it wouldn't be a day off. I'll get as much done as I can today. I have a big list of stuff to do in case I finish early, but these are the more important items.

I just read an article by a Liberal bastard . What a stupid *$*, !%#@*^%$#%! Who the hell ever said that Saddam Hussein ordered 9/11? NOBODY. Here is the analogy. You live in a neighborhood. EVERYBODY in town knows that you provide shelter for thieves and killers. You don't tell them what to do. You simply help them with food, shelter, and help them out when they are sick. You don't tell them to steal, but they do. You don't tell them to kill, but they do. Does that mean we don't invade your house and bust your ass? NO! You're just as bad as they are for helping them. The same goes for Saddam. He did not order 9/11. I agree he had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks. He did provide the terrorists safe haven. He provided them with money. He provided them with health care. So, when the cops (our armed forces) show up to break things up, the whole community (the friggin' planet) is safer. My sister went to Iraq. She did not want to go. Since she did have to go...

ZHK-76C is the license plate number of Juan Eduardo Martinez, a fellow classmate from the Mission High School Class of 1993 who scammed me out of money when I was down and out, the bastard. I found out later that he scammed a lady out of $40k and another friend of mine out of several thousand dollars. The way my friend put it, he's waiting for Juan to keep searching for the rope that will hang him. I'm going to give this info to the other scam victims.

I got the ball rolling tonight. I told Jason about my intent to leave Confetti . Tomorrow I will tell Liz. I like the people. Liz and Jason have been good to me. I really like working with Amanda and Krystal. They are probably the reason why I have toughed it out this long. Krystal, by the way, has informed us that she is pregnant. I'm sure she will be a great mommy. Anyway, I will tell Liz about my decision to move on tomorrow. I don't intend to split right away. I think I can hang in there until December. That will give us the chance to hire somebody and train him or her. Of course, whomever gets hired will definitely not be up to par with what I offer. I think both Amanda and Krystal together can fill in. The new hire will be extra help for them. Letting Jason know my intent has given me peace. I don't have the anxiety I have been feeling lately. In fact, after this entry, I will go to bed for a peaceful night's rest. What will I do? I don't know. Anything. I wo...

If I had a dollar for every time I said "shit", "dammit", "son-of-a...", or the f word today, I'd have a good lump some to set aside for retirement. I spent the night and most of today getting the work computers fixed. On the bright side, I recovered the main sales database and will be able to restore it. On the minus side, I lost all the other files. That's not so bad because we have a paper trail that we can use to rebuild those records. So, here I am, finishing up a complete reinstall of Windows XP and the point of sale system. I've got the XP part done. I am finishing up on the Norton Anti-virus install on one computer. The other computer is already done. I will have to wait until tomorrow to finish because I need to install a Quickbooks POS upgrade that's on a disk at work. I still have to network the computers and get them set up like they were. I will definitely make these computers non-Internet terminals. The crap I had to go throug...

After trying overnight to fix a BSOD (Blue screen of death) on the point of sale server, I'm at my wits end. Patience my ass, I'm gonna kill something!

Today I announced the 15th year reunion for my class. Here is the message: I want to announce the kickoff of the Mission High School Class of 1993's 15th Year Reunion. All members of the Class of '93 should visit the Forum Topic to participate in the planning.It is extremely important that you get the word out to as many of our classmates as possible. We want to start early and make this as good or better than the last one.Let's get the ball rolling! Link:

We went to see Stealth at The Border Theatre today. It was an OK movie. I reviewed it on Yahoo!. In the morning, I opened the restaurant and picked up the computers for some maintenance. I screwed up the computers at work. I have to get them restored tonight for production tomorrow. Gonna require some beer, I think. Still in a funk over my future. Don't feel motivated to do anything lately, except maybe write. Even so, my heart isn't into it. It's more automatic than anything.

It was late and I didn't want to start up the computer, log in, and write an entry. I congratulate Alma, talk about work, and go over my desire for more out of life.

I go over the progress I made on the websites today. Amor A Todas Horas Silva, Simon Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com

I discuss plans for dividing up MissionTexas.net into functional subdomains.

I called in today's entry. Just a summary of what's going on.

Last night I totally disregarded cash management advice while doing a trade. The currency market spanked me for that. I lost about $300. Note to self: always use cash management techniques. I'm working to gain it back. Last night, before bed, I bought one of each currency and set a sell 5 point up. This morning, half sold, the other half went negative by a lot. So, I bought some more at the low price and will leave them alone until prices go back to something of a profit. Due to dollar cost averaging, my sell point will be lower than the high at which I bought.

In a series of currency pair trades, I made $213.16. That brings my margin balance up to $2826.16 overall. I started with $2000. That's a roughly 41% gain. This includes my losses while I learned the ropes. Of course, I'm not an expert and could easily lose a great deal if I don't practice good money management. I am satisfied with my work tonight. I'm going to bed.

In my last trade, I made $102. Right now, I am working on GBP/USD and USD/CAD. I don't want to risk my hard-earned profits, so I'm going to scalp these positions.

I made over $100 on a USD/CAD trade. When I started, prices were at 1.2139/44. They kept dropping into the 30s and then the 20s. I kept buying with each new low. I was sweating it a while as my unrealized losses went up over $200. The price just kept dropping lower and lower. I thought, "Oh, crap! I should have shorted." But, according to the charts, things were on an upward trend. Eventually, the price came back up and the gains from the lows overcame the losses from my high purchases. I cashed out when I got over $100. I could have waited until all my buys were profitable, but I'd rather lock in a sure win. This is dollar cost averaging on speed. My position now is $2188.00 Realized gains are $323.74 I have a position open right now with EUR/USD. It's not going anywhere. Trading has been flat since I started. My unrealized losses on the EUR/USD have been between $20 and $40 with $100,000 riding on the price swing. Once things get moving, the gain or loss will be h...

I am working the currency markets again on a practice account at forex.com. Today, I am up $96. I took a really big gamble on a short. I shouldn't do that. I shorted and the price kept going up on the GBP/USD. I was sweating, thinking that I had made a bad move. But the analysis pointed to a decrease in price, so I bought as the price climbed. All of a sudden, the price plummeted and triggered my limit order. Oh geez! That was a close one. I got lucky, I think. I decided to ride on the way back up. Now, I'm up to $104. Not much, as I am playing it safe. Still, any profit is a good profit. Update: 11:57 I am up to $137.26 on a USD/JPY trade. I could have made more; but, again, even a small profit is a good profit. I'd rather make a small, sure profit than a risky big profit. As the prices went up, I raised the limit a couple points for extra profit. As for losses, smaller losses are better. I'll put in a stop if I'm going to bed. When I am awake, I don't put the...

My Internet connection wasn't working this morning, so I called in my entry. Woke up alone. No web. Full day of work. Not much to look forward to.

I was trolling around for information when I ran across a post by Dos Centavos , and I must say "wow". DC is to be commended for quoting these people. From previous posts and comments on this post, I get the impression that he is a Dem. It takes guts to post info about the loss of Hispanics and Mexican Americans from the Democratic party. In my opinion, our people are becoming more educated than in the past. We can actually question the status quo, believe it or not. With the Dems, it's "what have you done for us lately"? Government programs only helped us survive. Except for student loans and financial aid, government programs haven't got anybody ahead. Our success is based on hard work and foresight. I think that those of us who are trying to make something of ourselves are seeing that and leaning towards Republicans to help us preserve what we have struggled to achieve. Before you say, "oh, you just want to preserve your wealth now that you got it an...

One of my favorite radio hosts, Phil Hendrie , has a blog at http://www.georgewbushisgod.com , where he will write his political views to keep them off of his radio show.

According to Tompaine.com, some of the RGV Reps voted for CAFTA. In the article, it is expected that organized labor will "retaliate" against defecting Democrats. Ha! Fat chance of that happening in the Rio Grande Valley. As is well known, the only political party in the RGV is the Democrat party despite the populace being socially conservative. It's an unexplainable phenomenon. Amongts the CAFTA 15, as the defecting Dems are called, are Henry Cuellar (D) from Laredo, Rubén Hinojosa (D) from Mercedes, and Solomon P. Ortiz (D), from Corpus Christi. My Rep is Lloyd Doggett (D), Austin, not one of the dissenting Dems. Notice that the Democrat Reps voting for CAFTA are along the border. Lloyd is an Austin boy, he doesn't get it and doesn't get us. Our districts stand to make some serious cash with more trade. Much of the goods made in Central America have to pass through the Rio Grande Valley. It will trickle down. First, the customs brokers make money. The trucker...

Utah House Majority Whip Steve Urquhart (R) wants to challenge Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) for the latter's seat. Urquhart is in for an uphill battle. Not only is Hatch a strong incumbent, he also has the support of Sean Hannity as mentioned earlier this week on his radio show. The only thing better than cheap press is free press. Orrin Hatch is a known quantity amongst conservatives. It is unlikely that one conservative will be discarded in favor of another. We shall have to wait and see how this turns out. I predict it won't be pretty for Urquhart.

This post is about finding a new job. I am interested in an outdoor job. It could be carpentry, park service, landscaping, or land surveying. I just want to do a job where I can be outside doing something with my hands. I am tired of being indoors all the time. I would appreciate any help you can give me in finding a job. Pay is not the issue, although it's not frowned upon, either.

Audio entry: I had been listening to Sean Hannity on the radio. He had asserted, with a Democrat agreeing, that the next big issue is illegal immigration. If the Dems were to take up this issue as a cause, they would be able to pierce GW's soft underbelly. The Republicans talk tough, but don't actually do anything about illegal immigration. They don't want to offend. In any case, my point is that former President Bill Clinton recently mentioned that our solution to the insolvency of Social Security is to bring in more immigrants. By doing this, the country increases its tax base. This in turn would bolster the Social Security system, which is about to have more retirees than workers paying in. Immigrants could help delay or avert this problem. The idea is this. We already have millions of illegal immigrants in our midst. GW Bush has proposed setting up a guest worker program, which would serve as a segue for them to apply for citizenship. Since they are here, basically, le...

I found out that I could download my avatar from Yahoo, so I did. Here is my virtual self. It looks kind of like me. I could lose a couple pounds here and there. In all, it's not that far off. It's pretty neat that people can do this. Today was theoretically my day off. I am using the time to package some books I sold on eBay and I was going to go for a bike ride. Looks like I'll just do some exercise at home; it's really hot and humid outside. I need to take the kids to the swimming pool later, so I don't want to be wiped out from a bike ride. I'm going to McAllen in a little while to drop off last night's sales and drop off the books at the post office. Then back to Mission to pick up the kids and take them to the pool. I need to get sunscreen.

I've been waiting for a swing trade to happen today. I put a limit order to sell Yen at 112.24 after buying at different prices from .12 to .23 earlier. It's slowly getting up to the sell price. It just drives you nuts to sit and watch. The order will go through if I shut down and go to bed, but I want to see it happen. So far, I've made $239 in the practice account using the $2000 they give you. I'll put in a stop before I go to bed as added insurance. Just need to be careful not to put the stop too tight. I'll go 2 pips below the low to prevent the stop loss from being triggered by trading noise. ---- UPDATE The Yen went the way I thought it would and yielded $36.53. I've opened a new position on the Euro this morning. We'll see how that goes.

I was just reading that Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection. It's sad that they have fallen on hard times. They should have seen it coming, they couldn't maintain the low-carb craze that long. People want variety. I feel sorry for those people who went out and bought low-carb franchises with companies riding the Atkins coat tails.

I was just visiting Hannity.com and saw this quote: "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it." --Ronald Reagan It's so funny. He's right, which is what make it so hilarious.

I can't believe the Dems are crying about the President's recess appointment of John Bolton as the UN Ambassador. They want to play dirty, but when the prez has a card up his sleeve they cry foul. From the sounds of it, they like the status quo with the UN and don't want to change anything. Nevermind the Oil for Food scandal that resulted on a couple slaps on the wrists. We need somebody who can kick some ass and not even bother to take names at the UN to clean up the place. It's well known that the UN is a conglomerate of US-hating diplomats that want to stick it to us every chance they get. We need to send somebody who will stick it back to them with gusto.

It just occurred to me a while ago that the price of oil, and therefore gasoline, is higher as a result of the devaluation of the dollar on top of higher demand. I need to look for information to support this idea.

The Minutemen have a setback in the effort to guard the border here in the Rio Grande Valley. According to Cari Hammerstrom , and other writers, there is a divide amongst the members who were forming the Minuteman group here in Texas. Apparently, there are some interested in simply protecting the border for the security of our country and there are those motivated by racist tendencies. Chris Simcox, the national organizer of the Minutemen has been VERY careful not to allow gun crazy wackos and racists into the organization. He knows that such members can be counterproductive to gaining acceptance by the rest of the country. In this article, there is the following section: Hidalgo County Democratic Party chairman Juan Maldonado said the party does not condone the actions of the Brown Berets; however, because the group asked him for a platform, he agreed to let them speak at the press conference. Riiigght. Saddam Hussein didn't tell terrorists to attack the U.S., but he did provide t...

I rode from Mayberry Road in Mission to Confetti and China Wok in McAllen and back, today. I departed at 4:16 and made it to Confetti for some papers and then dropped them off at China Wok by 5:50. It took so long because I chose to ride cross country through abandoned roads and fields. I was also riding into the wind. That was tough. I almost gave up on Nolana halfway between Ware and 29th St in McAllen. Then, I got a taste of riding on the pavement. That just lifted my spirits and I hauled butt to Confetti, where I refilled my camelback with water. I got ice at the restaurant. I left China Wok at 5:50 and arrived at my apartment at 6:45. On the way back, I stuck to the pavement. That made all the difference. It also helped to have the wind to my back. Next trip, I will be headed from Mayberry to the Mission bike trail on Conway. I will see if anybody wants to tag along.

So, I've started another blog. Now what? I was thinking about doing something like a web directory, but there aren't enough Mission sites to make it useful. I thought about writing news, but I'm not really a journalist in any shape or form. I suppose I could write reviews or highlights about businesses and attractions in Mission. That seems like a useful thing to do. I could be a one-man Mission promoter. I think that's what I'll do.

I added an RSS calendar to the reunion sites. It will keep track of events in the Valley. This should keep members visiting for information. It will also keep me informed of dates.

I have decided to switch from T-Mobile prepaid phone service to Virgin Mobile . I use about 300 minutes per month on personal calls. I have a work phone that gets free pcs to pcs. I try not to use it for personal calls because I don't like to have personal numbers on the bill, which my boss sees and because we have a combined minute pool. T-Mobile To Go Prepaid Rates $10 card @ 50 minutes = 20 cents/minute $25 card @ 150 minutes = 17 cents/minute $50 card @ 460 minutes = 11 cents/minute $100 card @ 1000 minutes = 10 cents/minute At 300 minutes, I am spending about $51/month using $25 refills. At 300 minutes, I would spend about $33/month using the $50 refills. Virgin Mobile Rates Plan 1: 25 cents/minute for first 10 minutes each day. 10 cents/minute after that. Plan 2: 35 cents/day and 10 cents/minute. Plan 3: $29.99 for 150 anytime/150 nights and weekends (nw). Add $10 for 100 more anytime/350 nw. Add $10 for 100 more anytime/500 nw. At 300 minutes, I would spend about $30/month...

There are several sites to which I belong where you can meet people and network. I am adding the links to all of them here. These sites are important for me to be "findable" so that I can get info for the reunion sites, MissionHSReunion and RGVReunions . shainemata.multiply.com Hi5.com Yahoo 360 myspace.com/slmtek Friendzy.com shaine.friendcircles.com

I went bike riding today. We went from Nikki Rowe to the City of Mission water reservoir on the North side and back. Both Amanda and I haven't biked in a while, so we took it easy. We will probably feel sore tomorrow. I will take a ride from home to Confetti tomorrow to see how long the ride takes. Perhaps I can bike to work daily. The path we took from McAllen to Mission was along a canal. The double track is lined by trees on both sides, so you can sort of make the illusion of being on a country dirt road. The whole time, we were running parallel to FM 495 by about a quarter mile. There are no mountains in the RGV, but we do have dirt roads where cars hardly travel. This makes for good biking trails.

Here is a list of the legislation that passed and failed during the first Texas Legislature special session. The governor immediately called a second special session in hopes that the legislature would finish the work that was in progress.

This was recorded on the way home prior to the arrival of Emily.

Report right after Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince goes on sale. We did not leave the store until 1:24 AM. We had a fun time. Tomorrow, Tien will not be visible all day. Alma already started reading. She was complaining earlier about being awake since 6 AM.

A quick report half an hour before midnight while standing in line at McAllen Barnes and Noble's Starbucks.

After doing the rounds, I arrive at Barnes and Noble to meet Alma, Tien, and Magnus at the Harry Potter Midnight release celebration.

Tonight, I saw something I'd never seen before while doing the rounds. We finally got some good rain.

I was just testing out the audioblogger and have made my first audioblog. Sounds clearer than I thought it would.

You Are a Pundit Blogger! Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few . What kind of blogger are you?

The Texas State Capitol has a website that can tell you who your representatives in Congress are. Simply click on the link that says "Whow represents me?" In the next page, enter your physical address. Then, the next page will give you a list of your reps. Here is who represents me: Hidalgo County-Precinct 0101 Texas U.S. Representative CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 25 CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT Address: 201 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUIDLING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4865 State District Offices Texas State Senator SENATE DISTRICT 20 SENATOR JUAN "CHUY" HINOJOSA Capitol Office: CAP 3S.3 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068 Austin, Texas 78711 Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0120 District Address: 612 Nolana, Suite 410 B McAllen, TX 78504 District Phone: (956) 972-1841 State District Offices Texas State Representative HOUSE DISTRICT 41 REPRESENTATIVE VERONICA GONZALES Capitol Office: EXT E2.302 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910 Austin, TX...