Within the next 24 hours, we will begin our journey back to the U.S. This has been a long time coming. We originally applied for my wife’s green card in Sep. 2018. We had her interview in March of 2020, and we received her green card visa the day before the borders were shut here in Russia. We purchased tickets for July 24 and didn’t receive a refund but only airline credit – the privilege for that cost us $280 in website booking fees with another $280 due if we use the credit to book a flight. Our insurance also wasn’t refunded and was only good if we got sick or quarantined – not the entire country. Each weekend after that, we purchased tickets but made sure to get those that were refundable. Now comes the big flight and big move.
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Breathe in, Breathe out, Move on: Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett’s ballad “Breathe in, Breathe Out, Move on” (affiliate link) starts with him purchasing a watch from a crazy man. The watch always told the correct time because there were no numbers on its face, just the word “Now.” How this never became a product, I have no idea. There are watches that feature the word “now,” but they also have moving hands, which would defeat the purpose of Jimmy Buffett’s watch.
Continue readingSome Days, It’s Jimmy Buffett instead of Motivation
I’ve written this article, or a version of it, three times now. The other two versions were not quite positive enough to be motivational. Instead, they were trying to work through my own fears and frustrations. With coronavirus, politics, and stupid people, those anxieties are legion. Some days, there just isn’t anything for it, and those are the days that I turn to Jimmy Buffett.
Continue readingMickey Mouse Micro-Brick Build
I’ve had a couple of people ask for the directions to building the Mickey Mouse micro-brick figure. I have photographed them and put them in a gallery. I’m in the process of moving, and I’m not able to add them to the video. Hopefully these photos will work just as well. Let me know if you make use of them. Thanks!
Continue readingBottled Water Needs to Get ‘Tapped’ out
“Tapped” (affiliate link) exposes several of the problems that the bottled water industry is implicated in from dissembling and pollution to overwhelming corporate influence over government and the carcinogenic agents found in the bottles and leached into the water they hold.
Continue readingMoving, Stress, and Obligations Take the Wind out of My Sails
Life has caught up with me too fast, and with a 318-day streak on the line, I’m not sure where my next article is going to come from. I could pull up all of the movie reviews I did in 2012 and recycle them for this website. That, however, is neither very appealing or satisfying for anyone. Still, writing something like this post for the foreseeable future also seems a little problematic.
Continue readingExperiences Make the Best Collections: Collectors’ Corner
According to the research Mary Holm presents in her book “Rich Enough?” (affiliate link) experiences contribute more to people’s happiness than things. While there is an initial spike in happiness with a new thing, it quickly wears off as the thing is incorporated into life and loses its luster. When a new edition of the thing comes out, people become dissatisfied and unhappy with the edition they have. (Think iPhones or shoes where new editions are released every year just to keep sales up for the companies behind those products.) Experiences, on the other hand, allow one to savor the moment while being in it and then to relive those moments for future happiness.
Continue readingFree Book from Best Selling Author Russell Nohelty – Just Pay for Shipping
Normally, I would be publishing a #WednesdayWisdom about this time. I’m not sure what this week’s would be about because I haven’t found the right subject. However, what I did find (in my email) was an amazing offer from Russell Nohelty – a free, hardback book! You just need to pay for shipping! (Offer good through Saturday, August 15, 2020.)
Continue readingBuy 5 Times the Number of Books You Plan to Read
In his book “Time Drive,” Gleb Arhangelsky recommends that you read at leas one serious book a week and that you buy five (5) times the number of books you plan to read. For those who plan to read a book a week and are buying for the month, that means buying 20 books. As an author, reader, and book hoard… er, collector, I am totally on board with this. However, beyond my monetary and intuitive biases, there are some good reasons to follow this tip from Arhangelsky.
Continue readingWhere Does Real Motivation Come from?
(This article contains affiliate links. Making a purchase from one of these links won’t cost you any more than normal, and it helps fund our blog. Thank you.) I was trying to come up with a post for Monday Motivation, and everything I thought of fell flat. I could write about a motivational song like, Smash Mouth’s “All Star” or Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” or I could choose a quote attributed to some famous person, like “if you can dream it, you can do it” – not said by Walt Disney. I could tell the story of a famous person who started of bankrupt and found his or her way to fortune – Walt Disney, again. None of those feel right.
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