This is a question that I've been searching for the answer to for almost 62 years. After two marriages/divorces and a few other true loves (and some not so true), I'm still searching. Maybe this topic has been on my mind more recently as a result of Valentines Day. With all the quotes on Facebook and everywhere else from very thoughtful and insightful poets and authors, it's made me think more about this question.
Even though I haven't yet found the love I'm looking for, and even though I'm one of those people that swear that I'll never get married again (never say never), deep down I think I am like almost everyone else and still searching for my soul mate. What is a soul mate to me? Well to me, it's someone that I can feel absolutely comfortable with and who supports me as much as I support them. I don't know about the saying that opposites attract or finding someone that has similar interests works best; I think love involves many different factors to work successfully together.
I have been single since my last serious relationship almost 15 years ago, and I truly believe that I would rather be a little lonely at times by myself rather than be in a relationship that isn't working and fighting with my mate. Maybe I'm getting cynical or selfish in my old age, but I am truly enjoying life by myself more at this time than I ever have.
This is not to say that I have given up on finding true love, but I think I has postponed it temporarily. This attitude may, in fact, deter me from finding it, but at least I'm reserved to the idea of being single for the time being. I guess my search is continuing in my sub-conscious but not aggressively. Let's see if I agree with this post a few months/years from now.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Mexico Pemex/CitiBank/Oceanografia Scandal...
I have been living in Mexico during the long cold Canadian winter months for three years now, and I know many very successful businessmen here. This current scandal is, in my opinion, indicative of things to come in Mexico's future. Many of Mexico's large multi-million dollar businesses have been built by hard working business people - from the ground up. Sure some of them didn't grow their empires just by hard work, but by establishing important contacts in Government, and they have basically followed Mexican laws such as they are.
Unfortunately many of these business owners also adhere to the traditional cultural and family values, which means they provide everything from the basic necessities of life to higher education for their families. Many of their children, who are laughingly referred to as 'Juniors', are basically spoiled children that have never had to work a day in their lives, and spend most of their time driving around in expensive cars their fathers have bought for them, and partying their lives away.
Then comes the day that the father decides to retire, and he turns over the management of his multi-million dollar business to his child(ren), who have little or no business training at all. Of course this transition usually requires the child(ren) to provide a pension for their parents throughout their retirement and old age. So after the parent has provided absolutely no training, or very little, the child(ren) are basically thrown to the business world wolves.
It doesn't take long before they are taken advantage by corrupt politicians or fellow businessmen, and the once successful business is ruined financially. And that is exactly what I understand happened to Oceanografia. It is difficult to imagine a business that was probably worth billions being turned over to one of these untrained children and expected to survive, let alone grow. It is even more difficult to imagine that an intelligent father, who created a mammoth business such as this, would turn it over completely to an untrained son. Especially since his families future income depends on how well the child performs.
But really, I guess this system in Mexico isn't too different from our democratic process in North America. We have an election and elect a bunch of politicians, many of them 'Juniors', to run our state/province/country. Then the head of Government appoints a few of them to important posts. Let's say for example, John from Little Pebble, Arkansas is appointed Minister of Finance. We know he is qualified because his father owned a pig farm, and he helped pay the bills. Or Rita from Red Duck Alberta is appointed Minister of Highways. What's wrong with that, she can drive? I'm amazed more Governments haven't had these same financial woes - oh, they have haven't they.
I also found it very amazing that large banks throughout the world would make these huge loans to a Mexican company that was well known for it's disreputable business dealings. Whether they had a big Government contract or not, I would think collateral for a loan in the millions should be required. Also, I would think Citibank must have known from it's subsidiary Banamex just how business works down here. Maybe they are run by 'Juniors' too.
Now that the Mexican Government (that's another story) and the news is involved, it will be interesting to see how this drama plays out.
Unfortunately many of these business owners also adhere to the traditional cultural and family values, which means they provide everything from the basic necessities of life to higher education for their families. Many of their children, who are laughingly referred to as 'Juniors', are basically spoiled children that have never had to work a day in their lives, and spend most of their time driving around in expensive cars their fathers have bought for them, and partying their lives away.
Then comes the day that the father decides to retire, and he turns over the management of his multi-million dollar business to his child(ren), who have little or no business training at all. Of course this transition usually requires the child(ren) to provide a pension for their parents throughout their retirement and old age. So after the parent has provided absolutely no training, or very little, the child(ren) are basically thrown to the business world wolves.
It doesn't take long before they are taken advantage by corrupt politicians or fellow businessmen, and the once successful business is ruined financially. And that is exactly what I understand happened to Oceanografia. It is difficult to imagine a business that was probably worth billions being turned over to one of these untrained children and expected to survive, let alone grow. It is even more difficult to imagine that an intelligent father, who created a mammoth business such as this, would turn it over completely to an untrained son. Especially since his families future income depends on how well the child performs.
But really, I guess this system in Mexico isn't too different from our democratic process in North America. We have an election and elect a bunch of politicians, many of them 'Juniors', to run our state/province/country. Then the head of Government appoints a few of them to important posts. Let's say for example, John from Little Pebble, Arkansas is appointed Minister of Finance. We know he is qualified because his father owned a pig farm, and he helped pay the bills. Or Rita from Red Duck Alberta is appointed Minister of Highways. What's wrong with that, she can drive? I'm amazed more Governments haven't had these same financial woes - oh, they have haven't they.
I also found it very amazing that large banks throughout the world would make these huge loans to a Mexican company that was well known for it's disreputable business dealings. Whether they had a big Government contract or not, I would think collateral for a loan in the millions should be required. Also, I would think Citibank must have known from it's subsidiary Banamex just how business works down here. Maybe they are run by 'Juniors' too.
Now that the Mexican Government (that's another story) and the news is involved, it will be interesting to see how this drama plays out.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Angelina Jolie and any other breast cancer survivors, I'm sure you've seen this, but...
http://www.womanspersonalhealth.com/%E2%80%9Cabreast-boat%E2%80%9D-breast-cancer-survivors-and-dragonboating
A very good friend of mine in British Columbia has a double mastectomy quite a few years ago, and seeing a recent article about Angelina Jolie reminded me of this fantastic group and it's therapy.
A very good friend of mine in British Columbia has a double mastectomy quite a few years ago, and seeing a recent article about Angelina Jolie reminded me of this fantastic group and it's therapy.
My nightly movie - review of 'Winter's Tale'
I must be getting old and sentimental because this movie got me pretty darned emotional. Excellent stars with excellent performances by Will Smith, Russell Crowe, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Connelly. The two young actresses did a great job too. A classic good versus evil theme but with some neat twists. I guess I'm hooked on fantasy romance stories and this one has definitely fit the bill. The screenplay was very good as well as the cinematography. Okay, I had better find my handkerchief.
I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5.
I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
My Personal Movie Review - 'Non-Stop'..
I love movies and watched this last night because I like Liam Neeson's acting as well as Julianne Moore's. The movie was well acted, and even though it contained some of those lines and actions throughout to make the lead actor look a little like a fool, it had a lot of suspense and action. I wish the writers had made the script just a little more believable - maybe script writers should allow events to direct the actions, rather than the characters and their obvious stupid choices. Liam appears to be an intelligent person, and it was almost embarrassing watching him act like a dumb drunk making one bad decision after another. Oh, and I did like the trick of Liam smoking in the airplane washroom. Wonder how many people will try it themselves and get busted?
Anyway to you script writers, please don't treat your audience like a bunch of morons. We actually know that we shouldn't go into a dark house with an open front door, knowing full well that we locked it before we left, and no one else has a key. And the first thing we will do is turn ON the lights if we happen to be stupid enough to enter. I think I'll actually be one of those people that will wait outside and call the police from my cell phone before entering the house myself. I love good movies and hate to come away feeling insulted. Oh well, that's my rant for the day.
I give it a 3 1/2 out of 5.
Anyway to you script writers, please don't treat your audience like a bunch of morons. We actually know that we shouldn't go into a dark house with an open front door, knowing full well that we locked it before we left, and no one else has a key. And the first thing we will do is turn ON the lights if we happen to be stupid enough to enter. I think I'll actually be one of those people that will wait outside and call the police from my cell phone before entering the house myself. I love good movies and hate to come away feeling insulted. Oh well, that's my rant for the day.
I give it a 3 1/2 out of 5.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
What is retirement?
It wasn't until my mid-20's that I first started thinking about retirement, and exactly what it would be like. Until that time I had been growing up, getting educated, trying to find a job, raising a new family, doing home repairs on my new home and a multitude of other tasks to keep me busy. Retirement was so far in the distance that I couldn't really even imagine it, but only give it a glancing thought.
My career up until this time included delivering newspapers, picking fruit, throwing hay bales, taking a break to get a college degree, managing a security company and finally helping my family run a local business. At the age of 25 I got married and moved to a private insurance job that appeared to be going nowhere. Then I decided to try a Government job. This new job paid better then the private industry at the time, and my insurance training came in handy too.
The Government job had a pension plan, and this focused my attention further on down life's road than I had previously looked. It was a good pension plan too, and I'm enjoying it to the fullest thank you.
My picture of a retiree at that time was of some old person sitting around all day bored and doing nothing. They were doing nothing because they were too old to have fun anymore. Sure, some of them had saved enough money or had a good enough pension to go south to warmer countries for a couple of months each winter, but I could only imagine they did the same thing down there. Sit around and do nothing, but at least they were a little warmer.
I had a different plan. My wife and I were going to save our money and when we got our pensions, we were going to spend the warm summer months in Canada and the cold winter months in Mexico. That was the plan until the divorce. Funny how life throws these little curves at us. Needless to say, my basic retirement plan remained the same for the next 25 or so years, and at the end it looked something like this.
Live on Vancouver Island on a yacht that was at least around 50 feet long during the summer. Then around October, fly to Mexico and stay for at least 6 months, either on, or near a beach. I wasn't going to stop there and just drink cerveza and enjoy the sunshine; no, I was going to write children/adult books for the rest of my life. During my late 30's I even started writing titles of stories that I wanted to someday write.
Now that thirty more years have passed and I have become one of those lazy retirees, I have a different perspective of retirees - and am actually doing everything that I had planned. Also I am still young enough to be able to actually get off my butt and move around a bit. I bought my yacht in Florida last winter and moved it across the USA to Vancouver Island last May. I love it.
I recently published my first book in a series of 8 or 9, and in the process have learned how to write, edit, format and publish online eBooks. The second book is almost complete. I also learned how to design book covers, and discovered a great artist for all my book covers. Luckily I had a friend that was a talented editor, and she keeps my writing on keel (notice the boat talk).
Anyway I wanted to write this blog to all the people at the beginning of their career and family life. If you look after your health, both physical and financial, you can definitely have the opportunity for a fantastic retired life. And if you are like me, it won't just be sitting in a rocking chair. All of life's challenges will sometimes get in the way, but keep your focus, and start planning early. Retirement can be wonderful. You will have more time to think, look after your health better, and time to actually smell the roses.
I hope to draw my pension for many, many years to come.
My career up until this time included delivering newspapers, picking fruit, throwing hay bales, taking a break to get a college degree, managing a security company and finally helping my family run a local business. At the age of 25 I got married and moved to a private insurance job that appeared to be going nowhere. Then I decided to try a Government job. This new job paid better then the private industry at the time, and my insurance training came in handy too.
The Government job had a pension plan, and this focused my attention further on down life's road than I had previously looked. It was a good pension plan too, and I'm enjoying it to the fullest thank you.
My picture of a retiree at that time was of some old person sitting around all day bored and doing nothing. They were doing nothing because they were too old to have fun anymore. Sure, some of them had saved enough money or had a good enough pension to go south to warmer countries for a couple of months each winter, but I could only imagine they did the same thing down there. Sit around and do nothing, but at least they were a little warmer.
I had a different plan. My wife and I were going to save our money and when we got our pensions, we were going to spend the warm summer months in Canada and the cold winter months in Mexico. That was the plan until the divorce. Funny how life throws these little curves at us. Needless to say, my basic retirement plan remained the same for the next 25 or so years, and at the end it looked something like this.
Live on Vancouver Island on a yacht that was at least around 50 feet long during the summer. Then around October, fly to Mexico and stay for at least 6 months, either on, or near a beach. I wasn't going to stop there and just drink cerveza and enjoy the sunshine; no, I was going to write children/adult books for the rest of my life. During my late 30's I even started writing titles of stories that I wanted to someday write.
Now that thirty more years have passed and I have become one of those lazy retirees, I have a different perspective of retirees - and am actually doing everything that I had planned. Also I am still young enough to be able to actually get off my butt and move around a bit. I bought my yacht in Florida last winter and moved it across the USA to Vancouver Island last May. I love it.
I recently published my first book in a series of 8 or 9, and in the process have learned how to write, edit, format and publish online eBooks. The second book is almost complete. I also learned how to design book covers, and discovered a great artist for all my book covers. Luckily I had a friend that was a talented editor, and she keeps my writing on keel (notice the boat talk).
Anyway I wanted to write this blog to all the people at the beginning of their career and family life. If you look after your health, both physical and financial, you can definitely have the opportunity for a fantastic retired life. And if you are like me, it won't just be sitting in a rocking chair. All of life's challenges will sometimes get in the way, but keep your focus, and start planning early. Retirement can be wonderful. You will have more time to think, look after your health better, and time to actually smell the roses.
I hope to draw my pension for many, many years to come.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Windows Backup and Restore
I back up my writing daily onto two zip drives (16 gb and 32 gb). I also use a 1 tb external hard drive to back up my books; but I also like to use it to do a full system backup and a full backup of all of my files (music, word and excel documents, photos etc). A few weeks ago my Windows Backup and Restore suddenly quit working.
I contacted Windows and they referred me to the Support Community. I have spent numerous hours following the various suggestions on the site - all to no avail. I was totally frustrated yesterday and tweeted Microsoft Support and received basically the same suggestions. Again nothing worked. Finally I noticed that one member of the community had thrown up his hands also and reverted to an old Norton Backup Program that he had kept around. He also suggested a new free program called EaseUS.
I downloaded and installed this new program and it worked like a charm. I have now disabled MS Backup and Restore messages and will use this free program. Microsoft you had better get your act together or you may be heading down the same road as Blackberry. Sorry my rant for the day.
I contacted Windows and they referred me to the Support Community. I have spent numerous hours following the various suggestions on the site - all to no avail. I was totally frustrated yesterday and tweeted Microsoft Support and received basically the same suggestions. Again nothing worked. Finally I noticed that one member of the community had thrown up his hands also and reverted to an old Norton Backup Program that he had kept around. He also suggested a new free program called EaseUS.
I downloaded and installed this new program and it worked like a charm. I have now disabled MS Backup and Restore messages and will use this free program. Microsoft you had better get your act together or you may be heading down the same road as Blackberry. Sorry my rant for the day.
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