Getting Connected

It's late, but I'm gonna get today's post in.

Had problems with my internet at home which means it's time for a new internet provider.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: Who do YOU use for internet, and do you like them?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Baby $tep$

When I created my 2015 Vision Board, I made a commitment to MYSELF that I would work diligently to make the dreams and goals on that board become REALITY. One of the many areas that need focus is the one concerning my financial situation. It's deplorable! I don't know exactly where I went wrong, I just know that I took a terribly wrong turn and it's NOW time to get back on the right track.

For months, heck...maybe even YEARS, I've been wanting to do something to "make things right". Of course, the longer I waited, the worse things got, and at some point I just stopped trying altogether. I froze. Now...here I am.

Don't count me out though. I'm still in the game. And since I'm still in the game, I can still get my "financial house" in order.

Yesterday, I attended the 1st of a 9 week class to help me figure out how to dig myself out of the mess I've made for myself. I wasn't really sure WHAT to expect, but I can say that I left feeling hopeful. I left with the realization that I don't have to "eat this elephant" all in ONE bite, but instead...one bite at a time. (Now I know I shouldn't have to say this, but I know how folks are, so here goes:NO...I am NOT referring to an ACTUAL elephant. I don't eat elephants. It's just a term.)

Although the road ahead is quite daunting, I know that it is a road that I MUST travel if I am ever going to be able to purchase a home, or car, or ANYTHING that requires "good credit".

Yet I fully understand that "financial freedom" will NEVER come until I put in the work.

So...here's to the next 9 weeks. I look forward to completing the course and having a feeling of "I can do this" vs. "How do I do this?"

Let the DIALOGUE begin: Have you ever experienced "financial ruin", and if so, how did you bounce back?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

No Parking on The Dance Floor...or Anywhere Else

So I have an issue with the city I live in and may need to write to the "powers that be" to figure out what can be done, because SOMETHING needs to be done.

The issue is regarding STREET SWEEPING.

On my block street sweeping is on Monday mornings from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET!

That makes absolutely NO sense AT ALL!

Parking is at a premium as it is in my neighborhood, and the neighboring streets require PERMITS. So WHERE are folks supposed to park their cars on Monday mornings?

For me it's not a big deal because I have a reserved spot in our parking lot, but for visitors who stay overnight, there is simply NO PLACE for them to park which means that they will HAVE to park on street and pretty much be guaranteed a ticket, OR...get up before 5:00 and move their cars to who knows where. And YES...it would have to be THAT early because the street sweeper is ON THE MOVE right at 5:00.

Oh well...hopefully this won't be a problem much longer for my visiting friends as I hope to be moving soon...preferably to a place where I will have my own garage and driveway where my guests can park.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: For those of you who are RENTERS is there ample parking in YOUR neighborhood for visitors?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

A Year's Worth of Posts

As of today, I have written enough posts here at The Dialogue Den to last a whole year. Yes folks, this is my 365th post. How 'bout that! Yay ME!!

My blog has been quite a labor or love. I still haven't figured out how to get it to "take off" and generate the following that I had (and still) hoped for, but if I am only writing for an "audience of One", that's enough for me, and so...I keep writing.

So my weekend has been great and there's lots for me to write about, but with most great weekends come exhaustion, and right now...I am exhausted.

How 'bout you sit in the driver's seat tonight?

Let the DIALOGUE begin: What have you created that you had hoped would "take off" and be success, yet just hasn't happened yet?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Two Ears, One Mouth...Use Them ALL

When I wrote yesterday's post I was upset...disappointed and upset.

Earlier in the evening I had a telephone conversation with "Joe" about our plans for the night. Unfortunately, the plans got changed at the last minute and I just wasn't happy. As much as I tried to conceal it, Joe reads me like a book, even if we're just talking on the phone, and he sensed my frustration.

I saw him today and he just came out and said, "I know you were upset with me." I wasn't even gonna try to lie...I admitted it, "Yep, I sure was." And I proceeded to tell him why. Not in and angry or belligerent manner...but in a manner that allowed him to actually HEAR

and understand my frustration.

Well...after I explained my point, HE explained his. That changed EVERYTHING, and I was then able to UNDERSTAND why the plans were changed. No, I didn't like that he changed them at the last minute, but I now "get it" and understand why he did.

What this experience taught me (or rather, REINFORCED), was just how important COMMUNICATION is.

Had Joe not mentioned that he knew I was upset, we would've either NEVER mentioned it, OR I would've held it in and stewed over it for way too long. Neither of those are appropriate ways to handle anything.

So once again, I can say, "lesson learned". Every day that I live life seems to teach me something new. Class...is ALWAYS in session.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: Do you hold things in when you're upset, or do you freely share what's on your mind?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Decisions...

Today's post will be short. The picture pretty much says it all anyway. In a nutshell, I looked forward to something ALL day, only to be told that it wasn't gonna happen. I'm tired, frustrated, and need to re-think and re-evaluate

a WHOLE LOTTA STUFF.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: When was the last time you were disappointed?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Well WHADAYA'KNOW!

I gotta tell ya...I've been on Facebook since 2009 and for the most part, I REALLY enjoy it. I've reconnected with LOTS of my friends from my elementary, middle & high school, along with many co-workers of the past. I'm friends with a few of my church members, and then there's family...LOTS of family.

Yet with all that I "LIKE" about Facebook, there are still some things that make me scratch my head at times.

For instance...those folks who you send a "friend request" to and they NEVER accept it. I have one such person in mind right now. I won't say his name, but I'll gladly give his initials: DC

I went to middle school AND high school with him, and ran into him a few times AFTER we graduated. Thought we were cool. His brother is cool. His cousin is cool. So what's up?

After a while I was like, "Really dude? I'm not trying to "get with you", I'm just re-connecting. That's what we do here on FB. So get over yourself!"

Eventually I canceled the request. Like why would I want to have someone like THAT as a "friend" anyway?!?

Then there are the mysterious "unfriend-ers". Now I've been "unfriended" several times. Three of those times I knew exactly who the folks were and pretty much knew WHY they did it. Two of those three have since "friended me" again.

But recently I noticed that some folks "fell off" and I had no way of know who they were. No biggie. Some folks fall off because they deactivate their accounts. Some fall of because for whatever reason, they decide that they need to clean up their "friends list" and I don't make the cut. I think that's what may have happened with one individual, but for another...I honestly believe that she unfriended me because I'm not "fit". Her life is about fitness and mine simply isn't. Sure, I'd love to be fitter, and weigh less, but I'm also okay with me, "just as I am". Regardless of how I look on the outside, on the INSIDE I am simply STUNNING. I don't think she saw me that way though, and I'm okay with that. She was a pretty cool person and I liked her a lot. Clearly, the feeling wasn't mutual. She was one of those "friends" who I met ON Facebook, we got to know each other, hung out in person a few times, and I THOUGHT we were cool. Again I say...I thought wrong.

Nevertheless, I wish her the best, and if I saw her out on the street one day, I would speak as though things were as I thought they were.

But here's what prompted the post...not so much the "unfriending" but HOW I found out that she unfriended me.

I was on Facebook, scrolling through my feed and she popped up as one of the "People You May Know". I was like, well yeah I know her...we're already "friends". Then I looked for her in my friends list and realized, she's not there anymore. Well WHADAYA'KNOW!

So yeah, that's just one of the many wonders of the "Whacky World of Facebook". It's really like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get...or WHEN you'll be "unfriended".

Let the DIALOGUE begin: Have you ever THOUGHT you were "friends" with someone on Facebook, only to realize later that they had "unfriended" you? If so, did you confront them about it, or did you "keep it pushin'"

Talk to me!

Til next time...