MindBlog Archives
 September 1 - 30, 2007

Dithering, dithering, almost done
09.30.07 - 7:30 pm (CT)
A few weeks ago, I mentioned about having more time to do this, that, and the other and I have made somewhat good on following through on doing whatever. In fact, tomorrow I should finish with the last of my outdoor projects, as in yard work, primping up the wood trim of my vinyl-sided house, and, very sadly, closing the pool… ah yes, we are on to Pool Watch 2008.

I have taken my time, which is just as I said I would (and could), and after dithering and dithering some more, am almost done… with the outside, and then it'll be on to the inside, which could take a heck of a lot more dithering before I'm done, which may very well be around Christmas. That would nix my thought of not living in Manhattan for another New Year, but hey, that's okay, I'll manage… after all, right now I have the time to dither until I'm finally done.

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A nice, worry-free day
09.16.07 - 8:22 am (CT)
Some may think I had it backwards when I said, "don't "what-if" your life away, live it, live it like there are a thousand tomorrows, because, instead of thousands, there might only be one in your future", but I didn't. And to further explain it would be to do exactly what I was saying not to do, so I won't… you figure out the profundity of it… and have a nice, worry-free day!

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Manhattan, IL HOME FOR SALE
09.14.07 - 9:34 am (CT)
My brother Jim will soon be retiring with his wife to what they call LLD… their Life Long Dream. They bought a rather nice piece of property downstate and as soon as their 3 bedroom, 2 bath quad-level home here in Manhattan sells they'll be moving from this quiet, rural town to another one in the rolling hills of southern Illinois. But until then they are enjoying their beautiful, well-maintained home right here in the quiet of rural America.

"BTW, not everyone can stand the peace and quiet that living in a rural community at the edge of suburbia provides…"

Manhattan, IL is located about 35 miles southwest of Chicago, so it's close enough to the big city to provide excellent job opportunities (we have train service from downtown Manhattan to downtown Chicago), but is far enough away that it also provides excellent living opportunities for families looking for an easy going lifestyle in a growing rural community with great schools: Manhattan School District 114, Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210, and Peotone Community School District 207-U. However, there's more to Manhattan than just our schools… check out what else we have to offer with the Manhattan Chamber Commerce and be sure to take a look at the detailed profile of Manhattan, IL at City-Data.com.

BTW, not everyone can stand the peace and quiet that living in a rural community at the edge of suburbia provides, but if you think you'd sure like to try, then give Brent & Mariangela Tompkins (Realty Executives Associates) a call at (815) 485-5050 and tell Mariangela you'd like to see Jim's home in Manhattan… tell her Jeane sent you.

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Waste not, want not
09.12.07 - 4:44 am (CT)
Success or failure… or something in-between — you win some, you lose some, and then there's the times the game seems to go on forever, making it kind of a draw. Life is like that, a kind of game where there are winners, losers, those that both win and lose, and those that do neither. It's what makes life interesting that you can be one or the other or both, and you can be all three at once — and how you handle it all is really the measure of success… or failure.

I have never liked to fail at anything, and that is what has made me want to look at problems from all angles to make sure that there is no other way to have a better outcome. I like to do my "what ifs" before the fact, not after, because after it, when you can no longer affect the outcome, is just a waste of time and energy. The only time a "what if" after the fact can possibly be worthwhile is if you are using it to reinforce your previous decision, but then be done with it and go on… to new possibilities.

And the possibilities are endless… for all of us, so don't "what-if" your life away, live it, live it like there are a thousand tomorrows, because, instead of thousands, there might only be one in your future… waste not, want not.

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Saturday Morning Matinee
09.08.07 - 5:10 pm (CT)
I went to the morning matinee at the local theater today, which I think is a first for me in that I went all by myself — I thought I might feel a little weird, being all by my lonesome and all, but I didn't, not at all. In fact, it was kind of nice not having to listen to dumb remarks from, let's just refer to him as, O.D., and then there was the added benefit of not having to make concessions to anyone at the concession stand on what "we" were going to order. However, the biggest PLUS was I picked the movie, so it was one I really wanted to see… a Western!

I went to see 3:10 to Yuma, which just opened yesterday and stars Russell Crowe who, before this morning, I don't know whether I'd ever seen him in a movie or not, because other than thinking his name sounded familiar, I had no idea who he was. Now I at least know that he is a darn good actor in a darn good Western. Beyond that tidbit, which really amounts to not much other than a rave review, I'll let you know that it isn't a little kid movie and, most important to me, you'll leave the theater feeling good.

Anyway, I was thinking on my way out of the theater that I had been doing stuff all by myself for a heck of a lot longer than I have been divorced. Heck, I went to swing and ballroom dance classes without O.D. and managed not only just fine, but also had a good time to boot — yep, stepping out all by yourself is definitely not a bad thing.

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A message from "heaven"
09.07.07 - 8:38 pm (CT)
I don't know how I should take it, but I received a message from "heaven" today… really I did. It was sent from some angel named Saketloud21, and get this, they use gmail… ain't that something? Maybe I should ask Google how that works where angels can send email all the way from heaven right to my Inbox!

Anyway, I'm taking the message not only as a compliment, but also as a good omen of blessings to come. So, what bit of wisdom did Saketloud21 have for me? Well, it was a quote that when I googled it, I found out was quoted all over the Net by numerous positive leadership sites, which made me feel even more special. I'm not sure when or why Mr. Bennis said it, but I sure am glad he did.

While I was researching the quote, so I could give the proper person credit for saying it, I ran across a FREE doodad for your site, a "Quote of the Day" from BrainyQuote:

I used some CSS to add the box, align the text, and pad the box, but other than that I just dropped their JavaScript into my HTML code. If you'd rather, they also have an RSS Feed, plus they have five different kinds of quotes… you choose which subject you'd like to use on your site and you're good to go. The only thing I don't like about their doodad is that their links do not open in a new window, which means your viewers must hit the back button to get back to your site, but otherwise it's an okay doodad.

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Tax illusions... locally
09.07.07 - 12:16 am (CT)
They do it at all levels of government, but this particular slight of hand was done at the local level. It was not on the agenda given to the press, but was on the official one where they had it listed as a Service Tax. One would think that a Service Tax would be a tax on services, however that wasn't the case at all, but they still tried to pass it off as one.

When questioned further about it, they said, oh, it was just a tax on some products sold by service businesses. Oh, and, of course, it did not include food and medicine, just auto parts, building supplies, paper products, and the like. Plus, the bulk of it would be paid by people who don't even live in town, it would be paid by outsiders coming in to do their shopping and travelers just passing through on their way to somewhere else.

"While not doing the math, don't think, certainly don't listen… and while you're at it, don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain."

It was only 1% after all and they were just using it to get rid of the dreaded vehicle sticker tax that everyone on the board said they never liked anyway. So, even though the, ahem, Service Tax would generate more income, it was still a wash… just don't do the math on that. While not doing the math, don't think, certainly don't listen… and while you're at it, don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain.

The man behind the curtain is, of course, unstable and to be avoided. He mumbled something about a never-before-done-in-this-town tax on almost every product sold by most of the businesses in town, gosh, even the Tupperware Lady. Then he went on about it was going to cost the townspeople almost 2½ times what the vehicle sticker tax did… uh oh… somebody was listening and heard him say… "It's a SALES TAX!"

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Penance, a little bit of this, that, and other stuff
09.01.07 - 10:17 pm (CT)
Forgive me, as it has been two whole months since I have blogged, however my penance has been served and now I blog on with a clear MindBlog.

I have been doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a whole lot of other stuff, but now am at a point where I have quite a bit more time to do more of the "this and that" that I really want to do. As for how long this time of freedom will last has yet to be determined, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

In my time away I did manage to finish a website for another satisfied customer, St. Paul's United Church of Christ, right here in lovely Manhattan, IL. They had seen what Pageminders had done for the Methodists and gave us a buzz to help them get online. It took a little while, but we managed to "webify" their wants and needs into a nice little site to help seekers find a nice, friendly, inclusive, local community church.

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