My Unique Method of Learning Literacy

Learning literacy? But  I competently (At least semi-competently write a blog).  Oh no my friends I'm not talking about English.  I happen to speak Hebrew pretty fluently yet I struggle to read and write the language of the chosen people.  I've often thought that in my adult life I would make it a hobby to teach myself to read and write Hebrew, but I've not yet found the motivation or the proper means to do so.  A while back I received a couple of work books and guides from  my cousin but I never pushed myself hard enough to tap into them.  I didn't lose any passion for my goal; I just more or less put off my goal.  Don't worry I'm getting to the good part.  I've finally found a way that I can learn to read and write the language of my ancestors: Google translator. 

Google is so wonderful.  It's given me the space to share my thoughts with you all, and now it will help me to learn how to read and write a language that I already know how to speak.  Sure, google translator will not be my only tool.  In time I'll practice hand writing the letters and reading books, magazines, and newspapers, but for now it's a great way for me to practice while I'm on the computer screwing around.  I recently deactivated my facebook (again) and this time I want to see if I can be done with it for good.  I promise I'm not an elitist, and not even an overly private person, but I fear that social networking isn't all that social.  I prefer face to face interactions to discuss pressing issues such as politics, upcoming events, and the daily thing that just happened to piss me off beyond belief.  Anyway, I figure I can take the time that I often waste on facebook and other pointless online time and I can devote it to worthwhile hobbies like Hebrew practice, reading, writing, and I think I may buy an acoustic guitar in the near future to begin lessons.  We'll see about the latter, only due to financial constraints.  The guitar itself wouldn't set me back too far, just the weekly lessons that would be required for me to reach a respectable level of consistency.  Oh financial freedom how I long for you.

I subbed today and had another teacher reiterate the point of starting a business as a means of financial freedom over educating youngsters.  Sure I love the kids and the teaching; I just wish the salary matched the effort that good teachers put in.  Not to worry because I don't plan on giving up on my dreams of writing and life coaching, which are both in essence starting businesses. 

This post was kind of all over the place but I figured it's about time I started to write my words down again.  I've been feeling kind of down lately and writing may be a good way for me to pick myself up.  I have the hardest time being optimistic for myself, but in this weird gray area in my life that happens to be at one of the worst economic times for our great nation I must persevere.  You know what I find funny about the economy.  Today the DOW finished higher than it has since 2008 mostly because oil is nearing a historic new high.  Funny who really profits when the economy is at its highest...Don't you love capitalism?

The American

Last week I began watching The American starring George Clooney on a whim, and it turned out to be a pretty solid movie.  It's funny because I also tried to go see The Descendants which also stars Mr. Clooney, but it was nearly sold out so I didn't bother squeezing my way into the front row of a crowded theater, and possibly not even sitting with my female counterpart.  It's almost like I needed my George Clooney fix, and since I couldn't get it at the movie theater I went ahead and watched The American to make up for it.  I'm not obsessed, I promise; however, my recent Clooney conundrum has made me realize that he's one of my favorite actors.  He just doesn't make a bad movie, and on top of that he's just the man.  The guy can get whatever girl he wants, lives on Lake Como, Italy which is renowned as one of the most beautiful places in the world, and he opposes social media which I personally happen to admire (Kind of contradictory being that I have a blog and a facebook, but I refuse to get a Twitter).  Anyway, back to my review.

The American chronicles an American man in Europe (Italy I believe.  What a stretch for George...) who happens to be a high end gun dealer.  The movie depicts the intricacies that go into one of his transactions and provides plenty of twists and interesting events along the way.  And of course George has an attractive female love interest which is always nice on the eyes.  The film is well written, acted, and suspenseful.  I think the characters and setting were well chosen, and the cinematography is also well done.  If you're a fan of George's previous works or if you enjoy somewhat suspenseful action movies, I highly recommend The American.  Hopefully I'll get to see The Descendants sometime soon to see if George continues his on screen dominance. 

Here's the trailer for The American:

And here's the trailer for The Descendants:

Newish Car Purchase

Last Friday I made the first significant purchase of my life: A newish car.  To be more precise, I bought a 2010 White Subaru Forester.  This is pretty much what it looks like:

Although I didn't want to spend the money at this given time, I am happy with the purchase.  My old car was up there in miles, and the repairs were piling up, so I figured it was time to part ways, and I received a very fair value on my trade in.  For those of you youngins who have never bought a car, it is quite stressful.  Unless of course you're a multi-millionaire and buying a $22,000 car is no big deal, but to those of us who don't live in the very upper tier of society it's not an easy undertaking.  I took my time to think about the deal and weighed my options until I finally came to the best decision and warranty package.  It's still crazy to me that I now have a car payment, but I guess that's just part of growing up.  Not to worry, I've recently acquired a number of jobs so I should have a steady flow of cash coming in.

Maybe I should try not to make this post all about me by giving some people out there some general car buying advice.  My first piece of advice is to go out and buy consumer reports on new or used cars (depending on what you're buying).  See what your desired whip is ranked before you move any further because you want to make sure you're buying a safe and reliable car.  After you figure out what you want (And yes you should figure out what you want and not wait for a dealer to tell you what you want) start doing your research online and see where you can find the car or truck you want for the best price.  Once you've found the location it's time to go shopping.

The next step comes either at the dealership or with your salesman if you're doing a private purchase (If that's what you're into then you should probably stop reading here because I can't really offer advice on that).  Before you even talk to anyone you have to know two things if you're trading in: 1. How much you want for your car & 2. How much you want to pay a month for your new car.  You can find out what you want for your car by going to a site like Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) and then you may want to take off a couple thousand knowing that the dealer won't give you the true blue book value since they need to make a profit on your car.  There are lots of websites that have monthly payment calculators when you enter in the car's price, your trade in value, what you're putting down, and the interest rate for your loan.  Interest rates from banks can also be found either in newspapers or online, so if you do everything ahead of time you should have a good idea on a ballpark figure of what you'll be paying per month. So once you know what you can afford, you can start to see if the car you want is in your price range.

Possibly one of the most important pieces of advice I can give to someone who is new to purchasing cars is to always remain calm around the dealers.  Sure it's exciting to get a new car, especially if you're finally making money and if you've been driving around a hunk of junk for a few years.  Still, you don't want to appear desperate, and you don't want to rush through the process without giving close thought and attention to every detail of the car and your car payments.  Plus, the more time you take, the more time the dealer has to sweeten the deal, which they most likely will attempt if you leave number.  I know my salesperson added a couple hundred bucks to my trade just because I asked if he could do any better when he offered me the initial figure.  You always want to be in control, and the best way to do that is to have your financial limits set and decided on before you purchase the car.  Otherwise you could fall into a trap of payments that are too high or a car that you don't want.

Vehicles and homes are the two most popular large purchases that we can make, and in order to get a good deal it's important to do your research, know the true value of your product, take your time and make a sound decision, and not rush through the process.  Otherwise you could be stuck with a large payment for a product that you don't really want, and that's the nightmare that I hope you all will avoid.

Some Educational TV Too

Looking back at all of my recent TV watching I wonder how my brain hasn't turned into a gray, mushy mass.   I actually get headaches now from watching too much TV, and recently I've gotten a lot of them.  The one way I've been able to justify my TV watching has been to incorporate some educational shows into my wide selection.  It's a good time for it too.  Football season is over, and there are no sports playoffs, so I don't have to watch Sportscenter ever day.  Plus, with all of the specials about the late Joe Paterno, forever one of my heroes, I try not too watch too much ESPN because it's just sad.  Anyway, I just thought that I'd share a couple of shows that I've recently got into.

Pawn Stars on the History Channel airs new shows at 10:30 pm on Monday nights.  The history Channel also shows reruns of Pawn Stars on a pretty regular basis.  This show gives an inside look on a successful pawn shop in Las Vegas.  What sets this pawn shop apart from others is that the owner, Rick Harrison, loves historical and military memorabilia, so a lot of people bring some very unique things into the shop.  Most pawn shops feature things like jewelery, weapons, and electronics, while Rick's shop has some of the most unique, historical artifacts that aren't already in museums.  People have brought him things like missile guidance systems, weapons from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, along with some interesting vehicles and gaming machines.  The amazing part about the show is how much knowledge the pawn brokers have about all of the items that come in.  Rick and his son Corey are huge history buffs, and often surprise customers with all of their knowledge.  The show also has some degree of humor with the cooky "Old Man" Richard Harrison, Rick's Dad, and Chumlee, who for all intensive purposes serves as the village idiot.  I highly recommend this show for it's educational and entertainment value, and I especially recommend it over other pawn shop shows such as Hardcore Pawn and Cajun Pawn Stars.  This show isn't all about the drama but more about showing how these guys use their superior knowledge and negotiating tactics to acquire great items for the price that they want.  Here's a clip to give you a warm up.  Oh, and seasons 1-3 are available on Netflix for instant viewing. 

Another show that has recently hooked me (pun intended) is River Monsters on Animal Planet.  This show follows biologist Jeremy Wade as he travels around the world, searching for fresh water monsters.  These huge fish usually attract Jeremy based on their reputation for killing and sometimes eating people.  Some of the fish that he catches are so big that it scares you to think that they could live in fresh water rivers and lakes.  It's also amazing how this guy is able to catch fish that are sometimes double his weight with just a rod.  Sure it's an industrial strength rod with very strong line, but it's still amazing to watch him battle it out with fish such as Sturgeon and Bull sharks.   The show entertains me because Jeremy shows his talents as an investigator long before he shows his skills as a fisherman.  Often times he ventures to remote areas where the locals revere these river monsters as mythical creatures, and Jeremy is forced to investigate and use science to see what he's actually looking for before he goes on to fish them.  I recommend this show to anyone who already watches animal planet, or to anyone who thinks that fishing for huge fish could be entertaining.  Here's a clip for you, and this show also has three seasons available for instant viewing on Netflix. 

So Much Sofia

You know you have too much time on your hands when you watch two Sofia Coppola movies in one day.  That or you just love movies, and coincidentally the two movies that you choose to watch were directed by Sophia Coppola.  Or all of the above, which applies to me.  Today I watched both Lost in Translation and Somewhere.  I didn't even realize that both films were directed by Sofia until I saw the ending credits.  I then proceeded to imdb her to see what other movies she directed.  It turns out that I've seen most of her films (The ones she directed anyway), and I didn't really love any of them.  Somehow I wonder if Coppola's objective isn't to make you absolutely love her movies but instead to make you think about if you loved her movies over and over again.  For instance, I think back to Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides, and I wonder why I didn't love those movies.  Maybe it's because all of her movies are so sad.  They all end in death, heartbreak, or ambiguity.  How can you love ambiguity?

Anyway, I'm probably one of the last movie lovers alive to have finally watched Lost in Translation so I'll skip that review.  Bill Murray rocks as usual and Scarlett Johansson is once again an underdeveloped yet lovable character purely because she's Scarlett Johansson (Don't call her ScarJo because she apparently hates it).  If you haven't seen it and like movies that are artsy and different then go for it.  It wasn't my favorite but I'm still thinking about it so that must be a good sign.

So I watched Somewhere starring Stephen Dorff, and I'm still thinking about it.  I don't want to judge Dorff, but he wasn't exactly challenged with this role.  He plays a big time Hollywood actor who lives in the Chateau Marmont and has his pick of all the hotties and models in his vicinity.  Now I'm not saying that Mr. Dorff is a womanizer or lives this type of life, but if he doesn't I'm sure he's been around the life long enough to give him plenty of perspective on the role.  He does play a father, and I don't know if he has kids, and so that aspect of the role could have been a stretch.   I liked how the movie was shot and the focus on certain scenes.  The character development wasn't too complex and the plot was somewhat cliche and cheesy.  Again, I'm sure there is some type of higher meaning that I'm not grasping here, but SPOILER ALERT big shot Hollywood actor leaves the life when he finally makes enough time for his daughter?  Cheesey yes, but now that I think about it, it's kind of nice to see someone step up to the plate.  For me, it certainly would be tough to walk away from an endless sea of beautiful women who would gladly climb into bed with me at any given time.  I guess I agree with the moral there.  Still on the fence about this one, obviously.  If you like Sofia's previous films go for it.  And if not, it probably won't be a complete waste of your time.  I mean seriously, you're sitting down watching a movie.  If you had something more important to do then it doesn't matter what movie you're watching because unless you're a paid movie critic, watching the movie probably isn't making you any money.  That sounds materialistic of me, like life is only about making money.  Well we need it to survive right folks? That's why I currently have three jobs not including launching a career as a writer and possibly life coach.  Go ahead and check out Somewhere, and you may be pleasantly surprised.  

Writer's block today.  I'll try harder tomorrow.

My Key to Success

Wouldn't it be nice if some things in life were easy? For instance, why does exercising have to be so damn hard? I just finished my P90X chest and back workout, and I am so sore right now.  A shot of adrenaline or a heavy dose of caffeine straight into my blood stream would be nice.  Although the soreness and time necessary for working out suck, the worst part has to be the fact that there are no instant results with exercising (unless you use PEDs).  I often wonder how people stick with their workouts, and I think I've finally figured it out.  For those people like me, who don't actually enjoy working out, they must tell themselves that it's something that they have to do.  At least that's what I've started to tell myself.  If you don't leave yourself and option of quitting or giving up then you just end up working out by default.  For instance, I've gotten to that point with work and school.  I only missed couple of grad school classes, and I never called out of my last job or student teaching.  When you don't even make calling out an option than it just becomes part of the daily routine.

Hopefully I'll continue to apply this strategy to other aspects of my life such as my career-related goals.   An example is my desire to have my writing published.  If I don't even give myself the option of quitting on that dream, it will have to happen, or I will have tried my hardest to achieve my goal.  Same thing with Life Coaching (Yes I'm currently considering adding Life Coaching to the career carousel known as my life).  The option to put it off or give up must be eliminated and only then will I succeed.  Somehow I feel like this isn't really a secret to success as many of you reading this post have probably already implored my new found strategy.  Nonetheless, I'm just happy to continue to find ways to improve myself and my life.  Success is tough, and I think I've figured out that the first step is eliminating failure as an option.  I'll leave you with a few inspirational images that I think sum up what I'm getting at.

And this one just makes me laugh.