Weekend with the kids...

Slept late last night since a friend of mine wanted me to baby sit for his two boys while he was out with his wife and friends. My daughter and I didn't get to bed until 2am. They were out late. My son on the other hand, was able to get to bed early. I took him home while Hayley watched over the boys and they were asleep. Anyway, it was a great time with the kids and the boys.

Saturday afternoon and I'm here at Borders with the kids. Benji wanted to go here instead of Barnes & Noble. The Wi-Fi hotspot is getting worse at Borders. It's always slow or sometimes, you can't even connect. and I'm the only one here with a laptop.

I felt bad this morning, because I only had 2 eggs and 1 strip of bacon. My son had them since he was hungrier. I opted for cereal. Hayley had Pop Tarts. I hate not having money when the kids are around. And I'm trying to figure out what to have for lunch and dinner tonight. One more week and I get to plead to the judge why I need to have my child support payments adjusted. And I hope it does for my benefit. There's just not enough money to go around. The economy is bad and my ex gets the majority of my paycheck and I'm still in arrears.

With so many "bad" dads out there that play the system, it's hard to survive for those dads who actually care about their kids. I just went to bankruptcy court this past week and I feel a little better since I don't owe these people any more money. But the child support payments must keep going. The system is created for the benefit of the women.

I'm ok with it for now. I just hope God can help me out. I need to start saving money for my kids' college fund and my daughter is on her second year in high school. I don't have that much time.

Well, it's almost time for me to drop Hayley off to the mall so she can meet some friends. I'm glad to have baby sat for my friend last night. He gave Hayley some money for the services we all did and I made sure that Benji had some, too.

Friday night without the kids

Well it's been a good night. Had a good 2 mile run after work, followed by cereal for supper then headed out to the local Barnes & Noble book store to catch up on CBS's new series Undercover Boss. Watched some previous episodes online thanks to Barnes & Noble and AT&T free Wi-Fi hot spot. Just finished watching the White Castle episode. When you're financially strapped it's hard to find things to do. Thanks to local bookstores that stays open late, you can read any books available and even use their Wi-Fi for free. It's great to take advantage of these things, so ever so often I'd buy something to help support and maintain these free amenities. A cup of joe is my usual purchase. $1.79 seems steep for a cup of coffee, but with free internet and the wisdom you gain from reading their books, it's not a bad deal. Don't get me wrong, I sometime buy some of the books that I will need in the future to reference. It's just better to purchase them after saving up for them. There are a lot of things you can do without spending money. Sometimes it's just better to have friends around, but sometimes it's better to just be in your own private cave.

Headed home and hopefully get a good night rest and be ready to work at a local computer store part time to earn some cash. To me it's really not about the money but the knowledge I learn working on computers. I didn't realize how easy it is to disassemble a laptop. And now I find myself sometimes taking apart my laptop thinking of adding a built-in camera.

That's all for tonight.

Weekend after the kids.

Well the weekend with the kids was short-lived. It's all good. We had a great time. Borders at night then helped with Cooks for Christ on Saturday afternoon. The great thing about it is the good feeling you get for helping feed the homeless, not to mention free dinner afterwards not to mention sampling the food while you fix it.

After the kids were picked up by their mom, I headed out to the bowling alley for the Singles group night. It was ok. I scored better than anyone else. Lots of nice people but overall a good experience.

That's pretty much it. I'm still trying to increase my financial IQ. I'm reading "The Richest Man in Babylon". I'm on chapter 5 and lots of interesting information.

When you get to this point in life, it's better to be constructive than destructive.

Rainy Friday

The day started out really nice. Then the storm came. Got soaking wet trying to fill up the tank at Kroger's this afternoon, even though there was a roof. It was raining sideways. Anyway, weekend with the kids and it's Borders night. We had Domino's Pizza for dinner and it's the best pizza I've ever had from them. Not to mention that they were having a 2 medium/2 topping for $5.99 each. Pizza has always been expensive until just recently when all the competing pizza names started their own $10.00 pizza for whatever topping you want. These days, the only way that company can have people to buy their product, is it's on sale. The economy is tough and you have to do anything to survive the economy. I started couponing. I found a site called Coupon Mom (www.couponmom.com). They email subscribers weekly coupon specials. They actually have some good deals every now and then. But sometimes, just buying the off brand can still save money.

Anyway, that's it for tonight. I need to finish up a book: The Richest Man in Babylon.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

It's been a few days since my last blog. I had a great time last night with the kids, but spent too much money at the Oriental store. We all got a few snacks and shared different kinds of mochi. Texture feels like flesh in your mouth - Not that I've actually eaten real flesh, but it does. Anyway, we got home and watch the remaining last episodes of Lost. I didn't know the kids liked watching it. They said that they only watch it while at my place.

Last night's dinner was spaghetti but since I had some calamari left from lunch, my daughter tried it with some rice and she actually liked it. We took pictures of her eating the squid when it was about to enter into her mouth. It looked creepy since the tentacles were pretty clear.

Today I had to spend the early part of the day with my sales manager and it's always fun to bring him along. Didn't sell anything, but I got a free lunch out of it by taking a client out. After work, I thought I'd join a local singles softball league practice, but I got there a little late since I didn't know exactly where the field was located. I finally found the group, but it was getting dark, so practice was over quick. Now as I sit here at borders, this guy actually brought his own chicken dinner at the cafe area and surfing the web while he eats the chicken with his bare hands. I don't think I even saw him go to the restroom and wash his hands. He just took the box out of a grocery plastic bag and started munching. Incredible.

It was an uneventful day and after this blog, I think I'll finish up reading a book.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

After I got home last night, I finished up the laundry. Went to bed late after watching a few movies.

Today, I went to my part time job. It's really part time, because I work there every other Saturdays that I don't have the kids. I work at a computer store repairing computers to broaden up my horizon. I figure after learning this for about a year, maybe, just maybe I can start my own. I already know a little about desktop PCs but I have no knowledge fixing laptops. That's where the money is nowadays since everyone is on the go. It's very easy to break laptops since they are portable and they are made out of plastic. Unless people are wealthy enough to buy Kevlar-cased laptops that can drop from 3 storey building and it'll function just fine. Also since most are made of plastic, after taking it apart, it's hard to put back together again the same way when it was functional. Everything is attached together with adhesives and screws. The screws can be screwed back on, but the adhesive part is difficult to take apart. Anyway, it was a long day today and since I'm still in-training, I don't get paid. It's ok by me since I'm learning a lot, I get free lunch and it's unwasted, creative time spent.

Well that's all for today. Time to head to home and catch up on some movies and get a good night's rest.

Friday, March 5, 2010

It's Friday and I haven't posted anything all week. I'd probably blog more if I have internet at home. The great thing about having a laptop is that you can go to a free wi-fi establishment and enjoy the amenities that goes along with the unlimited cup of coffee. Buy a tall cup of coffee for $1.78 and you got yourself a warm cup of coffee, free internet, free electricity and meet new people.

Where do I start? Well, last night I took the kids and their maternal grandparents to the VIP premiere of the Broadway musical, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Coat at The Miracle Theater starring American Idol finalist, Melinda Doolittle. It was an awesome show! Red carpet treatment, hors d'oeuvres, comp tickets and oh, did I mention the show was awesome? The drawback from all this was the drive time and how late it was. I feel bad for the kids, but it was once a lifetime and it was free. I take advantage of every little things like this because one, it doesn't cost me anything; two, it's time spent with the kids; and three it's something to add to their childhood memory with dad.

I miss the kids when I don't have them on weekends. I always find something to occupy my time. I try to do things that are constructive. Like tonight, after eating at my client's burger joint, I headed out to Borders to catch up on my reading. I'm on Chapter 10 of Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. In the last nine chapters I read, I notice that it's about thinking about your self and greed. He mentioned in his book that you need to pay your self first. That greed is good. I'm thinking, this totally goes against my Christian values. Then he ended Chapter 9 about the importance of giving to others. His "Rich Dad" mention that tithing is important and that when you give, it comes back to you tenfolds. Well, I'm paraphrasing. But you get my point.

I understand the importance of giving. I tithe what I get into my bank account. That's after the deductions and the child support. I think God understands my situation and he's helping me out. Not long ago, I went out to lunch with an old friend. She was telling me how it's a struggle in her business, and that she wish that she can tithe again. I was a little surprised. She drives a nice car and owns her own home and she's single. I'm thinking, she's headed for disaster.

I subscribe to the idea that if you don't tithe, you are robbing God. We are obligated to give him the Tithe. He said it in the Bible. I believe that God owes us nothing and that we owe him for giving us the opportunity to live life. Life is what you make of it. It's not what you get in life, but what you give back.

I donate about 4-6 hours of my time once a month helping feed the homeless. I go to the homeless shelter, help out in the kitchen cook, prepare, and serve the homeless in the community. Sometimes I bring the kids with me when it's the weekend I have them. I they enjoy it just as much as I do. It's time spent with them, free food, and it gives you a tingling feeling afterwards that you did something good that day.

Anyway, that's all for tonight.