What's good Realtalk readers? So the sequester moves forward following March 1 as a result of Congress failing to come to an agreement on a budget and debt and deficit reduction. The way they fail to solve the American
People's life-affecting problems until the 11th hour, and sometimes not
at all, I think we should rename the drama in Washington that we as Americans come to
know as Congress. I'm thinking more along the lines of the soap opera
"Days of Our Lives."
No elephant for the Republican. No donkey for the Democrat.
Just give Congress one unified symbol: the HOURGLASS!
Putting politics aside, yours truly has been staying active as of late and working towards some goals that I set for myself in 2013. Just a few weeks ago, my airfare to Las Vegas was paid for and finalized. Just this past week, I managed to reserve my room at the lovely Hooters Resort and Casino located off Tropicana Ave. While the Hooters Resort is not exactly the Bellagio or the MGM Grand, it's a reasonably nice resort that happens to be walking distance from the MGM Grand as well a number of other reputable hotels and casinos. I'll be staying at the Hooters Resort and Casino for the entire period of time I'm in Las Vegas. I'm satisfied that I managed to get a pretty good rate for all six nights.
Over the course of the past few weeks, I am proud to reveal that I have been waking up at 5AM to go work out at LA Fitness. On average I've been working out four to five days a week with my focus directed at all the major muscle groups including but not limited to chest, biceps, triceps, back (upper and lower), abs, and legs. Tomorrow morning I'll be working on my legs again. I've remained consistent with my vastly improved diet and protein shakes, so it's sufficient to say that I have made significant progress from a health perspective. As I've repeatedly told my friends and acquaintances who claim I'm doing a good job with this, "We'll see how long I can keep this up." My motivation is looking better, feeling better, being a little healthier, and having a beautiful specimen of a body to exhibit when summer arrives and beach season is upon us. You can rest assured there will be plenty of trips to the shore this year.
My federal and state tax refunds were finally deposited into my bank account last week. It took a while for it to happen, considering the fact that I filed my tax return on Sunday, February 3. However, the tax refunds this year could conceivably take up to 21 days to be processed due to the fiscal cliff drama that recently took place in Washington (when is there NOT drama in Washington? I think they should give Congress a new name - "Days of our Lives" nicknamed after the renowned soap opera).
Nonetheless, I received my money and I am being wise in regards to how I am allocating and investing that money. Part of my plan is to research rent to own properties that I can possibly pursue within the next few months. First, I'll need to save towards a down payment for a rent to own property. My plan for that goal is to reduce my credit card balance to $0 and save $2,500 for a potential down payment by June 1, 2013. The time to start working towards that goal is NOW.
In terms of upcoming events other than Las Vegas in May, I'm also looking forward to St Patrick's Day/Ray's birthday. For the first time in a number of years, our celebration of St Patrick's Day/Ray's Birthday will deviate from the tradition of going into New York City. This year we're celebrating in New Brunswick. The birthday boy's plan is to celebrate at Brother Jimmie's. Hopefully a trip to Harvest Moon is also in the works for that celebration, but it's entirely up to the birthday boy.
More to come. Stay tuned.
