Hey guys,
The blog you're looking at is an accountability journal of sorts, and I hope it will serve as inspiration to anyone who's life is a bit of a wreck, who simply won't give up, and demands more from themselves. Life is a one-shot deal, after all.
I'm 38. I have a little more than 16 months before I turn 40, and I'm not scared. I welcome it because I know when I think about how far I'll have come, I'll be extremely proud of myself. I haven't always been, but over the past two years or so, I've really had time to figure things out. I've had time to learn about who I am, and who I WANT to be.
If you don't know where you're going, you'll get there.
A little background - at least what's relevant to this blog. I just returned to the United States from having lived in China for about 20 months. While I was there, I was married to a Chinese woman, and it pains me to say this, but she has some serious emotional problems that caused the relationship to ultimately fail. **it takes two, and I'm not perfect, either** I did my best to put a positive spin on it for my family, as there were definitely some good times. Over all though, it was definitely a challenge, and at a certain point, it's not worth it. I feel bad to have left her, but we weren't together even two years - I can't imagine living with her for a lifetime. I just couldn't.
While in China, I was doing freelance work. I focused on my artwork, making some money from it, and did some editing work for English papers. I didn't really qualify to teach English because I don't have a Bachelors degree, and my wife didn't want me to have a regular job anyway, because...well, I might work with females! Oh my gosh! Could you possibly imagine?!?! Surely I'll fuck anything that walks, fall in love, and then leave my wife for this new woman. Because of course I will.
Jealousy was a huge issue for her. Abandonment was another.
It's been two years since I've had an actual job with a regular paycheck and health insurance. I miss that.
Now I'm in Portland, Oregon, and on Monday I will participate in a group interview for a phone company job. It's just customer service in a call center, but I have a lot of experience in that. I worked over 6 years at AT&T (a customer service call center for the phone industry), and was a supervisor for 3 of those years, so I imagine I should be able to work my way into a leadership role, and thus, more money rather shortly. That's the plan.
I came here because 1) I've always always wanted to be here (or Seattle), and 2) my brother just recently moved here two months ago himself, getting an awesome gig with one of the major shoe and apparel companies that are headquartered here, and he was kind enough to allow me to stay with him at no charge, though I did give him $100 for the trouble.
I have a total of about $2200, which includes savings. Assuming I get the job, it'll start on October 24th, and it pays $13/hr which I'm actually pretty happy about. Usually these kinds of jobs pay $10-12. Once I start training, I'll find a place to live as close to work as possible, because I don't have a car. I'll just rent a room from someone, because I did the whole "live alone" thing, and while the privacy and freedom are nice, having to pay all the bills yourself is just not worth it. I choose to put put my money to better use. I eventually want a car, afterall, and I'd really like to pay cash. The more I can save, the nicer car I can get, and I'd like to avoid buying a 10 year old Corolla or Civic, if I can.
Speaking of a Civic, my mom is selling mine. It's a 2000 model that I've owned since 2001, and I've taken great care of it. But it's old, and was sitting in her driveway while I was in China, and cost $1500 to get back working. Whatever profit there is, she'll give me, and I'll send to my AMEX, which has a $1,200 balance. Not too bad, but I definitely want to eliminate that as quickly as I can.
I'm loosely following Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. I say loosely, because I'm not "gazelle intense", but I do fully plan to follow the steps in order, and severely cut back on unnecessary expenses such as Starbucks.
As an example, I don't have a car. The public transportation here is pretty good. Certainly better than anywhere else I've lived, and I'm going to take full advantage of it. Not having a car will save me a lot of money. I'm also eating simple foods because 1) they're healthy, and 2) they're cheaper. Sure, I might go out to some place like Panera, Chipotle, or some Fresh Mexican place, but rarely.
When I was in China, I went to Starbucks almost every single day, and McDonalds for breakfast 3-5 times per week. Seriously. But I just don't want to eat noodles and soup for breakfast. You can't go wrong with an Egg McMuffin. At the same time, I'm pretty much over them after having eaten so many in the past 20 months. In fact, I imagine I'll have flashbacks to China if I eat another Egg McMuffin with coffee. When I think of China, I think of Egg McMuffins and Starbucks.
Renting a room will save me money. I'll still do my freelance artwork, which won't make me a lot of money, but every little bit can help, so I'm happy to do it. Plus, I enjoy it.
However, I'm not going to bury my head in my art anymore. I want to spend more time making myself healthier. Going to the gym and meal prepping. When it comes to fitness, I'm going to carb and calorie cycle, per Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle ebook, which is amazing! Workout-wise, I'm probably going to join a gym once I have a couple of paychecks under my belt. I have a plan as to what types of workouts I'll do, but my goal is to add muscle in targeted areas while reducing my bodyfat. I'm aiming for Tom Hardy's look from Warrior.
Participating in Meetup groups, such as a Mandarin Chinese one that I saw. I don't live in China anymore, but I definitely want to continue to practice and improve my Mandarin, because while I don't want to live in China ever again, I certainly think speaking the language is something that can come in useful. If nothing else, it's an ice breaker or gives me something to talk about.
That's the background, best as I can get it down.
Where do I want to be when the fateful 40th birthday comes? By the way, that's February 24th, 2018.
1. I expect to have been promoted at work. Wherever that is, and whatever the new position is. It may be a supervisor, quality assurance, some specialized department, or even a team lead.
2. I want to have a car. Specifically a BMW 335d (only made from 2009-2011) or a newer 328d - paid with CASH. This goal may change, as having a car simply may be too much trouble.
3. I want my bodyfat to be down to around 10-12%. I don't want to be shredded, but I do want to be athletic and look great both with and without a shirt.
4. I will have no debt whatsoever.
5. I want to have completed my foundational wardrobe - a list of the basics to really look put together and which makes great first impressions, date outfits, etc. This includes great business casual wear for work.
If I don't get a car, chances are that I'll have a quality pre-owned bicycle (because Portland LOVES to bike!) such as a Cannondale, and the rest will be in savings. I should have my full emergency fund - $5,000 by this time.
If I can complete those 5 items, I think I'll be very happy when I wake up on my 40th birthday.
I believe they're all attainable, though the car and the emergency fund may be an either/or proposition. Still, the car would be paid in cash, and therefore I will have no debt, whichever direction I take.
I may come back to add pictures to this post. Pictures definitely make blogs more interesting.
As for how often I update the blog, it really depends on what's happened.
For example, I will probably blog after I'm offered a job. I'll blog after my first day at work. I'll blog when I get my first paycheck. I'll blog when I buy one of my foundational wardrobe items. I'll blog whenever something interesting happens, but will try to blog at least once every 2-3 weeks. I also will let you know where I got information, if applicable - such as a book, a Youtube video, or article. The internet is an amazing classroom! Take advantage of it!
Alright guys. That's about it, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this.
Again, it's an accountability blog for myself, but hopefully I'll be able to share some tips or give you all some inspiration if you're in a similar spot in life where things haven't maybe gone as well as you'd like them to, and you're willing to plan and achieve success, no matter how old.
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