Hero In Car Crazy LA!

It is funny how heroes pop up unexpectantly. They can be the man who gives you the last seat on the bus when your hands are full or the lady who gives you the dime you are lacking for your daily cuppa joe. There are heroes all around us if we just take the time to notice them.

My hero today comes in the form of my mechanic, James! I found James when I moved in with Val, my roommate. He has worked on her cars for years and I was looking for a good mechanic. I found one in James. He is honest, fair and because he knows we live paycheck to paycheck in our house, he only charges for parts on the little stuff! The only caveat to James is he doesn't work on the weekends. That is the time he spends with his family so you can't fault him for that!

James is my hero today because he has helped me out of a jam! This is the week before payday, the week where I usually have $50 to my name, if I am lucky! Imagine my dismay when I got in my car after work to find I was driving in pitch-black darkness! No lights! Not a glimmer! Of course, my main thought was "what if I hit a dog" but the cops that passed me and flashed may have given me a ticket to worry about! If I worked during the day, I could wait until I had the money to fix it but I work until midnight so I have to drive at night! No buses run, roommates are usually asleep...I really have no other way to get back and forth to work! I tried replacing the fuse but that wasn't the issue!

Begrudingly I took the car in so it could be looked at! I braced myself for a big bill as car repairs are never cheap, right? Not with James! He looked around and within a 1/2 hour discovered that I kicked some cable loose! I held my breath and asked him what it would cost...$5. FIVE dollars! The beauty of this is that where most mechanics would charge at least an hour for labor and then the parts....James only charged for the little connector that was kicked loose! $5!

James is a hero because in a sea of opportunistic guys that see dollar signs when a woman walks into their shop, he is honest and fair! Sometimes, not fair to himself but fair to us! How comforting and refreshing!

Lucky Luc

Luc Robitaille has many of the same characteristics of yesterday's hero, Magic Johnson. He makes the impossible seem easy, he is extremely talented and he is an amazing person off the ice! While I admire Luc tremendously for being the top scoring left wing in history and one of the most successful late round draft picks in sports, it is what he meant to me off the ice that makes him one of my heroes.

Luc became my favorite player the moment he stepped on the ice during the first hockey game I ever attended. He was in his third year in the NHL and as a Montreal transplant, he barely spoke english. But boy could he score goals! I think he scored two that game, including the game winner with just a couple of minutes to spare and I said "he's my favorite player". I peppered my friend Howard with non-stop questions and with the help of Bob Miller, Kings play by play man, I learned more about hockey than I thought possible! I became hooked! I listened or watched every game and by the next season I had my own season seats, was active in the booster club and went on a road trip to Winnepeg in the dead of March! My first and last experience in sub-zero temps! All because of this player I fell in love with!

While the player called Lucky Luc caught my eye with his exciting goal scoring on the ice, it was his sweet, fan loving nature off the ice that captured my heart. I would wait for him before or after games and he would always stop and say hi! He would ask me how school was going and never denied a picture or autograph. Not just from me but from anyone! I rarely saw less than a smile on his face and he was always willing to talk briefly with the fans about the game. When they talk about fan favorites in any sport in this town, Luc's name comes up even though he has been retired for two years! You still see his name on jerseys at games!

My favorite Luc story came after he had been traded! I missed him greatly and his trade from LA broke my heart! I was in Anaheim hanging out with a mutual friend of Luc's and mine. She had to go to the team hotel to give something to him and I went along. I had no intent of bothering him and waited in the car. Next thing I know, my friend is tapping on the window and asking me to come into the hotel with her. I didn't want to be one of "those" fans but begrudgingly went with her. I am glad I did because when she told Luc I was down in the car, he came downstairs to say hi! I was shocked and thrilled! The meeting was brief but I got to tell him how much I miss him and he let me know how much he missed LA and all the fans! That he would come down to say hi meant the world and will always typify just what kind of guy Luc is!

He no long plays in the NHL but is active in LA sports. He works in the front office for the Kings in, what else, community affairs. He may not have won a championship as a King but he won something just as big, the life long admiration and love of the fickle fans of this city! An athlete and person as special as Luc deserves it!

Lucky Luc

Luc Robitaille has many of the same characteristics of yesterday's hero, Magic Johnson. He makes the impossible seem easy, he is extremely talented and he is an amazing person off the ice! While I admire Luc tremendously for being the top scoring left wing in history and one of the most successful late round draft picks in sports, it is what he meant to me off the ice that makes him one of my heroes.

Luc became my favorite player the moment he stepped on the ice during the first hockey game I ever attended. He was in his third year in the NHL and as a Montreal transplant, he barely spoke english. But boy could he score goals! I think he scored two that game, including the game winner with just a couple of minutes to spare and I said "he's my favorite player". I peppered my friend Howard with non-stop questions and with the help of Bob Miller, Kings play by play man, I learned more about hockey than I thought possible! I became hooked! I listened or watched every game and by the next season I had my own season seats, was active in the booster club and went on a road trip to Winnepeg in the dead of March! My first and last experience in sub-zero temps! All because of this player I fell in love with!

While the player called Lucky Luc caught my eye with his exciting goal scoring on the ice, it was his sweet, fan loving nature off the ice that captured my heart. I would wait for him before or after games and he would always stop and say hi! He would ask me how school was going and never denied a picture or autograph. Not just from me but from anyone! I rarely saw less than a smile on his face and he was always willing to talk briefly with the fans about the game. When they talk about fan favorites in any sport in this town, Luc's name comes up even though he has been retired for two years! You still see his name on jerseys at games!

My favorite Luc story came after he had been traded! I missed him greatly and his trade from LA broke my heart! I was in Anaheim hanging out with a mutual friend of Luc's and mine. She had to go to the team hotel to give something to him and I went along. I had no intent of bothering him and waited in the car. Next thing I know, my friend is tapping on the window and asking me to come into the hotel with her. I didn't want to be one of "those" fans but begrudgingly went with her. I am glad I did because when she told Luc I was down in the car, he came downstairs to say hi! I was shocked and thrilled! The meeting was brief but I got to tell him how much I miss him and he let me know how much he missed LA and all the fans! That he would come down to say hi meant the world and will always typify just what kind of guy Luc is!

He no long plays in the NHL but is active in LA sports. He works in the front office for the Kings in, what else, community affairs. He may not have won a championship as a King but he won something just as big, the life long admiration and love of the fickle fans of this city! An athlete and person as special as Luc deserves it!

Hero On And Off The Court

I am watching the NBA Finals today and a familar face pops up on the screen! Seeing him reminded me of a time not unlike now. The city is going crazy! Merchandise on every corner! You couldn't go anywhere without people talking about the Lakers! And the one player on on everyone's lips: Magic!

I had no idea what I was getting into when I watched my first Laker game. The year was 1985 and I was crazy about Richie Sambora and hanging out with my friend Howard, both guys huge Laker fans. So I thought I would see what all the hoopla was about.

It was an exciting time to be a Laker fan and Magic was leading the charge with teammates Worthy, Rambus, Green and Coach Pat Riley I immediately became enthralled with the guy smiling up and down the court! The "junior sky hook" and his ability to obtain the "double double" almost at will made Magic a joy to watch. I loved watching Magic as he and Kareem Abdul Jabar led the team to the first of two consecutive championships, the first franchise to achieve that milestone! Through Magic and the Lakers, I discovered the excitement of professional sports, a love I have to this day!

Magic continues to be an inspiration even after leaving the NBA. He works tirelessly to bring business to the intercity with his Magic Johnson chain of theatres and since his disclosure of having HIV, he has been speaking on behalf of AIDS research and funding.

I admire Magic not only for his grace and talent off the court but his bravery off the court. He shows us that an HIV diagnosis doesn't have to keep you from being legendary.

Hero On And Off The Court

I am watching the NBA Finals today and a familar face pops up on the screen! Seeing him reminded me of a time not unlike now. The city is going crazy! Merchandise on every corner! You couldn't go anywhere without people talking about the Lakers! And the one player on on everyone's lips: Magic!

I had no idea what I was getting into when I watched my first Laker game. The year was 1985 and I was crazy about Richie Sambora and hanging out with my friend Howard, both guys huge Laker fans. So I thought I would see what all the hoopla was about.

It was an exciting time to be a Laker fan and Magic was leading the charge with teammates Worthy, Rambus, Green and Coach Pat Riley I immediately became enthralled with the guy smiling up and down the court! The "junior sky hook" and his ability to obtain the "double double" almost at will made Magic a joy to watch. I loved watching Magic as he and Kareem Abdul Jabar led the team to the first of two consecutive championships, the first franchise to achieve that milestone! Through Magic and the Lakers, I discovered the excitement of professional sports, a love I have to this day!

Magic continues to be an inspiration even after leaving the NBA. He works tirelessly to bring business to the intercity with his Magic Johnson chain of theatres and since his disclosure of having HIV, he has been speaking on behalf of AIDS research and funding.

I admire Magic not only for his grace and talent off the court but his bravery off the court. He shows us that an HIV diagnosis doesn't have to keep you from being legendary.

Show Me The Writing

The year is 1970. A young boy, looking to escape boredom and an oppresive mother, leaves his San Diego home to go on the road with a rock band and report back to a rock magazine. The scenario served as the basis for one of my all-time favorite movies "Almost Famous" and is based on the life of one of my favorite writers, Cameron Crowe.

Crowe grew up a very bright child and as a result of skipping grades, was several years younger than his high school classmates. To make up for lacking in the social life department, he joined his high school newspaper and by age 13 was writing for a local San Diego rock newspaper. He graduated high school by age 15 and while on a trip to LA, met Ben Fong Torres, who hired Crowe to write for Rolling Stone. He shortly joined the magazine staff becoming Contributing Editor and Associate Editor. He was, and still is, the magazines all-time youngest contributor.

Crowe was a fan of a lot of 70's hard rock bands and would write about bands the older writers hated. It was this reason he would get a lot of major interviews. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle Fong-Torres remarked, ""He was the guy we sent out after some difficult customers. He covered the bands that hated Rolling Stone."

At age 22, Crowe felt a career change was needed. When Rolling Stone moved from LA to NY, Crowe stayed behind to work on a book idea he had. It was about a young guy posing as a high school student and the types of kids at the school. "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" was optioned as a movie before the book even came out. And a career as a screenwriter was born.

Crowe is responsible for some of my favorite movies. Aside from "Almost Famous" and "Elizabethtown", Crowe wrote and directed "Jerry Maguire". "Jerry Maguire" is the story of a egocentric, money driven sports agent who develops a conscience and realizes he has a heart and soul. Heart and soul are at the center of most Cameron Crowe movies. From Penny Lane to Rod Tidwell, Crowe writes characters and stories that are funny and have heart. He shows the human and funny side of life.

Cameron Crowe is a hero to me as a writer and as someone who knew what he wanted to do from the get go! He lived his dream, reinventied himself and continues to be succesful to this day. I hope to someday read a review of my screenplay and have it remind the reviewer of Cameron Crowe!

Show Me The Writing

The year is 1970. A young boy, looking to escape boredom and an oppresive mother, leaves his San Diego home to go on the road with a rock band and report back to a rock magazine. The scenario served as the basis for one of my all-time favorite movies "Almost Famous" and is based on the life of one of my favorite writers, Cameron Crowe.

Crowe grew up a very bright child and as a result of skipping grades, was several years younger than his high school classmates. To make up for lacking in the social life department, he joined his high school newspaper and by age 13 was writing for a local San Diego rock newspaper. He graduated high school by age 15 and while on a trip to LA, met Ben Fong Torres, who hired Crowe to write for Rolling Stone. He shortly joined the magazine staff becoming Contributing Editor and Associate Editor. He was, and still is, the magazines all-time youngest contributor.

Crowe was a fan of a lot of 70's hard rock bands and would write about bands the older writers hated. It was this reason he would get a lot of major interviews. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle Fong-Torres remarked, ""He was the guy we sent out after some difficult customers. He covered the bands that hated Rolling Stone."

At age 22, Crowe felt a career change was needed. When Rolling Stone moved from LA to NY, Crowe stayed behind to work on a book idea he had. It was about a young guy posing as a high school student and the types of kids at the school. "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" was optioned as a movie before the book even came out. And a career as a screenwriter was born.

Crowe is responsible for some of my favorite movies. Aside from "Almost Famous" and "Elizabethtown", Crowe wrote and directed "Jerry Maguire". "Jerry Maguire" is the story of a egocentric, money driven sports agent who develops a conscience and realizes he has a heart and soul. Heart and soul are at the center of most Cameron Crowe movies. From Penny Lane to Rod Tidwell, Crowe writes characters and stories that are funny and have heart. He shows the human and funny side of life.

Cameron Crowe is a hero to me as a writer and as someone who knew what he wanted to do from the get go! He lived his dream, reinventied himself and continues to be succesful to this day. I hope to someday read a review of my screenplay and have it remind the reviewer of Cameron Crowe!

It's A Dogs Life

Snoopy is my hero for several reasons:

1) he believes in diversity as he is a friend to humans as well as birds



2) He is a great decorator (just witness his house at Christmas)



3) He knows the benefit of just kickin it and not stressing out




All those reasons are great but I love Snoopy because he shows us the power of a limitless imagination! Snoopy never believes he's a dog! When he isn't Joe Cool, coolest guy on campus,



he is a World War 1 Flying Ace, fighting off the dreaded Red Baron!



Snoopy shows us that we can be whatever we want to be, whenever we want to be it! As long as we live our lives with joy, all is right with the world!

It's A Dogs Life

Snoopy is my hero for several reasons:

1) he believes in diversity as he is a friend to humans as well as birds



2) He is a great decorator (just witness his house at Christmas)



3) He knows the benefit of just kickin it and not stressing out




All those reasons are great but I love Snoopy because he shows us the power of a limitless imagination! Snoopy never believes he's a dog! When he isn't Joe Cool, coolest guy on campus,



he is a World War 1 Flying Ace, fighting off the dreaded Red Baron!



Snoopy shows us that we can be whatever we want to be, whenever we want to be it! As long as we live our lives with joy, all is right with the world!

Heroes With Heart

For one weekend every June, Terri and I spend a wonderful day among some of the most wonderful uplifting people you will ever meet! These are people that come together every year from all over California to compete! The great thing is that weekend isn't about winning, it's about the journey!

"Let me win but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt" is the motto of Special Olympics. Special Olympics is an organization that sponsors athletic programs for people with disabilities. These are people who may otherwise be shunned by society, but through Special Olympics, they find a way to see their potential. They find belief in themselves and that belief spills over into their daily lives as well. Competing with Special Olympics is a way for many athletes to find basic humans need such as dignity, respect,and acceptance.

Special Olympics is my favorite volunteer event and one of the most uplifting weekends of my year! Being around these joyful, loving athletes is an amazing experience! They think nothing about coming up to you and giving you a hug, showing you their medals, laughing when they fall! These athletes operate with joy even though conventional wisdom says that they shouldn't! What would a person with disabilities have to be so joyful about? I tell you, they are joyful because through Special Olympics they are seen as no different from you and me! They have a purpose, a goal. They are seen as successful just by being there! The person who finishes dead last in a race of 20 is no less of a person than the one that came in first. The joy is found in trying! The success is in finishing the race, not how quickly!

When you volunteer with Special Olympics you see possibility! You see how love and kindness can transform someones life into a life filled with potential and joy! The great thing is that love and joy comes back to you in the smile of a person who finished a race long after everyone else but they finished! It comes back to you in the athlete with medals around his neck of all varities! It comes back to you when the athlete takes you to meet his co-workers from Toyota, who are awesome in helping athletes find jobs and be productive in their community! You can't help but want to go out and spread that love and joy yourself! Special Olympic events show us that the world can operate with love and acceptance if we want it to!

Special Olympians are heroes to me because they show me what can happen when you belive in yourself! They embody the spirit of love and belive in the joy of the attempt. Imagine the possibilities of a world where we all lived like that!

Please visit the Special Olympics website for more info on how to volunteer, join them on Twitter or become a fan! You won't regret it!

Heroes With Heart

For one weekend every June, Terri and I spend a wonderful day among some of the most wonderful uplifting people you will ever meet! These are people that come together every year from all over California to compete! The great thing is that weekend isn't about winning, it's about the journey!

"Let me win but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt" is the motto of Special Olympics. Special Olympics is an organization that sponsors athletic programs for people with disabilities. These are people who may otherwise be shunned by society, but through Special Olympics, they find a way to see their potential. They find belief in themselves and that belief spills over into their daily lives as well. Competing with Special Olympics is a way for many athletes to find basic humans need such as dignity, respect,and acceptance.

Special Olympics is my favorite volunteer event and one of the most uplifting weekends of my year! Being around these joyful, loving athletes is an amazing experience! They think nothing about coming up to you and giving you a hug, showing you their medals, laughing when they fall! These athletes operate with joy even though conventional wisdom says that they shouldn't! What would a person with disabilities have to be so joyful about? I tell you, they are joyful because through Special Olympics they are seen as no different from you and me! They have a purpose, a goal. They are seen as successful just by being there! The person who finishes dead last in a race of 20 is no less of a person than the one that came in first. The joy is found in trying! The success is in finishing the race, not how quickly!

When you volunteer with Special Olympics you see possibility! You see how love and kindness can transform someones life into a life filled with potential and joy! The great thing is that love and joy comes back to you in the smile of a person who finished a race long after everyone else but they finished! It comes back to you in the athlete with medals around his neck of all varities! It comes back to you when the athlete takes you to meet his co-workers from Toyota, who are awesome in helping athletes find jobs and be productive in their community! You can't help but want to go out and spread that love and joy yourself! Special Olympic events show us that the world can operate with love and acceptance if we want it to!

Special Olympians are heroes to me because they show me what can happen when you belive in yourself! They embody the spirit of love and belive in the joy of the attempt. Imagine the possibilities of a world where we all lived like that!

Please visit the Special Olympics website for more info on how to volunteer, join them on Twitter or become a fan! You won't regret it!

Heroes To Homeless Pets and Animal Lovers!

At Angel Canyon, just outside the town of Kanab, sits a 33,000-acre ranch in the heart of majestic red-rock country of southern Utah. The ranch is home on any given day to about 1,700 animals. Most of these are dogs and cats, but there are also horses, burros, birds, rabbits, goats, farm animals, and an assortment of other creatures. The animals come from all over the country, and sometimes beyond - mostly from shelters that don't have the resources to rehabilitate them and where they would otherwise be destroyed. In exchange, many of these shelters take back animals that are ready to be placed in good homes.

This sanctuary, known to Nat Geo viewers as "Dogtown", is formally called Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. It is through the show about the efforts to rehabilitate the Michael Vick dogs that I became aware of Best Friends. I was very interested so I went to their awesome website to find out more.

Best Friends began in Arizona in the 1970s with a group of animal lovers who were unwilling to accept the conventional wisdom of the time that humane societies and shelters "had no choice" but to kill their unadoptable animals. In a pilot program they rescued animals from shelters where their luck was about to run out, rehabilitated them, and found homes for hundreds of these cast-off cats and dogs. Those who were still unadoptable formed a crazy group lovable creatures whose numbers grew until Best Friends was established in the early 1980s as a large and unique sanctuary at Angel Canyon in Utah.

Best Friends has quickly grown to be the flagship of the rapidly growing no-kill movement. Central to this is their work to create a world where there are No More Homeless Pets. This goal became central to the work of Best Friends, and by the end of the decade the number of animals being killed in shelters had dropped from about 15 million in 1990 to less than 5 million. The No More Homeless Pets campaign is a concerted spay/neuter, adoption, and public awareness campaign to bring an end to the killing of homeless animals in shelters. All across the country, grassroots organizations, humane societies, and local governments are bidding farewell to the outdated notion that killing millions of homeless pets every year in "shelters" is some kind of inevitable and acceptable "necessary evil.

According to Best Friends.org, the organization believes that "No More Homeless Pets is an obtainable goal". No More Homeless Pets in Utah, a nonprofit organization supported by Best Friends Animal Society, has maintained reliable statewide statistics in Utah for a number of years. In 1999, over 46,000 animals were killed in Utah shelters. Today, that number has decreased by 30 percent. This remarkable achievement is due to the success of spay/neuter and adoption programs, and a growing public sentiment that dogs, cats, and other pets should be valued as family members. Every week, more humane societies, animal welfare groups, animal control authorities, and concerned citizens are committing themselves to the goal of bringing an end to the killing in their own neighborhoods, cities, or states, due in no small part to the work being done by Best Friends.

Best Friends offers programs like Best Friends Network, an interactive online community connecting people and organizations through kindness to animals. They sponsor confrences, a wonderful magazine and host The Best Friends website, which is updated biweekly with news about the sanctuary and news about No More Homeless Pets efforts and programs around the country. The website also provides a Resource Library to help individuals and organizations help animals.

As a Angelino, I am excited to see that Best Friends staff members and volunteers coordinate programs in Los Angeles with the goal of helping L.A. become a No More Homeless Pets city. Programs include adoption events, spay/neuter programs, and public awareness campaigns. Best Friends support a model campaign, working with shelters and humane societies to bring an end to the killing of healthy homeless pets.

The folks at Best Friends work tirelessly behind their heartfelt mission to lead a kindness revolution that transforms the way people relate to animals, nature and each other. It is this mission Best Friends believes will lead to "A better world through kindness to animals". Working to better the world for both humans and animals makes the folks at Best Friends true heroes.

PLEASE visit the Best Friends website for more information on the many progams and resources Best Friends have to offer. To see them in action, tune into "Dogtown" on Nat Geo.

Heroes To Homeless Pets and Animal Lovers!

At Angel Canyon, just outside the town of Kanab, sits a 33,000-acre ranch in the heart of majestic red-rock country of southern Utah. The ranch is home on any given day to about 1,700 animals. Most of these are dogs and cats, but there are also horses, burros, birds, rabbits, goats, farm animals, and an assortment of other creatures. The animals come from all over the country, and sometimes beyond - mostly from shelters that don't have the resources to rehabilitate them and where they would otherwise be destroyed. In exchange, many of these shelters take back animals that are ready to be placed in good homes.

This sanctuary, known to Nat Geo viewers as "Dogtown", is formally called Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. It is through the show about the efforts to rehabilitate the Michael Vick dogs that I became aware of Best Friends. I was very interested so I went to their awesome website to find out more.

Best Friends began in Arizona in the 1970s with a group of animal lovers who were unwilling to accept the conventional wisdom of the time that humane societies and shelters "had no choice" but to kill their unadoptable animals. In a pilot program they rescued animals from shelters where their luck was about to run out, rehabilitated them, and found homes for hundreds of these cast-off cats and dogs. Those who were still unadoptable formed a crazy group lovable creatures whose numbers grew until Best Friends was established in the early 1980s as a large and unique sanctuary at Angel Canyon in Utah.

Best Friends has quickly grown to be the flagship of the rapidly growing no-kill movement. Central to this is their work to create a world where there are No More Homeless Pets. This goal became central to the work of Best Friends, and by the end of the decade the number of animals being killed in shelters had dropped from about 15 million in 1990 to less than 5 million. The No More Homeless Pets campaign is a concerted spay/neuter, adoption, and public awareness campaign to bring an end to the killing of homeless animals in shelters. All across the country, grassroots organizations, humane societies, and local governments are bidding farewell to the outdated notion that killing millions of homeless pets every year in "shelters" is some kind of inevitable and acceptable "necessary evil.

According to Best Friends.org, the organization believes that "No More Homeless Pets is an obtainable goal". No More Homeless Pets in Utah, a nonprofit organization supported by Best Friends Animal Society, has maintained reliable statewide statistics in Utah for a number of years. In 1999, over 46,000 animals were killed in Utah shelters. Today, that number has decreased by 30 percent. This remarkable achievement is due to the success of spay/neuter and adoption programs, and a growing public sentiment that dogs, cats, and other pets should be valued as family members. Every week, more humane societies, animal welfare groups, animal control authorities, and concerned citizens are committing themselves to the goal of bringing an end to the killing in their own neighborhoods, cities, or states, due in no small part to the work being done by Best Friends.

Best Friends offers programs like Best Friends Network, an interactive online community connecting people and organizations through kindness to animals. They sponsor confrences, a wonderful magazine and host The Best Friends website, which is updated biweekly with news about the sanctuary and news about No More Homeless Pets efforts and programs around the country. The website also provides a Resource Library to help individuals and organizations help animals.

As a Angelino, I am excited to see that Best Friends staff members and volunteers coordinate programs in Los Angeles with the goal of helping L.A. become a No More Homeless Pets city. Programs include adoption events, spay/neuter programs, and public awareness campaigns. Best Friends support a model campaign, working with shelters and humane societies to bring an end to the killing of healthy homeless pets.

The folks at Best Friends work tirelessly behind their heartfelt mission to lead a kindness revolution that transforms the way people relate to animals, nature and each other. It is this mission Best Friends believes will lead to "A better world through kindness to animals". Working to better the world for both humans and animals makes the folks at Best Friends true heroes.

PLEASE visit the Best Friends website for more information on the many progams and resources Best Friends have to offer. To see them in action, tune into "Dogtown" on Nat Geo.

Welcome To The Month Of Heroes

Here we are at the beginning of another month. 30 days to blog away! I really enjoyed our “blog a day in the month of may” challenge as it sparked my creativity and challenged my lack of discipline. But what to do in the month of June?

The theme of this month according to na blo po mo is heroes. At first, I thought I couldn’t play along. I don’t usually frequent places heroes hang out! I am not a Science Fiction aficionado and haven’t read a comic book since Jughead and Archie were in high school and I was in grade school. I only watched the show “Heroes” a few times before I quit trying to follow along.

It was when I looked up the definition of a hero that I got it. Heroes don't have to be comic book characters or super friends. They can be people with noble qualities, abilities, people who have made a diffence in my life and/or the lives of others. What makes a hero is their ability to overcome insurrmountable odds or to just simply make a difference or an impact on another.

I sat last night and made a list of my heroes. Some I know personally, others who I know only by the impact they have made on my life, others who I know only by virtue of them visiting me via TV! I am looking forward to letting you know about them...one blog and one day at a time!

Welcome To The Month Of Heroes

Here we are at the beginning of another month. 30 days to blog away! I really enjoyed our “blog a day in the month of may” challenge as it sparked my creativity and challenged my lack of discipline. But what to do in the month of June?

The theme of this month according to na blo po mo is heroes. At first, I thought I couldn’t play along. I don’t usually frequent places heroes hang out! I am not a Science Fiction aficionado and haven’t read a comic book since Jughead and Archie were in high school and I was in grade school. I only watched the show “Heroes” a few times before I quit trying to follow along.

It was when I looked up the definition of a hero that I got it. Heroes don't have to be comic book characters or super friends. They can be people with noble qualities, abilities, people who have made a diffence in my life and/or the lives of others. What makes a hero is their ability to overcome insurrmountable odds or to just simply make a difference or an impact on another.

I sat last night and made a list of my heroes. Some I know personally, others who I know only by the impact they have made on my life, others who I know only by virtue of them visiting me via TV! I am looking forward to letting you know about them...one blog and one day at a time!

The Glory Of The "Crackberry"

It is talked about in the media and is in the hands of most celebs! It even made headlines around the world when the newly elected leader of the free world said they would have to "pry it out of my hands". It is possibly the most trendy of all addictions these days and I admit I am totally and shamelessly addicted to my Blackberry!

My first encounter with the device was in the middle of Times Square, 3 or 4 years ago. Cindy, Shelley and I were on our trip to Bon Jovi land and Cindy kept checking her "crackberry", as she called it! "Why do you call it that", I asked. "Because having one of these is as addicting as crack", she told me while checking for email, the third time in as many minutes.

I resisted as long as I could! I saw everyone walking down the street, bumping into others while looking down at God knows what on that little thing. I damned them all to heck when they were talking on them while driving. Yet, I was intrigued. What is this like, being able to text or surf the net while in line at the bank? Email anywhere?

I had no idea but finally gave in last July. I was in the phone store looking for a new phone because mine died unexpectantly. While waiting for a representative, I glanced over at the Blackberry display. It seemed to have a soft glow around it and I swear I could hear angels singing! I wandered over and picked one up! It fit right into my palm, shiny, track ball moving under my thumb! When the dude came over and said "information right at your fingertips", I was sold!

I couldn't put it down and played with it for hours! That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship! I have rarely let it out of my sight and when on a cruise recently that left an entire ship without a cellular signal, I was seriously upset! How could I be without my Blackberry for FOUR whole days?

My Blackberry is my gatepost to the world! It shows me pictures of my dogs when I am down, plays my music when it is quiet, reminds me of what I have to do when things pop up on my calender. Even more than that it gives this information and communication junkie an outlet for both those things. With Twitter and subsequently Twitterberry, I follow People,E Entertainment NPR, CNN and even Animal Planet! Want to know what's going on on "Idol"? Ryan Seacrest's tweets are right there in my purse! At dinner and want to know what tapas are? Wikipedia is within reach to tell me tapas are little appetizers! Impress the dinner mates for sure! I am even able to post to my blog via Blackberry and the messenger function is the preferred mode of communication with my best friend and I!

The best thing about Blackberry is that it allows me to roam free and do all these things without being tied to the laptop. Freedom and flexibility is important to me! I hate to be tied down in any way and with the Blackberry I don't have to be!

For all these reasons and probably many more that haven't been discovered yet, I will say that my name is Cynthia, and I am a Blackberry addict! I am in very good company!

The Glory Of The "Crackberry"

It is talked about in the media and is in the hands of most celebs! It even made headlines around the world when the newly elected leader of the free world said they would have to "pry it out of my hands". It is possibly the most trendy of all addictions these days and I admit I am totally and shamelessly addicted to my Blackberry!

My first encounter with the device was in the middle of Times Square, 3 or 4 years ago. Cindy, Shelley and I were on our trip to Bon Jovi land and Cindy kept checking her "crackberry", as she called it! "Why do you call it that", I asked. "Because having one of these is as addicting as crack", she told me while checking for email, the third time in as many minutes.

I resisted as long as I could! I saw everyone walking down the street, bumping into others while looking down at God knows what on that little thing. I damned them all to heck when they were talking on them while driving. Yet, I was intrigued. What is this like, being able to text or surf the net while in line at the bank? Email anywhere?

I had no idea but finally gave in last July. I was in the phone store looking for a new phone because mine died unexpectantly. While waiting for a representative, I glanced over at the Blackberry display. It seemed to have a soft glow around it and I swear I could hear angels singing! I wandered over and picked one up! It fit right into my palm, shiny, track ball moving under my thumb! When the dude came over and said "information right at your fingertips", I was sold!

I couldn't put it down and played with it for hours! That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship! I have rarely let it out of my sight and when on a cruise recently that left an entire ship without a cellular signal, I was seriously upset! How could I be without my Blackberry for FOUR whole days?

My Blackberry is my gatepost to the world! It shows me pictures of my dogs when I am down, plays my music when it is quiet, reminds me of what I have to do when things pop up on my calender. Even more than that it gives this information and communication junkie an outlet for both those things. With Twitter and subsequently Twitterberry, I follow People,E Entertainment NPR, CNN and even Animal Planet! Want to know what's going on on "Idol"? Ryan Seacrest's tweets are right there in my purse! At dinner and want to know what tapas are? Wikipedia is within reach to tell me tapas are little appetizers! Impress the dinner mates for sure! I am even able to post to my blog via Blackberry and the messenger function is the preferred mode of communication with my best friend and I!

The best thing about Blackberry is that it allows me to roam free and do all these things without being tied to the laptop. Freedom and flexibility is important to me! I hate to be tied down in any way and with the Blackberry I don't have to be!

For all these reasons and probably many more that haven't been discovered yet, I will say that my name is Cynthia, and I am a Blackberry addict! I am in very good company!

Dreams

My mom says "She's just like you"! I know that she means it in a "God help us" kind of way but I am proud that my niece Brianna is thought to be like me!I think that it means she is a loving, sensitive, creative person.

It also means she has a dream. Brianna wants to come back to LA and be a film maker! I have dream as well and like Brianna, it involves creativity and hard work. It involves something that I am told I am good at and that I enjoy. I want to be a writer!

There are a couple of things that hold me back. Writing requires self discipline, which I don't have a lot of. I read 2 magazines and watched 3 movies before writing this blog tonight. I am also not sure how to make a living at writing. But for the first time I really want to try. The blog a day challenge has opened my eyes to how much I really enjoy writing and has established my daily habit of blogging. I am not only going to keep up my blog but I am working on a novel as well. I am going to take some classes and really make a go a writing. Thanks to Selena for the challenge to write the blog a day in May as it really made me think that this dream to become a writer might happen.

I am excited for Brianna as I know what it is like to have a dream. We are vastly diffrerent in age but I believe it is never too late to have a goal and work to make it happen. I'll be working on dream and will encourage Brianna to work on hers! Maybe I can write the screenplay for her first film. We are a like after all!

Dreams

My mom says "She's just like you"! I know that she means it in a "God help us" kind of way but I am proud that my niece Brianna is thought to be like me!I think that it means she is a loving, sensitive, creative person.

It also means she has a dream. Brianna wants to come back to LA and be a film maker! I have dream as well and like Brianna, it involves creativity and hard work. It involves something that I am told I am good at and that I enjoy. I want to be a writer!

There are a couple of things that hold me back. Writing requires self discipline, which I don't have a lot of. I read 2 magazines and watched 3 movies before writing this blog tonight. I am also not sure how to make a living at writing. But for the first time I really want to try. The blog a day challenge has opened my eyes to how much I really enjoy writing and has established my daily habit of blogging. I am not only going to keep up my blog but I am working on a novel as well. I am going to take some classes and really make a go a writing. Thanks to Selena for the challenge to write the blog a day in May as it really made me think that this dream to become a writer might happen.

I am excited for Brianna as I know what it is like to have a dream. We are vastly diffrerent in age but I believe it is never too late to have a goal and work to make it happen. I'll be working on dream and will encourage Brianna to work on hers! Maybe I can write the screenplay for her first film. We are a like after all!

My niece Brianna is just like me. She loves to read and is the creative moody type. So it was no surprize when my mom told me that she wants to

An Amazing Experience

The lobby has a Pottery Barn feel as the furnature has that black matte and chrome look. The fireplace gives of a bit of heat and its only when you get close that you realize it is fake! The overstuffed chair is comfy and there are magazines on the table. The staff is friendly and when asking "who is checking in today" they beam as they look down at the guest: your dog or cat!

Welcome to the PetSmart PetsHotel! A daily or long term boarding facility, the hotel is a welcome spot for pet parents to drop off their loved ones for a play date or sleepovers when they go out of town for the weekend or in some cases, weeks at a time! Staffed by pet lovers and owners, dogs and cats are taken care of and loved on as only pet lovers can do!

It was a year and 8 months ago when I was looking for a part-time job to pay off my credit cards. I fortuitously looked in the Times classifieds and there it was: an add to work with pets at the new PetSmart not far from my house! I thought "how perfect". As an occasional dog sitter, I knew I loved being around dogs! But that gig wasn't steady and I was really looking for a way to make extra money. I called and got an interview. I knew from the minute I walked in the job was heaven sent! Wonderful atmosphere, working with and for others who spoiled and loved their pets as much as I do! How perfect!

The staff that was hired back in 07 with me helped open the hotel as we were brand new store with the only Hotel for miles! Summer, Andrea, Monica, Mark, Michael...anyone that has been with the hotel since the beginning will tell you stories of the "growing pains" that got the hotel to the success it is today! They will also be the first to say that job isn't all fun and games! There are baths to give, feedings to do, floors to mop, poop to scoop! Sure, supervising dogs in day camp, watching them play...sounds ike fun...and it is. Yet it is also breaking up heated discussions between dogs or solving the issue of which dog gets the big Kong toy (none of them if it's causing a problem). Doggie Day Camp is much like playtime at a preschool! It is hard work! I will be the first to admit that sometimes I had it easier as I mostly manned the front desk instead of working in the back of the facility. However, there were days that I would have rather scooped poop than deal with the agitated pet parent who is running late and will miss their flight if I don't hurry up and check in their beloved and "perfect" pet into the hotel! Like any job there were good days and bad ones, ups and downs. There are also rewards! At the PetsHotel, those rewards come with seeing a puppy grow into a loving dog or getting your morning hello lick from a pet eager to go play with their friends! All is done for the love and care of the animals and the staff in Canoga Park truly loves animals and does what it takes to make sure the guests are taken care of!

As much as I knew the job was made for me, I had no idea what an impression the dogs would leave on my heart! Each one of them has a personality and a spirit that only the loving nature of a dog could have! Unique in many ways but also united in the simular characteristics of their breeds! There are the sweet Poms: Cinnamon and Gara, the fun loving puggles: Jaxson, Sammie, Jakey and Maui, the crazy Labs: Bonnie and Missy, the energetic Beagles: Sox, Cosmo, and Biscuit and the mellow bulldogs Bowie and Katie (who is so sweet with her "brother" Benji). Then there is the princess of the hotel, the oh so adorable Chloe, the Bichon Frise and crazy, loving Stanley (its hard to tell who is more excited when Stanley does tricks, Stanley or his pet parent Kim...LOL)! In fact, two of the sweetest dogs frequenting the hotel are of a breed most people wouldn't expect! Kudos to Judy and her very sweet Jemma and JB for bucking the stereotype and misconceptions people have of Pit Bulls!

The "regulars" become like family! We morn with Beagle Bubba Joe when he lost his human brother to a brain condition. We rejoice at the news that Missy the Lab will be getting a new human sibling soon. We cheer when Sox the beagle got a brother of his own species and breed when Cosmo joined his family! We are filled with joy when Rex, a pit bull puppy abandoned at the hotel is finally adopted and placed in his forever home! We laugh at the crazy things that happen in day camp like crazy Noodles getting ahold of the elastic in my pants and trying to pull them down or little chihuahua Joey acting like the playground cop, policing the yard over dogs twice his size! These aren't the only dogs that have made an impression (shout out to Cassidy, Mariah, Audi, Pizmo, Max and Molly). Every dog that has come in for a day, a week, a month is special!

It has taken me hours to write this as I can't stop tearing up! Why? I am writing this at the beginning of my first weekend free of the part-time job I didnt know I loved so much! I achieved my goal of paying off the cards and then some so it is time to leave PetSmart! After a year and 8 months, I need a break from the two job grind. It wasn't until now that I realized just how much I will miss the comradere among pets and those that love them! To quit was a hard decision to come by as I will miss the licks, the wags, the joy and smiles on the dogs faces when they go home! I will miss the humor and unconditional love of the animals as well as working with the dedicated, hard-working and pet loving staff at the Canoga Park PetsHotel! But it's time to move on! I believe that when you make a right decision, you know its right but that doesn't mean it will be easy!

I will absolutely never forget my experience at the PetsHotel as the job was more than just a paycheck. Being around animals and those that love them truly lifted my spirits. My full-time job is for the paycheck, my job at PetSmart was for my heart! Each animal I came in contact with left pawprints on my heart that will never go away! I am grateful to have had a job that validated my belief that people that love animals are the best people of all!

An Amazing Experience

The lobby has a Pottery Barn feel as the furnature has that black matte and chrome look. The fireplace gives of a bit of heat and its only when you get close that you realize it is fake! The overstuffed chair is comfy and there are magazines on the table. The staff is friendly and when asking "who is checking in today" they beam as they look down at the guest: your dog or cat!

Welcome to the PetSmart PetsHotel! A daily or long term boarding facility, the hotel is a welcome spot for pet parents to drop off their loved ones for a play date or sleepovers when they go out of town for the weekend or in some cases, weeks at a time! Staffed by pet lovers and owners, dogs and cats are taken care of and loved on as only pet lovers can do!

It was a year and 8 months ago when I was looking for a part-time job to pay off my credit cards. I fortuitously looked in the Times classifieds and there it was: an add to work with pets at the new PetSmart not far from my house! I thought "how perfect". As an occasional dog sitter, I knew I loved being around dogs! But that gig wasn't steady and I was really looking for a way to make extra money. I called and got an interview. I knew from the minute I walked in the job was heaven sent! Wonderful atmosphere, working with and for others who spoiled and loved their pets as much as I do! How perfect!

The staff that was hired back in 07 with me helped open the hotel as we were brand new store with the only Hotel for miles! Summer, Andrea, Monica, Mark, Michael...anyone that has been with the hotel since the beginning will tell you stories of the "growing pains" that got the hotel to the success it is today! They will also be the first to say that job isn't all fun and games! There are baths to give, feedings to do, floors to mop, poop to scoop! Sure, supervising dogs in day camp, watching them play...sounds ike fun...and it is. Yet it is also breaking up heated discussions between dogs or solving the issue of which dog gets the big Kong toy (none of them if it's causing a problem). Doggie Day Camp is much like playtime at a preschool! It is hard work! I will be the first to admit that sometimes I had it easier as I mostly manned the front desk instead of working in the back of the facility. However, there were days that I would have rather scooped poop than deal with the agitated pet parent who is running late and will miss their flight if I don't hurry up and check in their beloved and "perfect" pet into the hotel! Like any job there were good days and bad ones, ups and downs. There are also rewards! At the PetsHotel, those rewards come with seeing a puppy grow into a loving dog or getting your morning hello lick from a pet eager to go play with their friends! All is done for the love and care of the animals and the staff in Canoga Park truly loves animals and does what it takes to make sure the guests are taken care of!

As much as I knew the job was made for me, I had no idea what an impression the dogs would leave on my heart! Each one of them has a personality and a spirit that only the loving nature of a dog could have! Unique in many ways but also united in the simular characteristics of their breeds! There are the sweet Poms: Cinnamon and Gara, the fun loving puggles: Jaxson, Sammie, Jakey and Maui, the crazy Labs: Bonnie and Missy, the energetic Beagles: Sox, Cosmo, and Biscuit and the mellow bulldogs Bowie and Katie (who is so sweet with her "brother" Benji). Then there is the princess of the hotel, the oh so adorable Chloe, the Bichon Frise and crazy, loving Stanley (its hard to tell who is more excited when Stanley does tricks, Stanley or his pet parent Kim...LOL)! In fact, two of the sweetest dogs frequenting the hotel are of a breed most people wouldn't expect! Kudos to Judy and her very sweet Jemma and JB for bucking the stereotype and misconceptions people have of Pit Bulls!

The "regulars" become like family! We morn with Beagle Bubba Joe when he lost his human brother to a brain condition. We rejoice at the news that Missy the Lab will be getting a new human sibling soon. We cheer when Sox the beagle got a brother of his own species and breed when Cosmo joined his family! We are filled with joy when Rex, a pit bull puppy abandoned at the hotel is finally adopted and placed in his forever home! We laugh at the crazy things that happen in day camp like crazy Noodles getting ahold of the elastic in my pants and trying to pull them down or little chihuahua Joey acting like the playground cop, policing the yard over dogs twice his size! These aren't the only dogs that have made an impression (shout out to Cassidy, Mariah, Audi, Pizmo, Max and Molly). Every dog that has come in for a day, a week, a month is special!

It has taken me hours to write this as I can't stop tearing up! Why? I am writing this at the beginning of my first weekend free of the part-time job I didnt know I loved so much! I achieved my goal of paying off the cards and then some so it is time to leave PetSmart! After a year and 8 months, I need a break from the two job grind. It wasn't until now that I realized just how much I will miss the comradere among pets and those that love them! To quit was a hard decision to come by as I will miss the licks, the wags, the joy and smiles on the dogs faces when they go home! I will miss the humor and unconditional love of the animals as well as working with the dedicated, hard-working and pet loving staff at the Canoga Park PetsHotel! But it's time to move on! I believe that when you make a right decision, you know its right but that doesn't mean it will be easy!

I will absolutely never forget my experience at the PetsHotel as the job was more than just a paycheck. Being around animals and those that love them truly lifted my spirits. My full-time job is for the paycheck, my job at PetSmart was for my heart! Each animal I came in contact with left pawprints on my heart that will never go away! I am grateful to have had a job that validated my belief that people that love animals are the best people of all!

I took a call last week from a reporter and the subject eventually moved from his claim issue to writing. After I told him I blog, he of course asked what about. Instead of self-promoting and giving him the blog addy, I deferred, joking about the blogs random content



This is my last post in the "blog a day in the month of May" challenge set forth by my fellow blogger, Selena! It has been a great month and I have learned some things:



1) I love to write

2) I love the challenge of finding things to write about

3) I have established the habit of writing each day

4) I decided I finally want a career that involves writing



This has been a wonderful month and I am looking forward to continuing in June. I have blog ideas written on scraps of paper, in my Blackberry, and in a journal! I love my blog! It is at times a self-indulgent endeavor and sometimes I think "who cares". This blog is all over the map in terms of content but I hope it isn't boring!

Rich Girl....Poor Girl

I woke up this morning with the TV still on from last night. I was half asleep but I believe the gang on "Good Morning America" were talking about Archie (from the comic) finally ending the age old debate "Betty or Veronica". What I can gather in my non caffinated stupor is that Archie proposed to Veronica. Granted, the last time I read the comic was during recess in grade school but isn't Veronica the rich "va va va voom" hottie? This begs the never-ending question: Is it really just as easy to love a rich person as it is to love someone that isnt quite as wealthy?

The fantasy of marrying into money is attractive, no doubt! The cash tree is always blooming! No arguing about your shopping habits or coffee addiction. Just have him write the check or give you the platinmum card and off you go into a world of coffee dates, tanning appointments and trips to Nordstrom! Come home to your rich husband and a night of hanky panky and then wake up to breakfast outside overlooking your private beach and discuss your vacation to the Greek Isles. After all, isn't that how it is on those "Real Housewife" shows?

Truth is, the fantasy depicted above and on those "real" shows is much more entertaining then the reality facing most couples. Reality for the majority of couples is actually driving kids to play dates after a trip to Costco! Breakfast is gulped down while getting the overworked husband out the door to the 9-5 job he's barely hanging on to and the discussion about a vacation centers on not where you are going to go but the fact that this year you can't afford a vacation at all.

I have married friends in all economic brackets and the one thing they all tell me is that marriage isn't easy, it is work! The coolest couple on the planet now has to be the Obamas. They both have admitted they work at that seemingly perfect marriage. Even with that in mind, you can tell they truly love each other and have each others back!

A partnership with someone to make you laugh and who makes the craziness of life easier to take. That is what a marriage is to me. I would rather have a marriage built on love and shop at Costco than marry for money alone and shop at Saks. Yet I wouldn't turn down the man that provides love, respect humor and a vacation in the Greek Isles. I know he's out there!

Rich Girl....Poor Girl

I woke up this morning with the TV still on from last night. I was half asleep but I believe the gang on "Good Morning America" were talking about Archie (from the comic) finally ending the age old debate "Betty or Veronica". What I can gather in my non caffinated stupor is that Archie proposed to Veronica. Granted, the last time I read the comic was during recess in grade school but isn't Veronica the rich "va va va voom" hottie? This begs the never-ending question: Is it really just as easy to love a rich person as it is to love someone that isnt quite as wealthy?

The fantasy of marrying into money is attractive, no doubt! The cash tree is always blooming! No arguing about your shopping habits or coffee addiction. Just have him write the check or give you the platinmum card and off you go into a world of coffee dates, tanning appointments and trips to Nordstrom! Come home to your rich husband and a night of hanky panky and then wake up to breakfast outside overlooking your private beach and discuss your vacation to the Greek Isles. After all, isn't that how it is on those "Real Housewife" shows?

Truth is, the fantasy depicted above and on those "real" shows is much more entertaining then the reality facing most couples. Reality for the majority of couples is actually driving kids to play dates after a trip to Costco! Breakfast is gulped down while getting the overworked husband out the door to the 9-5 job he's barely hanging on to and the discussion about a vacation centers on not where you are going to go but the fact that this year you can't afford a vacation at all.

I have married friends in all economic brackets and the one thing they all tell me is that marriage isn't easy, it is work! The coolest couple on the planet now has to be the Obamas. They both have admitted they work at that seemingly perfect marriage. Even with that in mind, you can tell they truly love each other and have each others back!

A partnership with someone to make you laugh and who makes the craziness of life easier to take. That is what a marriage is to me. I would rather have a marriage built on love and shop at Costco than marry for money alone and shop at Saks. Yet I wouldn't turn down the man that provides love, respect humor and a vacation in the Greek Isles. I know he's out there!

Personal Finance-The Bane Of My Existance!

Financial responsibility has always aluded me! I know there are people living within their means, budgeting, saving just as I know there are people in credit card debt up to their eyeballs! I am somewhere in the middle of that, living paycheck to paycheck, dipping one toe in the debt free pool only to drag myself out of the water...yet again!

The depths of my financial irresponsibility are embarassing! I got my first department store credit card at age 16 after lying about my McDonalds salary on the application. Despite my Mother's warnings to the contrary and her attempts to confiscate the card, I had the sucker charged to the limit in about a week! That began my race to stay one step ahead of the creditors, eviction and debutors prison! They always manage to find you! I have 401k withdrawls, late card payments and overdraft charges that equaled close to a third of my take home! I have had cards cancelled and bank accounts closed. I have even changed phone numbers to stop the collection calls to no avail.

I reached a new low when several years ago I dabbled in the evil world of payday loans! It sounded good on paper: give them a check to hold in the amt of the loan and they will deposit it on your next payday. A check for the loan amt and something like 300% interest. Well....one of those quickly turned into 5 different ones each week and I soon was paying the interest and renewing them because I couldn't pay them off! They quickly added to a combined $1500 in loan amount alone! This self-induced insanity came to a screeching halt when I got frustrated trying to keep on top of them and just gave up and let them default. Most of them, it pains me now to say, just gave up trying to collect and I haven't seen or heard from them. However,one money hungry dude took me to small claims and of course, won! This $300 payday loan turned into $1700 after legal fees, interest and fines! It also earned a spot on the bad side of my credit report for 7 years! Oh joy!

The reason this has all come to mind and subsequently to the blog today is that due to an accounting error (a fancy way to say I forgot my vitamins would be debuted out of my account this week) I am overdrafted to the tune of $35 in fees! I am soo pissed! I had JUST told my roommate that although I have $5 in my account, at least it isn't overdrafted. Then I checked my online banking......ARRRRGH!! I can't belive I did this! This is why I HATE auto withdrawls out of my account! Send me a dang bill so I remember to deduct the freakin amount!!

The positive spin is in the reason I am pissed. It is because I have become a more responsible person with my money in the last year. I used my severance package to finally get out of that cycle of overdrafting my account and being $300 in the hole before I even get to payday! I paid off my cards (charged them up since but Suze Orman says that is ok in this economy) and decided that at least making an attempt to be financially secure felt better than a new pair of shoes. I make at least the minimum payments on the cards and my checking account is in the red more often than it's not! What a concept!

As with any self-improvement project, this one is a work in progress! I have a goal to be debt free and have money in savings by the end of the year! This time I plan to stay that way!

Personal Finance-The Bane Of My Existance!

Financial responsibility has always aluded me! I know there are people living within their means, budgeting, saving just as I know there are people in credit card debt up to their eyeballs! I am somewhere in the middle of that, living paycheck to paycheck, dipping one toe in the debt free pool only to drag myself out of the water...yet again!

The depths of my financial irresponsibility are embarassing! I got my first department store credit card at age 16 after lying about my McDonalds salary on the application. Despite my Mother's warnings to the contrary and her attempts to confiscate the card, I had the sucker charged to the limit in about a week! That began my race to stay one step ahead of the creditors, eviction and debutors prison! They always manage to find you! I have 401k withdrawls, late card payments and overdraft charges that equaled close to a third of my take home! I have had cards cancelled and bank accounts closed. I have even changed phone numbers to stop the collection calls to no avail.

I reached a new low when several years ago I dabbled in the evil world of payday loans! It sounded good on paper: give them a check to hold in the amt of the loan and they will deposit it on your next payday. A check for the loan amt and something like 300% interest. Well....one of those quickly turned into 5 different ones each week and I soon was paying the interest and renewing them because I couldn't pay them off! They quickly added to a combined $1500 in loan amount alone! This self-induced insanity came to a screeching halt when I got frustrated trying to keep on top of them and just gave up and let them default. Most of them, it pains me now to say, just gave up trying to collect and I haven't seen or heard from them. However,one money hungry dude took me to small claims and of course, won! This $300 payday loan turned into $1700 after legal fees, interest and fines! It also earned a spot on the bad side of my credit report for 7 years! Oh joy!

The reason this has all come to mind and subsequently to the blog today is that due to an accounting error (a fancy way to say I forgot my vitamins would be debuted out of my account this week) I am overdrafted to the tune of $35 in fees! I am soo pissed! I had JUST told my roommate that although I have $5 in my account, at least it isn't overdrafted. Then I checked my online banking......ARRRRGH!! I can't belive I did this! This is why I HATE auto withdrawls out of my account! Send me a dang bill so I remember to deduct the freakin amount!!

The positive spin is in the reason I am pissed. It is because I have become a more responsible person with my money in the last year. I used my severance package to finally get out of that cycle of overdrafting my account and being $300 in the hole before I even get to payday! I paid off my cards (charged them up since but Suze Orman says that is ok in this economy) and decided that at least making an attempt to be financially secure felt better than a new pair of shoes. I make at least the minimum payments on the cards and my checking account is in the red more often than it's not! What a concept!

As with any self-improvement project, this one is a work in progress! I have a goal to be debt free and have money in savings by the end of the year! This time I plan to stay that way!

To Have And To Prosecute?

Yesterday was Memorial Day, the day Americans honour the men and women, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers that fight for the very rights that Americans hold dear. Those rights for most of us include the right to speak their minds freely, the right to go wherever they, to marry whom ever they want.
 
Oh yeah….wait a minute….I did say for many of us. There is still one segment of the population for whom that last item isn't a right! This item is a religious debate topic or a political hot button. Yes folks, I am talking about gay marriage! I just don't understand the hoopla, I don't.
 
As a human, I don't understand the need to make love difficult for anyone. There is so little of love in the world lately shouldn't we be celebrating love, not condemning it? Why should love of any variety be looked down upon because you don't agree with it or understand where it is coming from? Inter racial or same sex, love is love and should be embraced not shoved to a dark corner to be ignored or in states like California, outlawed! California! One of the most liberal states in the nation let religious groups from all over the land come in and spend money to scare our citizens into believing being gay can be taught or maybe even caught like a virus. That's right, Latter Day Saints, play the fear card!
 
As a Christian, I have a core set of beliefs. I believe some things are wrong in the eyes of God but I also believe that is between the person perpetrating the sin and their God! I don't believe in stepping in be it with my opinion, my bible or my laws to tell someone else how to behave. I don't condemn the alcoholics, the over spenders, the f-bomb droppers or the trampy socialites! ALL sins by the way! If we are going to use the bible as the argument to outlaw gay marriage, what about those that use G-damn? Taking the Lords name in vain is a sin in the bible, yet is it illegal in California? Not hardly! Sure, hide behind the "protect marriage" crap all you want! I won't believe it until adultery and divorce is punishable by law!  
 
On the same day that our first black president nominated our first Hispanic to the Supreme Court, California's highest court upheld the ban on same sex marriage. It's a shame that as a country we take two steps forward to equality for all only to take a giant step back when it comes to gay marriage. I hope that will change in my lifetime.
 

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

To Have And To Prosecute?

Yesterday was Memorial Day, the day Americans honour the men and women, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers that fight for the very rights that Americans hold dear. Those rights for most of us include the right to speak their minds freely, the right to go wherever they, to marry whom ever they want.
 
Oh yeah….wait a minute….I did say for many of us. There is still one segment of the population for whom that last item isn't a right! This item is a religious debate topic or a political hot button. Yes folks, I am talking about gay marriage! I just don't understand the hoopla, I don't.
 
As a human, I don't understand the need to make love difficult for anyone. There is so little of love in the world lately shouldn't we be celebrating love, not condemning it? Why should love of any variety be looked down upon because you don't agree with it or understand where it is coming from? Inter racial or same sex, love is love and should be embraced not shoved to a dark corner to be ignored or in states like California, outlawed! California! One of the most liberal states in the nation let religious groups from all over the land come in and spend money to scare our citizens into believing being gay can be taught or maybe even caught like a virus. That's right, Latter Day Saints, play the fear card!
 
As a Christian, I have a core set of beliefs. I believe some things are wrong in the eyes of God but I also believe that is between the person perpetrating the sin and their God! I don't believe in stepping in be it with my opinion, my bible or my laws to tell someone else how to behave. I don't condemn the alcoholics, the over spenders, the f-bomb droppers or the trampy socialites! ALL sins by the way! If we are going to use the bible as the argument to outlaw gay marriage, what about those that use G-damn? Taking the Lords name in vain is a sin in the bible, yet is it illegal in California? Not hardly! Sure, hide behind the "protect marriage" crap all you want! I won't believe it until adultery and divorce is punishable by law!  
 
On the same day that our first black president nominated our first Hispanic to the Supreme Court, California's highest court upheld the ban on same sex marriage. It's a shame that as a country we take two steps forward to equality for all only to take a giant step back when it comes to gay marriage. I hope that will change in my lifetime.
 
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Willing To Serve, Love And Wag

It is a remarkable story of redemption and hope. A story of those who have taken from society only to learn the joy of giving back. A story of those who's hearts have been previously closed off only to have them open by a furry bundle of joy eagerly waiting to learn and love! It is the story of Puppies Behind Bars.

Puppies Behind Bars is a not for profit organization that trains prison inmates to raise service dogs. One program within the Puppies Behind Bars organization is called DogTags. Under the DogTags Program inmates train puppies to become service dogs for soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The fact that as the puppies mature into well-loved, well-behaved dogs is equally as important as the fact their raisers learn what it means to contribute to society, rather than take from it.
Inmates choosen by DogTags are given an 8 week old puppy to train. The puppies live with the inmates in the cels and are with them 24 hours a day for the duration of the training. At the end, the dogs are given to the service people ready to serve their needs and to help them function back into society.

Like many others, I came to this story via The Oprah Show. Actress Glen Close, who is active with the DogTags organization was on to tell Oprah the story of Frankie, a yellow lab raised by the inmates at Fishkill prison in NY. Frankie was trained and ultimately given to Sgt. Allen Hill.



Sgt. Hill suffers debilitating flashbacks that cause him to freeze and become catatonic. Frankie is trained to lovingly put her paws on the sargent and gently kiss him to bring him out of the state caused by Post Tramatic Stress Disorder. She has given him his life back as he is no longer afraid to go out and live his life. Frankie doesn't leave his side, even while off leash at home.

While the returning solders given dogs are the reasons for the program, they aren't the only benefactors. The inmates training the dogs reap rewards as well. They are now able to pay back to society a debt they didn't think they would be able to pay. They also are receiving unconditional love that allows them to open previously closed off parts of themselves. Parts they close off many times due to abuse. Now they have this being they are responsible for and that loves them!

It is amazing to see the transformation! When Sgt. Hill brought back Frankie to the inmates to say thank you, it was emotional beyond words! What brought me to absolute tears was when one of the inmates said how Frankie was part of their family, now Sgt Hill was part of their family! The redemption and healing this program affords both the inmmates and the solders is remarkable. Watching the videos and reading about this will move and inspire you!

To read Glenn's blog and interview with Sgt. Hill go to:



For more information about Puppies Behind Bars (and to view the most heart warming video...have tissues handy) go to:



Please help out this wonderful program! Spread the word and if you can, donate! A puppy, an inmate and a person in need will be grateful!

Willing To Serve, Love And Wag

It is a remarkable story of redemption and hope. A story of those who have taken from society only to learn the joy of giving back. A story of those who's hearts have been previously closed off only to have them open by a furry bundle of joy eagerly waiting to learn and love! It is the story of Puppies Behind Bars.

Puppies Behind Bars is a not for profit organization that trains prison inmates to raise service dogs. One program within the Puppies Behind Bars organization is called DogTags. Under the DogTags Program inmates train puppies to become service dogs for soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The fact that as the puppies mature into well-loved, well-behaved dogs is equally as important as the fact their raisers learn what it means to contribute to society, rather than take from it.
Inmates choosen by DogTags are given an 8 week old puppy to train. The puppies live with the inmates in the cels and are with them 24 hours a day for the duration of the training. At the end, the dogs are given to the service people ready to serve their needs and to help them function back into society.

Like many others, I came to this story via The Oprah Show. Actress Glen Close, who is active with the DogTags organization was on to tell Oprah the story of Frankie, a yellow lab raised by the inmates at Fishkill prison in NY. Frankie was trained and ultimately given to Sgt. Allen Hill.



Sgt. Hill suffers debilitating flashbacks that cause him to freeze and become catatonic. Frankie is trained to lovingly put her paws on the sargent and gently kiss him to bring him out of the state caused by Post Tramatic Stress Disorder. She has given him his life back as he is no longer afraid to go out and live his life. Frankie doesn't leave his side, even while off leash at home.

While the returning solders given dogs are the reasons for the program, they aren't the only benefactors. The inmates training the dogs reap rewards as well. They are now able to pay back to society a debt they didn't think they would be able to pay. They also are receiving unconditional love that allows them to open previously closed off parts of themselves. Parts they close off many times due to abuse. Now they have this being they are responsible for and that loves them!

It is amazing to see the transformation! When Sgt. Hill brought back Frankie to the inmates to say thank you, it was emotional beyond words! What brought me to absolute tears was when one of the inmates said how Frankie was part of their family, now Sgt Hill was part of their family! The redemption and healing this program affords both the inmmates and the solders is remarkable. Watching the videos and reading about this will move and inspire you!

To read Glenn's blog and interview with Sgt. Hill go to:



For more information about Puppies Behind Bars (and to view the most heart warming video...have tissues handy) go to:



Please help out this wonderful program! Spread the word and if you can, donate! A puppy, an inmate and a person in need will be grateful!

Freedom and Gratitude

What Freedom Means To Me:

--It means being able to have enough time off to go where I want, when I want
--It means being able to move about the world unimpeded
--it means being able go say what I want
--It means being able to use my Blackberry to communicate without being held back by wires, walls or censorship

These are just a few of the things that I enjoy about living in a country where I am free. Free to go, say and do what I want. Being an American means that I have the luxury of freedom that is not afforded to citizens of every country. I feel that being born here is a blessing and one that doesn't come without a price.

That price is being paid by others than myself. It is a price paid by the men and women who have fought for this country since the day it was formed. It is a price paid by every parent who sent a child or loved one into a war only to not see them return. It is a price paid by every veteran who has come home a changed person from before they left.

I am so grateful for those who for centuries have felt the call to serve this wonderful country and answer that call to commit to something that is bigger than all of us. Today is a day where we pause to reflect, remember, say thank you. If you know a Veteran personally, say thank you, give them a hug. If you don't know any personally, say thanks in a prayer or moment of silent gratitude. They deserve it.

Freedom and Gratitude

What Freedom Means To Me:

--It means being able to have enough time off to go where I want, when I want
--It means being able to move about the world unimpeded
--it means being able go say what I want
--It means being able to use my Blackberry to communicate without being held back by wires, walls or censorship

These are just a few of the things that I enjoy about living in a country where I am free. Free to go, say and do what I want. Being an American means that I have the luxury of freedom that is not afforded to citizens of every country. I feel that being born here is a blessing and one that doesn't come without a price.

That price is being paid by others than myself. It is a price paid by the men and women who have fought for this country since the day it was formed. It is a price paid by every parent who sent a child or loved one into a war only to not see them return. It is a price paid by every veteran who has come home a changed person from before they left.

I am so grateful for those who for centuries have felt the call to serve this wonderful country and answer that call to commit to something that is bigger than all of us. Today is a day where we pause to reflect, remember, say thank you. If you know a Veteran personally, say thank you, give them a hug. If you don't know any personally, say thanks in a prayer or moment of silent gratitude. They deserve it.

Life Gave Me Lemons And I Made Delicious Lemonade

It was terrible pain! The pain of having my entire family pick up and move to Arizona was made worse only by the fact that they didn't want me to go. I have been estranged from them most of my life so this shouldn't have surprized me. But it did and it hurt like hell!

What it also did was cause me to look up a dear friend who mentioned months before that she had a room for rent. I decided with my family an entire state away, i no longer felt safe living on my own. I asked if the room was still for rent and she said if I didn't mind sharing the house with 3 adults, four kids and 2 four month old rottweilers! I didn't and moved on in to the bedroom Val and I shared! This house was crazy to be sure. Val and I shared a room and slept on twin beds, Ashley slept on a bed that was moved into the living room, the 3 boys shared the room I am in now and their parents and the Rotties shared the room downstairs. It was a crazy house full of people but it was also full of laughter and love. It was just what I needed!

This crazy house is the birthplace of my restoration. Moving into the house in Northridge restored my life and my soul! In this house, which I still live in, I have thrived and made massive improvements in all areas: physical, mental, spiritual. But had you told me 8 years ago this would happen, I would have been wallowing in pain and not believed you! But it did happen and I will be forever grateful!

Life Gave Me Lemons And I Made Delicious Lemonade

It was terrible pain! The pain of having my entire family pick up and move to Arizona was made worse only by the fact that they didn't want me to go. I have been estranged from them most of my life so this shouldn't have surprized me. But it did and it hurt like hell!

What it also did was cause me to look up a dear friend who mentioned months before that she had a room for rent. I decided with my family an entire state away, i no longer felt safe living on my own. I asked if the room was still for rent and she said if I didn't mind sharing the house with 3 adults, four kids and 2 four month old rottweilers! I didn't and moved on in to the bedroom Val and I shared! This house was crazy to be sure. Val and I shared a room and slept on twin beds, Ashley slept on a bed that was moved into the living room, the 3 boys shared the room I am in now and their parents and the Rotties shared the room downstairs. It was a crazy house full of people but it was also full of laughter and love. It was just what I needed!

This crazy house is the birthplace of my restoration. Moving into the house in Northridge restored my life and my soul! In this house, which I still live in, I have thrived and made massive improvements in all areas: physical, mental, spiritual. But had you told me 8 years ago this would happen, I would have been wallowing in pain and not believed you! But it did happen and I will be forever grateful!

Expect The Unexpected

I have been enjoying the blog a day challenge! I really like coming up with ideas for the blog and executing them! In fact, I have been waking up each morning looking forward to writing, something I never used to do.

Unfortunately today got away from me! I planned to come home today and write but then got an unexpected invite to go to dinner and movies with my friend Shannon and while watching the trailers at 10:15PM, I realise I didn't write a blog today! Thank heavens for the Blackberry I am typing on!

As unexpected as the invite is my disappointment in not being able to write the blog! I did not expect to enjoy blogging this much!
I have a good one for tomorrow and look forward to Joining Selena in writing Memes.

Stay tuned and I'll see ya in the morning :)
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Expect The Unexpected

I have been enjoying the blog a day challenge! I really like coming up with ideas for the blog and executing them! In fact, I have been waking up each morning looking forward to writing, something I never used to do.

Unfortunately today got away from me! I planned to come home today and write but then got an unexpected invite to go to dinner and movies with my friend Shannon and while watching the trailers at 10:15PM, I realise I didn't write a blog today! Thank heavens for the Blackberry I am typing on!

As unexpected as the invite is my disappointment in not being able to write the blog! I did not expect to enjoy blogging this much!
I have a good one for tomorrow and look forward to Joining Selena in writing Memes.

Stay tuned and I'll see ya in the morning :)
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

5 Courses To Take To Fix My Life

My friend Selena hooked me up with the cool idea of the "meme". I think they are ways to spark creativity. Unlike traditional blogs, memes come with rules. Selena tagged me in this cool meme so I thought I would give it a try.

Here are the rules:
“Devise a list of 5 courses you would take to fix your life. It’s more fun to be in classes with friends, so include them into at least one class. Tag five people to complete this meme as well.”

5 Courses To Fix My Life:

How To Live Within Your Budget And Still Subsidize Your Starbucks Habit

My habit isn't as severe as it was when I would hit the Starbucks on the way to work AND on the way home! $4 a visit x 2 visits a day x 5 days a week....well, you do the math! Maybe the class should be....

How To Kick Your Starbucks Addiction!

Switch to water. Easy Class

Ok...so now we have kicked the caffiene habit and added $160 a month to the wallet. What else can we improve? Ah yes....

How To Meet The Man Of Your Dreams By On-Line Dating

You would think this would be simple: sign up, write a few words and watch the pics and emails come pouring in. Not so easy! What you write and the pics you choose speak volumes about you! I can't use the pic with the Patron bottle...says party girl! Don't want to write about my dogs...says "crazy dog lady". I need to take a class to have someone break it down for me once and for all.

How To Make Millions By Staying Home And Watching TV

Not going to happen but I should take one of those "follow your bliss" extension courses. I am stuck right now in a customer service job working nights. I am thrilled with the paycheck, not the job. I need to make money doing what I am good at which is writing.

That leads me to the final class, the only true, actual class and that is:

Creative Writing 101

I would love for my fellow blogger Selena and I to take this class together. We are both writers looking for ways to turn this talent into money and this class would be a start.

So there you have it! Classes I would take, if I could, to change my life. I could probably be "home schooled" on most of these. Many thanks to my friend Selena for this idea. Check out her blog at ohmyachesandpains.blogspot.com.

5 Courses To Take To Fix My Life

My friend Selena hooked me up with the cool idea of the "meme". I think they are ways to spark creativity. Unlike traditional blogs, memes come with rules. Selena tagged me in this cool meme so I thought I would give it a try.

Here are the rules:
“Devise a list of 5 courses you would take to fix your life. It’s more fun to be in classes with friends, so include them into at least one class. Tag five people to complete this meme as well.”

5 Courses To Fix My Life:

How To Live Within Your Budget And Still Subsidize Your Starbucks Habit

My habit isn't as severe as it was when I would hit the Starbucks on the way to work AND on the way home! $4 a visit x 2 visits a day x 5 days a week....well, you do the math! Maybe the class should be....

How To Kick Your Starbucks Addiction!

Switch to water. Easy Class

Ok...so now we have kicked the caffiene habit and added $160 a month to the wallet. What else can we improve? Ah yes....

How To Meet The Man Of Your Dreams By On-Line Dating

You would think this would be simple: sign up, write a few words and watch the pics and emails come pouring in. Not so easy! What you write and the pics you choose speak volumes about you! I can't use the pic with the Patron bottle...says party girl! Don't want to write about my dogs...says "crazy dog lady". I need to take a class to have someone break it down for me once and for all.

How To Make Millions By Staying Home And Watching TV

Not going to happen but I should take one of those "follow your bliss" extension courses. I am stuck right now in a customer service job working nights. I am thrilled with the paycheck, not the job. I need to make money doing what I am good at which is writing.

That leads me to the final class, the only true, actual class and that is:

Creative Writing 101

I would love for my fellow blogger Selena and I to take this class together. We are both writers looking for ways to turn this talent into money and this class would be a start.

So there you have it! Classes I would take, if I could, to change my life. I could probably be "home schooled" on most of these. Many thanks to my friend Selena for this idea. Check out her blog at ohmyachesandpains.blogspot.com.

Oh, Yippeee! Exercise!

I bought the cutest bike! It is so nice! It is pink and kind of retro looking, a cruiser bike with Shimano Derailleaur gears (don't know what that is but it sounds expensive). I found it onsale at Target and fought to get it in the back of my car. It barely fit but I was determined to get it home and ride it.

The bike represents the kind of exercise I like. I like exercise that is fun and doesn't seem like exercise. I like to be outside, wind in the hair, listening to the 70's station on XM...that is exercise I can believe in!

Exercise is the next step on my plan to self improvement. I feel so good when I am doing it, good after it's done but getting off the computer and going out to exercise is the challenge. That is why the blog today is a little late for my AM bike ride. I need to get out before it gets hot. So I am off to tool around my neighborhood. Like all the other steps in the plan, exercise will be one day at a time! However, this will be THREE days in a row and its a start.

Oh, Yippeee! Exercise!

I bought the cutest bike! It is so nice! It is pink and kind of retro looking, a cruiser bike with Shimano Derailleaur gears (don't know what that is but it sounds expensive). I found it onsale at Target and fought to get it in the back of my car. It barely fit but I was determined to get it home and ride it.

The bike represents the kind of exercise I like. I like exercise that is fun and doesn't seem like exercise. I like to be outside, wind in the hair, listening to the 70's station on XM...that is exercise I can believe in!

Exercise is the next step on my plan to self improvement. I feel so good when I am doing it, good after it's done but getting off the computer and going out to exercise is the challenge. That is why the blog today is a little late for my AM bike ride. I need to get out before it gets hot. So I am off to tool around my neighborhood. Like all the other steps in the plan, exercise will be one day at a time! However, this will be THREE days in a row and its a start.