Summer is on full force right now, thank God for A/C. Love Cali weather.
Some updates on life.
Job
I changed my career path. No more corporate ladders and 8-5. I decided to take charge of my life with something more lucrative and flexible. I am now in the Real Estate Appraisal business. Got hooked up through my cousin and everything looks so promising. Currently I am studying hard to get licensed and learning at a very fast pace from my mentor.
This is quite a big change for me and most people are stunned when I tell them the news because they think appraisals is so different from a computer tech job. However, I am fortunate that my tech field was analytic's. It's almost the same concept when it comes to crunching numbers and justifying why you made certain adjustments. The hard part for me is learning the broad spectrum of Real Estate.
The #1 reason i chose to move to this profession was because I did not want to be stuck in a glass ceiling in the corporate world. There will always be a limit to how far you can climb. It's like a pyramid.. lots of low paying jobs at the bottom, and the good paying ones - only a certain amount of ppl get those. Plus in this economy what i have been noticing is good (smart) workers getting laid off because company's would rather pay a kid straight out of college that can most likely do the same work you do for half the salary. There is no such thing as job security anymore. Your logic of "I'm loyal to this company, so they will take care of me" no longer applies. It's all about numbers. Profit.
Appraisals is a bit different. It's like any other small business. You are an independent contractor and become your own boss. You are the CEO, CFO, CTO, etc. You are your own assistant, making your own schedules - handling priorities, and actually doing the job.
Most 8-5 workers have a linear mentality.
"How can I make the most amount of money, for the least amount of effort (work)."
When you work for yourself, it all changes and you need to think about time management.
"How can I make the most amount of money, with the time available to me."
For those of you that have no clue on what real estate appraisals is, in short, it's someone that tells you how much a house is worth doing comparative analysis in the properties market.
New Car / Traffic
The job requires me to drive a lot. Seriously, a lot. I drive from Cerritos all the way to Valencia where our office is located. Then there is work of actually going to each property and doing inspections. The homes are located all across San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita which requires lots of driving.
I generally sit in traffic 3 hours a day just going and coming back home. So the Prius was a great investment for me. I love it when the car goes into battery only mode in traffic. Knowing you are saving gas because you ARE in traffic is great. Hybrids actually perform better in stop and go driving conditions.
I purchased my Prius for a very reasonable price. I wanted to trade in my Lexus to avoid the hassles of selling it myself, but i got very lucky. I was at the dealership negotiating the price. I asked them to value my car for a trade in and they offered me $4,000. I was like.. wtf. Hell no. Right at that time, I got a text from a private buyer that saw my craigslist ad and asked if I would sell it for $8,000 which was a fair price. Extra $4,000 for a few extra steps? Yes. So I purchased the car by itself from the dealership and then went to meet the buyer and everything was kosher.
Craigslist
I put my Nikon D3100 for sale on craigslist. I realized it sits in the closet for the majority of the year. I just don't need one right now. It's great to have one for those moments when you really do want to take nice photos - but how often is that? Carrying it around is a total bitch too.
I ended up just picking up a Canon SD630 point and shoot off craigslist for $40. And if i want the bokeh effect I can just photoshop it.
I also picked up a Garmin Nuvi50 for $80 brand new from craigslist. I love craigslist. There are some hidden gem deals if you do the search.
I was thinking about buying another onboard Nav/DVD system/deck for the Prius, but the one I want (Rosin) is $850 - and I can't justify spending that much for something that ads little value to the car.
I am also trying to sell all of my coats hanging in my closet that I never wear because they are too big on me now. However, it's summer.. they probably won't sell.
Diet
My mentor is the one that got me into the whole chicken breast diet - but he has been falling off the wagon recently. During July we drank beers, eating pizza, and just totally stuffing our mouths with food we should have avoided. During August, I am trying to get back into the healthy mentality, just like in June. During June when i was eating chicken breasts - I noticed a significant loss in fat; and i could feel myself getting leaner. It truly does work.
Cousin
My cousin Caroline is engaged. Met the fiance this weekend and had boiling crab together. Nice guy - almost reminds me of myself in certain situations. Hope everything works out for them.
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And.. that is that. Life has been busy - which keeps me focused. I leave the house around 6-7am and get back home around 9pm. Then I study for my appraiser license. Not much time to screw around.
If you have a goal or a plan, stay focused. Let's all stay focused and look towards the rewards.
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