That's right, it's that time of year again where the stores are your second home. I have an uncle and two nephews to buy SPORTS EQUIPMENT for! How LUCKY can a guy get? How EASY could it be? Uncle always has one word when you ask him what's up, it's GOLF! The same goes for the nephews when you ask them what they're up to, SOCCER! I keep trying to tell them that there are other words in the Websters Dictionary but I get blank stares like I'm from Pluto or something. Oh, should I say Pluto since it lost it's planet status? Who cares! I just have to make sure I know what they HAVE and find out what they WANT! It would be catastrophic to present them with sports gifts that they already possessed. I just have to make time with the aunt to get the wish lists from her so as to avoid a faux pas at Xmas. Wish me luck and I hope I have some credit left when I'm done shopping.

A good friend of mine just got the deal of a lifetime recently when he bought a spec home from a local builder. Since the housing market got a bit 'gray' lately he was able to shop around and get a great deal on a home to his liking at a price he could live with, only he got a little more. He got a home theater room! HOME THEATER ROOM! You have to be kidding me. Only millionaires and Hollywood types on TV have those! Needless to say I'm a bit jealous of this situation. He even saved enough on the closing to buy an LCD HDTV for his MOVIES. Doesn't anyone use whole words anymore? To finish his room he now has informed me that he needs to get home theater seating to go into his home theater. I said sure, no problem, so long as I had dibs on one of the chairs. Since he is the host he can supply the popcorn! Oh, by the way, what was missing? He has no MOVIES! lol

Every year we go through the same, but different, routine of being warned that a tough COLD and FLU season is on it's way. Yes, I got my FLU SHOT for whatever strains of the FLU may be anticipated for this years cocktail in a syringe. I'm getting a bit tired of having to do this every year when just by taking a few simple precautions by EVERYONE we could, for the most part, be almost germ free. It may sound disgusting but I have witnessed many people, even well dressed people, bypass the sink while using bathrooms or using reusable handkerchiefs instead of disposable paper tissues. I know, "I'm in a hurry but I showered, my hands are clean already" or "I get a clean handkerchief every morning". Okay, we are not able to stop these germ spreaders because you can't have Germ Police stationed at key health spots all the time. I personally don't want to live in a world that would even consider this by the way. The message I'm trying to clumsily make here is that WE spread the germs through apathy. You know, "I have a cold and so what! I don't feel good, don't bother me with this!". Well once you touch that door or sink handle and have the need to rub your nose or eye BEFORE washing your hands you have just shared their illness. COLD and FLU germs can live on surfaces a long time before becoming useless and they can't wait to get into your moist blood stream and grow. There has to be a better way to deal with these sweet peoples habits. I found a few things on the Internet that looked hopeful and some that were junk in a new wrapper from years ago. One of the items from EcoQuest intl actually cleaned not only the air but physical surfaces too. I thought that was really good, especially when it came to the 'unwashed toucher's' out there that could care less about leaving the knobs and handles they touch contaminated for us to enjoy like they do. I also saw those ionizers that just cleaned the air and were mostly tailored to the smokers or bad chefs that pollute the house air. They work but are limited and don't always justify the expense involved. I know places like Shaper Image cater to these items but the prices are very high there for a single use item. I like to buy multi-taskers that give me more bang for the buck. If an item can clean my air AND surfaces that is a wise purchase! FLU SHOTS are still a good fall-back for your time at work though!

There are an huge selection of Internet marketing ventures to chose from on the world wide web and if your like me you'd like to find a 'hot' direction to follow. If you find a 'hot one' just let me know. I can tell you right now that you will not find it. Nobody who does business on the Internet jumps right into it and makes a huge commission right away, has bragging rights that they had untold income and money flowing out of their pockets. The real money makers earned their income by doing their homework and followed the steps. The first step is to get people to your website, if you don't you'll need that Walmart job after all! The real 'money makers' went by the numbers and took the steps that were required so that the income continued after the initial money transacted to them. One hit wonders are here and gone just as fast. If you want to create your own stable business, either from referrals, links or sales you will need some solid support and direction. One such piece of business advise I came across was from an Internet businessman named Stone Evans. He had some software that made sense of everything. You still have to do you homework and research for your niche but with his help and your determination there's no reason why you can't benefit as well. I'm still going over my material because I don't want to be doing this when I'm 70 or so, not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that I want to spend some time fishing and doing things that I've been putting off while I hold down my 8-5 daily ritual. I want financial independence ASAP and I'm determined and so should you.

I would have to say, without a doubt, one of the most difficult places to be employed, let alone be responsible for, is a health care facility in these times of varying insurance coverage and medical predispositions with so many people looking for affordable healthcare. I did work for a Health Maintenance Organization in the Boston area for several years when things were going along pretty well and they were considered the 'good times' and working conditions were nice, to say the least. This was before the economic crunch that we have been spiraling into for the past several years where health care insurance is getting harder to get every day. In these environments the management of these medical facilities becomes ever more important, not that it was ever less important, to attract and retain top medical talent such as surgeons, medical doctors and support personnel such as LPN's, RN's and CNA's and administrators with their support staff to name but a few, or so. I was reading some trade publications and came across and intersting article about one such person, an administrator named Dan P Neumeister, out of Chico, CA. This gentleman wears many, many hats in the course of his work days. I was noting how prolific and savvy one must be in todays demanding health care field with associations, past administrative experience, and higher education that never seems to come to an end. I tip my hat to all of those dedicated people who basically devote their lives to their professions in health care as it can be demanding and rewarding at the same time! Good job guys and gals!

Here I am wanting to take a trip and I still haven't taken care of my insurance since taking my new job. I guess I've put it off for a little while now, say a few months worth of time. The family is busting my chops to do something before I get out the door to take my vacation that I prearranged when I got hired. I'm glad I looked at the calendar to see when all the political and retail stuff had peaked first. What I need to do is find a reputable web site where I can get honest, free term life insurance rates. I have my car all set but I can't get life insurance with them because they are in the middle of switching underwriters, whatever that means. I don't know, that's what I pay them to know. If I'm ever going to get out of the country, or at least the state, I better contact someone tomorrow. That's what I like about the internet, it never sleeps!