Over-Identification
It isn’t very often that I go to church, but the last couple times that I attended mass at the church I grew up with I actually enjoyed the sermon. The mass I attended was the funeral for my great grandmother who passed away on August 22, 2010. She married twice during her lifetime; the second time after her first husband had past on. The priest started by asking whose wife she would be in Heaven. He then moved on to what families and nationalities we belong to, and how they affect our interactions with others. This was referred to as over-identification. We refer to ourselves as coming from different nationalities: Irish, Italian, Japanese, as well as from different religions: Catholic, Islamic, Jewish, and even our skin colors: black, white, etc. His main point was that we are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of God and all come together in Heaven. I can kind of agree with being brothers and sisters and being one with each other, but the God and Heaven part is a bit of a stretch for me.
I do believe that we over-identify ourselves to feel more like individuals and stand out in the crowd to feel special. Growing up, I was a white, American of Irish and Italian decent and a Catholic who lived in Braidwood, Illinois. I’m sure there are many other ways to distinguish myself from others, such as the schools I attended and so forth. The point is, we feel so inclined to make ourselves different somehow from others to feel special, and also use that to think that we are superior to others somehow.
Our individualism has lead to countless wars and bloodshed in the name of ethnicity, currency, civics, geographic location, and religion. We need to see each other as fellow human beings who may be in need of something instead of a stranger who may have something that we want.
I feel bad that I didn’t give enough time to learn very much from my great grandma, but I feel very fortunate that I was able to hear and be moved by such a profound sermon at her funeral. Thank you, Grandma Berg for that and for the many pudding pops and milkshakes you made for us kids.
New DVD Releases – August 31, 2010
| Marmaduke, the world’s most lovable Great Dane, leaps from comic strip fame (appearing in 600 newspapers in over 20 countries) to big screen stardom in this family comedy event. A suburban family moves to a new neighborhood in Orange County, California with their large yet lovable Great Dane, who has a tendency to wreak havoc in his own oblivious way. But its not all living large for the Duke, who finds that fitting in with his new four-legged friends – and a potential romantic interest – isn’t always easy for a super-sized teenage dog. Owen Wilson gives the beloved Great Dane his voice in the film, which also features the voices of Fergie, George Lopez, Emma Stone and Kiefer Sutherland. | |
| Hang on for this high-octane thrill ride that goes even deeper into the gritty world of an outlaw biker gang! Reeling from the combined pressure of an ATF crackdown and an unprovoked murder, the Sons face a far more deadly threat from a cold-blooded enemy who will stop at nothing to drive them out of Charming—for good. As Jax and Clay square off over questions of leadership and loyalty, lines are drawn and chaos reigns as the club threatens to destroy itself—from the inside out. | |
| Get ready for a full dose of medical mysteries with 21 episodes of the riveting drama series, House. Hugh Laurie is joined by James Earl Jones (Star Wars), Laura Prepon (That ’70s Show) and David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum) in guest appearances as he returns to his Golden Globe® winning and Primetime Emmy® Award-nominated role as Dr. Gregory House. In this brilliant sixth season, House finds himself in an uncomfortable position— away from the examination room. As he works to regain his license and his life, his coworkers deal with the staff shakeups, moral dilemmas, and their own tricky relationships with House. And when House returns more obstinate than ever, Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital will never be the same again. | |
| It’s Elena’s first day back at Mystic Falls High School since the tragic death of her parents. Along with her Aunt Jenna, Elena tries her best to look after her troubled younger brother, Jeremy, and salvage what family they have left. The first day is already shaping up to be a struggle for Elena until she meets the mysterious new kid at school, Stefan. Elena is touched that he can relate to what she’s going through. What Elena doesn’t know is that Stefan is a vampire, constantly resisting the urge to taste her blood. As their undeniable connection grows deeper, Stefan’s dangerous older brother, Damon, shows up to wreak havoc on the town of Mystic Falls – and claim Elena for himself. The Vampire Diaries is based on the bestselling book series from Alloy Entertainment. |
New DVD Releases – August 24, 2010
| Watch the entire epic story of Lost – the series that redefined television – from its phenomenal opening scene to its magnificent final moment. Uncover the secrets of what caused Oceanic 815 to crash, what ultimately drew the passengers together, and relive their incredible journey as they battle to rewrite their own fate. Experience a landmark in the history of entertainment with Lost: The Complete Collection, featuring every episode of all six seasons and includes one full disc of never-before-seen bonus with over two hours of content exclusive to the complete collection. Television doesn’t get any better than this. | |
| NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it’s a show that focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team of special agents forced to work together in high-stress situations. From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents travel the globe to investigate all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties. | |
| Talk about lucky! Season 13 of The Simpsons arrives on Blu-ray and DVD with 22 hilarious episodes and tons of fun-filled extras, including audio commentaries, animation showcases, and featurettes. So grab a donut and pull up a couch to see Lisa becoming a Buddhist, Bart living in a plastic bubble, Homer doing community service (which lands him in the electric chair), and the Simpsons offending the entire nation of Brazil, plus your favorite couch gags and a slew of celebrity guest voices. | |
| Spotted: Our beloved Upper East Siders, all grown up. Though high school may be behind most of them, you can be sure a future of love, scandal and, of course, secrets awaits. Based on the best-selling series of young-adult novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, this drama is told through the eyes of an all-knowing blogger — Gossip Girl — who, via constant, avidly read text messages, is determined to uncover and fuel every scandal possible on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where gossip rules, and affluent young people find themselves with the money, access and appetite to explore all the temptations New York City has to offer. Keeping track of the shifting friendships, jealousies and turmoil in this wealthy and complex world isn’t easy; that’s why there’s Gossip Girl. Executive produced by Josh Schwartz (Chuck, The O.C.) and Stephanie Savage (The O.C.), Gossip Girl has won a legion of devoted and fashion-forward fans. |
Struggling Lately
The main reason I started my blog was to make a little extra money on the side doing something other than the daily grind. I was really excited at first, especially after reading how well people like John Chow, Jeremy Schoemaker, and Darren Rouse make lots of money by promoting other people’s products on their websites. I thought “wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go wherever I want, and do whatever I want while getting paid to do it?” Sure, it does sound great, but it takes a lot of time, dedication, and especially discipline. I seem to lack all three necessities.
Since changing careers back to where I was two years ago, I have a lot more time to do the things I enjoy doing. At my last job, I worked retail hours and didn’t get home until 8 PM. It really put a strain on my relationship with my girlfriend as we got up at separate times and usually ate dinner at separate times. I also wanted to come home and watch a movie or play a video game, when she would want to go to bed. We now get up, have dinner, and go to bed at the same time, but I still find myself struggling to find time to keep my goal of having a profitable blog.
That would lead me to my issue with dedication.
I get great ideas to implement on my blog all the time, but I always start out strong with a few good posts right off the bat on a subject to eventually being pushed aside, because I feel like doing something else when I should be writing. I have noticed that there have been a lot more comments made by my readers, which is very uplifting. Thank you, all! Why I don’t let that bolster my confidence and write more, I do not know.
To that, I would attribute my lack of discipline.
Discipline has always been one of my weakest traits when it comes so something I should be doing to better myself. Baseball has always been one of my greatest loves in life, especially playing. I was the starting catcher for my middle school and summer baseball teams, but was shuffled out during high school. I would attribute that to politics in the school and not being known by the coaches who also coached football, which I didn’t play. Now, I realize that it wasn’t anybody’s fault but mine. Had I spent more time in the cages and taking extra drills, I might have played more.
Where my dedication and discipline really come into effect are in video games and card games. Anything that elicits an addictive behavior with a reward system hooks my attention immediately. Whether it’s purchasing a pack of cards to see if I pull one of the game-breaking cards or winning a roll for some uber phat lewt in an online game, you can say I’m pretty much going to be hooked.
I try to alleviate all of this by creating a calendar with a list of things to do everyday as well as creating posts that are structured and not too difficult to write about. Lately though, I have felt like I haven’t been getting very far with the site. I have noticed more visitors and comments, so I guess I should let that cheer me up.
Personal Finances – July, 2010
This was a decent month for me financially. It wasn’t great, but it was better than others. We took a couple of trips as the summer is starting to wind down and it will be back to school for my girlfriend in a few weeks. Our first trip was to the Renaissance Faire just over the Wisconsin border. That wasn’t too pricey of a trip. Maybe $30 for each of us with admission and food included. We then took a trip to Wisconsin Dells which wasn’t too expensive (around $140) since we stayed at a friend’s house for the night. Good fun that theoretically was paid for by my moves in the stock market!
One of my stock positions was up 25%, so I sold all but that gain and have my initial investment back. The extra 25% is still paying me dividends and is continuing to grow in value. It was only a $100 gain in the stock, but it’s now money that I didn’t have originally that is continuously making me money now. It would have taken me over two years to make that gain if the stock went nowhere and I was collecting the dividends. I won’t be collecting as much now, but it was a trade that was well worth it! I am also up in one of my positions in another stock after I bought it again on the way down. That’s going to be another win!
I also received $50 in cashback rewards from my credit card, which I could have used to get rewarded even further with gift cards where I would get an extra $5 or so, but I decided to pad my checking account instead. The Best Buy Reward Zone was even kind to me as I received $20 in rewards that are going to be applied to Halo Reach when it comes out in September.
Overall, my cash position is down a little after I added money to my Scottrade account, but my investments are up, which I am all about, and my liabilities are down! I also realized that I could pay off my car right now if I wanted to sell all of my stocks. It is something I have been thinking about, but I am going to wait to see how my job goes with the winter coming up.
$1,716.83 Total Income
$1,600.00 Monthly Pay Checks
$1.41 Checking Account Interest
$0.31 Savings Account Interest
$25.87 Dividends ($86.01 / qtr.)
$89.24 Prosper Loans
$1,223.86 Total Expenses
$200.00 School Loans
$192.00 Car Payment
$450.00 Food & Utilities
$130.00 Gas
$72.00 Cell Phone
$50.00 Entertainment
$129.86 Insurance
$492.97 Net Monthly Cash Flow
$116.83 Passive Income
9.55% Passive Income % of Expenses
$8,886.77 Total Assets
$562.83 Checking Account
$311.10 Savings
$54.24 Scottrade Account
$46.73 Prosper Account
$24.23 ChaCha Account
$0.00 Paypal Account
$1,759.93 IRA
$84.45 401k Vested
$6,043.26 in Stock
$1,133.91 Loans on Prosper
$18,211.84 Total Liabilities
$11,374.16 School Loans
$6,139.90 Car Loan
$697.78 Credit Card
