2010: Begin Again: A van-tasy

Dreaming

Are you familiar with the Pepsi ‘Forever Young’ promotion?

I don’t know if this ran in the U.S., but my fellow Canadians will likely recall it. Someone is drinking a Diet Pepsi and the voiceover asks “Is there anything else youthful you'd like to experience?”

Then the person drinking has a flashback to something great from when they were young, sees how it would apply to life today and decides to stick with the Diet Pepsi instead.

The one that gets me is the guy in the minivan who says, “Yeah, I’d like to have my old van back.”

The view cuts to him driving around in this tricked-out Boogie van from the ‘70s with the gaudy mural of the big-breasted warrior woman and her team of saber-toothed cat/bear things. Cue Loverboy’s ‘Working for the Weekend.’ The music pounds, the van rolls and everyone is looking at him. A businessman gives the driver an odd look at a red light. He stops to let the kids out at school and a mother covers her little girl’s eyes as the driver stands leaning up against the van with one hand near one of those massive breasts.

He’s quite embarrassed. He snaps to and says “On second thought, I’ll stick with my Diet Pepsi.”

Wrong answer, dude! See, I had a Boogie van back in the late ‘70s. Yes. Me. And recently I’ve been thinking how great it would be to have one again. That one in the Pepsi ad would be so cool!

There was a very cool van around in 1976 sponsored by Pepsi’s competitor, Coke! Check out the photo I’ve included with this posting. Took me a bit of time to find it. Coke and Levi, the jeans people, teamed up to produce about 25 of these vans, giving them away in contests across North America. I entered a bunch of times, but never did win the van, although someone in Alberta did win one. Very nice custom interior . . . all in Levi denim.

Mine was a Dodge Tradesman B100. It was sort of a copper colour. No exterior mural. Couldn’t afford that. Duel side exhaust. Visor. Flares. No side or rear windows. My friend, Ian, and I worked on the interior. Ian had a Chevy van with a beautiful interior. We had lots of fun doing my van. I’m a klutz with things like that, so Ian was a big help. We built a good bed in back, with a pullout middle section that served as an extra seat and a cooler. Installed wood flooring and ox-blood red faux leather walls. Put in a sunroof.

I loved that van. Every once in a while, deep in a restful sleep, I will dream that I still have it. That it’s been sitting in a garage somewhere all these years and I just have to dust it off, start it up and get back on the road.

It’s a nice reminder that we all have dreams. Often we let the dreams slip away as we ‘mature.’

Life has a way of smacking you upside the head with a two-by-four. Before you know it, you’re working in a career, you’re married, you’ve got kids, the kids grow up and move away (hopefully) and you’re left staring at the fact that so much of what you wanted to do when you were young hasn’t happened.

The goals you had were put on hold, then got lost in the back of that garage in your mind, covered with dust and forgotten about. Part of what 2010: Begin Again means to me is examining those old dreams and seeing about resuscitating them. Can a little mental CPR breath new life into my earlier desires? At least those dreams that still intrigue and interest me.

I like to think it’s never too late to begin again. Take a fresh look at life and see if you’re living the way you really want to, or if you are living the way you have to. There’s a big difference. I’m fortunate to have a job I enjoy working with people I like. Not everyone has that. But there is still more I want to accomplish.

If you’re still in your 20s or 30s, don’t give up on your dreams. Maybe it doesn’t seem like they are possible right now, but if you work a plan to make them happen, you’ve got time. If you’re closer to me in age, I still say don’t surrender to the passage of time. You can still make a plan to achieve, then work your plan.

My plan involves developing second income streams to enhance what I currently earn. This summer I’ve been fortunate to have time to do some research and develop some ideas to achieve that goal.

One of those ideas is to provide others with access to a service that allows people to easily connect, reconnect and stay in touch with friends, family, co-workers clients and just about anyone else through easily customized greeting cards that are printed and mailed for you for less then you could spend on a card purchased in most stores. You can check this out here.

And if you want to see my van, stay tuned. I’m going to try to locate and scan some photos from that era. You’ll get to see me when I was skinny (I was once, you know), had a cheesy moustache and a perm! Hey, it was the ‘70s.

I can skip the cheesy moustache and the perm, but I’d sure like to have the van again!

Cue the music . . .

“Everyone's watching, to see what you will do

Everyone's looking at you, oh

Everyone's wondering, will you come out tonight

Everyone's trying to get it right, get it right

Everybody's working for the weekend

Everybody wants a new romance

Everybody's goin' off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance, oh”

And fade out . . .

Photo: The machine of a dream. The Coke Denim Machine. I wanted it so badly. To enter the contest you needed to collect bottle cap liners. This was the day of metal bottle caps. I used a magnet on a sting to fish caps out of vending machines. Ya see, in the olden days you'd use the machines built-in bottle opener to pop the metal cap, which would fall into a receptacle below. How primitive!

2010: Begin Again . . . Lessons I Have Learned

“That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Get your money for nothin' get your chicks for free” – Dire Straits

Nice thought. The money, that is, not the chicks. I’m married. But let’s face it. No one gets money for nothing – lottery winners the exception, I suppose. Two in Canada are splitting $50 million after a draw this weekend. For 2010: Begin Again, I gave serious consideration to enhancing my income. Today more than ever a second income stream is a smart goal for most people.

Some of you know I’ve dabbled in some different home-based business ideas the last few years. Nothing really took for me. And there are a couple of reasons for that. One is, of course, you have to be committed to doing the necessary work and that commitment often needs some specific goals to keep you motivated.

I didn’t always have specific goals and so I must admit that I wasn’t always motivated to do the necessary work.

But there are other reasons, too. A couple of examples:
1. In one case, I discovered that the company I chose to work through had a weird policy in place that said Lynda and I could not build with them as a partnership. In fact, it said if I successfully built my business to the point where I was earning, say, $75,000 a year, and I got hit and killed by truck, Lynda could not take over. The company would take my business and turn it over to someone else who’d built a business with the same company. That didn’t fly with me. To me, the company was there to supply quality products and support efforts to build MY business. Needless to say, I’m not with them anymore.

2. I really liked another opportunity. It was creative. It offered a unique way to capture important family moments and preserve family history. And Lynda and I could work it together, so if anything happened to one, the other could keep on building. Then the company announced an special training seminar. I love seminars that are uplifting and offer good business-building event. One problem. The company was only allowing women to attend. Granted, the business likely appealed mostly to women, but there are men involved. I wouldn’t want to be part of an organization open to all that didn’t allow women to attend a seminar, so I wasn’t going to be part of one that did not include men.

Lesson learned. Do your research!! Before you make a decision to sign up with any opportunity, make sure it fits with your interests and how you’d like to do business.


Back to the Idea
Let’s get back to the idea of developing a second stream of income and why it’s so important. Personally, there are things I want to see and do that can’t be achieved with my current income. Please note that this does not mean I hate my job!

In the past I’ve had individuals offer me an idea for an additional income with the approach that, like many folks, I probably hate my job and would do anything to get out of it. Some would even refer to almost as a curse word – the J-O-B! Nope. That doesn’t work for me. Perhaps it’s a motivator for you and that’s OK. I understand because I’ve been there.

Imagine working for a family-run business that is operated by a father and his five sons. And it’s a dysfunctional family to boot! Yikes! Been there. Done that. Never again! Now I work for a community college. I’m in a great department and I really enjoy the people. For me, the motivator isn’t to get out of the job, but to build a supplemental income that can enhance my life experience.

Another reason to look at developing a supplemental income is for security. For a long time the myth was we could get a good education (still important), find a great company to work for and spend the next 40+ years building a secure career . . . with benefits and a retirement package.

If the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that there is no such thing as security in working for someone else. You can love your work. You can be a valued employee. You can be with a great company or organization. But you can lack control over a variety of influences that could spell the end to that great job.

Just ask all of those folks in the U.S. and Canada that saw their jobs vanish last month. And that’s on the road to the economic recovery I keep hearing about.

You would likely have your own reasons for considering a second income stream. Perhaps you’d like to travel more, make enough to cover a car or house payment, contribute to your favourite charity, save for a child’s education or any of hundreds of other reasons. That’s something you’d know better than I.

Lessons I’ve learned:

1. I’m not interested in a business built around home party plans. I have tried a couple and they can be fun and profitable. But they’re just not me. If you’re looking for an opportunity that can get you out of the house a few nights a week, it could be for you. Just be sure you have a real interest in the product line represented. That comes through in your presentation.

2. I don’t want to be tied to a specific location, so I want a business that can be built online, allowing me to work it wherever and whenever I wish.

3. The product has to interest me. There are many good opportunities to consider, so personal interest plays a major part for me. And it needs to be a legitimate product. Some companies market stuff that is questionable in my mind. If you find the product to have dubious benefits, don’t do it.

4. As I’m not a pushy sales type, I don’t want to be involved in something that requires a lot of hype. For me, it has to be something that can be easily introduced to people and appeal to them. If it doesn’t appeal, that’s OK. I only want to share with those who see a benefit for them.

5. This year I have committed to ‘begin again.’ One of the things I want to focus on is people. Working a business that is all about people and relationships is something that strongly appeals.

6. Finally, I’ve come to see that support is key. If you don’t have a lot of business experience, it’s great to have someone in your corner who can coach you along the way. Obviously, someone with experience in doing what you want to do is best.

My Choice

I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching and exploring. Having the summer off has been great for that purpose. There were a couple of things that interested me. Then came a fateful correspondence. If you’ve read my earlier blog entry you may know the one I’m referring to.

Shortly after realizing the importance of building and maintaining relationships, Jackie Ulmer and I reconnected. We hadn’t corresponded for a couple of years and she shared with me an idea that could help with my desire to build new and enhance old relationships. That idea is what fuels a company called Send Out Cards (SOC).

She let me send a card for free to see how the system works. I chose to send a card to a good friend of mine in Calgary. She’s important to me, but we hadn’t stayed in touch. Once I saw how the system worked, I knew it was for me. Keep your eye on your mailbox. You might me on my list to receive a card!

Seeing how SOC fit so well into part of my 2010: Begin Again plan for fostering friendships, it just seemed natural that I would look into it as a means of developing a second income stream. It matched up with all of the things I was looking for in a business, especially being able to build it online. So Lynda and I made the decision. We are now officially Send Out Cards independent distributors.

I invite you to check out our company site. If you know anyone who would appreciate an easy way to stay in touch with family, friends, customers, employees, or just about any group of people, feel free to direct them to me. Even if someone would simply like to send out a card or two that they can design online, we can help.

Also, if you know of anyone with a possible interest in having an online business, it would be my honour to introduce them to SOC. Don’t worry. I’m not an arm-twister, so I won’t be hounding anyone and you won’t lose a friendship over it! J

Until next time, thanks for reading and thanks for your friendship.

Photos: TOP - Apparently I was very excited about a birthday drink with my friends Sharon, left, and Cheryl. Or maybe it was the gift Cheryl was holding! It was my 50th at Mocha Cabana. BELOW - Overlooking the rive in Trail, B.C. with Uncle George and Aunt Joyce - two fabulous people. Friends and family. Gotta love 'em!

E-mail: blyderek@yahoo.ca

2010: Begin Again - Friends and a Misty Update

Time Keeps on Slipping into the Future

How much time do you spend thinking about the future? Now that I have less time ahead of me than what lies in my past, I think my perspective on the future is evolving. When younger, say in my 20s or 30s, even 40s, it seemed there was all the time in the world. That belief is now pretty much part of the past in which it was formed.

At the risk of sounding like someone’s old grandfather, don’t take what you’ve currently got for granted and it’s never too early to plan for your future. In this case, do as I say and not as I do. I haven’t done a lot of planning for my future . . . and I realized yesterday that technically I’ve only got 12 years to go until retirement! Scary!

As 2010 rolls along and I focus on the idea of ‘begin again,’ much of my reflection has been on a deep, personal level. Last week I shared about realizing I’ve let the riches of friendship slip through my fingers. That’s something I’m working at correcting.

I’ve begun to put together a list of people who have touched my life in some way over the years. Not an easy task, but a real eye-opener! Looking at an address book we use, I was shocked to see so many names that I can’t even recall. I can’t picture faces. I don’t remember the connection. And that’s sad. I suspect many were affiliated with a couple of churches we used to attend. It seems you leave a church and often you leave behind acquaintances.

Those I can’t recall I shall consider lost treasures. They came into my life, enriched a moment and were gone. But there are others whose names stir fond memories. Gems that still shine brightly in my recollections. To these jewels, I have started reaching out. Through social networking I am reconnecting with some wonderful people. And I’m not going to stop there.

Is there such a thing as Providence? Divine Intervention? Law of Attraction? Or is it all coincidence? Whatever you believe, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Remember Desiderata? It certainly unfolded right for me. Just as I’m experiencing the desire to foster stronger friendships, along comes a means that will let me do that in a wonderfully personal and creative way.

I reconnected with a friend I’d been thinking about – Jackie Ulmer. Jackie and I re-established contact after being out of touch for a couple of years. She introduced me to a method she’s been using to strengthen friendships by using a service provided through a company called Send Out Cards. When I found out how easy it was to generate and send personal greetings to others, I felt my wishes crossing paths with a means in either a great coincidence or a benevolent intervention!

Whatever the case, it means I’m going to start going beyond the Internet and back to the personal touch to express how deeply my friends have touched me. For this blessing in my life, I have to thank Jackie.

So, keep an eye on your mailbox. If I’ve got your address, you could be receiving a card from me sometime soon. And if I don’t have your address, well, I might just try to track it down! Yes, you do mean that much to me!

Updates
Spirituality: I’m getting excited about speaking to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship here in Lethbridge on Sunday, Sept. 12. It’s the first celebration together after taking the summer off. The theme is ‘Gathering of the Waters.’ My talk will fall in line with that theme and with the song ‘Imagine,’ being sung by Sarah Russell – my pick!

This is not your traditional church! In fact, I wouldn’t even call our group a church. It’s more a celebration of life with a group that includes people of a wide range of beliefs, but a common interest in improving the here-and-now and not worrying so much about what comes after! If you are interested, we meet at 1904 - 13 Avenue North in Lethbridge. That’s the Nord-Bridge Community Hall. Enter from the south side of the building at the door with the wheelchair ramp. If you want to learn more about the UUF in Lethbridge, let me know and I’ll share what I can.

Health: It may not sound like much, but I’m walking more often. That was easier when I only had Max to deal with. He can set a could pace and is well trained on the leash or off. But now I’ve got Misty, too, for a short while. She’s hardly spent any time outdoors and never on a leash. We’re working on it! But you can see she’s not too keen on walking on grass!

Finances: Being laid off for the summer has been interesting. Fortunately, it’s considered a seasonal layoff and I qualify for EI! Hey, I’ve paid into it for a lot of years; I might as well get something back. Of course, it’s not equal to my salary from the college, but I go back to work on Aug. 30. And there’s a bonus waiting for me on the first pay cheque (that’s ‘check’ for all my friends who speak American). No, it’s not for anything I did. Due to the economy, there are not raises this year, but the Board of Governors has approved a $1,000 bonus to help compensate.

Misty: It was a shivering little frightened dog that came into our home last Wednesday. She was even afraid of little Maya. The tiny kitten puffed herself up, hissed and Misty cowered behind my legs. Now poor Maya may regret that bluff. Misty has settled in and routinely pounces on Maya in an effort to get her to play. She’s twice the size of the kitten and I have to call her off so poor Maya can have some peace. My son’s cat, Freckles, is fine with the big lumbering Max and Maya, but is paranoid about Misty. She stays hidden most of the time. And Max would love to play with Misty, but she’s too nervous around Max. She goes out of her way to avoid him. Some day she’ll learn he’s as big a pussycat as Maya . . . only, well, bigger!

Until next time – live, love and laugh!

Photos: Misty sitting with me at the Nicholas Sheran spray park in Lethbridge. It was her second excursion on a leash. Maya crams her head into my grandson's glass looking to lap up some milk. Sunday was a good day!

Derek (GIC – Guy In Charge)

Of Dogs and Morons

Some people need to have a 2x4 whacked up against their heads in order to knock some sense into them. This includes anyone who thinks being cruel to animals is funny or amusing. Yesterday Kelsea, my daughter, rescued a young dog from the home of a friend of hers. The friend wasn’t overtly cruel to this pup, but she’s not really in a position to provide the care it needs.

The same cannot be said for her roommate and that’s why Kelsea stepped in. Misty is cute as the dickens. I think she’s a Chihuahua crossed with something that has long legs and a lean frame, possibly an Italian greyhound or a whippet.

On Thursday Kelsea stopped by her friend’s place and went to pick up Misty. The little dog gave a quick whine as if in pain. Kelsea discovered that on Wednesday this roommate thought it would be funny to hold this little dog down and shave off all her hair on a large brown spot on her back. He then thought it would be amusing to force the small animal over onto her back and use a black marker to draw crude images of human breasts and male genitalia on her.

Not satisfied with his work, it seems he attempted to use scissors to start cutting the hair off the back of her neck, but was interrupted when Kelsea’s friend arrived on the scene. Misty now has bruising showing up on her exposed skin. She’s very skittish, but is right now happily lying on my lap as I write.

Kelsea convinced her friend to give up the dog as she has no idea of how to care for it. Fortunately, Kelsea does and will become Misty’s new owner. How anyone can find the torture of small animals to be acceptable is beyond me. Having checked with authorities, this treatment doesn’t cut it for filing a cruelty to animals charge. Should this moron ever be unfortunate enough to cross my path, rest assured that I’ll give him a piece of my mind . . . the angry, yelling piece.

Photos: I'm trying to enjoy a bowl of Multi-Grain Cheerios while Maya, the kitten, and Misty, the puppy, nose around for handouts. Misty in our driveway Thursday evening. Misty's belly, unfortunately the marker drawings don't show up very well here. Kelsea holding Misty, show the shaved patch on her back.

2010: Begin Again . . . Again!

Five months. That’s all that’s left in 2010. The year is more than half over. And I’m starting August with a nice, big serving of humble pie! Hmmm, hmmm good.

Why humble pie? Well, first it’s low in calories and has no fat!

Also because I’m nowhere near where I want to be by the time 2011 rolls around. If you’ve read this blog in the past, you may remember that back in January I said “this year I don’t want a resolution; I want a REVOLUTION!”

I also said, “I have no expectation of immediate wholesale change. But step-by-step I will move in a new direction with an understanding that at the end of this year I will be a better person.”

Baby steps have been the order of the day so far! Now it’s time to start taking giant steps and wrap up the year on a high note. I’m going to sharing a lot in the days, weeks and months ahead. But here’s a quick overview of the Revolution so far.

Spirituality: Wow! What a year so far. I’ve read many books, checked out a lot of things online and I have grown. I’m working through Unity Church’s Quest series with a friend of mine. It challenges me to think about spirit in new ways, and that’s great. My personal beliefs have evolved and will likely continue to do so. Right now, I think it’s best if I describe myself as a secular humanist. It seems to come closest to describing where my mind is at.

I’ve also committed to attending the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship in Lethbridge. I had attended for several months, then took a break for several months to process things. Now I’m back. In fact, I’m speaking at the first service after the summer break! That’ll be Sept. 12 and you’re invited to attend if you wish. More on that later!

Most importantly, I’ve come to realize that life is more rewarding with friendships and family. (I think I’ll have another serving of humble pie right about now. Good thing it’s fat-free.) I have been negligent in maintaining, building and fostering friendships and for that I am truly sorry.

While material wealth is nice, our real riches are found in friendships and families. I’ve let many such riches slip through my fingers over the years. Growing up in a military family, combined with my personality type, is part of the reason for my neglect. It’s easy to reach a point where you stop working on friendships. For me, grades 1-3 were in one school, grade 4 in another, 5 and 6 in another, 7 in another, 8 in another, 9-11 in another and finally 12 in yet another. Different schools in different towns and even in different countries. Letting relationships slide can become habit forming.

But revolution can break habits and create new patterns of behaviour. So I plan to connect and reconnect with friends old and new. Fortunately, I’ve come across a very cool and personalized way to do that! I’ll be sharing more about that in the near future.

Health: Well, this is one area that still needs a lot of work. I have a goal weight in mind for the end of the year, but I’ve done little to reach it. My weight has gone down, then back up. Now I need to focus. I carry most of the extra pounds around my middle . . . the worst place to store fat. It tends to lead to greater risk of heart problems. So corrected that will be high on the list for the next five months.

Finances. Right now, they’re still not what I want. But I’m putting a plan into action to start moving in the right direction. More on that to come.

Basically, there’s been a great deal of research and reading leading up to now . . . the time to implement. It’s never to late to begin again. If things aren’t going quite as you’d like, you’re invited to join me and still make it 2010: Begin Again.

Photo: New emphasis on family . . . me choking my eldest son, Devon, at my Aunt Betty's place after the Magrath parade on July 24.