Apartment Hunting

yesterday morning i spent 2 1/2 hours visiting 11 different apartment complexes in the las colinas/north irving area. i think that area would be more convenient for my driving habits and on top of that it is just a real nice area. which was reflected in the prices of the apartments. i was hoping i might find a bargain, but the cheapest place i could find was still $75 more than what my new lease will be in june. on top of that my renter's insurance and auto insurance would be higher in that area. i might save $20 a month in gasoline and a few minutes of driving, but i don't see it being worth the extra $100 it would cost me to live there. that's like buying something you don't need just because its on sale. spending $100 i don't need to spend to save $20 doesn't make sense.

I'm Totally Marketable

this morning i went in to the sign company that i interviewed with last week so that they could make me an offer, and i'm here to say that i accepted their offer. it will be a little less pay than a few other companies that have been knocking at my door, but i feel that the location, hours, and duties will better suite me and my financial advising. since accepting the job this morning i had another company call me for my third interview and yet another for a first. i even had a couple of companies call me on friday to see if i wanted to come in for an interview. thus i think i'm totally marketable. it feels good to be wanted. i'm glad that my job search didn't take too long. i give God total credit. i'm never surprised, but i'm always amazed at how he takes care of me.

Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

last night my financial office hosted a class about debt. i've worked with the company for over 18 months now and i've seen several of our classes and i think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, but for the life of me i can't get anyone to go to these free classes. it seems like most of the people i know and meet already know the best way to get out of debt and the exact amount and way they should be investing for retirement or their child's education. ironically most of the people reaching the age of retirement right now don't have enough money or they have too much debt to retire. also our the average household credit card debt is at the highest level ever and the national savings rate is below zero, something that hasn't happened since the great depression. so do i believe people really know what is up; no. maybe i just don't have enough passion about our crusade, maybe i just don't have that much credibility, or maybe people don't care? i hoping it's one of the first two. here is a litmus test for you. true or false; the best way to pay down your debt is to put your extra money towards the debt with the highest interest rate. if your answer is true you should come to a class over debt because that statement is false.

A Good Interview

yesterday morning i went on an interview at a sign making company in grapevine. which is only 8 miles from my home. the job would be for a graphic artist/code researcher. basically when a company needs a sign made for the outside of their building i would be responsible for calling the city that they are in to find out what the building codes are for signs in that area, and then i would have to draw what the sign would look like at its location on the computer. i think the job might just be right up my alley. my interview went really well and they told me i did better than anyone else thus far on the math test. i know what you're thinking. a math test for a graphic position? the reason they need someone with good math skills is so that they can draw the signs to scale using ratios and figuring out the deminsions of buildings and walls with only a little bit of information from architectural drawings or photographs of the location. i also feel that the location and hours will be very good for my financial advisory business. now all i have to do is hope that they choose me and are willing to pay me what i need.

That Big Ol' Truck

this past weekend i drove my grandpa's 1992 silverado lewisville with my car on a trailer behind it. there's nothin' wrong with my car. i just needed to borrow my grandpa's truck to help my church move some big stuff and i didn't want to have to drive a gas guzzler for two weeks. so i put my car on a trailer and brought it home with me. drivin' my grandpa's truck reminds me of my 1992 silverado that was stolen a few years ago. if it wasn't stolen i would still be driving it today. driving my grandpa's truck sure does bring back memories and it makes me miss my old truck. for some reason this morning i felt compelled to write lyrics to a song about my truck. this is the first song i've ever written.

i use to,
open the door and jump inside
go on fantastic rides
I went here and there and everywhere
I would drive around without any cares
i roll the windows down and turn the radio up
oh how i loved, that big ol' truck

late one night glass fell to the ground
and someone else drove it straight out of town
from that point on i wouldn't see it again
i loved that truck, i sure miss it man
i wish i were drivin', that big ol' truck

now i zip and zoom in an economy car
on so very little it goes so far
it looks smooth and sleek
as it goes down the street
i roll the windows down and turn the radio up
i fly through town passing everybody up
sometimes i wonder how it'd be
with my girl beside me on my bench seat
i wish i were drivin', that big ol' truck
oh how i loved that big ol' truck

Ordinary; Not My Cup Of Tea

i'm back in dfw after spending 3 days and nights in my home town of burkburnett, tx. sometimes i wonder why i'm even in dfw. i do so enjoy being with my family and long time friends back home, and i constantly hear, "when are you coming home", "wish you didn't have to leave so soon", and "when will you be back". these are hard words to hear because i to want to be back. so what keeps me in the "big d"? i can summarize it in one word, opportunity. that is something that my home town can't offer me. i'm in dfw to be somebody. i think most people just want to be somebody. most people want to make a difference and be a meaningful part of society. i'm not saying that someone who lives in my hometown can't do that. honestly i think i would move back there if it wasn't for the opportunity to own my own business helping families become debt free and financially independent. i'm finding out that trying to be somebody is hard work and takes a great amount of desire and discipline. i'm finding that the discipline is just as important as the desire, and that i need work in that area of my life.

i have good friends hear in dallas, but on a friend scale of 1 to 10 i would only give them a 6 or maybe a 7. i wouldn't consider any to be real close to me, but they are good friends and i can see that they would make excellent close friends. i feel that is partially my fault. i lived with my friend brad for just over 5 years and we never got too close. i guess i don't feel the need or for extremely close friends in dallas because i've had that spot filled for nearly 19 years by my two best friends adam and dj, and i've found a third one in my younger brother chad. i might live two hours north of one and two hours south of the other two, but the connection is still strong 6 years after me moving away.

being back in my small town made me think about what it would be like to settle down and be an ordinary person living an ordinary life. for a second i thought, "man, i could so do that", but all to quickly i thought, "no, it would drive me nuts thinking what might have been or what could i have done." being ordinary just isn't my cup of tea, and right now i feel ordinary. this doesn't mean i'm not happy. it just means that i'm not content. now all i need is the discipline to do something about it.

Interview

last week i decided that i'm not ready to be a full time independent financial advisor just yet. it is still my passion, but my income isn't stable enough to pull it off just yet. so i put my resume on monster and had a reply and set an interview for this morning. my interview was at sally beauty supply in denton. i was interviewing for a graphic artist position at their corporate office.

today i interviewed with two different people. the first was sue from human resources. sue and i had a great time talking and i felt that my interview with her went well. next i interviewed with kelly, the dept. manager of the position that i was interviewing for. this one was hard to read. i'm not sure if she was diggin' me or not. i guess if i get another interview with her boss i will know that things went well during that interview. i have to say that i don't want another JOB, jump over backwards, but we do what we got to do, at least if i have to do it, i will being doing something i think is fun.

Down At The Car Wash

at my office the parking lot is lined with trees. trees that are evidently sapping right now. last night when i left the office my car was covered in sap. i tried to clean the windshield off with my washer fluid, but to no avail. so i decided to hit the $3 carwash on my way home. i pulled up to the drive-thru carwash and inserted two $1 bills. next i proceeded to insert 4 quarters to pay for the remaining dollar i owned. to my surprise, there was no coin slot! i go to this carwash all of the time, but i normally use there debit card feature, or i'll get the $5 job and use a $5 bill. i never noticed before that there was no coin slot on the freakin' machine!? i tried to get my money back by pressing the cancel button and the change button, but all that did is make the machine beep. i decided to drive the 1/3 mile to the gas station and exchange my quarters for a dollar. since it was 9:45 at night i thought my odds were pretty good that no one else would pull up to the car wash and capitalize on my previous contribution. so i race to the gas station, get my dollar, and race back to the carwash. eureka! the goofy machine stills says insert $1! i inserted my dollar, got my car washed, and all was well. but, i just have to pose one question. what kind of self serve car wash doesn't accept coins?

Third Time...Is Not A Charm

what is the big deal about serving jury duty? what do people make such a fuss about it? it is really that bad? personally i wouldn't know because for the third time in my life i've been summoned for jury duty, and for the third time in my life i will be avoiding it. the first time i was summoned it was for wichita county. this was shortly after i moved to dallas county. so i didn't have to serve due to living in a different county. the second time was for dallas county, but i was a full time college student and students are exempt. this time dallas county summoned me by sending me a summons to my address in denton county? i will be exempt once again, or as the document says, disqualified, because i do not live in the same county as i'm being summoned to serve. i was kinda looking forward to the opportunity. watch me get summoned for denton county shortly after i move back into dallas county.

Fadeproof Lay Slim

this is my pimp name. you too can have your very own pimp name.

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These Boots

i've owned cowboy boots for a couple of years now. over the past couple of years i've worn my boots once or twice a week, but i've been embracing my blog title more and more as of late. i must confess that i've worn cowboy boots everyday for almost three weeks now, and i love it. i've even bought a belt buckle with my inital on it.

Is It That Catchy?

is my nickname, j lay, that catchy? it was a nickname that started with my friends that i go to church with in dallas. it is a nickname that i like because it is unique, and when someone says j lay i know they're talking to me. i'll even introduce myself as j lay when i meet someone new at church.

then there are people that i've met through work and other social settings that don't know me as j lay. i introduce myself as jason and they call me jason. that is until they receive an email from me. on my email account i have my first name set as "j". so when people get an email from me it shows up as j lay in the "from" field. recently three people who only know me as jason have started emails that they have sent me with the name j lay instead of jason. so is my nickname really that catchy? should I just introduce my self as j lay for now on?

WANTED - Preferably Alive

this man, whose initals are cbf, is wanted for a crime to grim to mention. if you have seen him or have any information as to his whereabouts, please contact me as soon as possible.

My Blood Pressure

back in late november when i went to the doctor the nurse made a comment about my blood pressure being 140/90. she nor the doctor made a big deal of it, but the nurse did show some concern. i know that having high blood pressure isn't a good thing. even more so when you're 25! when i went home that day i did some research to find out how i could lower it. one of the things that i read was that americans typically take in double or triple the fda's daily allowance for sodium. which is a big contributor to high blood pressure. so i started being more conscious about the sodium contents of the foods that i bought. i generally ate healthy anyways so my diet didn't really change, but the brands i bought did. i noticed that for the same product some brands had a lot more sodium than others. over the last three months simply buying products with less sodium in them has brought my blood pressure back down to a normall level. i checked it a couple of weeks ago and it was 116/70. how about them apples?