Finished with Anna Karenina, now what's next?

  I found out what ultimately happened to Anna Karenina and I can't believe it!  What a change in tone at the end of the book.  Less historical, more spiritual.  Very interesting.  I'm on to what's next to read?  I read long ago the Drawing of the Three by Stephan King.  I recently found out that The Gunslinger will be coming out as a movie.  I think it's time for me to read The Gunslinger to prepare myself.  The book will definitely be better than the movie and I don't want to spoil the story.

  I feel these days like I'm working and working, and getting nothing done at the same time.  I know experience is the only way to progress in the future and I can't wait to get going, but these sinus headaches are terrible.  I really want to get passed the pain in my head and be able to concentrate for long periods of time.  I stare at all the newspapers I want to go through, but I feel like I just want to recycle them.  Oh the amount I have missed, but does it matter now?  Not really, I've survived and will keep going.

  I long for the sun in Arizona.  Even if we do nothing while there, I'm excited just to go.  I'm so excited that the 16 inches of snow fell near Green Bay, WI instead of here!  I am so ready for winter to be over.  I want a moderate summer with lots of property time, walks and grilled foods.  Oh, sounds like heaven to me!  I want people to share it with, but Tony will suffice.  Anyone of our friends and family are welcome to come and enjoy also.  Camping this year?  Maybe.  We didn't last year.  There is something to be said for air conditioning some nights.  We'll see what this summer brings.  I have a feeling it will be a busy one.

Counting My Blessings

  I am looking at the media and all the horrible natural disasters that have happened in Japan the last week and I am struck by how delicate life is and how much I take for granted every day.  I wanted to take a moment and appreciate some simple things that I am blessed with every day.

  I am blessed with a warm bed to sleep in at night that is free from bed bugs and has clean sheets.  I have clean running water I can get a drink or take a shower whenever I feel like it.  I have a working toilet that keeps the water supply separate and clean as can be.  I have local grocery stores with food in it that I can purchase something to eat.  I have the peace of mind that my friends and family are currently safe and not in harms way.  I have the ability to communicate via phone, computer etc. with those that I love.  I have no reason to live other than in the moment right now and enjoy what life has to offer right in front of me.  I currently have no life threatening illness that I am worried about.  I have a car and the means to put gas in my car to travel to places I want to go.  I have the new opportunity to try my hand at a different occupation as my health mandated a change in lifestyle for me.  I am thankful for all of these things and countless more that I have not named.  The biggest blessing is the love and companionship that my husband provides everyday and for years to come in the future.  I send up a prayer of thanks and hope to give back to those around me so that they too can feel blessed.

  Hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick's Day and I wish Happy Birthday to Ms. Sawyer Marie Linna who was born yesterday to Jamie and Steve.  I wish Steve a Happy Birthday today.  Take care of each other!

Sinus headache is my Kryptonite

  I welcome spring with open arms, but these sinus headaches are horrific!  I cannot kick the headache that lasted on and off from Friday to today (Wednesday).  I finally took a medicine combination that worked enough to knock the ache down to a negligible amount and no pounding or squinting of my eyes.  I just cannot concentrate when my head is pounding and I cannot focus mentally nor visually on what I am doing.  This makes getting virtually anything accomplished invariably impossible.  I have been muddling by, but I feel like I am just existing, trying to suffer through the day and hoping for the next day to be better.  What a waste of my time.
 
  When I wake up and I already have a full blown headache, there is little I can do to make my head feel better short of taking a medicine that makes me go back to sleep again.  The humidifier helps greatly, but it can only do so much and I am only in it's presence while sleeping.  I massage my sinuses, temples and forehead.  I have been doing heat compresses.  Benadryl and Motrin are some of the best inventions ever, second to antibiotics of course, but happily I do not think I have a sinus infection at this point.  I will be so happy when summer is here and this spring transition is over!  It helps that the rain is coming tonight to get some of the particulates out of the air and to wash away that dirty snow.  Ugh, can't wait for this curve to be over.  I am getting dizzy from this business.  So if you see me squinting or sluggishly unfriendly, please do not take it personally, I am just in sinus pain.

TAXES 2010

  Despite this last week being the most busy week I've had in recent memory, it was also the most illness racked.  The thing that I'm learning about real estate is that there is no set routine or schedule.  Everything is based on someone else's timing and I am at the beacon call of those that I am working with or would like to work with.  Whatever sinus problems and/or viral infections I must be afflicted with for the last 3 days.  Waking with a headache full blown is the worst and blows the day for me.  I was not sure if I would make it through the required work photos, but being outside was my saving grace to go home as soon as possible. Sleep was my friend this weekend.

  Taxes got started today.  I collect all of my tax documents as they arrive in the mail and put them in the fire safe until it is time for getting down to business.  This year I made it really easy on myself as I collected medical mileage and number of appointments etc. prior to starting the paperwork.  I knew I would file an itemized deduction because I spent thousands of dollars, miles and hours of time dedicated to medical appointments.  I thought for certain I would have enough to deduct something and sure enough, despite everything, we cannot deduct a single mile nor a single cent.  Ridiculous.  The terminology they use is just to throw you off and to inhibit getting justified taxed monies back into our pockets.

  Next year, we are taking all of our receipts into the office of a CPA and dropping them off so they can prepare it for us.  I am ready for a professional to handle the complexities that are coming in this new year.  Being a subcontractor, starting a business, medical deductions, etc.  all kinds of changes.  It will all be interesting and worth it.  So fun to hand that responsibility over to a professional.  Saves me a whole weekend of toiling over it next year.  Not the funnest task, taxes, but the rewards of getting back our hard earned money will be worth it.  That tax refund is so good to look forward to.  Money that is coming our way without an ear mark can be used for all the new business expenses I am having for being a real estate agent.  Who knew that would be so expensive?  Dues, materials, exams, licensing, etc. all add up to money out of my pocket when I am not making any money to bring into the bank account thus far.  That will be an extra pleasure, the first commission check from a hard day's work.

  Yay for taxes being done and yay for taxes being completed while March Madness college hoops plays in the background all day long.  I feel I am leaning into the curve right now, but man, the sharpness of the change is making me motion sick.  There is no slowing down this train.  I am taking it as it comes.  Duck, bob and weave as much as possible.  Curse you that inner ear imbalance.  Hah.

Back to the grind and sports news

 
  So, I start my process of working on Monday.  It seems like its been a long time coming, but it also seems like life has gone by so quickly since I decided to take this chance.  I look forward to learning completely new things in experiences that I would not have ever expected before.  I do not even know what to expect. That is a part of the thrill and the scariness of something new.  I love the occupying of my day by things other than what is on my own to-do list.  I know there will be no real regularity or routine for my hours, but there will always be flexibility built in to the schedule.

  I love the thought of "doing lunch" with girlfriends and meeting new people everyday.  I can workout at a consistent time despite any obligations I will have.  I am not a morning person per se, so this arrangement will work out very well for me.  I get to do my hair for work, rather than just a pony tail.  I get to dress for success and not for the fluids that will be spilled on me potentially all day long.  There is something to be said for a laugh break and office shenanigans.  I know there will be some office politics involved, but I am certain they will be nothing like I have experienced and/or endured in the past.  Flexibility in hours can be intimidating because I am such a worker, how do I know when to call it a day.  I will have to just turn off the light sometime and say, "Now it's time to play."

  Going to my first hockey game with the work crowd as actually good.  My husband even had a good time.  I could see making Michigan Tech. hockey games to be a regular occurrence.  The game was a bust in that the home team played the best team in the league and lost.  Really, the time was spent networking and catching up with people that I know and seeing and be seen with my new colleagues.  Being associated people with a good reputation and wholesome qualities out in the public is a refreshing feeling.  I think reputation is earned and then can be taken away so easily by rumor.  I am pleased with my reputation and hope to maintain my integrity throughout my career no matter what endeavor I undertake.

  From hockey that is too new to tell if I like it yet to basketball that I am very familiar with and look forward to every year in March.  March Madness is coming and I'm excited.  The games, the excitement, the fantastic heart of the players all make keeping track of the brackets makes it worth while.  March 15th 2011 is the start of the games that count for post-season.  Love the Pac 10, Big 10 and I root for Iowa, Arizona and Michigan.  Sweet victory to all.  Cheers to the curves and jumps of the games and work in my life.

Today is a Good Day

  I have to say today was a long day.  I woke at 5:30 AM, ridiculously early for Faithe.  I got ready and was on the road to Marquette my 6 AM.  The snow was heaviest until L'Anse and then the roads were just a little slushy.  Seven degrees out and the traffic flowed well.  I went without the radio so I could concentrate on driving.  This means almost 2 whole hours of silence, by myself.  Good times.  I used little windshield wiper fluid as everything was so icy.

  I had the breakfast of champions at McDonald's and reviewed last minute notes to squish in any details that I could.  I found the building despite the vague google maps directions.  I passed the medicinal marijuana office on the way to the testing room in the same building, on the same floor.  I checked in and they took my picture, just in case I pass the test.  I sit again to take the test.  It took 1 hr. 45 minutes to finish.  After all my toiling, the next screen after finishing the test was: PASS.  Then the next screen, please see the proctor to check out.  They hold your license until you complete the test for some reason.  Maybe they are conducting a background check during the exam.  My identity must have been verified.

  I passed!  I passed my real estate salesperson test!  I was licensed on the spot.  I got my license pocket card and was out the door.  Such a good feeling.  I felt light and happy.  The weather deteriorated while I was in the exam.  Snowing heavily, I went to visit my friend Erika and had a great Jimmy John's sandwich for lunch.  By the time I drove home the roads were very slushy.  I hydroplaned at least twice.  I was so tired and was so glad to be home and off the road.  I can't wait to get to work.  Tomorrow is my "coming out party" in real estate.   You can find me at the Michigan Tech. Hockey game tomorrow in a box with the State Wide of Houghton owner with his family and friends.  I have never been to a hockey game.  I hope I get something out of it.  Yay.  Today was a good day.  Swing away baby.

Studying feels like slipping on that favorite old T-shirt

  I have been back to the basics this last week.  I am back to using mechanical pencils, ball point pens and yellow highlighters.  I got the pleasure of using the new sturdy Post it page markers so I can turn to a section without tearing or tugging on the page too much.  I love office supplies as it is, but getting to be productive using them is even better.  I have been loving reading the material, doing homework, taking quizzes and exams on the information.  I just can't get enough study time.  I think it is time well spent and anything else I could have been doing seems less important.

  The pressure of a deadline is a little anxiety inducing, but there could be no accomplishment without an end to demonstrate success.  I love going into an exam.  The smell of the paper, the feel of eraser being wiped away, the time ticking away, the sound of the pencil writing furiously.  At the end of an exam, I typically do not know exactly what my score will be.  Myself being my worst critic, I do not usually come out of an exam with the feeling of acing it, mostly I feel relieved that it is over.  Despite that, the anticipation of my score is more excitement than apprehension.  Always liking school and being in my element in academia, the feeling is fun and close to my heart.  Being the perpetual student, I never know where learning will take me. I know this year will be different than any other in my life and that is exciting to me.

  Getting to the end of this test, I wish I could just get it over with.  I know that once I pass I can move on to the learning of how the business actually works rather than just an abstract and literal view that learning the information brings.  In applying what I learned comes understanding and even better, possibly getting paid.  Ultimately that is the goal is to pay the bills.  Being out of work for so long has definitely been a drain on my patience, sense of security and resources.  I know my earnings will be meager for the first 1-3 years, but I look forward to the challenge and to work with different people I otherwise may not have had the opportunity to meet.  Always in a transition, real estate will keep me on my toes for certain.  Keeping things interesting, I am hoping will not get old.   I hope people will work with me and not just look at my baby face and say that I am too young.  I know when I am 50 years old the baby face will come in handy.  Good news yesterday, I hope there is good news tomorrow, in the form of a pass the test.  I cannot see around this corner yet, but I know I will make it around the bend.