So this is what having a "life" is like...

     Well, the schedule is in at work...Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I work 12 hour shifts.  I then have off Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  At first it was a little daunting...what to do with that much time off.  I have been working so much in the last few years (workaholic that I am) that having time off is a little strange...(and pretty damn good!).  I need to fill my time off with new hobbies and pursuits and perhaps a little travel?  We'll see where we go from here, but it sure is a great problem to have...

     Work continues to be great...it took me a long time to find my niche in the workforce, but to be able to do what you like to do at this stage of the game is a blessing I don't take for granted.  My advice to all (especially to the youngsters entering the workforce for the first time) is to find a job that you love and hold onto to it for dear life.  All of us have had crappy jobs growing up, but those should be used as motivation to continue the search for the job you look forward to going to every day.  You're going to spend a majority of your life (God Willing) working and if it's something you love to do it will enhance every other part of your life.  Too often we give up going for the dream job for obvious reasons (money, food, shelter, transportation, etc.) but as I have learned over the years it isn't the quantity of life (material things) it's about the quality of life and that includes the struggles to get that quality.  I have now reached the quality portion of my life...(took me long enough, eh?).  I have a job I love and am good at, I live in a beautiful place, I am in decent health and my work schedule is not the dominant thing in my life. 

     My further advice to anyone willing to read this blog is to start saving for retirement as soon as you can.  It's money taken out pre-tax or after tax but money you can't touch and when you get to be my age you can actually think about not having to work anymore.  My boss at the Goodyear store I started working at in 1984 got me to start an IRA and it is was the smartest thing I ever did for myself (except for the quitting drinking and drugging thing).  I can honestly say that I can now see the end of the work cycle coming in the near future.  But for now, I going to enjoy this new chapter on my journey.  I'm going to enjoy having a "life"...  Ciao for now, my faithful readers.

Free at last...Free at last...

     Free at last...Free at last...Thank God Almighty...I'm free at last!  With apologies to the late, great Martin Luther King (still one of the most memorable and moving speeches I have ever heard), I needed to borrow this excerpt from his "I Have A Dream" speech to because I received great news this week...My bankruptcy payments are OVER!  I received a letter from from the bankruptcy Trustee that I have satisfied all debts to my creditors and therefore no further payments will be necessary!  I even got a check in the mail for over-payment of said creditors.  I will be receiving a letter in the next 30-45 days from the Bankruptcy Court to discharge my case and when it arrives it will become officially official, but my money is now my money again!  I am overcome by a sense of relief and thank Almighty God (once again) for seeing me through this very stressful time.  Even though I know it was totally my doing, it was a rough four and half year run of creative financing (including rolling change for gas money sometimes and working three jobs sometimes) but it taught me valuable life lessons.  I was able to continue doing what I love to do and living where I love to live and re-established a belief my Father (God Rest His Soul) instilled in me a long time ago...Hard work and perseverance eventually pays off.  And now it has!  I can't tell you how happy I am right now...(it still brings tears to my eyes every time I revisit it and reread the letter).  If you need financial advice...please don't look to me!!!  But if you need an example of what not to do or poor fiscal responsibility then I'm your man!  HALLELUJAH AND PRAISE JESUS! I am alive and well and I have survived yet again.  

     Even happier news...I continue in good health...not bad for a guy turning sixty this month....(Sixty!  Who would have thunk it!)  I never in my wildest dreams believed that I would reach this monumental milestone...(and those that remember me before I got clean and sober can attest to this).  But here I am in the homestretch with nine days before the happening...I still need to take care of a hernia, but all in all I am in good health physically...(mentally, not so much).  I am meeting with a nutritionist later today...(my eating habits in a word--SUCKS) and it's time to put my general health at the forefront of my priority list. Now that I an going to be sixty I plan on hanging around a good long time more so I am making appointments with the eye doctor, finding a new general physician and getting back in a good healthy routine.  Now that I can work one job...(one job...what a concept!) I can put myself as priority number one. With four days off a week...(still can't believe it when I say it) I can work on myself  and live a life that revolves around something other than work.  The golf game is glorious and I continue to be amazed at how it mirrors life itself with ups and downs and good days and bad days.  I meet great people every round I play and enjoy being out on beautifully landscaped courses with spectacular views and breathtaking layouts.  And with little or no rain...(can't remember the last time it rained) I never miss a chance to be outside enjoying the beauty of my home state...(which I plan to explore more now that I have time and some money in my pocket!).

     If it's June in Arizona...it's over 100 degrees every day! Arizona fun fact...we average 110 days over 100 degrees every year...(at the time of this blog it is 105 topping at 108 around 4 o'clock my time). Like everything else, it needs to be enjoyed in moderation...much water drinking, shade finding, hat wearing, sunblock wearing, moderation.  I can't say it's for everyone, but this guy likes it just fine.  The three months of brutal heat is a small price to pay for the nine months of spectacular that is the state of Arizona.  So after a round of golf in the morning, some recovery time in the air conditioned apartment...(writing this blog) I will be off outside again enjoying some heat!

     One last bit of news...(this is for you, Mrs. Daddy).  A "door" has finally opened in the dating arena and I have met someone that I truly like and hopefully will continue to see in the future. I leave it in God's Hands. He steers my ship very well). We will see what we will see. I hope it works out.  It would be a nice addition to a life I have worked long and hard for.  God bless you all.  Talk soon.