Budget-Friendly, Time-Saving, Healthy Costco Grocery List

On my list trip to Costco, I recorded items and price with a notepad, and created this grocery list to get in shape for the marathon. even if you aren't working out, it comes with many other benefits,

1) You can buy a month's worth of groceries in one, hour-long trip.
2) It only costs $194 per month.
3) It provides a healthy diet with variety.
4) All of the food will last for more than a month.

HERE'S THE LIST IN AN EXCEL DOC

Don't forget memory

     People have good memories. Since leaving college, I've noticed patterns among people who keep up with me via Facebook, and those who now fail even to wish me happy birthday. Relationships I strained, by failing to be punctual and by letting my manners slip, are pretty much over now. Those I nurtured by occasional correspondence, invitations and courtesy, have their roots still firmly intact. Ironically, some people with whom I had superficial contact during college (e.g., the friend of a friend), now send occasional messages and invitations due to a few friendly conversations we had during college.

     Here's my advice: act as if others will forever remember what you do and that it will influence every future interaction with them. Even if your bad behavior improves, people will remember with a vengeance if you show any signs of backsliding. For example, if you repeatedly whisper behind others' backs, you gain a reputation for gossip. They will refuse to open up to you, work with you or introduce you to others. The latter, losing networking opportunities, is perhaps the most devastating.


     On the other hand, if you are consistently positive, then your future interactions will blossom into friendships and opportunities. Also, even if the relationships lies dormant for five years, you might reconnect with your old study partner because Facebook News Feed says she is the hiring manager for a potential employer.

Life Stories

   

After looking back on the past 25 years and seeing all the memories and experiences I've amassed, I've come to realize each of our lives is a story we are writing. As with a book, each of our stories has a beginning and an end, but our lives are written not with ink and pen, but by our actions. Every action lasts forever in time, like ink that has dried on a page, and every really significant action lasts forever in our own memories and in the memories of those who see us.

This is an analogy with serious implications for how we should lead our lives if we want to write a good story. It makes me realize just how important our choices are. They can never be taken back or altered and they affect everything to come—and you remember them. This is the greatest motivator I have ever discovered to plan ahead, to think seriously about what you will do in the future, to commit good actions and to avoid cutting corners or living for the moment.

So say a man wastes the first half of his life making bad decisions or floundering about? Do huge mistakes ruin the whole story, or do a series of misfortunes destroys the plot? Far from it! It is—usually—best if someone writes a story without serious errors or misfortunes, that has nothing but a steady improvement punctuated by frequent peaks of major achievement. However, a man who gains wisdom from his mistakes, who turns his life around and ends it in success, has still written an incredibly good story, and perhaps a better one than those filled only with positive.

The purpose of life is this: At the end of your life, to scan across those old pages and say with a proud, serene glow, “I have written a good story.”

“Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.” –Source Unknown

Seattle, Winter Wonderland

Here are some photos I snapped the morning after the big snow a week ago. This is uncommon weather in Western Washington.

New Years Resolutions

Maybe it was all the cups of canteen coffee I drank last Sunday, or maybe I had one of those occasional, uber-useful bursts of energy, but I suddenly desired to to make several ambitious New Years Resolutions:

1) Run all 23.2 miles of the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon on June 27.
2) Skydive from about 13,000 feet.
3) Climb to the top fo Mountain Rainier.
4) Organize another blood drive at church for March.
5) (Possibly) Take my cousing Darren up on the offer to go Moose hunting in Alaska in the fall.
6) (Possibly) Get a tattoo (what type and where? Hmmm...).

Most of them are big, acheivable and mind-focusing; something I need considering I'm currently working as a glorified telemarketer. A lot of good that public relations degree did me! They'll also complement my resume and show I'm capable of living high even when working low.

Via Facebook and email, I invited all my friends and family to join my resolutions, and then asked all my coworkers to train with me at the local gym for which our work gets a discount. Jake, the department manager and my worker, Jon, might be takers. Jon's self-esteem would really benefit from it. To be sure I'd commit to my resolutions, last night I bought a $100 ticket to the marathon and signed up for gym club membership, $29 per month. The receptionist, Kelly, was pretty cute and friendly. I'll have to smile and say hi next time. I never know when someone could turn into a networking resource, or even friend.