I am taking the plunge and leaving my current job for a new one that I can do from my home office. It isn’t freelance work, but this is the kind of change I need to have happened in my life.
I read an article the other day that talked about switching lanes in your 30s, and I realized that I have hit many of the points brought up. Rather than continuing to loathe the hours I’m away from home, I’m going to start working on my next career move.
Edited 2/10/2022
The owners are set to meet up today, and hopefully, they will change their tune and come to the table with a new offer once this group of meetings is completed. We have progressed to a spot where the owners want to turn to federal mediation, yet the players are not interested in that route. The players have come down from their initial numbers a couple different times, and now it is time for the owners to come up with their offer. This has been dragged on long enough, and it is beginning to look like the 2022 season will not be starting on time.
I watched an interesting video the other day from the guys over at Talkin’ Baseball and they explained in detail why the players rejected the call for federal mediation. I’ll never be able to do their segment justice, so head on over here and watch the video.
It’s been nearly a week since the meeting between the owners and the player’s union of the MLB. There seems to be no second meeting on the calendar, and the world of baseball remains silent. The fans are beginning to get restless. Again. While we all knew the talks that began last week weren’t going to come to an immediate conclusion, I think everyone expected there to be something happening. Trades aren’t being made, players aren’t able to work out and use the sports complex athletic trainers and other staff. This entire shutdown to the world of baseball is so detrimental to the sport itself. It felt like baseball was just gaining momentum again, and here we are, putting the emergency brake on.
Generally, at this time of year, talk is ramping up with the arrival of pitchers and catchers for spring training. Fans would be getting ready to make the trek to the various sites to get the first glimpses of their team in action. Sure the preseason games don’t matter, but it’s still fun to watch baseball. It is so gross to go look for the start date for baseball and see nothing but TBAs marked by all the teams.
The fans want baseball to come back. It’s already a long enough time from the last pitch of the world series to the first one the following season. Can we please just come to an agreement already? I don’t understand why the owners want a shortened season just so they can cram the postseason full of teams, and I don’t know why the two sides want to argue over numbers. Let’s be honest, if you have enough money to buy a baseball team, you have enough money to pay the taxes too.
I didn’t intend to continue this subscription, but the renewal month caught me off guard, so I am signed up for another year to receive the Allure Beauty Box. I also have an Ipsy subscription, which I typically like better than the beauty box. Some months the box seems to be a bit empty, or the products are tiny when there is a promise of full-size products. Although Allure claims to send out unique products, I’ve also noticed repeat products.
My first box of 2022 arrived yesterday, and I have to admit I was happy to open up and see what was inside. Although it was a little messy looking, that was easy to overcome once I lined up the items inside and took a better look at what I had.
I can always stand a new brand of eye serum, and I’m really excited to start using every single item in this package. There isn’t a single thing sent out that I wish I could replace with something else. It also looks like all these products are worth the price of what I paid for my subscription. This month I consider it a win!
We are always privy to videos like the one below whenever the snow shows up. Thankfully, this kind of snowstorm didn’t show up until halfway through January. This is a common occurrence, typically, early on in December.
Life in the midwest is impossible without a snowblower. A big snowblower. When there isn’t anything to catch the snow, it sure does pile up fast. The first big snow can be the last one if mother nature deems it so.
I’ve always had a slight interest in bookkeeping, and since I’m looking to one day have my own business, I got the idea to take a course that would teach me more about the subject. After researching, I noticed many different websites recommending the course offered by intuit. With tax season quickly approaching, I thought now would be a great time to dive into the topic. I went to sign up, and it offered me the chance to sign up with Coursera. I decided to try it, although the stiff price of $40 a month made me almost reconsider.
I’m one week into the class, and I really do like it, even if I still feel like the subject isn’t for me. I know that I will never do someone else’s bookwork, but I also realize that I will need to do mine because there is no way I will make enough, in the beginning, to pay someone else to do it. The sections are broken up into small chunks, making them easier to digest. I also like the discussion portion because tons of people seem to be taking the course simultaneously that I am. I don’t typically see anyone replying to others, but people’s responses to the initial question are fun to read. I look forward to getting deeper into the details. As with all topics, once you get past the surface information, you begin to get into the fascinating
Coursera is impressive because it has so many different classes that you can take. While I went there looking for the bookkeeping course, I found a ton of other avenues to investigate. I just enrolled in a class called “Inspiring and Motivating Individuals,” offered through the University of Michigan. All these courses are self-study and, while you’re encouraged to set a weekly goal for completion, you can always change your plans to fit your schedule.
For $40 a month, you get access to many top-notch courses offered by some of the elite universities in the county. Most of these courses are a part of some certificate that you can eventually obtain. I love the access to learning, and I love that all these different courses are available without going to a single one of these schools.
I will definitely be checking in periodically with updates to this product because it seems to have a lot of promise, and I want to share that with everyone.
If you’re interested in checking something out, use this link: here.
As someone who grew up in Iowa and eventually came back to Iowa in adulthood, I can tell you that #iowanice is no longer a thing. When I was a kid, you could expect to have every passing car wave at you, we knew the goings-on of our neighbors, whether good or bad, and everyone was willing to stop and help a car stalled on the side of the road. Back in the 90’s people truly wanted to live up to the expectation that Iowans were more admirable than the citizens of other states.
Before turning 18, I was a rebellious child, and I fled the state for a more southern itinerary: Missouri. I thought I could find something great in the show-me state, and I was eager to prove that I was a hard worker. After ten years of trying my hand at everything I could find (and striking out at everything), I decided to return to Iowa.
The belief that Iowans are friendly is antiquated, and after years of young flight, the people left are rude and unhelpful. Take today, for example. I was able to free my vehicle from the confines of the snowdrift in my driveway, but upon entering the alley, I found myself stuck again. I was right in the middle, people couldn’t miss me, yet no one would help me out. All I needed was a push. One tiny little push on the back of my car, and I knew that I would be able to reach the road and I would be free. For an hour, I sat out there and watched as the cars rolled past. I live next to the post office, and it was pretty fun to watch the cars pull up, drop off their mail, look at me in the rearview mirrors, and then take off down the street. I watched a car pull into the other end of the alley, notice my vehicle stuck at the other end, and they turned around and went back out.
Finally, after admitting that I would not get my car out without assistance, I called my parents. They rescued me like they have countless other times. Family is where you can find excellent, helpful people. The idea that our neighbors are willing to help is no longer accurate, which is quite a sad revelation.
With the departure of Masahiro Tanaka from the New York Yankees, I got to thinking about my all-time favorite Yankee player: Hideki Matsui. He was on the team from 2003 to 2009, and he is the reason I have a special place in my heart for all the players from Japan.
Matsui was the pinnacle of good manners, unmatchable work ethic, and undying loyalty. I will forever believe that the Yankees made a mistake not resigning him after the 2009 season. Matsui was the MVP of the World Series and, while his knees were beginning to fail him, I think he would have been a better producer for us than Damon was. I’m willing to admit that I am heavily biased in this argument. I remember having pictures of Matsui in my locker at school, and I can remember always being super bummed when he was not in the lineup. On the other hand, Damon was a former Red Sox player, and he could not win me over.
Matsui was such a hard worker in left field; I remember the game where he broke his wrist and, though you could see the obvious pain on his face, Matsui stopped the runners from being able to advance farther by finding the ball and throwing it in. I don’t know too many players today that wouldn’t fall to the ground and completely forget about the game (understandably so) after sustaining that injury. After Matsui was placed on the injured list, he actually released a statement where he apologized for letting down the fans. He was always so concerned about the impression he had on the fans, and that’s why everyone loved him.
One of the many reasons I respect the Yankees as an organization involves Hideki Matsui and the end of his career. When he was getting ready for retirement, Matsui worked out a one-day contract where he could officially retire as a Yankee. Matsui is instrumental in acquiring top talent from Japan signed to the Yankees, and he is a presence on the field throughout spring training and the rest of the season. It’s been nice to see him maintain a relationship with the Yankees because he’s always been someone to add to the clubhouse atmosphere.
The Redd Blog 