I must say that I'm glad the election is over. I don't care who you voted for but it's over and things are going to change. For better or for worse things are going to change. One thing I don't publicize is my political views. The beautiful thing about this awesome country that I'm blessed to live in is that I have the right to keep those to my self and a right to have my political views. It's always around this time that I often stop to think how blessed I truly am to live in a free country that allows us to have a democracy.
Other (much smaller) changes are happening around here. I was able to get memory for my iMac. I now have 4GB of memory. It makes a big difference with all the editing/Photoshop work I've been doing lately. I'm a few steps closer to moving (gasp!). We're having beautiful weather that makes me want to be outside all the time. I'm starting to book out for the rest of the year and into next year with different things. Time change happened this week and like always... my sleeping is so thrown off it's not funny. Hopefully I can recover by the weekend.
I'm busier in now than I've ever been. I'm very thankful every day for my iPhone. I don't miss at all the days of carrying multiple devices out of the house to keep my life together. Now I just have my iPhone... that's it. Half the time my laptop doesn't even leave the house/car. I use my iPhone for everything and it's about the only thing that keeps me on track these days.
Though I've said it multiple times... I really am working on a new blog (along with a few other unannounced websites). I am really liking the changes that WordPress is making to the 2.7 release and I will be sticking around with them. I must admit though that working on a Drupal project has made me think that I should switch but I might use that for some of the other sites that I still have hiding up my sleeve.
Well, I'm going to get off here and try to get some sleep. Just trying to update more often to keep some of the readers I have.
Night,
- John
November
Wow, so November is here already. It seems like yesterday the summer was just beginning and now we're almost ready for winter. In it's typical Ohio random weather fashion it has temporarily returned to the 60-70 degree range up from a week or two ago where it was consistently 50 degrees as the high. I'm sure by the end of this week we'll return to winter and I'll be back to wearing multiple layers of clothing.
November 2nd and things are crazy already. I'm planning two out of town trips to two different parts of the country. It appears I'll be in South Bend, IN and Chicago, IL in the middle of the month and then a week later be in Nashville, TN. I'm going to a conference the first week and the second week is Thanksgiving (in Nashville, TN). I'm pretty excited and ready for some change in the scenery.
After getting ZERO responses to my last banking post I went ahead and jumped ship and opened a Chase account. The nice thing is that the debit card earns twice the rewards of my National City account and I got a $125.00 for just opening the account. It appears the rumor I posted was true, National City (NCC) was purchased by PNC at the end of October.
A whole bunch of other stuff is going on right now in life too. More than I feel like writing about but will try and keep you all posted as things happen.
Take it easy, I'm off to bed.
- JM
EDIT: Woah! New look... Yeah, decided to change it up with a new theme and we're now running on WordPress 2.7-beta1. Nothing like being on the bleeding edge of technology.
Fall Weather
Today has been a perfect fall day. Leaves are changing and it's cold but not too cold. I enjoyed the day by beginning with early church, an outreach project, taking a drive to Delaware (on back roads next to the water, which was awesome) and running some errands.
To top it off I've been driving around a 2008 Acura RL (fully loaded). Columbus Acura really likes me I guess. My TL is in the shop getting some maintenance done and this was my loaner. I hate to give it back :-). I do like my TL though so it will be nice to see it.
This weekend saw the movie Max Payne... HORRIBLE. I would not waste the money to go see that movie. I thought it would have a better story line, action and overall be a better movie than it was. I think most of us that went slept through (or fought sleep) through the almost three hour movie. So, save yourself some money and skip the movie.
Life's busy as usual. Working on finalizing my plans to move. It's going to be a very much welcomed change and a chance to move on in life. More on that later.
Well, I better get off here and finish my chores for the day.
Later,
- J
Banking Advice
So, September came and went. I've been busy beyond what I ever thought I'd be. I promise that I'm going to return to blogging... soon. In the meantime I had a question that I thought I'd throw out there for my readers to comment on.
I'm not normally one to talk about current issues but this is something that is starting to come "close to home" for me so I thought I'd throw it out there. I am currently a customer of National City Bank (NYSE: NCC) and have my main checking and savings there. Since there has been all these troubles with banks and corporations like WaMu, AIG, Freddie and Fannie, Wachovia, etc... I started watching the financial sector on a regular basis (thanks to Google Finance) and have watched my bank TANK.
So now there are rumors of National City Bank shopping around for a buyer. I know the last thing that you're supposed to do is panic, run out and withdraw everything you have but let's just get honest here. I really don't feel like dealing with my bank being purchased. If it was like Chase buying them it's one thing but the two "rumored" banks are PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and Bank of Nova Scotia. I am not thrilled by either one.
This brings me to a question, short of pulling out my money and keeping it taped behind my toilet and under my mattress who would you suggest I go to for a bank? Before anyone suggests it, please read this - I WILL NOT JOIN A CREDIT UNION. I've been a member of several credit unions in the area and HATE THEM ALL. Maybe it is the ones in the area or the ones I qualify to join but they don't offer competitive rates, lower fees and "extras" that everyone on the internet touts credit unions having. With the credit unions that I've been a part of they're highly inconvenient because they have limited branches and I've always had trouble with customer service (just ask me about how one credit union tried to steal $125.00 in cash from me at an ATM then only after I forced the bank manager to watch the security footage did they refund my money and subsequent NSF fees).
Currently I'm thinking about moving to Chase but I'm open to advice. Here's what I'm looking for:
- Abundance of ATMs or "No ATM Fees"
- Some type of rewards program, current I receive two points for every dollar I spend via check card, up to 200 points on "debit" transactions, 25 per bill pay and check.
- EXCELLENT Online Banking Interface (Yet another thing that Credit Unions seem to lack on)
- Obviously has branches in the Central Ohio area
- I am not opposed to suggestions for 100% online banks. My "nest egg" is stored at an online bank (FNBO Direct) and I'm very happy with them but they don't have a checking program
That's really it. So, hopefully this will hit some other blogs or google and I can get some advise from the internet. Let's get some discussions going in the comments!
Night,
- John
The Horizon
Well September is flying by and I didn't even realize it's been some time since I've updated. I'm writing some other posts that will be published in the next week or two and thought I'd give you all a peak at what is to come this month on my blog.
- "In A Pit" Book Review I finished the book "In A Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day". The short review would be it is one of my now all-time favorite books and I would recommend anyone at any stage in their life read this and consider the message the book brings. I'll be bringing my personal feelings on the book and a review later this month.
- Body for Life A friend recommended a book for me to read called "Body for Life". It's a twelve week challenge of eating healthy and exercise. I've done some research and am currently borrowing the book from my friend. I think I'm going to commit to the challenge after I read the book this week. I'll be posting about this the week I start.
- Just Life So, I'm going to try and blog about just my everyday life. Much like I used to do. The original intent of this blog was to share what was going on in my life and thoughts that I had. Hopefully I can remember and start doing some "random" blogging throughout the month.
That's about it folks, for now. A lot of things right now are just swirling around me in life and I'll be blogging about them as soon as they slow down enough for me to know what's going on.
Later,
- J
My New Title
So, I've decided I'm going to pursue a new title in life. I'd like to be know as -
John C. Massie | Lion Chaser
Now, I'm sure you're sitting there scratching your head going, "Did he really just write 'lion chaser'?" What on earth is he thinking? I guess I should let you know I'm reading an awesome book that was given to me by my friend Brad called, "In A Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson. I'm so happy that he gave me this book because it has began to answer questions I had the day I talked with him about some personal things in life and some feelings that I had. I only recently met Brad so it wasn't like I spilled my entire deepest feelings about some things going on in life but it was funny how he seemed to see beyond my facade. After getting to know him more I look back and wonder why I didn't spill everything to him since we seem to becoming great friends... but like they say, hindsight is always 20/20. It is amazing that this book is answering questions about the where and why and when I have in life and what I should do. It's helping me deal with my feelings of closure and helping me learn to embrace all situations, good and bad. Obviously God had His hand in the gift of this book. I don't want to do a full review on the book until I'm finished which I'm going to presume will be this weekend because I cannot put this book down for one minute. I'm reading and reading like I've never done before. So, that's all. A little snippet of an upcoming book review (wow, a first for JohnMassie.com) and I hopefully won't disappoint. Be on the lookout! Later, - JMWelcome to September
Well, it's September... already. I am starting to believe what people used to tell me,
"Time may feel like it is slow now but just wait until you get older, it flies by."
Yeah, I am starting to see that this statement is very true. It seems like yesterday I was pulling out my shorts and putting away my sweaters. Now we enter into another fall season. The pool closed today (boo...) thankfully I have a gym with an indoor pool so there will be swimming all fall/winter long (yay!).
This weekend has been awesome. I got some stuff accomplished and will be doing a lot more this week. There are a bunch of random things that I've not updated about so I figured I'll just post them in a list here for those interested to read...
- Blackberry, Verizon and 614-406-4472 are HISTORY. I decided that it was time for a change. About a month ago I dumped Verizon, My BlackBerry 8803 Pearl, and my phone number of 614-406-4472 (call it... it's disconnected). I have a new number on AT&T Wireless with an iPhone 3G 16GB in Black. I've had this phone for a month and it blows my BlackBerry and Verizon out of the water. 3G is so freaking fast and it's an iPhone. No more trying to find movie times and it taking me twenty minutes to navigate the site on my BlackBerry.
- I FOUND A CHURCH HOME! After much searching, I found a church home. Not that I'm at all ashamed of where I go but to keep the stalker fact down I won't reveal where it is. Lets just say I found home and Lord willing I'll be there for a while. I'm also back in ministry at church! Double bonus.
- I AM STILL GOING TO THE GYM So, I dropped the 31 Days series with everything else going on but all is well. I fell off the healthy eating wagon but still managed to continue to lose. I'm almost up to 10 pounds from my starting weight! I guess when you start eating breakfast and exercising on a schedule you find your metabolism is actually there. More on this later as I'm refining my eating and training this month.
- I AM THINKING ABOUT MOVING There, I said it... cat's out of the bag. I share everything else with the world... why not that? Working this month on selling things on CraigsList and ebay that are no longer needed/wanted or that I don't want to move and trying to reduce the clutter that I've collected across the (almost) three years I've lived here. Now, it's not like I have a for sale sign in the front yard and I'm showing the house but I'm preparing for all that. Doing some repairs and fixing things here and there to get the house ready to sell. Where am I moving to? Good question. I'm going to just take this step by step and get my affairs in order, get the house sold and then decide where to live. Then once I figure out that question I can address if I want to build or buy existing. Thankfully being young and without a family I can do the whole "homeless" thing while I get a house built so currently I'm leaning to that because I really would enjoy moving into a house that I know no one has lived in and where I chose the major things so I don't spend the first six months replacing light fixtures, cabinets, flooring and painting. We shall see where I end up. I'll keep everyone posted as time goes on. Want to buy something I have for sale? Never fear... I'll post the links once I am done listing.
That's about it right now. A lot is going on and I'm excited for the changes. As always I will keep people posted on what's going on as time passes.
Later,
- JM
He Speaks When We’re Not Listening
Have you ever had something happen to you when you were least expecting it and label the event a "coincidence". Maybe you were feeling down and someone called to ask how you were doing? You're struggling financially and that bonus or gift shows up unannounced. You feel down on your luck and then suddenly something happens to turn your luck around. Many people call these things coincidences. Things that happen merely by chance. Have you ever thought that it could be God just saying, "Hello." I am a firm believer that everything, good and bad, happens for a reason. I think my life is living proof of that. Some of the worst situations and events in my life have enabled me to sit here today and be the person I am. Thankfully God gave me an optimistic attitude to help me along the way.
Recently as I've been writing "Fitness, Finance and Faith" I've been touching on some personal issues in my life. I've decided to discontinue "31 Days" as I liked to call it until further notice. A much larger story is playing out in my life right now and I think I'd like to return to my blogging of what is on my heart and mind. If it is fitness, then so be it; finance, great... Right now I have a lot swirling around me spiritually and I'd like to capture some of that and share it with you, my readers (what few are out there). I guess in a sense to return to my "roots of blogging"; to blog about what is going on in life and nothing more. Sure I'm not going to increase readership by the hundreds daily when talking about the personal aspects in life but maybe something I have to share can help someone else along or inspire someone. So, never fear, I'm still keeping up and will do a 31 day summary at the end of the month to let everyone know how I came out and what my thoughts were.
I'll pickup where I left off in the faith section from 31 days. I did meet with my pastor on Friday. I was late and got to Starbucks and ran inside to find that he just showed up as well (so I didn't feel terrible). After me being taken back that my pastor rides a Harley Davidson we ordered and sat on the sidewalk in Old Dublin to talk. Now, keep in mind, I'm sitting here thinking that I have no clue what I wanted to ask or say. I asked to meet with him a while back and due to schedules we just couldn't meet up for two weeks. I seemed to forget my "agenda" I had for the meeting from the day I wrote the letter to actually meeting with Brad, my pastor. I completely believe that was in God's plan. I was forced to speak from my heart and not mind so we talked.
I noticed that Brad had no agenda either. He simply wanted to talk and see where the conversation lead. After the years of hurt in the church I've found it hard to trust pastors. It's really sad that I feel that way but it is one of those things that after repetitious hurt you form an apprehension when speaking to someone like those from your past. Sitting there I found myself at ease. I easily poured my life out on the table. Sharing everything from my church history to school, family and my life. I listened to Brad as he spoke and he didn't come across as holier than thou, religious snot, or any other stereotype that you can think of when it comes to "Christians" or "Church-Goers". Brad came off to me as, human. Human with a heart for people. He actually showed concern and cared about what I had to say. He gave me no "text book" responses but spoke from the heart. Our talk helped me a lot and I continue to relive the moments to think about what was said and continue to pray that God directs me.
From there I spent the weekend helping a friend move. Friday night learned to play the game cornhole. Interjection of humor - I just found out there is an American Cornhole Association - http://www.playcornhole.org/. Please, everyone, take a moment to laugh. Back to the story, so I had a good time and Saturday was a lazy day filled with me coding at home and hanging out with the amazing Katy and doing laundry. Sunday was church and spending time with my family. I found myself going back to church that night to go to the BBQ that the church was having. Now, I've only been at the church a few weeks and really don't know anyone so I figured I'd try this to see if I'd either feel like an outsider or get to know people. Well, everyone will be happy to know that I got to know some of the people from church. I guess most of them attend the early service (9:30 AM) but still it was cool to get to meet them. Talked with my friend Chris and got to hear about some things that God is doing in his life, which I think is awesome.
I still found myself Sunday evening trying to figure out what I'm doing and where I'm going. I think I have a connection at my church and life is changing but I just don't know where I'm going. It's one of those, I'm going to walk blind by faith and pray that God leads me where I'm to go. As I continue to toy with this idea in my mind I go to lunch alone today. I couldn't decide where to go so I figured I'd go to my all time favorite Chinese restaurant on Sawmill, Pei Wei. I get my usual, Honey Chicken with White Rice and a Diet Coke and sit down at my table. I eat my lunch in peace and think about life and what I'm going to do. Lately I think I've been chattering too much to hear God. I'm learning how to practice the art of listening to God but it's a work in progress. I opened my fortune cookie wondering what it would say. When I least expect it I get these small messages... "You do not have to know where you are going to be headed in the right direction." Only twice this has happened and both times I find myself amazed to find something like this.
Now, I'm not trying to say that God lives in a fortune cookie or makes it His business to speak to His children via Chinese after dinner snacks. I just think that it goes to show that God can speak to us even when we're not listening. Be it through a song, sermon, Bible, poetry, nature, art or even a fortune cookie... He's there and He can do it. I'm still learning to let go of the "what direction" and focus on the "next step in front of me" but it takes time. So, for my readers, keep me in your prayers and stick around for the journey. Like my subtitle, I'm looking for life beyond the edge and I think that I'm on the road to find it.
Later,
- JM
31 Days – Update 4
Well, maybe I should just reduce the other two to updating once a week because I keep forgetting to ask them for their update. I promise the next one will be good! So tonight you're stuck with me.
Fitness
I'm currently training in a 3 x 3 schedule. 3 days of cardio with 3 days of weight training. So far so good. I'm still trying to figure out all the machines, how much weight I can handle and how many reps/sets. It's not too bad... I think that eventually I'll get it figured out and on my way. Question is, it's been a week and do I feel different? Well, I know I've lost weight because I can wear clothes I couldn't two weeks ago, I am not as winded when going up three stories of steps and find my workouts not being quite as challenging as day one. Tomorrow is cardio (yay) one thing I do know how to do and do it well. I'm currently doing interval cardio for about 30 minutes. Then I'll cool down for about 5 minutes and stretch for another 5. All in all about 45 minutes on the floor.Finance
Well, I'm going to keep this one simple. Here is a website everyone should use: http://www.mint.com It is an awesome website, think of it as Quicken for the web except free (and easy to use for beginners). Just create a Mint account and add all your bank accounts and BAM it monitors your balances, notifies you of changes in your accounts and can show you where your money goes. Check it out!Faith
I wonder is God trying to get my attention? After my last post I've been praying and seeking out this whole "closure" feeling I have. Haven't nailed it down yet. My meeting with my pastor was moved to Friday. I have been praying about that so I'm going to assume it is one of those "God timing" things. I found myself this week in a bit of isolation and having more time to complete some things and to be with my thoughts. I'm going to trust God that He knows what's going on and that He'll lead me as He sees fit. Tonight as I went to go meet a friend at BestBuy to do some (for me at least) window shopping and to give me a break from coding I heard the song, "One Life to Love" on XM Radio (Station 32). It's by a group called 33Miles (ironic, they're from Franklin, TN... and we all know my love for TN). I was about to change the station when the title/group name looked interesting and decided to listen. After listening to the first few lines I had captured the info and couldn't wait to go home and download (via iTunes... it's all legal folks) and listen to the song. I did just that and the lyrics simply amaze me and just jumped right out at me. Here is the section I felt the most drawn to: "You only get just one time around. You only get one shot at this. One chance to find out the one thing that you don't want to miss. One day when it's all said done I hope you see it was enough this, One life, one ride, one life to love." Check them out at www.33milesonline.com This has very much been an on going theme with me in the last few months that I only have "one life to love" and I want to make the most of it. We'll see how it goes in the next few weeks as I begin to discover what God has for me. That's about it. As always you can reach me at 31days <at> johnmassie.com. God Bless, -JM31 Days – Update 3
Well, it's update 3 and here I am actually sitting down to write this on an early Saturday evening. I'm impressed that I've kept up with the posting. Hopefully you all have been catching the updates, if not, look at the Category 31 Days to read the posts.
Today is just my personal update. I forgot to let Toni and Katy know that I'm updating every three days. I think to save space (and my fingers) I'll have them post every other update, so be on the lookout next Tuesday for their progress.
Fitness
Well, after taking a short hiatus from training I got back on the ball Friday morning. Due to some things going on at work I was woke up around 4:00 AM on Friday. I decided that instead of going back to bed I would eat breakfast and go to the gym. I did just that and was very proud of myself. I spent about 15 minutes on the treadmill warming up and then switched to 30 minutes of HIIT on an elliptical machine. So, being at the gym extra early I finished and it wasn't even near time for me to hit the showers so... I decided I'd go look at some of the resistance training equipment/area of the gym. Now, let me be the first to state that I'm "resistance training stupid". So I often have a fear of looking stupid while trying to figure out what to do. Thankfully all the weight machines have instructions and are laid out according to the body area you wish to work out so navigating the equipment wasn't as hard as I thought. Now, coming up with a training plan is a whole other story (more on that later). I hesitantly sat down at the back extension machine to give it a try first. I was kind of nervous because again, I wanted to keep from looking like the gym newbie or making a fool of myself. Then I remembered an article I read the other day about training that said that the first thing you should do at the gym is... chuck your pride at the door. I've learned to do that and I've also learned that no one cares what you do. Did I feel like an idiot as I did triceps extensions with only 20lbs of resistance? Yep. Did any of the 15 or so people who paraded by me notice or care... not so much. I did about twenty minutes of resistance training when I decided that was enough and it was time for work. I headed to work and found myself energized and confident to start the day. I have noticed so much more energy throughout the day and I have slept so much better at night. Now granted there have been a few evenings that I've taken a nap but I think that's my body getting adjusted to the fact I went from zero physical activity to 45 - 60 minutes per day now (with a rest on Sunday). It's getting better, I only took an hour nap today but I did go to the gym for an hour and half (and did resistance training for an hour... can you believe that?) then came home and washed the car in the blazing sun then forgot to eat and ate "lunch" at 3:30... I think that kind of pushed me over the edge. Did I mention that I drink water like crazy now? I'll have a diet drink maybe once or twice in a week... that's it. I've noticed a lot of benefits of the water drinking. I've always had dry skin and that has slowly began to clear up without me changing anything besides the increase of water intake. I also agree that drinking water helps you not eat as much. I drink water all day long at work and don't find myself as hungry as I once was and then eat less at each meal. I have some tasks this week to do in relation to 31 days and thought I'd share them with you:- Create a new eating plan. Currently I'm doing what I would call "clean eating" or "making healthier choices". I cut out fast food, fried food, and all the other things we think of when someone says "bad food for you". I've increased to eating six small meals a day with a good snack before bed (like cottage cheese) and not eating dinner real late.
- Create a formal resistance training plan.
- Increase interval cardio to 45 minutes and change the intervals
As always, if you have any input or suggestions, please leave a comment or e-mail me at 31days <at> johnmassie.com.
Finance
I thought today for finance I'd go "behind the scenes" and share with you some of the blogs that I read to get some of my inspiration and ideas that I use in my very own life. I'll let them speak for themselves but please check them out!
- The Simple Dollar
- Get Rich Slowly
- ZenHabits
- LifeRemix (just discovered, but 100% awesome)
- LifeHacker (not all finance but normally has some great money saving ideas from time to time)
Faith
I have been struggling with this section as I knew it was going to be posted today. All day in the back of my mind was the thought, "What am I going to put in the faith section?" I felt that I should just maybe share my heart and where I'm at right now in life. I'm at a point in my life where I'm searching. I have a meeting with my pastor this week to discuss this thought of searching. I am at a transitional point in life where I see God opening doors as he begins to close others. I am watching Him move things around and setting up my life for change much like He did almost three years ago when I moved out from home and started a new journey in life. To speak metaphorically, I feel that I'm writing the final pages of this time of my life. This time instead of being a "chapter" it's more of the end of a book. God's putting the final touches on the last chapter and soon I'll put it on the "shelf of life" and take down a new blank book and begin writing about the next part of my life. What this "new part" entails is completely unknown to me and that's what I'm currently working on seeking is God's will. That's all I desire to follow and that's truly all I want. Not really much of a "self help" section this time but more of me being transparent.
Well, there's today's update. As always, if you have comments, questions or just want to contact me you can do so by leaving a comment or e-mailing 31days <at> johnmassie.com.
Until next time,
- JM
