A while ago I was talking to someone and the topic came up about savings and budgets. When I asked them if they had a budget, the person looked at me sheepishly knowing they should but confirmed that they did not. When I then asked them if they had a savings program, the look turned into confusion. “Do you mean a savings account?” No, I’m talking about a way to ensure you will have all your needs met at any point, present or future. That is when I saw the look of fear.

You know that saying about installing cable being up there with getting a root canal? Well sadly it's true. This post will mostly serve as assistance for any others that might happen to be in my situation. It also has the added benefit of allowing me to vent from the complete incompetence of the installers employed by Charter.

This morning I was suppose to go for a 15 mile run with my run group in Santa Monica. As luck would have it, I was unable to fall asleep. I got to bed early like a good little runner. However I simply laid in bed unable to fall asleep. Eventually I got out of bed at 1 or 2am and watched a little tv. Still not sleepy. I even had a glass of scotch which kinda made me sleepy, so I got back into bed. Nope.

For quite a few weeks I’ve been taking a screenwriting class at UCLA. When I first started I wondered what exactly I would get out of it. I knew I needed it. I just didn’t know how much. I was having issues with my scripts but without any experience or insight by others, I thought I was merely going through what others go through. I simply had to push through it. However there was a time when it just wasn’t feeling right. Something wasn’t clicking inside of my gut that things were operating on all cylinders. That is when I decided I was letting ego get in the way and needed to seek help. It was the best thing I could have done.

“As long as you are taking steps forward it is excellent, if you are in a lull where all you do is pay bills and don’t take any steps to follow your dreams then you are doing it wrong. Whatever your dream is it requires the help of a lot of people, and you can find financing for what you are passionate about if you connect. There are infinite excuses not to do something and only you understand the real reasons to actually do it. So many people give up and start “facing reality” which is a way of saying that they don’t have enough capacity and self discipline to make their dreams come true. When you know what you want, the whole world appears as if it helps you get it, your perspective is shifted to that channel. If you are focused on paying bills then all you will see is the bills, but when you are focused on your dream then the bills are just part of your administration and organization.”

-Ezra Masri, TED Talks Organizer (TED website)

They tried to get me to hate white people, but someone would always come along and spoil it.

-Thelonious Monk