DISQUS

CA is having a rough winter. It's been constantly raining, weather typical of Seattle/Portland.

hope your relative gets better soon. It'll get better ... you just have to believe it'll work out. It's trite and overused advice but positive thinking never hurt anyone.

My boss used the "fair" word when explaining why I couldn't attend a free workshop related to our industry that was 5 blocks away from work. He said it wasn't fair to the other people who are working hard and slaving away inputting the content. He said it wasn't fair that I wanted to advance when he himself didn't know what opportunities were available to him.

The workplace isn't fair. People get promoted who don't deserve the extra boost. Some get bonuses and earned every cent. If the workplace was fair how would we ever get things done. I don't know if that makes any sense. Just my 2 cents.

Your article was spot on! I hate my parents but I don't want to spend my free time and energy ranting and raving about their mistakes. I have too much to conquer and I'm going to be selfish for once.

I'm going to move out of SF in the next few years. Not quite on a whim move but getting out of my comfort zone of being in a place I've known my entire life is a risk I want to take.

I like spending money on experiences. I went to Vegas for a trade show/conference, Nashville to see my friend, Portland to visit more friends and Austin for SXSW as a freelance writer. I wouldn't trade any of those experiences for anything in the world. And one of my even crazier ideas is to see all of my friends this year before I settle down and move on to my next job.

Money is important as is learning and advancing in one's career. But the friends I'm going to visit have let me crash on their couches, took me out to eat when I came to visit, picked me up at the airport and so much more. I couldn't ask for better.

I look forward to reading what you write! I haven't felt comfortable yet making a loan but I'm hoping within the next few months to take the plunge.

What an amazing list! you're right on the nuts - grabbing a handful can add up! i measure out 23 pieces (a serving) and I only eat a few during meals and spread them throughout the day.

gum is good but they contain artificial sweeteners also. so you have to be careful and chew in moderation.

I'm afraid and embarrassed to admit this publicly but I pledge to stop overeating, binge eating or emotional eating. Whichever the correct way to describe the problem.

I'm not overweight thankfully but I'd like to get control of my binge eating tendencies. It's been an on/off again struggle lately. It usually happens when I'm eating by myself at home or if I'm having a particularly bad day at work. I stuff myself with food until I'm sick to calm my nerves or to reduce my stress levels.

I've been able to manage a few days during the week and then something happens and I'm off track again. But I know the longer the wait is until I hear about this job I interviewed for, the higher the chances I'll slip up and over eat.

So I'm hoping the blogosphere can somehow hold me accountable so I'm not using food to solve my problems.

My grandparents were super frugal - reusing oil leftover and cooking it again for another meal. They'd eat the 99 cent special at BK or McDs. But aside from those not-so-great habits they loved to stay at home, read and tend to their garden. They've got a huge garden with apple, pear and persimmon trees. They also grew a ton of vegetables which really helped them cut down on the grocery bills when they retired.

I learned to love frugal and cheap activities such as reading at home or walking the neighborhood and introducing myself and meeting new people. But I did learn from their mistakes on scrimping on grocery shopping and lack of exercise. I try and walk everywhere and buy as much local produce as possible

Btw, I love your new layout! It's got a really professional look.

Your list inspired me to make some small subtle changes in my day-to-day routine. This morning I got up at 6am and discovered how productive I am with a few extra hours in the morning. It also allowed me to meditate and focus on the day's priorities.

My October goal is to try free range chicken vs the regular Foster Farms chicken I have at home and do a taste test. I'm going to do the same with cage free eggs vs. regular eggs. A friend told me she only eats cage free and free range chicken because they offer more flavor. I know next month will be fun eating plenty of chicken.

Imported tomatoes from Mexico are terrible. They have no texture and flavor which is why I pay $3/pound for the local beefsteak tomatoes.

I really struggled with the tipping in Vegas. I handed my bags at the luggage center to hold until my room was ready. And I was in such a rush I forgot to tip the person storing my bags. I made the same mistake after I took the bags upstairs and came back down and forgot my wallet in the hotel room.

I usually tip a dollar per bag for the shuttle driver even if they don't drop me off at home and dump my bags in the middle of the street. It's happened twice with the Super Shuttle. This time I used a different service and they dropped me off in front of the apt and carried my bags to the door. I gave him an extra $2 even though he carried one bag. The first time I used the shuttle service the driver was like "gee a buck thanks for the tip." And he didn't even carry my bags. He was on the phone and doing something else!

I'll remember to pre-price the tip mentally so it leaves less indecisiveness at the last minute when I'm about to get off the bus.

That's exactly why I didn't buy an ipod or an mp3 player. Sure I could use the ipod to help me concentrate on something while I'm running or exercise but I like listening to the noise of a city - cars honking, the sound of immigrant chatter and the neighborhood kids talking loudly or laughing. And I find a plain-old tape recorder or just typing the notes of someone I'm interviewing works just fine. No need for a fancy recorder - sometimes plain and simple works. My sister bugged me for years about getting one and I almost caved in but cancelled my order on Amazon.com right after I made the purchase. I've never regretted that choice.

Thanks for highlighting the INTJ blog! I found myself intrigued by a few of the posts and pretty relevant especially the focus part - something I'm trying to improve on daily.

I went to work when I was sick last spring. It was during the busy season and I caught a cold over the weekend. I lost my voice, came down with a nagging cough and looked horrible. Yet I still dragged myself in because I knew we were short handed and I was afraid of holding up the deadline!

I came home feeling worse because I worked major overtime that day. I think twice now before going into work sick.

Great tips especially the domain one. I've thought about moving to a new domain name a lot recently but I'm very tech-challenged and scared of doing my own archiving system, feeds and even figuring out code.

Posting daily is hard - there's always so much to say but less time to write something in-depth and thoughtful.

It's hard to post on the weekends just because of scheduling and time. I'm usually doing something and by the time I get home my brain is fully fried so anything I write would sound like jargon or a big mess.

Keep up the great work!

When you said "When I was 25, I would have sneered at the idea that there was a higher purpose than working insane hours in exchange for business-class tickets and luxury hotels and company-paid junkets to Budapest. I know now that I was wrong – the goal is independence to live your life as you choose, free from the tyranny of a paycheck. " I totally understand. In my early 20s, I thought of being a slave to the newspaper world and working forever, not really understanding the concept of time and money. Now that I'm 25 and have been in the corporate world for more than a year, I'd rather work towards my own entreprenurial ventures than be a slave. That's what I'm working on doing is learning and transitioning to a new job where I can make more money and hopefully be my own consultant. I never understood why being an entrepreneur is so valuable until I started reading blogs and understanding the power of money. But it really is so important like you said "to live your life free from the tyranny of a paycheck." It's really true.

I commuted from two different suburbs a few years ago living with my grandparents and family - both times I loved/hated it.

When I commuted from my grandparents to SF, it was nice until the subway started running off schedule and everytime I left the house early hoping for an early jumpstart the subway would get stuck in the middle or there'd be a medical emergency. it was not a fun commute being one stop away from work and the train having to stop and resolve a medical emergency. It would've made more sense given that we were 5 mins away from the stop to forge ahead and perform CPR on her rather than stop and figure out a solution.