Where are you going in 2009.  

Posted by Tim Justynski

Here is a post from Tickled by Life that really made me think about my life and how I spend my time. I wanted to share it with all of my friends and family.

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. . I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

“And after that?” asked the Mexican.

“With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?”

“Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing.

“When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the Mexican.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”

And the moral is:

Know where you’re going in life….you may already be there.

The Most Precious Gift!  

Posted by Tim Justynski

I found this video on a blog that I read often. I thought I would share it with everyone...




I think we can all use to spend a little more time....

Things That I am Thankful For...  

Posted by Tim Justynski


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Here is a list of things that I am thankful for.....


*For my mom who has given me the ability to be emotional.

*For my Dad who has taught me everything I needed on how to take care of your family.

*For my Sister who I can always talk to, and will always tell me what she thinks reagrdless if I am going to like it or not.

* For my Brother teaming up with Tasha and forcing me to call some one I did not know and asking her out on a date.

*For Vicky who said yes.

*For my wife (Vicky) who makes me complete.

*For my wife who now understands why it is important to me that a 12 Pack of Soda is opened from the side of the box and not the top.

*For my son Laine who keeps me up with the latest video games and for making me a pruod father watching him play football for his high school.

*For my Daughter Brittany who also understands why its important to me that a 12 pack is opened the correct way and for making me a proud father everytime she brings her report card home.

*For my son Logan who always finds a way to make me smile, even when he has kept me up all night.

*For my house that keeps me cool in the summer and warmr in the winter.

*For my job that helps pay the bills.

*For the rest of my family that I can always count on.

*And for GOD who has given me all of the above and so much more.

Falling Prices...  

Posted by Tim Justynski


Its amazing how people forget so quickly, when prices start falling. Gas prices have now reached a 2 year low at $1.99 a gallon here in Clermont, FL. Now while we are all celebrating this great relief on our wallets, there are others that are being stupid! I read an article yesterday, that said there has been a spike in SUV and Heavy Duty trucks sales, since prices have been declining. Are you kidding me? Do people not learn from their prior mistakes? Do they think that prices will not go back up? I guarantee that they will be the first to complain when prices start to rise again, and it will be no ones fault but their own!
So now that prices have gone down, will we stop persuing alternative fuels? If the Auto industry does get this bail-out, will they continue to make the fuel efficient cars, or will they go back to what got us here in the first place? Lord I hope not. I personnally agree with the idea, that there should be a regulation stating that all new cars have to get at least 30 miles a gallon. At least thats a start!
OK, enough of my griping, I gotta run. The Ford Dealership just called and said the 2009 4 Door F150 I just bought is ready for pickup.
Just Kidding!

Ch Ch Ch Changes!  

Posted by Tim Justynski

OK, its has been a long time since I have written. I think about writing all the time, but there never seems to be enough time in the day. I am going to try to be better.

I have a lot to write about tonight, but before I do I wanted to tie up a loose end. Vicky and I are still doing the South Beach Lifestyle. I say lifestyle, because it has changed the whole way we look at food and how we eat. Anyhow, the scale read 186 lbs this morning. I have been holding steady for about a month now, as I have not been all that good lately. But the good news is that I am not gaining anything back. I went in for an annual check-up last week, and I impressed my Dr. This time last year, he said I weighed 219. Which as of today would mean that I lost 34 lbs. (not to shabby!) Vicky is doing well too. She will not tell me how much she has lost, but she is wearing clothes that I haven't seen her in since before we got married. She is actually out tonight shopping for more work clothes because what she has now does not fit her anymore.

It has now been a week since we elected a new president. Last Tuesday the country spoke, and spoke clearly. It absolutely astonished me! I have never been as proud to be an American as I was that day. It was Democracy at its best! Now, I would like to quote something that my cousin TJ wrote on his myspace blog. I don't think I could say it any better:

"In our generation we have seen no great war, we have seen no great depression, and in my eyes we are the most over looked people in American history. As much as I hate to say this, our generation is nothing but the most credit card charging, over drinking, drug using, and not giving a shit people, in US history. Finally in a state of finding ourselves, our generation spoke out. We have the first black president. I say this aloud for everyone to hear. If it were up to our parents and grandparents this would never happen, yes we can say the minorities had something to do with this, but it was everyone as a whole. Now my friends who are not white can look their children in the eyes and tell them you can be what ever you want to be, even president. I thought McCain should be president, just for the fact that they both had pros and cons, but obama's views attacked me more on a personal level. I am very happy with what has happen, we have a president who is not corrupted by a fortune 500 company, whos not a military brat, or an oil tycoon. I believe our president should have military background, but his VP has it for him, and I am ok with that. THE REASON FOR WRITING THIS IS SIMPLE, FOR ONCE IN THE LAST 10 YEARS MY GENERATION STOOD TOGETHER AND DID WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS RIGHT. IT SHOWED OUR PARENTS THAT WE CAN STAND TOGETHER AND THIS COUNTRY WILL BE UNITED UNDER ONE FLAG. THE FUTURE IS NOW FOR US, WE ARE THE FUTURE AND WE MADE IT KNOWN ON THIS NIGHT. I THANK ALL OF YOU VERY MUCH."

Thanks TJ for those inspiring words, and for the record, I am not sure if he was sober when he wrote that. Oh and Happy Birthday by the way!

I can only hope that we are on our way to a "more perfect union".

Just a couple more things that have been on my mind.

So we decide to "bail out" the US banks by giving them 700 Billion Dollars. OK, now what? Supposedly they were to take the money and start lending to people again. WRONG! They are not doing so. They are hording it all. As a matter of fact, I got a letter in the mail yesterday from Wells Fargo Financial telling me that they were going to raise the interest rate on my credit card by 10 points. They said they lend on a "risk factor" basis and that I was a risk. Are you kidding me? I have never been late on a payment, and in fact my credit score has gone up since I opened that account. (Needless to say I am canceling that card and not paying the higher interest rate.) Last I heard the Govt was urging them to start lending the money again, but I have my doubts about that.

Now there is a talk about bailing out the Auto industry. Huh? While I feel sorry for the employees, I do not think we should do it! Where does it stop? Starbuck's reports a 97% decrease of net income for their 4th quarter. Does that mean we should bail them out too? Don't get me wrong, I love my Non-Fat Venti White Mocha (no whip) Lattes but come on! Oh and the Detroit Lions are 0-9 this year, should we bail them out so they can afford to buy better players? We will have to! Because if you bail one company or industry out, there will be another one asking for hand outs. I just see no end to this cycle.

OK, enough! I have said my peace.

That's all for now, I need to watch some football and enjoy my Latte!

South Beach Day 5  

Posted by Tim Justynski

Morning weigh in read 198 lbs. Lost another pound. Beautiful and I went grocery shopping this afternoon. We had our handy dandy South Beach reference guide along for the ride. Its amazing the concoctions we are coming up with. Lots of spices to idea on how to fix our meals.

Went to Press 101 Sandwich Shop this afternoon with a group from work. I watch everyone each French Dip, and Italian Sandwiches, as I ate my Ceasar Salad. The salad was good, but I sure wish I had one of those sandwiches.

South Beach Day 4  

Posted by Tim Justynski

Woohoo! I am down to 199. I haven't weighed under 200 pounds in years. Things are going well both of us. We still crave the little things. Logan was eating tator tots as part of his dinner. OMG! Tater tots never looked so good. My mouth was watering. Oh and the Doritos he ate for his afternoon snack, I could smell them from the other room. LOL

We did find a small issue though. We bought a cheap scale. Your weight depends on how you stand on it. In order to get the same weight, your feet have to be in the same exact position as the time before. UGH! That's what I get for trying to be frugal and buying a cheap scale. Oh well, as long as the reading continue to drop and not rise I am happy!

South Beach Day 3  

Posted by Tim Justynski

Well I weighed in this morning a 202, so I only lost a 1/2 pound through day two. No biggie, I am hoping to be under 200 by the end of the week. Lets hope so! Hunger pains are not nearly as bad today.

I am taking Logan to Arabian Nights tonight, so my real test, is to only eat what I am supposed to while I am there. Lets keep our fingers crossed. LOL

South Beach Day 2  

Posted by Tim Justynski

So this morning I weighed in at 202.5, which means I lost 2 pounds on my first day. Woohoo! Today was a bit tougher for me. I miss my morning coffee. We are allowed to have coffee, but you have to use non dairy creamer, with no sugar (sugar substitute ok, YUCK!) and I haven't bought any yet. So I guess that is my fault.

As the day went on I felt very drained. I think my body is missing the sugar, that it is used to getting. I am told that it goes away rather quickly. Beautiful is doing great to. I am so proud of her, she hasn't had a Mt. Dew in two days. Doesn't sound like much, but for her that's wonderful.

I will keep you posted...

Weigh in  

Posted by Tim Justynski

OK, so I weighed in at 204.5 lbs. Which means to reach my target weight, I need to loose 19.5 pounds. Say your prayers for me. LOL
The first day of the diet was not bad at all. I got a bit hungry after lunch, but dinner took care of that. Wonder what tomorrow brings?

South Beach  

Posted by Tim Justynski

So Beautiful (my wife) and I have decided to give the South Beach Diet a try. My Mom, Dad and Sister have had success with it, so we thought we would give it a go. The next 2 weeks (Phase 1) are the hardest, but are also the best for results. According to the book, you can lose 10-12 pounds in the first 2 weeks. My goal is 185lbs and a 34" waist. Official weigh ins are tomorrow morning, so I will let you know how that goes.

They Caught Him!  

Posted by Tim Justynski

The Lake County Sheriff's department called this morning and said that they caught the kid who stole my Sirius radio. He said it was a one in a million shot, but they caught him. He was a gang member that lived in a near by apartment complex. (I didn't know we had gangs in Clermont- kind of scary...) It seems he hit the neighborhood across the street last night, and after a few tips, the police were led to his house. His mother was eager to let the cops in. She said he was nothing but trouble, and to please take him away. She gave them permission to search his room, where they found about 15 satellite radios and other electronics in a duffel bag. WOW! I never would have thought that I would see it again. Justice prevails!

Great Customer Service  

Posted by Tim Justynski

I don't get to write about this stuff very often, but after what happened I felt they deserved it.

Yesterday morning, I went out to my car and found out that some one had broken into my car. Yes, it was partly my fault as I had forgotten to lock my car doors. I also realized that thieves are rather STUPID! They took about $3 in change and my Sirius Radio Receiver. That's it! They left my GPS system, that was in clear site, and left my Ipod that was in the glove box. Now how stupid is that. I can deactivate the Sirius radio, but not the GPS System. DUH!!! Anyways, thank the lord, that's all they got.

When I got home from work, I decided to go a head and have the police come out and get a police report on file. Come to find out, someone on the next block had the same thing happen to him last night, and they took was his XM radio receiver. Anyhow, the police officer who came out to the house was a nice guy. He sat and talked to Vicky and I for a good hour about the area, life, the economy...etc. Its nice to know that there are a few good cops in this world. LOL

They needed the Radio serial number for the police report, so I called Sirius radio. Now these people were awesome! They gave me the info I needed, said they were sorry for my loss, and that's when it happened! They said that they were going to send me new radio, free of charge. They were also going to send me a new car kit and a coupon to have it professionally installed. They also gave me a free months service for my troubles. HOLY CRAP! I didn't ask for any of this. They just did it! It was not there fault it was stolen, they owed me nothing! Now I am sure, they do not want me to cancel my subscription, so that's why they did it. But I still believe they went way above the call of duty. They now have a customer for life. I only wish there was more companies out there like this.

Back Yard Landscaping  

Posted by Tim Justynski

Vicky and I decided to take on a project, that took a lot longer than I expected and was more work than I could have imagined. Well, its finally done. Okay its been done for a few weeks now, but this is the first time I had a chance to write about it. Here is how it went.
What started it all is that our back yard has a slop. Its nearly impossible to have any type of play ground for Logan. We had bought a Little Tikes playground last year off of Ebay, but had to keep it pushed up next to the house, as it was the most level area of the yard. So what we thought we would do is dig it out and make a retaining wall.
This picture is what the yard looked like prior. When the picture was taken I had already used the sod cutter to make it easier to remove the grass. My original plan was just to dig it all up with a shovel. WOW! Thank god the guy at Home Depot talked me into renting the sod cutter. It made things 50 times eaiser. I had all of the grass removed with in an hour.

After removing the sod, it was time to dig. We basically removed the dirt from the upper areas and moved it to the lower lying areas. Eventually everything evened out. Vicky also want to add a planter for her flower, so that was all put into plan.

Once everything was level, we started laying out the bricks for the wall. This was not a easy task, as each one had to be level. As you can see, my helper was there at every step of the process. We ended up buying about 30 more bricks that we needed. (thanks to my math, and the Osceola County School System. LOL) So we decided to extend the wall down the fence which was not in the original plan. After that was completed, I was happy we did. It looked great!
After the wall was built, it was time to level the dirt, put in the play set and spread the mulch. I was happy to do that, because it meant the hard part was over and we were nearly done. Woohoo! As you can see my helper was there at part, and even helped water the new grass.
All in all, it looks better than I could have imagined. Below are a few pictures of the finished product. Let me know what you think....

Its been a while...  

Posted by Tim Justynski

It's been a while since I have posted. Things have been crazy for us. My family seems to be on the go, and there never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done. So, by the time I get a moment to sit down, I am totally exhausted. I am trying to figure out a way to manage everything and keep my cool. God knows, I need to help with that.

Vicky and I have given into temptation. Logan has been sleeping very well until about 3 or 4 AM. At that time he wakes all the time. However, if we put him in our bed he sleeps the rest of the night. So, it just seems to work for all of us, is that when he wakes he comes and gets into our bed. Would you believe he actually slept until 9:30 AM last Saturday. Holy crap, I haven't slept that late since he was born. Now I know many of you cringe when you here he is sleeping with us, but when you haven't slept through the night in 2 years....talk to me then!

You may have noticed the books on my page now. Many of you know (or may not know) that I am an avid reader now. OK, pick up your jaws, yes the Tim you know is reading. Actually I have been for the last 3 or so years. I basically read business or self help books. Not self help as in I am addicted to anything. More like time management, stress, and that type of stuff. As far as the business stuff, I read Marketing and Management books. I have a rule, I have to get something out of the book. I prefer not to read fiction. To me if I am not learning something from the book, its a waste of time. Any how I have listed a few books on the right that I have read recently. Have a look, I would recommend them to any one. I might even write a review for one some day.

Well, I am going to try to write more often. So stay tuned for more...

A New Budget  

Posted by Tim Justynski in ,

Vicky and I decided we would start a Budget and get on track. We decided that if we wanted to go on vacations and buy the things we wanted, we would have to save for them. There is really no other way than to set a budget. After doing some research I decided to purchase budget software from YNAB. Its a Zero Based Budget which means every dollar coming in is accounted for. We spent a few hours delegating every dollar to different categories within the budget.

In doing this we realized just how crazy we were spending our money. We never realized how much money we had after all of the bills were paid, because we spent it on wants instead of needs. Vicky is excited since she actually has a monthly clothing allowance. She has already been window shopping, patiently waiting for her allowance to kick in. That's is it for now, I will let you know how things are going.

WTF?  

Posted by Tim Justynski

I am really confused about something. I have a family member that has decided to make up some BS story about my personal life. He decided to tell my parents that I sent him and email spilling my guts about it to him. WTF? First, what did I ever do to him? Second, I have never written him an email outside of forwarding him an a joke every once in a while. I am certainly not close enough to him discuss my personal life. Why me? Why us? What did we do to him to deserve this crap? Why drag me into his problems with my family? Vicky and I have always been nice to him. UGH! I know I am spending way to much time worring about this bastard. But it urks me to no end.

Same old Story  

Posted by Tim Justynski

Why is it that we expect poeple to change? This past week I have realized that most people do not change. I think things will be different "this time" but the truth is its the same old story. One person continues to apologize for their mistakes, but when push comes to shove, its the same old story. The other has no clue they even do it. I have came to the conclusion that the only way things are going to change is if I change. If I distance myself from them, and not set myself up for failure by expecting others to change.

Smile  

Posted by Tim Justynski

I had a realization today. It seems that even on the bad days at work, when you get home to your children, they always have a way of making you smile. I picked Logan up from school today (had the worst day at work) and the first thing he did was give me a big hug and smile. I realized that it does not matter how much money you make, or how hard you work they love you for you. God I love being a daddy!

History is Saved...  

Posted by Tim Justynski

The Miami Dolphins can breath easy. They are still the only team in NFL history to go undefeated for the entire season. THANK YOU GIANTS! New England is a great team, deserve all the hype they got, but the Giants were the better team on the field. I look back in all of the Super Bowls that I have watched, I do not think I have seen a better Super Bowl than the one I watched tonight. Both teams played excellent ball, and it wasnt until the last play of the game did we know who won. WOW!!!

Super Bowl Sunday!  

Posted by Tim Justynski in , ,

So I turned the TV on this morning and at 9AM, Fox started their Superbowl Celebration. From Super Sunday, Road to the Super Bowl, Inside the Rings with Troy Aikman, Howie Longs Tough Guys, and then 4 hours of the the Super Bowl Sunday Pre-game Show. Wow! It doesnt get any better than this! This is the way all Sundays should be.

OK, my take on the Super bowl. I am really tired of hearing Brady this, and patriots that. Ugh! Get over it. There are severa reasons why I am cheering for the Giants today.

1. I am tired of the Hype.
2. I would love to see Peyton Manning pass the Lombardi trophy to his brother Eli.
3. Most of Miami's and Marion's records have been beaten. The one thing I can brag about is Miami's 1972 undefeated season. I don't want to lose that.

So witht that being said I think the Giants are going to pull out an upset...38-35 My guess its going to be a high scoring game.

Go Giants!

She did it!  

Posted by Tim Justynski in ,

Brittany finally went to the DMV, took her examine and got her Learners Permit! She is so excited and we are very proud of her. I let her drive down a few back roads, I nearly pee'd my pants a couple of times, but she did well. I don't think she is ready for US - 27 yet, but she'll get there.

What the Heck is EMO?  

Posted by Tim Justynski

The other day my daughter Brittany said that Logan was dressed "Emo." Huh? I said he doesn't look anything like the little red Muppet. I was quickly laughed upon and she said "not Elmo, but Emo." After some discussion I found out that "Emo" is another term for punk or goth. Can anyone tell me where that term came from? When I was in school it was called "punk" or "Goth", but Emo? Don't get me wrong, we do not dress Logan Emo, Goth, or punk, but he did have his little skater long sleeve shirt on. Oh this world is so crazy these days......

Happening's  

Posted by Tim Justynski in

Today I did something today makes me sad. I voted in our executive meeting that an employee be fired. The vote was 3 to 1 in favor of him being fired. It saddens me that I had to do this, but we had given this guy chance after chance to straighten up his bad attitude, but its the same old crap. I do not enjoy watching someone lose their job, and its the last thing I want anyone to go through. However, we do have to keep things under control at work, and we cannot tolerate bad attitudes. I will pray for him and hopes that he learns from this and uses it to succeed in his future endeavors.....

Thoughts  

Posted by Tim Justynski in

Yesterday I was completely stressed to the max. I was given a project at work that had a fast approaching due date, and that has little or no room for error. Basically, I was asked to get a list of all of my clients front line staff because SeaWorld was giving them all free annual passes. Sounds easy right? Not when you have over 80 clients who have any where from 5 to 50 employees each. Getting them to respond in a timely manner is not the easiest thing to do. Then double and triple checking to make sure everyone got a list to me. Calling those that didn't. Then making sure I didn't leave any names off the list. (Try explaining that one!) The worst thing is to have to tell a major client, that "oops, I left you off the list. Sorry, we will get you some next year."

So I guess when my family got home last I wasn't in the best of moods. Vicky and I have been trying very hard to not bring our stress home with us. It had gotten the best of our relationship last year, and we are working hard to control that. I slipped up yesterday, and let that stress get to me. So to my family...I am sorry! I guess we are bound to slip up once in while, but the best thing is that I can recognize it (with the help from my wife) and admit to it. So I pledge to do my best to keep this from happening again...

In the Life of Tim  

Posted by Tim Justynski in ,

I have been writing on another blog for a while now. And although I enjoy writing about Orlando and all the things that are available in the area, there has been several days where I just wanted to write my opinions on life and whats happening the world around is. So I decided I would start another blog to do just that. Some posts maybe my particular feelings about whats happening in the world, and other maybe about my personal life. Feel free to express your thoughts on the subject as we go!