To Be Young & Dumb

Cameron Schaefer has posted a list of 20 Things To Do in Your 20’s, and since I’m more than half way through my thirtieth year I figured I would take a look back at the last decade and see how many of these I achieved.

1. Surround yourself with wise mentors

Over the years I have been familiar with people I would ask for advice on certain topics, but no one that I would really consider a mentor. They were more of subject matter experts, but most of the time their advice was counterproductive for me anyway. I’ve always wanted to have a mentor, but now I’m getting to the point where I think I would make a good mentor for someone in their twenties.

2. Become a lifelong learner

Simply through the path that my different careers have taken me over the years I have been required to continue gaining knowledge. Now that I have reached my thirties I find myself, for the first time, looking to go back to school. By which I mean I’m going to go get my bachelors degree, twelve years after most of my peers.

3. Travel

This I have done. I’ve been lucky enough to travel extensively overseas and domestically. Travel is one of the most rewarding things you can do, both from the things you learn about the world you live in and the experiences you will have that will last a lifetime.

4. Learn to listen and handle criticism well

In my early twenties I had a hard time with criticism. I was very short tempered and would lash out at the drop of a hat. Over the years I have learned to not waste energy on hostility if it’s not warranted. I will stand up for the things I believe in, but I’m not nearly as hot tempered as I use to be.

5. Develop an active, healthy lifestyle

I was an athlete in high school and became a fat ass slug in my twenties. Now that I’m in my thirties I’m having to make up for ten years of laziness and bad decisions.

6. Read a classic

Admittedly, I’m not big on reading. A magazine article has a hard time holding my attention. Despite that, in the last two years I’ve managed to read a couple dozen classic short stories by the likes of HG Wells and Jack London, and I have read the minor classics The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad and The Last Man by Mary Shelly. Both are books I would recommend if you can be patient with the antique language. I’m currently looking for the next great read, and I’m open to suggestions.

7. Go on an overseas mission trip

Mission trips aren’t really my thing since I’m a “heathen Buddhist.” I was lucky enough to do some charity work while I was in South Africa. I wouldn’t say that you necessarily have to travel overseas to get the benefits of doing mission work. Parts of Appalachia are always looking for volunteers.

8. Create a monthly budget

Finance is my job, so having a monthly budget is kind of a no brainier for me. In addition I have charted out a plan for paying off our debt and saving for the future, including putting money away for an emergency fund, home purchase fund and vacation fund. Living within your means is so adult.

9. Start a Roth IRA

I don’t have a Roth, but I am investing 5% of my income for retirement.

10. Buy a used car

I’ve bought my fair share of used cars and would not recommend it. Instead, lease a new car as opposed to purchasing one. You will save money on your monthly payment and your maintenance costs.

11. Understand basic investment principles

Check. See number nine above.

12. Go to a concert

Beautiful Wife and I are big time music fans, so we have been to a few concerts. It is an amazing experience to be sitting amongst thousands of screaming fans, enjoying music that provides a common thread to all those warm bodies.

13. Learn a foreign language

Sometimes I wish I would have paid more attention in high school when I was taking Italian (two years) and Spanish (two years). Now that I’m an adult I find the urge to learn a second (or third or forth) language is much more strong than in my youth, but the time is much tighter.

14. Start a blog

You’re reading it.

15. Get your college degree

If I would have known twelve years ago what I know now I could have been a millionaire by this point instead of taking out loans to go back to school.

16. Pay off credit cards

To this I would add, don’t get divorced. That alone screwed up my credit more than anything else. Of course I married the wrong woman to begin with, so chock it up to a life lesson.

17. Stay in a hotel that costs over $200 a night

I guess if you really want to see how the other half lives go ahead, but I would much rather spend that money on a fine cigar and an aged bottle of whiskey.

18. Read the Bible cover to cover

It’s amazing what you can learn about what you trained to believe by reading the source those beliefs come from. To this I would also add reading the Quran, Talmud and sacred texts from other religions like Buddhism and Hindi to better understand the world that you live in. I came away with the realization that all these beliefs are much more similar than you might expect.

19. Explore your family of origin issues (positive and negative) and pursue growth

This is exactly why I divorced myself from my family and don’t talk to them anymore. I hope that some day my nieces and nephews understand that they can do better.

20. Figure out the type of person you want to marry

I had to endure a horrible marriage to get me to the point where I could meet and fall in love with Beautiful Wife. We all get one beautiful relationship in our lives, and I’m living mine.

Overall, I think I did pretty good. I don’t want to call this a meme, but if you go through the exercise like I did, link back here or leave a comment so I can take a look.

Lee in the Queue & Cage in Review

It’s Tuesday, time to add some new flicks to the queue. This week there’s only one pick, the mockumentary Finishing the Game. It’s the story of the shooting of Game of Death, the film Bruce Lee was shooting when he died. Game of Death was finished using a double after Lee shot about ten minutes of it. This mockumentary features Ron Jeremy and MC Hammer, which alone makes it queue worthy.

Also worth mentioning is National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Beautiful Wife and I caught it in the theaters and enjoyed it, even though it wasn’t as good as the first one.

How Planes Are Made

Please don't disturb the mating ritual.

Don’t iPod While Walking

If you’re a state senator from New York you may find that passing a bill that prohibits people from using their iPods and other electrical devices while crossing the street seems like a good idea. Thankful Democrat Carl Kruger’s bill was defeated last year.

But Kruger may be on to something. British Columbia resident Isaiah Otieno was walking to his mailbox when he was struck and killed by a helicopter that crashed in his neighborhood. Of course if Otieno hadn’t been listening to his iPod at the time we would have hurried the copter making impact and would have been able to leap out of the way.

The Untraceable Queue

It’s Tuesday, or Queuesday as I call it, the day that Hollywood unleashes another steaming pile of stinky DVD titles for you to spend your gas money on. Or in my case, add to my Netflix Queue.

This week we are graced with a handful of awful looking films, but only one is passable enough as entertainment to add to my queue. Diane Lane takes a turn as an FBI agent hunting a serial killer in Untraceable. If nothing else, Lane is nice to look at and Colin Hanks may have inherited some of his old man’s acting chops.

Today's Millionaire Hero

Beautiful Wife and I are in Cleveland hanging out with our friends, playing poker and Rock Band and having a wonderful time. Checking my news feeds this evening I came across the story of Taj Chahal who spent over $8000 to celebrate his twenty-ninth birthday with 300 homeless people. Chahal provided a catered dinner and spent the evening serving the homeless and working poor families at a food bank in SoCal. See the full story here and celebrate Chahal's awesomeness.

Pizza for 23 Cents!

Today only, Papa Johns is selling large one topping pizzas to customers who live in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown Ohio. This comes after a franchisee in Washington DC made up t-shirts calling LeBron James a crybaby following the playoff series with the Wizards.

One large one topping per customer, carryout only, call in orders only (not good on internet orders), and extra toppings are $1.60.