So, ratings of American Idol have slipped. Surprised? No, not really. I stopped watching. Who hasn't? Of course, in Hollywood that brings up the question of whether to replace Mariah Carey with Jennifer Lopez to boost ratings. Would it work? If you ask me, of course it would. I'd turn in again just for a chance to watch J. Lo, but I'm not really interested in Mariah anymore. I mean, it's J. Lo. There's just something about her. She has that "IT" factor. Hell, if you're going after the male demographic, why not just bring in Jessica Alba.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother to care about celebrities, but I do. Just the other day I found myself having the ultimate Disney girl conversation. After their days as Disney girls years ago, who still looks better, Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera? I argued Britney, but once Christina begins singing I realize she obviously won the talent battle.
But you can't have the Disney girl conversation without bringing the Disney boys into the mix. After all these years, who looks better, Justin Timberlake or Ryan Gosling? I see JT on the TV all the time. He's chillin' with Ellen, kickin' it with Jimmy Fallon and even hanging out with Jay Z and Barrack Obama. Plus, he has Jessica Beil on his arm. Last picture I saw of Gosling he was pumping gas with a horrible looking beard. With a beard like Gosling's, maybe he'd have a shot with Ke$ha, but that's about it. JT obviously has the upper hand there.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Just keep on keepin' on...:) Failure is NOT an option!!!
As my thirties slowly come to an end and I approach that ominous mid-life 40th birthday, one of the concepts I battle with daily is whether my life is a success or a failure. Sure, I've had a few miss steps along the way, but I think I continue to grow and learn with each year, which is really all you can ask for, right?
One of the things I love to observe is the energy given off and received at various events. I think that's why I love photographing sports so much. The youth involved in high school athletics always have such a joyful exuberance about life. To watch them compete and capture that excitement in pictures always brings me joy. Those memories are such a small part of life, but a part I feel honored to share with them.
I recently was invited to meet a new addition to this world. And I must say the energy a newborn gives off is like nothing else I've experienced. The love two parents exhibit is palpable. To just sit in it for a few hours is an experience in itself. It's something I'll never forget. The love a new mother has for her creation is above all else. And to see it, and talk about it, helps me realize the importance of the miracle of life my parents gave to me. Thanks MOM & DAD!
This year, like many before it, has been a trying time financially for me. To sit on the verge of a business breakthrough for so many years, yet never quite figure out how to take things to the next level is trying at times. Many of my friends make twice as much money as me and that realization is always tough for me to handle. If life is judged on the bottom line, then, obviously, I'm not winning. But winning and surviving are two separate things. I survive. I do it by continually working hard and relying on my work ethic to get by in life.
Giving up on something is tough. I've thought long and hard about giving up on my business ventures, but something always stops me. I think I'm stubborn. I think I'm scared. And I think I'm afraid to give up because, if I do, that admits failure. And nobody wants to be a failure. So I struggle through.
I recently had a conversation with my dad about money and the possibility of starting over at my age to give myself a better financial future. My dad had two careers and always did well financially, but I think my path is obviously different from his and that's sometimes hard for him to understand. My path has been chosen and it's not the easy one. My path involves long hours, struggle and sacrifice. It's what I've chosen and what makes me who I am. I was raised to skimp, save and get by, so it's what I know. It's in the genes my mother lovingly passed down to me. That Dutch blood runs deep through my veins and it's what will get me through this week, this year and many more to follow. They say you gotta just keep on keepin' on. So the next time you wonder how Brian's doing. Just know he's busy keepin' on. Because failure is not an option.
One of the things I love to observe is the energy given off and received at various events. I think that's why I love photographing sports so much. The youth involved in high school athletics always have such a joyful exuberance about life. To watch them compete and capture that excitement in pictures always brings me joy. Those memories are such a small part of life, but a part I feel honored to share with them.
I recently was invited to meet a new addition to this world. And I must say the energy a newborn gives off is like nothing else I've experienced. The love two parents exhibit is palpable. To just sit in it for a few hours is an experience in itself. It's something I'll never forget. The love a new mother has for her creation is above all else. And to see it, and talk about it, helps me realize the importance of the miracle of life my parents gave to me. Thanks MOM & DAD!
This year, like many before it, has been a trying time financially for me. To sit on the verge of a business breakthrough for so many years, yet never quite figure out how to take things to the next level is trying at times. Many of my friends make twice as much money as me and that realization is always tough for me to handle. If life is judged on the bottom line, then, obviously, I'm not winning. But winning and surviving are two separate things. I survive. I do it by continually working hard and relying on my work ethic to get by in life.
Giving up on something is tough. I've thought long and hard about giving up on my business ventures, but something always stops me. I think I'm stubborn. I think I'm scared. And I think I'm afraid to give up because, if I do, that admits failure. And nobody wants to be a failure. So I struggle through.
I recently had a conversation with my dad about money and the possibility of starting over at my age to give myself a better financial future. My dad had two careers and always did well financially, but I think my path is obviously different from his and that's sometimes hard for him to understand. My path has been chosen and it's not the easy one. My path involves long hours, struggle and sacrifice. It's what I've chosen and what makes me who I am. I was raised to skimp, save and get by, so it's what I know. It's in the genes my mother lovingly passed down to me. That Dutch blood runs deep through my veins and it's what will get me through this week, this year and many more to follow. They say you gotta just keep on keepin' on. So the next time you wonder how Brian's doing. Just know he's busy keepin' on. Because failure is not an option.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
I think there comes a time in your life when it's okay to give up on a dream. For me, I think that time is near.
When I was little, I always wanted to own my own business. I wanted a baseball card shop where I could sell cards and make a living. I don't think I ever imagined how it would all work out or even thought about it as "making a living". I didn't think about having multiple mortgages or the cost of leasing a good space that would get me customers. Or the cost of advertising. Or having to pay Comcast every month. Or having to pay insurance on my place. Or electricity. Or parking. In fact, come to think of it, I didn't think about much. I just wanted a card shop.
At that age, I'd been to card shops and I thought they were cool. There was one I would ride my bike for miles and eventually walk my bike up the 164th Street hill just to check out what they had to offer. Back then it was an adventure, a pilgrimage of sorts. Once you got there, you'd have all the latest players out in display cases. They were all carefully displayed in hard plastic cases. They had the latest rookie cards and those hard-to-find limited edition cards. It was fun to see the rare and mint condition stuff I could never afford. Thinking back on it now, I'm pretty sure I mostly just went to look. Every now and then I'd scrape together enough dough to buy a pack. I can remember opening those packs, hoping to get some rare rookie I could sell back to the shop owner for a profit, but I never had much luck. I usually just left with a handful of commons and a stick of gum. I'm sure those "rare" cards were no more than $5 to $10, but I never had that much money. I wasn't from Mill Creek. I lived on the other side of the gate...:) (inside joke).
After I left the newspaper business in 2005, I did start my own business. I'd actually been successfully eBaying since I graduated college in 1999. At first it was just buying a few shirts and flipping them for profit. Then, the process expanded. Those few shirts turned into stacks of shirts that I'd move out of a small office in my parent's Marysville rambler. By the time I moved back to Bellingham in 2004, I had a downtown apartment filled with stacks of clothes. I'm sure it was a major fire hazard, but nobody ever complained and I had a great time and made a lot of money doing it. I mean, "a lot" is a relative term. My rent was cheap, my expenses were minimal and I wasn't worried about living the good life. I remember going to the Hostess shop around the corner, loading up on three loafs of bread for $1 and sitting there in my apartment that summer eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and drinking ice cold Coca Cola. I was living the good life of a successful eBayer and life didn't get much better than that.
To be continued...
Blog ideas ( if you have something you want me to write about, let me know and I'll add it)
Success vs. Failure
Selling the business
Addicted to eBay
Models
Facebook unfriending me!!!
When I was little, I always wanted to own my own business. I wanted a baseball card shop where I could sell cards and make a living. I don't think I ever imagined how it would all work out or even thought about it as "making a living". I didn't think about having multiple mortgages or the cost of leasing a good space that would get me customers. Or the cost of advertising. Or having to pay Comcast every month. Or having to pay insurance on my place. Or electricity. Or parking. In fact, come to think of it, I didn't think about much. I just wanted a card shop.
At that age, I'd been to card shops and I thought they were cool. There was one I would ride my bike for miles and eventually walk my bike up the 164th Street hill just to check out what they had to offer. Back then it was an adventure, a pilgrimage of sorts. Once you got there, you'd have all the latest players out in display cases. They were all carefully displayed in hard plastic cases. They had the latest rookie cards and those hard-to-find limited edition cards. It was fun to see the rare and mint condition stuff I could never afford. Thinking back on it now, I'm pretty sure I mostly just went to look. Every now and then I'd scrape together enough dough to buy a pack. I can remember opening those packs, hoping to get some rare rookie I could sell back to the shop owner for a profit, but I never had much luck. I usually just left with a handful of commons and a stick of gum. I'm sure those "rare" cards were no more than $5 to $10, but I never had that much money. I wasn't from Mill Creek. I lived on the other side of the gate...:) (inside joke).
After I left the newspaper business in 2005, I did start my own business. I'd actually been successfully eBaying since I graduated college in 1999. At first it was just buying a few shirts and flipping them for profit. Then, the process expanded. Those few shirts turned into stacks of shirts that I'd move out of a small office in my parent's Marysville rambler. By the time I moved back to Bellingham in 2004, I had a downtown apartment filled with stacks of clothes. I'm sure it was a major fire hazard, but nobody ever complained and I had a great time and made a lot of money doing it. I mean, "a lot" is a relative term. My rent was cheap, my expenses were minimal and I wasn't worried about living the good life. I remember going to the Hostess shop around the corner, loading up on three loafs of bread for $1 and sitting there in my apartment that summer eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and drinking ice cold Coca Cola. I was living the good life of a successful eBayer and life didn't get much better than that.
To be continued...
Blog ideas ( if you have something you want me to write about, let me know and I'll add it)
Success vs. Failure
Selling the business
Addicted to eBay
Models
Facebook unfriending me!!!
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