Ode to the GPS

How did people used to get around without GPSs? The one I have is made by Garmin. Not only does it give you directions to the locations you request, but you can also find directions to nearby banks, theaters, restaurants, hospitals, lodging, etc. It even includes a mode that directs you away from traffic to your destination.

I'm usually not much into electronics, but I really appreciate my GPS. Knowing that I can drive around and not get lost has really helped me think about exploring a new way home from work or just going off on a road trip. I can drive to another city or get a rental car and travel anywhere in North America without a paper map.

Automatic Saver

I've announced already that part of my challenge will include learning more about money, saving, and finances. As of today, I'm taking it a step further and issuing a challenge to myself to save at least $2,600 in 2009. That's $25 per week for 52 weeks, a full year of saving. That amount, $2600, in and of itself isn't a lot. I have student loans and past due tuition up the wazoo. However, saving just that small sum consistently will be the mark of a breakthrough.

In the past, when I've tried to save consistently, some sort of emergency would inevitably show up. And then when the money was gone, it would be easy not to start all over again. I know this one simple act of saving consistently is the first step in realizing financial independence. One of my favorite money books, The Automatic Millionaire (by David Bach), is based on this principle. But as I've learned throughout this challenge, reading and knowing how to do something is very different from actually doing it.

At first, I started with the idea of saving $40 a week. Then I suppose I felt that amount was just too comfortable, so I upped it by $10. The truth is, saving $40 is actually no easy task. I'm really living paycheck to paycheck. One wrong move, and I'm out. I've got to think about what I'm spending my money on, what I'm not spending on, and how I can go about reducing my spending where I can.

I already know I spend a lot of income eating out. Sometimes, it will be at a restaurant. Other times, it's just fast food. Least of all will I spend time actually cooking, though it is both the cheapest and healthiest way to eat. It might also help contribute to my weight loss. (Follow my weight loss on my other blog: www.poundapound.blogspot.com.) Eating out, I think I spend about $75 or more a week. It's not just because I like to either. Eating out is convenient when you spend lots of time at the office.

I will also try to chronicle how I save money. I think I'm paying too much on my cell phone bill already. That's something else I can cut back on. But I don't want to become a penny pincher. I don't want to live in fear of not having enough. I want to live comfortably and be debt free with considerable wealth.

Next Stop: Factory Girls

The next book on my list is Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China
by Leslie T. Chang. What is this obsession, this proclivity I have toward Asian culture? And really, it's not Asian culture so much as I am interested in the rights and cultural lives of women in that area. The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, & Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient
was the first such book I read addressing American interpretations of Asian culture. Then there was the Memoirs of a Geisha
. I didn't really get into that book so much, but I know it added to my interest of region and women's rights.

I look forward to reading the book. From the jacket cover, I think it may also have a lot to do with globalization and business: two additional areas in which I have a great interest.

Better News than BJ Hill

(Image Credit: Walk America 2008)

Tonight, as I was watching the news (ABC, I think, with Charlie Gibson), they aired a story about a man named BJ Hill who quit his job teaching to walk across America collecting letters people to the President (Obama, that is). As I watched that news story, several things struck me. First, I wonder why it is that we're celebrating a man who quit his job teaching when our country is experiencing a shortage of highly qualified teachers. Wouldn't he be doing our country a better service if he were to stay in the classroom (assuming that he is a good teacher) and teach our children to read or do algebra? Second, why didn't he just organize a e-mailing campaign? With the technology we have today, it's really unnecessary to go about on foot collecting responses in a notepad. Third, with all the clean-up Bush has left for Obama, what would make Mr. Hill believe that the President (Obama) would have either the time or inclination to read the fruits of his voyage?

I can only suppose it must be a slow news day, but there are stories to report about Toyota experiencing its first financial loss in several decades, stories about Zimbabwe and Mugabe's refusal to step down from power in the midst of country's bitter turmoil, stories about Russia and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). Even if the news show were searching for a feel-good ending to the newscast, I find it very difficult to believe that in this "season of giving" that a reporter could not find a better story of how men and women give up their time to reach out and help those in need. Mr. Hill isn't even reaching out. He isn't even walking for a worthy cause. He is raising money on website for what? New shoes for himself so he can continue to walk across the country collecting stories when a simple e-mail to the White House would do.

Critical thinking. That's something we all need to work on and I hope that this challenge, by opening my eyes to all that's out there, can also help me see even when others do not.

The Devil Wears Prada, a book review

I finally finished The Devil Wears Prada! From its reviews on Amazon.com, there doesn't seem to be much consensus either way on the merits of the book. The disparity in the rating stems, I think, from people assigning stars on the basis of differnt criteria. If everyone were to judge the book on qualities as chic lit, there would be more of a consensus. The same would be true, I think, if all the reviews were about the literary quality of the book. Either way, I'm glad I finished. Here's the review I wrote myself for Amazon.com:


Add This Book To Your Business Collection

It's certainly not literary fiction, but The Devil Wears Prada is a light, easy read for a stress-free vacation and a surprising addition to a professional's business library. The book tackles such issues in business as management, employee satisfaction, and the deadline-driven world of the publishing field. As readers follow Andrea Sachs through her first job and first year at a popular fashion magazine in New York, NY, they are invited to share in the ups and downs of working for a demanding boss in a position of low pay and virtually non-existent status. Along the way, Andrea realizes what it takes to be successful and what unquestionable abuse one can yield upon employees when their boss is one of the most respected and feared professionals in their field. Andrea also learns to prioritize. In coming to understand her personal work limits, she also begins to develop a healthy work/life balance, something many professionals -- men and women alike -- find themselves struggling with day after day.

Andrea represents what most people are like when they take on their first job or what many become after years of unsuccessful attempts at getting ahead the old-fashioned way. They're caught up in the myth that hard work and perseverance are what get people promoted. Yet after a few years of brown nosing, these same people begin to realize that the true road to success actually lies elsewhere, that to succeed, they must indeed be very good at their chosen profession, but to rely on it as the sole means of advancing their career would be naive.

The Devil Wears Prada should be a staple among business books. There are lessons about dealing with bosses, navigating through business culture, and more all illustrated in its pages. The lessons one might learn from reading some of today's greatest business books are found together in The Devil Wears Prada. It is a perfect learning tool for professionals who like to learn by example and through reading about other people's mistakes.

Aspiring professionals in publishing will also benefit from reading this book. Even those readers with other interests will still find the book appropriately amusing, touching, and perhaps even all too real to be just fiction.

The Worth of Travel

(Image Credit: traveldk.com)

I'm finally back from my business trip. My flight was cancelled early last week and the next available flight was for two days later. When I returned, I found that my car had been towed! Unfortunately, I'd used up all my discretionary income during my trip. Now I have to borrow money. Was the trip worth it? I don't know.

From a business standpoint, I've been able to represent my company well and demonstrate that I am capabale of completing long-term assignments and being able to travel for extended periods. This assignment prepares me for travel assignments abroad, which I am eager to accept. Part of what I want to do with my career is venture into the forays of international business and communications. What a delight it would be to represent my company in Europe, China, Egypt, or even Canada! I remain open to new experiences that will move me forward.

From a financial standpoint, this trip shows I have some work to do. I will need to develop several means of saving money and develop a nest of income specifically for business trips and another for emergencies. I would also do well to begin saving for my own vacations. Of course, the trick is not in deciding how to save, but in determining how you're going to save when you have thousands of dollars of debt to eliminate. That is yet another challenge, one not as easily accomplished by reading alone. Learning about savings and investments is an endeavor that requires lots of energy and time to do right. And by right, I mean profitably.

From the standpoint of getting through this challenge, I can say that I have indeed been able to learn more about my world. Travel allows one to see up close how other people live. It's good now and then to step back from a book and actually go about the business of learning up close. While away, I spent a lot of time talking to cab drivers. Many of them are from different countries. I spoke to one man from Bulgaria, another from Israel, and still another from Pakistan. It's amazing how much one can learn about other cultures in just a 10- to 15-minute cab ride. I also learned a bit from taking chartered tours of the area and of sites nearby.

Would it stand to reason that if I approached my own surroundings like a tourist that I could learn just as much?

The verdict on how useful this trip was to me is still out. I've had a lot of great experiences, and I learned a lot. But it's the financial sacrifice I made that's really getting to me. That, of course, is one of the tacit laws of education: You have to be willing to invest today, whether it be time or money, to realize huge returns in the future.

One for the Team

(Image Credit: businesstravel.us)

I feel like it's been months since I last blogged. I'd really gotten into a great grove, then I had this business trip, and suddenly it was like everything blogging and writing had dissipated. I have come to enjoy this blogging as much as I enjoy going to work each day. It's a labor of love. It's not always fascinating, but when I get into it, I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.

Today, I'm taking one for the team. I'm on a business trip, but my flight has been cancelled, so I must stay in town for another two days. It's a sacrifice, but one I am willing to make.

So how does this relate to the challenge? Well, in one aspect, I still haven't managed to finish The Devil Wears Prada. It's really a good read, but my goodness, if I don't finish it this weekend, I'm going to burst. I'm tired of looking at that book, and as I've said, I do have a dozen or more other books I'd like to read. In anticipation of finishing The Devil Wears Prada during this trip, I brought along Gulliver's Travels as my backup. A good classic. That's part of the challenge of broadening my understanding of the world: reading some of the world's most revered books.

There's a book that's coming to mind whose name escapes me at the moment. It was a book with a trial, a set of twins -- one black, one white, one rich, one poor -- in the South, riverboat country, slavery or early emancipation. I bring it up because it was one of those classics I was actually surprised to have enjoyed. I hope I feel the same way about Gulliver's Travels...if I ever get to it.