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I have reached on of those breaking points that I think many of us here in school are afraid of. It's been one of those weeks where I can feel the rug of parental security slowly slipping out from under my feet and I am not sure it there was a hole under that rug all along or if I am just imagining that. This week my parents brought up, at the dinner table, that they think I should start becoming more independent. I just said that I thought that I am independent since I go to school and live in a house without them. They brought up how I don't pay for either of those things and so I had to concede to that fact. They are just thinking many years ahead of me right now. I don't think I should even be thinking as far ahead as next week since it's the middle of the summer. They have laid out a series of things that they want me to do by the end of the summer to be considered financially independent by next year when I start class again. This means that next year I won't be putting them in charge of the bill, but I will be the one with all of the debt on my hands. At this point I have absolutely no authority over what happens with my finances. I had never even thought about having no authority, but now it does make me want to take charge.

The first step in this whole process is that I have had to get a job. My parents want me to be able to pay my bills this year and so I have to get in the habit of working while I am in school which will be a new experience for me. The biggest bill I will have to pay next year is for health insurance. I guess that the name on the health insurance bill makes a big difference when you are being considered independent or not. At this point I can never be considered financially independent on family health insurance. For now I am just trying to enjoy what I imagine to be that last of my childhood freedoms.

At this point in the year I think it becomes increasingly easy for people to just go outside and forget about the really important things that need to be done inside. I know that if I were taking classes right now I would probably have pretty poor attendance since I just want to spend every moment of daylight outside trying to enjoy it. Unfortunately this is the time of year when everything needs done like moving to my new apartment and renewing tuition bills and things like that. I also have to worry about finding a new motorcycle insurance plan for my scooter. This year I want to make sure I get the critical illness insurance section of that because I nearly got in a really bad accident this year and I don't want to hit the hospital without a means to pay for that visit. For my parents they are having to do the same stuff around their house, where I am visiting right now, and I finally understand what they are going through.

My parents are exactly like me in that they see the sun and their first thought is about what kind of adventure can we have today. Both they and I have to find ways to really reel ourselves in and get some of the big obligations out of the way. For them though the responsibilities weigh a lot more since they have actually had the bad experiences and don't want to go through it again. They are shopping right now for property insurance since their house is close to the coast and hurricanes sometimes sweep through and do some minor damage to homes in the area. They are also looking at a new kind of insurance, term life insurance, to keep me safe if they happen to have an accident or something. They just want to make sure that if anything bad were to happen, god forbid, that I would have some money there to help me through that period until I could stay on my feet. I am a little bit freaked out by their search for this kind of plan, but I am also grateful that they are making sure I would be safe even if they would not be alive anymore.

This summer I have taken an internship with a sales company in the area. It seems to be a pretty interesting job that is centered around doing sales calls to various big stores and restaurants around town. I have a list of clients who I have to meet by the end of the month and then it is up to me to schedule and handle all my appointments. Hopefully, since I have not taken any sales calls yet, I will do well. I have never done anything like this before so it is a little bit scary to have such a different type of responsibility put on myself. Right now I have another week until my first sales call so my job at the moment is to help out our public relations head with designing our promotional items. We are buying a bunch of things wholesale online like new pens for us and the clients we sell to, as well as new day planners for all of the employees here. We tried to find room in the budget for digital items but then it turned out that online we could get paper planners for much cheaper and still meet the same need within the office.

I hope that this sales experience really boosts my resume as well as helps me to become a bit more confident in my own personal ventures. These were the reasons that my ears perked up when I saw the posting online but I am just hoping that all goes well. If I make enough sales by the end of the summer the company will even give me a scholarship for school which I need pretty badly since I am in a good amount of debt right now with no means to catch up on my interest payments. If it all works out and things go perfectly I might have a year of free school, a great resume item, a fall job that pays well, and a little bit more confidence to do the things I want to do without being so nervous around groups of people. Wish me luck for the rest of the summer.

Being a college student, you see a lot of people around campus with free t-shirts, or t-shirts with promotions on the back. What better gift to give a student than a promotional item like a t-shirt. When I'm walking to class around campus or working out at the gym or even waiting in line to check out at the grocery store, I can't help but to read the backs of people's shirts in front of me. I know that I alone have over 100 t-shirts with promotions on the back. In my sorority we do a lot of charity work and work with a lot of different companies as sponsor's to put together events. This way we get our event and they get their name on our events t-shirt: Win win situation. Promotional products like shirts are given out at a lot of sporting events at school as well. (They did that a lot in high school too). It is a way to excite the crowd, who in turn buy tickets to come back to future games and events.

Another promotion that I have seen a lot of lately is buying a certain amount of groceries and you get a cloth tote (that has been made with the particular stores name and logo on it) to use in the future. This is becoming more and more popular as far as I can tell because people are becoming a lot more earth conscious and friendly and cloth totes are reusable and sturdy. So a promotional items like that would be very beneficial to both the store and the customer for several reasons. First if all the store is getting you to buy more to get the bag (if you are 5 dollars short, you are tempted to spend 5 more to get it, since it is such a great deal and can be used in the future), second, the bag is a constant reminder to customers to come back or a reminder that they need to go grocery shopping and finally it is convenient for the customer because it is sturdy, they feel that they are doing their part in helping out the earth, and also, they got star treatment at the store and will likely continue to come back.

So promotional items with the companies names on it are beneficial to both parties because it is keeping the customer coming back and in turn they are getting great treatment and service and buying more.

Last year I unfortunately came very close to dying. I was driving home from work and was hit head on by a drunk driver. At the time I was dating two women, and neither was really that serious a relationship. Well, in the accident, I had suffered some severe trauma and spent about 5 weeks in a coma. It is by the way true that you see a light and relive experiences and see people who have passed on before you. I just needed to say that because I never really believed that those things happened until they happened to me. Also, people who are in a coma can feel human touch and hear what is being said to them and what is going on around them. During the period of time that I was in the coma, the one woman Beth that I was dating came to my bedside just about every day. She brought me lots of fresh flowers and there were several florists who came in and delivered flowers to me. I can't tell you what an incredible thing it was to be surrounded by flowers and love during what I like to refer to as my time away. I think it must be true what they say about some senses being heightened while others are failing, because all I can tell you is that even though I couldn't see anything that was going on around me, I could hear everything, and I could definitely smell the flowers. I know all this sounds really strange and if you don't believe me, I can't really say I blame you, as I myself have never believed any of these coma, near death experiences people talked about before today.

Any way since my near death experience, I have a new outlook on life. I love to stop and smell the flowers, and once I was able to walk and talk again, I asked Beth to marry me, and she said yes. Things are looking up for me, and we will be married next month, and there will be lots of flowers. We didn't choose to just use one florist, however, we chose to use all three of the florists who had made the flower deliveries during my hospital stay. We felt it was only right to include all the people who helped us get to where we are today.

After getting off the phone with my brother, I am a little bit depressed. He has always lived high on the hog and now he is in over his head. He and his wife have been spending a lot of money and now that his business has slowed down, their bills exceed their monthly income by a lot. He talked to me about debt consolidation and the fact that he thought it was his only option before his credit is ruined forever.

I encouraged him. In the past, I myself got in over my head with my bills and I turned to a debt consolidation company for help, and it was a wonderful experience. I know that for me, it alleviated a lot of the stress that being in debt had put me under. I told him how they had me get all my bills together and they worked with me on my income and my other expenses to come up with a realistic monthly payment that I could afford. Now, don't get me wrong, it only puts all your bills together. They did cut down the interest rate, and stopped some of the charges that they kept billing me for, keeping the balance down as I paid. Your credit doesn't get better immediately, but over time, as long as you make your bill payments on time, you will rebuild your credit. In my case, it took me about 3 years to get all my debt paid off, but it was definitely worth it. I did get my credit back and under control. The debt consolidation company also told me the best way to use my credit for the best results on my credit score. They also told me what I could afford to spend on credit each month, so that I wouldn't dig myself another hole after working so hard to get out from under my debt. The great thing about it was, I never got another bill collector hollering at me on the phone again. There was no more harassment about missed payments or responsibilities, and I could freely answer my phone without the panic of who was going to be on the other end of the phone.

I really hope that my brother takes my advice and gets help now, before it is too late. The idea of debt consolidation may be embarrassing to him, but honestly destroying his credit will be worse for him in the long run, I am just sure of it.

Natural Energy Drink- It's a busy world and you live a busy life. Whether you're at the gym or just slugging through another work-filled day, you can always use a bit of a boost. Drink manufacturers know this and have thoughtfully provided a wide variety of energy boosting drinks that can increase your alertness, your memory, and in some cases your sex appeal simply by taking a few sips.

While the hormonal surge from an energy drink is highly debatable, there is one commonality between almost all advertised energy drinks.

They aren't natural.

The ingredients on a standard energy drink collected from the neighborhood store or supermarket reads more like a chemical lab than anything else. Even the sugar is called something highly specialized, and that's because even the sugar is highly processed.

Benefits of an Energy Drink

An energy drink should be giving you a big boost in energy naturally. After all, if you wanted an unnatural effect, you could skip the drink and go straight to the alertness pills provided in seedy gas stations everywhere. You want your energy to rise and stay high. What's the point of a energy high if you'll be crashing back down in a matter of an hour or so, the way you often do with soda and sugar?

Outside of the actual energy requirements, it would be nice if the energy drink tasted delicious. Perhaps a variety of flavors would be available to suit your mood and accompanying preference. Again, most energy drinks are designed to be "slammed" or practically tossed straight into the stomach, possibly to avoid a chemical aftertaste or simply a flavor that's not as great as it should be.

The Natural Energy Drink

It's obvious that the generic energy drinks you see advertised are inferior to a natural, yummy beverage that will give you energy and help you on your way. Surely if a single drink could do all this, it would be everywhere by now. In short - it is. You just didn't' realize it until now.

Drink tea. It's the natural energy drink.

Our town's arts festival is coming up and I for one am very excited. This is like the biggest thing to happen to this town every year. We just get flooded with amazing artists who are quickly followed by a tidal surge of urgent buyers looking for the next big piece of artwork. everyone wants to come here and discover some kind of picasso or rembrandt. For me it is all about getting my name out.

Last semester I went to a job fair. at this job fair there were reps from a bunch of different companies and organizations. There were even reps from the government trying to recruit people to the FBI and other federal agencies. When I went I didn''t really know what I was looking for but I know the types of things I am interested in when I am picking classes. With that in mind I grazed the gymnasium looking for something at least slightly promising. I found a few things but what I really noticed about the whole experience was the marketing tactics they used to hook students. Things like promotional gifts and logo merchandise were all over the place. These little tradeshow giveaway items were what really drove kids to frequent certain booths. Even those that knew exactly what they would be doing when they graduated were still hanging around looking for more free stuff. For the companies, I thought, this seemed like a bit of a loss. When I thought more about it it made perfect sense from both an advertising and customer satisfaction standpoint.

This year at my booth I am going to be trying a similar policy with promotional products. I have gotten a great booth once again where I ill be selling my pottery and sculpture. I also spent a bit of time this semester making t-shirts that have my own personal business logo on them. This same logo is one the bottom of my commercial pottery and my business cards. At the festival I will be selling the t-shirts and giving them away to anyone who buys a piece of my work. I think this will increase my sales because they will get something tangible out of buying even my most abstract works. I also think it will help to keep people coming back to my booth throughout the week because the logo is hanging from the front of my boot as well.

I really love going to the malls and I get little chance to head to a good mall and get a few laughs in a novelty shop. If you have never been to a novelty shop and don't know what novelties are, then let me tell you that you are really missing out. A novelty shop is a great place to get gag gifts, sex gifts, and even some really bizarre light up items. Some of these stores carry items like balloons and streamers, but usually not what you would consider to be your normal party fare. It is a great place to get things that are like over the hill stuff, magic tricks and even some really strange and sometimes perverted stuff. My mother can't stand these stores; she is a real stick in the mud. Honestly, if not for my existence you would not be able to believe that this woman has ever had sex. She is as tightly wrapped as they come, and quite frankly although in need of some canned fart or something like shocking gum or pens it will never happen, I think that she would chose death over an embarrassing fate like that.

As for me, I enjoy some of the things that a novelty store has to offer. They offer things like edible panties, canes to give at the over the hill party, and just some down right funny stuff. I have even seen a few of these stores carrying things like gift wrap and cards some other things for your gift giving needs.

If you need a gift for someone that really has a sense of humor then by all means try out one of these stores. Novelties make really good gifts, especially for people who already have everything, and as long as they enjoy a good laugh then go ahead and give them the black and white jelly beans with the words Viagra written on them. Sure they may blush a little, but they will laugh a whole lot. There are so many different types of novelty items that is hard to make a list of them all in this small little blog, but the next time you are in a good mall, make a stop in at the novelty store and I am sure if nothing else you will come out blushing and laughing all at once.

I recently have tried to get a free credit report, and it is pretty simple. All you must do to access a free credit report is to be declined for credit, then you can contact the companies, and they will allow you to access your credit report for nothing. I have been working with my credit report and trying to sort out the information on it, to determine how to get some help with credit repair. I found this information very helpful to try and get my credit back on track.

First there are 5 important things that you must know about your credit score:

" Paying Your Bills on Time- 35% This is a big factor, over 1/3 of your score. There are good things and bad things about this. The good thing is, this category doesn't care if you pay off your entire balance every month or just the minimum. It just cares that at least your minimum is paid every month on time. The bad news is that if you are constantly late, it will make a big dent in your FICO score.

" Debt to Available Credit Ratio- 30% This is the second most important factor in the credit score puzzle. Your potential lenders want to see that you can use credit responsibly. They want to see that even if you have a limit of $10,000; you are responsible enough not to charge up the entire balance. So, add up all the available credit limits of your credit cards; then add up all the balances. Obviously, the lower the debt-to-limit ratios are the better. So, if you owe a total of $8,000 and you only have $10,000 in available credit, your 80% ratio is not good. Pay down your debt, and also think about calling your creditors and asking them for a higher credit limit. This will help, but ONLY if you are smart enough not to use that higher limit to charge more.

" Length of Credit History- 15% The longer your credit history, the better it is for you. Don't even think about closing your older credit accounts. Keep them open. Closing your oldest card will only shorten your credit history.

" New Accounts and Recent Applications for Credit- 10% Try not to apply for too much credit in a short time. It will look like you are hurting for money. Don't apply for a car loan the same month you get a line of credit at a furniture store. Try to space out your credit applications as best as you can.

" Types of Credit & Loans- 10% It looks favorable for you to have a variety mix of credit. Perhaps one or two major credit cards, a retail store card, a student loan and a car loan would be an example of a varied mix. Having $15,000 of debt spread out over 3 different types of loans will look better than the same amount all stacked up in just credit cards. It shows you can be responsible for different loans.

I have gotten a cool new internship for school this summer. The department had a bunch of jobs within the campus computer systems offices but I was more interested in real world employment that would be a better reflection of my future job rather than just a padded experience within the system I'm already in. The job I have gotten is for a matchmaking site that I am sure that many have heard of before. I don't want to say the name because I don't want anyone frequenting a site I may not be working for when I graduate in a year because they are all so great I've realized. I have been working there for a week now and I have become really fond of the work. I do the job totally from home and I have only met the manager once so I really do get to set my own schedule. My responsibilities basically cover answering disputes and solving problems concerning peoples' individual Personals. These profiles are what they use to find others and what our system uses to match them up with those other people who are supposed to be their matches. If their singles listing doesn't show up right or appear the way in which they desire it to then everyone has a problem because they are paying for it and we are running a business. If their listings don't appear right then I have to figure out where in the server or what part of the server is not functioning properly. Then I have to either figure out how to rewrite some type of programming that we run their profiles through or I have to call the server office and tell them where I have narrowed the problem down to. Then they can take action in terms of the actual physical components of the server. I am just an intermediary between the server and the customer who actually contact me directly when there is a problem. It's a pretty cool job because of the responsibilities I have over the site script and the feeling that I am helping a whole lot of people meet their life goals by finding someone they can potentially love for the rest of their lives.

There is much to be said for a student who can see farther ahead of himself than the next week of class or the next party. All of us are just trying to get by and get an education. I don't personally feel like I am going to be able to change anything in this world on some grand scale, I just want to be able to get on with relative ease. I think it is the interesting experiences that give us something to think about and make us keep moving in this world. Inside of the whole experience we have the usual scheme of education, eliminate debt, career, and then begins the long process of aging. Now I am not fatalist but I do know that it is all about something futile. What I am really saying is that we have to work together and try to understand what we are doing here in this big experiment. If we are driven by past mistakes or past grievances then we are shooting with blanks because we can hit a thing on target. What we all need to see is that our goals and objectives, even our debt consolidation, are all about something bigger than ourselves. Not bigger in the sense of representing some kind of intricate and lush history of a nation. I mean bigger in the sense that debt consolidators are just one part of the whole game the we have set up for ourselves and we have to play this thing till the end. We may have some interesting occurrences along the way but we are all just carrying on and creating something around us that we want to be there. We don't just simply exist in this world that was created by our forefathers a couple hundred years ago. No we are all part of it; the yesterday, the present, and the tomorrow all at the same time. If I don't happen to do something I thought I should have done then well what does is matter to anyone else because they are all playing out there own thing. We just have to do what we can while we can and hope for the best before we get there.

I think it is absolutely insane that so many people treat their pets like they are babies. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love animals, and I do my very best to take care of them and love on them, but I don't actually believe that they are people.

These days you find pet supplies that are not only for caring for your pet or for their entertainment, but they actually sell clothing for your pets. Now it is bad enough that pet stores carry these ridiculous items, but I have actually been in clothing stores of late, that carry doggie clothes, hats, shoes, booties it blows my mind. I can't believe that people would go to such extremes. Don't they realize that their pets are pets? They have fur and don't need little doggie coats. I am sure that the pets don't like these clothes that bind them, I mean let's face it, and there are many people who wouldn't wear clothes except for the fact that they are required of humans. I mean think about the freedom of being naked all the time. What would make people think that animals would want to be restricted in this way?

I just think that we should enjoy our animals and getting them some fun and helpful pet supplies is a really great thing to do, but let's get real about the fact that they are animals. I mean which do you think your German Sheppard would want more, a real fur coat or a nice piece or beefy rawhide to chew on. It just seems so clear to me, I just think that either people don't get it, or they just didn't get enough opportunities to play house and dress up as a child.

I recently saw a woman on TV who treats her dog like a person. She lets him eat at the table with her, lets him watch TV, takes him to the store, and even dresses him appropriately for each occasion. The dog has never eaten dog food, just regular people food, 3 meals a day to enjoy, and snacks which include ice cream. She sleeps in bed with her dog every evening and he wears doggie pajamas. He also can use the regular toilet.

I don't know where you would go to get some of these pet supplies, maybe she sews his clothes for him I don't know. All I can tell you is pushing your little doggie through the mall in a stroller is not priceless, it is bizarre!