I was at my favorite lounge for lunch today and took some time to talk to the bartender.  I usually go once or twice a week for their awesome steak sandwiches - it is a bad habit, but it is worth it.  The bartender knows me by name as I have become one of the regulars.

On the way in, I noticed that the ATM machine looked different - they must have bought a new one.  I decided to ask the bartender about it, and he told me that a few days ago their ATM broke.  He said that the one that was sitting there was a rental, that an ATM rental company supplied for them.

He told me the rented them one of those mobile ATM machines that you hear about.  Mobile ATMs?  I had never heard of them.

I guess that they are self contained units, that only need a wall outlet to function - no more dedicated phone line required.  He told me that they were going to rent it until the old one is fixed - and they were considering replacing the old one next year - and they would get a mobile one instead.

I finished my lunch and the conversation, and promised that I would be back in a few days.  Who knew that I would learn something new going to a lounge…

Well, if you want the summary of the following article:

"A Good Resume gets Job Interview Opportunities"

It is as simple as that.  Now, there are some other things that are common sense that can help such as clothing, hygiene, etc.  but I am not going to touch on that here.  I will assume that those things are considered to be common sense, so I won’t worry about it.

In terms of a resume, you need to know how to make a resume - if you just try to fly by the seat of your pants, chances are you will fail.

If you need a place to start where it is very easy to create a resume, try out a resume builder.  They are available free online, and help to ensure that you include everything you need on your resume, and help your organize it in a standard format.  Don’t be surprised if you don’t win any awards with a resume created with a builder, but it gets the job done.

For those of you who want to have so many interviews that you might have to turn some of them down, you might want to consider picking up a "how to write a resume" book from your local library or book store.  Usually these books contain a recipe to success in terms of writing your resume - and also give you some warning on common things people do that they shouldn’t.

Just remember that the resume is the most important piece of your job search - without it, you will never make it to the interview, or to getting hired - so take some time and do it right.

I just finished a day long seminar on the alternatives to bankruptcy.  It was put on by a local company that offers a debt negotiation program to help those people who are at risk of going bankrupt.

They started off the presentation with the numbers: the number of people that go bankrupt each day and the number of people that could avoid bankruptcy if they just got some credit and bill consolidation help.

They continued on how debt consolidation works and what as the consumer we should look for.  They also touched on how your credit score is affected by both debt consolidation and bankruptcy.

I must say the arguments for debt consolidation are strong as you don’t suffer the effects that you would if you went bankrupt.  Also, personally, I feel that even though you weren’t able to pay off all your debts at least you tried - unlike someone who went bankrupt and basically said "screw you" to their lenders - I couldn’t live with that.

They finished their presentation by detailing their credit card negotiation services and how they could help us if we had credit card debt problems.  All in all, I quite enjoyed the seminar - it was both thought provoking and informative.

Most of you out there that have a Windows based computer are probably familiar with Solitaire, right?  Well, if you are not, you are missing out on a game that you can spend hours of your life playing.  It has been one of the most enjoyable games I have played - that is until today.

You see, I was searching online for some fun games to play - I was sure there were other games out there besides solitaire.  What I had not counted on was the fact that there were many, many more games out there to play.

I started playing some fun action games - with Scrabble being my favorite.  I have been a big fan of the game since I was little, and it was a pleasure to play it online.

I was looking through the fun puzzle games and found the successor to solitaire - Mah Jong.  Now, this was a lot more complicated than solitaire, but a lot more fun as well.  I found myself playing the game over and over, getting better each time.  I will have to buy the game in real life, so I can take it with me when I don’t have my computer handy.

So, there is life beyond solitaire after all.  I think that I will have to take a break from solitaire to play these new games for awhile - they sure do seem like fun.

Our puppy started getting sick about a year ago, and we couldn’t figure out what the problem was.  We went for quite a few trips to the vet, and she couldn’t figure it out either.  It wasn’t until we went to get a second opinion that the vet suggested that our dog might be allergic to the dog food we were feeding her.

So, we switched brands two or three times, but we had no luck.  It was at this point we were given some homemade dog food recipes to try out.  They seemed to be relatively straight forward, and easy to make so we thought we would give it a shot - nothing else was working anyway.

Now, a year later, our puppy is doing very well.  She is no longer sick and enjoys the food that we make her.  She especially enjoys the dog treats that we make her when she is a good girl.  I am so happy that we went to talk to another vet - life for us and our puppy is much better now.

There has been a growing need for new and innovative ways to get people and companies involved with charities.  It has been increasingly difficult for charitable organizations to raise money as there new ones created on a daily basis.

As a result of the competition, we had to find a way to make the fundraiser for our breast cancer charity be more successful than years past.  This year we collaborated with stores that sold San Antonio diamonds (for those people donating in the San Antonio area) and Houston diamonds ( for those people donating in the Houston area) to create a one of a kind fundraising program.

The concept was simple.  For those people that donated more than $500 we the retailers would give them some loose diamonds which were a $100 value.  There was also a larger prize for those who donated more that $2,500.

Our promotion worked remarkably well, and we were able to raise 25% more than last year.  At least now we have a year to figure out what we are going to do for next year…

I am a firm believer that you need to exercise your body and your brain each day.  This kind of balanced regimen is key if you want to live a healthy, balanced life.  Now, instead of talking about my physical workout (which many sites do) I’d rather focus on the intellectual area of exercise.

Now, some people like to read books, learn trivia, or do tests.  For me, all that could work, but I don’t have too much free time in a day.  So, instead, I have found something that fits my lifestyle: I do crossword puzzles.

Lately, I have been doing a lot of free online crossword puzzles on my coffee break, when I wake up in the morning and just before I go to bed.  These three or four "workouts" each day, help me learn something new and it helps me to keep on my toes.

In fact, I have so much fun with it, that I have decided to try making my own puzzles and challenging my friends.  I use a free crossword puzzle maker to help me do that - no more messy pencil on paper.

So, if you need a little brain workout - give crossword puzzles a try.  Whether you do them in your newspaper, or work on them online, they will help your brain grow and stay sharp.

Now, if you have ever bought office furniture in the past, I am sure that you are aware that the quality varies due to brand and price.  The old adage "you get what you pay for" definitely applies to home office furniture as well.

A good example of the variance in quality would be to compare my thirty dollar rolling chair to the new mesh office chair I paid two hundred dollars for.  Now, my rolling chair served me well for the two years I used it, though if I sat and worked for more than a couple of hours at a time, my back pain was horrible.

As time went on, my rolling chair started to have some problems.  It started out with little things like a wheel wouldn’t roll, to the gas lift not working at all.  Luckily these were just minor annoyances.  The real kicker (and the reason that I replaced the chair) was when the back rest broke off of the chair, sending me tumbling to the ground.

So far my new chair seems to be working much better than my old one, and I can sit down for hours on end with no back pain whatsoever.  For all of you out there in the market for new office furniture, I would encourage you to spend a little more, get better quality, and enjoy the added comfort.  In fact, with my new chair, working never felt so much like relaxing as it does now.

I just finished taking a night class in an uncommon speech style - eulogies.  Now, the reason that I would say that it is uncommon is that few people write them.  Thing is, with the need for someone to die in order to need one, chances are you will only write one or two, if you even write one at all.

The whole reason I took this "How to Write a Eulogy" class was to expand my horizons.  I like to learn something new each year, so I thought I would learn something that I knew no one that had that skill. 

During the class we had the opportunity to write a number of eulogies, including one about our significant other.  Let me just tell you that she sure "loved" (insert lots of sarcasm here) that.  We also learned about the common eulogy quotes, poems, and templates used to make a winning eulogy.

Now that I am finished, I am very happy about what I learned.  That being said, I hope I never have to exercise my new writing skills - that would mean that someone close to me has died.

It has been a couple of years now since my father came home from the hospital.  You see, he had an accident which resulted in the loss of mobility in his legs.  Before he came home, my parents had to weigh their options as to what do to about their accommodations.

You see, his ability to go up stairs was severely limited.  Being confined to a wheelchair and only being able to walk short distances with two canes made it dangerous for him to go up stairs.  They either needed to find a solution for him to use the stairs or find a new place to live.

Their doctor talked to them about their options.  What he suggested that they could get an electric stair lift which would allow him to ride a chair up and down the stairs.  That seemed like a less painful option, so they accepted a referral from the doctor and made an appointment for an in-home consultation.

After the in-home consultation and browsing through a number of brands of stair chair lifts, they had one installed.  My father came home to a different life - but one where his limited mobility wasn’t the end of his life - but only a challenge he was able to overcome.