Heat and light

This is a quote from Samuel Beckett - one of my favorite purveyors of thought provoking prose, word pictures, drama, theater, and poetry.

"Hardly had the glow been kindled by some good deed on your part or by some little triumph over your rivals or by a word of praise from your parents or mentors when it would begin to cool and fade leaving you in a very short time as chill and dim as before."
-- Samuel Beckett, Company

My immediate thought - Heat and light well up from the soul.

Those who live in chilly darkness need to open their heart to the possibility of a warm, bright, sunny day.

Hope, satisfaction, and happiness - not earned.

Cleaning my files

I am off work today and waiting for the "Heater Man" to arrive and service our gas furnace before the Winter winds begin to blow.  I am getting a little better. Twice before I waited too long and the result of my tardiness was a very cold weekend - it always happens on the weekend.

Sat down at my desk and opened my top drawer -- what a mess. I have stuff from 3 years ago - it shows that I paid bills. I began to throw out non-essential clutter. By the time I finished, I found that I now have well organized spaces with room for additional clutter.

Question - when does the paper trail become a fire hazard? I am thinking six months of history is enough.

I do have two giant folders left - one is labeled "2012 - to file",  the 2nd "2013 - to file". I guess I am a real procrastinator - that is my next project. I bet most of the paper in the folders is really junk.

Cold from the North -

There was a nip in the air this morning. The kids are back to school. Labor day is done. Time keeps rolling on. It is my day off from my work at United.  I am sitting in my "office/rehab center/refuge" listening to the streaming thoughts going through my mind.

Evil is ever present in the World - Syria, poison gas, dead men/women/children - CNN - red lines - surgical strikes - deterents --

How can we make people "love one another"? Answer - we (The United States) can't.

Everyone in the world must work for peace - in their own lives and in the lives of those they interact with. Peace, love, joy must bubble up from the hearts of everyman.

Can I get people to view my websites, face book pages, blog, twitter feeds?

If I can, will they then visit my Ebay Store, Etsy Store, and Ecommerce site?

If they do - will they make a purchase.

If they do, will I make a profit?

Will the profit be enough to make all the work and effort worthwhile?

Will the profit be enough to provide an entertainment fund? So Pat and I can have some fun when we leave the workplace and enter the world of retirement?

We must enter the world of retirement soon -- we need a plan -

Now I am back to being a project manager -- not just a random thinker.

Please check out the following --

https://www.facebook.com/BrownstownMarketplace

http://www.MusicBooksEtc.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FlatRockMarketplace

http://stores.ebay.com/Brownstown-Marketplace

http://www.flatrockdeals.com

http://www.brownstownmarketplace.com

Where have I been?

Dec 2012 - Feb 2013 -- Just living -- work, internet store development, socializing with Pat, Daughter, Son-in-law and Grand daughter. Normal stuff --

Feb 2013 -- Off to Las Vegas-- Pat's mum ceelebrated her 85th birthday on Feb 15th - we stayed at The Grand view -- we own a Timeshare at this location - it is a great place to stay when going to Las Vegas.

Norma Jean,  Pat's friend from her days working at Skywest, joined us for 5 days of fun. We went to the timeshare sales presentation and said NO.

That scored us free tickets for a Las Vegas show called "Human Nature" and a free dinner at a very fancy Italian Resaurant - both at the Venetian Hotel and Casino.

The show was great - Smokey Robinson produced a show about Motown and had it performed by 4 very talented Austrailian singers. Actually bought a CD.

 

 

 

Mar 2013 - Apr 2013 -- Just living -- work, internet store development, socializing with Pat, Daughter, Son-in-law and Grand daughter. Normal stuff --

 

 

May 2013 -- Back is sore - went to PCP - he gave me pain pills and scheduled X-rays and MRI - looking for arthritus, hip problems, nerve problems. Will review results on Mon 20th. Can hardly walk -- pain when standing. got to be solution - I need to get moving again -- don't want to lose my sveldt figure and muscle tone.

 

Still working on my on-line stores for Career 4. Now have a gateway to AMAZON called

 

flatrockdeals.com -- if anyone needs to buy Amazon type products, please check out my gateway.

 

 

I also have brownstownmarketplace.com, a gateway to my EBay store and an ETsy store named Flatrock Marketplace. Those sites sell stuff from my Estate Sale expeditions and other eclectic items that you would not usually find on Amazon.

 

 

 I also have Facebook pages for Robert Eiferd, Brownstown Marketplace, and a new one that outlines my latest political cause --

 

Facebook page 51 is enough advocates the end of the U S Senate's 60 vote rule for ending debate on an issue -- ie,  the filibuster rule - If it was returned to a simple majority, ie, 51 votes, the Senate could get something done.

 

 

Walk to live!

bob eiferd
www.brownstownmarketplace.com

www.flatrockdeals.com

Ebay - Brownstown Marketplace
Etsy - Flat Rock Marketplace
Facebook - Robert Eiferd
Facebook - Brownstown Marketplace

Facebook - 51 is enough



May 2013: File under - better late than never.

 

 

Oct 2012 -- Mazatlan was a blast. Flew Dtw/mex/mzt and the same return. IAH connection was not available. 5 days in the sun. took a boat ride one day across the bay and beyond the two islands in the picture above. We had dinner on the beach with all you can drink - walked in the sand -- not bad considering I still have CIDP. Most days we just hung out at the pool right near the bar and ate in the hotel's resataurant each evening. Food was great, latin music was wonderful, mazatlan Old City was very interesting and the beach wall was magnificent.

Walk to live!

bob eiferd
www.brownstownmarketplace.com

www.flatrockdeals.com

Ebay - Brownstown Marketplace
Etsy - Flat Rock Marketplace
Facebook - Robert Eiferd
Facebook - Brownstown Marketplace

Facebook - 51 is enough

Walking

I gained weight for years. When I left college I weighed 155 pounds. As soon as I found a comfortable sitdown job as a computer programmer, I began to gain weight. Very slowly - maybe a couple of oz per week.

I have been out of college for a very long time; in fact, I just received a 55 year Golden "M" from Michigan Technological University.

Over the years, I have noticed my weight gain and have tried many diets to get my "metabolism" under control. When I reached the tipping point, I joined weight watchers about 2 years ago and did see an improvement.

I recently was diagnosed with Gillain Barre Syndrom - it knocked me off my feet. I was not able to walk without a walker. Slowly, with the help of patient rehab therapists, I was able to get up and move about - first with the walker, then a cane, and now on my own. I now have CIDP and still need to continue my physical therapy.

My neurologist has told me that my best therapy is to walk everyday as far as possible. I purchased a pedometer and began counting steps. I also got on my wife's treadmill and tried to go as far as possible. At first, I could walk at 1/2 mile per hour for 5 minutes. Now I can walk 3/4 mile in 20 minutes.

Funny thing - my weight is beginning to decrease, ever so slowly -- maybe a pound a week. But I notice my legs are getting stronger, I don't get winded nearly as much and I am feeling better.

Walk to live!

bob eiferd
www.brownstownmarketplace.com
Ebay - Brownstown Marketplace
Etsy - Flat Rock Marketplace
Facebook - Robert Eiferd
Facebook - Brownstown Marketplace

August 2012 -- Back to Work

While preparing for Career Number 4, Internet Sales, I have been researching marketing techniques. The necessity for creating a blog was raised as an important step by three different articles on the subject. I added an item to my todo list -- Create a Blog.

My friend @eddiehudson3 has a really cool blog. I decided to emulate eddie's sucess. When I went to create an account on BlogSpot, I found, to my surprise, that I already had a fully functional blog. I must really be getting old. I had completely forgotten that the blog existed.

It is time for an update.

I am now five years older and have watched my weight climb back to its highest point and then receed again to the 275 range. I am still on weight watchers online and try to record my food intake and activity each day.

During the five years since my last post, I accepted a position with United Airlines, working as a Reservations Agent. In that position, I sit at a computer for eight hours per day talking with customers on the phoine, providing service to help them solve travel problems. I stopped going to the gym and began wathching CNN. The result was a slow and steady weight gain.

In January of this year, I was diagnosed with Gillain Barre Syndrome. That is a condition that causes the immune system to attack the nerves in the limbs. It causes numbness, tingling, partial paralysis, loss of balance, and extreme weakness. After 5 weeks of intensive hospital rehabilitation, 6 weeks of in-home rehab, and 4 weeks of out-patient rehab, I was cleared to return to work.

My weight is back under control due to hospital food and a rededication to exercise and food tracking. I am making a promise to myself -- do not let the weight pile on.

Wish me luck --

bob eiferd
bobeiferd@aol.com
@bobeiferd
www.brownstownmarketplace.com
eBay - Brownstown Marketplace
Etsy - Flat Rock Marketplace

First Draft

On December 15th, 2007 I visited my doctor. At the time, as I recall, I had a few vague complaints about my health. I actually knew what the diagnosis would be, but decided to get a professional opinion. While I sat waiting in the examination room, I examined the BMI chart on the wall and confirmed for myself what I knew the doctor was going to say. I was morbidly obese and destined for all sorts of trouble.

On that day I was sixty-seven years old, six foot tall and weighed about 313. My BMI was out-of-sight.

After listening to my symptoms, the doctor smiled and said, "You will feel much better and save yourself a lot of grief if you lose weight and get your BMI down to an acceptable level."

He suggested I limit my calorie intake and stay away from fatty foods. He also gave me Phentormine capsules to help me with my hunger. I committed to trying to limit my eating and followed his advice. To my astonishment, I lost about 40 pounds over the course of the next six months. I thought I was well along the way to reaching my goal.

Then the plateau began -- June and July came and went and I lost zero pounds during the two month period. When I visited the doctor, he chastised me and suggested I had lost my resolve and zeal for the task at hand. He then informed me that the price of the pills was going up by $5 to $35 every two weeks. I was feeling defeated.

In August, my Health Insurance Company - HAP HMO in the Detroit area sent me a letter with an interesting offer. They promised to pay the balance of a 3-month Weight Watchers membership if I would pay $25 and make a commitment to lose weight. I took them up on their offer and joined my local Weight Watchers Meeting.

I looked for a meeting for men only because I thought it would be easier to discuss weight-loss concerns in that environment. Since joining W W in August, I have lost 12 pounds and now feel like I am on my way towards better health.

So far I have lost 52 pounds and still have six weeks left before the December 15th anniversary arrives. Last week I joined the local YMCA and have begun weight training and aerobic exercise.
Weight Watchers has given me some great tools to use to help me change my lifestyle. More about the tools in another post.

I feel elated to have come this far and feel that with my new lifestye -- better nutrition and more exercise -- I have entered a new phase of my life where I can truly say --

I am Older but Thinner.