My good buddy Dominick Durso says, “So Andrea, you ask many questions of those on your Facebook wall,  I have one . What is the American dream?  How does it relate to today’s events, describe what it looks like to you.  Is it relevant?  If you please?”  To me, the American dream looks pretty much like the life I’m living.  I’ve worked all my life and keep educating myself so I can change careers when one stops working.  I love the work I do and the people I come in contact with.  Every day is a joy.    Everyone has a different view of “today’s events.”  To me, today’s events are tending my garden since a good rain is here, doing my billing and answering the questions of everyone who calls or emails.  To me, today’s events are I’ll take my aunt to the market and see if she can find fresh produce that pleases her.  I’ll give my uncle a pedicure because he needs one and I’m thinking of baking a peach pie for my cousin since he’s done the heavy lifting this week.

I know you’re not asking me about Occupy Wall Street or Occupy Melbourne, because all I’m interested in is occupying NOW.  When I fully occupy NOW, the Now moment, where I am right now, with whoever is in front of me, that is when my life unfolds in magical ways, ways that let me know I live apart from the world that stays glued to the news and worries about problems half way across town, or across the globe.  What is mine to do is put right in front of me.  What is mine to do will be persons placed in my path for good or bad, for pleasure or pain, for a blessing or a lesson and I have enough causes of my own to occupy my mind, than to take up the cause of fighting against Wall Street or the war or whatever someone else may see as “today’s events.”

I just got off the phone with my most favorite of all childhood friends, Wally.  We both grew up on East 27th Street, me at 10th Ave and he at 8th, 2 blocks closer to Hialeah Race Track.  We went all through school together.   When I wanted to sneak out of the house, Wally would come pick me up on his motorcycle.  My folks trusted Wally, he could do no wrong 🙂   We spent years out of touch.  Then when I first moved up to Melbourne in 1983 and was suddenly feeling homesick for Miami and wondering “WTF have I done?”  I called Wally in the middle of the night and he drove right up and spent a few days and our fun adventure helped me feel at home here.  He now has a home in Sebastian, just 45 minutes from me.  He’s a weird duck like me.  While I’m reclusive, he’s elusive.   I’m glad we staying in touch now on a regular basis.

Rest in Peace, Wally

Guys, it’s ok to be a player if you gotta be.  But if you’ve got a daughter, know that she incurs the karma for your playing.  Just sayin…

“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.  Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” ~Dalai Lama

Last month, a prospective client called wanting ad info and I created a few sample ads for her.  We go back and forth with them for a week, maybe 8 hours of work going into it, then she writes, “I’d rather have a monthly column than an ad, so it doesn’t cost me.”  Well, of course you would.

It makes me wonder what someone is used to when they think they’re being treated like a king when you’re simply doing basic niceties.  Things like offering them a comfortable seat, a snack and something to drink, lending an ear then sending them home with a doggie bag.

This first thing I did this morning was check email to see if the couple who looked at my rental home yesterday were interested.  Had I checked email last night, I would have known they were.   I forgot I’d used my double secret screen name for the Craigslist ad.  My friend and master craftsman Tod McNeal helped me renovate the home and also suggested I place an ad on Craigslist.  I did and got plenty of response. I disqualified 8 of them over the phone.  I showed it to 4 people and 2 were good candidates.  Then I spoke to Y and immediately liked her!  She and her husband looked at it and this morning we signed the lease.  I also learned there was a notary public at the office where they had to get their entry access stickers, so I got to sign and notarize a quit claim deed I’d been carrying around for 2 months.  Tod synchronistically called this morning as soon as I finished the lease, and he arrived 2 minutes after the new tenants.  Tod fixed a screen that last week’s 80 mph winds blew half out of the frame, tightened a back window and put the screen door up that was in the shed.  I took out some cleaning supplies and a fan and lawn chair, swept the porch and straightened out the shed.  When Tod comes over, it’s always a flurry of activity and trips to Home Depot. One of my favorite things about Tod is that we have fun adventures in the home improvement stores!  Then we went to Golden Corral and had giant salads and soup.  I love my life.  And my friends.  And my new friends, Y and H!

RELATED:  I have cool new tenants!
The rental is ready for the next lucky tenants
Readying the rental home
I’m not just readying a rental, I’m creating a home for someone
Turning on utilities
We’re making progress at the rental home
Getting my rental property ready for the next lucky tenant
Wear gloves cleaning nicotine damage to avoid poisoning
I clean my rental home of nicotine stains
My tenant is moving out this weekend

Wait, I was gonna yell at someone for something and now I forgot who I wanted to boss around and pretend I knew more than they did so I could teach them a lesson.   I love when that happens.  It shows me what an ass I can be when I’m not mindful.  Instead, a few reps of the new core exercise galpal Della Rae Danley from Lotus Heart Wellness showed me this morning should be punishment enough.

“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown
but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill,
for the caged bird sings of freedom.”  Maya Angelou
And sometimes the bird sings because it’s happy and doesn’t feel trapped by the cage.  We live in our minds more than we live in our bodies.  If our mind is free, it matters not where the body is.  Andrea