MBA Education

Whew, last week was a rough ending as I had just began my MBA classes. It’s been a lot of work, but very fun and intriguing. I can’t wait for the rest of the program. When I was younger, getting an MBA was simply a career goal but now that I have the Diabetic Shoes HuB and made significant contributions to Choice Hotels, I know that having a better understanding of all of the business implications of my actions can affect more areas than I was aware of. The first class was an eye-opener and I can’t wait for the rest of the program.

Last Second Holiday Gifts

Alright, I’ve been busy and I’m pretty close to being outta luck unless I can muster up some last second gifts for family. Time has been ticking and since the malls have been getting busy, I’ve been avoiding crowds like the plague. I think I need to pony up though. I was thinking of getting the new Space Jam Jordans for a buddy of mine, but those sold out already, AND THEY WERE JUST RELEASED! It’s amazing how fast those things fly out. My other option is an In-n-out gift certificate. For a female friend of mine, I was thinking of getting her some hair extensions cuz she’s all into fashion and all of that. I didn’t want to stick to the standard Bath and Body works lotion and candles, especially now with the Holiday rush. This is just kind of tough because the Holidays never feel like the Holidays in the 60 degree Arizona weather. I guess one easy win could be to suck it up and go out and get the Hangover movie for everyone. That should work right, not too impersonal?

Stay healthy this fall

Ohwee, this has been a crazy couple of weeks. This is no joke, you need to stay healthy this season. It is the worst flu season many have seen and trust me, I lived it. I’m just recovering from a case of the flu and pneumonia and trust me, it wasn’t pleasant. God bless my friends, family, and co-workers for their support.

Ok honestly, I don’t wish what I went through upon anyone so be sure to dress warm and drink tons and tons of liquids. I’d say the liquids are the most important thing, but not by much. If you start to feel anything at all in terms of flu-like symptoms, see your doctor or a physician immediately to keep things under control and avoid the spread of the illness.

Vampires Everywhere

I’m not sure if this is a correlation or what but it seems like there has been a plethora of vampires everywhere. With the new Twilight movie coming out soon and some other new Vampire Diaries show, these things are all over on the big screen too. I know Halloween is just around the corner but there is no doubt that the vampire’s rise in popularity is growing this year. I’m sure there will be a larger than normal number of kids in vampire costumes trick or treating this year. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining or anything, I’m just bringing up a fact. Just watch though, this year, no matter what you’re doing for Halloween, I’ll bet the percentage of Vampire kids walking around will be greater than normal.

Not the best of luck

I really feel bad for one of my friends that I know. He isn’t exactly having the best of luck with everything. He’s been saving up for a television at a slow and steady rate. This was a time-sensitive endeavor because his kids were about to start school meaning his savings rate would drastically decline. He was really excited and did his research, oh he did his research and had a few picked out. By the time he was about halfway through to his dream television, he got slammed by a red light camera. I know, I know, it may have been his fault but his timing was horrible as much of his funds were sucked up by traffic school.

But that’s not all, he just found out that he may have to drop a few hundred more for hygiene sake. He just went to visit his Scottsdale dentist and they told him he had to have two root canals done, and those aren’t cheap. He has insurance from his work but he’s still out a few hundred if he decides to move forward with it. Sure he’s in good shape still, but I feel bad for anyone who has their eyes on the prize (with the prize being a nice, new, gigantic LCD hdtv) and it crumbles slowly. I know he’ll get it eventually though, it’ll just take a little bit longer than planned.

Bing and Yahoo – THIS IS HUGE!!!

I am hoping this will truly be a game-changer in the search engine world. The fact that MSN and Yahoo came to search agreement is huge in the SEO industry. It looks like the plan can be put into place as early as Q1 2010. There are a ton of places to search for info on the merger, but to start, I’ve listed some articles I have found thus far.

It’s Finally Official, Microsoft and Yahoo Make a Deal

MSN Press Release

MSN and Yahoo, Search Partners

Live Blogging at the MSN and Yahoo Press Conference

Whew those boys at Search Engine Land are quick. But then again, who isn’t with this kind of news. Check out Twitter, it’s crazy over there.f

I’m an Uncle

So it happened, I’m officially an uncle. My sister popped and wow, this is wild. My neice is so teeny, it’s a surreal moment. To be honest, I don’t even know if it has even really hit me yet. We’ll see what happens.

In the midst of buying a home

So let me tell you why owning a home is the American Dream; it’s because getting there is a nightmare! The home buying process has been hectic and I think I saw just about every house I could afford within a 25-mile radius before narrowing it down to the last 3. From there, the neighborhood became an issue with the necessity of needing to walk my dogs twice a day. I don’t want to be walking them in the ghetto after a late night kung fu class. After a house is chosen the fun negotiation times begin. Sigh, then, after that is all said and done, the inspection comes. Seriously, if the seller isn’t willing to work with me on some of the necessities that I need fixed, I have no problem walking away. I can’t afford to be dropping more dough into this if an MBA is in my near future.

Obama at Arizona State University Commencement

Today is going to be a great day. I am going to get off of work early to see my cousin as well as my god-daughter’s mother graduate from Arizona State University, my Alma Matter. But here some icing on the cake, President Barack Obama is going to speaking during the ceremony. In a kind of odd turn of events, ASU even awarded President Obama with a scholarship in his name called the President Obama Scholars program. It is neat, because apparently, Obama is said to be speaking at Notre Dame as well. Now here is the story as I have heard it:

1 – Obama announces that he will be speaking at ASU and Notre Dame Commencement Ceremonies
2 – Notre Dame offers President Obama an honorary degree
3 – ASU says Obama has not yet proven himself as a worthy president and will not receive a degree
4 – Students and communities are outraged in Arizona
5 – ASU then creates the Obama Scholars program
6 – Notre Dame, known as a Catholic University, has crowds protesting over the President’s visit because of his stance on abortion

Now my facts may not be all encompassing, but like I said that is how I have heard them. Regardless of all that is happening though, I’m excited to see the President of the United States of America speak tomorrow at Arizona State University.

Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics

Talk about an amazing series. The Bull and Celtics had a crazy triple-overtime game last night which marked the fourth game in this six game series that went into OT. Game seven games are always nuts but I’m not sure if they can top the happenings of last night with Ray Allen hitting key shots and Brad Miller of the Bulls single-handedly tying the game in the final minutes of regulation to erase a five-point deficit. Game seven is on Saturday and begs everyone to turn their attention to the tube. Although these bulls aren’t the ones of old, they definitely know how to put on a show.

NFL Draft – Bring on 2009

Wow, what a great draft this year has been. I can’t wait until these young guns are put into the limelight to see how they perform. I wonder if any rookie in the NFL will have the same kind of year that Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls is having. He is clutch this year in the playoffs so far. Okay but back to football, with Stafford going to the Lions, the Niners getting a future Hall of Famer Wider Receiver and Beanie Wells going to Arizona, this year seems to be very promising.  I would constantly check ESPN for the draft status. USC has put out some strong linebackers and it looks like the NFL’s favorite position this year in the draft has been Defensive Backs. I know that most rookies won’t see the field at least in the beginning of this year, but I can’t wait to see how this class reacts in the field of dreams.

Sorry It’s Been So Long

I apologize for not posting in this blog in such a long time but I’ve been so darn busy with work, the HuB, and life in general. Life has been great but a bit too busy to fully enjoy. I’m about to fly out of town to help my family settle into a new area. Then I get back late Sunday night and it’s back onto the work-week.

Aside from work and the HuB though, I’ve been spending a lot of time on Twitter lately. It has a ton of great SEO information if you just follow the right people. I have gotten caught up in the Twitter craze. It’s just so darn addicting.

Good Ole’ Page, Arizona

I just got back from Page, Arizona on a great trip back home to visit some friends and my parents. This trip was a good one because some good family friends threw a retirement party for my parents who are giving up the restaurant on Wednesday. It was definitely good to see everyone and such a relief to know that my parents are finally going to be able to relax. Oh also, internet evangelist Vint Cerf at Google talked about vacationing in Page, AZ on the trip that sparked his interest in mobile internet. Vint talked about my small hometown during his keynote at SMX West in Santa Clara this year.

Having Security Issues?

One thing about today is that you can never be too safe. I know that we have recently had our fair share of stories involving theft and some of us have even lived those stories. In fact, my own Kung Fu school which teaches martial arts in Phoenix, Arizona was just broken into. How crazy is that? Someone was insane enough to break into a martial arts school and vandalize it. But here is the really crazy part, they got away with it. Nothing was broken other than the front door lock but they ran off with plenty of weapons. It had to be a former student or someone that has been into the school before though because some of the advanced black belts keep certain weapons like their favorite straight-sword or favorite spear in certain corners hidden away in the changing area. Those weapons were included in the ones that were stolen.

I had suggested to my instructor that he use real-time remote surveillance and not just motion sensors because while setting off an alarm may get the police there in a hurry, a visual is always a better piece to work with. I think it is being highly considered and the new alarm system should be in by tomorrow if it’s not already. Sigh, now I’ll be able to sleep soundly knowing that my favorite broadsword will be in the school the next time I show up, unless another black belt finds it before our training session.

Obama To Speak at ASU Commencement

May 13th, 2009, it is going to be a great day for the city of Phoenix, Arizona, but especially for students and families attending Commencement at Arizona State University. I just heard about this at the end of the week last week and I finally have a chance to blog about it. This is some pretty interesting news and as an ASU Alum, it makes me feel proud of my Alma Matter. The campus must have made a good impression on President Obama. I know our house won’t disappoint anytime soon.