Pasadena Real Estate

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

I woke up this morning to an email from Laurie Manny of Long Beach Real Estate informing me that I've been tagged for the Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME.

Read Laurie Manny's MEME here - Laurie's Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME

A MEME is an idea, a contest, a survey, a fun fact that is repeated from person to person.  Yes... it is sort of like a chain letter.  This particular MEME is a way of to get to know the person being MEMEd by having them answer questions about themselves.

This Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME was started by Mary McKnight of RSS Pieces.  She decided on a MEME with a theme of 8.  I agree with Mary, the number 8 has been a powerful number throughout history.  If you lay it on the side, it signifies infinity and has been associated with the myths around the Knights Templar and other historical figures.  Katherine Neville wrote a book titled The Eight - a fascinating read!

Read Mary McKnights's MEME here - Mary's Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME

Given that I can't say no to Laurie and I still have a few minutes before I have to make breakfast for my kids, here we go:

1. Who is your favorite musical artist? (post a youtube video)

This one is easy.  Don't laugh now, but I LOVE ABBA!  It's a European band that has been on the number 1 charts all throughout Europe for years.  It hasn't been as popular here in the states.

There is nothing like being 17 and discoing the night away to ABBA. 

Of course, with Mamma Mia, the musical and the upcoming Mamma Mia, the Movie, I'm in heaven!

2. Who is your favorite artist (post a flicker photo)

Vincent Van Gogh

I was fortunate enough to visit Vincent Van Gogh's museum last year in Amsterdam.  His work is just breath taking.  His colors and compositions are spectacular. 

3. Who is your favorite blogger?

It would have to be Seth Godin. 

4. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would it be and what is the most interesting thing about them?

I'll have to pick two people.  I can change the rules, can't I?

The first one would have to be my grandfather.  He died pretty young, before I was born and I always wondered what he would be like.  I'd love to have a conversation with him and talk about his life and his challenges.  Why he married my grandma?  What he wanted to accomplish in his life, etc.

The second person would have to be Robert T. Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I love the way he challenges the conventional thinking and approach towards money by the wealthy vs. the average Joe.  Fascinating!  Hopefully, one day I'll have an opportunity to meet him.

5. What did you want to be when you grew up?

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  Seriously though... I wanted to be a great traveler.  I wanted to have the freedom to travel around the world and see how people live, meet new people, try different foods and just have fun.

6. What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know?

I find the similarities between J.F.K and Lincoln fascinating.  Below excerpt taken from www.USATrivia.com

ONE HUNDRED YEARS
Abraham Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives in 1846; John Kennedy, 1946. Lincoln failed to win the vice presidential nomination in 1856, Kennedy in 1956. The republican conventions of 1860 and 1960 were held in Chicago. Mr. Lincoln was elected to the presidency in 1860, John Kennedy in 1960. Lincoln defeated Stephen Douglas, born in 1813; Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon born in 1913. John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln, was born in 1839, Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy in 1939.

Both presidents had vice presidents named Johnson. Andrew Johnson served in the House of Representatives in 1847, Lyndon Johnson, 1947. In 1860 and 1960 both VP's were serving as Senators. Andrew Johnson was older than Lincoln and was born in 1808, Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908, was older than Kennedy. Even though Lincoln was a republican, both vice presidents were democrats. Andrew Johnson was defeated for re-election, Lyndon Johnson elected not to run for a second complete term. Andrew Johnson died of a stroke; Lyndon Johnson a heart attack.


OTHER SIMILARITIES

• Both presidents won their respective elections with less than fifty-percent of the popular vote.
• Each was concerned with the issue of civil rights.
• Both presidents while in their thirties, married women in their early twenties.
• Both wives suffered the death of a child while in the White House.
• Lincoln and Kennedy repeatedly spoke of, and had dreams regarding, assassination attempts.
• Each was subsequently warned by advisors not to attend the events that led to their death.
• Lincoln and Kennedy were shot from behind, in the head.
• They were killed on a Friday, and in the presence of their wives.
• The assassins, Booth and Oswald, were southerners who favored unpopular ideas.
• Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and was captured in a barn, a warehouse. Oswald allegedly shot Kennedy from a warehouse, the depository, and was arrested at a theater.
• Lincoln was killed in Ford's Theater, Kennedy was killed in a Ford automobile; a Lincoln.
• Both Booth and Oswald were killed before going to trail. The popular belief is that the two presidential tragedies were conspiracies with subsequent governmental cover up.
• The names Lincoln and Kennedy contain seven letters.
• The names Stephen and Richard, their political opponents have seven letters each.
• The name Johnson contains seven letters.
• The fathers of the presidents, Thomas and Joseph respectively, each have six letters.
• The names Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson each contain 13 letters, as do the names of their wives, Eliza McCardle and Claudia Taylor.
• The names John Wilkes booth and Lee Harvey Oswald both total 15 letters.

 7. If you could live in any point in history what would it be and why?

I've always been fascinated by Egypt and Cleopatra.  I'd live - just for a day - mind you in Cleopatra's time around 45 BC.

8. What is the most interesting job you have ever held?

Okay, this is totally off what you would probably expect my answer to be, but I'd have to say being a MOM.  Since both my kids were born, my outlook on life has changed.  It opened my eyes to the mysteries of life.  So... yes... it would have to be being a "mom."  Pretty boring, I know.

Now... it's the time to nominate the next 8 unsuspecting victims.  This means that you are required as Mary McKnight says by "meme law" to answer the same 8 questions above and then tag 8 more bloggers. 

Richard Bolen - Lake Tahoe Real Estate

Lynda Eisenman - Orange County Real Estate

Faina Sechzer - Princeton New Jersey Real Estate

Ted Mackel - Simi Valley Real Estate

Jeff Dowler - Carlsbad Real Estate

Ricardo Bueno - Industry Report (World Wide Credit)

Cyndee Haydon - Clearwater Real Estate

Diane Aurit - Lake Norman Real Estate

Read this all the way through and let me know what you think!

House #1 A 20-room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. per month. In natural gas alone, this property co nsumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South.

House #2 Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.

 
The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summe r. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000-gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the hou se. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

Now, for the clincher:

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville , Tennessee ; it is the abode of the "environmentalist" Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford ,Texas; is the residence of the President of the United States,
George W. Bush.

Is this an "inconvenient truth?"

You can verify it at:http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

Today, we celebrate Mothers Day! And though we call it Mothers Day, its really a day to honor any woman whos had a positive impact on your life a stepmother, an aunt, a grandmother, a sister.

This year for inspiration I did a search on the Internet for Mothers Day and found a number of websites. 

There were many wonderful quotes, poems and stories, but I think my favorite find is this piece, entitled: Was Your Mom Mean? 

I know mine was. My sister, brothers and I knew we had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.  

And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too. Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. Youd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said wed be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.  

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. 

She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough!  

Mother wouldnt let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.  

Because of our mother, we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us ever shoplifted, vandalized anothers property or was arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. 

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. Were doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is whats wrong with the world today.  It just doesnt have enough mean moms. 

I laughed when I read this, thinking about all the mean things my mom did and how I now appreciate how she helped me become the person I am today. Celebrate all moms on Mothers Day and every day!