Maybe you haven’t noticed, but gas pric

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but gas prices just keep falling. In the morning all I hear on the radio is the how the price of a barrel is so low, but what does that actually mean?

This video from CNN Money cleared it up for me.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/11/investing/oil-price-crash/index.html

100 Days Gone

Wow…time flies man! Its May 24th and 119 days since I started this little journey of mine. So how’s it been since then? Well…

For fitness I wanted to change my diet, exercise on a regular basis, complete 60 days of Insanity, begin 12 Week Daily Trainer With Kris Gethin, get a physical, return to Kung Fu and start on improving my skin.

I changed my diet and started to eat healthier. I’m not where I want to be, but satisfied with the choices I make on a daily basis. I stay away from all fast food like its the plague (it actually is) and I cut back on meat and eating breakfast in the morning, which is crazy important (says the health professional :-0). I ride my bike to work everyday now, but need to do more weight training. I fell 14 days shy of completing the Insanity workout program. It got to be a lot for me in the second month. Felt really down about it, but chose to look at the bright side…I did 6 weeks, gained stamina and lost a lot of weight. I should have kept a better journal, but when I started I weighed around 222 and now I’m at 208 last I checked. The Kris Gethin thing didn’t work our at all. I need to build up to all that. I did get my physical and things came back great. Holy shit did I get a reality check when I tried to go back to Kung Fu and my Master suggested I train somewhere else. WOW! I swear I almost cried. After some begging, begging and more begging he let me return. I’m on 6 months probation though. Thank you Master Rivera. Sad thing is I won’t be able to go out for 1st degree this year, but what can I expect. God willing I’ll see that degree and a lot more after it. As for my skin I think its getting better. I’ve been keeping my follow up appointments and following my routine. I wear a rubber band on my wrist to snap myself if I pick at my skin…its very effective.

In the family category I wanted to help my mom and dad plan for their future, layout my family tree, and plan and prepare meals each week.

I haven’t done much with helping my parents with retirement, but the family in general is making changes to our finances and the way we do things. Its a big task and I’m not quite sure how to work it all out, but it will work out. My sister Nickole actually got started on the family tree independent of what I had in mind. There’s an ancestry.com that makes it extremely simple to do the rough outline. Still want to go deeper (found out the name Wedderburn can be traced back to Scotland. See Wedderburn Castle!). Meal planning has gone OK too. Not perfect, but Marie and I both cook more often. I’m the better cook, but don’t tell her that.

Finally, with finances I wanted to read The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson, pay down at least 50% of my consumer debt, complete wtdstore.com, begin studying with Annand Ramsahai for the Zend PHP Certification Exam and give regular donations to Safe Horizons.

I started reading The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson. Awesome book, but slow reading. It answers a lot of questions for me and I can’t wait to finish it; that is if I can focus on one book at a time. I’m becoming more of a reader in general. In the 100 days I read a 3rd of the Ascent of Money, a 3rd of Steve Jobs, about 100 pages of Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice (which is an amazing book on changing your mindset when it comes to the Black Experience in America…more on that after I’m done reading), and started skimming Eat That Frog. Not a lot of books for most people, but if it ain’t tech I ain’t readin’ it. I didn’t manage to pay down 50% of my debt, but did cut it down by 25% and shooting for the other 75% in 30 days. WTDSTORE.COM IS A REALITY!! If you’re looking of quality wholesale t-shirts and apparel that you can customize with your very own design…we can help you with that. It feels so good to say that! I even got to design a t-shirt for the 2012 Brooklyn Food Conference. We haven’t sold too many yet, but that’ll change too. Studying for the PHP certification has stagnated. Annand and I haven’t really been in contact about it. I can’t speak for him, but I let other stuff get in the way…really need to stay focused to achieve this. Finally, I haven’t donated to Safe Horizon except for my time. A group of us went to volunteer for a couple hours a few months ago. I did, however find another charity called Plan USA that I donate to each month.

I have to say…I did a lot of shit in the last 119 days. There’s also things I didn’t have on here that I accomplished including helping to plan the 2012 Brooklyn Food Conference, spearheading the development of the website, heading up the social media team, becoming Secretary of the Brooklyn Food Coalition Steering Committee and got my first big freelance web development gig with my old boss at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Not bad old boy…not bad at all. I’m now planning the next 100 days so stay tuned for that and thanks for reading.

IT FEELS GOOD BABY!!

 

 

~KF

Update: 2/14/12

The posts made here are an extension of an earlier post entitled Declaring A Better Life.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you all got some of that good lovin’!

I’m at least 8 workouts behind! I really can’t afford to finish later than the 4th. It’s going to take a lot of doubling up on these workouts to make that happen. So I’m going to have to suck it up big time and keep going. Part of the issue is that I don’t get up when I’m supposes to. 5:30 AM is prime because it let’s me get my workout in, make breakfast so I’m all I’m fueled up for the day and I can spend time with Ben and Marie before going to work.

Gotta work on that man…

The calendar is up and it’ll help me keep track of accomplishments and milestones and also make changes on the fly. Sadly I missed the deadline for 12-week BodyBuilding.com challenge this year. Didn’t pay close attention to the dates. On top of that I’ve decided to not do the workout on BB.com. Not only do I not have the money to join a gym I don’t want to have to make an extra trip everyday. I’m just making it harder than it needs to be. What would work is to do P90X again! Same 90 days, very intense and I already have all the equipment I need here at home. Plus it’ll be fun to see if I can complete the whole program this time. Went 75 days with my boy Horace (you can check out his musings here) and had decent results. This time around I need to stick to the diet and be consistent with workouts. Still haven’t made my doctor’s appointment to get my physical though. I’ll take care of that tomorrow.

Went back to Kung Fu on the 4th. Hit a small roadblock in that I need to officially change classes for them to train me. The school is pretty official and so glad to be welcomed back with so much love…I was a little nervous about what people would say about me being away so long. I made that all up in my head of course.

I’m also on course with my PHP studies and that’s a must. Programming in any web language could have you making upwards of $120,000.

Until next time.

~KF~

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On My Way

The posts made here are an extension of an earlier post entitled Declaring A Better Life.

Ever since I completed Declaring a Better Life I’ve been thinking about the end of the journey. What’s it going to be like to achieve all this? Scary to tell you the truth, but there’s a saying “Scared money don’t make money”. I went by the weight room earlier this morning to talk to the coaches, but they’re only around in the afternoon so I’ll have to go back. They lock the room and you can only see through the crack in the door, but I think they will have what I need in terms of gym equipment. I would hate to have to spend money at a regular gym. Also made an appointment for the dermatologist for the 6th.

I missed my Insanity workout this morning. I stayed up late doing laundry for Benjamin and couldn’t get up in the morning. That threw my whole morning off because I couldn’t eat the way I needed and I forgot to take my supplements. Marie was a little ticked off too because I left the clothes I washed on the couch with the intention of getting up in the morning to fold them. Its incredible how one act causes a whole chain of events. Well, it ain’t gonna be perfect…nothing is, but it will be excellent. You can bet your ass on that one.

~KF~

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As Seen on Google Maps

I was searching for an address on Google Maps and found this beauty sitting in the middle of Crown Heights! I don’t know about the color…not my steez, but I’m feelin’ the ride.

Still Crying Out for Justice

This post is in honor of the memory of Michael Muchioki and Nia Haqq. Two of our dear friends taken before their time in a carjacking in Jersey City, New Jersey the night of their engagement party.

It’s poetic and sad that in a time when the world seems to be crying out for justice on the streets of Manhattan and around the world that our community has been screaming at the top of its lungs for the same thing for generations.

I remain optimistic in the future of our humanity. It is the cadence at which we march toward that day that concerns me.

To the memory of Mike and Nia.
www.lovemikenia.org

A testament to that optimism lies in what came out of this tragedy. The Love Mike Nia Foundation was established to positively influence the lives of our youth through Scholarship, Mentoring and Community Service. Visit the website to find out how to support their efforts.

www.lovemikenia.org

Star Mike

This kid’s gonna have a future in the game. I have to say I’m excited about Hip-Hop these days…looks like we’re turning the corner.

Right2Know March

Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn, NY. Right2Know March for GMO Food Labeling

Saturday Oct. 1, 2011 marked the beginning of the Right2Know March for GMO food labeling! The R2K group will be marching to Washington, D.C. where they will rally in front of the White House to demand labeling of genetically modified foods in the United States.

This is the first march of its kind in the US and I’m sad I’m not more involved. Originally I wanted to do the whole trip, but found a new job and wouldn’t be able to do it. So I’ve decided to follow the group online through Twitter and Facebook and hopefully get to meet up with them along the route and in D.C. on the 16th.

I’m happy to see that people are finally taking a stand against the food industry’s bullshit in this country. But it’s not enough for other people to stand up. You and I have to stand up too. For me, someone who is relatively new to the Food Justice Movement, I can’t stand by and have them shove this garbage down our throats just to turn a profit. I’m getting involved and I urge you to do the same. Find out about GMOs and what they put on our grocery store shelves and call it “food”. Find out what you’re feeding your kids at home and what they’re eating at school. This is one issue you can’t ignore because its all about you.

Everyone has to eat.

~KF~