Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

Key Points
1. Presence = consciousness without thought, focusing on all your senses at one time
2. If the means does not make you happy, than neither will the end goal or result
3. "No matter how active we are, how much effort we make, our state of consciousness creates our world, and if there is no change on that inner level, no amount of action will make any difference. We would only re-create modified versions of the same world again and again, a world that is an external reflection of the ego". I can relate to this. I feel this way about finding a job. I am running out of things to do and it seems like I am just banging my head up against the wall for nothing. Nothing keeps changing no matter what I do to find a job.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Man ignores friends, wins $26M on Friday the 13th

NEW YORK -- Ignoring his friends has paid off big for a New York man.

He won $26 million in a Friday the 13th lottery draw.

New York state lottery officials said Monday the winner is from
Wyandanch, on Long Island. The identity of the El Salvador native was not revealed.

Officials said the man didn't heed the warnings of well-meaning friends who told him to stay away from the lottery on Friday the 13th.
© 2009 The Associated Press From the channel 3 Cleveland News Room

10 Day Caribbean Cruise



I was supposed to go on a 10 day Caribbean Cruise this Friday. My Dad's treat but I am not going now because he doesn't want a broken Caroline to slow him down on "his" vacation. :(

Monday, March 23, 2009

Redecorating The Living Room





We are redecorating our living room. My theme is "Tropical Bungalow"

Ouch! I broke my foot!


I tried to walk after my foot feel asleep and my leg gave out at the knee level and I twisted my knee and rolled my ankle and my foot. OUCH!! I go to the orthopedic specialist today.

School

Yeah! I don't need to take classes right away. I have 9 credit hours that I took after the issue date on my teaching license. But I will need to take courses later so, I decided to work towards my Special Education License. I noticed there are a lot of jobs in that field that are available.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

'Ashamed' Madoff Pleads Guilty, Goes To Jail

'Ashamed' Madoff Pleads Guilty, Goes To Jail
Sentencing Set For June 16 From newsnet5.com out of Cleveland, OH

NEW YORK -- A New York judge had to rein in a courtroom packed with seething fraud victims Thursday during the hearing in which Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to what may be Wall Street's biggest ever scam.

Spectators cheered when the disgraced financier was led off to jail immediately following his guilty pleas. He had spent the past three months under house arrest in his $7 million Manhattan penthouse.

When his lawyer described the bail conditions and how Madoff had, "at his wife's own expense," paid for private security, loud laughter erupted. The judge warned the crowd to remain silent.

Madoff said he is "deeply sorry and ashamed" for the Ponzi scheme that wiped out savings accounts worldwide.

"I am painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many, many people, including the members of my family, my closest friends, business associates and the thousands of clients who gave me their money," Madoff said.

He said that as he engaged in his fraud, he knew what he was doing was wrong but that he believed "it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme."

"However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and as the years went by I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come," Madoff said.

The judge revoked bail Thursday after Madoff pleaded guilty to all 11 charges against him, including securities fraud and perjury. He was accused of engineering one of the largest investment scams in U.S. history.

The judge said the 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman has the means to flee and an incentive to do so because of his age.

A sentencing date of June 16 has been set. He could face up to 150 years in prison.

Madoff told the judge in U.S. District Court in New York that his Ponzi scheme began in the early 1990s in response to that era's recession.

Madoff's plea came three months after he admitted that his once-revered investment fund was all a big lie -- a Ponzi scheme that defrauded billions of dollars worldwide from retirees, charities, school trusts and even Holocaust survivors.

The scam quickly turned Madoff into one of the most vilified men in the world, as thousands of investors came forward to say they were defrauded.

Madoff Avoids Victims' Eyes

Three victims of the fraud confronted him in court, one trying to address Madoff directly saying, "I don't know if you had a chance to turn around and look at the victims."

Madoff avoided eye contact with the three investors who spoke. The judge directed him to speak directly to the bench.

Two investors said they opposed the guilty plea. One said she wanted it to wait until the lost money is found.

At least 25 Madoff investors asked to speak under provisions allowing victims of crime to appear at a plea hearing.

Some victims in the scandal want the accused Wall Street swindler to name any possible accomplices who helped him pull off his multibillion-dollar securities fraud. They also want Madoff to apologize and turn over family assets that might be used to pay bilked investors.

Alexandra Penney said she's furious with Madoff. But she's just as angry with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 60-year-old artist and former magazine editor said Madoff took everything she had saved from the age of 16.

Penney wasn't in court for the guilty plea. She's in Florida.

In addition to prison time, Madoff faces mandatory restitution to victims, forfeiture of ill-gotten gains and criminal fines.

Investigators are still unraveling how he pulled off the fraud for years without being caught. They suspect that his family and top lieutenants who helped run his operation from its midtown Manhattan headquarters may have been involved.

Friday, March 13, 2009

I finally finished reading my book! Yeah!

I have been reading the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. It took me forever to read this book. I like to read the best when there is nothing to distract me. I thought it was a good book but not an "easy" read. The main idea is to "live" in the moment. Don't think about the past and don't worry about the future. I am good at doing that when I am doing things that I love to do but when there are things that I don't love to do I find it difficult to "live" in the moment. I am good at doing this for example, whenever I am doing anything that involves swimming or the beach etc. I find myself to be the happiest when I "live" in the present. This is something that I have experienced for myself but found it difficult to describe that feeling and thought that I might be a weird-o for being aware of this concept. The book validated those experiences that I had prior to reading it and explained a lot more about how it all works and why. I am a big worry wart and I know that is a very bad habit that I need to work on.

Monday, March 9, 2009

$100,000 Scholoarship Winner

Solon student wins $100,000 scholarship for 'Stop the Hate' essay
Posted By: Kim Wendel Updated: 3/9/2009 3:49:29 PM Posted: 3/9/2009 8:07:58 AM

BEACHWOOD, OHIO -- The first "Stop The Hate! Youth Speak Out" $100,000 college scholarship was awarded Sunday to Matt Soble, a senior at Solon High School, at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and museum co-founder Milton Maltz presided over the program.

More than 1,200 students from the seven eligible Northeast Ohio counties shared their stories by entering the essay contest. Nearly half of them were juniors and seniors eligible for the $100,000 scholarship.

The top ten finalists, who scored 90 percent or higher on the written essays, made up less than 1 percent of the total essays received.

Read Soble's winning essay, other winners

Maltz museum spokesman Adam Teresi said the essays were personal, compelling and powerful, each describing an act of discrimination and the students' suggestions on how to overcome hatred and bigotry.

Judges that included Ohio House Speaker/state Rep. Armond Budish, (D-Beachwood), state Rep. Josh Mandel, (R-Lyndhurst) and Cleveland Indians President Paul Dolan heard the 10 finalists read their essays out loud.

Scholarship finalists who received a $100 U.S. Savings Bond were: Sophie Grodsinsky, a senior at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls; Sarah Harris, a senior at Electronic Schoolroom of Tomorrow; Chelsa Lewis-Bevel, a senior at Success Tech Academy in Cleveland; Alex Port, a junior at Solon High School; Justina Wong, a senior at Independence High School; and Kelly Yarber, a senior at Strongsville High School.

The museum, opened in 2005, hopes to introduce visitors to the beauty and diversity of the Jewish heritage in the context of the American heritage.

It also promotes an understanding of the Jewish heritage and builds bridges of appreciation, tolerance and understanding with those of other races, religions, cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

Other students receiving awards included the High School Overall winner of a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond was Lauren M. McCafferty, a senior at Olmsted Falls High School.

The 12th Grade Winner of a $500 U.S. Savings Bond was Jane Yiyi Zhang, of Oberlin High School; and the 11th Grade Winner of a $200 U.S. Savings Bond was Cassidy Artz, a junior at Hathaway Brown School.

The Middle School Overall winner of a $500 Savings bond was Divya Thomas of Kenston Middle School in Bainbridge.

Other winners included first place ($200 Savings bond) and second place ($100 Savings bond) for 6th grade: First place, Divya Madhaven of Brecksville/Broadview Heights and second place Dina Rini of St. Mary Byzantine Catholic school; 7th grade first place was Becca Cain of R.B. Chamberlin Middle School and second place winner was Lukash Kowcz of Brecksville/Broadview Heights.

The 8th grade first place winner was Lyssa Collins of St. Paul Lutheran School and second place winner was Jake Amato of Holy Trinity School.

The 9th grade first place winner was Theodore Wilson III of the Arts Academy and second place was Hannah Sellers of Kenston High School.

The 10th grade first place winner was Michelle Hoffman of Kenston High School in Bainbridge and the second place winner was Alexis McNichol of Brush High School in South Euclid.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Wednesday

I can't wait for the weather to warm up. Yeah! I worked 4 days last week. After I went to the job fair I have been asking myself, "how can those companies be hiring after a lot of them just laid-off a bunch of people?" Well I found out the answer. The job fairs are planned like a year in advance. Almost all of those companies that were there were only looking to hire for one or two job openings.