What is On Jeffs' Mind

An update on my 2012 resolutions for the month of February

My exercising has been coming along alright after the original set back from earlier in the year. I have been able to do this more regularly the past few weeks, and starting to mix a few things more into it. For the most part I have been riding the exercise bike, but I have added some walking into my routine as well. The exercise bike I feel I have slowly been pushing the intensity up on it, so I am hoping if I keep riding the bike on a regular schedule that I can start to see some more results. I have started longer walks as well, I did a lunch time walk on Friday, and then I have done two early morning walks. I am hoping the weather stays mild as I think if I can keep these regular, I can also push up the speed that I am walking. I feel that I am walking a good distance, as my morning walks take me 35 minutes or so, and I cover a lot of ground. If I keep at them for the next few months, maybe by spring I might be able to jog or run for part of it. I want to build up the strength in my legs, so that I would be able to handle it. The walks must be doing something as my body aches a bit today, so I have hit some muscles that I haven’t used for a bit, so I am happy about that. I also planning to add some more stretching into my routine as well.

My Star Wars vintage figure resolution is coming along well also. This month I won off eBay a Hoth Rebel Soldier. Again, not a figure at the top of my list, but one that I did not have, or if condition that I felt was in great shape to be displayed. I got it for a decent enough price, so happy about that. I had won another auction for a Bespin Han, but oddly enough, all I received was the gun for him. I had sent out an email to the seller to ask if the the figure will be coming. Truthfully, I was more interested in the gun, since I already have a Bespin Han that I received from a friend a few years ago, so it means more to me.  Also looking at the pictures, it is in better condition then the auction I won, so the gun completes him. So if the actual figure never comes, I will probably not be to upset, since what I won the figure for was not much, and with the gun, I have a complete Bespin Han already. I am looking forward to next month and what I can find. There is a toy show right at the start of the month, so I am hoping possibly I can find a figure locally, to mix things up from doing the eBay route. Also I am hopeful if my bonus from work this year is decent, I might have some extra money to go after one of the more expensive figures I need. This is definitely my favorite resolution for 2012.

some resolutions that still need more of my attention.

I did clean out a lot in my office, when I was off for a few days a few weeks back. I still have more to do, notable the basement. I am hoping that when I take some time off in a few weeks, I can tackle that a bit more of the basement and get some more things cleaned up.

My Podcasting is still not there yet, I did figure out some issues with my mixer, so I am hoping I am close to recording again. I sold my Mac Mini a few weeks back, and I have found another program that will allow me to enhance my Podcast on the PC.  So I need to get focused again on my collecting podcast, pick a topic, and start going on it. The Mixer really did take the wind out of my sails, if I was in a better position financially, I would sell it and get something else, and still might do that, but will see.

My Model building is still out there as well. I got the idea to build up my workspace down stairs so that it will have everything I need. Slowly I am building that up, the big thing right now is getting a new computer for the basement. I had my eye on laptop, but after looking for awhile, just nothing really impressed me in the price range I wanted to spend. I am now thinking that since I sold my Mac Mini, I will replace that with a newer one that is wireless. But I have been holding off, as I am not certain when they will be releasing a new version. I still have memory from the last Mac Mini I bought, and how a month or two after they came out with a wireless one. I don’t want the same thing to happen again, so I am taking a bit of a wait and see attitude to see if something new gets released in the next few months.

My reading is not going anywhere right now, I am thinking I might have to either set some time for myself each day to read, or pick a new book that will really grab me. I find I still spend a lot of wasted time each day, that I could be reading. So I am going to have to figure out where I can fit it in, as I know I have time, just pushing myself to do so.

So hopefully if I keep myself more accountable through these updates, that when I get to the end of the year, I will have more successes then failures in the terms of resolutions.

Tags: collectibles, Exercising, Resolutions 2012

The past few weeks I have been busy with packing and getting ready to move. As they say, you never really know how much stuff you have until you move. As I expected, I had a lot of toys and collectibles. I had actually sold a lot of my action figures, so the amount of carded figures is down from what I had. I must say I am happy about that, as Carded action figures are always the most difficult to move. The whole reason for keeping them carded is to keep them in the best possible condition, so if they get damaged, then the reason for keeping them carded is lost imho. It took a lot of effort as well to bag up all my loose action figures. I was surprised how many I had, I decided to bag them individually so that I would not loose any of the weapons and accessories. It took a long time, and I managed to fill a rather large tub with them. I can only really manage how long it will take to unpack them. The higher end collectibles take some time as well. Some were fast to pack up, others took time. I am hoping they make the move ok, and will make sure to move them myself personally.

I am working through the rest of the house as well, but finding harder to move around the house with all the boxes and bags I have piled up. I did manage to throw away a lot of items as well. Fortunately for me, I have never been one for clothes, so I can fit all my clothes into a few bags. My wife is a different story, but those are her clothes and I leave that to her . I am hopeful that I can get the loose ends finished up in the next few days. I take possession on Friday, so my Plan is to move some things over on the weekend, and then take them out of the bins, and bring back the bins for some other things. I have about 2 weeks to move, so at least I am not rushed and have to move everything in one go. I also have mover to move the furniture, so that will take a bit of the load off.

So I am hoping over the next few weeks, that everything goes well. It will be busy, as I work up until I get possession. Then I will be off for the week, but on the 24th, I will be going to the Rexall Indy race in Edmonton for 3 days, so I am hoping to have just about everything done by then. I am also trying to push back at work at any extra work until after I have finished my moving. So far it has been alright, but a few things have me worries, but if I don’t have time, I just don’t have time, and certainly move is my priority.

Tags: collectibles, Moving, Rexall Edmonton Indy

I haven’t mentioned this a lot over the past few months, but Tao tao and I decided we wanted to try moving again. After last years disappointment, where we had found a house, put an offer on it, and then could never sell our own, I did not want to get my hopes up this time around. A few months ago we re-listed our townhouse, and after about 60 days it sold. I must admit it felt like a long 60 days, with many people viewing the house, but no real interest of offers. I was planning on pulling it at the end of June if it had not sold, since Tao tao’s mom is coming for a visit. But a few weeks ago, at the end of May, we got an offer, and were able to sell the town house. Now the big thing was to find another house. I was feeling pretty good about things, and created a list of places I would like to look at. My realtor came back and said about half of them had sold or were pending, so I was getting nervous that I might not be able to find something, and would have to live like a nomad.

We went out the day after our Townhouse had sold, and started to look. I must admit I was very depressed, as all the houses we looked at, none I cared for. And that was it for my list, and new listing had seemed to slow down. My realtor then sent me a few more to consider that did not make the list. I went and we checked them out, and to my surprise I found a house I really liked. So we put in a offer, and after a bit of negotiation, it was accepted. I must say I felt very good about it. The past week and a bit have been busy with getting things finalized with the sale of our Townhouse, and getting things in order for our new house. But this week, pretty much everything is done, as the dates get closer, I will go to the lawyers and sign the papers, and then get ready for moving. Our Financing is in place and both the sale and our purchase have met the conditions.

I am really excited to move into a house. The first place I bought was a house, and after living there for a few years, I moved to a townhouse, as at the time I was single. But I found, a few years in townhouse living was enough for me. I think it is one of those things you need to experience to really understand, but at least I will not have my neighbors cigarette smoke wafting through the fresh air vents anymore. There were some things I wanted to upgrade in my townhouse, but truthfully, I always had this belief I would be moving, so anything that cost a lot, I was never really interested in doing. This was mainly developing the basement. I kept my collectibles down there, but never able to display them the way I wanted to. Part of me things I might have sold a lot of them, just due to my dissatisfaction of how I was keeping them.

I have to thank my parents, earlier in the week, they did the house inspection, and since I had meetings, I could not be there, but they were there on my behalf, and they said everything checked out good, with a few minor issues to look at. I was also a little nervous, as I did not know what they would think of my house, as they were away when I made the purchase. They really liked it, and feel it will be a good house for Tao tao and I. I was also happy to hear, that the bank appraised the house around what I paid for it, and they are usually conservative with their appraisals.

The house is a big house, and it reminds me a lot of my parents house, the house I grew up in for some nay years. It has a family room, with a big fireplace (People who know me, know that I am not a big fan of Fireplaces that take up entire rooms), but what I like about this family room, is that there is still place to put a TV and furniture. That was important to me, and probably one of my main considerations well looking for a house. The house also has a nice kitchen, with a door that leads out to the backyard. Lots of windows and well lit, and should be able to fit out kitchen table nicely, and give us room to cook. Also it has a nice basement that I will use to put my collectibles in, and also set up a bit of a games room. I am really excited about that, as I have some pictures I have had for over a year that I am looking forward to hanging up. I think I will also buy a few movie poster of some of my favorite movies, and put them in frames, and hang them up as well. I might hunt out a Iron Maiden Poster as well, and get that framed, I have some from when I was a kid, but a lot of those are in rough shape, so I might check online posters shops, and see if I can find one I like when looking for the movie posters.

I am really excited about moving. I will move mid July, so it is going to be an exciting month, and really busy. Tao tao Mom is coming as well for a visit, so I suspect we are going to be on the go for quite some time. Hopefully in August things will settle down, and I will get everything organized in the house. Probably in the fall, when we have everything setup, I will take pictures or make a video. I will leave setting the toy room up for last, as that is the one I am looking forward to the most. I want to thank my Parents, for their support, My brother Paul for his support and motivation, my friends Dave, Jason and Jason for their support, and my friend Rick for his encouragement from afar. I was pretty quiet about this, as I did not want to set my self up for the disappointment I had from last year.

Here is a link to the listing

Tags: collectibles, Dave, Iron Maiden, Jason, Jason L, Mom and Dad, movies, New House, Paul, Rick Moyer, Tao tao