I’m not talking Freddy Kruger. I’m referring to those dreams of going over a bridge and it just keeps getting steeper and steeper until finally you’re heading straight up and you feel yourself being pulled by gravity, afraid of falling backwards. That’s one I have from time to time.
There is also the dream of driving across a bridge and all of a sudden the water has risen and I can no longer see the road. It’s a vast ocean and I’m in the middle. I usually wake up at that point. Just writing about it gives me a slight panic attack. I can pretty much figure out the meaning to that one.
Another one that I get is needing to find my way home and everywhere I go the phones have no numbers on them or I can’t remember anybody’s phone number.
Now, I don’t foresee the possibility of the bridge dreams coming true, however, I have become too reliant on pressing a button to “automatically” make phone calls. I don’t remember phone numbers like I used to. In fact, I don’t remember anybody’s phone number. Emails, yes….phone numbers, nope. I rarely make phone calls where I don’t have the number programed. Skim and click. Punch a button and it’s dialed in.
A few days ago I had a rude awakening. Now I know how dependent I am or rather how helpless I am without my technology. I had car trouble, was stranded without my cell phone and couldn’t remember anybody’s phone number. I had to go into a sandwich shop and ask to borrow the phone. Who does that!?! Luckily I had just purchased lunch so technically, I was a customer. Somehow that made me feel less icky. The girl at the counter (Bless you Amanda!) was very nice about it and loaned me her cell phone.
I stood there staring blankly at it. Uh….Who am I going to call? Trying to conjure up my mom’s number. Surely I would remember that one. I had the numbers but wrong order. Damn! I was starting to panic. Would I have to walk home?
I felt like such an idiot. Finally, got it right and reached mom who gave me my sister’s number so I could be rescued. Trouble was, my sister wouldn’t pick up because the call was coming from a number she didn’t recognize so I had to call my mom back and get her to call my sister and let her know what was going on.
All came out good in the end, but it made me very much aware of how dependent we can become on our devices and gadgets. Everything is so automated these days. I love the convenience but from now on I’m keeping important numbers stored outside of my cell phone. I’ve got them written on a card in my wallet and I may even dial numbers from time to time so that I don’t forget them.
What about you?
Are you at the extreme level of being reliant on technology? Would you be able to call at least one person by dialing their number from memory if you needed to? Who would that be? Your mom? I just had to laugh about that one. I don’t live with my mother… yet she’s the only number I could recall.
As soon as they start managing every detail of our lives.... we are no longer a free society. It gives too much control. Just think, they could go in and wipe out everything if they chose and we would have no way to prevent it or protect ourselves. What's next?
The Internet gives us opportunities but it should not be an opportunity for the government to mandate and regulate everything we do and such things as our PERSONAL interests and accounts. That is just wrong.
Are You Ready For Your National Internet ID Card? Yes, I know it is voluntary... for now....
So now we are so ‘stupid’ that we can not longer be trusted to create our own passwords to the internet, our own passwords to log on to our bank accounts and to manage our own passwords to our websites and blogs.
They think they know better than we do in how to protect our private information.
Hmmm, how’s the Wikileaks thing working out for you? I see, the government is REALLY good at protecting their secrets!
And yet, the administration is pushing for National Internet IDs! Do you know which other country has a National Internet ID?
The government has been trying to regulate the internet, the last free place on earth where free and even some non free people have a voice. It is the last frontier of free markets, free enterprise and free speech. It is the last place on earth where you can start a company and make millions of dollars in just a few years.
Of course, the government has been trying to figure out a way to tax the internet, control the internet, monitor the discourse on the internet and be able to shut down the internet under the guise of security. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said years ago: "Those who trade liberty for security deserve neither." Those words are so true.
And we the people must fight this at every turn. Remember, don’t forget, how they do things to make it so you don’t protest against it. They do it by:
Slowly weaseling their way into it,
Creating “voluntary” programs ( that always turn into mandatory at some point)
Installing regulations that are too hard to meet for those who choose not the “voluntary” way,
Creating the illusion that this is best for all the people
Creating the false sense of security, feeding into your fears.
This kind of manipulation is evil and cruel especially when they capitalize on your fears.
What better way to establish Internet Tax than through National ID cards.
After all, how are they planning on paying for the National ID cards?
Remember when they promised ( most of you are too young to remember) that the creation of the social security card would NEVER lead to using it for Identification?
Think about it.
How much do you trust the government with your personal information, your private information and your passwords to all your bank accounts, etc?
I would rather have control over my own passwords to anything and everything I do online. If I lose my password I only have myself to blame. If someone hacks into one of my accounts, then I deal with it and move on.
The National Internet ID would give you one password and one username to use all across all your online dealings. So that means you would have the same password to get into your Facebook account as you do to get into your bank account.
Now, that sounds like a super recipe for Identify Theft!!!
Not only that, the government would see every website you visit, every online purchase you make and every comment your write. There would be no anonymity.
Write to your congress representatives to tell them to have government stay out of the Internet and stay out of managing every detail of our lives. Tell your leaders to grow a spine!
A bill like this has been tried and failed. That is why they are doing an in and around Congress to get this done.
Call your congressmen and congresswomen today to tell them to take a stand for our constitutional right to make sure that the laws that are created are created in Congress and not by government bureaucrats, committees and regulatory agencies who bypass the constitution.
A VA home loan is a loan guaranteed and insured by the Veteran's Administration and has helped home buyers get in a home with no down payment. The seller can also pay for some or all of the closing costs.
Whether you are a soldier recently returning home to Sacramento or or a Veteran who wants to buy a home with your VA loan benefits, you've come to the right place.
Mark Teran can help you with your VA financing to purchase a home or to refinance your current residence in the greater Sacramento area.
My name is Chrysti Tovani, and I am a life member of the Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post 4647. In case you don't know, I am also the Black Jack editor and keeper of the VFW Post 4647 website. (This refers to members of Post 4647)
Chances are you clicked on my link from the VFW Post 4647 website and it brought you to this page on my blog. I created this page for you to land on so that you would not be confused when it brought you to this site. Feel free to look around if you'd like. (I updated this post because I am no longer originating mortgages.)
If you need help getting a home loan or are interested in buying a home or refinancing your current residence in the Sacramento area, call Mark and he'll make an appointment to meet at his office.
He can discuss your situation and see if you can use your VA home loan to purchase a home without having a down payment or closing costs.
I have been meaning to get this posted on my blog, it's already October 8th but there is still time to enter.
I am a Life Member of the Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post 4647 here in Sacramento. Each year the VFW holds a scholarship program for high school kids grades 9-12. Please pass this info along as we try to get out to the schools and to as many students as possible.
2010-2011 Theme – “Does My Generation Have a Role in America’s Future?”
Entry Deadline – Nov. 1, 2010
For more information and contest rules visit the VFW.org website.
Madison Mullen, a senior at Olentangy Liberty High School has been named the first place winner in the 2010 National Voice of Democracy Program and recipient of the $30,000 first place VFW T.C. Selman Memorial Scholarship Award provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Madison plans a career in law and she was sponsored by VFW Post 3297 and Ladies Auxiliary in Delaware, Ohio. Click here to see the complete list of winners.
If you live in the greater Sacramento area and know a student who would like to enter the contest, contact me and I will put you in touch with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4647 Voice of Democracy Chairman. I am the editor and social media contact for VFW Post 4647.
I want to add that this is a National contest. You don't have to be in Sacramento to participate. You do need to contact your local Veterans of Foreign Wars in your area and ask for the Voice of Democracy Chairman. You can visit here to search by state.
I got a kick out of this song. It does seem we are bombarded these days with tips and steps for just about everything.
I gotta say though, I'm a sucker for those articles and I find them very helpful. I love to know 7 steps for this and 5 ways to do that and 8 tips to help. Just give me some steps and a road map. I'm game.
Give me answers. Solve my problems. Help me get what I want.
So with tongue in cheek I present to you my new favorite independent artist, Callie Moore, with an unplugged version a song from her album. The song is called, of course...... 7 Steps.
When you are saving to buy a home, every cent helps. It's no secret that right now is a great time to purchase a home in Sacramento.
Did you know that Fannie Mae has a special program to help?
Fannie Mae Announces New Incentives for HomePath® Properties
REO or Real Estate Owned properties that are owned by Fannie Mae are being sold with special financing incentives.
Under the new incentive program, owner-occupants and public entities that buy a HomePath Property between now and the end of the year can receive up to 3.5 percent of the purchase price in closing cost assistance.
Low down payment and flexible mortgage terms (fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, or interest-only)
You may qualify even if your credit is less than perfect
Available to both owner occupiers and investors - although owner occupants are given priority for the first 15 days that the home is on the market. After the home has been on the market for more than 15 days, Fannie Mae will consider offers from investors or those wishing to purchase as a second home.
Down payment can be from your own savings or a gift which includes a grant; a loan from a nonprofit organization, state or local government or employer.
No mortgage insurance*
No appraisal fees
The sale must close within 60 days of acceptance of the offer and no later than December 31, 2010. The incentive must be requested in the initial offer.
You can find out more information and also search for qualifying properties by visiting the HomePath.com web site.
Not only can you purchase a home using the HomePath® loan program but you can also get a home loan to refurbish the home.
What can you do if you have great credit, a good job, liquid assets, and want to take advantage of the low rates but you took a nose dive on the equity in your home?
There are a lot of folks who a few years ago may have only owed significantly less than of the value of the home and now the loan amount exceeds the value necessary to qualify for a new loan with a much lower interest rate.
With interest rates hitting record lows, these home owners want to refinance but they can't due to the declining market value of their homes. There's not enough equity.
Still, getting that lower rate would mean saving $$$ substantially over the lifetime of the loan.
There is a new trend of homeowners who are opting for what's referred to as a "cash in" refinance.
Borrowers are bringing cash to the closing table to increase equity and get the lower rates. Some are even opting for a 15 year fixed rate in order to pay off their home by the time they retire.
If you are looking to refinance for the purpose of getting a premium low interest rate, and you see an advertisment for a loan program that will go up to 125% of your home's appraised value, chances are, it is NOT going to be the low rate that you had in mind.
*Even greater chance that the loan program will no longer exist by the time you call that phone number.
Those high loan to value loans are not meant for a borrower who already has a low "fixed" interest rate and can afford their mortgage payments.
The interest rates on non-conforming loans are usually higher than the standard "fixed" interest rates with lower loan to value ratios. Meaning, the more equity the borrower has invested in the property, the lower the interest rates. Less equity equals higher rates.
*A past client of mine told me she saw an ad recently for home loans up to 125% LTV. I told her that I had not heard of that and I would check. Turns out a few other MLO's on our company were also looking for that program. We learned that it was avaliable for a short while through a wholesale lender but was no longer available.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probabaly is.
Yesterday my son and I met with a reporter with the Sacramento Bee. I had written an article on my blog called, Adult Kids - They Come Back.
I'm wondering as I'm writing this, if I should not disclose too much info. I don't want to ruin the guy's story. So, I'll keep it to my experience.
Anyway, a few days ago I get a call and it's a writer for the Bee who would like to interview my son and I for a story he is working on. I was really surprised that my son was willing to go along with it at all. I guess he figured it was important to me so he agreed to come along.
At the interview this nice young man appeared in my son's body. He was smart and articulate. I was amazed to listen to him discussing his plans for college and career goals. Who was this guy? My son? That is my son.
At the interview, Sam (The writer for the Bee) moved the recorder towards me, I had to say, "I'm flabbergasted right now."
I told him that normally, I don't get to have this kind of conversation with my son because I'm usually caught in the cycle of asking him to pick up his clothes or clean up in the kitchen, don't shut the cat out of the bathroom, make sure you lock the front door, leave some milk for the rest of us, etc., and he tunes me out. Tunes me out! Literally.
Most of the time I have to tap him on the shoulder or talk loud because he's got his headphones on listening to music. (I swear that kid's gonna go deaf!) Sometimes the rest of us are trying to watch TV and we have to ask him to turn down his head set.
So today, that nice young man from the interview came to me and said, "Mom, I realized yesterday when you said what you did, that you're right. I don't talk to you like an adult and I haven't been a very good roommate."
Is this a EUREKA moment?
I won't do the happy dance just yet.
It will take some time but I think we are going in a good direction. Maybe I won't lose my mind after all.
When the Bee article comes out, I'll add a link to it. I hope it's good and that it is something helpful to all the empty nesters who have adult children moving back home.
These days, especially with this recession or depression or whatever they want to call it, a lot of families are fitting more than one generation under one roof.
Not what you want to see while having a chicken sandwich.
Here's my pic for Wordless Wednesday. Fair Oaks Village is famous for it's wild chickens. This is my view from my table inside the deli. I wish it hadn't come out so dark, but then again, it does kind of have a sinister appeal to it.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
A few days ago I had a rude awakening. Now I know how dependent I am or rather how helpless I am without my technology. I had car trouble, was stranded without my cell phone and couldn’t remember anybody’s phone number. I had to go into a sandwich shop and ask to borrow the phone. Who does that!?! Luckily I had just purchased lunch so technically, I was a customer. Somehow that made me feel less icky. The girl at the counter (Bless you Amanda!) was very nice about it and loaned me her cell phone.
A VA home loan is a loan guaranteed and insured by the Veteran's Administration and has helped home buyers get in a home with no down payment. The seller can also pay for some or all of the closing costs.
What can you do if you have great credit, a good job, liquid assets, and want to take advantage of the low rates but you took a nose dive on the equity in your home? 
;)
;)
;)
