As Bushie's World Turns (The Update Thread)

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I'm beginning to realize that.  However, stubborn as I am, I'm probably not going to listen to that.

No offense, but these two sentences could easily serve as your life motto.

Contrary to popular forum opinion.  My life is not a mess right now.  I'm very stable in life right now and am just going through a job change.  It doesn't matter that I've gone through it several times before.  I know several people that have gone through job changes multiple times.  My youth minister, who now has found a stable company, has had 20+ different jobs.  I've had 5 different jobs in the past 4 years (I'm not counting the Kirbies or Ameriscam)

That is not the definition of stability at the age of 30. And it will not get any better as long as you are looking forward to the Kenya move. My advice is if you are dead set on going there for good, go now. No need to delay it 2-3 years. You decided to do that before because you wanted to work that job that you threw away, so now you should have no reason not to go.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I don't think it was the vacation itself that cost me the job, but I think getting sick afterwards got me in the long run.  The first commandment of the workplace "Thou shall never get sick."

You need to start taking personal responsibility, for it is given that your trip would most likely lead to an illness – there were several posters on here who even predicted it.  But, despite those known risks, you decided to go to Africa anyway, no matter the risks to your obligations to your employer.

It’s not like you came down with the flu after getting a flu vaccine.  Your company correctly concluded you did not do your due diligence to stay healthy in order to make a good first impression and meet your obligations to your employer.

You do NOT make pleasing your employer a priority in your life.  I would have fired you also.  Since you have a disability (stuttering) to being with, you need to make every effort to be doing it better and cleaner than the other guy.  Instead, you've lost your job in call centers three times. Been warned multiple times by posters, including me, with a history of half-chocked ventures with fly-by-night scam artists and two failed marriage engagements!

Reap-what-you-sow rules of engagement exist for your safety and for that of your team. They're not flexible, nor is the world. Obey them or your history will be written with government food stamps. Is that clear?

Dismissed.

So, I should not have followed my dream and gone to Africa?  Just because I have a job, does not mean I have to discard every dream or ambition I have ever had.  If I had not gone to Africa this past March, it is likely I would have NEVER been able to go overseas at all and thus would not have had this ambition to MOVE to Africa.  Is that what employers want, to prohibit their employees from achieving their dreams?  I don't want any sarcastic remarks, either.

Employers don't want employees there who do not want to be there. If you have other dreams, like to go to Africa, then go. Now. Like I said, there is no reason to try and find stable employment in the states if you are going to continue to go there every year and continue to talk about moving there. Don't put off what you plan to do anyway.

The ugly truth is, employees don't care about your dreams outside of what they are in the business of doing. If you have a dream to advance your career in the field you are in, most companies like to see that. If you have a dream that has nothing to do what you're doing at the present time, it's best not to walk around talking about how you'd rather be doing something else. Companies are not your parents. They don't care about your hopes and dreams.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

But you have to learn from your mistakes or you will never succeed at anything! Life is about successes and failures, and every time we fail, we have to learn from those mistakes.

And you're still under the impression you will adopt these kids when the laws clearly say you cannot!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I know what its like to be hard headed. I am hard headed myself, but I am not beyond learning from my mistakes and failures. I still think if you are 100% sure you are going to move to Kenya, you should go now. Delaying it will only hurt any progress you can make in the US because you will constantly be looking to Kenya and in turn, constantly lose you job. That will only make it harder to move in 2-3 years.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Until you take responsibility for your failures, you'll never learn from them.

You were one of the first to be let go from Dell because of your trip. You didn't give off the aura that you were a dedicated employee given your past behavior and that the reason you were laid off if they were downsizing. Since you were promoted just before being let go, I doubt it was your performance on the job. It was your nonchalant attitude. Taking 3 weeks off to go to Kenya. Staying out sick when you got back. Those things together add up. They saw you more as a liability than an asset to the workplace.

And dreams are not to be discarded, but they are to be put behind stable employment and realistic goals. You can have a dream and keep it in mind, but you need to work hard a what you're doing in order to make that dream a reality. You aren't. Instead, you're simply focusing on kenya, going back there next year, and letting your real life slip away. That's why you need to go to Kenya now if you don't plan to change anytime soon. That, or you will be forced to change now that your parents are no longer supporting you financially whenever you screw up.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

You can learn from mistakes while not having regrets. Many things I have failed at in the past are things I don't regret doing, but I learned from them all the same.

And you have proved my point. By looking ahead or investing all your time and energy into focusing on Kenya, you are actually hurting your chances of ever moving there and hurting the money those kids you are sponsoring desperately need. If you are taking on those kids to support, you have to realize your decisions are now bigger than yourself. Being careless at a job hurts not only you, but them.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

He's done this before guys. I'm not surprised he's planning to show up so early. I doubt you'll run into any traffic at 5am though...

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

What kind of shorts are not acceptable to wear in public? I've worn all kinds before.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

You'll need to buy some lighter clothes for Kenya. And maybe a few pairs of public shorts.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I wish I had saved it now..

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

4 eggo waffles? Gotta cut that out.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

4 eggo waffles? Gotta cut that out.

It was either that or starve.  This boy doesn't like to not eat...

Always an excuse.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Cooking isn't that hard. At least for me it isn't, but I am Greek so maybe it just runs in our blood.

That said, you can get by without simply eating things like eggos, regular soda, frozen processed food etc. you'd be shocked at how much sodium things like that have in them, and if you simply cut that out, you'd see a tremendous difference. You said you had hypertension which isn't good for your age, but it is caused by high levels of sodium. You have to stop it or you won't live long. I know you won't but I feel like I have you warn you all the same.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I dunno torie. Protein costs like $50 for about a months worth of shakes. I would worry about Bushie first getting his diet in check before I worry about him taking supplements. I don't think the guy eats vegetables at all, at least vegetables that haven't been fried/processed/contain bread/cheese.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I dunno torie. Protein costs like $50 for about a months worth of shakes. I would worry about Bushie first getting his diet in check before I worry about him taking supplements. I don't think the guy eats vegetables at all, at least vegetables that haven't been fried/processed/contain bread/cheese.

$50/30 equals $1.66 per breakfast. Add to that the cost of a cup of orange juice as mix. In my experience, that is the singe most effective way to lose weight putting aside being physically active, and in particular jogging.

But does he have that kind of disposable income? He will have to factor in the cost of buying fresh food instead of the cheaper frozen/fast food he is accustomed to, which will also add up. I am trying to go one step at a time with him, knowing in my heart he will do none of what we suggest because it's too hard to do, and what he is eating now tastes better to him.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

My point was, and you guys mentioned this before, that my previous physician didn't seem too concerned about my weight and didn't make it a priority of his.  This doctor is.  He congratulated me for dropping nearly 30 pounds since November, but said it's time to keep going down.  My BMI is 41.  A BMI of 30 is considered Obese, and I'm almost 50% greater than that number.

This doctor is new... of course he's concerned.  Are you telling me that your old doctor never told you to lose weight?

Right. My grandmother was like that, and she started claiming later in life that her doctor never told her to exercise so it was okay that she rarely did. She was never obese though, and lived into her 80s, so she wasn't unhealthy by any means, but doctors stop harping on things after a certain point.

We have been encouraging Bushie to lose weight now for a long time and he continues to make up excuses to justify not doing so (it's a cheat weekend, it's a holiday, i didn't have anything in the house, that's all my parents made, I can't cook, etc). I'm sure he did the same thing to his last doctor so he just stopped hounding him knowing he simply wouldn't do it.

The point is, none of us want him to be in bad shape, and right now he has a lot of health problems for someone who just turned 30.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I dunno torie. Protein costs like $50 for about a months worth of shakes. I would worry about Bushie first getting his diet in check before I worry about him taking supplements. I don't think the guy eats vegetables at all, at least vegetables that haven't been fried/processed/contain bread/cheese.

$50/30 equals $1.66 per breakfast. Add to that the cost of a cup of orange juice as mix. In my experience, that is the singe most effective way to lose weight putting aside being physically active, and in particular jogging.

But does he have that kind of disposable income? He will have to factor in the cost of buying fresh food instead of the cheaper frozen/fast food he is accustomed to, which will also add up. I am trying to go one step at a time with him, knowing in my heart he will do none of what we suggest because it's too hard to do, and what he is eating now tastes better to him.

$2.00 for breakfast, and $20 a month for a cheap gym?  I am not talking about Equinox here.



You can see the array of treadmills I use, the rowing machines, and the assisted chin up and dips device. Hey, I can finally do a chin up without assistance, a new first for the Torie man.   Service personnel in blue shirts wander around handing your fresh towels, and offering to spot you to do bench presses or whatever. The trainers have black shirts. That rack machine near the window under the light is a favorite venue for my trainers to torture me.

That's a deal. My gym runs $45 a month at the medical university, and that is with the student discount for law students! I shouldn't scold Bushie too much though given I've slacked off when it comes to working out this summer. My workout partner is working in NY till next month and it's tough to motivate myself to go at it alone. That's why Bushie needs a friend to take him along and not allow him to make excuses for himself.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

And the most important advice of all: drink whiskey over beer. It'll go far in helping you burn off those excess calories!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Ban Oakvale for not reading this entire thread. It should be a requirement now, not a choice.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I will accept my approaching permaban with good grace and humility.

You should. This thread isn't just any thread on this forum. It is a legend. Countless forumites have told their families about BushKE over dinner and during cocktail parties, only to be met with praise and goodwill for their courage to spread The Good Word. By failing to read this entire thread, you are doing a disservice to yourself and to all of us who have read it. While it may not be a big deal to you right now, it will be when you're old and gray, trying to conjure up stories to tell your grandkids who already think you're too friendly and boring. You might not believe me now, but do yourself and your future offspring a favor and spend the next few hours reading this thread. You will thank me and everyone else here a million times in the future.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

No. I have them all saved as well. Any good American would.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

No. I think if he gets a woman it will make me as happy as finding another woman of my own. It will give just as many gifts.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

No glove, no love, even though wrapping that thing sucks so bad, you have no idea. So when you're in the moment with your Kenyan honey, don't forget my advice if you want to live longer than 50 years.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

It's the stache! It's causing you to have this fear of being a child predator!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

You had a minor heart attack??? And that wasn't enough motivation?