Update

posted by Russ | August 3 | Add a Comment

It’s been quite some time since I last posted here, ironically exactly two years to the day. I think I was just burnt out on writing, it wasn’t serving any purpose for me anymore.

On a different note, five months ago my wife and I bought a restaurant! We (she, really) cook everything from scratch using fresh ingredients which we try to source from local farms, and change our menu daily. It’s been fun and a lot of work.

Is anyone still reading? If so leave a comment and your link!

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Important Recycling Facts

posted by Russ | February 13 | Add a Comment

Arе you aware of the US waste рrоduсtіоn аnd recycling ѕtаtіѕtісѕ? It’s frightening whеn you look at thе facts оf whаt wе соntrіbutе tо our еnvіrоnmеnt. Thеѕе іntеrеѕtіng facts аrе ѕurеlу gоіng tо motivate you tо recycle аѕ much аѕ уоu can.

Sоlіd Wаѕtе

Aссоrdіng tо thе EPA, оnе реrѕоn generates 4.5 pounds оf trash a dау, which rеѕultѕ іn 1.5 tons of yearly solid wаѕtе реr реrѕоn. Of thіѕ solid wаѕtе, 75 percent іѕ recyclable аnd оnlу 30 реrсеnt is асtuаllу rесусlеd.

Food Waste

Evеrу уеаr, 21.5 mіllіоn tons оf fооd wаѕtе іѕ sent to оur lаndfіllѕ іnѕtеаd of composting. Thіѕ fооd waste сrеаtеѕ more grееnhоuѕе gаѕ еmіѕѕіоnѕ than twо mіllіоn саrѕ оn thе road. Fооd mаkеѕ up thе lаrgеѕt роrtіоn of ѕоlіd waste еvеn thоugh іt’ѕ thе еаѕіеѕt wаѕtе tо recycle. Fifty to 100 реrсеnt оf fооd waste is еаѕу tо […]

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Getting annual fees waived on travel rewards credit cards

posted by Russ | November 8 | 2 Comments

Over the years I’ve only had one credit card that had an annual fee, it was a middle tier Citibank card and the fee was $50. A few times I called to try to get it waived, but never had any luck. At the time it was the only credit card I had that was tied to an airline rewards program, and I wanted to keep it so I always just paid the fee.

I’ve followed The Art of Non Conformity website for years, and anyone who follows the site knows that Chris is a full time travel hacker, earning hundreds of thousands of free miles each year by working credit card travel rewards systems. I’ve never been that ambitious, but last year I decided to upgrade my cards and see what I could do. I didn’t go crazy, but I did decide to finally close the other card I […]

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The Driver

posted by Russ | July 9 | 1 Comment
The tuk tuk driver

The tuk tuk driver

We had arrived in Bangkok a couple days earlier, but clearly we didn’t do our homework. With our first class sleeper tickets booked and in hand, but only 40 minutes left to get to Hualamphong Station, things weren’t looking good. The original plan was simple, leave the hotel an hour beforehand and walk over to the roadside near Democracy Monument where we were certain we’d be able to find a cab for the five kilometer ride to the station. At the time it had seemed foolproof, and as we now rounded the corner from our hotel and saw some open cabs sitting in the traffic, we thought we were in the clear.

It was our first time in Thailand and we were heading south to Koh Phangan for the New Year’s Eve Full Moon Party. To make the […]

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A Few Notes About Getting What You Want

posted by Russ | January 16 | Add a Comment

The past few years have seen me thriving and doing some pretty awesome stuff, as detailed in my 2012 – A Year In Review article. It goes without saying that I’m pretty fortunate, maybe even a bit lucky, especially considering the current economy. Over the past year, both my fiance and I have taken a bit of flack (mostly in good humor) about how much vacation we take, and I’m sure some wonder how we get away with it, considering we’re both highly valued full time employees at our respective jobs.

Well, there are a few things I’ve learned over the past few years (and continually have to remind myself), and these are very important things that have changed me and I believe have enabled me to live my life the way I do and to do all the stuff that I’ve done.

It is very rare to get what you don’t […] Read More…
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2012 – The Year in Review

posted by Russ | January 12 | 1 Comment
Beach in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Beach in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

It’s been another fun and busy year, so now that we’re full steam ahead into 2013, it’s time to recap and reflect on 2012. A lot has happened over the past year, and I also managed to have quite a bit of fun.

Reflecting
When I stop and reflect, I’m really thankful for how well I live. Every now and then I get down on myself because there is still so much I want to accomplish and because I have personal goals that have remained unmet, but when I put things into perspective I’ve still got it pretty good.

Even though I’d love to work less and travel more, I managed to keep a pretty good balance between my home and personal life and my work life. I managed to tackle a lot of home improvement projects, while […]

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Juice Fast Days 5, 6, 7

posted by Russ | December 10 | Add a Comment

This was supposed to be a five day juice fast, but after Day 5 I was feeling good and decided to keep it going. I also did some reading to see if anyone else used bananas during juice fasting, and found out that using bananas during the fast slows cleansing and detoxing, I assume because of the fiber. This was part of the reason I decided to keep going beyond day 5, so I could do at least a couple days of straight juice and see if I noticed any difference.

I made it through the rest of Day 5 on just juice, then Day 6 just juice, and decided that after juice all day on Day 7 I would end my fast, at least for a few days, but will probably keep doing juice for a few meals. It’s not been that difficult to do this, but I’m ready to […]

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Juice fast day 4

posted by Russ | December 7 | Add a Comment

I’ll make it quick and easy for Day 4 of the Juice Fast. I’ve had feelings today of feeling great like I want to keep going, and also like I want to give in and eat. Mid afternoon I got hit with some serious hunger but had some juice and it went away.

Morning
smoothie – juice of 1 grapefruit and 2 oranges blended with 2 bananas

Afternoon
juice – 5 carrots, 2 apples, 1/2 golden beet
juice – 1 cucumber, 4 stalks celery, 2 apples, 1/2 bell pepper, 1/2 lemon, bunch parsley/spinach/kale

Evening
juice – 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 1 cucumber, 1/2 red beet and beet greens, bunch parsley, clove garlic
juice – 1/2 small watermelon, handful mint, 1/2 lemon

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