Dr Copa

About a year age Pete brought a car to me that he had just bought used for $1500. A 1988 Toyota Camry. For a car that old, it was in really good shape. He asked me to get it fixed up in order for it to pass inspection, and that he was in no hurry since he already had a car. His other car is a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire, so I thought it was odd that he bought a 1988 Toyota!

But he said he was thinking about selling the Pontiac, in an attempt to boost his finances. Well, over the past year I’ve been piddling around on the Toyota, fixing things up as his finances would allow (he’d buy the parts and then I’d fix it up for a set fee.)

I’ve made several hundred dollars on the arrangement, and it gave me something to do. Since working on cars is a hobby I enjoy, it has been a good thing.

The Redbook DVD kiosks have been a huge hit in this area. There are lines to get movies from the Redbox at the McDonalds and the gas station every time I go there to rent or return a movie.

Now that all the Blockbusters and Hollywood Video stores have gone bankrupt and closed, I was wondering where kids would be able to rent games. The only place I know around here to get games is Wal-Mart and Target, and you have to buy them. I couldn’t think of a single place that rents games. Until today. The local Redbox now has games for rent. Booyah!

There has always been a code of honor, of sorts, about conversations in the club locker room. When you are grabbing a shower and changing back into street clothes, we don’t talk about business or try to pitch each other on a deal. But yesterday one of the guys was talking to his golfing buddy about an Online Portfolio Manager and i couldn’t help but overhear. He wasn’t trying to sell anyone, I’ll give him that. But it was unusual to hear someone talking so enthusiastically about investments, and it turned out to be a good tip.

I went to the web site he was talking about and read through their information. They offer Portfolio rebalancing software that helps you break out your portfolio into three parts of a triangle: an “explore” section, a “core” section for retirement funds and the “emergency money” section. You assign each of your investments to one of these sections and make your future decisions based on keeping a balance.

I’ve always been a fan of Do It Yourself portfolio management as a way to keep investment fees to a minimum and I actually enjoy learning more about companies, their financial performance and earning dividends based on my own investment decisions.

A song from back in the late 80′s by the Cars has always been a favorite. The song title is, Drive, although I never liked the title. I just heard it on the Classic Rock station and it brought fortha rush of memories.

The main line of the refrain is, “Who’s gonna drive you home tonight?” It always resonated with me, having a hard time saying good bye and letting go. I like the sadness in the lyrics, in a sweetly tender way.

OK – enough of the soft touch, romantic Copa. Back to your regular programming.

Thank goodness for the lockers at work. It is so nice to have someplace safe to leave a change of clothes and to store person belongings. If we didn’t have the lockers, I would have to leave all this stuff in my car. Then it would be a matter of schlepping the spare clothes into the building from the parking lot, changing my clothes, and then schlepping the other clothes back out to the parking lot, then going back inside again. That would be crazy – especially in bad weather!

I promise you, most buildings could easily add a small room with small lockers for the convenience of people who work in the building. Just think about how many people like to exercise either before work or right after work, or during their lunch break. These people needs someplace to freshen up and change their clothes!

I use my locker every day and have never had a problem (knock on wood) with anyone bothering my gear while the locker is in use. When you work with professionals, there are certain standards of behavior toward one another that you come to expect from everyone, such as respecting another persons gear in their locker.