Mark Asbell - Mark Asbell

Credit Driven Economy

October 15, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

I don’t understand our economy at all. Why in the world are we so credit driven? In the midst of our terrible financial crisis I am still receiving credit offers in the mail. I haven’t opened any new credit in 5 years. We went through a tough time when our credit score became trbl (that’s Charles Barkley for terrible). Our score is just now beginning to get better but shouldn’t we still have big red flags on our history that would prevent lending agencies from being so eager to lend us money that we don’t even want? It makes me worried that the lending and credit problem in our society isn’t going to be fixed despite this $700 billion bailout that is so necessary to get these fools out of trouble and prevent our economy from collapsing.

I have to admit Shawna and I have learned the hard way about getting over our head, but we learned and stopped borrowing. How do I know everyone else has learned and will stop calling the 800 number to get the loan on the mailer they received – KNOWING they can’t afford to pay it??? How do I know our economy won’t be in this same situation or worse in just a few months or years when more debt goes bad and wall street is on the verge of disaster again? God help us through this mess – forgive us for being bad stewards – thank you for providing for our needs – please give us and our legislators wisdom in our financial decisions.

Filed Under: Money, Personal Growth

My Old Plant Closed

October 13, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Recently I got word that the Milliken plant (called the Defore plant in Clemson, SC) where I used to be Supply Chain Manager before I started my current job HAS BEEN CLOSED. They called it a consolidation according to my source which just means they still had some business and it was moved to other Milliken plants in other cities. This is sorta sad news because I feel bad for all the folks I worked with there who were still there, but I’m really not surprised. In fact one of the reasons I left was because I suspected the plant would be closed and I didn’t want to be there when it did because I’ve known other people who experienced plant closings and were either forced to relocate or just plain given the shaft. I didn’t know it would take a few more years before it happened but I was pretty confident it would indeed happen. I just pray the people who were affected are being taken care of or finding other work so they can provide for their families.

Filed Under: Business, Money, Personal Growth

Allergies?

September 17, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

For about 29 years of my life I was for the most part allergy free. Now that I’m 30 it seems like I have a regular stream of snot coming out of my head.

There was a short span of my life when my dad and I got poison ivy every time we went to cut fire wood and we would have to bathe in calamine lotion for a week to get rid of it. If I recall correctly (I was very young – dad taught me to work at an early age) it only took about two years and probably three major poison ivy episodes for my parents to decide dad and I should seek medical assistance in this area (because the last thing we were going to do was avoid cutting firewood). So the doctor gave us a series of shots (I was a very tough kid) that basically gave us immunity to poison ivy. I’ve never had to worry about poison ivy from that time on, and for the most part I don’t recall ever having any other major allergy problems…until now – age 30.

It seems like for the last year or so I’ve been officially allergic to waking up. That’s what I’m declaring it until someone smart informs me or I take the time to educate myself on what the heck my morning problem is. I’m not talking about being allergic to GETTING up. I’m seriously saying I have a problem when I WAKE up. The normal half coherent rolling over in sleep type of ‘waking up’ doesn’t bother me. It’s only when I’m truly awakened in a way that my brain begins functioning on a conscious level – snot begins to flow out of my head. It’s like snot is the oil of my brain and my nose is the oil leak – brain cranks up and nose begins to leak.

For a while I thought maybe I’ve developed an allergy to dust or something, so we cleaned our room very thoroughly. Maybe it’s our dog sleeping in our room (on the floor on his own special bed – NOT in our bed – that’s another story). But it couldn’t be a dog allergy because I don’t have this sneezy snotty problem in the middle of the day when I’m around dogs – or dust either for that matter. I’ve ridden this thing out for at least a year, making it through every season, just to confirm it isn’t pollen or whatever other seasonal allergies. Nope – none of that explains this snotty phenomenon I only experience when I truly wake up from sleep.

I’m wide open to professional explanations from anyone who will be so kind to explain. Until then or until I do some research I’m officially diagnosing myself as allergic to waking up.

Filed Under: Health

Funny Moment

August 28, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Shawna and I were talking about some kids down the street who used to home school but now they’re doing private school. Skyler overheard us and said “Private School! That’s gross”. If you don’t get it just think about it a minute. Needless to say we had to explain to Skyler what ‘private school’ really means.

Filed Under: Family, Stories

Vacation!!!

August 15, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Last week was vacation (8/2 – 8/10). Yeah baby! A week of mostly no phone calls, mostly no emails, and mostly no stress (we did still have the kids with us so there was still just a little bit of stress). It was very fun and relaxing. Here’s the highlights from the week:

Sunday – drove to Montgomery, AL (which is halfway to our destination) to stay the night before proceeding to Gulf Shores, AL. While there we went to Circuit City because we had noticed the Wii was on sale for $249 (which is the best I’ve seen it). We’ve been talking about getting one for our family for Christmas, and I had already put the money aside for it, so we did it (yes – we’re already shopping for Christmas, but the Wii probably won’t wait til Christmas befor we use it).

Monday – drove the rest of the way to Gulf Shores (more precisely Orange Beach, AL – just down the road from Gulf Shores). You might be asking why did we go there. The answer is we know some people who own a condo there and Shawna’s mom had been given a free week to stay there, so she let us take advantage of the free week with her – thanks GG (Grandma Grace). After we got there I took the kids straight to the ocean and after about 10 minutes they wanted to go straight to the pool, so we did.

Tuesday – slept in. Went to the pool and ocean again (ocean a bit longer this time and more than once, but still spent more time at the pool). Lost my sunglasses in the ocean. Bought some new ones for an outrageous $10 at ‘Surf Style’ (that was $5 too high for my taste because I can get sunglasses any weekend at the Jockey Lot for $5). Relaxation deluxe – all day long. Ate good. Had TCBY ice cream.

Wednesday – got up at 6am and walked the beach. I knew the tide would be low and wanted to find some sea shells for the kids because they hadbeen looking for them since we got there. I happened to find 3 pairs of sunglasses washing up with the seashells. One pair is Oakley and the other two aren’t bad either. They’re a little scratched but not too bad. Took the kids to the pool and ocean again. This time we stayed at the ocean for quite a while because I bought them some sand toys to play with. I built a sand castle and Devin immediately tore it down with the shovel I got him. Went to Lambart’s (http://www.throwedrolls.com/). What an experience. They literally throw the rolls to you. Excellent food.

Thursday – took Devin to the National Naval Aviation Museum. Another wonderful experience. There are so many planes on display. Devin loved getting in the cockpits of several different types of planes. We also saw a pretty cool Imax movie. Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to go do that again when Devin is older so he can learn more about the planes and their history.

Friday – The girls went shopping which left Devin and I without transportation and with little interest in going to the pool or the beach by ourselves. So we made an adventure out of it and walked down the beach about a mile to the nearest souvenir shop where I bought Devin a snorkel and goggles. Then we walked back. That was as close as I got to a workout all week so I’ll have to pick up the slack now that we’re home.

Saturday – Pretty much all day was spent at the beach. Someone in our building pulled the fire alarm so the fire trucks came. That was interesting. But we spent most of the day playing in the sand and enjoying the ocean that we rarely get to see. It was nice and relaxing but at the same time I was already starting to dread the packing up and driving home.

Sunday – We drove all the way back home in one day. We stopped probably 5 times in the first 5 hours (3 hours of it was actual driving time) to get souvenirs, get snacks, pee, etc etc, then stopped to eat at Cracker Barrel. Then after we ate we drove 5 hours straight without stopping. Home sweet home.

What a wonderful vacation. We really enjoyed the gulf coast of Alabama. It’s really quite nice for family vacationing and we’ll most likely do it again. I’m sure there are so many details I’m not thinking of at the moment but I don’t want to delay posting something about our vacation any longer. When I think of more stuff I’ll write about it.

I’ll upload a bunch of pics for the next post.

Filed Under: Family, Misc, Relationships

Another Post About Porn

August 13, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

If you’ve read this blog for a while you might recall several posts I’ve done about porn. I continue to fight the battle against temptation not necessarily always specifically regarding porn but more often regarding eye control in public and when inappropriate commercials pop up on TV. But I do still protect myself against porn and help friends who want accountability with the same. One resource I recently stumbled upon is www.no-porn.com. Check it out. There are books, softwares, forums, etc for helping to overcome sexual temptations on many levels.

Filed Under: Personal Growth

Latest Reading – I Was Broke Now I’m Not

August 8, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Just read Joe Sangl’s book. I have a note from Joe in my copy along with his autograph, so that makes it valuable – but I’m not selling it. It’s priceless to me because of the information in it.

I’ve heard Joe teach pretty much everything he has written in the book either in his FLE or in one on one counseling with him. But it was reinvigorating to read it all in the book and make notes of some things I need to re-focus on regarding our finances. In the year and a half that we’ve been following Joe’s methods we have made huge progress toward improving our finances. It is very exciting.

In case you haven’t read Joe’s book – I HIGHLY recommend it. It is the most simple material to read AND apply that I have ever come across (it took me about 3 hours to read it and I stopped to jot some personal notes in several places). I also highly recommend scheduling one on one counseling with Joe so he can share his insight in to your finances. He is not bossy or judgemental (in fact he’s the exact opposite) but he is inspiring and challenging in sharing his experience and knowledge and using it to offer suggestions that will help your unique situation.

Now that I’m going on and on about it I’ll go so far as to say that if you haven’t read Joe’s book you are really missing out. And if you think you don’t need to read Joe’s book you are a freakin idiot. There is something for everybody to learn in Joe’s book. I don’t care if you’re wiping with $100 bills – there is still something for you to learn from Joe’s book (like you might get some better ideas of something good you could be doing with your money besides wiping with it).

Shawna and I just love Joe and Jenn – both as friends and as financial mentors. I can’t say much else about it.

Filed Under: Money, Reading, Relationships

Upgraded Luxurious Office

August 2, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

I upgraded my office!

Anybody who has known me for more than two seconds probably knows I work from home, and we have a small house with three children so space is limited. Therefore my office is set up in a corner of the garage. Very plush except for when it’s so hot outside that it’s 95 degrees in the garage.

For 4 summers now I’ve managed to survive by running a fan in the garage until the temperature got to 85 degrees and once it got to 85 I would go inside and work in our bedroom. It was that or stay out in the garage and literally bake as the temperature continued to rise.

BUT now, in my 5th summer of working at home (in the garage) I have upgraded my luxurious office to make it more plush than ever. I got a portable air conditioner unit!!! That combined with my faithful fan allows me to beat the heat to at least a tolerable temperature.

One of these days my goal is to have a space that is mine and mine alone (I won’t have to share it with the cars, lawn equipment, tools, kids toys, and miscellaneous other junk). The options for how to achieve that are endless and all cost money that I’m not ready to spend, so as for now I’m just as productive in my little corner with A/C.

Filed Under: Business, Money

Melted Vinyl Siding

July 31, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Have you ever lit your grill and left it burning on high for a while to get good and hot before you start cooking on it?

When I grill I normally don’t let it heat up for too long before I turn it back down. A few weeks ago I fired up the grill and left it on high and then got distracted by something and let it burn on high for too long – and too close to the house.

I didn’t think anything of it because I was a few feet away from the side of the house and it had never melted the siding before. But I had never left the grill on high for so long before. When I went back outside I noticed the siding bowing out from the house.

Needless to say I was ticked – at myself.

Lucky me I can’t just buy one or two sheets of siding to fix the ones that are messed up. I have to buy a whole box. I’m putting that off for now. I’ve got some other priorities around the house to spend money on before that.

Don’t burn the grill too close to the house!

Filed Under: Misc, Stories

Holler Ain’t Necessarily Redneck

July 28, 2008 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

If you’ve lived in the south for more than 2 minutes you’ve heard somebody say the word ‘holler’.

“Holler at-im tu git ovur hier” (modern translation – Holler at him to get over here).
“Holler at dem yungins” (Holler at those young ones – aka children)
“Quit hollerin at me”…..

See -you’ve heard it.

I personally don’t use that word unless I’m being silly and intentionally speaking more southern than I normally do (I’m 100% southern but non-southerners can at least understand my normal speech).

So I was writing an email to one of my cousins who lives in Florida. He’s on the Asbell side of the family, of which mostly resides around the Cairo and Thomasville areas of south Georgia, therefore he understands redneck. So at the end of my email I started to type ‘Holler back soon’ to throw a bit of southern lingo in to the message. I fully expected to see the red underline under ‘holler’ as though there was a spelling error. Didn’t happen. I was curious and decided to check to see if holler is considered a proper word, and it is. That sparked an interest in me to check other ‘southern’ or ‘redneck’ terms.

Southerners ain’t so stupid after all (it says ain’t isn’t a standard word, but they still defined it). You folks from over yonder just ain’t as cultured as you thought you were. If you’d listen more closely you wouldn’t get hollered at.

Filed Under: Family, Misc