Tired

I haven't posted in weeks! I have been very busy at work and tired.

I don't know what my problem is. I feel so tired. I know I have to be up at 3 a.m. but no matter what time I go to sleep, I can't seem get that good rest I need. Hmm, dunno. Well, just wanted to let you know I am still well.

Not Poor By Choice.

Until recently, I believed that poverty was a choice. How can I be so insensitive? Okay, a little history of my childhood. I was born to a mother who is an (legal) immigrant and a United States Citizen father. At the age of 12, my parents divorced. I am the oldest brother of 3 and when dad left, I had to become that "dad" to my siblings.

My mother, like many immigrants, worked in the agriculture field. Yes, she picked, packed and clean our everyday produce. She would get up at 4 a.m. and not be home until 7 p.m. So, I, as the oldest, had to step up to the plate and help my mother. I made sure that my brother and sister did their homework, finished their chores and I had the responsibility to feed them cause mom was at work. Yeah, that is a lot of responsibility for a 12 year old. Not to mention that I also worked picking green beans and in the lettuce fields to help bring in income. Yes, at the age of 12.

Some nights, not many, for dinner we would have bread with mayonnaise and mustard. If we were lucky, we would get some kind of meat with that. Granted, this wasn't an everyday thing, but it happened. I grew up realizing that when food was on the table, it was time to appreciate. I also learned that when there wasn't, hard times were just around the corner for my siblings and I. I think I worried more about them than I did for myself.

While going to High School, I was the one who couldn't go any where with my friends. The one who had to borrow deodorant at gym from my friends, 3 pair of underwear and if I was luck, 3 pair of pants. Yeah, poor! Being poor wasn't by choice. The man who called himself my father could have kept us afloat but made it a point not to pay child support.

Just the other day, I was looking at my moms Social Security Earnings statement. She made $7000 when I was 12 and then hovered around $14,000. Yeah, that much to raise three children, and a house payment. Granted this was back in the 80's through 91, when I graduated high school. With that income, there wasn't much left for extras.

I remember my mother telling me, "You will not work during the school year, school is more important right now." With that sacrifice, I would study as hard as I could to graduate. After graduation, I joined the Army and would send my mom $200 a month to help pay the mortgage on the house. The very same house we worked hard to not lose to foreclosure twice!

Now, I am a successful man with a beautiful family and a great wife. No, really, I married the almost perfect wife. As we all know, we can't be perfect, but she comes close.

So as I became the man that I am now, I would get so upset at people that would complain. "Its the government's fault." "Its the man keeping me down." I would get so upset that I would actually open my mouth. I would tell people about my story. My feelings were that they had the same opportunity as I to get an education and become someone. Yes, I grew in a bad neighborhood. I had a friend shot in the face, drug dealing in my front yard and drive by shooting at friend's homes. Statistically, being Latino, I was supposed to be in jail.

I still feel the same way today, but understand that in some instances, people do have an influence on other people. Friends that I went to school, whose parents had money, are in jail now. What can be the influence on young people? While governments, racism, and social disparities have an influence, I feel that the ultimate decider is the man or woman.

Having gone through what I have gone, I still don't understand why. I guess I am no sociology major. To me, excuses are made to justify laziness. Its off of those excuses that laziness lives off of. Really, it is easier to suck off of Uncle Sam than it is to make $6 and hour. When I started working, I was making $3.15 an hour. We did okay with that.

My motto throughout life is, "Being poor was not my choice, not being poor is."

While there are outside influences in a person's life, there is always room for growth no matter what those influences are. I guess my mother's work ethic was passed on to us. All my siblings are successful professionals and make a middle class income.

This is my







Thanks to Jesse for hooking me up with this picture.

Solio Solar Charger

I received the Solio Charger from Treonuats.com Shop. As you may, or may not, have read, I purchase all of my accessories from www.treonauts.com

Why did I get this? I guess you could say it was more of an experiment than anything else. With what is going on today, I feel that we should support green energy as much as possible. This portable charger was right in every way described above.

It takes about 8-10 hours of sun to fully charge the Solio. It does say that that it can charge my phone 1-2 times However, I found that if my 1800 m/ah battery is less than half full, a fully charged Solio will power it 3/4 of the way. Granted I do have my IM client running all the time.

The Solio comes with different adapters for different phones. You can vitually charge any phone because a 12v adapter is included in the package. For those of you that have a car charging cable, that means you can use the Solio.

I like the Solio. I just wish that it packed a little more power for charging purposes. My Treo is a power hungry device and can eat up a battery's power in just a few hours.

The vehicles I use at work don't have 12v sockets, or power ports, that work. Having the Solio as a back can really make a difference between a dead battery or enough battery to call for help.

Funny enough, I have used the Solio to charge my GPS Unit when on a hike. Obviously we shouldn't depend on gadgets when hiking, but it sure does make life a little easier.

If you are intrested in something like this, I recommend getting from treonauts. I found it to have the cheapest price on the net. Other solar devices can be found by searching the internet for portable solar power.

Through the Eye of my Treo

In picture 1 you have the view of Kitt Peak Observatory. Pic 2 view of Kitt Peak with the zoom 2. Both of these pictures were taken through my binoculars from my Treo 700P, approximately 10 miles 8-10 miles west of the Observatory.

The 3 picture is of a cactus plant. The remaining two pictures are of the Arizona Tree, the Saguaro. Why did I post these? To show you that the Arizona Desert is beaming with life. It may not be as green as wetter parts of the country, but still has life within.

Sunset

I think that the most beautiful sunsets are in Arizona. Of course I am biased, I am a native Arizonan.

As you can see, when the sun hides behind the mountains, a beautiful purple fills the sky and mountains. Also, you can see the bright orange around the purple sky. Have you ever seen such beauty?

Health

How many of you go see a Dr. on a yearly basis? They say that most Americans see their Dentist more than they see their Dr.

Many diseases, if caught early, can be cured. But, by the time we go see a Dr. about a chronic health issue, it is to late. The excuses I hear as to why people don't go: They are going to find something wrong with me. I don't have time. I hate waiting at a Dr's. office all the time.

I have a good relationship with my Dr. I have been seeing him since '03. At first I would see him every 90 days because of health issues. I am hispanic and having High Blood Pressure comes with the Ethnicity. I learned something throughout my years. We need to take care of our bodies now not when we are in our 50-60's.

Obvioulsy we still need to continue with the health care throughout our life, but we need to start it now. As young people, we assume that the health problems will start when we get older. One thing that young people or even all people don't realize, is that we begin to destroy our bodies when we are young.

Everything we do from drinking, smoking, pollution to plastics will affect our health in the future. Environmental health risks will take a toll on society.

Unfortunately, genetics, culture and luck will have an effect on our health. Being Latino I have many factors counting against me. Diabetes, High Blood pressure, High Cholesterol etc. But being proactive and seeing my Dr. more than once a year, I feel that I can get a headstart on keeping my health in good working order.