The Goal 2012 - Rebirth of a Ballpoint Pen

In 2005, I learned to eat M&M's slowly. In 2010 I finished an entire tube of chapstick one year. In 2012, I am attempting to accomplish something equally as challenging.

I, Phil Mondy, intend to use an entire ink pen until is completely void of ink and no longer writes. I intend to do this by the end of the calendar year 2012. Furthermore I intend REFILL that ink pen with a new cartridge of ink, giving that shell of a pen a second life!

It was early in 2011 when this idea first came to me. I received a set of pens from an online deal site by the name of woot.com. The box of pens came with all of the necessary components I would need for this accomplishment, refills for every pen in the box.

'Absurd!' I thought to myself, having rarely heard of a person owning a pen long enough to empty it's contents completely. Even in all of such cases I'd heard of, the pens were simply disposed of. On the other hand, what was I to do with refills that came with my pens? Kids are starving in Africa! I decided I would put the refills in the drawer in the laundry room for further consideration.

Time passed, and the thought occurred again. Could it be possible?  Probably not, but I started to believe the impossible could happen.

Now here I am, against all odds. I'm going to do it. I will refill a pen in 2012, and give it the gift of life again. There's no turning back now.

Simplifying The Basement Part 2

"There is some perfectly good junk here." I said. "We can't just throw away perfectly good junk, kids have AIDS in Africa."

So naturally, out of my concern for Africa, we thought of Goodwill. They have a drive through drop off. It's so easy.

It's easier than selling for sure, but still more complicated than throwing it all away. Complicated is bad. Complicated is very bad. Like the devil. No, the Anti-Christ. The Anti-Simple.

Simple is the goal, the greater good, the messiah which will rescue us into 2012.

But I was weak. I should have stared my conscience in the face and thrown it all away; forgetting Africa and Goodwill, but I chose the option which made things more... I can barely even say it I'm so ashamed... complicated.

We made two piles. One of trash, and one of donations. It was a setback, but we did it. Then, we pressed on.

After many, many  mind-numbingly, word-jumblingly, proof-readingly difficult hours in the basement, we simplified the basement. Nine plastic tubs, a shelving unit, two fridges, a treadmill, and two people survived to tell the tale.

It felt good. We were still bested by consumerism at times, but I believe that we won the battle. We faced the fear. We stared consumerism and the face and said, "Simplicity is better than having more stuff, you ridiculous, consumerist dragon!"

One small step for simplicity, one giant leap for quality of life.

Simplifying The Basement Part 1

Nobody likes to think about organizing basements or garages or attics. They are a mind trap waiting to suck the energy out of us. Cleaning the basement is worse than standing in line, worse than getting a speeding ticket, possibly even worse than an office Christmas party. It's like voluntarily being banished to the dungeon. The dungeon is lit by a couple of small windows, and has a supernatural power to inflict guilt until it is clean and organized.

Did I mention the dragon?  The one that slings cardboard boxes filled with useless things constantly? Difficult to believe unless you see it with your own eyes, but that's what we had to face when we descended into our basement last week.

How hard was it, you ask? How hard was it to go into the basement and answer this simple question,  "Do you want to keep this?" I don't want to exaggerate here. It was mind-numbingly difficult, word-jumblingly difficult, proof-readingly difficult. It was hard. 

It was hard to answer a simple question 1,000 times in a row, no matter how simple the question was. It was even harder to answer the follow up questions.

Let's say the answer was yes. "Where should we put it?" Was the follow up question.

Well if we knew where to put it, it wouldn't be in the basement. So we had to ask, "How long has it been since we used it?"

Again, it's probably been a long time cause it's in the basement. So we ask the original question again with emphasis. "Do you really want to keep this?" And the cycle continues.

If the answer was no, we don't want to keep said thing, the follow up question was, "Can we sell it?" This was a huge rabbit trail. Selling things takes effort and it has nothing to do with cleaning, organizing, and simplifying which is what we were trying to do. We gave up finally and made a blanket rule. No selling anything.

That felt good. We made a rash blanket rule to help us with our simplifying. That's what I needed. A big fat dramatic rule to keep us on task.

And that's when my conscience kicked in.

(More tomorrow)

Simplifying My Schedule

City Girl is talking to Country Girl, "When would be a good time for me to stop by to pick that up tomorrow?" Says City Girl, trying to get a feel for the Country Girl's schedule.

"Well anytime that's good for you. We'll be here." Says Country Girl.

City Girl stops for a minute. She feels the urge to tell her exactly what time she'll arrive, but she doesn't have to. She hesitates. She is realizing that she doesn't even have to call her before she comes over. She can just show up whenever she wants. Then she starts to wonder if she'll have time tomorrow to pick it up. Maybe she should pick it up two days later. Finally she says, "Well if I don't get it tomorrow, I'll be there the next day."

Country Girl laughs, but her answer is the same. "Ok, we'll be here."

A few months ago I was driving down the road in a hurry. Without noticing, I began tailgating the truck in front of me. It was an old farmer, casually cruising along. He pulled over to the shoulder and I thought maybe he was going to check under the truck's hood for something wrong, but as soon as I passed he pulled back up on the road.

The farmer didn't have a care in the world. He wasn't even flustered by my apparent rush. In fact, he seemed genuinely concerned about me. Maybe something bad had happened and I was on my way to the hospital or something. His actions seemed to communicate "Oh, you must be in a hurry, I hope everything is ok. Why don't you go in front of me?"

These situations are the result of a simple schedule and a complex schedule colliding. I prefer the simple schedule. It says something about quality of life I think. Maybe having a simple schedule is more valuable than winning an award for my efforts. Maybe it is more important than money.

Simplifying My Closet

I get excited when my closet looks like it has extra room on the hangers. I'm excited because it looks like I'm making progress. I am simplifying my life, and getting rid of waste.

One way I'm doing this is, giving away "backup" of something. Having a backup of something is my excuse to buy things I don't need yet. So nowadays, if I wait until I'm actually giving the old shirt away before buying a new one, that is a success.

Another way I'm simplifying my closet is by making things last longer. I bought insoles for several of my shoes recently. The cheapest insoles work just as good as the expensive ones, so $3 can make a pair of shoes comfortable for 6-12 months.

Another thing we've done is that we don't have a dresser in our room. So, no extra chest of drawers to fill space and collect clothes. What I'm finding is that if run out of space for our clothes, we can just get rid of clothes instead of making more space.

Don't get me wrong, there are exceptions to the rules. I'm attempting to move in the right direction, but I'm not going to the extreme. For example, I believe in dressing nicely at work. My perception at work directly impacts my income. So I replace shoes every 2-3 years and pants and shirts every 3-5 years. I'm not going to try to stretch the life on these clothes.

Also, sometimes a backup still makes sense. I churn through jeans and tennis shoes fast enough to have one backup. But I still feel good because I limit it to one backup.

How cool is it to celebrate having LESS in a culture that always desires more money?

I Like Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet raised his kids as if they weren't wealthy. In the same way most kids don't know what exactly their parents do, his kids didn't either.  It wasn't until their mid twenties that they really even knew the full reality of their father's wealth. He was the richest man in the world.

When they were kids, they thought he was a security guard because he worked in securities. When they turned 19 they were given $90,000 to get started in life, and that is all of the inheritance they would receive.

I just like that. Living below our means creates a lot of freedom. It allows us to focus on important things, and prioritize needs over wants.

What if we did the same thing? What if we set a budget that was well below our income? What if we planned to live that way for our entire lives?

Check this out. Warren Buffet still lives in the same house he raised his kids in which cost him $31,500 in 1957. What if we perminently stopped house shopping? How would that change us?

I believe this way of thinking could nearly eliminate the covetousness. It would put a kibosh on wanting something bigger and better all of the time. It would foster contentment.

Side note: I still haven't bought back into the stock market much. I'm waiting for it to drop to 10,000 on the Dow. Patience is my game still. Warren Buffet says he's back in the market (Berkshire Hathoway is buying), and that he doesn't think recession is coming. Can't argue with him really, it's going to be time to buy back soon.

Advocate For Simplicity

I am attempting to change my personal value system in a way that opposes consumerism (trendy right now, I know). In short, I am beginning to value simplicity for simplicity's sake.

Practically speaking, this means I may do some unusual things. If I have an extra item, I may just give it away. Even if the one I have might wear out in six months. I'd rather just own what I need. If I win the lottery, I might just put the money in a foundation to be given to the poor. Maybe I'll pay off debts first, but maybe not. Maybe I'll just be content with what I have.

Obviously this is easier said than done, but I think this describes the value shift that is occurring inside me right now. There is something really valuable about simplicity. It is difficult to fathom, but perhaps simplicity could be more valuable than money.

I'm not talking about time. The trade off between money and time has always been at the forefront of my consciousness, partially because of some books I read when in high school. Creating wealth gives a person freedom with time. True. The value I'm developing for simplicity draws on this concept, but is a much different value that just time.

I'm not talking about fulfillment at work. People should be able to work in an industry that they are passionate about working in. Again, I see this value as related, but simplicity is a value all by itself and is separate from fulfillment at work.

Richard Foster convinced me. He wrote this book about simplicity 20 years ago that still is very relevant today called Freedom of Simplicity. I don't buy into everything of course, but the main theme is really good. The first half of the book is very academic and boring to me, but the second half made me really think about this stuff.

I'd like to be an advocate for simplicity as well. I'd like to talk about it more because I think it really could make life more fun and fulfilling.

The Secret to Chocolate Chip Cookies

I could write a long post about chocolate chip cookies. They have been my favorite thing to make since I was a kid. Instead, I think I'll just give you the secret to making good ones in case you are having trouble making them.

1. Whip real butter into the sugar first.
2. Tweak the amount of flour at the end depending on altitude (usually add some extra four).
3. Take them out from 350 degrees between 10 and 11 minutes no matter what.

I chose my words carefully in that list. Don't go screwing this up by whipping the eggs in with the butter, cooking them too long, or anything foolish like that. Trust me on this one.

Healthy Breakfast

Check this breakfast shake idea out. We have been making these for breakfast and end up with more energy and feel healthier all day. The idea came from a place we visited in Thailand called Healthy Breakfast.

1 TBSP red beans
1 TBSP steamed carrots
2 TBSP pearl barley (cooked)
1 TBSP frozen spinach
1 whole mushroom
1 scoop of protein powder (we use soy)
1 banana
1 apple (sliced)
1/4 cup frozen fruit (any kind)
2 tsps flax seed (ground)
1 cup water
1 cup ice

Some ingredients vary, depending on what we run out of, but the top 6 items stay the same.

We are busy people, and have high stress at work many days. Anything that can give us a better start to the day is much appreciated as the week goes by. I don't know how long we will keep this as our breakfast routine, but after a couple months we are addicted.

Pipe Carving

My extremely cool brother in law got me a pipe for Christmas.



 Not just any pipe, a pipe that I can carve myself.   

I'm not quite done, but here is what it looks like today.

What You Need To Go Fly Fishing

I just went fly fishing for the first time, and it was spectacular. I even caught two brown trout! My friends showed me what to do, and they let me use their equipment. So I owe much thanks to Jeff and Ben first of all.

Since I didn't know what I needed to go fishing with my friends, I thought I'd write a blog passing that information on. I'm aiming for the least expensive way to try this sport. So, these are the things you need to go fly fishing the first time.


1. Fishing License
Getting a fishing license isn't as hard as it sounds. In Colorado, you can just walk into a grocery store and ask the person at the desk. You can also go to the Colorado Division of Wildlife website. Day license is about $9, full year is about $30. Other places in the world are much the same I'm sure, so make sure you look into the license before you fish.

2. Waders
The cheapest way to get waders is to go to Wal-Mart. We found some hip waders for $36 that did the trick. If you just want to get started and learn how to fish, this is the way to go.

3. Pole & Reel
Borrow it. Seriously. Don't go spend $200 on a fishing pole yet. Just see if you can borrow one from your friends.

4. Flies
Each river, in a given season has a handful of flies basic that are good for catching fish. You just need someone to tell you which flies to buy. I have two suggestions for you. One, go to a fly shop with your fisherman friend. If you can find a shop close to the place you are fishing, even better.Two, email my friends at info@theallenbrothers.com, or visit them online at www.theallenbrothers.com. They have flies that will catch you fish in any river.

5 Other Stuff
Here are just a few things that a lot of fisherman carry, none of which are actually vital. Sunscreen, sunglasses, oil to help dry flies to float, additional tippet, fishing line, net, vest with tools and tackle, cooler with food.

Transparency

Have you ever talked with somebody who has difficulty facing his problems? Not that the person has major problems to deal with, just that he is completely unable to talk about them. That irritates the life out of me. I'd rather being talking with a serial killer who can face his issues than a nun who can't look herself in the mirror.