Hot:

Hey y’all, sorry for being gone so long…I haven’t even finished my last grocery post….from last month….I have just been so busy lately, I got that internship and tonight I have to make a website w/ Kompozer and I’m hoping it’ll be bad ass. My dad also needs me to do some research for him and I’m getting ready to head out to the gym. I just got back from Seattle where I saw some friends and helped my mom move. I also brought back my video project (hundreds of 8mm tapes) and my photography equipment. I’m (at this very moment) calling my mom on Skype because I forgot the box for my old video camera which I saw while I was there and I”m hoping has my warranty information.)

Hmmm, I guess she does not…
like i said i gotta get to the gym before 9 so I should finish this later, I’ll be back this evening if only for a little while, see you soon - d

Ok, I’m back…cooking dinner now…

ok and I played my chess moves…back on the most improved list (beat my friend John Blaze

Blao! I finished my website layout and played all my chess moves…

Hot:

($20….. )

Hot:

Well this is the trip that really pissed me off and is partially responsible for my long delay in posting……salty…a little bit….anyways…

4/19/09

Safeway
1747 Columbia Rd NW
Washington, DC 20009
Store Phone: 202-667-0774
Store Hours: 5 AM - Midnight

I spent $65.86 on the following 18 items:

This Scott 12 pk (toilet paper) was on sale for $7.99.

I bought this Lysol ‘Deep Reach’ Toilet Bowl Cleaner for $2 on sale.

I bought some Safeway Multi Surface Cleaner w/Vinegar for $2.99, mainly because I needed a glass cleaner. Using vinegar to clean glass is an old trick I learned doing housekeeping and production work a long time ago.

This 38 pack of Glad ForceFlex Trash Bags (tall, kitchen size) was on sale for $6.49. I have come to rely upon this (somewhat new) technology. I don’t really consider it a luxury. I live in an apartment building and sometimes walk my trash down the stairwell. I sometimes stuff my trash bags to capacity and if you’ve ever had a trash bag break on you, then you know….you feel really stupid for being cheap. I think of it as a measured precaution and a courtesy to my neighbors. Anyways a 38 pack will last me for months (I still have half of my last 34 pack).

Good freezer bags are another item that is just worth the money. I paid $4.49 for a package of 30 ‘Double Zipper’ Heavy Duty Freezer (gallon size) bags.

When I was a kid I was confused by ‘Crystal Light’, probably because my mother said I wouldn’t like it (she probably figured flavor-aid is cheaper and kids can use sugar haha). “You wouldn’t like it” I can’t believe I fell for that. I loooooooooove Crystal Light now. I like the taste and I love that it is no carbs and its pretty cheap too. One tub makes 2 quarts. I paid $3.99 for the tall tube of tubs which is a decent price.

It looks like I forgot to photograph the milk…wth? Aha, luckily I had this pic on file. I paid $2.99 for a gallon of rBST free milk, which is about right and much less of a headache since I only needed to buy 1 to get the price. The last time (a later trip than this) I bought milk I had to get two gallons and I’m still working on the second one. Sometimes I don’t know if I can take the stress of buying double gallons of milk. Everyday I wake up thinking ….is today the day that my milk turns? It has been holding out like a Hanukkah candle though and I guess if it finally turns tomorrow I won’t complain. That’s what I thought tonight when I had a few deep swigs of (non curdled milk). Hmmm now I’m thinking of having one of the raspberry jiffy muffins i made the other day with some more milk. For me and my milk…these are our last days together…I will miss you milk and probably not finish you….sigh…..I tried my best (we had a good run of it though). I also like to keep milk on hand for baking/cooking but its hard to use up 1/4 cup at a time. My mother likes to freeze gallons of milk when they are cheap. Surprisingly the ones I saw her freeze were swollen (but did not break). I used to own a dedicated freezer in Olympia. I bought it used in Seattle when I had my pickup. I remember how excited I was when I brought it home (it was a full size stand up freezer, old but less than $100, maybe 80?, can’t remember), my girlfriend didn’t get it…..? I really am thinking about getting another (ah I miss having a vehicle), I loooooove freezer space, and I use it well (and strategically).

I bought this Breyers Dulce De Leche Ice Cream for $3 on sale. Mmmmmm

Hot:

For my first grocery trip I went to Giant where I spent a total of $64.46 on 32 items.

Giant #0378
1345 Park Road, N.W.
Tivoli Square
Washington, DC 20010
202-777-1077

Steak-umm burgers were buy one get one free ($7.99). So, about $4 for each 2lb package or roughly $2/lb.

I decided to buy some more flounder. This 2 lb bag of frozen fillets cost $5.99.

Hillshire Farm Kielbasa was also buy one get one ($4.39) about $2.20 each.

After going against my better judgement and buying the Gwaltney ’sausauges’ I had a real craving for genuine ‘beef’ hot dogs. These Ball Park Beef Franks were buy one get one ($4.49) or about $2.25 each.

I bought a package of mushrooms (packages of mushrooms are generally 8 oz.) for $1.99. I try not to spend more than this on (button) mushrooms.

I bought a loaf of Giant Rye Bread for $2.

Selected varieties of Pepperidge Farm Breads were on sale Buy One, Get One. I went with the Oatmeal and paid about $2 a loaf ($3.99 for two loaves).

I bought a package (27.5 oz) of La Banderita Corn Tortillas for $1.50.

I bought a 2lb bag of Giant Brown Rice for $1.99.

Giant Eggs were Buy One, Get One. About a buck per dozen ($1.99 for two).

This Maekrua Oyster Sauce looked tasty and I decided to try it. It cost me $1.99 (300ml).

A little bit of Sesame Oil goes a long way! When I lived at the infamous ‘House of Madness’ in Issaquah, my roomate Jesy taught me how to make delicious fried noodles with some ramen and a few drops of sesame oil. A small bottle (5 oz) of Sun Luck Sesame Oil cost $4.59 (ouch….well it should last me for quite a while despite it’s small seeming size).

Valentina makes a very inexpensive Salsa Picante, which is a nice addition to a wing sauce collection (I looooooove Buffalo wings!). This 370ml bottle was on sale for $1.

This Giant Hot Sauce was also on sale for $1 (355ml).

I decided to try this Japanese Style Soy Sauce (Assi Brand) which was only $2.69 for a 1 liter bottle.

Sometimes I don’t like the taste of off brand soy sauces so I grabbed a small bottle (5 oz) of Kikkoman (Soy Sauce) to keep me covered; $1.29.

Strawberry Syrup (Grace) can be used for many things and is delicious over shaved ice. I paid $3.29 for a 1 liter bottle.

This was my one ‘luxury item’ haha. Ever since I went to Peru I have these occasional cravings for Inca Kola. People generally love it or hate it (it tastes like bubble gum,….and personally I looooooove it). 79 cents for a 20 oz bottle.

Canned Beans are more of an affordable convenience than an actual luxury. These Giant canned beans were on sale for 75 cents ea. This is a pretty good price (and a great time saver). I grabbed two cans of Black and one Red Kidney.

I’d really been wanting some fresh pineapple, for pizza, juice, cocktails and more. This Del Monte Gold Pineapple was on sale for $2.99 which is a pretty good price.

The most noteworthy sale was probably the fresh greens for 50 cents a pound. This is an excellent price and I’d been meaning to eat something healthy. I paid 35 cents for (.71lb) of Collards and 41 cents for (.83lb) of Kale. (Recipes forthcoming )

The cheapest way to buy carrots is usually in the large 5 lb bags. Baby carrots are certainly more convenient but if you own a juicer then this is a great way to go. This 5lb bag of (Guaranteed Value) Carrots cost me just $2.99.

Red Bell Peppers were a good price @ $1.99/lb. The one I picked weighed just over half a pound (.57lb….$1.13) and had beautiful thick walls!

Last but not least, I grabbed a 1 lb bag of (”Susie”) Key Limes for just $1.99. I have been grating at paying 2/$1 limes and to be honest the smaller size of key limes is more convenient (as I usually don’t need a whole lime).

Hot:

Well a while ago I posted about the first 8 cents I earned and how excited I was about it. Well that was from just one ad click. Well, weeks later I finally got my second ad click (after 544 page impressions). I guess the second click was worth a lot more because now my earnings are listed as $1.95! Sweeeeeeet! 2 bucks today tomorrow……….2 billion!!!! hahaha

Hot:

I will be sorry to miss this show. Peanut Butter Wolf is one of the best up and coming producers in hip hop. Just look at everyone he has worked with. In addition, notice that almost all his tracks are dope! You may recognize some of his classic beats (Lootpack) or his work with Doom (Madvillain). Although he does not have the commercial notoriety of a Dr. Dre or RZA he is well known in underground circles and he is as talented as anyone. If you are looking for some truly great Hip Hop, this show is a pretty good bet. Check www.930.com for tix.

Hot:

Who called it? When I first posted about this it was trading at $17.71. That is an increase of $4.56/share!!! That was about ten days ago. That is like a 25% return (in a week and a half). Try beating that with a cd. Here’s the thing; if you want to (actively) make $ investing, then you shouldn’t be a pussy. If you want to play it safe, invest in a 401k or a 403b. You have to make your $ work for you. If you are planning on being lazy about it, you are also better off using the $ to invest in a business venture perhaps (something where your $ would be actively working).

I like to look for stocks with high volatility; 5-10% change every day. These are movers,…playaz stocks. I bought my first stock (and so far only) last year or the year before (right before the market crashed). Well my timing sucked but I decided that my original premise was strong. My method is extremely simple. First look for stocks that have a high volatility (but are presently going UP, don’t waste time with losers). Second, look at the (life of the stock) and the total increase (TRLG: 13315.66% increase since IPO). You want a good stock that is has a steady upward curve (long term) with lots of (short term) volatility,..get it? You want to sell short too! Haha, don’t take this the wrong way but , holding stocks is all about speculation and that’s the passive investors method which is nothing like mine. Sell short, then re-invest get it? Don’t just dump on a stock. If its an earner, you can buy and sell and keep making $ of the same stock over and over and over and over again. You have to WATCH IT though,…understand. If you don’t pay attention….poof! Don’t put all your eggs in one basket either.

I created a mock portfolio where I track over 170 stocks (which were good earners before the crash). This has become an invaluable reference for me as a descriptor of the market at large and a gauge of the performance of individual stocks. Right now,..out of my entire list I have only 8 stocks in the black. Now if you think this would make me a shitty investor (even on a virtual, contemplative level), take a step back and consider this my friend; this was my first time out and I beat the S&P (wasssup biiiaaatch!):

S&P (since I started my porftolio): - 40.96%

DLOVE - 38.09%

I beat their index of 500 (expertly picked stocks…haha) with my little 170+ quick picks and without brokering my soul with companies like Haliburton and Blackwater, RJ Reynold’s and so on. I do realize that my list was not filtered enough and the next time I make one I’ll be much more stringent and completely forsake other funds for actual stocks (maybe ETFs though). Here is the deal in a nutshell. Large funds have way too many people working on them and therefore way too much overhead. If you are that lazy buy a cd..right? Do your own work or don’t expect to make any $

I simply created a list of interesting stocks based on their performance histories and filtered loosely for vice stocks (oil, military, etc.). In addition I tried to pay attention to developing trends (with positive value) like renewable energies and open source movements. Looking for good stocks is like looking for good products, you want VALUE……and QUALITY. Make your own decisions based on what’s available to you. Forget about market trends and save the bandwagon for the birds. That said, watch the market at large, last year’s crash was an important lesson for me.

In my next (Stock Tracker) post I will be talking about my 8 winners and what makes them so special. I think that each one presents a valuable insight and has taught (me) a lot about the market and merit. Stay tuned!!!

Hot:

3000 page views!!!

Hot:

I have an important interview today for an internship with the Multi-Media Training Institute in NE DC. I shaved, game myself a haircut, got all dressed up and wrote a new resume. This is a no pay gig but would be perfect to help me build my skills and do some volunteer work at the same time. I went with designer jeans instead of slacks. Haha, I wanted to stand out a little, we’ll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Hot:

I’ve been making a regular habit of going to the gym and I’m starting to feel the results. I have lost about half of the 40 or so lbs I gained last year and I’m back down to svelte 195 over the last few months. I’ve also been increasing some of my weights and spending more time on the cross ramp. I definitely feel stronger but I really have to get my weight down further for the sake of my ankles both of which have sustained numerous injuries over the years. My doctor told me that there is a danger of developing arthritis early which is what I am fighting against. I suppose I should probably start taking MSM and Glucosomine like my mom’s always telling me to. It is scary for me because the things I love to do the most: skateboarding, footbag, capoeira, breakdancing, …are all directly related. I remember reading about Martha Graham in college and how sad she was in her old age (in almost a tragic way) when she could no longer dance.