Monday's child poem

Monday's child is fair of face

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

(Courtesy Wikipedia)

Do you believe this?

Rent or Buy

As a Globetrotting Executive, upon arrival at your new location, probably one of the first things you will be concerned about, will be where to live. Ever so often in the GT lifestyle, you are faced with the dilemma of whether to rent or buy, depending on which location you are in and how long you expect to be there.

I would advise doing some thorough research on this area on the Internet well ahead of time, so you have some prior knowledge of what to expect.

Some factors that could affect this decision are children and

• how settled are they in school
• does it make financial sense
• is it safe enough for you to be out there on your own or would you prefer to live in community-style accommodation with Globetrotting Executives like yourself?

and the list goes on...

Most companies enlist the services of a local Relocation Expert who is familiar with the region and will provide you with information about the area, schools, where to shop, and good healthy gossip !

If your company does not offer a Relocation Expert, it is always best to work with a registered estate agent/realtor, unless you are very familiar with the city.

So, the big question - Should you rent or should you buy ?

This really depends on how long you expect to be assigned to that location, how much money you have saved and whether you feel it will be 'worth' it.

In some economies, buying a house will always give a good return on investment, especially if you stay long enough to profit from the deal. Study the trends for homes in the neighbourhoods you might be interested in, check out house prices over a period and see if there is depreciation or appreciation, consider the taxes that you will have to pay, discuss your concerns with your relocation agent and then make your informed decision.

A rule of thumb, some say, would be 'if you are staying less than 3 years, rent. 4 or more - buy!'

Another option would be to rent initially, say for a period of 6 months, just for you to understand the intricacies of the home ownership process in that country, then you buy.

So, how do you go about your decision making for your new home, in your new location? What are your major concerns with renting or buying?  

REPOST - It's Cookie season

It's Girls Scout cookie sale time! 

Every cookie has a mission - to help girls do great things! 

Visit http://www.abcsmartcookies.com/cookies.asp to learn about the yummy cookies and contact me to place your orders. They're $4.00 for each box.

Our troop is taking orders now and they will be delivered middle of February! 

Thanks in advance for your orders! 

REPOST - It's all going according to plan!

Here's a repost of an article I wrote a few month's back. I decided to report today because quite frankly, things are going according to plan. My year is off to a great start and I am extremely positive about what lies ahead. So I impolore you, read on....

How are you? 
How do you respond when asked that question?

Some people just give a simple response ‘Fine’ or 'Good' and move swiftly on. Minimalists!

Some people don’t bother to reply. They look astounded and surprised at the question. I often think 
a) they don't feel they are worthy of someone asking after them, 
b) they feel they have too much to say and you’re not really interested in the real answer anyway. 

Some people take you on a long journey, giving you every single detail about every single thing that has happened to them since you last saw them. Not minimalists! 

My standard response is ‘Fantastic!’ That throws people aback, because they start thinking (wishing even) ‘I want some of what she’s having!’ But I kid you not. I do feel fantastic inside! The gift of life is fantastic and one I am always grateful for. (Do you have any idea how many went to bed last night and did not wake up to see the new day? There’s got to be a reason why I made it to the next day.). 

I am one of the ‘half-full glass’ people. I also believe that laughter is extremely essential! I generally look forward to each day. I live the ‘early-to-bed, early-to-rise’ life. I’m always trying to get a laugh out of people I meet (ok, sometimes, that can be really annoying and I apologise!). 

I once worked with someone whose response to the ‘How are you?’ question was always ‘It’s all going according to plan.’ I think that’s an equally fantastic answer. Let’s face it - whatever is happening today in our lives is as a result of decisions, choices and plans made in the past. 

We can start the day deciding it is going to be a great day – or not. We can start the day believing it is going to be full of obstacles, and you know what – we subconsciously seek the obstacle ridden path to justify our thinking. We can start the day as ‘the-timid-self-deprecating-victim’, and then we spend the whole day putting ourselves in those situations, to justify it. 

Simply put, do you want ‘a-bright-sunny-summer’ day or ‘a-cold-bitter-blustery-winter’ day?.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do have my occasional winter days. (Who doesn’t? My husband can probably write a whole volume about ‘my grumpy moments’!). I just choose not to share my grumpy moments with everyone I meet. Because in my simplicity, I believe I owe it to the people I meet in the course of my day, to be pleasant, polite, kind and well-mannered. (I would expect the same from them). 

I also compartmentalise, you see. My grumpiness has nothing to do with them, and I think it is unfair to make them share my grumpiness with me! So, on those days, my answer might not quite be ‘Fantastic’, but I’m pretty sure it will still be something positive. 

Because I’ve chosen to 'follow the sun' and not let ‘grumpiness’ detract me from 'the' plan!

SMART New Year Resolutions

For the past 2 years, I've had a reverse kind of New Year resolution.

I refuse to go to the gym each year, until about the tail end of January. 
Why?
Because I do not want to be tagged a New Year Resolutionist!
(Now this doesn't mean that I do not continue my exercise somehow - walking in my neighbourhood, doing weights or lunges at home etc - but I just don't go into a gym to do it)

Who are New Year Resolutionists? 
You know - those who make all the New Year resolutions (eat right, exercise more, organize more, relax more) on the 1st day of January and by 15th of January, have forgotten all those resolutions! They are the ones who flock to the gym religiously on the 1st (and the 2nd, 4th, 5th, ...10th even...) and by the 20th, the excitement has worn off and the gym is back to normal with the die-hards only.

Not sure why this happens, though. I know I have been guilty of setting really ah-mazing goals on 1st of January and not carrying them through. (Lose 30 pounds (hmmm) by Valentine's day comes to mind).

Were the goals too lofty? Too ambitious? Just not realistic?

The experts always say we need to make our goals S.M.A.R.T. (Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely). 

Specific - The Who, What, Why, When, Where, How questions should be answered in relation to that goal. What do you want to do? How do you plan to do it? Why do you want to do it?

Measurable - How do I measure my progress? Do not rely solely on the scales. How about the way your  clothes fit?

Attainable - Be realistic. For me, 30 pounds by Valentines day (6 weeks) was not realistic and therefore I lost the incentive to persevere.

Relevant - How relevant is this to my daily existence? What do I stand to gain by doing this? Having a relevant goal makes it worthwhile and you are willing to work towards it.

Timely - Set stage goals for yourself. Pace yourself. You cannot reach all your goals in one day. (Keep in mind that the weight wasn't gained in one day either!). What goals can I aspire to today? In a fortnight? In a month?

What are your New Year resolutions? Are they SMART and are you still on track?

It's Cookie Season

It's Girls Scout cookie sale time! 


Every cookie has a mission - to help girls do great things! 

Visit http://www.abcsmartcookies.com/cookies.asp to learn about the yummy cookies and contact me to place your orders. They're $4.00 for each box.

Our troop is taking orders now and they will be delivered middle of February! 

Thanks in advance for your orders! 

Majesty

Here's a good one for today..Majesty by Delirious
Hope you find it as uplifting as I have..

Have a great Sunday!