Mishmash Musings

Have you heard that Stephen Hawking (yeah, the astrophysicist) will be taking a ride aboard a refitted jet on a so-called zero-gravity flight today? I just read this an article over on Yahoo that talks about Hawking’s plans. He’ll take off from the Kennedy Space Center and will experience weightlessness for approximately 25 seconds. If all goes well and he wants to do it again, the pilot and on-board staff will be more than happy to comply. If he wants to stop, they’ll head right back to the space center.

Sounds cool; I hope the AP does a follow-up article after the flight is done!

Yesterday was my first day back at my old company. I’m just in a consulting role now, so the job isn’t too bad. But the company still suffers from the same problems and I ran into quite a few frustrations already — all bureaucratic b.s. that hopefully can be eliminated sometime soon.

Although I was dead tired when I got back home, it was nice to get dressed in business attire, put makeup on, and talk to people my own age about non-parenting issues for a change! I’m anxious to see how this whole thing turns out….

I need to start building up an investment portfolio in order to save for my retirement. I have been talking about this for a long time now, but, being the procrastinator that I am, I still haven’t taken any action yet.

One of the things I’m really interested in investing in is silver. I’ve heard that precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum retain their value quite well over time, thereby making them a relatively safe investment. I’d choose silver over the other two metals because it’s more affordable, so I’d be able to get started for a reasonable amount of money.

I need to get a move on these investments soon! I hope to have some extra money at the end of the summer (once I pay off a couple of big bills), so maybe I’ll be able to buy some silver then.

For most of the year, I’ve been setting aside Tuesday each week as a day for taking care of various projects that I couldn’t get to any other day. Well, now that I’m going to be working outside my home again (even if it is on a limited basis), I don’t think I’ll be able to do my Tuesday projects anymore. I couldn’t get to it this week and I know I won’t be able to do anything extra on the next two Tuesdays either. I’ll have to figure something else out now or I’ll never get any of my big projects done. Sigh.

One of the problems of living in a foreign country where I don’t read or speak the language very much is that it limits my ability to shop for high-end products. Sure, I can muddle my way through the grocery store without too many problems, but that’s certainly not the case when I have to shop for expensive electronics.

For example, I’m currently in the market for a new digital camera. This is not the kind of product that I would buy based on looks or price alone. I need to know about the features and also how a particular camera stacks up to the competition. The only way for me to get this information is to read online digital camera reviews and comparisons before I go to the store.

Luckily, I found a website called TestFreaks.com that really takes the guesswork out of buying things like televisions, MP3 players, camcorders, cell phones, and, yes, digital cameras. That’s because they’ve rounded up the best professional reviews of relevant products and put them all in one place. This makes things a lot easier for consumers who want to comparison shop before making a purchase.

I spent some time reading through the various reviews of Sony digital cameras on the site, and am now convinced that this is the brand for me. I actually had a Sony digital camera a few years ago, then switched over to Nikon, and then to Casio. But from what I’ve read, Sony cameras have come a long way since the early models, so it’s probably time to give them another chance.

At any rate, I’m glad to have found the TestFreaks site. I’ve bookmarked it and will definitely head back to read more reviews whenever I want to buy new electronics products!

I haven’t answered any Manic Monday questions in a while, so I thought today would be a good time to get back into the swing of things in that regard. There are just two questions in today’s meme, so here they are:

1. For someone that you love deeply would you be willing to move to a foreign country knowing that here would be little chance of seeing your friends and family again?
The answer to this, of course, is yes. I have actually done so — to a certain extent. I live in Japan for just over half the year (sometimes longer, depending on my husband’s work assignments), so I definitely know what international living is all about. But I guess it’s not too bad since I can still see my friends and family all the time. Still, I would do this even if I couldn’t see them as often.

2. If you could spend a year in perfect happiness but afterward remember nothing of the experience, would you do it?
Hmm, I’d have to go with a “no” on this one. What’s the point of doing something if you can’t remember the experience afterwards? I’d rather just go on living my regular life and building a store of memories both good and bad than to have blank pages along the way.

We’re getting into graduation season now, and since I have cousins finishing up high school and college, there will be several ceremonies to attend. In addition, I have to start thinking of what kind of gifts to buy. I’m not the kind of person that just puts cash in an enevelope when these special occasions come along. I actually spend a lot of time choosing a present that I think the recipient would like.

All of my cousins are religious, so I’m sure they would appreciate receiving Catholic gifts that celebrate their spirituality. I’m currently looking at some medals and pendants, as well as picture frames and books. I’ll probably end up buying several gifts for each graduate, so I need even more ideas here! Good thing I found the Catholic Company website several months ago because now I know right where to go for these types of products.

I just heard that since I am self-employed, I have to start making quarterly payments to the IRS. I’m supposed to estimate my tax liability and then send off a check every three months. Of course, this being April, I’m already late with my first quarter payments, so that means I’ll probably have to pay a penalty as well.

I actually don’t even know where I’m supposed to send this prepayment, so I have to look that up soon. My goal is to send off a check first thing Monday morning. Let’s see if I can get it done!