... a very bad combination.

I finally found some time at 2am to write this post. I've been sooooooooo busy. Wife is pregnant and there were some complications with that. She's been in the hospital since June 27th. She and the baby are alright now. But they are still monitoring her and we don't know when she'll be able to come home.

So I've been home alone. But lately I've been going to work, go to the hospital, spend the night, leave around 6 or 7am to go home and get ready for work. Then do it all again. It's been very tiring and time consuming. But I miss her the most. The quiet evenings at home...the late night movies...the "us" time.

*sigh*

But it will not last forever. I know things will get better and even better than before.

Our son is very active and is always moving. We saw a sonogram and it showed his face. He looks just like my wife! Because of this I suggested that he be named after his grandfather (Joseph). Since Nat looks like her father and the baby looks like her; the baby looks like her father. Do you follow my logic?? Cool.

So right now the 3 name options we have are Joseph, Caiden, and Arthur.

In other news, I am back in touch with my ex-girlfriend. We have an interesting history too long and elaborate to get into here. But it's cool to be speaking again with one of my closest friends. She's married, in GA, and she just found out she's 1 month pregnant. :)

I am planning to take a less active role in freelancing. I realize that it's hard for me to have time or money. And I rarely have them simultaneously. I will have even less of both when our little boy makes his appearance. So with the help of Sonny I am looking into alternative means of acquiring my 40 acres and a mule.


I don't know when I'll be back on here again. So just pray for us.

My wife is due around Nov. 20th. We are having a boy. :) I am slowly getting my mind around the fact that I will be calling my child son. As we get closer and closer to the due date, this whole fatherhood thing gets realer and realer.

I am still working at AIM. I am still helping out my friends in the music biz. I am almost finished with one of my friends website.

Hoefully I can write more later on this week.

I have a dream to help my musically gifted friends get on in the industry. That's particially why I hooked up with Lace Records. However, yesterday was a good day. I'm currently helping one of my hip hop artist friends with his music career. I've already secured a very well known, professional photographer for his photoshoot. This photographer has worked with 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, Sean Paul, Dwele, Avant, Busta Rhymes, Shaq, and Miri Ben-Iri. And we're getting him for almost nothing!!!

I'm very excited to see how all this turns out. I will be using the photos to create my friend's website, cd covers, press kit, etc. I'll post more when it develops.

I was checking my stats and I noticed that I was getting hits for a keyword that I never coded for. The keyword is "bestwaycargo". I went to their website; and to my astonishment I found out that it was using my html and my stylesheet. The only thing that changed where some of the images and a few text links.

Best Way Cargo vs. 3eleven Creative

I mean this is the first time (that I know of) where my work has been copied. There is a sense of pride (like my work must've been pretty good for someone to copy it); but at the same time it's still my work, and therefore should not be copied.

I've already sent them an email. Let's see what develops.

Bear with me. I know I should be updating more but I can never seem to find time.

News:
My wife is 3 months pregnant.

I am now a consultant at Analysts In Media. I just redesigned their three websites: Business Trends Quarterly, Future Pharmaceuticals, and Future Healthcare. A very, very cool client they are.

---

I just realized the other day that when I was in college I used to dream about doing web design for a magazine. I just occured to me that I'm doing it for three!!

I'm trying to get a grasp of the concept of work/life balance. Making sure that I evenly spread my time out between regular work (my 9-5), my work (freelancing, other projects, etc.) and my wife. Right now I work all day then I'm too tired to do anything else. And even If I have energy, I need to give my wife attention. God will give me insight in all of this.

It seems like I have a million socks with no matches. It's starting to get on my nerves. Hopefully, I will find most of them the next time I do laundry. Maybe I should buy these.

Does God what me in the entertainment business?
This is what it seems like. I personally know alot of upcoming rappers, singers, actors, dj's, etc. I know the owner of the studio where Sean Paul records his albums. I have a friend who personally knows Mona Scott to the point of being invited to her house for a barbeque. The list goes on. And all of this without trying. I originally just wanted to make websites.

So recently, I'm helping my friend get his record label off the ground. I am heading up the New Media department. Learn more about that. Exciting stuff.

The last couple of days we've experienced some warm weather. It took me back man. Made me think about past summers in high school and college. The stuff I did and the crew I did it with. I actually felt younger..wierd.

I have to rethink my heart on a number of things. One of them is about using my talents for the right things and motives. Not getting caught up in selfish ambition but putting God first before my businesses. I can get realy involved in myself and the things I want and how I'm going to make them happen. So much so that I neglect the really important stuff.... like people's souls.

A car that runs on soybean bio-diesel fuel and can go from zero to 60 in four seconds and get more than 50 miles to the gallon would be enough to pique any driver's interest. So who do we have to thank for it. Ford? GM? Toyota? No — just Victor, David, Cheeseborough, Bruce, and Kosi, five kids from the auto shop program at West Philadelphia High School.

I love this. 2 birds with one stone. It proves that you can make a sport-economy car. Which points fingers to everyone who makes millions from oil to ask how come you haven't done it yet? These kids did it in a year....what about you? Also, I love, love, love the fact that these kids are BLACK. Be sure to watch the video.

I've started a new job. Making twice as much money as I was making at Ecommerce Partners. ECP doesn't pay their employees enough. I don't know why either, with the amount they charge clients.

In my travels searching for a job, I've developed a pet peeve. The owners of certain small companies like to share about their accomplishments. They like to say: "We are the most successful...." or "We've worked with high profile clients like Dannon, CNN, etc." or "We've been rated the best in our industry." That's all well and good. But when it comes to discussing salary; you hear: "Well we are a small company and can't afford what you're asking". You like sounding like a big company but can't pay a reasonable salary. It's ridiculous the amount of money some companies are offering seasoned, experienced, people.

So, I no longer work at Ecommerce Partners. I had to keep it moving. No worries though. I'm interviewing literally everyday and meeting with prospective clients. I'm learning lots of things. Things that need to be learned.

Check out my latest post about How I got hooked on tea.

I have a bunch of things to share... I will this weekend. :)

Yes, people Arthur is switching gears. I can't speak too much about it now. But I will let you know in about a week or so. It is not necessarily a HUGE change but it does have some lasting effects. Pretty good timing since a new year is coming. Speaking of which I not sure what I am going to do for New Years.... but I will definately let you know.

RewardsCards.com is a credit card Web site that offers tips and information to consumers who want to learn more about rewards credit cards and how to choose the best one.

RewardsCards.com is meant to be a useful resource for consumers who want information quickly on what the best credit cards are and what the latest new rewards programs are.

RewardsCards.com reviews every type of credit card out there, ranging from airline credit cards (frequent flyer cards) and small business credit cards to cash back credit cards, including Discover and many other cards that offer a true one percent cash back instead of "up to" one percent cash back. It features a list of the top three rewards cards, the top 15 gas credit cards, the top three cards with no balance transfer fee and zero percent APR, as well as the top 10 frequent flyer credit cards.

RewardsCards.com offers many great tips, including extra ways to earn points for airline mile programs and ways to make consumers' purchases go farther. There is also debt consolidation information and ways to help people consolidate their credit cards. The site features articles such as, "Sneaky Credit Card Fees."

The site reviews gas rebate cards in depth, which is useful information at a time when 2006 gas rates are predicted to hit record highs again. RewardsCards.com ranks the top gas credit cards as well as lists the ones that did not make the list.

Visitors of the site are free to post or e-mail the Web site and share their rewards experiences with a rewards credit card or rewards program, or even share a personal story about credit card debt.

RewardsCards.com is one of the selected sites currently offering the limited-edition Universal Entertainment King Kong MasterCard.

RewardsCards.com will launch a version 2.0 in January. The site will feature a credit card search engine that will be customized to consumers' needs, a mobile launch to help people quickly find card benefits and promotions for using their cards while on a cell phone and on the go, as well as many other added features that are typically not available in some credit card sites today.

I love the internet. There are endless amounts of useful information that's out there. Which leads me to this great find. The IVR Cheat Sheet™ by Paul English - tips to bypass phone systems to quickly find a human. Very, very handy in my opinion. Well done Mr. English.

I found this cool Biggie & 2Pac Hoodie (color is TurkishCoffee) on Shop33. I like it. Simple but creative.




I am really interested in selling my designs on t-shirts. I've already decided on the name for the store but I might change it. I have design shirts before but more for gifts to my friends. When I got married I gave uniquely designed t-shirts to all the groomsmen. Them saying how much they loved them is giving me that extra push to make my t-shirt shop a reality. Stay tuned...

Thanks to Marino, we got a TV for the living room. I think it's a Panasonic or something; I can't remember at the moment. He knows a guys who always has stuff for cheap. So we got this 27" television for $50. Pretty good deal if you ask me. Even better than most of the stuff on Craigslist I dare to say.

I am blessed to be getting all this stuff for free (or close to it). My wife and I have spent somewhere between $150 and $200 so far on home furnishings. This is helping me to see how ungrateful I've been with the great things in my life. Only because I always want more. I've been focusing on the things and/or situations I find uncomfortable or the things that I want to acheive (even if they are spiritual things).


.....I will change.

...spritually speaking? I am dealing with alot of things about myself. Things I used to strive to do back when I was in college have become harder for me to do. I need to do the things I did at first. Loving people they way Jesus loved people is a very challenging thing. I only pray that I get better at it than the day before.

An a similar note, I am having an informal bible discussion at my place this friday. I've been wanting to do this for a while now. It'll be a group of people having a discussion about a particular topic and how it relates to God and the bible. This week it will be lead by Marino - (this cool dude from Madagascar).

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPU) is a nonprofit organization that makes it easy to search for unclaimed property. This includes wages, refunds on insurance premiums, inheritances, and lots of other property that couldn’t find its way into the hands of its rightful recipient.

New York state is holding billions.

You can check it for yourself:

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/cgi-bin/db2www/ouffrm.d2w/input

You can find the databases for other states here:

http://www.unclaimed.org/mainframe.asp?VisitorType=owner

Xeevo, claims to be the next generation of searh engine. Why? Well from the look of things when you search for things the results are only Amazon.com products. This appears to be great for Gyrofly; who are very much into creating web based software for Amazon.com associates. But how does this search engine help the regular user? Maybe I'm speaking to soon. They did say that this is just the beta version.

What I'm really interested in is Associate-O-Matic; created by the same company. AOM is a PHP-based, simple and powerful Amazon.com Store Builder for affiliates. I am looking forward to trying the free version out.

I really, really want to work for myself. I love daydreaming about the time when I can wake up when I am good and ready, making myslef a cup of tea, reading my bible, have breakfast with my wife, go on my computer and work for about 3-5 hours at home, make some phone calls, hang out with some friends, spend time with my wife and/or kids, watch tv, sleep.

I have a managerial position at a prominent web design firm. However, I REALLY don't like being in that kind of role. Being the one that everyone comes to and/or blame when something goes wrong is not exactly how I want to spend 45 hours each week. Don't get me wrong I like working in this particular field and I am always learning new things. I'd just like to do that on my own terms. I know God is going to keep me there for a while. Because, my efforts to achieve this independence will take a while to show it's fruit.

I just got this email from a friend of mine. Thought provoking really...

A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.
She pulled the eggs out and place d them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it
mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity ... boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.


"Which are you?" she asked her daughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"


Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, job loss, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changed the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Alfredo bka Fredo aka Tranquill called me around 1pm on Saturday. He asked me if I was interested in taking his living room furniture because he was moving and wanted to get rid of it. After a half a secong consultation with my wife, I said yes. I asked him when should I pick it up he says today as soon as possible. I was like "uhhh.. okay...I'll call you back". So Nat and I work out an arrangement with the Super to use his van to transport the couch, loveseat, arm chair, rug, and accent table. I called Fredo back and told him "We'll be there in 2 hours." When we got there Junior showed up to help with the move.

It's crazy the way God gives us the things that we need. My wife and I have been wanting to invite people over for the longest but we would have anywhere for them to sit. Now we do; and we have a couple coming over tonight. Renauld and Tacora; another young married couple.

Now let's get started on the other rooms, Dad.

Since I've been married, I've been living without internet and cable service. Finally, the cable guy is coming to hook everything up this saturday. I was going back and forth about which company to go with. I finally decided on Cablevision/Optimum Online. I initially was thinking about Direct TV. I went online and registered with them. I also paid $35 when I registered. But when I called to see when someone would come to set thing up, there was no record of me every signing up. The cusomter service representative thought that I went to some third-party website to register and suggested the notion that I got scammed by them. But when I looked at my checking account online and read how the charge came up, he verified that it did come from Direct TV. Then he told me to register again. I was like, no that's okay. You only get one chance for first impressions and Direct TV failed horribly.

So now IO Digital....hook me up!

I was working with one of my business partners on Sunday. We haven't really worked together on our project in a while so it was good (and much needed) for me to get back in the loop.

Things are definately moving forward. I am continuously coming up with strategic marketing ideas for my many projects. It's definately a good look.

I was reading an article from unkut.com about Jay-z back in '96 when he really started to blow up. He inspires me.

"I'm not a businessman, I'm a Business.....Man!!"
- Jay-Z