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About Me

Manager of a (formerly) modest building and development company located in southern NJ. Having many possibly interesting, somewhat irreverent thoughts about the economy, real estate, construction, people in general and other assorted nonsense, I have been trying to blog more often. I am interested in any comments, questions or thoughts on these subjects or others that you might have.

Friday, July 24, 2009

We're all Virgins in a Sense & the Myth of I am Here and You are Out There...

Greetings to all ...here's hoping this post finds everyone healthy and doing (reasonably) well...

It has been too long, and I am determined to make a dedicated effort to blog more often...promise...really...I have even enlisted several friends and team members to remind me that every blog need not be an immortal treatise like the Magna Carta or the Constitution, or heaven forbid, an endless journey like Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry...

Talking too much already and haven't even yet left the shadow of the first paragraph....ahhh well...more room for improvement in Vince's life...

Thanks to all (ok - most) of the Visions at the Shore homeowners for coming out to Happy Hour at the Clubhouse and sharing some great ideas and thoughts with us...activities and clubs, ideas for the clubhouse and Visions improvements, and some great conversation...it was really a nice time and great for everyone to finally meet some of their neighbors...looking forward to the big Summerfest Clambake next Sunday and the Community pool party on the 22nd of August...


Anyway, today's thought for the day is as follows (and I am paraphrasing)...."One of Mankind's single biggest illusions is the conception that I am Here and You are Out There"....so untrue and nevertheless, such a common thought.

In the global community we are all intertwined, and more closely related in more disparate ways, than ever before...we all rejoice, suffer, laugh, cry, exult, despair, worry, work, love, laugh, stress, grieve, try, fail, succeed, and get up once again to try again...when one stop's thinking that you are different in any meaningful way than anyone else taking up space on our happy little planet, one tends to be more patient, have more clarity and compassion, learn more from one's fellow man or woman...and avoid creating all types of nutty illusions of grandeur in one's own mind...lolol

Just forget all that and remember Google's motto..."Be Nice". Works just about everywhere, in most circumstances...;)

Enough introspection and analysis of deeper issues...on to other fun stuff...virginity and stuff like that.

How are we all virgins...? Simple - Computers! Who knows all the tricks there are to know? No one (but I have a really good one here, so stay with me folks...;)) We are all learning, whether we are 15 or 75...and discovering new things everyday...so ponder that thought when you are feeling smugly superior about the latest trick you learned...remember that you don't know what you don't know...!

Why are we reluctant to try new experiences and risk change - or try something for the first time (thus the allusion to virginity...;))? We are afraid that it will cost money, or cause embarassment because we might be wrong, or we are worried that the time needed to learn something new is too great....so we avoid change, and in a very direct sense, restrict any personal growth....

Time to toss that theory in the recycling bin... (or if you are like me and use the Cooperative Recycling Concept, the ordinary old garbage can...lol)....the only thing we are certain of is that there will always be change, and new things to experience...(like McDonald's serving cappuccino - what's that all about, anyway?)...which leads us to one of the points of this post....

Computer tip for the day: Folders, Folders! and FOLDERS in your email!! How important is this for anyone using email for work?? VITALLY IMPORTANT!.

If you are using MS Outlook, click New, then Folders, then create a new folder in your Inbox with a common category you use repeatedly. There are similar abilities in AOL and other email programs, though I am not as familiar with them. I have folders for all developments that Foxmoor is building (Foxmoor Galloway 88 lots), and subfolders in these for more specific categories (Finance, Construction, Engineering, Advertising). I also have a folder for any category of communication I regularly employ (Marian - Email, Web Stuff - Blog, etc).

Why should you use folders? Simple - to save yourself time. When you receive an email, if you don't immediately work on it, file it in it's happy digital home, so you will know where it is living, when you do get to it. When you send an email out to someone, if there is anything important in your response, COPY YOURSELF WITH THE EMAIL, AND SAVE IT IN THE CORRECT FOLDER so you can find it when you need it in the future, and not do the Email Daze thing, where you just zone out...searching...looking...

It is Truth I speak when I say this one simple idea may save you dozens (possibly hundreds) of hours, each year. Really, really (like Shrek says).
You will not be rooting through hundreds of emails looking for what you remember someone sent you, or how you responded.

An extra bonus is that your Inbox becomes a virtual server for all documents, spreadsheets and letters you send out to anyone - and if your computer goes down, all your files are on a remote server, ready for your use

Enough drivel for the moment...status of the real estate market is steadily improving... the Resort Clubhouse at Visions has been open for 3 months and is getting rave reviews...Foxmoor at Galloway just opened our newest development of 29 homes, next to our 88 lot development, which is almost sold out...great prices, great interest rates, and a lot of the short sale and resale inventory which has been on the market for a while has been sold...
It is truly a great time to get into the real estate market - interest rates have been this low 1 time in the last 60 years - since 1947 - and with the tax credit, many buyers are jumping in....:):)

Be well...stay healthy..and remember - do unto others as you would have them do unto you..(the Golden Rule)...:)

More soon....

Stay well.

Vincent

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