'HAPPY whatever doesn't offend you'!!! Version IV

Welcome to the 4th annual... Because I like MOST of you, I'm here to give you some knowledge about finance, computers, cars and a few things in between so YOU can have a net worth of $1 MILLION DOLLARS like me! HA!!!!!! KIDDING OR AM I!?!??!!? You decide............. SO YOU KNOW, being this is the 4th edition, I add links as I think about them throughout the year and they are in RED!

The majority of stuff I am about to give you is FREE and info that I think will help you out! WOO HOO!!!

FINANCE:

• www.mint.com/ It's a great way to MANAGE your finances. It downloads all of your bank and loan accounts. 

• www.everydollar.com Dave Ramsey's team has one as well, BUT you have to pay to have your bank download your transactions. Until it's FREE, I will not use that feature BUT I used it to set up a budget. FYI- BUDGET is NOT a foul word and setting up one is NOT rocket science.

• www.feex.com/ So with ANY investment you have, 401K and stuff like that, there is a FEE the company running it charges you. This site runs the #'s for you and tells you what the total fee will be when you retire! Sure it asks you for the log in to your investment BUT IT IS TOTALLY LEGIT!!!! KRIPES if Clark Howard mentioned it then I am soooooooooo cool with it!

• www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free  I can't speak for you BUT, I hate paying taxes! If I have to do it, why not for FREE!!! That's right kids, you can file your taxes for FREE instead of paying for Turbo Tax or something.

• www.creditkarma.com/ https://secure.creditsesame.com/signup1 These give your credit score ###### NOW IT'S NOT YOUR TRUE FICO SCORE BUT IT'S CLOSE AND GIVES YOU A 'BALL PARK' FIGURE!##### 

• www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action Why go do this?????? BECAUSE!!!  

• www.chrishogan360.com/ This guy and his site RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULE because he has a "R-I.Q" that tells you if what your saving for retirement is enough or if you are screwed and gonna TRY to live off of social INsecurity...

• www.clarkhoward.com/ and www.daveramsey.com/home/ -THESE two are my 'GO TO GUYS' when I have ANY financial question, WORDS can't describe what I have learned from them!!!!!! They rock like KISS at the Thomas and Mack Center at Las Vegas in 88!!!! I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THERE AND 'Rock 'N' Rolled All Night and Partied Every Day'!!!!!!
• www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/nFbL/- THIS is one of the only ways you can protect yourself if your ID is stolen. It's not 'STEEL CLAD' but it's worth doing because if someone that has stolen your I.D tries to apply for more credit then they will get rejected because your 'credit' has been frozen and only YOU have the codes to thaw it....So in conclusion, DON'T believe all the crap companies like LifeLock and others try to sell ya (they work like this, they monitor your credit AFTER it's been stolen! This is the ONLY way to protect yourself!!!! BE PROACTIVE!!! If you MUST (rolling my eyes) sign up for some I.D protection then why not do it for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee www.allclearid.com/enroll
  If your state is on this list then I STRONGLY SUGGEST you do this for your kids! www.clarkhoward.com/maryland-wants-tackle-child-identity-theft-problem
  If not then ask your state representative WHY you can't protect your child's ID. www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/sample-letter-request-credit-freeze-legislation-mi/ngXG7/  
    
• https://investor.vanguard.com/ -OH AND THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT so settle down! More than likely WE, anyone under 50, will NOT have social security or it will look completely different when it's our time to retire. IT'S SIMPLE MATH!!! This is a good way to prevent being on the 'Alpo retirement plan' (That is when you can't afford 'people food' and you have to eat dog food to survive. They make it as easy as a prom date to set up an I.R.A and their customer services reps are knowledgeable and NOT a freakin' call center in India! They can also help you set up a 529 plan. Watch out because I am about to get on my soap box!!!!! Being an expert on MY opinion, I think it's YOUR duty as a parent to save for your child's education. You need to start right when you find out you're 'knocked up'!!! Don't be that mom/dad that has to expose your child to student loans because YOU weren't prepared and you have to look your child in the eye and say 'I'm sorry' when they are 23 and have over $30+ in student loans they have to pay back. Speaking of kids, If you have a 'special needs' one then you can do this!! It's basically a 529 plan but instead of using for higher education, you can use the money for future needs.... http://blog.aarp.org/2014/12/22/new-529-plan-created-for-people-with-disabilities/
  
  
•  www.missingmoney.com/Main/StateSites.cfm, http://unclaimed.org/ Almost ALL 50 states participate in this... Any $ that is owned to YOU has to be given back to YOU! Use these site to find any $ that MIGHT be owed to you and the state HAS to give it to you. 

COMPUTER:

• http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage -This is a FREE anti-virus program for your home computer. It's all you need TRUST ME ON THIS! I have been using it for YEARS and I have had no problems ever!!!

• www.newegg.com/ - NOT FREE but D@MN good to have so you are NOT 'up a creek' if your computer dies..... You'll be glad you backed up your pictures from your 'experience' at Mardi Gras 99!!!! 

• www.openoffice.org/ -So you're all set to pay a lot of $ for Microsoft Office? WELL!!!! This looks a little different BUT is basically the same thing and it's A LOT cheaper then Microsoft Office!!! IT'S FREE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, and Google Docs is cool too! Happy now Karen? 
• www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html -This FREE program scans your computer and fixes 'issues' that are making your computer run slow.....

NOT A HIPPY but energy stuff is ALWAYS on my mind:

• http://www.arcadiapower.com/how_it_works -Not 100% sure how it all works BUT I think it's worth it for you to at least check it out.
  

AUTO:

• www.recalls.gov/ Don't be that guy/gal that has possible 'issues' with your car because you weren't aware of a recall that was issued by your auto maker months ago! Register your email and they will send you a notice if there is a recall on your car!

• www.scangauge.com/products/scangaugee/ Sure it costs money BUT it's worth it!!!! You will recoup it by driving smarter...... I have had it for almost ten years and it ROCKS!!!! It plugs into your OBDII connection (the computer on your car). KRIPES! It's all they do when you take your car to a mechanic.... They plug in to it to see what's wrong with it.  

MISC (STICKING IT TO 'DA MAN'!!):

• www.antennaweb.org/ It's ALL good if you think of me as a NERD, I'm cool with it, but I know about TV and radio stuff (HELLO! I'm a 'TV and radio production' degree holder from ASU, YEAP I went to college, SHOCKER HUH? ALL stations in the USA are mandated by the FCC to broadcast in HDTV! I know the reason they did this but I will spare you that info, all you need to know is that you can get a 'CRAZY' amount of channels (network TV, NOT ESPN and stuff) just with an antenna! ********** AGAIN! NETWORK TV NOT CABLE STATIONS************* BUT don't fret because you can ask Shonteea, coworker of mine, about some reality show and she will give you detailed events of each episode (THANK GOD FOR MY iTouch! But seriously, Almost all of the network (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) plus all the cable channels, ESPN, CNN, BRAVO, ALL have the shows on their web sites so you can download and watch them and this will help you put it on your TV instead of the screen on your computer.

• https://twitter.com/, www.facebook.com/login.php?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhome.php%3Fsk%3Dapp_2915120374, https://plus.google.com/ TWITTER and 'DA BOOK' aka Facebook and Google+  are SO a 'double edged sword' BUT they can be GREAT because of all the info you get from them! PEOPLE! I get all the information I can handle about football and other stuff by 'following' people from current and past players of the Buffalo Bills and news outlets from around the country. KRIPES! I knew Ryan Fitzpatrick (one of MANY Ex-Bills QB) was going to throw an interception because he tweeted that he had a hang nail early in the day. HANG NAIL= INT!!!!! PLUS Famous people will reply to you if you ask them a question! KRIPES! I almost FAINTED when Thurman Thomas 'retweeted' me!!!! MY life was complete at that moment!

• www.republicwireless.com- One of those contracts that most companies make you sign are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO '20th century'. Republic is a contract FREE phone service that RULES. It runs off of WIFI but if there isn't WIFI then it runs off the Sprint network. I, ANDY McBRIDE, HAVE NEVER HAD 'ISSUES' WITH NOT GETTING OR SENDING A CALL!! I pay $10 bucks a month for it and I am not sure what thier business model is BUT I do love saving money and their customer service is 2nd to NONE!!!! I am one happy camper!!!!!! 

• www.startsdownload.com/picasa/ - This is for all of you that are over the age of 60!!!!! This is a free photo editor. So the next time you take pictures of your grandkids and they are sideways or scanning something and NOT cropping it. I think YOU should edit it through this site BEFORE you post and, cause me and others, a kinked neck trying to view it.

There are other sites but I can't think of them right now but I hoped these helped ya out a little. MERRY CHRISTMAS KIDS and I hope Santa gave you everything you asked for this year.

P.S. I wrote this to all of my coworkers AFTER 'THE MAN' laid off most of the people in our department AKA 'BLACK WEDNESDAY', oh this was 1 1/2 years ago and they have slowly but surely 'dwindled' the work force even more. AHHHHH The JOY of working for corporate America: "OKIE DOKIE! The past week has REALLY put things in 'perspective' so I decided to write, as my co worker Shonteea would say, the little 'ANDY BEEEEEEEEEOTCHIN' investment guide'. I want to get this out because I want y'all to know this if they decide that we are not needed anymore. This will be short and sweet but I think you'll get the gist of it so you are NOT on the 'Alpo retirement plan' (You are soooooooooo broke when you retire that you have to eat dog food because you can't afford 'people food'). FIRST OFF, I think it's pretty cool that you ask me for financial advice, contrary to popular belief, I like helping people BUT I DO have my limits! Just ask my cube mate!!!! ALRIGHT, enough of the warm and fuzzy cr@p, let's get down to business. 

- ALWAYS remember that the turtle beats the rabbit EVERY TIME. Apply this phrase to your investing. You are NOT looking to make the 'quick buck' in the next week, month or year because there is a really good chance you will loose it just as quick.

- K.I.S (keep it simple and yes DULL! Boring mutual funds= less risk. Single stocks= A LOT of
  RISK. Look at mutual funds that have been around for at least 10 or more years and average a
  good track record.

- DO NOT use the news as your financial adviser, the news is all about DOOM and GLOOM!
  KRIPES, their motto is 'IF IT BLEEDS, IT LEADS'!  

- Look at what your 401k is in once in a while, I'll be the first to tell ya that I am bad at this. I just
  looked at mine today and when I was helping some other people out a few months ago, for the
  first time in years. BAD ME!!!

     1. You can adjust your funds that you are in manually or you can keep them in one of the
         'target market' funds (just figure out when you want to retire, the year, and put your money in
         that. It's like 'auto pilot' for your money. It's personal choice....).
     2. Well Fargo matches up to 6%, so set your contribution to at least that and ALWAYS add to
          it no matter what. 'Catholic Kate' AKA my mom (NO I don't call her that to her face) instilled
          in me to ALWAYS contribute to it. She also did a fabulous job with the whole 'Catholic guilt'
          thing!!!
     3. There are some GREAT references that they offer us that explain the 401k plan A LOT better
         than I do. Just log in to your account and on the top of the page there is a tab called
        'Planning and Education' then click 'Education Resources Center' and read to your little
        heart's content . Also just search '401k' on the internet.  

 I could go on and on about this but I won't because I you to roll you eyes at me and say "OK!
 I get it old man!' "

I HAVE THE POWER!!!!!!!

 Pretty sure it's all a P.R move so people stop thinking about this, but the folks at my power company, DUKE ENERGY, asked me if I wanted a FREE 'energy audit'. FYI- They had me at FREE!!! Plus, it was a great excuse for me to take off of work one Friday afternoon.

 So a guy comes to your house and basically checks it out for you. Crawl space, attic, and your actual living area AKA the inside of your freakin' house. After he checks it out, he sets up his computer on your kitchen table and asks a bunch of question regarding your energy consumption. Which I don't use too much anyway.... HELLO!!!! Single guys like me don't need too much power. Sorry about that little outburst, ANYWAYS, he suggests stuff that he observed that might help reduce my energy and he gave me some ideas that I can make future projects!!!! One of those projects was adding this stuff to the attic... So my cousin Chris came down and we spent about 2 hours up there until this happened...

  Don't worry, everyone is fine, It was just kinda scary to see my cousin hanging on a rafter for dear life so he didn't fall all the way down.... Needless to say we stopped doing that little project for the time being.... We installed a garbage disposal instead!!!! WOO HOO! Oh and we pruned a few trees for a future blog post I am currently working on.

 The other 'recommendation' took a whole 10 minutes to do.... You see, you need to seal everything because air will escape it. He suggested that I seal this up.....

 It's the air intake for my heat and AC unit that I haven't used in YEARS because the A/C part of it leaked all the Freon in it and I am TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cheap to get a newer one. HA!!!!! Where was I? OH YEAH, SO I DID!

 The guy also gave me a box FREE energy efficient stuff!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! OH and for all you Republicans, AH HELL, anyone out there (FYI, I'm a not a huge fan of the CR@P he pulls either BUT facts are facts), those 'Obama phones' that were FREE, well, that's just a myth KIDS!!!!

 As you can see from this graph, I hardly use any power to begin with

BUT that is not enough for me! I WILL have a metal roof and then SOLAR panels (hopefully the ones they make in Buffalo, NY) installed so the big bad power company has to PAY ME!!!!

 WARNING! I'm about to give you MY OPINION and I'm an expert in it!!!!! HA!!!! The majority of people will NOT go 'green' until it's cheaper for them and they can see the affect. It's like that with ANYTHING in our lives. Whether it's our health, financial OR ANYTHING, if we DON'T see a result, sooner than later, we STOP doing it and revert back. An example of this is, back in the early 80s, my step grandpa Russ made a decision to install a solar heating system on his roof. So you know, It was NOT as 'advanced' looking like the one I made a link to. It was the early 80's!!! HELLO!!!! It was just a bunch of PVC pipes painted black... Not too fancy BUT he did it because he saw that he could save money and yes, it was very cheap because he built and installed it himself.... I'm not sure if he saved A LOT of money doing this but I do know that my cousin told me about the day Russ got the power bill. He was all excited but when he saw the amount he was 'saving', he said "That's it?". I think he was wasting more power just pumping the water up to his gizmo. So I don't think he used it too much after that.

 OKIE DOKIE!!!! It's safe now because I am off my soapbox!

 All this rambling about using new energy sources and stuff pays, you ready for this? $34 a month for electricity! HA!! 99% of you will be like "AHHHHH HELL WTF! I pay that much just to power my house for a freakin day!" Anyway, have a great month and I leave you with your moment of zen!!! ENJOY a guy in a t-rex suit doing American Ninja obstacles!!!!

 Oh and I will say it AGAIN!!!! KIDS, make sure you have your F.U1./Emergency fund ready because a storm is coming AND is getting STRONGER by ther day! ..... Some CLOWNS, actually it's just one, we work with will TRY to spin it and say that "As long as we are the best at what we do then we will be fine". AHHHHHHH NO BUDDY!!! That's NOT how it works tool! We are #'s and cost $ and if that is too much then we will be cut loose.... I've been there 13 years and have seen my share of this!!! Heck I have been laid off myself twice..... WOO HOO!!! Corporate America RULLLLES!!!!!!!

1. A lady that I sit next to told me that her dad told her "have your F.U fund ALWAYS ready and have atleast 6 months of expenses". So I thought that was a great name for an 'emergency' fund and that is what I named mine.

They call me the WORKING MAN and I guess that's what I am!!!!!!

 AND THIS MONTH, I exercise my right to use my blog whichever I want!!! You see, there is one rule to 'blogging'. 1. It's MY BLOG and I can do what I want to it. So I created a little 'montage' of me WORKING on casa de McBride the last ten years...

 Oh and don't worry Alex and Geddy (They wrote this), no one reads or sees this blog anyways. So no need to call the lawyers to sue my @$$ for copyright infringement.

 I actually did a couple of things to casa de McBride this month... I got a REALLY CHEAP screen door for the back. I painted it up and sanded it for days to get the perfect slam of it when it closes. I felt like Steely Dan (if you are old enough to remember them, you will know what I am talking about), so what do you think?

 After all of that, I filled in all the holes I accidentally I drilled in it, put another coat of paint on it and put back in the screen. Not bad for a $20 dollar door...

 I also 'dethatched' and over seeded my yard... If you have kids, then there is NO NEED TO DO THIS STUFF. Because it's time consuming and I can promise you will BE 'that guy' when they and their friends play on it....
 

 HEALTH ALERT!!!! So I am doing some PT (physical therapy) so I can cope and adapt with some 'issues' I have with some balance stuff. It helps but I found that I already do 90% of the exercises already when I work out in the morning. The other 10% was taught to me by a SUPER HOT therapist! GOOD LORD!!!!!!! Ask my friends and family and they will tell you that I can't stop talking about how hot she is!!!! So here is my dilemma, do I keep going mainly to see the HOT therapist or just incorporate the stuff I have learned in my workout routine and be done with PT???


 OH and one last thing, I hope you don't mind me using you as my 'emotional tampons' but I have to vent about something. FYI ALL politicians, Republican AND Democratic, running for president, WE DO NOT live in a democracy!!! FOR THE LOVE OF BABY JESUS! We live in a 'republic'!!!! OKIE DOKIE!!!! Thanks for that!!! I feel better.
 

10 years of having my own roof over my head!!!!!

 I bought it in July of 2005 but my newly retired parents and I did some TLC (new paint and carpet) while it was empty. I actually moved into it on Labor Day weekend, Sept 2005. Oh and blogged about it too!! I'm too lazy to recap how I got it BUT that is why I blogged then so I can just give you a link to it and you can read all about it!!! That right there is called a 'WIN/WIN' situation! I don't have to repeat myself and YOU can just take your mouse and click on the link and YAHTZEE! 1. http://raspix.blogspot.com/2005/08/woo-hoo-i-finally-bought-house-i-set.html
2. http://raspix.blogspot.com/2005/08/i-placed-bid-on-it-next-day.html
3. http://raspix.blogspot.com/2005/08/alrighty-july-15th-came-and-i-closed.html
4. http://raspix.blogspot.com/2005/08/in-last-two-weeks-we-have-painted.html

What will he next ten years bring you ask? I can say without doubt that it WILL be paid off and I am sooooooooooooooooooooo going to have a MORTGAGE PARTY (don't know what one of those are? WELL look no further. Other stuff will happen I am sure of that, do I know what, KRIPES, I don't know... What? You thing I am a psychic?!? BUT I do know I will be doing THIS when it's paid off..

 10 years have come and gone BUT there is ALWAYS stuff to do around casa de McBride BUT this is one thing I didn't do!!! It just started growing up it. I took a picture and sent it to Thompson, the guy that knows EVERYTHING, and he said it is a 'Virginia creeper' "It will have dark purple berries that birds love." He also had a theory on how it got there,  "some bird landed on your mailbox and $hit a seed out and VOILA!!!!" HA!!!!!

 Oh and here is an update for ya about some brain 'stuff'. I went back up to Duke Medical to have an MRI done so they can compare it with the one I had done in 2010. Luckily there wasn't a "OH CRAP! we need to get him back here ASAP!" moment so I don't have to go back until April. I also start some physical therapy this week. 

 No moment of zen or anything just the best put down EVER!!!!! ADMIT it, you sooooooooooooooooooo want to say this to someone...

 Speaking of God having mercy on your soul. If you or your wife's email comes up on this then you my friend are, what I like to say, SCREEEEEEEEWED!!! Better get a good divorce attorney....

And so the saga continues!!!!

 I've been dreading this since I scheduled the appointment in JANUARY!!! YEAH, the waiting list to Duke Medical Center (they are the cream of the crop in medical) is that long!!! ANYWAYS!!! The 'uncertainty' is what has been driving me nuts!!!  Mrs. Boike and I went up there today, 8-5-15, to get another opinion about this stupid brain stuff going on in my head!!!!! So here is the running diary:

 Wednesday- WOO HOO!!! I just added this app to my phone and I am writing this from the waiting room BEEEEEEOTCHES!!! ANYWAYS, I am in the waiting room, hence the name, for my appointment... Mrs. BOIKE drove us up here in her sweet @$$ Prius!!!! Man and I thought the MPGS I got were good but DAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!! The trip up consisted of me nervously rambling about NOTHING!!!  POOR MRS. BOIKE HAD TO LISTEN TO THAT FOR 2 1/2 HOURS! ANYWAYS!!! I was examined by TWO DR.s AND let me tell ya, they DID NOT leave any stone unturned. We sat there for about an hour just asking and answering questions. Next was the physical examination... They watched EVERYTHING I did whether walking or just the way I talked and sat. They drew stuff on a piece of paper and asked that I draw the same thing they drew. AGAIN, VERY DETAILED! After all that, the older Dr. gave me his opinion, he said that I DO have spinal cerebellum ataxia but it's mild and with some 'adjustments' in my life, I can control it getting worse. THE MAIN THING he suggested was that I stop drinking. SURE THIS SUCKS FOR ME BUT you have to do what is best and I plan on doing it. BASICALLY, I DON'T have a choice. SO REPEAT AFTER ME, "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" "ANDY CANNOT HAVE A BEER WITH ME!!!" COOL???? This is NOT a cure, matter of fact, there is NO cure BUT it will help slow the symptoms!!! He also suggested I go to physical therapy to just 'know my limitations' so I don't really hurt myself trying to do stuff...

 I go back next for an MRI and that will help give them more info that in turn, will HELP ME!!!! As long as they don't say 'HOLY SNIKES, His MRI looks bad, call him STAT and get his @$$ up here." I  will go back in April and I plan to ALWAYS see him because he was that good.


 Oh and I sent this to my mom like 15 minutes ago before I posted it for ALL TO READ because she pulled the 'CATHOLIC GUILT' thing on me with precision HA!!! I sent her a text saying that we were on our way home and that I would tell everyone about my visit on my blog. She sent me a text "Travel safe, hate having the world know anything before I do." That right there kids is why I call her 'CATHOLIC KATE' Oh and anyone out there that thinks they can 'guilt' my brother and I into anything, is SADLY MISTAKEN because after 40+ years, WE ARE IMMUNE!!!

I sooooooooooooooo have a car that is 50 years old this month, SORRY, LAST MONTH.

 I tell myself that I will NEVER forget the way I got a 1965 Mustang BUT I have seen how you forget stuff the older you get and I don't want to EVER forget about this. So I wrote it all down so the nurses at the old folks home can put me in front of a computer and I can read it.

 As a kid, I vividly remember riding around in my Grandma McBride's Mustang when we went to Ohio at Easter and in the summer,

HA!!!! Grandma with an indian boy in AZ.. Not the most 'politically correct' picture EVER!

 So in 1989 Grandpa and Grandma came down to Charlotte to watch me while my parents went to Hawaii. One night during a dinner of Stouffer's lasagna, I think she made that EVERY night while they were there HA! Come to think of it, she's 94 and made it for me the last time I saw her... ANYWAYS, they asked me about my first job which was a dish boy in the cafeteria at Mercy Hospital South. I told them that it was sometimes a 'challenge' dealing with some people BUT it was all OKIE DOKIE with me because I was saving up my money to buy a Mustang like the one Grandma had. It wasn't like a 'EUREKA' moment and they waved a magic wand and a Mustang was in the drive way or anything. It was one of many conversations we had at the dinner table and we just moved on to the next topic. About 6 months later, it was a Friday night and I went with my friends to a football game. I had to call my parents and tell them that my friends and I were eating pizza at GODFATHERS on Park Rd. after the game. So back then we didn't have cell phones LIKE THE PUNKS DO TODAY, so I went to a pay phone and BY GOD! I STILL know where it is, with Chris Seitz and Jenny Szany because they had to call their parents too. I called and my dad answered and said that was fine but when I got home we have to talk. I wasn't sure if he was pi$$ed or not. For a second there I thought they found my porn stash or some empty beer cans that I MIGHT have had accidentally didn't dispose of properly and I was in really big trouble, BUT pops kinda hinted that it was a good thing and that my grandparents are some really good people for what they have done.
 My cousin Chris told me a few years ago that he was out looking for a truck and he saw a Mustang and said to himself, "hey this is grandma's old car". He called grandpa and told what he saw, so he and grandpa went out to look at it and grandpa did a little negotiating and bought it with all intentions of giving it to me...
 Grandpa had it looked over by a mechanic and a week later, he drove it down for me..... HA!!! 7 1/2 hours in a car with no A/C and over 100k miles is NOT something the faint hearted would do BUT he was a man on a mission!!!! ALSO, recently when I was up seeing her, Grandma told me, after I said that her Mustang was turning the big 50, that it was the first car she bought with all her own money! A fact that she is very proud of EVEN to this day. She wanted a sporty car and Ford just introduced the Mustang at the World Fair in New York City in April 1964. THAT was the car she wanted BUT the demand for them was so much, HELLO, they made over 1 million of them in two years, that she had to wait a full year to get one. When she fianally got one, her and Grandpa took it everywhere, from the southwest, Florida and South Dakota just to name a few of the places......

 Who knows how to read this? THIS GUY and now you do too!! 

Warranty Number: 5F07C778577
Year:	5	1965
Plant:	F	Dearborn, MI
Body Series:	07	2 Door Hardtop
Engine:	C	289 2v V8
Unit:	778577	778577

Miscellaneous Vehicle Data
Body:	65A	2 Door Hardtop, Standard Interior
Color:	J	Rangoon Red
Trim:	26	Black Crinkle Vinyl, Standard Interior
Date:	06U	July 06, 1965
D.S.O:	32	Cleveland
Axle:	6	2.80:1, Conventional
Trans:	6	C4 Automatic

More Info coming soon...

BODY	COLOR	TRIM	DATE	DSO	AXLE	TRANS
WARRANTY NUMBER
THIS VEHICLE IS MANUFACTURED UNDER UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN PATENTS AND PATENT APPLICATIONS A PRODUCT OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY

So without of all of my BLABBERING, here it is in all it's glory.

 HA!!!! I use to drag race back in the day and someone gave me a 'trophy' for winning a race. It hangs in my garage and TOM SHORT RD. is actually very close to where my parents live now...

 I even use to show it off at car shows and I won awards for it..

 AND here it is today, sad I know....

 It hasn't run since 2000 when I was in WI. and I drove it to the apartment I rented when a former girlfriend and I broke up. When you're a teenager, you do, pardon my FRENCH, stupid S#it, to a car and I was no exception... When I lived up there, I worked at a machine shop and we had EVERYTHING to work on it and get rid of the CR@P I did to it when I was a stupid teenager. In between all of that, I decided to move back to NC. So we just put it back together enough for me to put on a trailer so I could haul it back home and it just sits there. The plan is that when I pay off the house in 2019, I will put that money into a fund that will only go to getting the Mustang back on it's feet again. 

  When ever my nephews come over they want to sit in it and have me take a picture. 

 No moment of ZEN this month just some advice to the few that work with me and read this.... KIDS, make sure you have your F.U1./Emergency fund ready because a storm is coming..... Some CLOWNS, actually it's just one, we work with will TRY to spin it and say that "As long as we are the best at what we do then we will be fine". AHHHHHHH NO BUDDY!!! That's NOT how it works tool! We are #'s and cost $ and if that is too much then we will be cut loose.... I've been there 13 years and have seen my share of this!!! Heck I have been laid off myself twice..... WOO HOO!!! Corporate America RULLLLES!!!!!!!

1. A lady that I sit next to told me that her dad always told her "have your F.U fund ALWAYS ready and have atleast 6 months of expenses". So I thought that was a great name for an 'emergency' fund and that is what I named mine.

SLIDE-PA-LOOZA 2015!

 So on my annual tour, my cousin Chris and I spent some quality time going through and transferring all the photo slides my Grandma McBride gave him. HA! We used the same projector that Grandpa got for Christmas in the ealy 60s...

 So with my iTouch, beer, a slide projector, an actual screen, pizza and MORE beer, we converted all of them and I posted them here!

****** Disclaimer******
Most of these pictures are not labeled so don't think we were too lazy to label them. In most cases, the only thing we knew was from the box they were in.

I'm knee deep in my annual tour, come by if you want while I am gone. I have my cool new neighbors and their grand daughter, GRACEEEEEEEE on one side looking over casa de McBride and a dog that will bark at anything he sees (including me) on the other And a SWEET camera... OH and again, make sure you use the front door.

 With all the traveling I have done in the last month and sitting in my room with this damn itchy poison oak and being stung be some little bastards AKA yellow jackets, I haven't done anything to casa de McBride. So I decided to give out some 411 (that's 'street' for information) about my current being!!!! HA!!

• I had a blast up in MN. with Dan and his family!!!! He took me all around like Duluth and Two Harbors. GOOD LORD!!! It was June and I STILL was freezing!!!! I can only image how cold it is up there in January!!
• Dan and Melissa have this one friend Carrie who is HOT and has like 15 husbands!!!! GOOD LORD!!!! And she's not Mormon either, BESIDES, who am I to judge????
• I think this MIGHT BE the biggest urinal I have EVER seen!!!

• The Minnesota Twins have a pretty sweet stadium.

• I have the SON of GOD as my co pilot now, thanks to John (One of the funniest guys I know).

• I'm going next month to the Duke Medical center (They are the CREAM of the crop in medicine) to get another opinion about this dang brain stuff going on.... You ask if I am nervous, and I say "DOES A BEAR $HIT IN THE WOODS?"
• My friend's kids are SMART AND TALENTED!!! They have more smarts in their pinky than I do in my whole body!!! DUDES, Kallen, the youngest knows CHINESE!! GOOD LORD!!!! I know a few words in Spanish!!!!! (Rolling my eyes in disappointment)...
• I'm not gonna lie to ya, I LOATH what I do, and there is one person to blame for that, THE GUY IN THE MIRROR (ME).  As Forrest would say.
• Drove my Civic with 110k on her and it didn't give me ANY trouble, I'm still of the effing mindset that 100k is the limit for a car. This WAS true in the 70s, 80's and 90's BUT a car these days with that mileage is still just a teenager!!! 
• It has been so hot down here that I HAD to install an A/C window unit so I could sleep...... Now this is HUGE for me because I have NOT had central A/C for years because my unit (HA HE SAID 'UNIT') broke down years ago and I am too cheap to get a new one so I bought two CHEAP window units at Walmart.
• I'm not sure if it's just me in my 40's (Hello, mid life crisis) but I get depressed and angry A LOT! 
• I have a new phone servicer (SAME #) but a carrier that is freakin' $10 a month!!! I LOVE saving $$$$! I heard Clark Howard talk about this services for years and I FINALLY made the switch and thank GOD I did because their customer service is 'OFF DA CHAIN' (That's 'street' for REALLY GOOD!!!!!
• Thanks to TUCCI, I have a new drink for my Sunday evening cocktail so I can TRY to sleep on Sunday nights. 
• A young guy and his wife did something to help their future and it makes me really proud that they thought about their future and NOT the present..... He says it's because I gave him this last year..
  
  
    I DID but he and his wife did the work!!! I just 'suggested' he try it....... OH and so you know, I give this book to people getting married, a young couple, a single parent or just someone I feel needs it... SOME just leave it in their desk never to be seen again (SHONTEEA) but others do eventually read it and a eureka moment happens and they change for the better!
• I hope my friend and his family start a NEW 'positive' chapter of their lives in St. Petersburg Florida.

And now your moment of ZEN!!! This a house for sale up here in MN. and I have some thoughts BUT I will wait for you to actually see the video the guy made to sell this 'house'..

• This guy has WAY too much $!!!!! WHAT THE CRAP? If you were to buy it then YOU would have to GUT the place unless you are as 'alternative' as he is....
• Did you see him in the video? He looks kinda slimy with a 'used car salesman' look to him.
• DUDE!!! You live in Minnesota!!!! NOT some exotic part of the world!!! 
• He has a FOG MACHINE!!! Hello RAVE/ORGY!!!!!!

And here is a great spoof on it!!!!!!And it's pretty funny!!!!!

Steps to 'DA ODE TO B@@B' Version 2.0!!!

 So as the FEW people that actually read this know, I added some steps from my patio to 'DA ODE' a few months ago, WITH HUGE FANFARE!!! I'm so kidding about the last part of thatsentence!!!!! Where was I? OH YEAH! I received some 'pavers' from Mrs. Boike (MR. had them bordering his garden.... With inspiration from EVERY art teacher I had in my years of fine education (Not really, I HATED art class and usually was a disruptive little punk) I came up with a design with the pavers and all the bricks I had, ANOTHER thing or THINGS that were given to me by the Boikes.

  Did you see the stuff I used to glue the bricks together? It's epoxy from Hysol (they are no longer called that, where Big RON, POPS, worked for years!!!! I have a ton of it.

 I can hear him saying "Andrew, that stuff was NOT designed to hold bricks together." Just so POPS and everyone else knows, I am FULLY AWARE of this but I am not looking to hold stuff together because firetrucks and stuff are going to drive over it. I am just looking to keep stuff together just so it won't move around when someone steps on it.. OH and I know that the yard looks like $hit... It's a work in progress so stay tuned!!!

  A very happy thing happened to me as well, I had a visit from an old friend!!!!! Thompson came down and saw me for a night!!! There are only 2 people that I have EVER known that, I'm pretty sure, knew/know EVERYTHING. Those two people are Mr. Williamson (RIP) and MIKE THOMPSON!!! After the divorce of my best friend and his EX, I figured that I would NEVER see this guy again because that is the way life works. People come and go in your life. Not gonna lie, I almost cried with joy when he sent me an email asking if he could come and stay a night while heading to his grandparent's in FL. ANYWAYS!!! We hung out on DA ODE TO BOOB and drank PBR and talked about all the times we had on July 4th and other great times we had!!!!

  Friends have ALWAYS meant alot to me, Not just Thompson but EVERYONE that I have crossed paths with, some (NOT friends) need to know they are #1 with me and I am sorta glad I will NEVER see them again...

 Others have shaped me into the person I am today. Like this guy!!!!

 Gary S. is one of those people and to show him that I remember A LOT of stuff he did for me while a little kid. I was daydreaming one day and I vividly remember he had the LEGGY "MMMMM ALL THOSE CURVES AND NO STOP SIGNS" Ms. Direct Connection 1984 poster in the garage..... So I went on eBay and found one of those posters and NOW I have her in my garage too!!!! Just a little memory of him and to say that I think about him and all the stuff he did for me even though I was little BRAT!!!

I'll be starting the 'TOUR' earlier this year with a trip to MN. AKA the GREAT WHITE NORTH! Yeah I know that's Canada but MN. is close enough!!!

I'm going to MN. to see an old friend from A-TOWN that I have not seen in 25+ years! Should be fun!!!! So feel free to come by while I am gone AND USE THE FRONT DOOR....

Sorry to get all mushy and wax ecstatic on ya BUT it is my blog so I guess that allows me to write about ANYTHING I want!!!!

And now for your monthly 'ANSWERING CRAP' where I answer a spammer's, usually stupid question: "Hi there, I do think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. Whenever I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in Internet Explorer, it's got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, wonderful site!"
Well spammer! Try this or this and use it for ALL browsing! It's ALOT safer than Microsoft Explorer. As if YOU care but for all of you that read this, USE THEM!!!!!!!

Now for your moment of ZEN and rememeber that you and I are ONLY little ticks turds compared to MOTHER NATURE!!!

 


  

Just your ordinary average guy...

 Thanks for that Mr. Walsh.... Well I am average with a few things that sort of set me apart. Oh and there is one BIG glaring thing in this song that is SOOOOOOOOOOOO not me, I DO NOT have a Chrysler product!! They have and will always be $HIT!!!!! HA!!!!!!
 Being that I have been a homeowner for almost TEN years, I closed on it July 2005, and a young 25 year old asked for some of my knowledge on buying a house, I decided to give all 5 of you that read this, some advice on buying a house.

• First off, DO NOT listen to all of your friends that are telling you that you are dumb for not buying a house because rates are so low. They say "You are just throwing money away by renting, buy a house because at least the money is going towards paying it off and house values NEVER go down." UMMMM let me stop those clowns right there, they don't ALWAYS go up in value. Be like the turtle in the 'Tortoise and the Hare' and just take your time looking and these are the things you have to think about before making one of the biggest financial decisions in your life. 

1. I know you have a plan for your life. Get a good job you love to go to and do, marry, have 2.5 kids, love and do EVERYTHING your in laws say, you will ALWAYS stay in one area of the country, THE LIST goes on. BUT as a 42 year old, I can tell you that 'life' throws you curve balls and sinkers all the time. Stuff like job loses, divorces (I KNOW, NOT very 'positive' of me BUT I have a few good friends deal with it) and moves happen. So "THINK" before you take the plunge......  
2. ASK yourself the question " Do we plan to stay here for at least 5 years or we want to go to another part of the country?" If you do then just RENT for now. It's OKIE DOKIE! Side note, "the kid", I CAN'T believe I just called her that!!! MY GOD, I'm old!!! Anyways, she wants to move and live in California, so buying here and then having the stress of being a long distance landlord by default is NOT GOOD!!!!! FYI- RENTERS SUCK!!!!! I have examples of this and I will gladly share them with you over a frosty beverage. DEFAULT LONG DISTANT LANDLORD: where you have no choice but to rent the house out just to make the mortgage payments and you live in a different part of the country and can't 'check up' on the renters so you PRAY they are not changing the oil in the Harley on your living room floor.....

• Shop around for a mortgage, at least 5 places will do. DO NOT try to get a mortgage from one of the big monster mega banks. They cannot compete with a credit union or a regional banks rates. SAD BUT TRUE!
• Know your limitations- The person that sells you a mortgage will SAY 'Mr/Mrs. SOandSO, you qualify for 2 times the mortgage." Don't take the bait because you will end up 'house poor'. That is where all of your pay check goes to your mortgage payment and you have nothing left for anything else.  GOOD LORD!!!! I had to stop typing because I am watching Bailey for the weekend and she just let loose a doozy of a fart!!! I have to leave the room and try to escape the smell of DEATH!!!! BE RIGHT BACK!
• OKIE DOKIE! I think it's safe to go back in the room and type some more. WHERE WAS I? Get a conventional 15 year FIXED mortgage! DON'T consider those crazy @$$ adjustable rate or interest only ones!!! They can totally screw you up!! The mortgage broker will TRY to sell one of this to you because it GETS you qualified for the mortgage and they get the commission (HELLO CAPITALISM) BUT just remember to K.I.S (Keep It Simple) with a 15 year mortgage. If you can't afford the payments then OH WELL!! You are NOT ready to buy a house. Oh and DON'T tell yourself you will pay a 30 year like it's a 15 year because you are sooooooooooooooooooo kidding yourself....
• Have at least 20% for your down payment... Because if you don't then you will have to pay PMI, you will see how much money you are spending for it every month and KICK YOURSELF for NOT saving the 20% for a down payment. 
• Learn to just walk away from a house... I can guarantee that there will ALWAYS be a 'MYSTERY bidder' who has a higher bid than yours. It's what realtors do!!! So just be that person that says, "That's OK" and walk away.... 8 out of 10 times they will accept your offer because there WASN'T a higher bid and YOU called their bluff.  Kenny Rodgers would be so proud of you!

•  Do NOT buy one of those stupid home warranties!!!!! I thought I had to when I bought my house. It's like driving down the road throwing $100 bills out the window! Those companies try to do EVERYTHING NOT to have to pay for stuff in your house.
•  Know that BUYING is TOTALLY different then renting. EXAMPLE- when you own a house, you CANNOT just call your landlord because the sink is backed up. YOU have to fix it!!!! In my job, I have come to the conclusion that there are RENTERS AND OWNERS!!!! Some people accept that stuff that happens has to be fixed by them. Others just can only handle giving a check to a landlord each month because the LANDLORD has to fix stuff that breaks NOT THEM. 
•   One last thing, GET YOUR 'FINANCIAL BUTT' in order before making such a huge financial decision. If you have debt such as student loans, car or credit card debt, get those paid off and out of the way before even THINKING about buying a house.  Don't be that guy/gal that has a house payment AND other payments to make!!!! They will stress you out! The poor B@ST@RD "MAN! I have this mortgage payment to make and this STUPID student loan to pay too!!! I sure hope I have enough left over to pay for my electricity."

Some of these tips MIGHT sound 'financially conservative'.... FYI- I'm guilty as charged and SO cool with it!!!! I much rather be safe than sorry!!!!

  Now back to your regularly scheduled program. Nothing exemplifies that I am just an ordinary average guy more than the fact I was on this site the other night and it had a link to this showing you how to get your yard to look like the out field of a MLB stadium. Oh and here is one for the fine folks like me that have a ride on mower. Pretty exciting stuff huh?
  AND as promised, the newest wall in the front yard that will reduce my time mowing to 1.5 PBRS! THANK GOD Bjorn, my mower, has a cup holder!!!!

And now for your monthly 'ANSWERING CRAP' where I answer a spammer's, usually stupid question: "An outstanding share! I've just forwarded this onto a coworker who was conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact bought me lunch because I found it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this.... Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this issue here on your internet site." I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad your co worker bought your lunch!!! All because you forwarded my blog to him!!!!!! Where did you go, Sizzlers? There porter steak is to die for!!!!!

 

That's all I have for ya this month so LET'S Be careful out there! 

 

I love dogs BUT......

 
 My sweet elderly neighbors to the left of me have this little dachshund and I REALLY think he hates me.... He goes nuts when he is outside and sees me..... We are talking 'foaming at the mouth' nuts!!!!! HA!!!! Poor Mary, the neighbor, ALWAYS apologizes about him constantly barking at me. He has even nipped at me when I tried to pet him one time. That's when I decided that we were NOT going to ever like each other and I was cool with it. Mary and I were out talking and she told me a good story about the SATAN DOG! One night he went after a possum. Now I have SEEN those little bastards TEAR UP another animal. So Rocky is barking his head off at this possum and all of the sudden she doesn't hear any more barking. She assumed that the possum killed him. She told her husband Bob to start pulling the floor up in the shed and 'get the body' before it started to stink. He starts taking it up expecting the worst, when Rocky jumps up UNSCATHED. I guess they were having a STARE DOWN with each other. Not gonna lie to ya, I kinda wished the possum unleashed hell on him!!!!!! I would have been cool with it. Am I going to hell for saying that???
 One more story if you got time, I can't go into FULL detail because I am not done, BUT they have a fenced in back yard and it's right next to my property. A lot of trees, bushes and vines have grown over it so I started clearing it. There was this one stubborn bush that was not cooperating with me and my sawz all. So I had to get on all fours to get it at a better angle. I ALWAYS wear ear plugs when I am using the saw and they kind of put me 'in a zone' where I just concentrate on the matter at hand. So picture me on all fours focusing on getting the right angle to cut on the bush. Okie dokie ya got it? GOOD! So out of the corner of my eye, I see something running at me. I'm like "OH HELL WHAT THE CRAP!!!"and I lose my balance and I am just laying on the ground trying to desperately get up and run for something, HELL, ANYTHING to give me some sense of shelter. It gets closer to me and it's a small brown thing and is barking like NUTS at me.... "DAMN IT!!!! It's Rocky!" That little dog scared the bejesus out of me!!!!

 HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE or as I like to call it HAPPY 'girls have to start shaving their legs again' SEASON!!!! So here's something I can talk about because it's finished.... I got some more cheap @$$ bricks from Home Depot and built ANOTHER wall!! If you are keeping score at home, this is the THIRD one I have built. By my estimation, this will reduce my mowing to 1.5 PBRS!!!!!! Oh the sacrifices we have to make sometimes!!! HA!!! SON OF A!!!! I didn't like the way it turned out so I have to redo part of it!!!! SORRY! I will post it next month.


OH and HELL has officially frozen over because I, Andy McBride, eats a leafy vegetable with EVERY meal now. I put kale or spinach in a blender and then sprinkle it on everything I eat. I even made a little garden to start growing it myself.... NOW I am a very novice gardener and I WILL fail a few times BUT it's all trial and error. So by the end of the summer, I will have some kale, spinach and lettuce!!!! Oh I haven't started growing broccoli yet, BABY STEPS RIGHT????

 And now for your monthly 'ANSWERING CRAP' where I answer a spammer's, usually stupid question: "Hi there to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting more from this web site, and your views are pleasant in support of new visitors. my homepage: unique wedding favors for guests." The WHOLE thing is great if you really cared, spammer!!!!! I have the power company coming out to prune some trees for FREE!!!!!! Oh and you really need to work on your homepage!! It looks like an 8 year old designed it and they only used technology from 1999!!!!!! (I would give a link to it but it's full of potential viruses, FYI- my anti virus program was working OT to get rid of them all.)

 YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN!!!! Oh can you pass the bag or Doritos too? THANKS!

Oh and mark my words, POT will be legal in ALL 50 states in the next 5 years!!!!!!!!!!!