Books, Stocks, House Offers, Orthotics and a Reward!

As can probably be inferred by the lack of updates, the last couple weeks have been super busy. I keep on looking forward to a time when I won't constantly on the go...but I don't see any breaks coming up. For this reason, I've decided to take a day during February to sit at home and watch movies. I've been renting movies from Zip Kiosks, and there are a bunch of films out now I'd love to see...and just haven't had the time.

One hobby I constantly find time for is reading. I average a little over a book a week. My recent reads consist of West by West (amazing insight into the warped mind of one of my heroes) and the Strategic Dividend Investor (lots of theory, not a lot of practical examples).

Speaking of stocks, in the last couple weeks, I sold my shares of CAE since they weren't paying a meaningful dividend, and used the proceeds to top up my TFSA for 2012. I also bought some Telus as their dividend and earnings guidance for the next two years made them extremely attractive to me as a dividend growth investor.

After touring 13 houses, my girlfriend and I made an offer this past week on one we really like. It's a bit of a complicated situation, but we'll know by Thursday if the house is ours. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but it would be nice to put two-thirds of this stressful situation behind us. Currently, I'm in the process of cleaning up my condo to get it ready for sale in three weeks time.

I'm happy to report that my orthotics seem to be doing the trick for my various lower body injuries. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to start some speed, agility, and quickness training if the orthotics continue to do the trick.

Decided to end with the high-light of last week. After I picked up my orthotics, I stopped at a Tim Horton's on Baseline on my way home to treat myself to a honey cruller. While on the way in, I noticed a Visa card on the ground, so I brought it in with me to give it to the cashier. The cashier comped my order and called me a good samaritan. Doing the right thing pays off every time :)

The chips are gone!

I managed to get rid of my "stash of chips" (2 cans of Pringles, 1 bag of cheddar Sun Chips, and a bag of Lay's all-dressed) by bringing them to a football watching party. Not sure they got eaten, but at least they're out of my condo, and can't tempt me.

Also this week, I put myself out of my comfort zone, by attending one event where I knew I wouldn't know many people. Ended up being a fun afternoon, so that's great.

As exhausting as it may sound, we toured 7 houses yesterday. It gave the girlfriend and I a much better idea of what we'd like/need in a place of our own.

Lastly, got done reading/listening to Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. Great book by a fantastic author. Highly recommend it.

What I've been up to...

This was a busy week. In terms of self-improvements, I undertook three initiatives:

1. Worked out 3 times

2. Got my feet checked out

3. Stopped eating chips

The working out is my attempt to get back into a healthy routine. Along with the three workouts, I also played nine games of ultimate. I'm starting to feel that holiday weight melt away.

I've had a prescription for orthotics since last July. Despite having a relapse of plantar faciitis, it took my girlfriend pointing out that I should make an appointment NOW to see the specialist. The doctor turned out to be very helpful and I should have my new orthotics in two weeks.

Chips are a favorite comfort food that helps satisfy my salt cravings. Instead of eating chips, I've been snacking on salted shelled peanuts, nuts and bolts, and more fruit. This is also part of my "healthier habits" kick.

Additionally, I read a great book this past week; Ready Player One. It was an action-filled novel that combined my loves of geeky 80's stuff, video games, and fantasy.

Lastly, the girlfriend and I looked at our first house this past week. Although it definitely wasn't "the one", it did help motivate me to get my place ready to sell, and figure out further what I wanted in a house.

Hopefully next week won't be quite as action-packed.

First Post of 2012

As last year's charity-based blog didn't go so well (life got busy), I decided this year's blog will be more general in nature. Having said that, I intend to pick a different charity each month to give to, and will write about it here. The plan is to write about ways I'm improving myself as well. Also, I'll likely review some books, talk about some stocks, and include a few rants about je-ne-sais-quoi.

With less structure, I'm hoping to post more than I did in 2011. Here goes nothing!