Money Well Spent

As a general rule, I do not like to spend money.  I do not have any particularly expensive hobbies, am pretty anti-materialistic in terms of clothing, cars, furnishings and other trappings.  That being said, there are some things that I have purchased over the years that I am 100% glad that I did.  One thing I did notice is that these mostly involved "experiences" rather than "things."  It certainly makes me consider carefully where I want to spend my money in the future, where I get personal value, and what types of things I later consider "wasteful."

In no particular order, here are the best expenditures that I have spent or spend money on.

• PRK Eye Surgery - I have worn glasses and contacts since the 5th grade, and my eyes worsened all the way through College.  My vision was poor enough to require glasses/contacts immediately upon waking, and then throughout the day.  The loss of a contact was a major emergency, and I was always getting them knocked out while boxing.  Earlier this year I had corrective eye surgery.  My vision is now 20-15, I don't have to deal with contacts, eye solution, glasses or annual exams.  Great use of money.
• Trip to Thailand & Cambodia - I met my brother and his girlfriend in Bangkok, Thailand last November.  It was the first time traveling internationally with my brother, and it was money well-spent.  We went snorkeling in Koh Chang, saw Angkor Wat, kicked around in Phom Phenh, visited Lumpini Stadium, the mecca of Muay Thai, and generally had an amazing time.  This trip would have been worth it if it had cost twice as much.
• Annual AAA Membership - Less exciting, but my AAA membership is the best deal for anything that I have ever come across.  At just over $100 a year, I get roadside service, free towing, and I get to skip the DMV.  If I use the service just once a year, it pays for itself.
• Gym Dues at Wild Card Boxing Gym - While I pay a decent amount of money each month to train at this world famous gym, I have an excellent coach, train alongside famous professionals and top-level amateur fighters, and get excellent sparring.  It is actually rare that I spar with someone more than once or twice, just because there are so many people coming through the gym that you are constantly getting new and different competition.

There are certainly more, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately.

What do you spend your money on?  What do you feel is money well-spent, and what do you consider wasted purchases?

Just This Once...

One of my biggest pet peeves is bloggers who blog about...their blog.  So in order to piss off myself and others, that is exactly what I am going to do.

Basically, I made some changes to the format and design, mostly on the advice of my friend Riley, over at WayFaring Stranger.  She is a blogger I actually know in real life, and she puts together very detailed and helpful site reviews.  Since I really, honestly and truly suck at the internet, her advice was very useful to me.

I changed the header picture, removed some of the tabs at the top that I didn't feel added any value, changed up the "about me" section, and got rid of a bunch of the random shit that was on the side-bar. Soooo...thoughts?  Any advice, opinions, or suggestions would be appreciated.

Feel free to send any hate-filled and profanity-laced comments on content as well.  At the end of the day, I write this blog for me, but if there are certain subjects that people are interested in, I would like to know about it. 

Apologies for this break from actual posting, and we will get back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly.

Profile of Pat Tillman - "Where Men Win Glory"

When I first started "This Rugged Life," I promised "interviews, analysis, and reviews of people, events and ideas that push the limits of our mind and body."  That has sometimes (almost always) taken a backseat to my narcissistic urge to write about my own thoughts, ideas and adventures.  That is something of a shame, as there are a huge number of people who are living the kind of life that I merely aspire to.

One such individual was Pat Tillman, the man who gave up a lucrative and comfortable life as a professional football player to enlist in the Army after the 9-11 attacks on New York City.  While this kind of courage and patriotism would be impressive enough by itself, I am even more fascinated by the way Tillman lived his life up until that pivotal decision.  Fiercely loyal, passionate, and a man strong in both mind and body, there is much to be admired in Pat Tillman.

There is something of the modern "Renaissance Man" in Tillman.  He was a voracious reader, but suspicious of any spoon-fed information.  His refusal to accept other people's opinions as his own led him to sharply question the invasion of Iraq months and years before it became popular and socially acceptable to do so.  Tragically, Tillman was gunned down by his fellow soldiers in a case of fratricide during a firefight in Afghanistan. The politics and secrecy that follow his accidental death will infuriate the reader.

Tillman is captured faithfully by his biographer, Jon Krakauer, the author who wrote "Into the Wild," and "Into Thin Air."  "Where Men Win Glory - The Pat Tillman Odyssey," is an excellent mix of a wildly interesting subject matched with an extremely talented author.  If you have not read this book, you should. 

Almost Wordless Wednesdays (4)

My friend Salman in the Eastern Sierras.  Poor guy is having a hard time deciding whether to concentrate on his book or the incredible view of Laconte Canyon stretching out in front of him.

A Case of the Mondays?

I may be the only person I know who likes Mondays.  They are kind of like mini versions of New Years Day, a fresh start to work on your resolutions and goals for the week, month and year. And they come more often, so if you screw up, as I inevitably do, another Monday is coming around the corner shortly. 

Sunday evening is usually spent planning out the coming week.  I go through my in-boxes, both real and virtual, scan my lists of plans, goals, dreams, etc. and put together as much of a schedule as possible.  I will clean up my desk, get my email folders down to zero, and generally start the week with as much of a clean slate as I can.  This way, Monday is fairly stress-free.  Yes, it is a rude and sudden jolt back to reality from the weekend, but I do what I can to minimize how hard the landing will be.