Game Afoot

We are talking about a general “property  caretaker.”   The “care-taking profession” includes positions as house-sitters, ranch sitters, bed & breakfast and inn-sitters, property managers, estate managers, and hosts at resorts or campgrounds.  A caretaker is generally distinguished from a “caregiver,” someone with health care skills who is employed to care for another person, often as a live-in aide.

Let’s face it, we live in a wonderful time.  Today we can have lots of stuff and do lots of things.  However, it usually comes with a price and I’m not talking about what it might cost to buy the stuff and do the things.  The price is your precious time!

This day and age more people are using property caretakers to “buy back” their precious time. Now you can spend your valuable time on what you love most, your career, your family and friends, and leisure activities and you are still able to maintain your home(s).  A property  caretaker. works on the most basic of premise: “people want things done and just don’t have the time to do all of them.”

Care-taking is actually a very old profession, rooted in the British tradition of land maintenance. In 1868, The Times defined a caretaker as “a person put in charge of a farm from which the tenant has been evicted.” Today that definition has been expanded to cover a multitude of landowner/caretaker relationships. The number and diversity of these relationships has increased during the past decade.

Caretakers are sometimes utilized by property owners who do not want or are unable to hire a professional management company. In modern times, it is not unlikely for a property owner to hire a caretaker who will not be residing in the property. In fact, many homeowners who rent their properties hire caretakers instead of property managers in order to save money. Caretakers are not licensed by any state or local authority and can often be less expensive than their professional counterparts.

Caretakers are loosely related to the concierge profession.   Have you ever used a concierge?  A concierge (French) is an employee who lives on the premises of apartment buildings and serves as a general property caretaker; while the phenomenon and the term are most common in France, they can be seen elsewhere, The term concierge evolved from the French Comte Des Cierges, “The Keeper of the Candles,” who tended to visiting nobles in castles of the medieval era.

Would you like your castle (home(s)) visited by a service provider but you don’t want to give up your valuable time for  what you love most, your career, your family and friends, and leisure activities?

The Watson (in the spirit of Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes’ right-hand man) Family Concierge is organized to keep your boat afloat (to keep your home(s) in good repair, inside and out).  As service facilitators we have an all-inclusive vendor list.  But our service is not limited to calling a service provider.  Perhaps you’ll agree that most property problems are rarely limited to a single element.  Sometimes a comprehensive view is necessary and coordinating multiple service vendors are necessary.  WE DO THAT!

We’re a property services coordinating business (as distinguished from a property management business). It works this way; you call the Watson Family Concierge when you feel the need. Your experienced WFC agent reviews the problem and determines the extent of the necessary repairs, WFC finds the service supplier, WFC schedules (at your convenience) and monitors the repair process to a successful conclusion and sees that the service provider is properly compensated, protecting your (the owner’s) interest at each juncture.

If you find that you are sacrificing your valuable time on maintaining your home(s) and not on what you love most, your career, your family and friends, and leisure activities then we need to talk. To get more information about which WFC membership level and associated fee best suits your situation, send a blank email to: yesdocmiller@gmail.com with “WFC membership” on the subject line. Email now, while you’ve got a moment! It’s only vital information and that can’t hurt you, can it?

In the important areas of our lives, dissatisfaction is a positive – a way to constantly improve. At the same time, dissatisfaction has its limitations. Applying dissatisfaction to many areas of life just leads to frustration and regret.

In my first job, as a salesman with Procter and Gamble, at the annual sales meeting the Vice President of Sales got up and gave a speech on “divine discontent.” He told us we should never be satisfied with what is, we should always be striving for more, we should be aiming for the stars. We all got up and cheered and applauded. That was years ago, and the message in that speech has always stuck with me. He was right – being content with the status quo as a salesman is a recipe for failure.

We are constantly given the message that to stay in place is to lose ground; that today is all we have; that the future can be better, if we make it so. Those are all terrific messages and beliefs, and shape the behaviors and motivators of achievers.

But taken too far, those messages and beliefs can become a trap that can lead to all kinds of problems. Problems that grow out of the habit of thought called dissatisfaction. And that dissatisfaction – that habit of thought that can be so positively powerful, can lead to failure, dropping out, leaving things unfinished, procrastination, perfectionism and constant frustration.

In the new Woody Allen movie, ” Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” in a very intense scene, Maria Elena, Penelope Cruz’s character, accuses Cristina, Scarlett Johannson’s character, of being addicted to dissatisfaction.

“Addicted to Dissatisfaction.” What a great description! That state of mind where everything can be better – or different. That place where whatever is being done is not good enough. Where there is always something more important, more exciting, more fulfilling, more valuable, more rewarding. It’s being in that emotional place where nothing seems to be right, where everything is just a little bit off, a little bit less than desired.

We’ve all met people who seem to focus only on what didn’t happen, what wasn’t just right, what didn’t meet standards, what was a little off balance. Their dissatisfaction just sucks the life out of whatever it is they have focused on.

And when dissatisfaction extends to the unimportant areas, and it’s easy for that to happen, dissatisfaction becomes a destructive force. And recognizing that it has happened is often difficult. But “Addiction to Dissatisfaction”can negatively affect relationships, performance, health.

How to focus dissatisfaction on the important few, and adopt a more tolerant approach to the unimportant many – to get rid of an “Addiction To Dissatisfaction”?

The first step is recognizing the symptoms. Here are ten key symptoms of “Addiction To Dissatisfaction.”

1 – Being unable to separate the really important from the not really important. Treating everything the same, with the same intensity and focus.

2 – Increasing a performance expectation as soon as soon as the old expectation is met – without regard to its real importance.

3 – Criticizing yourself for not doing more – whatever that means. And then extending that criticism to other people, situations and solutions.

4 – Finding it difficult if not impossible to celebrate victories because they fall short of the ideal.

5 – Considering “good enough” to be unacceptable performance – on anything.

6 – Being convinced that you could have done much better if you had more time, more training, more focus, more resources. Feeling that what you did wasn’t your best work.

7 – Feeling that the people you associate with, work with, live with are not quite up to snuff, Not quite what you imagined, not quite what you expected, not quite what you hoped for.

8 – Striving for the ideal solution, behavior, outcome, and being satisfied with nothing less, without measuring the importance.

9 – Judging accomplishment against the ideal, and finding fault with the difference between the two – without evaluating the importance of the difference – or the accomplishment.

10 – Thinking that there are more important things to be done than what is being done now – without being able to really define what those more important things are.

Once recognized, how can you overcome this Addiction to Dissatisfaction while keeping dissatisfaction as a key to improvement in the important things? It starts with being aware that this habit of thought is imbedded in motivators and behaviors.

Start by reviewing the key symptoms, and determine if they describe you. You can’t fix something that you don’t know exists on a conscious level.

And then:

- Treat only the very few really important things as worthy of constant striving. Constant striving on everything just leads to never doing anything very well.

- Realize and accept that “good enough” ain’t bad – almost all of the time.

- Create SMART goals – for only the few important things and be satisfied with meeting the goals and then celebrate meeting them. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant, Time framed.

- Create goals that align with the goals of others who have influence over what you consider important – like your job.

- Continue to resist the very human impulse to add goals – keep the truly important to 3 to 5 goals – no more.

- Understand and accept that “meeting goals” for SMART goals is excellent performance.

- Beware of goal creep – that self inflicted monster that keeps moving the bar higher and higher – even when it makes little if any sense.

- Accept that there are areas in your life where performance is not what it is in the core areas – that doesn’t mean failure – it means being human.

- Be as focused as that fabled fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. In one scene he tells his assistant, Dr Watson, that he doesn’t care if the moon goes around the sun or the earth goes around the sun. It makes no difference to him – all that knowledge could do to him would be to divert him from his truly important work. That work – in his case – is being the best detective he can be. Focus works to brush aside dissatisfaction with the trivial many.

Then keep striving – on the few things where striving will make a difference. Watch that Addiction To Dissatisfaction disappear, and be replaced by effective, focused accomplishment.

5-reel penny slot machines are ideal for low rollers or slot beginners because they may be played with as little as 1¢ per spin. Real Time Gaming, one of the major software providers for the online gambling industry, has launched over 50 5-reel penny slot machines over the past five years. This article, the second in a series of two, discusses 24 5-reel RTG penny slot machines.

- Jazz Time is a 5-reel RTG penny slot with a jazz theme.

- King Tut’s Treasure is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot about ancient Egypt.

- Lions Lair is a Real Time Gaming penny slot about African animals.

- Mermaid Queen is a 5-reel RTG penny slot with an undersea theme.

- Mister Money is a 5-reel RTG penny slot about wealth and riches.

- Outta this World is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot that has a space theme.

- Paradise Dreams is a 5-reel RTG penny slot with a paradise theme.

- Paris Beauty is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot that has a Parisian theme.

- Penguin Power is a Real Time Gaming penny slot about winter.

- Prince of Sherwood is a 5-reel RTG penny slot about Robin Hood.

- Rain Dance is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot about American Indians.

- Realm of Riches is a 5-reel RTG penny slot about wealth and riches.

- Red Sands is a 5-reel penny slot about Australian animals.

- Ronin is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot that has a Japanese theme.

- Sherlock Holmes is a 5-reel RTG penny slot about the famous detective.

- Sunken Treasure is a Real Time Gaming penny slot that has an undersea theme.

- Tally Ho is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot that has a World War II Air Force theme.

- Tiger Treasures is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot that has an Asian tiger theme.

- Treasure Chamber is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot with a treasure theme.

- Triple Toucon is a Real Time Gaming penny slot that has a jungle theme.

- Victory is a 5-reel Real Time Gaming penny slot with a travel theme.

- Vikings Voyage is a 5-reel RTG penny slot that has a Viking theme.

- Warlock’s Spell is a Real Time Gaming penny slot about magic.

- Wooden Boy is a Real Time Gaming penny slot about Pinocchio.

So there you have it, a collection of 5-reel penny slot machines from Real Time Gaming. Whether you play slots online or at a land-based casino, remember to gamble only with the money you can afford to lose. Decide beforehand how much you wish to spend, and don’t exceed your spending limit should you lose. Finally, have fun and quit while you are ahead.

Russian women are full of romance and love, but that does not mean they will plunge headlong into a long term relationship with anyone. It takes time to crystallize a relationship with them, and it is a bit of a challenge actually. You may take a while in reaching out at her heart, and it is not only an exercise in romance, but you will also have to learn her traditions and even language.

The world over, people have the impression of Russians that they are a casual and friendly lot, but they are also very family-oriented. Men all over the world like Russian brides especially for their attractive charm and charisma. Russian culture is also very popular, which teaches women to believe quite strongly in love. That is the reason why a Russian bride becomes a whole package of everything men look for in a wife.

It can be said that Russian women are full of emotions, something that they learn from their roots. They do search for true love, but at the same time, a Russian bride will keep up with her husband till death do them apart, irrespective of any shortcomings in her husband. But, they will like a bit of romance, and will also appreciate a bit of financial security in their married life.

One trait that foreign men must know and understand in their Russian brides is that they will have a strong sense of self-esteem, and a fierce sense of pride. That makes it necessary for both husband and wife to adjust and compromise a bit after marriage. Men married to Russian women must understand that their brides have come from a distant country, and there are many changes in the cultural and traditional values. She has come into a new family and to a new husband who is more than a normal stranger. That is the reason, men must make a little more place for them than they would for a wife from their own country.

It is very important that men must be honest and truthful with their Russian brides right from the start. Even before the marriage, there must be good communication, in which not only the good things must be discussed, but also the points that could become problematic to the couple later on.

It seems quite easy for most men to acquire a foreign wife, but it is retaining them that is difficult. Difficulties are bound to occur during and after marriage, so a great amount of thought is needed. Men looking for Russian wives must consider whether it is lust that is driving them to marriage, or true love. Barriers such as cultural and language differences must be thought of, as well as the differences in the way of living. Russian women have a different kind of psychology too, and men must try to understand that. And, if there is any occasion that that you have to visit Russia, then you must be ready to accept a bit of cultural shock. This will help you settle better with the Russian woman.

Men who are too busy, but still want a Russian bride for themselves, knowing all the problems that might come in, would do well to visit a matchmaker. These people have special expertise in making foreign marriages happen. They will find the right kind of wife for you, and will also train you on the proper manners for the first meet.

Finally, it is your heart that you must listen to. You might have a great hankering for a Russian bride, but you must appreciate the difficulties too. However, if you are really in love, you must not let these difficulties come in the way of a fruitful married life.

By: Peter Finch

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