The 4th is gone & I'm still looking...

Once more the uninformed, clueless & just plain aggravating have decided to make life difficult. But then I guess that is their function in life, if only they would somehow choose instead to learn & educate themselves about things they're unfamiliar with, but maybe it's too much to ask. Common sense has been uncommon in the world the last few years, why would I think that it would apply now.

I've a welfare worker that wants proof that my daughter is being home schooled. Fine, I've already sent in the papers that show she's enrolled for the school year - not once, but twice. Now she's wanting to know when my daughter will graduate - so they can take her off medicaid. This woman doesn't seem to realize that with a home school correspondence course, you finish when the course work is done. There is no one that will be able to tell her when my daughter will graduate. She's over 50% done with the course work, with a 95% average. But how am I supposed to provide proof that my daughter is enrolled when the new school year hasn't even started yet? This is only the latest bump in the road to get ahead...

Those that have followed, know me or know of me, understand that I'm not one to give up. Weary of the none ending battle, sure. But not the sort that will just toss in the towel, I may get knocked down, but I'm not the type  to stay there. Over the years I've been kicked to the curb, abused, manipulated & conned. Even though I may have sat there collecting myself, not getting back up to try again wasn't an option. Sure, I've been sick and tired of being, sick and tired. But things don't change if you do nothing, so I have to at least try. But getting sick last month didn't help things move forward very far though...

Unfortunately, my score of a big web site design gig fell flat once more. I had been working on a site for a transportation group and put in a lot of work since they stated they needed things running for the business. I figured that if they were making money, then I'd make the money for creating the site they wanted. Well, it sorta didn't happen that way. The site is stuck were it is, I'm not working on it any more. Why? Because for a $1,125.00 site with all the flash, graphics, forms, everything - I've only been paid $350.00. The second site that they asked to be set up, while I was working on the first one, surprised me, most clients wait for one site at a time to be completed. But there had also been a promise of even more sites to be made so I decided to stop work on the one site to quickly set it up as per their requirements the second site. Once again, another transportation site with graphics, flash, forms and more for $450.00. So far, I've only received $50 for this site's work.

Now I can understand how tight money is, after all, I'm living in the same situation as most others that are struggling to pay their bills, feed their families and just keep things going. But one would think that a business would have set aside funds to do these projects. Well, so far there's been no more payments and I'm not working on any paying projects. I'm doing some freelance work, but only to keep my skills up and continue to improve them. But I'm not getting any money, which unfortunately is in short supply, though the need for it is great.

Personally, I wish that I could get the things I need for my family without the transfer of currency. Paper isn't what's valued, it's what it can get for my family that makes it have value. I've been needing a twin size bunk bed for my son's room. We gave away the toddler bed and baby things to a young mother that needed them. He's sharing the bunk in his brother's room now, but he misses his own room.

We still don't have a working oven, this will be the third fall in a row that we don't have Thanksgiving Turkey or my pumpkin pies, if I don't find one soon. I miss being able to bake for the holidays, let alone the rest of the year.

Since my cousin had to come stay with us due to being out of work and having no where to go things are difficult. My grown son's here too due to not being able to afford a place when companies started laying people off. Plus my daughter's eighteen now and still trying to find work, plus she's due to lose her medical benefits soon too. Trouble is, with no transportation no one can really get anywhere.

My cousin has two cars that he's trying to fix, his own and a friend's car. But his car's engine is toast & he can't figure out what's making the fuses ground out on the other car. So he rides a bike to and from the part time job he's been able to get. My older kids still go out to collect scrap metal, cans & dead car batteries so we can get a little money from that. Sometimes we luck out and get a good haul, other times it's best to just horde it till we have a good amount.

I'm not giving up, but there has to be a better way to earn money than struggling and fighting for jobs like wild dogs over scraps. There has to be a way for myself to get some freelance work that pays. I need to get my portfolio set up on my homepage - since moving my site, I need to set up all the things that I had on the old one - but without the widgets that make it so easy to do. Maybe then I might get a nibble, but till then I'm still looking...

What other choice have I, than to keep trying to make things better for my family?

Carpe Diem!

Information on Revenue Sharing

Revenue sharing sites allow you to earn money due to Google advertising that is placed on the site. The site then shares it's revenues with those that post on the site. At some sites, you can also earn additional money by referring friends - If they become members of the site and post good content also.

I've decided to offer a listing of other revenue sharing sites that I've researched. I've picked out those I think are the best, but you can look for more sites if you like. This is just a list to get you started.

Bukisa.com
Bukisa allows you to earn money on the articles you write, but also allows you to earn money on those that you refer to them as well. Bukisa has a two tiered system where you can make money from the articles that the people you refer write. Plus you making money on the articles from all the people that they refer too!

All writers are paid the same amount. All writers on Bukisa are paid according to an index. If the index is 3.95 each writer will get $3.95 for every 1000 views. But you don't need to get that many views on an article to be paid. You can make a little bit from each article you write. You are paid through Paypal when your earnings reach $50.

Currently, as of today, the index is at 4 - but you'll have to check the site. The index changes as the ranking of the site increases.

Bukisa is going to be adding a category for photos soon. This will offer the same opportunity for revenue as articles. It will give two opportunities to earn some money. To get more information and become a member at Bukisa.


Xomba
Xomba is another excellent revenue sharing site with a referral program. You earn ten percent of the revenue from any writer that you refer. You both still get the same amount, which is 50% earned revenue from Google Adsense ads on the site.

You need to have an Adsense account so you can enter your code on the Xomba site. If you don't have one, you can sign up for Adsense right on the Xomba site.

Xomba has only two types of submissions - articles of substance called Xombytes and smaller ones which describe a web page or site, called Xomblurbs. You can earn the same off either one. For those that you refer, you earn an extra ten percent off of whatever they post.

The Home page displays the higher ranking articles, which in turn tends to earn them more money since they are often viewed more. They share 60% of advertising revenue with users. To find out more check out the Xomba website.


Hubpages
Hubpages is one of the top ten Adsense revenue sharing sites. It's currently one of the top 250 most visited sites on the web. The site has a good page rank and an active community of members that rate and comment on each others articles.

In addition to sharing Adsense revenue they share Amazon Associates, Ebay and Kontera income from the articles you write. This multi pronged approach makes the site a real winner with writers seeking to build a stream on income from articles. They share 60% of advertising revenue with users.

Because it is a hub and not a blog, you can write a hub on any topic without worrying if it relates to anything you’ve written previously or anything that you plan to write in the future.  Write just one hub or write hundreds of hubs.  It’s up to you.To find out more go to the sites home page.


The Info Mine
In addition to 80% revenue from your articles you can place your own Amazon Associates links in the text of your article, as long as the article does not read like an advertisement.

If you just want to participate, they share 100% of Amazon Associates revenue sharing you don't even have to have an Adsense account. You can write about almost any subject, such as how - to articles, stories, travel blogs, etc. There's more information on their website to check out.


eHow
For those that love to write how-to articles this is the best choice to make some money. Cook, decorate, fix, plan, garden, budget or update your wardrobe…that’s just the beginning of the kind of advice and inspiration you can find at eHow.

The more articles you write, the more your income will grow. They pay you monthly, directly to your PayPal account after you make $10. Your payments are directly linked to how much traffic your article receives, as well as the quality of the content. To find out more and become a member, visit the eHow website.


Squidoo 
Squidoo is all about lenses. What's a lens? Lenses are pages, kind of like flyers or signposts or overview articles, that gather everything you know about your topic of interest--and snap it all into focus. Like the lens of a camera, it's your perspective on something.

You could make a Me lens about yourself! Or a lens about your blog, website or social network homepage to help get more traffic to it. How about a lens for your eBay store or CafePress shop. Have a Hobby? Make a lens about it! Whatever you are interested in or have a passion for, you can make a Lens for!

Squidoo puts ads on lenses, plus you have the ability to recommend products via affiliate programs with Amazon, eBay, CafePress and others. The revenue that the company receives is split 50/50 - which you can have paid out in cash via PayPal or donate to charity.

Many earn more than $1,000 a year from Squidoo. Some have made $10,000. Others are just as happy with $40 or $4. It's your choice how you get your money for your contributions to the site. To find out more about Squidoo, go to their website.


Helium
Helium is a good place to start writing. They have a good community with articles covering many different topics. Other members also rate your articles and the community is fairly large. You can even publish your article on other sites, like Bukisa.

You get paid and keep the copyright of your article. But there is an option to sell your articles directly to Helium for exclusive rights. They pay $2-$15 depending on topic.

On the Marketplace you can directly sell articles for magazine publishers who can pay from $20-$200 per article.

Helium also has writing contests. There are usually around 10 active contests running for 2 weeks each. The top 3 ranked authors win $50, $30 and $10 respectively. If you want to check out more on Helium, visit the website.

There are many more out sites out there and many different ways to share revenue with a website. Try to join more than one so that you can get multiple income streams to guard against one not earning as much or maybe not being there anymore. Here are a few others to look at:

http://www.oondi.com/
Why should anyone else reap the benefits of your labor? When you submit your work to oondi, you get 100% of the advertisement profits.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/
Join one of the most active news sites on the Internet! Share your thoughts, vote on newsworthy articles, engage in debates and even get paid to report news as a citizen journalist.

http://www.mytripbook.com/
Share your experiences from your own travel diary- reviews, blogs, photos and videos- and map your past and future trips. Members who sign up as a travel guide can share in the advertising revenues generated from their guide page.

http://www.newsvine.com/
The Newsvine community loves investigative reporting, opinion pieces, and just about everything else considered newsworthy and in good taste. Newsvine also sells advertising around all content on the site and returns 90% of the advertising revenue from your content right back to you.

http://www.senserely.com/
As soon as you register, this basically becomes your website, with your AdSense blocks displayed next to your content, and you'll be able to write articles, reviews, and stories about your knowledge and experience on any topic you feel comfortable with, as well as read, ask questions, and exchange information with others.

I hope that this information is of use and I wish everyone luck with any new venture they begin. Keep moving forward...

Carpe Diem!

When in Need, We'll find a Way

Can't believe we did it!
We went out in force this weekend and scrapped for metal everywhere!
Got $30 in tin and cans and got $70+ in steel, iron, dead car batteries and other metal.

We made the water payment! Now we're going to keep going so we can get up a bit more to have a bit extra for the bills next month. (Or any unplanned costs that come up this month)

Thankfully, people are litter bugs and messy! You wouldn't believe all the stuff that's  just dumped all over the place - just wish we could find a bunch of copper. Now that would really bring in some extra cash!

Well, I'm beat, so I'm going to go lay down for a while. But remember that no matter the problems, if you work together and stick with it, somehow an answer will show up. Wish you luck in this hard economy.

Carpe Diem!

Another year coming to an end...

Well, another year is winding down to the homestretch. With the fall season upon us, it tends to remind us of the passing of time - our time.  The changes in life often happen very quickly, we are caught up in the whirlwind of activities. The rushing flow of life pulls us along in tow through the day to day struggles, events and relationships.

But in the fall there is a time, not everyone notices it, but those of us with more snow on top tend to sense it more often. It's a time to reflect, to take stock in life. Your own life mostly, the direction you're going in and how you fit into or don't fit into the life you are living. It can become a rather shocking wake-up call for those that haven't done it before.

But if you've passed through these calm, still moments before, it's much easier to feel more confident and steady in the assessment of your life in the passing year. The good thing about a fall assessment is that you still have time during the early winter, before the New Year, to complete any tasks you'd forgotten.

I've found my days blurring into one another often; keeping up with a 7yr old, dealing with teenager issues and of course there's the bills, the mortgage and the furry members of the family.  Now add to that the rising costs of just about everything, the shrinking incomes, extended family events and then the world news picture on top of it all.

In our world I've noticed that this fall marks a very violent time. We've more intense feelings, actions and vocalizations now more than I'd noticed in other years. The positive emotions, the surge of purpose and the general feelings of unity where short lived. There's a bitterness, a movement to drag down all that hope that flared for a time, it's spreading a negative, hateful veil over so much of the world.

But I still believe that the light of a single candle can still drive back the darkest night. That the shadows on the wall are only our own insecurities and fears, we alone can drive those that feed on our fears away. So many out there in the world look to corrupt, breed intolerance, hate and violence. Before we fall into their deceptive traps, we must ask "What do they get out of this? What gain/reward do they receive?"

This answer can offer us the most important protection against this kind of manipulation. We need to look to the better person inside of us all.  (I'm being optimistic, but I'm hoping I'm right.) I'm hoping that before the New Year that the emotional health of society will improve. (Wishful thinking, but it's better than nothing.)

So in this time of endings, I hope to see an ending to the dark and troubling times. I hope that in the year ahead there will be room for all and that the light will shine with hope from billions of hearts and drive away the darkness from our lives. I hope all will find better days ahead, that society comes to the realization that we can make our lives brighter a day at a time. We just need to take that first step...to take action.

Take care and safe journey....Carp Diem!

Have been down, but I'm not out...

at least not yet...

I've been down the last few weeks in more ways than I want to think about. Been down with  a head cold (really hate those, hard to think & you feel like one big headache), then got down  in the dumps, both literally and emotionally. (recycling more old metal for cash can lead to  some strange places.) The depression part didn't last too long, mostly 'cause I dislike the  whole numb feeling. So I got down to work and started doing some research, writing notes  and the basic steps to getting back into things. The new elect. bill is down, which is good. But  the overdue still needs to be paid and I'm broke - which is bad.

There are times when you go so far down that there isn't any place left to go but up. You  may even find your going up cause you've passed some cosmic middle and are no longer going  down. So much for the philosophical mumblings, time to move on. See, sleep dep has this  profound way of taking any point of view and skewering in sideways... Haven't been sleeping  too much of late. Would really like to have an off switch.  Sleeping would be so much easier if  I was able to shut down.

When things get more difficult, things go down... our income, our spirits, our options. The only  things that go up are things that we'd rather go down. Like bills, fees, prices - the general  costs of day to day living. Currently, my own situation reflects this situation - though I'm  fighting against it dragging me down. So many are struggling with financial troubles, lack of  work and the swiftly cannibalized charity systems. Opportunities and options are out  there...yet, for so long we've had no need to create our own future, use our wits or step  outside our "comfort zones"...the skills have grown weak for lack of use.

The world is like a roller coaster, with the ups and downs that give life some sense of  adventure and excitement. Too often the day to day grind wears away at our inner sense of  fun and makes it hard to remember the dreams we once had when our world was young.  Days when we looked forward to the future... to making changes and making our mark upon  the world. In the last 2yrs things have come crashing down... the financial machinations of  the corporations, the overblown hype that drove the capital of the world sat upon a  foundation of sand, cybernetic-ly speaking - but still ethereal, an illusion with no true value to  back it...

So it is here, amidst the wreckage of a hastily bulwark-ed economy, with patches and pitch we  seek to keep things afloat. Hoping that we will make it to a harbor in time, needing extensive  repairs. Our torn sails grasping at any true wind, we seek to reach port on pure  determination and bracing ourselves against any new storms... On the horizon there is hope,  light that cuts through the fog of doubt and cold of despair... Brighter days are ahead, if  only we can work together to bring it about.

My own struggles are small, others have suffered more. Yet while we stumble about trying  to hold our lives together, our own troubles seem like unmovable mountains. It's only by  reaching out to others that I've found I could forget about my own troubles for a little  while. In the grand scheme of things our own troubles are small, insignificant - yet they  consume us and control our lives. Our only true hope is to reach out and make the  connections that can ease the weight of our own problems in our efforts to aide another  with their difficulties. What seems impossible to one, may seem a breeze to solve for  another. By sharing the ingenuity and compassion within, we could solve so much heartache  and sorrow that fills the world around us. Block by block, a community at a time, the changes  can grow to overflow the boundaries that separate us from one another.

I've rambled on long enough, it's time for my mind to sleep and my body to rest. Tomorrow  is yet another day to seek a better way... a change of fortune and to continue to keep the spark of hope alive. I wish you all restful sleep, inspired thoughts and warmth of heart...