Welcome. DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE LIFE IS ONE BIG STRUGGLE? I'm Kiki Dennis and I've decided to stop struggling and enjoy the journey that this beautiful blue planet has put me on.
Travel with me, via by blog, and share the journey. Share my ups and downs. I don't always land on my feet and I don't have all the answers, but I'm learning to enjoy every moment of my journey.
Once I made a choice, I realized that struggling and overcoming is part of what makes this life exciting.
What Millennials Know that Baby Boomers Don't? June 26, 2016
Hi! and welcome back to the Global Community Park! There are many changes happening in the world today. The world, as we know it, is changing rapidly. I noticed it more when I tried to raise money for my singer to go to Chicago. I understood that people just are not spending money and that many don't have it to spend!
No matter what! There's always hope!
The world is changing and our society is changing with it. Just today, after over 30 years of ruling, China as repealed its rule that each family can only have one child (of course, the rule was extended if you didn't have a male child). But today, the rule was repealed. Are we preparing for the next war? Who knows? For this reason, I've bent the focus of the Global Community, because I think we need to understand about more than living in "paradise". Right now we have a whole generation of kids who are disconnected from society as a whole and very comfortable with it. We have a senior population who are fighting for their promised Social Security Retirement Benefits.
ENJOY YOUR HALLOWEEN!
Two that I know of are sick and one who died before their S.S. Benefits check was received (three days before to be exact). The woman who died was an award winning author and was featured on CNN in Chicago. Her husband managed her writing career and when he died in March 2014, she didn't know how to handle her business. She found her house was in foreclosure and she had around 200 books ready to be mailed out for P.R. Her husband was handling everything and his secrets, died with him. She became depressed, living in her brand new SUV after losing her home, she began to drink heavily, she died from alcohol poisoning in September 2014. I was given her mail three days after her death and her Social Security acceptance letter had finally arrived, but she'll never know it. Two other friends have been waiting for 3 years for their checks to begin. Mind you, this is not Welfare. These people worked and paid into the Social Security System with the understanding that they would be able to collect when they retired! I know one of them worked for 30 years, then retired! The other, I'm not sure of. It's for this reason, my heart is heavy knowing that people are hurting emotionally, financially, and are sickly-physically! It's for this reason I'll begin sharing the focus of this blog. Our Global Community means more that finding ways to enjoy our lives in "paradise", but, also to share our ideas. Find a way to get promises that we were told as children about how Social Security taken out of our paychecks will be a type of savings for our retirement (before it somehow changed into a supplement to the American Welfare System), and help those of us who need our retirement savings supplemented. It was NEVER meant to be Welfare.
reminder: Better times will come!
This is just one of the topics I'll share in this blog. I hope my readers will stay with me through this change. I won't let you down and will still discuss living in paradise on a budget. I also want to cover the new working generation who have rejected the dream of having a good job, a house, and 2.5 kids. They are the generation X that feel cheated and lied to. I listen to them saying that the "American Dream" was a lie all along. They instead are opting to find, define and pursue their own dreams and working online is allowing them the freedom to do just that. Anyway, I've rambled too long and I'm sorry for that. I'm working on changing that as well. Once again, thank you for all your help and support. Those of you who have rewards coming will get them next week. I'll let you know when you can collect! Here's the picture I promised yesterday of the raised ocean levels here in "paradise"
These waves are usually not visible unless I'm on my patio.
There is usually an island where the arrow is pointing. I can
usually see it, but not today!
These pics were this morning. Although it is eerie, it's awesome as well. Nature is BE U Ti Ful!
Hi and Welcome back to the Global Community Park! I'm back from Chicago and glad to be in "paradise"again. I still don't have my passport,but plan to get one for the next time I travel. In case you didn't read it yet, the Mexican Border is giving visitors a hard time when coming down without a passport. I've been using US documents but now I must get a passport to enter MX.
Here at the beach we were not affected by Hurricane Patricia, however some of my neighbors went to Acapulco six days before the hurricane hit. They kept us informed via email of their well being.
They had to be evacuated from their respective resorts, but they said the Mexican government was very organized with keeping people save and sound. I was glad to hear it.
As for our community, the ocean level and the waves are high and I'm sure it's due to the hurricane. Our house is situated on the top of a hill so we were not affect by the high levels of the ocean. It looks eerie though. Just in time for Halloween. It's night time now so I can't get pictures (sorry I didn't think of that sooner) but I'll see how it looks tomorrow and share some pictures of it with you.
As you know, I've changed my life goals from having things to enjoying experiences. One of those was accompanying my singer to Chicago as her ADA assistant. I enjoyed it so much. I got to go into the sound engineering booth and watch how they make the music tracks. There is so much involved in putting out one song! I also caught some once in a lifetime photos like the one below:
I wanted to put some pictures from our Chicago trip here.
I know this isn't a landmark, but I like this movie and I found
the GHOSTBUSTERS CAR! I think they're using it in a
Halloween event. How cool! The power packs are were in the
back of the car.
Here's the license plate!
Here is Crystal getting ready to go into the studio to record
We DID IT! My singer and I got to Chicago! Now onto the
Holidays! What a wonderful accomplishment! Thank you
to everyone who helped us either by donating or sharing
our Go FUnd Me Campaign! We'll keep the campaign
but for this opportunity, we are very grateful. Now I will
continue my Community Park Posts as usual.
Well that's my post for now. I'm sure I'll share more of my pictures with you. I'll leave you with a view from the plane. ADIOS! UNTIL THE NEXT POST!
Hi and welcome to our Global Community Park! I just typed a post and lost it to a computer gliche. Basically, I was sending out prayers to people all over who are experiencing hard times right now. And special prayers to those in Asia who are experiencing hard financial times and countries at war and people who find themselves in the unfamiliar role of being a refugee trying to find a new home. Along with my new Global Community status, I've also downsized to being a minimalist. I'm using this time at the beach to outfit myself with "off grid" accessories and emergency items. Once I return from Chicago, I'll be in the market for an RV as well. I realized that, taking my singer to Chicago (which we leave on Wednesday! YAY!) would have been much easier if I had an RV. I could have taken 3 weeks and road tripped across the country toward Chicago. However, after much fundraising and budget planning, we are set to go. When I return, I start my next project, which is budgeting out cash for my off grid items and next year, my RV. I also want to help my singer get gigs, so she can save and hire a PR person. Something she's lacking that would help her career take off.
Thanks for your help and support in getting my singer to Chicago!
Well, I'm making this post short, keeping you in tuned with my progress. I'll be posting pics and videos from my Chicago trip. Once again, my prayers go out to those out there who are struggling. We are TSA'ed everytime we cross any border. There are armed guards at the border crossing and at each toll booth as we drive further south. It's scary because it's new for people in the Americas. Here are some pictures to remind us that we're gonna get through these times! Adios! Til my next post!
Hi and welcome back to the GLOBAL COMMUNITY PARK! Just sending a post to announce that WE LOST ELECTRICITY yesterday! These are the problems that sometimes come with living in this beautiful environment and community. The electricity failed at 3pm PST and came back on at 12am PST. During that time we lost phone service, lights, television and internet. One thing I always try and do is keep my computer charged so if we DO lose power, I can watch DVD's for entertainment until it comes back on. But, yesterday I was caught with my battery power down! OH NO!! I had to live without my visual stimulation! We did something
We didn't even have moonlight last night!
that we hadn't done in a while. We all TALKED. While chatting, it reminded me of when my kids were small and not always getting along, sometimes their friends would separate their interests, so they would annoy each other. When it became unbearable to hear, I'd take them into the mountains camping. It was those times of fishing and sleeping in the tent that were the best! I'd get them in an area where they had to depend upon each other. I'd tell them about when they were little my son would treat my daughter, the baby, like she was his baby. He was so protective of her. By the time the weekend was done, we were all friends again and more appreciative of each other's differences. I got to relive that sort of experience yesterday. It's been awhile since we all just sat around and talked. I had an old time radio show saved on my tablet (which DID have a charge) called, "THE WHISTLER", it was a Christmas episode. We listened and enjoyed the radio play.
Camping holds fond memories!
Then I went out and looked up to the dark skies. The sky was pitch black, were so many stars out. As I looked up I saw a shooting star. It was a special sight and one that I didn't expect. Well the electricity is back today and I made a list of some of the things I need to buy in case of an emergency. Going to the store tomorrow to pick up the items. I can't believe ME the poster child for being prepared, was not prepared for the smallest emergency yesterday! Lucky for me, I had enough supplies, because I make a habit of prepping, so we were OK for last night.
Well, wanted to share that with you. Remember to always prepare for an emergency. You don't have to be a survivalist to take tiny precautions in case of a power shortage. Thanks for reading and adios until my next post!
Hi and Welcome back to the Global Community Park! I hope everyone read the post about the water being cleaned up in Mexico (disclaimer: drink it at your own risk), because the water is so clear and smells so good right now. I'm using this time to fill up my water jugs as I treat my water before I drink it, so don't follow my lead, use your own judgment please!
water's clean in Mexico and tasting GOOD!
I just realized how happy I am right now. Things aren't perfect but, I am very happy. I'm helping my singer get to Chicago on October 23rd for her in studio recording and to get her the PR Rep. she needs to become a success. I've decided that I want to support her emotionally and I'm helping her to get the professional career help that she deserves.
I thank the people who have donated money so far and I remind the rest of you that the campaign is ongoing (on this day, 4/24/2016 campaign is over, thank you all for your donations). Your donations are what is enabling us to do this. We are short about 300 dollars USD, but I'm cutting into my personal budget to make this trip happen. Thanks to you, once again we are so close. The donation link will be on this page for those who'd still like to donate. I wanted to do this post because I've noticed that WHEN YOU FINALLY GET WHAT YOU WANT... like I feel I have at this moment, your mind becomes cleared to see what you need to do next. For example, the move down here helped me to get rid of the "stuff" that was cluttering up my space, my mind, and my life. I put most of it in storage and now, I'm ready to sell the storage stuff off. I even plan to pack everything for the trip to Chicago into one small carry on bag (which I've NEVER done before). I always travel with 2-3 bags and one carry on; especially because 3 people are going. But I'm learning pack it all into 1 bag and pack the luggage better.
Singer, Crystal Dennis, in the studio,in Chicago, recording.
Thanks to everyone who made this possible
I'm also so anxious to return home and jump into the holiday season. The decorating and baking and celebrating. I'm trying to relax my mind and not get so anxious when major hurdles come up like the trip to Chicago. I habitually get caught up and can think of nothing else until the "hurdle" is jumped. As the date gets closer, I get crazier. I didn't even remember, until I went to the grocery store yesterday, that Halloween is coming soon!
Crystal singing at The Manor Retirement Home.
I must remind myself that these business trips with my singer are just beginning, I can't obsess over these events because there are more coming. This is an important one but I'll be accompanying my singer on most trips. If I stress, the trips won't be much fun. I hope that you understand my message. I have more to say but it can wait for another post. Let me know the changes you are making in your life also. I'd love to hear them. As promised, here is the link for my singer.
Hi! and Welcome back to the GLOBAL COMMUNITY PARK! Yesterday I told you about the water problem in Mexico! Today the problem is fixed and there is clear water again. Now I guess everyone is warned about drinking the water in MX but I drink it all the time. I always treat my water with drops of bleach per gallon no matter where I am. Mexico is not different. But right now in MX the water is super clear! I have a side by side picture for you to see.
This was the water I showed you as it was at 4:00pm PST yesterday
Here is the same glass (also untouched) with the water problem fixed as of 9:00am PST this morning.
When I went to the store today, the water machines were empty. Now I'm filling my gallons with water again and treating the water with chlorine bleach. I'm going to store more that I did before.
We only used up 7.5 of the 15 gallons or so that I
had stored away. I'm glad that I prepare for emergencies and I can't wait to add more to my emergency prepping.
Well I just wanted to keep ya posted on the water sitch!
