fulllife

Recently I told you about my hard life regarding making some money through the internet. Spent hundreds of dollars on worthless programs, that only make the owners rich, and certainly not us, the dumb subscribers who believe there is some hope to get some income from them. How stupid can we be…

Now the last few weeks I have been busy with an amazing new program, totally FREE, which is basically an affiliate program for both fantastic digital products in all areas of everyday life, and the program itself… meaning that the subaffiliates you generate will also bring you money in your pocket. Advertising the program and its products is really easy, you can do it for free as well, and the response is great. So finally you might be able to earn yourself some money from home without paying an arm and a leg first. You sell products through your affiliate link, and get a big commission. Your sub-affiliates sell through their links, and you get an override commisson! How cool is that? An no fees to pay, not upfront, not later.

So you might wonder, Elisabeth, what is this program? Can I join it too? Of course you can… just ask me in a comment, and I will give you my link (still don’t know if I can post links in my blog… gotta find that out at some point!). Spend half an hour to an hour per day posting your links here and there - and I can give you pointers on how to do that) and there you go… not getting rich overnight, of course, not sitting back and watch the money rolling in, you gotta do a bit of work to make some money. But then, all those programs that promise you the world doing nothing, what did they bring us? Nothing but aggrevation, burnt money and desillusions…

Another word on Working At Home Businesses…

There is a lot of trash being sold on the internet. And the people who desperately are looking for some (extra) income are easy victims. So they are being scammed and scammed again. See my past entry, I am one of them. Already lost hundreds of dollars this way.

So you do your due dilligence. You google the site by putting in the name and the word “scam”. You usually get page after page on this subject. The silly thing is that a lot of people put so-called reviews on their blog, usually raving about the one of a time product, but the end of the tale is that they are affiliates of the same program you are doing research on. As an affilliate they want to sell the program, so no bad words about it from their mouth. Therefor, beware of these so-called reviews in the Google results!

Another way to do your research is to go to websites like scam.com. Here you can search for your particular program and read what others have to say about it. Is the program a scam or is it not? Again, this is a bit confusing. The members of these kind of forums are usually scam victims, so not a 100 percent open minded, to say the least. There are other people voicing their opinion, or even put in a good word for the program of which they themselves are a member and they are making (good) money with it. But still most of the entries are screaming ’scam, scam’ just out of habit, it seems. Their reasoning: if you have to pay for a program, it’s a scam. Now this doesn’t have to be true, of course. You pay for tools, training and a website (sometimes), not to do the work. Granted, the prices the programs set are no pocket money, so again, you are in doubt. And you wonder and sigh: why can’t I just find something useful and it’s money worth? What is it with all these people scamming us with their programs and all their members giving them a hand, wanting a piece of the pie as well?

Should you feel re-assured by the fact that some programs offer you a money back-guarantee? Yes and no. No, if the program is not paid through Clickbank, which has the 60 days money back-guarantee embedded in its terms of service. Yes, if you indeed pay through Clickbank. Don’t get impressed with personal promises of the owner of the program on the sales page, flashy guarantee-seals on the site near the ‘buy now’ button. They mean nothing, if they are not backed-up with a real cash back action. Usually, when you ask for a refund, the email is never responded to. Again, you can check that on the scam-forums. You will not be the only one with a desillusion…

So, what to do now? Sit back and forget about making money on the internet? Forget about spending some more time with your family, or making those few hundred bucks extra that make family life just a bit more fun? I don’t. I keep on searching and researching… there’s one thing I won’t fall for anymore, though. If any program promises me cash overnight, thousands per day or even week… I think: mmmm, that sounds too good to be true. and you know what? It is.

I am a sucker for internet business opportunities….. There, I said it!

My source of income being an invalid pension, I would like to make some money on the internet. If you bear with me, I will tell you what works best for me and is totally scamfree. But first I want you to read my sad tale of paying to all kind of home business sites that promise you the world and deliver nothing but empty shit. I tried several data entry programs, because I figured that is the one way you and you alone determine what you earn. If you put in some work every day, earnings should be coming to you. Right? Wrong! Scams, all of them. Take my advice, don’t go near them, ever.

I also signed up for programs where you “only” have to have 3, or 5, referrals under you to start making money. Market on the internet, post your affilliate ID everywhere you can and there you go. Can’t go wrong. Yes it does.. I can’t find any referrals who are willing to pay and the promised so-called spill over never spills in my direction. Kiss your money goodbye.

I tried some HYIP’s, where you make quick money, but they were quicker gone taking a walk (with my money) than I could flick my eye… I tried some doublers and cyclers, they went well for some time, but then got problems with payment processors, or hosting companies, or whatever, or their kid got sick, and that was that. Not all of them real scammers, but still no money in my pocket.

Now before you start thinking that I want to get rich overnight, that’s not true. I just want to make some extra money. Hell, 400 - 500 dollars per month would be great… I am not after those promised millions, I have sense enough to understand that those sites are phoney and hyped. And I do do my due dilligence. Amongst others on the Money Maker Group Forum (MMG), and with Google. Every time I google a website, there are always people raving about a program, and people screaming ’scam’. I guess the raving ones are paid to do so…

Now there is ONE cycler site that makes me a little money and is - as far as I know and experienced - fully to be trusted. Before you get exited, do understand that a cycler is not an investment, but a game, and that the game keeps running thanks to active team members. This program has a hard core of active members, we cycle, make some money and have fun on the MMG Forum as well. The admin is great in his support, great in thinking up contests, games and new earning lines, it is really a fun site. Best part of it, you only literally need a few dollars to participate. Sunday 17th of May the program starts a new line, so if you want to get in, this is the time to do so, you will be in top of the new line and start cycling pretty soon…

I am not sure if I can name websites in my blog, I am pretty new to these bolgging things, so I won’t mention the site here. If you are interested, leave me a comment, and we will take it from there. In the meantime, I will go on having fun with this website, and earn me a few dollars at the side. My chance for some real money is not here yet, but who knows? Maybe one of you has a great idea for me….

Picture this: A can of powder for milkshakes to replace a meal; you open the tin foil, eager to take your shake… where is the little spoon to measure the amount? You have to dig in deep with your fingers to retrieve it… Great!

Or this: nice meat or fish in a hard plastic foil, with on one corner a little arrow with the text: open here… you try and try, need really long finger nails to get ‘admission’ but you don’t have those… Great!

Or: A vacuum pack of coffee, ready to use; all you have to do is open the pack in the middle, where it shows: open here. The producer even advertises with its easy access… But you need a hefty pair of scissors to get the damned thing open. Great!

Need I go on? Don’t think so…

It is so frustrating! Why do manufacturers of food make it often so difficult for us to get to our food? Do they want to bring back some of the adventurous feelings of centuries ago, when we were hunting for our daily meals? Don’t they test the accessability of their wares enough? Or test it only on people who don’t have the courage to say that the package stinks? What is it with these guys? Why make it so hard on us? I can go on with some other examples, like a tin food can you open by pulling back a lid, and the lid breaks, or a blister package that shows no respect for any kind of scissors, but you get the idea…

I am waiting for the first food manufacturer that makes all its products so easily accessible, you can open it while sleeping. I will then take a large pack of shares in that company, ’cause this company is going to be so popular, that their share index rises constantly… With the profits I will then lend money to other manufacturers to take advantage of the experiences and examples of that first company, and then, one day, we will live in a world where those who are able to buy food, get easy access as well!

Being friends for over 30 years… sometimes even over 35. I am very blessed to have such friends, they grew up with me, so to speak. We have lived through the same stages of life, the decades where everything in social life was changing, we had our ups and downs, helped each other through them… Yes, it’s great to have friends like that. Better than family, I think… since you get to choose them yourself, by letting them into your life - or not.

Somehow however, I sometimes have the feeling that there are situations where it is a bit of one way traffic. Of all my friends, I was the one to stay single, up to 10 years ago. I have had my relationships, but never long enough or intense enough to move in together or even tie the knot. The others got off and married, got children, or did not marry but moved in together… In those years it was very often me who had to take the initiative and arrange for us to meet for a drink, dinner or just a cup of coffee. I don’t know why that had to be me, I figured then it might have something to do with them being busy with work and family life (as if I was not busy, working 60 to 70 hours a week as a journalist…). I did get pissed off from time to time, didn’t contact them for some time until they contacted me - in full amazement why I hadn’t been in touch before! My conclusion was that once friends where setting up house, they were kinda ‘lost’ for me, since I did not alway fit into their schedule. 

Lately I am beginning to wonder if it is true that the one way traffic was due to their busy lives. I mean, I have now my own partner, with 3 adult children from his first marriage, and that brings in a lot of social life I did not have before. I begin to understand what it means to have committments within the family and with the children - and I missed the baby and small children stage… The result is that maybe I am becoming just like my friends, being busy busy busy, not having as much time for them as I used to have. And you know what? I hate that! It goes in against my ideas of friendship… but I simply haven’t got the energy to see them as often as I did. Add to that that we all grow a bit older as well, and need more time to rest, and there you go…

So I have come to wonder: what is friendship, if you don’t have contact with each other on a regular basis? What’s it worth? Since I did the ‘legwork’ in the past, wás it indeed friendship? Or just good companionship? Now the latter is not true, I know that, because every time I am in touch with one of them, it seems that time does not matter, seems like we met just last week. We pick up where we left very easily, so there must be more to it than just good companionship! But then, why are those questions bugging me? And why do I not pick up the phone, tell a friend I am on my way and get into my car and drive to their home? Because it would be me - again - who does the legwork? Ooohh, it is a nagging question, to which I don’t have the answer, yet. I’ll keep searching and if I come up with something, I will let you all know!

Let me make one thing clear: I love my husband dearly…

Okay, that’s clear, right?

One other thing to be clarified: I hate cooking. Even though I am a good cook - according to others - I nevertheless hate it. Can’t help it. So I have to put up with that, and do some cooking every few times a week. My husband loves to cook… from a recipe that is, while I just throw some things in the pots and pans and make a meal…

Now, my spaghetti a la bolognesa is famous. Don’t like to brag, but it’s really good, and really Italian, if you know what I mean… not bad for a Dutch woman, huh? My dear husband also loves my spaghetti a la bolognesa very much, but only - close the curtains, hush hush - only after he puts in some Indonesian ingredients…. Aaarrrggh, I just HATE that, time and time again. Why does he do that? I asked him again, tonight. His answer, as always, sounds something like: I really love your sauce, but I want to personalize it… (kill kill kill) Personalize it with Indonesian sweet soya sauce and hot pepper sambal??? What about my delicate balance between basil, garlic, pepper, tomatoes….? What about the Italian factor? This is so not encouraging to cook… He does not do that with a lot of other dishes, only a few, and when I ask him whether he doesn’t like the spaghetti sauce, I mean, that is possible, right?, he assures me it’s wonderful (I think it is, and so do others). How come I don’t believe him…?

Although I spend a lot of time behind a computer, I am not a compjuter wizzard. I can download, upload, copy, paste, browse, write, edit, send emails with attachments…. but as soon as a problem occurs I cannot solve in 3 to 4 minutes, I am at a loss. It’s like driving a car: the car should drive, period. I pump gas, go have maintenance in the garage, so the thing should drive whenever I want it to. Same with computers.

Picture me browsing the internet, and suddenly I seem to have 1001 worms, even more Trojan Horses and other bugs in the computer… At least, that is what a pop up from Windows (mind you) tells me. But I have this fantastic anti virus, anti horses, worms, bugs, and whatever program, that updates every day, so how can this be. The pop up window does not let me close it (I don’t like pop ups anyway) keeps getting back to me the whole time… what is this? Is this for real or is this a scam to let me download some dangerous stuff (the pop up suggests I do a anti virus download, but I HAVE an anti virus program….). To be sure I let my own anti virus program do a quick scan of my computer… no problems detected. Then I go for the full scan…. so far no problems detected, scan still in progress. So again, what is this? Husband not home, so no way I can consult him (he’s the wizzard here)

Don’t you just hate those people that try to mess with your computer??? Arrgghh…. Do they act like I have all these trojan horses and worms, so that I panic and download some stuff??? Why don’t they just leave me alone? Why don’t they leave us all alone? Damaging other peoples data and computers…. don’t let me get my hands on them! I was so effective working on the things I have to do, and now I am totally distracted. But I don’t fall for their stunt…

Husband comes home, I tell him about the issue, and he agrees with me: don’t download anything you did not ask for, don’t let them get under your skin and drive you crazy…. Ha ha, I feel proud I did the right thing. I knew I did, but a little confirmation from the expert is ever so nice.

Did you hear about that young couple in Chicago that was going to be married and honeymoon in Mexico? They couldn’t travel into Mexico because of the pig-fever and the negative travel advice, so they decided to cancel the wedding… Huh? Cancel your wedding because you cannot do it in Mexico and have a honeymoon? What kind of love is that, I wonder…

But wait, there is a fairy tale coming up!

People (total strangers) learned of their misfortune and started to fix things for them, out of the blue. A caterer provided free catering, a fire brigade man offered the young couple HIS vacation on Jamaica as a honeymoon trip instead… and so on. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on TV. And then the young woman commented that she was impressed with these “humantarian actions from total strangers”. Humantarian, humantarian, I always connect that to feeding starving people, sheltering the homeless and saving those in utter danger… I was flabbergasted by both the young couple and these ‘total strangers’ that offered a lending hand. Why not just wed in Chicago instead of Mexico and take a honeymoon to anywhere else in the world except Mexico?

Oooh, oops, I almost forgot, there was one little disappointment in this happily ever after story: the wedding planner in Mexico refused to give back the already paid advance of a 1000 dollars or so…

In spring I feel love everywhere… It’s like everything and everybody sparkle and shine, invigorated by the beams of the sun. In spring I am looking for signs of love all around me. Those signs cheer me up and bring a smile to my face. I am a sucker for love, I guess…

I was sitting in a train in Spain last week (we were on an vacation, remember) and I was feeling quite contented being where I was: in Spain, the sun shining, nice temperature, perfect. The next station a young man got on the train. He was carrying a red rose, carefully wrapped in transparent foil. I was intrigued… This man was not looking very cheerful, just a look on his face as in “business as usual”, yet he was carrying a red rose… Two stops later he opened the door of the train, staring outside, looking for someone, I suppose. Suddenly he was busy dragging a children’s buggy into the train and after that a young blond girl, just before the train moved again. All aboard, indeed.

The man and the young woman - not girl, really - chatted a bit together, the man spoke to the toddler in the buggy, not very romantic at all… suddenly he managed to give the rose “an appearance” and handed it over to the young woman, his woman, I suppose. The woman opened the gift card with the rose, and while she read the quite lengthy text, the face of the man changed… from noncommittal into a wide, happy smile, his eyes sparkling, his whole face was smiling and looking at his woman… She turned to him and embraced him, dropping the card, hugging him intently. He hugged her back, and the two of them were entangled in an affectionate long hug, whispering little words to each other, being perfectly happy. There is love for you, in my opinion… The toddler apparently felt neglected, ’cause a sudden wailing ended the lover’s embrace, and guiltily they paid some attention to the kid.

They got off the train at the same station I did, so while they walked towards the exit, I follwed in their path of radiating love. The sun was shining, the temperature was nice and I had had my “dose” of love for the day…