Selling our home is pretty much a given at this point. It doesn’t look like Donna and I will reconcile at any point in the near future. Frankly, the house now seems like a huge weight I am carrying around for no reason. As long as I am responsible for it, I will be a slave to the system.

Firstly, it’s too big for one person, and secondly, Donna will eventually want her half of the equity. I don’t have the cash on hand to buy her out, so the only logical thing to do is sell the house.

I won’t miss it, personally, since it holds no sentimental value whatsoever. In fact, it represents everything that I believe is wrong in my life at the moment.

However, the main reason for selling the house is to free up some cash so that I may pay off my debts and start a significant savings and investment account. I am hoping that by securing some investments, I will be in the position to leave my job soon.

My short-term plan is to sell the house and move back to the city. I want to try to get a place near the downtown core so that I won’t need to keep a vehicle. I’d like to either walk or take a subway to work. The money saved here will go into the “Phil Freedom Fund.”

Sorry I digress… back to selling the house. I had the real estate agent over and we worked out a few things. Several things need to be done before the house officially hits the market. Much of this is cosmetic, such as painting and repairing a few minor holes and such. I’ll be replacing the carpet in a few rooms and updating some of the plumbing fixtures.

Outside, I’ll be leveling the interlocking brick in the front walk and repairing the rear deck. There are no major repairs needed. I have replaced the roof and re-paved the driveway in the past few years.

I won’t do all this work myself. I can handle the painting and the plumbing fixtures. The rest will be done professionally. I estimate $5,000.00 to complete the work.

I’m estimating that the house will be up for sale within thirty days. I can’t wait until it’s sold.

“Diet and exercise are critical to quality of life and, ultimately, longevity.”

This is the only thing keeping me on track right now. I have been dieting for about 2 weeks and it’s not as easy as it looks. I have literally given up most of my old eating habits for a newer, healthier, alternative.

Gone are the days of bacon and eggs for breakfast, or beer and snacks while watching a game on TV. Gone are the “fries and gravy” lunches and the after-work patios.

My new diet consists of oatmeal and grapefruit breakfasts, a salad and pita bread for lunch, and fish or chicken with lots of veggies, for dinner. Oh, yeah, and eight glasses of water a day.

I’m constantly hungry.

Along with this, I have also cut out a lot of junk food, like chips and soda pop. In fact, I’ve cut out most sugar, and fillers such as bread. I admit I still can’t drink coffee without sugar.

Eating like this is torturous. I refuse to give up, though. I want to live to see my golden years. Besides, there’s so much more I would like to experience before I go.

As far as exercise goes, I just got a clean bill of health from my doctor, so I’m slowly implementing an exercise regime. To tell the truth, it only consists of a half hour walk in the evening.

Being as heavy as I am, I’m limited to what I can do. Walking seems like a good start. The neighbors must be wondering. In all the time I’ve lived on the street, I’ve never gone for a walk, not even to the corner store.

I thought about dusting off my bicycle, pumping up the tires, and taking the odd bike ride, but I look so odd at the moment (my ass covers the entire seat and then some). I’m just too big for the bike – any bike. I’d really give the neighbors something to laugh about if I started riding my bike around the block.

Eventually, I would like to start bike riding, but that’s way down the road. I need to shed at least fifty pounds first.

After two weeks of diet and exercise, I am only seeing a three-pound difference in my weight, and most of that is likely water loss. It’s a slow, depressing journey.

I have two mission statements. One is my company’s statement, and the other is my own. I don’t tell anyone about my personal mission statement, and the other, I simply follow out of necessity. I need a paycheck (for now, anyway).

In the 20 years or so in which I have been a loyal employee, I have been subjected to no less than 50 courses, seminars, workshops – all this in the name of employee improvement. It seems that with each executive shuffle, we are guaranteed at least one mandatory workshop. The new management wants to mold us according to their vision.

Very few are of any real value. We all sit through them, however, like a bunch of yes-men. We nod and pretend it’s interesting. “That’s it, it’ll be over soon. Next year the new execs will abolish this model and create their own.” Sigh…

You see, the number one rule to surviving the monotony of the corporate world is to smile when appropriate, act as though you give a s**t, and always keep one thing in mind: as long as you do a good job and satisfy the person directly above you, you’re going to be just fine.

Oh, and one more thing: Always keep in mind that you really don’t have a choice. They will tell you that they “value your input”, but at the end of the day you have to accept whatever is given to you. You are, after all, a team player – are you not? Team players follow orders and respect the chain of command for the greater good of the company. Team players will always put fellow employees and the company first.

While my company’s mission statement drones on about “customer service” and “results oriented” people and services, my mission statement is geared towards how I envision my ideal life to be. It tends to be much less structured than the company blueprint.

My company’s mission statement goes something like this:

“We are a customer oriented company whose goals are to provide our external clients with the highest level of service possible through an empowered and highly skilled workforce.”

And so on…

My mission statement is as follows:

“I will strive for freedom and self-sufficiency while remaining trapped within the corporate environment. I will learn to differentiate between things that will benefit me and things that will continue to enslave me. I am a self-oriented individual who will work towards independence and a life of my choosing and, ultimately, a life outside of the corporate world.”