For those of you who don't know Ashley is my Personal Assistant. She does the most amazing job in the world for me and sadly is way over qualified. She is incredibly intelligent and will go on to do amazing things in her life which do not include being my assistant. I am fortunate to have her with me as the economy is rough, so other opportunities don't exist for her at the moment. One day she will move on to much bigger and better things. Without her my life would come to a complete stop. She is incredibly loyal and VERY loving of Maybe who can be a bit difficult at times.

She recently finished up school at Brooks College in Santa Barbara, which is one of the top photography schools in the world. She has aspirations of doing big things in the photography world, particularly food photography. If you or anyone you know has any positions please contact her through her website: http://www.rainydayrenee.com/


My entire life I have paid for everything with cash. I was lucky enough to have a college fund of 10k set up for me when I was born which over performed in the market and I took out for college right before the bubble burst which along with some odd jobs on the side was enough to pay for all my schooling.

A few years ago I looked into purchasing a home and found that I had bad credit from tearing my ACL in college. There had been on bill for $50 for an ice machine which fell through the cracks and didn't get paid on time by either me or the insurance company that went to collections. I ended up deciding, by some research but mainly dumb luck, not to purchase a home as I felt other options were better investments.

Fast forward a few years, of me saying, oh I am going to start building my credit etc. etc. and I am 28 never having a credit card or a loan. So I ask Ashley, who gets things done MUCH more quickly than I do, to look into it. She started by having me apply for 3 different credit cards, which I was immediately declined saying I didn't meet there minimum requirements. I was annoyed as I had heard stories of dogs being given credit cards, yet someone financially secure and responsible like myself could not get one.

So after doing more leg work Ashley determined it was best for me to go into my bank, Bank of America, and inquire with the manager as I had a large sum of money in my checking account. I went in asked to speak with the manager who I explained my situation to. He took my information and put it into the computer and found that I could apply for a secure credit card with a $500 limit. So basically I had to put down a deposit and I could get a credit card for $500. I tried pleading with the manager pointing out the balance I had in my checking account, but unfortunately at Bank of America the credit division is separate so his hands were tied.

The week before Cole had told me about his Banking situation, where he received lots of private help and could even do bank wires by just calling up his "guy". At this point I realized I need to get into a different bank as Bank of America could care less about my business. I may not be a billionaire type but I have a massive balance in my checking account, which I would think would think could get me some help building my credit. So if you have a great bank with individual service I would love to hear about it.

Poker has been going great since I stopped playing the nose bleeds. I have done very well the past week in the 500/1000 mix OE games. I am starting to get some confidence in the Stud games which feels great. The past three days I took off entirely and just relaxed. It felt great doing nothing. I watched tons of movies, went for a few bike rides, had some massages, and sat by the pool. It was a much needed break and I am tempted to play the big games again as they look very profitable. We will see though but its tough not playing when games may not be running as well in a few months.