Pets: An Untapped Market

Did you know that there is $$$ to be made in pets?  If you ever go to PetSmart or Petco, you'll see that there isn't much "variety" in pet products.  Sure, their stores look huge on the outside, but go inside and you'll see that each isle is dedicated to different animals.  Pet stores are seriously lacking in pet products for each type of pet.  For example, the cat isle is usually half an isle dedicated to toys and the other half isle to bowls and litter boxes.  If someone got smart and had a lot of start up cash, there could be warehouse stores about the size of a Walmart Supercenter.  There should be a small zoo and activities for pets to include obstacle courses, various pet hotels with internet cameras, and of course accessories.  These stores should be destinations for socialization... a place where people would want to spend a big part of their day.

Katie the Lovable Cat

 For people that have pets, they treat their animals like humans.  When I was in Japan, practically everything a human has (except for electronic devices) their pets would have.  Everything is shrunk to fit their needs like beds and clothing. 

Pet hotels.  Today, I tried to find a boarding place for my cat so that I can be at ease while I take a week long vacation.  To my surprise, the pet boarding place was completely booked for the summer.  I couldn't believe it.  I even came a month in advance.  The lady at the counter asked if I wanted to be placed on the waitlist.  Of course, I said sure and I looked at the outlook calendar on her desktop computer.  There were 25-30 people on the waitlist for next month!!!  Again, I couldn't believe my eyes.  Knowing this, the pet business is truly an untapped resource.  Only if people knew...

Gripes about living in San Diego

There probably isn't many articles about the downside of living in San Diego, but here are my gripes.

1.  The major league sports teams suck.  The Padres and the San Diego Chargers are among the worst teams.  I really want to love them... I really do.  It's just that every game ends in disappointment.

2.  Expensive!!!  It's really hard to survive out here.  You definitely can't live off minimum wage and trying to raise kids is even more expensive because there's no cheap childcare options.  From eating out to getting gas, everything is so damn expensive because of the "sunshine tax".  Good luck trying to purchase a house.

3.  Homeless people are everywhere.  You'll see them at almost every curb and intersection out here.  With the great weather, it is no question why the homeless would want to live and stay in San Diego.

4.  Micro breweries are everywhere.  I like beer, don't get me wrong.  But I can't tell the difference and there's no major brand that people stick to out here so it's hard to find common ground.  Sitting around and drinking beer isn't at all productive.  With all this drinking, there's a lot of drinking and driving.  I'm sure there's hundreds of intoxicated people on the road right now, so it doesn't become a question if you'll you struck by an drunk driver, it's when.

5.  Fires.  There is a constant threat of fires no matter what time of the year.  Oftentimes, this causes the next issue, traffic.

6.  Traffic and noise.  Like any big city, San Diego has lots and lots of traffic.  If you live in San Diego, you live near a freeway.  They're everywhere.

7. Male to Female Ratio.  Because of the numerous military bases in the area, males outnumber females nearly 7 to one.  There is a big gay community here which includes lesbians.  Women have a major advantage here to find a mate if they wanted one.  This is good for them in the dating scene but bad for them on the professional career scene where men of power in the workplace treat attractive, unattached women with concierge preferential treatment. 

8.  Drugs and the border.  The news is constantly showing drug busts and tunnels.  There's a huge amount of drugs flowing in and out of San Diego.  With that brings crime and human trafficking.  Children are constantly being eyed for kidnapping near schools in this area.  So I wouldn't consider San Diego a good place to raise a family, rather than a great place for young adults.

9.  Military presence.  Yes, I know.  I'm in the military but that doesn't mean that I embrace everything about it.  Military people of every branch are everywhere which isn't a bad thing, but it annoys the shit out of me.  I don't know why, but it does.  Maybe because it NEVER feels like I'm out relaxing and that I'm constantly reminded that I'm on duty 24 hours a day.

10.  Everyone is trying to one-up each other.  What you wear and what you drive matters.  You are what you present yourself to be.  Individuality is strong here and there's a lot of diversity.  Everyone thinks that their home country/culture is the best in the world and is not afraid to show it; almost obnoxiously so.  Some people may think this is a good thing, but I see it as exploitation.   As a result, people are trying to appear much richer than they actually are and are contributing to the problem with the decline in human values.

Reverse Lottery

I watched this interesting documentary about living in a van.  This lady talks about giving up her house and living in a van.  Giving up possessions and spending less on things to fill up a house with.  It's like the ultimate form of freedom and with a cost effective lifestyle.  The more that is given up, the more time that is given to you.  The energy that used to be spent on fixing, maintaining and cleaning your home is draining and relaxation time often means sitting on a couch and staring unproductively at a TV screen.  Whereas the van life is spent doing cool and fun stuff and meeting new people and experiencing new things.  Van life forces you to have less clothes and possessions.  The payoff is better than living a life where you are constantly paying for things.  Not having so much stuff and so much responsibilities is liberating so you have time to actually do things that you are interested in.  Having a home that is too big and too comfortable will only keep you from all the things that happen outside in the world that is constantly evolving.

Before taking on something like this, you have to ask yourself a few questions.  Would you mind taking baby-wipe showers?  What would you do if you needed to use the restroom?  Can you give up internet?

This is not a lifestyle that everyone should do, but this is a lifestyle best reserved for the most adventurous and most interesting people on Earth.

Below is a clickable link to a book that explains the ins and outs of living a minimalistic lifestyle by living in a van by someone who is doing it.

Family Pic

A simple family picture that was taken at Admiral Baker Park.  V (8) N(9) 

Things like Facebook and Instagram is taking me away from Blogging.  I hate that I don't update this as much as I used to.  One of my hard-drives crashed so I lost a ton of digital pictures from the past.  I'm uncertain if I can recover them all.  So I'll do my best to post some updates here and there.