One Million Dollars

If you had a million dollars. . . what would you do?

 

After winning the lottery, many people quit their jobs, think they’re on top of the world, however, in reality, it’s furthest from the truth. What some people don’t realize is all the taxes that come out of the winnings. Also, if you win a lot of money, you tend to get a “high-profile” life which includes the phone calls: promises, marriage proposals, accusations, threats. Also, family members try to run your life, and control the money.

Dobri Dobrev - From WTF Facts 2013

If I won $1,000,000.00 I would DEFINITELY still have to work. After taxes, I would try to be financially stable, by paying off all debts, including the mortgage, and by the car of my dreams with cash (just as a present to myself). With the money left over, I would donate half into charities and invest the last have into retirement.

At some point in my life I would like to get to not needing material items like Dobri Dobrev. According to WTF Facts, “98 year old Dobri Dobrev, a man who lost his hearing in the second world war. Every day he walks 10 kilometers from his village in his homemade clothes and leather shoes to the city of Sofia, where he spends the day begging for money.

Though a well known fixture around several of the city’s churches, known for his prostrations of thanks to all donors, it was only recently discovered that he has donated every penny he has collected — over 40,000 euros — towards the restoration of decaying Bulgarian monasteries and the utility bills of orphanages, living instead off his monthly state pension of 80 euros.” (Sunday, May 26, 2013).

So, if you had a million dollars, what would you do?



 

Travel into Time and Space . . .

http://www.kevinfullam.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/time1.jpg

Travel to a different era in the future or the past is currently impossible. But what if it wasn’t? If you could go anywhere in time or space, where would you choose?

One major rule, which must be followed by time travelers, is to not disturb the surrounding. You are only allowed to witness the acts going on without interfering. This must be a moral gene that is set in all human beings, because who else would make up a rule if you’re able to time jump. So, if this was really possible, where would you want to experience?

Personally, I would love to go back to the end of the Roman Empire. To witness the daily lives of all people, and actually travel throughout the Empire seems to be amazing. To see, first hand, how items are moved from the East to the West, and how cities are built from nothing, fascinates me. To understand how people, way back then, knew about plumbing, and how to create air conditioning for large cities, would be exciting. Also, this allows for no interference, as I would merely be a student, listening to someone wiser, with the skills.

 

Another place I would want to visit is the Mongol Empire during its highest power. This empire came to be in the 13^th and 14^th centuries. To compare how both empires actually worked, and to see how the people in these cities are is highly interesting. Also to see how outsiders of the Empire are treated and the lifestyles of both common people the militaries. I would want to compare what each empire did to help their citizens and how they handled natural disasters.

The place I would travel to in the future would be to the year 2375 – just because. I would want to see what has happened to North America and how technology has evolved. I would want to study how plants and animals are surviving and all the geographic changes that has happened over the last 4 centuries.

This idea has been around for quite some time. There are movies and TV shows that have to do with time travel. Remember the Back to theFuture movies, where the Marty McFly an Doc Brown jumped into a 1981 DeLorean time machine? And what about the TV series “Doctor Who” where the doctor travels everywhere in the universe and go into the past, present and future through a police booth traveling machine? What makes you think that it will not be possible one day to do this?

Dream Home

As a little kid, growing up, you might have thought about what your home might be like when you grow up. Personally, I was a bit eccentric. 

I wanted to own a castle. Specifically, I dreamt of having a castle that consisted of three separate homes: Dracula's castle (in Romania), and The Addams Family mansion (from the movie). I know it seems a bit weird, but I'll explain why. 

First of all, who wouldn't want to own a castle? They're majestic and beautiful. They are also built to keep intruders out, therefore really safe. Why I picked Dracula’s castle was because of the history in the building. This is not to be confused with Bran Stoker’s castle. 

The Poenari Castle, was built in the 13^th century. The castle looks like its floating high on a steep cliff. This castle is difficult to takeover, as it takes just about 1,500 stairs to climb. It is built in the hills of Romania and has a beautiful view on the country side. How this building was built, and the location is what I would want from this castle.

Sketch of Dracula's Castle before Ruins 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/salgood/4252042807/in/photostream/

What I like about the Addams family house was the entrance. They had a giant door, that when opened went into a gallery, with two staircases meeting in the middle. I also liked that the house had an elevator placed in the center of the back wall. Also the fact that it had over 25 different rooms with hidden passages and secret doors, made it even more fascinating for me as a child.  I was thinking “It would be fun to play tag in the house or hide-n-seek”. The Victorian style of the exterior part of the house matches the original castle's, and allows for a home that is considered a "classic look".

So all together, what I needed as a child was a rock foundation that was placed on the edge of a cliff (Dracula’s castle) with the beauty and design of a modern Victorian home with many rooms and secret passageways and an elevator (Addams Family).  However, this was just a childhood dream. Reality has hit me with the realization of how excluded this home would be from any major city and how long it would take to find and clean all of those rooms. Maybe, in another lifetime, this can be reality too. 

Dream Vacation



Ever wish you were on vacation? In today’s world of being connected 24/7 to work and to people, vacation is something this that is viewed as a luxury. This luxury could mean different thing to different people. Some people prefer to have fun filled excitement on their vacations, while others prefer a relaxing time with nature. But because this society is always connected, vacation is meant to be time away from everyday life.



Picture taken from JAUNT MAGAZINE 



One place in the world I would love to go is to the Azores Islands. These islands are somewhat of a secret as they are not highly publicized and they are in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. These islands are owned by Portugal. There are 9 islands that make up this area. How I even heard about this place was from a documentary that was on NOVA. The beautiful natural landscape and the idea that it was not completely industrialized made it a place I want to visit.



 Picture from SATA Airlines  



The coldest it gets in winter is approximately 10 C and the hottest is approximately 25 C in the summer. The ocean is always warm by the islands, which makes it great for swimming. The small amount of tourism has been focused on golfing. The culture seems quite fascinating. The islands have natural hot springs located everywhere and has over 30 waterfalls.

This seems like the perfect place to go to get away from the attachment of being connected. Check out this site about Azores, to see this beautiful and hidden place in the Atlantic Ocean http://www.azores.com/.