Travel Espresso Maker

Let it be officially known, I have accepted a job for post-graduation. It will require extensive travel (4 days per week) and it is definitely in the area I have been hoping for. I will be an associate consultant; I have desired to become a consultant since before I began college. Nearly everything I did in college was based on tailor making my resume for a consulting position. Granted, I did not know too much about what I should be doing (case competitions, consulting organizations, etc.) so I was doing more general Supply Chain Management stuff, but I tried. Well, it all paid off, since I will be starting July 5 as an associate consultant!

Anyway, since I will be travelling so much, that means I will be a victim of hotel coffee...yuck! Anyone who truly loves coffee that has been in a hotel knows how truly terrible the coffee is. The stuff in the room is the worst, though the stuff at the continental breakfast is not much better. 

I DO love a good espresso from time to time, however, so I thought, "Hey, didn't I see a travel espresso maker in Sky Mall?" So I did a quick internet search, and I DID see it somewhere, though I don't know if it was Skymall (I'm sure it was, come on, travel espresso makers are pretty much made for Sky Mall)

I found two different models (serious models) and one that looks pretty crappy. The three are:

• The MyPressi Twist
• The HandPresso Wild 16-Bar Hand Pump Espresso Machine
• The AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

The MyPressi and HandPresso both looked very nice and professional, the AeroPress looked cheap, and based on reviews is nothing too special. So I was left with two products to look at: They both have strong reviews, and both produce what looks to be a solid cup of coffee:

           

(Left: HandPresso, Right: MyPressi)

After lots of research, what I found is that the MyPressi is probably a better idea for most people. A lot of people who purchase these espresso makers use them in the office or on the go (car, etc.) and as such just need a quality product. The MyPressi uses a CO2 canister (like paintball guns) and appears to do a great job of creating espresso easily.

The HandPresso uses hand pumping to build up to 16 bars of pressure to extract the coffee (espresso is created by pushing hot water through tightly packed grounds at a high pressure - 231.1 psi). The major issue here, is the travel aspect. I cannot take CO2 canisters on the airplane anywhere anytime, ever. That is the major issue for me, and it will ultimately make the decision for me. 

If I did not have to travel with this, I would probably go with the MyPressi, but anyone who might want to take this with you while traveling will want to get the HandPresso. 

Both of these machines uses ESE coffee pods, though the myPressi can use regular coffee as well, which is an advantage. ESE coffee pods (ESE = Easy serving espresso) can be purchased with the actual coffee in them (here).

Anyway, enjoy the knowledge, and if you love espresso, this is probably worth trying out!

Summer Projects YOU can do

Well, if you're anything like me, you're in the summer, and you need money. I plan on spending lots of money when I go to England this summer on my study abroad, unfortunately, as the dollar is dying out against the pound, that is going to be difficult. It means I must either spend TONS of money, or just not buy much. I would rather have the option of spending TONS of money (wouldn't we all)

I need to come up with some projects to do, so I thought I would post some of my ideas.

1. Sell stuff on e-Bay
There are lots of things out there you can sell on e-Bay, and even more places you can find that will tell you how to do it. I am currently selling some old Yu-Gi-Oh cards I found. I bought them as a gift for my cousins, then lost them. My cousins are no longer into these cards, but other people are, and I will sell some stuff to them.
It's actually possible to make LOTS of money from projects like this: I used to make a couple hundred a week from selling Trading cards (back when I was 12ish) There's lots of money in it, but you have to do some homework. Learn the best ways to procure, repack, sell, and ship the cards. I had good suppliers (usually other sellers on e-bay selling boxes of cards) I sold the individuals that were good, shipped them in the bubble envelopes, and turned good profits. You'll also have to learn the game a little so you know which cards are good to sell, and which ones can be either trashed, given away to someone who plays, or sold in "grab bag lots" (a trick I actually created on e-Bay...they have been around in real life for some time, but I was the first to implement them with trading cards on e-Bay)

2. Mow Lawns
I will not be doing this, since my knees are bad from football, but you can! It does not have to be lawn mowing, it can be any physical labor people don't like to do. It sounds simple, but there really can be BOATLOADS of money in this. The best things you can do is first figure out what other companies in the area charge to mow the lawn; you will need to beat these prices. You will then need to decide who you would like to service. If you are mowing lawns, it will be houses near yours since you won't want to lug your lawn mower across town. If it is something with lighter equipment, you can expand more fully. You will also need to advertise. You can post on bulletin boards, send out mailers, even go door to door to tell people about your products (make sure this is all allowed before you do it) There are many opportunities out there: you can clean pools, do gardening, paint outside or inside, mow lawns, change peoples oil, anything you feel you can do well, someone will probably pay you to do. I once had a business managing other kids businesses, since I felt that was my strong point.

3. Get a plain old job
There are many good paying jobs out there that you can get. I am not one for getting jobs, since I like to be my own boss, but if you want one, here are some tips...work in a restaurant, or an office building. If you are a server, you can make BANK on tips (chili's around here, servers make about $100 a night) office buildings you will also get better wages/salary. Don't work somewhere like a grocery store, you make minimum wage with no opportunity for more.

4. Steal it
Just kidding

5. Have a garage sale
If you are anything like me, you have old crap in your room and house that you don't use anymore because you're at college. Talk to your parents and have a garage sale. You can get others involved and make a real event. Advertise in local papers, and be prepared to sit outside all day. You can probably make a couple of hundred bucks from your old crap.

6. Sell stuff online
You can use a website like ecrater.com to create a store for free, and you can sell some of your wares online. This is similar to e-Bay, but you would simply have your own store. It's very easy to set up, and you can even buy a domain name to mask it.

7. Invest what you DO have
If you want, you can even start investing in the stock market (provided you have enough money to cover the commissions with your returns) I highly suggest doing lots of homework before you buy a stock, and for your own benefit, read up on how to invest. My dad is very involved with reading Jim Cramer and watching his show, Mad Money. He's entertaining at least, and I believe he has some good tips. My biggest tip, don't buy stuff simply at market price, set a price, otherwise you could end up selling your stock for $0.01 or buying a share for thousands. Trust me on that one. Cramer's show is on at 6pm and 11pm Eastern on Weeknights.


I hope some of these ideas either provided you with a good idea, or helped you to come up with a good idea of your own. I hope you all make lots of money this summer. Just remember, the best way to stimulate the economy is to spend the money you make. Don't spend MORE than you make, but keep that money moving through the economy.

Roommate, part 2, plus much much more

My roommate seems like he'll be really cool. I checked out his facebook, and he likes most of the same shows I do, and quite a few of the same bands. We're pretty similar. He's also pretty chill, which is good, and it means he'll probably be laid back a bout these little money making experiments.

I just today changed my schedule, instead of taking Financial Bank and Money Markets, I'm taking racquetball I. I want to take the Econ class, but I looked up the professor, and he has a crazy hard curve. This way, I have 12 credits, which means easier 4.0, and I save like $600 when you factor in the book I don't have to buy. I'm pretty excited about this, it means I will be starting every morning Monday-Thursday with exercise...awesome!

I go back the 23rd, and move in the 24th. I'm pretty psyched because my grandma is making my mom and I food on Thursday...WOOT! I love the breaded chicken, I can't freaking wait. I'll miss my friends here, but it's time to go back. Hopefully all my friends stay friends while I'm gone, so I don't have to split myself up between them...I also need to find a way to start making money soon. I'm gonna spend around $1500 on school fees/expenses I think, just when I get back.

My Professor I'm working with on research already contacted me so we can make a time to meet and start working again. I think it was easier when we hadn't made contact yet last year, and I got paid for august for doing nothing :) I guess I don't get that luxury this year. I get paid the 15th, plus I still have like $100 from my summer job at LISD, which NEEDS to hit my account soon.

Anyway, I've kept you for a while, so I'll be gone.