Category: Manny Kagan

 Whom Do You Know That Might Benefit From Our Tailored Mortgage Solutions?

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Most of us are waiting for something to happen in our lives. Do we actually know what that something is? What will make us healthier, richer, younger, slimmer, more beautiful, loving, more patient, more considerate, smarter or anything else you want to add to the list? To get richer is easy. You just need to win the lottery (as long as you buy a ticket). Or to be younger, smarter and luckier, you just need to invent some revolutionary product or idea. Of course, a rich uncle can also be a possible solution, but that is almost like winning the lottery; it’s unlikely. We can learn how to manage what we already have. If you find that challenging, call or email my friend Kathryn Amenta, (415) 333-6972. If you want a new job, do not wait for your manager to die, instead update your resume and take courses to acquire new skills. Want to be healthier? Easy, just change your eating habits and start moving, rather than waiting for a miracle (they stopped those in the Biblical times). Of course things can be more mundane. Like waiting for the sun to set.

As I previously wrote, we visited one of our favorite places for the New Year celebration – The Sea Ranch. After a long and tiring drive, and feeling drunk from the fresh sea air, we could not wait until midnight to toast the New Year; so instead, we greeted it upon waking the next day. We went there for a bit of rejuvenation. Walking along the cliffs two to three times a day did the trick. I do not come here to photograph, but since (according to my wife) my camera is permanently attached to my hand, I have no choice. Some might think, the nature looks the same every time we come here, and there is not much to photograph, especially in winter (when there are no flowers). I guess it depends!

One of the benefits of going to bed early, is it’s easier to get up before the sunrise. Waiting for the sun to rise, might be like waiting for a new job. You have to be ready, and in spite of the clouds, just for one minute, light will appear for you to capture it (as I did, here). And then, we waited for the whole day for the sunset. Of course in between, to fill the time, we had lunch and even took a nap. And then the wait was over. According to our clock, there was supposed to be a sunset. I looked at the horizon. Yes, there was some light, but it was not the spectacular sunset I had hoped to capture. I put on all my layers and a warm jacket, and went out onto the bluff. It was cold and windy. I got there and waited. After photographing thousands of sunsets, I knew that not every time it is spectacular. Photography instructors teach that you have to wait half an hour after the sunset for the special light, but not this time. Nevertheless, I was still waiting. What I could not know was that a group of young people would come to the bluff as well. The battery in my camera was almost dead, there wasn’t any memory left on the card, so I had to delete one image to make space just in time, a young woman put on her red scarf and separated from the group. My wait was over, I had my sunset image.

P.S. Of course I did not have to just to sit and wait until the sunset and I had an opportunity to photograph during the day as well. You can see some of the results. Enjoy and share.

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 Whom Do You Know That Might Benefit From Our Tailored Mortgage Solutions?

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I will start this story with a riddle. When do we say “hello” and “good-bye” at the same time? The obvious answer is when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. Traditionally, the New Year signifies the end of a previous year and the beginning of a new one. But when does the year actually begin? The answer will differ if you are a religious Jew or Russian or Chinese Orthodox. This can be confusing because not everyone follows the Western or Christian calendar. To simplify matters, the Gregorian calendar, which was first introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, in February 1582 C.E., became the internationally accepted civic calendar. Prior to this, there was the Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.E. However in 67 C.E., the Council of Tours declared that starting the year on January 1st was an ancient mistake that should be abolished. The beginning of the count is supposed to be from the birthdate of Jesus Christ, but he was actually born around 7 B.C. (I found all this information in an article online titled, “History of Our Calendar”). How about the date for Christmas, December 25th, which is supposed to be Jesus’ birthdate? If this is the case, why does the New Year start eight days later, on January 1st? One of the reasons is that this is the day on which a Jewish boy named Jehoshua (later known as Jesus Christ) was circumcised. For a very long time (from 1568 to 1596), this event was celebrated as the 1st of January feast, called “The Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity”. I suspect that you probably did not know about all of those facts, but they are a very good illustration of how different opinions, stories and traditions have formed our way of life. The same is true with the tradition of celebrating New Year’s Eve. Some like to wait until midnight to drink Champagne and yell with joy, in the anticipation that the next year is going to be better than the previous one. Unfortunately, according to a AAA estimate, during the holidays travel period at the end of the year, 27,900 Americans will be seriously injured in auto accidents. Therefore, our family chose a different way to greet 2016 – quietly. Our original plan was to stay home, but on December 30th, our daughter Alona, who was visiting us from Paris, suggested going to our favorite place – The Sea Ranch. We were fortunate to find the last house available to rent for the holiday weekend.

But we do have a tradition for this special date in the year, which is to wear something new. It can be socks or underwear, or any other item of clothing. This year, my wife Elfa wore new shoes and I wore my new 36″ pants. The other tradition is to reflect on the past 12 months, and ask ourselves how we would like the next 12 months to look. As I wrote last week, I write down my goals every day. However, January 1st is a good day to set the course for the next year (but you can do that on any day of the year). The Russian proverb states, “Horosheye nachalo pol dela otkochalo”, which means “Well begun is half done”. Whatever traditions are yours, Enjoy and Share.

P.S. To remember our experience in The Sea Ranch, I photographed the last sunset of 2015 and the first sunrise of 2016. Luc and his son Ian, the first people I met in the New Year, helped make the beginning of the New Year very special.

Enjoy and Share!

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 Whom Do You Know That Might Benefit From Our Tailored Mortgage Solutions?

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It is astounding that my first story in 2016 starts on the first day of the year, Friday, January 1st. The first day of the year signifies both the ending of the old and the beginning of the new. For some, it is a tradition to write down their goals for the following year, at the end of the previous year. Often those goals are related to having more money, to losing weight, quitting smoking, and the like. If you are one of those people, how did you do in 2015? Personally, I have practiced those traditions for many years, with mixed results. In the middle of 2015, after participating in a motivational seminar, I decided to write down my goals, daily. Some goals, like losing weight, came to fruition. When I started, I weighed 189 lb and I barely could button up my 38” pants. By the end of December, I reached 171 lb and I bought new 36” pants. I started the process with three days of an apple cleanse (Which I wrote about, previously), and I finished with a weeklong more complex cleanse. (I will write about this process in a separate story). I also started to exercise every day, alternating walking an hour, and a long stretch the next day, and once a week, I work out with my trainer. I also go to sleep and wake up earlier, to have time for my new routine. All of those efforts resulted in a complete clean bill of health from my doctor.

As far as my business is concerned, in spite of all the ups and downs, it is holding on. For the next year, my goal is to help 30 people to secure reverse mortgages

Since all my business comes from referrals, I am counting on you to spread the word.

But I also had another goal for 2015 – to create a photography book.  My first experience in this endeavor was in 2013, creating “Soy Cubano”, my photography book about Cubans.  This time I wanted to share my encounters with San Franciscans.  The process took me almost a year, and I expect by January 13^th, my 69^th birthday, that my first photography book, “42 Encounters in San Francisco” will be available for your pleasure.  During the creative process of working on the book, my goal expanded, and I decided to produce two “42 Encounters” books a year.  Thus by January 13^th, 2037, when I turn ninety, there will be forty-two “42 Encounters” books.  I encourage you to stick around, buy books and build your own collection of “42 Encounters”.  To find out why there are 42 encounters in each book, you need to start with the first one.  While working on the book, new ideas evolved.  I decided that all money came from the sale of books will go into a non-profit foundation.  The purpose of which is to bring to young people and those who are young at heart, the awareness of how to perceive the beauty of the world through the lens of the camera or smartphone.  In order to maintain creative control, as well as control the timing of the publishing, I also decided to create “Encounters Publishing”, which will produce and market books and educational programs.  I invite you to become part of my dream by buying books and sharing them with your family and friends.  I guarantee that you will enjoy each of them, as will your friends.

P.S. The process of image selection was vigorous. While working on the book, I continued photographing.  Thus, some new images replaced some old ones.  The four images you see in this e-mail are among many of which did not make into the first book.  My goal for 2016 is to create two books.  After the first one is released, the next one “42 Encounters in San Francisco with Couples” will follow in a few months, and “42 Encounters in San Francisco Without Color” will come out by the end of the year.

Enjoy and share.

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 Whom Do You Know That Might Benefit From Our Tailored Mortgage Solutions?

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Growing up in Riga, Latvia we did not celebrate Hanukkah or Christmas. Instead, we celebrated the New Year, and decorated a fir tree similarly to how people decorate their Christmas trees. The custom of tree decoration actually has pagan roots. It evolved in Germany in the 16th century, and became popular beyond Germany during the second half of the 19th century. Many people enjoy the spirit of the winter holiday season; there are so many wonderful holidays, celebrated by different religions and traditions, such as Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, Christmas, which is lighted by light and Kwanzaa, which honors African heritage in African-American culture and uses seven-branched candle holder Kinara to commemorate this holiday tradition.

As in the Hanukkah song “The light dispels darkness, the light is everywhere. ”. Whichever tradition you celebrate, fill your life with light.

Enjoy and share.

P.S .Holiday light can come in different packages, as you can see from my images.

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 Whom Do You Know That Might Benefit From Our Tailored Mortgage Solutions?

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The idea to write about bread came after listening to Michael Pollan’s audiobook about food titled, “Cooked”. My first encounter with his food writing began with his book, “Second Nature: A Gardner’s Education”, that he wrote in 2003. On Amazon I counted twelve titles of his books related to food. Michael also narrates all his books. For someone like me, who does not know how to cook and is surrounded by women (my wife and daughters) who know quite a bit about food (My youngest daughter Tamar has a food blog and web series called Healthy Delactable), it might be strange to be interested in the subject of cooking. The basis of Mr. Pollan’s stories, as they are presented in his introduction, are “discoveries of enduring power of the four classical elements – fire, water, air and earth – to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink.” He does it by experimenting in his own kitchen, as well as by apprenticing with a succession of culinary masters. In North Carolina, he learned and helped a barbeque pit master use fire to prepare a barbequed pig. Berkeley’s famous restaurant, Chez Panisse trained Pollan in the art of braising. The celebrated baker of San Francisco based Tartine Bakery taught him about how air transforms grain and water into a fragrant loaf of bread. And finally I learned about how fungi and bacteria can actually contribute to our health and well being. You may wonder why someone, like me, who does not eat meat or fowl, is interested in the meat preparation. To make matters more perplexing, I also recently stopped eating bread to help my body to become lighter (in which I succeeded). My answer is that Mr. Pollan knows how to tell a good story. For me, the most fascinated part of the book was related to bread. Growing up in Latvia, bread was part of our everyday diet (though there was not much to choose from). It was enough to become hooked, which seems is not only a problem in Latvia. To give you perspective, according to the Bread Production market research, in the United States in June 2015 the revenue of the bread production was $42 Billion dollars, employing 222,980 people in 24,642 businesses.

Luckily for San Franciscans, we have many choices for good artisanal breads. Besides Tartine Bakery, we have Acme Bread in Berkeley (this is my wife’s favorite bread company). A few years ago, The Mill opened on Divisadero Street. I found a list of the 10 Best Bakeries in the Mission Area alone, on Yelp. You can buy very tasty bread at Outerlands Restaurant and at Twentieth Century Café. And of course, at many farmers markets in the city and Bay Area. Whatever you eat, read (or listen to) “Cooked”, and enjoy your food.

P.S. I was introduced to the bread making process a few years ago. Tamar’s best friend’s father is Mick Sopko, a well-known baker from the famous Tassajara Bakery, which is part of the Zen Green Gulch community in Marin County. As you know, bread comes in different shapes and sizes. I photographed Mick’s production of his small breads. On another occasion I was present when a single loaf was ready for baking at the Twentieth Century Café. Before quitting my bread habit, I enjoyed going to the Ferry Building farmers market for sandwiches made from Acme Bread.

Bon appétit!

Enjoy and Share!

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Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,