We volunteer for the reason of being able to help the community at our advanced age, but sometimes this leads us to think that we are as strong as we were back in the day. But as the old Lord Tennyson poem says:

 “We are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

We may no longer be as strong as we were back in the day, but we continue and live every day as if we were. But we must know when to leave it to the new generations professionals when the task calls for it. For example, my volunteer group and I were helping out with repairing a community center when we discovered that a section needed pesticide treatment if we opted to do the job ourselves, the quality of work would not match that of the work of a Pest Control Company Corvallis.  In the long run, our work would have been for nothing, and the place would have needed to be treated and repaired again, or worst condemned. Luckily we did the opposite of that and called a professional to do the job.

After making sure that the business is thriving and running very stable, it could be the best time to start branching out to expand the company’s size and location of crew and services. The team must carefully plan on the location of the branch offices, the expected demographics of clients, and the expected output per branch. But one of the aspects of branching out that is always forgotten is how to maintain them. Branch offices mean more people needed to maintain the quality of the services, and more space and equipment to take care of. To do that, here are some ways to maintain the offices to be decent, clean, and clutter-free:

1. Focus on cleaning overcrowded areas. Within an office, there are certain areas that could be dirtied down easily because of the number of people going to the area. Some examples of these areas would be the front desk, lobby, and comfort rooms. Newcomers to the office will immediately notice the quality of cleanliness the office has, so it is best to maintain these areas as possible.
2. Place mats on doorways. An office with many employees and clients will experience dirt, dust, and debris coming in and out of the rooms, especially those particles coming from people’s shoes. Putting a welcoming mat along doorways traps the dirt, dust, and debris, thus lessening the frequency of cleaning floors.
3. Maintain a nice aroma within the office. Using fresheners for each area is recommended to maintain a nice smell lingering around. Employees and clients may take in greasy lunches, or the office may smell of new paint, so the management should do something about these overpowering smells. Also, regular disposal of garbage can also prevent the office from smelling like a dumpster.
4. Wipe dust from windows and equipment regularly. It is normal that dust and dirt accumulate even if the rooms they are in are unused. Wiping the dust and dirt away even every other day is a nice way to maintain them. Also, clients would not want to walk into a room where their fingerprints are recorded on everything they hold.
5. Act on pest infestations immediately. There is a possibility that rats, mites, and other pests can infiltrate the location of the office. Always watch out for these because these can actually destroy wires, electronic equipment, and important documents. Call center and information technology companies usually call on pest control experts to exterminate the pests.
6. Invest in a utility department. Each employee has his or her own responsibilities to make the business work, so it would be nice to hire extra employees who will focus on cleaning the facilities and equipment. This will save the company time and money in the long run.

Volunteering at an age when you should be just relaxing is a bit hard. After all, our bodies just aren’t what it used to be. But what if I tell you there is a way for the elderly to keep a strong back and healthy body, that we could get some of that strength and activeness we had back in the day.

Last month I was able to visit my family in San Antonio, we went out for dinner and enjoyed the sights. My daughter then told me about wellness chiropractors, informing me that their therapy allows the body’s healing factor to function optimally and at the same time promote a better spinal health. I was at first skeptical about such a therapy, as I have never really jumped into the whole herbal and alternative medicine wagon. The whole idea of the body being able to naturally heal you from any sickness is a bit interesting though, so I decided to give it a shot and let her take me to their clinic the next day.

An interesting experience

I woke up that day like the usual, getting out of bed was literally painful, this has been something I have experience since I was in my late 40’s, so I was more or less used   to it. After a 15 minute drive we reached the clinic my daughter was talking about, the place looked decent and had all the doodads you would expect a clinic to have. As my daughter was signing me up and doing all the other paper work needed I sat at the waiting room. I then notice that there were a lot of people of all ages waiting as well, some of them were my age, so I decided to have a conversation with them.

After about 20 minutes of waiting and conversing with my fellow patients, I discovered that the people my age were there a few times a week. They told me that the therapy was effective and allowed them to live their daily lives as if they were ten years younger or so. I had read a whole article about the power of the placebo effect and thought that they were experiencing that…that was until I experienced it myself.

A whole new me

I had the therapy, which felt pretty okay and was like a massage except more stretching, bending, and bone cracking (Like cracking your knuckles, not breaking bone). It was when I woke up the next day that I felt its true effects though, as I felt completely nothing when I woke up! And I mean that as a good thing, as you remember I told you that I always felt a bit of pain when getting out of bed, even feeling a bit tired. That morning those feeling wasn’t there, of course the usual drowsiness you feel when you wake up the first thing in the morning was there, but the tired feeling and pain was absent.

From that point on I decided to have regular visits to my chiropractor as maintenance to my back and wellness. Had I not visited that chiropractic clinic, I would not be as active as I am now in volunteering and the community, and I recommend the therapy to everyone, because in order to truly help others you must be in top shape to give your best.

So you have loved, you’ve laughed and cried, you can proudly say that you did it your way. All of the adventures and treasured memories are just that now… memories to cherish as you live the later years of your life. But what will happen to all that wisdom and knowledge that you acquired? The skills that you learned though the crucible of life, sharpened and never dulled. Will you allow it to be hidden away and not passed on to the next generation? Allow yourself one more adventure in your life, help people and potentially save lives once again, through volunteering.

When a generation who is filled with so much wisdom comes together, I know for a fact that things will be well. In your elderly age, your strength might not be as good as it was back in the day, but your mind and spirit is still at its peak, it is only when you know that it is time to rest, truly in your heart, should you. But before that allow yourself to pass on the greatness of the spirit and knowledge of your generation to the next.

A long time ago I volunteered to help an elderly woman move to a retirement home, she was known for her work in the community. I arrived to her apartment building and went to her floor, she was just about to close her door when I came, I helped her with her bags to the car as we talked. She asked if we could drive around the city before going to the retirement home. I told her it was fine, and she shook my hand, smiled and said thank you. We went around the town, never really getting off the car, just stops at places. One stop was outside a park, we sat in silence as she just stared at the already dark park and smiled. She later told me to go to a street downtown, we stopped near an abandoned building, she told me that it used to be some sort of community center/ soup kitchen, I saw a small tear in her eye as she told me to continue driving. This continued on for a little while, there were stops for places that didn’t seem significant like the corner of a street, or an empty lot. At the end of the night we got to the retirement home, I helped her with her bags to the front desk where a nurse took her bags to her room. She held my hand and where she slips me a twenty dollar bill, I told her that it wasn’t necessary as I was volunteering, she told me to use it to get a cup of coffee and relax, she used to volunteer as well, and in fact it was only recently that she stopped. She told me to keep on helping people, that aside from her family, it was the most meaningful thing she did in her life.

Even in our youth it is incredibly tempting to just sit back and relax your days away, but giving a little time for people other than you, helping them out, it gives you a feeling of accomplishment that can’t be compared to anything else.

So you are retired, maybe thinking of moving to Florida and just relax the remainder of your years, but somehow you still feel that there are many things you can still do to help the community or even the world. That is true, your advance age is not something that should stop you from doing more for the world and its people. The experience and skills you have acquired throughout your life should not be wasted, as long as you have the will and the strength to do so, you should do what you can. Many seniors and retired individuals are now volunteering to help the local community and also third world countries.

If you are someone with engineering or construction background, you can volunteer in programs that provide housing for the homeless. With the lack of people with skill to handle the construction work, elders with strong bodies are welcome to join, given their doctors give them the go ahead. If not work in the field, you can also help with planning and the more paper side of the construction, licensed engineers who are willing to work probono are quite rare, but if you are retired and doing well why not assist organizations with you great skills only achievable through the wisdom only time can bring. Wise learned teachers of the art are rare and needed, become a beacon to those who would like to one day be able to accomplish what you have already done.

If you are someone of the medical field, many who have no access to basic medical care need people like you. As you have before, continue to save the lives of people, both in your local community and in countries that needs it the most.  Organizations from all over the world will welcome your assistance and wisdom, teach those who would like to learn how to save a life, that way you will continue to save hundreds if not thousands of lives, through those you teach, whether or not they are recognized as doctors or nurses.

You don’t even need to be someone from a specialized field, teachers, business professionals, or any field of work, whatever your field of work or skills is you still have the ability to change the world by giving time to people and volunteer to teach them hands on. We need the wisdom of those who succeeded in life and found their own way in life, you are the true masters of your field, and we are but apprentices, if you allow yourself to become mentors to the current and next generation, you can help mold this world for the better.

You have lived life well, I ask now if you could allow us to reach what you have reached. Before you give us the mantle of stewardship to this world, we ask you to lead us one more time. There are many who would gladly welcome your volunteer work, for they know that your generation made the accomplishments which gave us our world today.

Nine out of ten people will tell you that they love going or at least would love to go to Las Vegas, That one guy who didn’t  was probably caught counting cards and was told to never come back or else.  There is nothing I love more than a trip to Sin City, I hate to sound Cliché but “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, you can be anyone you want to be and do anything you want. There are a lot of places in the world that tries to make their own version of Vegas, and though they come close, even to the point where they look, sound, and smell like Vegas, it could never be Vegas.

My ideal Vegas experience is a night of games, drinking, and if I get lucky a great experience to end the night, if you know what I mean. I don’t think there is any other place where a regular guy could change his luck for the better or worst while have a great, if not the best,  night of his life.  Vegas’ European counterpart seems to be more of a place where mostly only the wealthy goes to play; and its Asian counterpart are filled with straight faced people that almost doesn’t seem like they’re having fun. I am exaggerating of course, those places are a lot of fun too, but somehow Las Vegas is a whole different experience.

If you’re not into gambling, the best shows are in Vegas. From Magic shows that will leave you scratching your head thinking “how the hell did they do that”, to the most gorgeous  dancers that may have lucked out in the genetic lottery or had the best doctors in the world to get breast enhancement surgeries. Whatever you are looking for to your dose of entertainment, there is no better place to see it other than Sin City itself.

Not into gambling or entertainment?  Then that probably means you’re absolutely no fun to hang out with! But there still might be something Vegas can offer you, and that is food, the best food in fact! It didn’t matter what kind; fine dining or a hotel buffet, everything tasted amazing no matter where I went! I even heard of a 3 star Michelin restaurant in the area, though I never went because it was out of my budget range.

No matter what you are looking for, Vegas is the place to be and will remain to be the Sin City everyone loves!