Chad McDowell

As I sit here at my desk having just climbed up two flights of stairs it occured to me...the Couch Potatoes may just be on to something!

Two weeks ago or so, I agreed to run two 5k's, a 10k and a dualthlon over the next three months. Now for you die hards and marathon junkie's out there, that doesnt sound too rough...but all I can say is...OOWW!

Thirty Three years old and in reasonable health...but I CANT RUN! How is that possible? I have been described as sounding like a herd of Elephants when I run as my feet go slapping on the concrete like I'm running in flippers.

But what got me the most was last night as I was walking upstairs after my run...my ankles hurt, my knees were cracking and popping, Hell my shoulder hurt(figure THAT one out!). And I thought...WHAT AM I DOING TO MYSELF??? I could be posted up on my favorite spot on the couch "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" on the Tube for the ninety-seventh time, drinking a cold one and eating Cheetos feeling just fine! How 'bout a nice pack of Marlboro's while I'm at it!

Lazy Never Hurt This Bad!

UGH! NO!

I thought THOSE days were gone! But I guess it was just my change in environment, because this is a conversation that I over heard yesterday! Names will be changed to protect the...well, guilty.

Loan Officer #1. "I just had another lender under cut my rate"

Loan Officer #2. "What did you quote?"

LO#1 "4.875%, but I'm not even sure I could get that! Someone else quoted him 4.5%!"

LO#2 "What are you going to do?"

LO#1 "Send him a new Good Faith Estimate at 4.5%"

AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! WHAT???? That's your answer? To send him something even more bogus then the bogus quote you already sent to compete with someone else's bogus quote!

Look, I dont have to call leads anymore and I am thankful every day to be running a referral based business. I understand feeling like you need to compete in order to get loans closed and that the person you are competing with is straight up lying. But, that does NOT give you the right to mislead a client! EVER! Do your best to win that client and if all else fails, walk away with ZERO commission and your integrity intact...its worth more.

And I say this to ANYONE buying a home that gets faced with this kind of situation...if you feel that your lender has unjustly changed the original terms to your loan...DONT CLOSE IT! These kind of bait and switch, harm and flip, tactics continue to get used because they continue to work.

A shady lender knows that there is a LOT on the line when it comes time to close. If you start to change your mind you will get pressured by Realtors, pressured by spouses, pressured by your current landlord wanting you to vacate or by the person buying your current home. You are likely to cave to the pressure and close anyway. That's why LO#1 doesnt think twice about quoting you 4.5% and then closing you at 5.5%.

It's just a personal opinion but I believe that everyone should have a charity that means something to them. Americans are the most generous people on Earth...but its important that you find YOUR cause.

I volunteer at the Nashville Ronald McDonald House. Recently I have made the commitment to help raise money and awareness for them. To start I have agreed to run my first 5k on April 11^th of this year, and in training for that I have learned two important things about myself. One...I'm sore. Two...I'm not as young as I used to be!

As a second commitment I have agreed to raise funds as a "Team RMH" VIP in conjunction with the 19^th Annual Calls for Kids Telecast in support of all the families of critically ill children who need a home away from home while their children are being treated in Nashville area hospitals. More then 500 families made the Nashville Ronald McDonald House their "home away from home" in 2008, and hundreds more will make it their home in 2009.

A few months ago while volunteering on a Tuesday morning, I met Grayson. He had been given tickets to a Nashville Predators game the night before and was proudly wearing his new Preds hat. When he took his hat off briefly, the fact that he had no hair told me a little about why he and his family were there. His mom, Jamie, filled me in on the rest.

Grayson and his mom are from Maryville, Tennessee and have been staying at the Nashville Ronald McDonald House for over 200 nights. Grayson, who is 9 years old, has been a friend to the Nashville Ronald McDonald House since he was 2 weeks old. When he was a baby, he had a heart transplant and his family stayed in our House for many nights while he recovered. Then, in July 2008, he was diagnosed with Burkitts Leukemia, so he is back at our House. After 4 months of treatment at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, his doctors discovered that the treatment wasn't working well enough and decided on a new plan. He has been through several rounds of chemotherapy and is now waiting for a bone marrow transplant from his mom. Thanks to the support of the community and funds raised by people like us, Grayson and Jamie have a home away from home at the Nashville Ronald McDonald House.

There are so many others like Grayson. Children who endure more then any child should ever have to. And they do it with a spirit that only child can. I've found my time at RMH to be both heart warming and heart breaking but I've also found that it is a place that brings out the best in people.

Did you know:

• RMHC programs include a 32-bedroom House AND a day-use Family Room on the 5^th Floor of Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt
• Families who stay in our House are here for an average of 19 nights
• We are faced with turning away 4-6 families every night because our House is 100% occupied
• We ask families to pay $15 per night to stay in our House, but more than 67% cannot afford to pay anything
• We provide all the comforts of home, like laundry facilities, kitchens stocked with food and supplies, a dining room, playrooms, and bedrooms with private bathrooms
• In 2008 we served more than 500 families in our House and have served more than 10,100 since it opened in 1991
• Our Family Room at Children's Hospital has served more than 106,000 individuals since it opened in 2004
• We serve families who have children being treated for critical illnesses at any hospital in the Nashville area

If you cant give money, give time. I promise I can tell you from personal experience that it is so worth it! And if nothing else, I highly recommend finding out what YOUR cause is and giving your time. It can change lives...yours included.

For those of you that would like to give to the Nashville Ronald McDonald House, any amount that you can donate will be greatly appreciated and all contributions are 100% tax deductible. You can click here or visit www.rmhnashville.com/cart to donate. Please type "Chad McDowell VIP" into the comment field so RMH will know that this donation is being made as part of my Team RMH VIP pledge.

The families we serve continue to face being far from home when their children are critically ill and most do not have means to stay anywhere but the Nashville Ronald McDonald House because we will not turn them away if they are unable to pay. In 2008, the Calls for Kids Telecast raised more than $140,000 for the programs of the Nashville Ronald McDonald House. Your support in 2009 will help ensure another successful Telecast.

Thank you in advance on behalf of myself, the Nashville Ronald McDonald House, and the families that will be helped by your generosity.

And please, forward this to anyone you can think of!

So, where does your crisis of conscience lie? Everyone needs to try and spend a little less to help make up for the little less that's coming in right? But when I was faced with the question of whether or not I should continue to pay $40 every three weeks for a haircut, I knew the right decision and somehow justified the wrong one!

Now, lets start with a little background on me...first off, I am so NOT the guy that should be getting a $40 haircut. What I am is a creature of habit. I started going to this particular girl that cuts my hair about seven years ago when it was $10. Then it went to $12. Then they moved to a new location and it went to $15. Then $20, $25, $30, $35...etc, etc. AND I JUST KEEP GOING!

Now, times are harder, I need to make some cuts(no pun intended...which is good since it wasnt funny). But how do you cut out someone who has been a part of your life, albeit in a small way, for seven years? And dont get me wrong, it hasnt always been just a hairstylist/customer relationship. I did her loan when she bought her first house. I did her mom's loan...twice. And I did her best friends loan. So, in the overall scheme of things, I'm actually financially ahead...right? Well, that's the logic that I used anyway.

So, what to do? I have a simple regular old boys haircut. I could get anyone to cut if for $10. But I just cant. Hell, after seven years I consider her a friend...that's worth an extra $30 per cut isnt it? Oh, and for those of you in Nashville...her name is Renee at Seraphim Salon...go see her and tell her Chad sent you!

So...I guess the moral is...I'm OK with Ramen Noodles and Tuna Sandwiches...as long as I dont have to cut back on the hair budget. Hmmm...sounds even dumber when I type it out!

Have you ever noticed that when the person in front of you at a stop light doesnt immediately go when the light turns green...you dont hesitate to crown him a jackass and quite possibly the worlds dumbest human on God's green Earth!!

BUT...when you are the first in line and YOU dont immediately go when the light turns green, THEN the ROAD RAGER behind you is now the Jackass and quite possibly THE most impatient person in the WORLD!

I guess BEAUTY isnt the only thing in the eye of the beholder...