This is my first entry.
I've always wanted to keep a memoir of my life. Something I can look back at and remember where I started. Whoever I am ten, twenty, thirty years from now is a mystery. I know who I want to become, but I'm afraid I will not achieve it. We can talk about my feelings another day. Today, let's recap my life.
Marriage
I've been married for almost 6 years now with the always beautiful Amanda, aka Mandi. We met back in 2007 after graduation. She ignored all my requests to go out on a date. She eventually caved in. The deal wasn't sealed until November 17th, 2007 (or 18th, depending on who you want to ask). I proposed on April Fool's Day in 2009. A couple months later, we married on December 12, 2009. Yay! Our family eventually grew to include two dogs. Puppy and Archer. A poodle and a mutt, respectively.
Life
We were dirt poor in 2009. I had started a web business with Carlos Reyes in 2010 - 2011. As we much as we tried, our profit was only between $60 - $300 ... per month. WE continued this for 8 months before we had to call it quits and take the defeat. I'm happy we did because we matured as a couple and my balls grew. Yep, my balls. I was always afraid to leave my family, but in the turn of the new year, I woke up, without a job and no money, turned to my wife and said "Let's go to Atlanta." The next day we did. My father gave me his car, my grandparents gave me $40, and packed our whole lives in the back seat. We had no idea where we were going to end up or how we were going to live. It was the scariest time in our lives.
My brother from another mother took us in. We lived on his sofa for the time being. We would take the car and drive to GoodWill and apply to all the jobs there. We bought our interview clothes there as well and my father would send us about $20 once per week. I remeber he sent us a package of goodies once. It had coffee, shirts, a letter, and random things that made us miss them even more. But Mandi and I were strong. We never looked back. After a couple weeks, Mandi found a job she despised and paid shit, but we needed it for the time being. I would wake up at 4am to take her, sleep in the parking lot, and return to GoodWill. After some time, I finally had a call back for a job. I had applied for a receptionist job in a dealership but they had something else planned for me. At that very time, their Internet Manager unexpectedly quit. He just up and left with no phone call or nothing. They hired me at the spot and I started for $30k + commission. I remember leaving the job crying. This was the highest I've ever been paid. David Baker, Mark Levy, and Joe Firpo will forever hold a special place in my heart.
As time passed, things got better. Mandi got a better paying job that she actually got and started getting promoted through the company. She eventually became a Vet Tech without school! I eventually kept growing as well and ending up as Internet Director for 3 dealerships under David Baker making 3 times the money! We were living the dream just three years after being dirt poor but something happened. My grandfather died. I got to speak to him in person for a couple minutes before he closed his eyes and never opened it again. The funeral was held in Puerto Rico where all the family came together to honor the original Centeno. I felt broken because all the money in the world had me blind to what was the most beautiful thing which was family. I put my resignation and we moved back to Florida in late 2014. Again, we had no money, no job with a lot of expensive bills. I was determined to be a family man and an entrepreneur. I was determined to be there for the ones close to me. I was determined to honor my grandfather's memory with my father. I knew I wasn't going to achieve it with the job in Atlanta.
Businesses
Once I got back from Atlanta, I dedicated to building my empire. As of today, I have four businesses. World Token (app), Jo Use Fashion, Alert A Friend (app), and Angel Centeno Studio along with a full-time job. Ahhhhh. The description of these businesses will soon follow.
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