Craig Ruvere

10Feb 2011 by CJ

Date night can be a costly proposition in society today

Once you’ve been married for several years and things start becoming somewhat ordinary from day to day, a new phrase becomes part of your vernacular whenever you find yourself going out to eat or doing anything you used to do before you got hitched – date night. Such was the case one Friday evening when my wife and I decided to go out to dinner and a movie – uncharacteristic for us at the close of a busy work week. We started with dinner at a local chain restaurant, which thanks to a $25 gift certificate, only wound up costing us $15 out of pocket. Not too shabby. The movie was even better as I still had two free passes saved up from a few Christmas’ ago. All in all…

08Feb 2011 by CJ

Giving someone’s life a little purpose is a sign of character

Generosity & Kindness, Love & Relationships

“The purpose of life is not to be happy—but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.”― Leo Rosten This morning while rummaging through a catch-all drawer in one of my spare bedrooms, I came across an old black and white photograph I wasn’t looking for. Staring back at me was my grandmother, standing in a large grassy field, her arm wrapped around the shoulder of her father in law - my great grandfather. She appeared to be in her early 30’s – a beautiful young woman with a pouting smile, curly dark hair and skin, smooth and creamy. Always conscious of her physical appearance, she looked as though she was posing for a photo shoot rather than for my…

08Feb 2011 by CJ

Happy Life #1 Rule is to Be Slow to Anger

Life & Living, Love & Relationships

What's the best way to gain sixty seconds of peace of mind and a happy life? Keep on reading. As any homeowner will corroborate, there’s never an end to the laundry list of projects needing attention around the house. From mysterious water leaks, to ceilings and walls needing a fresh coat of paint, to outdoor maintenance such as shoveling snow or manicuring shrubbery. While owning a home is a rewarding experience, it can often feel like a second, full-time job – the difference being it costs you money to work there. I’ve resided in my current dwelling for the last nine years and during that time I’ve gained a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the art of household repairs. After all, in today's challenging economic environment you almost…

07Feb 2011 by CJ

New Jersey Teachers Deserve More Respect Than They Get

Information & Education, Youth

Some of you reading this might feel I’m a little biased towards the subject matter at hand. After all, my wife is an educator in on of the New Jersey teachers and this blog highlights a growing issue, nationwide, about the state of education in this country. But I assure you that my appreciation for this profession has always been a part of my character, ever since I was a teenager petitioning the Board of Education to reconsider teacher dismissals. As many of you might already be aware, the state of New Jersey, under the leadership of Governor Chris Christie, is facing radical changes. One hot topic continuously in the headlines is that of our current educational system. The argument however, has proven to be anything but straightforward. Propaganda has…

05Feb 2011 by CJ

Greetings, and welcome to the blog The View from Here!

Life & Living

A friend of mine recently asked why I hadn’t started a blog, especially given the fact that I always seem to have so much to say. After all, over the last five years I’ve had the great pleasure of writing a weekly editorial column called The View from Here, which covered everything from life, to politics, to love and everything else in between. I guess I can understand then why a blog might be a worthwhile proposition. But admittedly I wasn’t sure a blog was right for me. For starters, I didn’t really know what a blog was, let alone if anyone would want to read me ranting and raving about whatever came to mind – a reality that often drives my wife crazy as I’m rarely at a loss…