Back before I even knew what blogging was, I had a Xanga account, just like all my other friends in college. We all wrote posts and commented on each others and had serious conversations about two other Xanga pages when they started stalking us and making crazy comments on every thing we wrote. Of course, those two crazy people turned out to be one person pulling the wool over our eyes in a genius manner!
But the other thing we did all the time was memes. MySpace was also a good place for those, and while I do not miss MySpace at all, I do have a fondness for memes.
So because Leah tagged me here, I'm playing along!
1. What is your favorite type of cheese?
I like most cheeses (except goat cheese. I've tried it many times. It tastes like a goat's pen and I just cannot) but my favorite would probably be brie. Baked, cold, room temperature, with cranberries, or pears!
2. What are you excited about?
That summer is almost here! I know having kids around with no agenda is stressful for many, but for me, it's more of a break. No rushing to get to school and back to work. I can send Elise and Jacob out to the backyard and let them play in the sand or with the water. Eating lunch on the patio and letting the bunny roam around the car port! Summer means a lot more freedom for us, and we have a great neighborhood for kids.
3. How did you celebrate your last birthday?
We didn't! Which is fine, end of summer tends to be a bit busy for everyone. I worry more about how Jacob will feel if the same business gets in the way of celebrating his day.
4. What is on your bedside table?
A lamp with a classy silicone potholder on top to keep the room dim at bedtime. A Bible, which I am terrible about opening and reading. A pair of headphones for the iPad when I was watching Breaking Bad in bed every night. And a corn warmer for my feet, although it's nice enough now to leave the windows open at night. Finally!
5. What do you order from the movie theatre's concession stand?
Popcorn and a soda. But we split it between all of us, although I do think that the popcorn has gotten to be terrible. Fake butter of the past was much better than the new fake butter.
6. Do you have a garden? What's growing?
We do have a garden! But right now it's only growing weeds. Chris decided that he wanted to pour a concrete curb around it this year, rather than our signature mark of neon orange plastic fencing. It took a very long time to get the trench dug, but it's finally finished and we just need to rotor-till the ground and plant the seeds. I don't see us getting much of a crop this year, but that's ok.
7. Any summer plans?
Getting the kids in swim lessons as soon as possible. Working in the afternoons is very hard in the summer because the pool opens at one. So if we can do morning lessons, I feel better about missing out on pool time. Chris really wants to take a trip to Yellowstone, so we are trying to work that plan out in the next week or so. At least we won't haul a boat that far, unlike last summer's trip.
8. Which TV couple's are you rooting for?
Well, I have a very large backlog of TV to get through. I'm behind on Nashville, Scandal, Mad Men, Modern Family, etc. Mostly because I've been reading (The Passage series! OMG, scary.) and because I hardly have time to sit down to watch it alone. It's not very fun to start a show at 11 PM. Although I will start a sewing project that late because I'm crazy.
9. What's the last thing you bought?
We went to the mall last weekend and I got new undies and 2 new shirts. And fabric to make an apron for a gift.
10. What is one thing you are passionate about?
This one is kind of tricky. I love my job and my kids and my hobbies and usually my husband. But sometimes I get burned out by work, and I yell at my kids too much. I really neglect my husband as I have a lot of jobs to do and as the other adult, he get's the shaft of my attention. I know things will calm someday, but for now it feels like I don't have enough time to be passionate about anything.
11. What are you grateful for this week?
That we've had rain, my kids are happy to be outside, I can go running, and it's a payday week!
Showing posts with label A Job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Job. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Sallie Mae Can Bite Me
I've worked for the past two days and I'm pretty sure my eyeballs were about to fall out at the end of each day. I am still not sure I can see clearly when I look around too quickly. Everywhere else I have worked was had me at a desk for most of the day, but none have had me so tied to the desk when I'm working. I'm just not used to spending 9 hours in front of a computer screen, and it's not like I can do my job in the other room. Not that I'm complaining, more like I don't understand how people can go to work for 8 hours a day, everyday, without terrible suffering. I suppose you become accustomed. Obviously, I've never tried to write a novel either.
I had a mini crisis today when I went to pay my student loans and discovered that they had gone up again for the third month in a row. I keep calling to change my payment and it's different every month. Apparently, I've used up all my time for repaying with interest only so I'm supposed to be paying on the full amount. I asked one person I spoke to today if there were any other options for lowering my payment and this is what she said "You could make a lump sum payment and lower your monthly payments."
I am not kidding. I told her I couldn't make an large one time payment as I do not have any money. If I had a stash of cash stored away, I wouldn't be calling to lower my payments. I would be PAYING MY BILL.
I hate to be a little bit judgemental but I really hate the fact that Sallie Mae outsources all their calls to another country, India, I believe. No one really knows what is going on, as I spoke to three people before I found out what was going on and when I called a 4th time, the man I spoke with managed to change my loans to a lower payment. I have no doubt that they will be at the same rate next month so I know I can't keep doing this forever. But I will probably enroll in two classes next semester so I can buy myself some time. We can't afford my student loans at the full amount if CS doesn't have a job. It's frustrating that I have run out of options. I want to pay my loans but how can I on a part time salary? I don't want to pay thousands of dollars in interest either. It's a terrible system.
I wish that my college had been honest about the cost of paying back tuition. I wish they would have sat down and explained it to me when I went in every semester to work out my finacial aid. I should have had more grants and scholarships. I should have gone to a college I could afford. I know it will work out but I really hate the time in between.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Life In A Small Town
Tonight, we went to the football game for the old high school I went to freshman year. Granted, the school has a new, shiny building so it's not the exact spot where I once attended games, clad in a jersey of the player I was dating, but still the same name and the blue and gold colors. And it made me want to bemoan my life to one of my friends but I couldn't because I knew she'd just say "you chose it" and I'd have to agree.
When I went with CS to his 10 year reunion at Manhattan's (now Kate's) where I used to work on Wednesday and Saturday (and where I hung out on a nightly basis if we're being honest) the DJ asked me why I was back when I had left with such big plans. Of course, the truth of the matter is that I didn't exactly choose this plan. I mean, I did by choosing to stay with CS and his decision brought us back here. I could have stayed behind in multiple places, everywhere we have gone I want to stay because I get attached. I love being back home, and seeing my mom and my friends here. But I love to leave. After being here too long, I want to go. I've lived here long enough and I'd love nothing more than to pack it all up and go back to Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio. Or even somewhere new. I wish we had that option now. But CS's job promises to keep getting better. I wish it would get better faster so we could live on our own and get past this awful stage. But CS can't quit his job because he needs it so we just have to wait for them to follow through on the myriad of promises they have given. It sucks, I hate it. I hate not being able to pay the bills because they won't pay him the amount they told him. But at least he has a job he likes and that he goes to, everyday. Even on a holiday weekend. I hate living where we do and the minute he gets his raise, we are moving to our own house. Where we can all sleep in the same bed together, and the dog can join us. I'm just trying to get through this phase. Hopefully, we move into a phase where things are easier. Where I can get past the fact that I'm living in the same place I have been trying to escape since I was 16. Sometimes, I look at my life and wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to make the same choices. To avoid all the bad things that have happened and make my life easier. Hindsight is a bitch. Part of me has such a hard time with my life because I have spend the last year at home with Jacob. I haven't been making my own money and taking care of myself. I've been relying on CS to do it, and there's a lot of trust in giving over all the things that I was proud of and now it seems like my life is in shambles and I can't put it back together without giving my son up during the day.
I try not to let myself dwell on these things, but after a bad day, sometimes it's hard to forget. But there is always tomorrow, as long as the baby lets me sleep past 6 AM.
When I went with CS to his 10 year reunion at Manhattan's (now Kate's) where I used to work on Wednesday and Saturday (and where I hung out on a nightly basis if we're being honest) the DJ asked me why I was back when I had left with such big plans. Of course, the truth of the matter is that I didn't exactly choose this plan. I mean, I did by choosing to stay with CS and his decision brought us back here. I could have stayed behind in multiple places, everywhere we have gone I want to stay because I get attached. I love being back home, and seeing my mom and my friends here. But I love to leave. After being here too long, I want to go. I've lived here long enough and I'd love nothing more than to pack it all up and go back to Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio. Or even somewhere new. I wish we had that option now. But CS's job promises to keep getting better. I wish it would get better faster so we could live on our own and get past this awful stage. But CS can't quit his job because he needs it so we just have to wait for them to follow through on the myriad of promises they have given. It sucks, I hate it. I hate not being able to pay the bills because they won't pay him the amount they told him. But at least he has a job he likes and that he goes to, everyday. Even on a holiday weekend. I hate living where we do and the minute he gets his raise, we are moving to our own house. Where we can all sleep in the same bed together, and the dog can join us. I'm just trying to get through this phase. Hopefully, we move into a phase where things are easier. Where I can get past the fact that I'm living in the same place I have been trying to escape since I was 16. Sometimes, I look at my life and wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to make the same choices. To avoid all the bad things that have happened and make my life easier. Hindsight is a bitch. Part of me has such a hard time with my life because I have spend the last year at home with Jacob. I haven't been making my own money and taking care of myself. I've been relying on CS to do it, and there's a lot of trust in giving over all the things that I was proud of and now it seems like my life is in shambles and I can't put it back together without giving my son up during the day.
I try not to let myself dwell on these things, but after a bad day, sometimes it's hard to forget. But there is always tomorrow, as long as the baby lets me sleep past 6 AM.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Baby Likes Bananas!
So we are in the midst of solid feeding around these parts. I started with bananas and have worked my way to apples, pears, sweet potatoes, and squash. For a while he would only eat apples and pears if I mixed them with bananas but I think we've moved past that. Once he tried sweet potatoes, there was no holding him back. It was like I'd been holding out on him. He's just like a little bird, holding his mouth open everytime the spoon gets close. Another trick is to get his face nice and messy, then rub his open mouth onto the table edge. After that, he puts his forehead on the table to look down at his feet, thus getting his entire face dirty. Luckily he likes to clean up with the dishrag afterwards. Which is mostly just sucking the moisture out of a washcloth. I'm not going to lie, he's gone to bed with dried-on peaches in his hair.
CS has been told that he can have a job with LPR when the job picks up in May. For now, he's taking a weld test for copper nickel welding down in a shipyard in Mobile. So we will be able to get by for a bit until he can get on with LPR. Then I just pray that the job drama is over. Maybe in six months, he can go back to the shipyard in MS and get paid more but we'll see. Our lease is for a year, so unless we want to lose a ton of money again, we're going to stay put.
We were trying to get the owner of the house to keep the utilities on for us so we don't have to pay huge deposits and when CS called to find out, our realtor told us that the house we leased is going to be bought by someone else. So, instead of getting our check back, CS and the realtor went house hunting. And they brought back a BIG ONE. We were going to lease a two bedroom house with a little yard and a shed. We were going to have to get a fridge, washer, and dryer. But we would have a gas stove! Now, we have FOUR BEDROOM and two bath, one level house that backs up next to a creek, that leads to another creek, that leads to Mobile Bay. And get this! We only have to pay $25 more a month for it. The man who wants to buy the house we have a lease on offered to match the rent for another place. The new house was $995 but the owner cut it down to $875 and he will pay $75 to us and we will pay the $800. Two more bedroom for $25 a month? Ok. EVERYONE! Come to our house for the holidays, any holiday. Maybe just a long weekend? Quit your job and move in? The downside to this is that we have no furniture. How am I going to furnish an entire house, when everything I own fits into a storage unit, and half that unit is made up of tools. Oh my. I guess there will be a lot of thrift shopping. Anyone want to come live with us?
CS has been told that he can have a job with LPR when the job picks up in May. For now, he's taking a weld test for copper nickel welding down in a shipyard in Mobile. So we will be able to get by for a bit until he can get on with LPR. Then I just pray that the job drama is over. Maybe in six months, he can go back to the shipyard in MS and get paid more but we'll see. Our lease is for a year, so unless we want to lose a ton of money again, we're going to stay put.
We were trying to get the owner of the house to keep the utilities on for us so we don't have to pay huge deposits and when CS called to find out, our realtor told us that the house we leased is going to be bought by someone else. So, instead of getting our check back, CS and the realtor went house hunting. And they brought back a BIG ONE. We were going to lease a two bedroom house with a little yard and a shed. We were going to have to get a fridge, washer, and dryer. But we would have a gas stove! Now, we have FOUR BEDROOM and two bath, one level house that backs up next to a creek, that leads to another creek, that leads to Mobile Bay. And get this! We only have to pay $25 more a month for it. The man who wants to buy the house we have a lease on offered to match the rent for another place. The new house was $995 but the owner cut it down to $875 and he will pay $75 to us and we will pay the $800. Two more bedroom for $25 a month? Ok. EVERYONE! Come to our house for the holidays, any holiday. Maybe just a long weekend? Quit your job and move in? The downside to this is that we have no furniture. How am I going to furnish an entire house, when everything I own fits into a storage unit, and half that unit is made up of tools. Oh my. I guess there will be a lot of thrift shopping. Anyone want to come live with us?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Grumpygills
I'm pretty sure that I'm totally against CS's job right now. This is a bad thing for me to express given the fact that we NEED him to have a job or I have to go back to work next month. He cannot quit this job without having a new one to go to immediately. However, I have my reasons.
#1: It takes him away from us.
#2: They don't actually pay that well when he's not away on a job.
#3: He missed his flight because he was called to the jobsite this morning to fix something and when he went to get his boarding pass, the airline charged him $75 that he had to put on MY CARD because the company card didn't work.
#4: He flew into Denver tonight and no one was scheduled to pick him up, nor was a car dropped off for him in advance. So guess who has to go get him? (Not from Denver, I just have to meet him in Colorado Springs because a co-worker is picking him up.)
#5: See above-All Reasons.
I am not aspiring to have buckets full of money like we did in New Mexico when he worked all the time and made a fortune an hour. I don't need a lot of money. It doesn't make me happy. I just save it. Which actually makes me happier than spending it. Anyways. I just want to feel comfortable with what we have. I want a place to live, money to pay the bills and buy the food without worrying that we can't afford that kind of juice or two boxes of cereal. I want to fill up my gas tank and buy a decaf coffee once in a while. I'm not looking to own fancy baby toys or pretty clothes from JCrew. I just don't want to be so damn broke anymore.
#1: It takes him away from us.
#2: They don't actually pay that well when he's not away on a job.
#3: He missed his flight because he was called to the jobsite this morning to fix something and when he went to get his boarding pass, the airline charged him $75 that he had to put on MY CARD because the company card didn't work.
#4: He flew into Denver tonight and no one was scheduled to pick him up, nor was a car dropped off for him in advance. So guess who has to go get him? (Not from Denver, I just have to meet him in Colorado Springs because a co-worker is picking him up.)
#5: See above-All Reasons.
I am not aspiring to have buckets full of money like we did in New Mexico when he worked all the time and made a fortune an hour. I don't need a lot of money. It doesn't make me happy. I just save it. Which actually makes me happier than spending it. Anyways. I just want to feel comfortable with what we have. I want a place to live, money to pay the bills and buy the food without worrying that we can't afford that kind of juice or two boxes of cereal. I want to fill up my gas tank and buy a decaf coffee once in a while. I'm not looking to own fancy baby toys or pretty clothes from JCrew. I just don't want to be so damn broke anymore.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
I Deal With The Crazy
I took a phone call at work today that could have hurt my feelings but instead made for a twisted sort of amusement. We've been having a lot of problems with companies making ad changes that never get to print and we end up printing the wrong ad and subsequently comping the cost of the ad to make them happy that we fucked up. To offset this, the editor made a decision last week that all ad changes must be in writing from the customer. This isn't hard to do, since we gladly take a short email or fax with a short little change line in it from them. It shouldn't be a problem. Who doesn't have email?
Since this policy has been in place, I've come across two people who seem to think this rule is absolute nonsense and they don't care if it is policy, they want me to work around it and make their changes without putting any effort into it on their part besides the phone call. Who knew people would be so willing to actually pick up a phone to speak to a person when email is so much easier. I got to talk to one of these fools today.
He just wanted two little words added to his ad. Sure, no problem. We can do that. I just need a email or fax along with this to confirm that this change is authorized by you before I can submit that. I couldn't find his paperwork, but I did see the ad in the paper. He didn't have the paper, but was looking at his ad online. But once I asked for him to send in something to me, he lost his shit. He couldn't believe that I would be so stuck on policy to not give in to him and just make the change. He was all over the country, had ten guys out there working on houses, and he couldn't make it up to Globe to make the changes. I told him he didn't need to come to Globe, he could just send me an email. However, he's apparently computer illiterate. Never mind the fact that he was LOOKING AT HIS AD ONLINE. Oops. Of course, I wouldn't call him out on that. But it certainly strengthened my resolve not to allow him to bully me. I don't operate under the motto "the customer is always right" because I believe that being a decent human being trumps any money they are going to throw my way. Man on the phone continues to rant that he doesn't have time, and what do I want? His credit cards? Personal references? Driver's license? I'm pretty sur the straw that broke the camel's back was when I simply said "I just need an email stating your changes" because he screamed like a little girl and hung up on me. Booyah.
Turns out, he only paid for his ad to run two weeks. It didn't run this week. And unless he makes some pretty drastic attitude adjustment, he won't be running his ad via me again.
In reality, I'd like to thank my father for all those conversations where he'd get irrational and angry. Because without those, I'd never had learned how to stay calm in the face of emotional, unstable people. Because that's what they hate the most. I'll be damned before I allow someone to berate me into submission with angry words. Luckily, I have a boss who backed my decision.
Since this policy has been in place, I've come across two people who seem to think this rule is absolute nonsense and they don't care if it is policy, they want me to work around it and make their changes without putting any effort into it on their part besides the phone call. Who knew people would be so willing to actually pick up a phone to speak to a person when email is so much easier. I got to talk to one of these fools today.
He just wanted two little words added to his ad. Sure, no problem. We can do that. I just need a email or fax along with this to confirm that this change is authorized by you before I can submit that. I couldn't find his paperwork, but I did see the ad in the paper. He didn't have the paper, but was looking at his ad online. But once I asked for him to send in something to me, he lost his shit. He couldn't believe that I would be so stuck on policy to not give in to him and just make the change. He was all over the country, had ten guys out there working on houses, and he couldn't make it up to Globe to make the changes. I told him he didn't need to come to Globe, he could just send me an email. However, he's apparently computer illiterate. Never mind the fact that he was LOOKING AT HIS AD ONLINE. Oops. Of course, I wouldn't call him out on that. But it certainly strengthened my resolve not to allow him to bully me. I don't operate under the motto "the customer is always right" because I believe that being a decent human being trumps any money they are going to throw my way. Man on the phone continues to rant that he doesn't have time, and what do I want? His credit cards? Personal references? Driver's license? I'm pretty sur the straw that broke the camel's back was when I simply said "I just need an email stating your changes" because he screamed like a little girl and hung up on me. Booyah.
Turns out, he only paid for his ad to run two weeks. It didn't run this week. And unless he makes some pretty drastic attitude adjustment, he won't be running his ad via me again.
In reality, I'd like to thank my father for all those conversations where he'd get irrational and angry. Because without those, I'd never had learned how to stay calm in the face of emotional, unstable people. Because that's what they hate the most. I'll be damned before I allow someone to berate me into submission with angry words. Luckily, I have a boss who backed my decision.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The Good News Is, Marriage By Proxy IS Allowed In Colorado.
But not in New Mexico. However, cousin marriage is allowed. Go figure.
Actually, Colorado Marriage Law allows for Marriage by Proxy for those in the military or those who are incarcerated. Surprised? I thought not.
Anyways, the Common Law Marriage paperwork is on my fridge. I don't know what to do with it, so I stuck it there.
Today was rather exciting as I have been up since 5 AM. I went running for two miles with Hunt before getting ready for my first day at work. (It's really dark at 5:20 in the morning, yet I saw about 5 people out walking.) I'm not very good at running, but it's a lot easier to do when it's not 1 PM on a Sunday afternoon and 103 degrees outside. Oh, and post-drinking too. That was just plain stupid. Anyways, after the run, I headed off to start at the Pacific Rim. I didn't actually study like they told me to; I just looked over the paperwork. But I didn't do too badly. They want me to also work over at the restaurant during lunchtime, which I guess I am ok with. She tried to get me to work five days a week, and I told her I didn't want to. I said I'm ok with four, but depending on how I like it, I may go down to three. It's not like a need the money, nor am I bound to make a lot. too bad bars aren't popular during the day. Maybe I should go work at the casino. Ew, no, they are allowed to smoke on the floor and I am not down with that.
After "work" I went over to a few places in town and picked up a few things. Like two pillows, dog toys, spatulas, a rug, and some light up Princess Pens. Then I went over to Hobby Lobby because I love that store and when I left to go to the bookstore, my car died. I knew just what happened, as it's done this before. The cable connecting the battery to the car came loose and it just needed to be tightened. But, I don't know how to do that. Luckily, there is a Checker Auto right next door so I went over there and told the guy what was wrong and he came out and fixed it for me. I would have taken it straight to Brakes Plus, but I don't know where that is, so I drove home, as I would rather be stranded here. I have an appointment to get it fixed and an oil change tomorrow. No more chances! Fix it now! But man, I'm going to hate paying for car repairs now that I am no longer in Colorado.
Actually, Colorado Marriage Law allows for Marriage by Proxy for those in the military or those who are incarcerated. Surprised? I thought not.
Anyways, the Common Law Marriage paperwork is on my fridge. I don't know what to do with it, so I stuck it there.
Today was rather exciting as I have been up since 5 AM. I went running for two miles with Hunt before getting ready for my first day at work. (It's really dark at 5:20 in the morning, yet I saw about 5 people out walking.) I'm not very good at running, but it's a lot easier to do when it's not 1 PM on a Sunday afternoon and 103 degrees outside. Oh, and post-drinking too. That was just plain stupid. Anyways, after the run, I headed off to start at the Pacific Rim. I didn't actually study like they told me to; I just looked over the paperwork. But I didn't do too badly. They want me to also work over at the restaurant during lunchtime, which I guess I am ok with. She tried to get me to work five days a week, and I told her I didn't want to. I said I'm ok with four, but depending on how I like it, I may go down to three. It's not like a need the money, nor am I bound to make a lot. too bad bars aren't popular during the day. Maybe I should go work at the casino. Ew, no, they are allowed to smoke on the floor and I am not down with that.
After "work" I went over to a few places in town and picked up a few things. Like two pillows, dog toys, spatulas, a rug, and some light up Princess Pens. Then I went over to Hobby Lobby because I love that store and when I left to go to the bookstore, my car died. I knew just what happened, as it's done this before. The cable connecting the battery to the car came loose and it just needed to be tightened. But, I don't know how to do that. Luckily, there is a Checker Auto right next door so I went over there and told the guy what was wrong and he came out and fixed it for me. I would have taken it straight to Brakes Plus, but I don't know where that is, so I drove home, as I would rather be stranded here. I have an appointment to get it fixed and an oil change tomorrow. No more chances! Fix it now! But man, I'm going to hate paying for car repairs now that I am no longer in Colorado.
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