Job Offer

I was offered a position that I interviewed for on Monday. It would be a pay cut but it would be much, much closer to home. I am not sure if I want to take it though...it is a small company with very little room for growth and it is a job I am not very familiar with (commercial insurance) in an industry I don't know that I want to stay in for much longer. Sigh...decisions are hard sometimes.

On a money saving note, I have been drinking cranberry juice like crazy lately but I thin it with water. I do that with most juices, actually. 50% water and 50% juice still tastes great but it helps to cut calories and make your juice last twice as long.

More Vet Bills

I took Joey to the emergency vet last night since the peeing on stuff kind of came out of nowhere. It turns out he has some kind of urinary inflammatory thing and is now on a couple of different medications. I love him and he is worth every cent I spent at the vet, but I have to say that I hope both cats are DONE being sick for now. I just can't handle any more sick kitties! Oh well, I will give them both scritches and just be glad they are both alive and (mostly) well.

Cats Are Making Life Difficult

Great. Oliver has been sick, but after several hundred dollars in vet bills he seems to be getting better. Now Joey insists on peeing on everything that shouldn't be peed on for any reason. I am about ready to pull out my hair! I have no idea what is causing any of this and now I can't do anything about it at 9:30 at night. I am at my wit's end. I can't sleep in my bed tonight as it is full of cat pee and enzyme cleanser...I hope the couch will be comfortable.

Book Club Meeting

Today our book club meeting was held at my friend's house and she made a huge brunch! Sausage, eggs, fruit, baguettes, and various cookies and sweets all at no cost to me. We picked a book for our next meeting that should be at the public library. When I go tomorrow I am going to pick it up and try to read it right away.

I also found 8 cents on the subway today. Hurrah for spare change!

Skipping a Week

I hadn't even realized it, but last week I didn't go grocery shopping at all. Today when I got up I realized I didn't have anything but canned soup, canned vegetables, and various kinds of pasta and rice. No bread, milk, cereal, fruit, etc. at all in the house. I don't know how I was able to completely forget to buy groceries!

I went to the store and restocked the house so I actually have food available. I also bought cranberry juice to have on hand for the next week or two so that I can keep that pesky UTI from popping back up again. I spent a bit more than I had planned on but I figure since I spent absolutely nothing on food last week it balances out.

It Hit The Fan

Today I had a performance evaluation more than a month after being told I was going to be fired. They didn't fire me, but they gave me ANOTHER warning of being fired in a month.

I panicked. I turned in my 2 week notice and set up an interview with another company for Monday. I just can't live through another month of waiting for the axe to fall and I can't keep making up illnesses every time I have an interview. Because I turned in my notice they are giving me a glowing referral and giving me time to interview over the next couple of weeks.

I cried for a minute when I realized what I had done but after I got past the fact that I just freaking quit my job I realized it was the best decision I could have made given the situation. I can't keep being miserable at work and this was the necessary step to end the misery.

Sleepy

After last night's adventures I am so tired I can barely see. I am going to go wash a couple of bras in the tub and then I am going to go to bed. I don't care if it isn't even 8:00 yet...some days you need to catch up on sleep! Sleep doesn't cost a thing though so I have no complaints at all.

My boyfriend (we will call him that, for lack of a better term at the moment since we haven't really established a title for what we are to one another yet) is celebrating his 27th birthday tomorrow. We are going to Dangerfield's, a comedy club without any kind of drink/food minimum purchase, and we have a coupon for half off admission. There is no reason a birthday celebration can't be frugal!

UTI Suckage

It is 2 in the morning. I am sitting here on the couch with a glass of cranberry juice trying to flush out a urinary tract infection that popped up about 6 hours ago. I hate when this happens. I started on antibiotics to kill the bacteria a few minutes ago but that isn't going to make it hurt less now. Hopefully the cranberry juice will help with the bathroom related unpleasantness.

Musings

I have an interview on Thursday and then another interview on Tuesday. I also have a date Thursday night!

I found a dime on my way home from work, so I am 10 cents ahead for the day.

I ate leftovers for dinner tonight instead of going out for dinner and I had leftover cake for breakfast this morning...it is a leftover kind of day apparently.

Interview!

I got a call for an interview with a company in midtown! I hope it works out...I hate my job so much. I would be glad to do just about anything to get a job with a different company closer to home. Hopefully something will come along soon so I won't have to worry about this much longer.

The Pharmacy

Since I am trying to get myself fired I decided to go into the pharmacy today and pick up my prescription and get some over the counter stuff as well since I know my health insurance is still in effect and I have my medical funds account that my employer provides. This way I don't get fired tomorrow and then have to go get my prescription (which is just birth control, not insulin or something necessary to keep me alive) and pay out of pocket because I waited 2 days too long. I saved quite a bit of money with that little bit of planning ahead!

The Cloisters

Today I am going to The Cloisters (the medieval art collection for the Met) with some friends. They request a donation of $20 but there isn't a charge, so to speak, simply a donation request. I am going to donate $1 because the museum gets funded in part by the government, which means my taxes are already paying their costs. I am not going to pay for something I am already paying for! It is a neat museum, I highly recommend it.

I didn't know that!

Did you know you can watch entire episodes of Coupling on youtube? It is one of the funniest shows ever and I am so glad I am able to see it without having to buy the DVD set. I'd like to own it someday, of course, but until then I am satisfied catching episodes online or renting it from the library.

Another Date

I had a wonderful time with my date last night! I bought dinner but he took me out for ice cream later in the evening and then, not to be too telling or anything, but he bought me breakfast this morning too. He was going to cook breakfast for me but we got distracted and finally just decided to head downtown and find a diner.

He is really, really wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that I mentally squee* everytime I think about him. Most men I have dated have been sweet and nice but have always had something that nagged at me to let me know they weren't going to be long term dating material. Either they were mean to waitstaff or they were dumb or they were proud of the fact that they don't read or whatever, but there was always something about them that immediately told me that we would not last. The last guy I really liked kept getting interviews and offers for positions overseas so I couldn't attach myself to someone who was moving within 6 months.

This guy is pretty close to perfect. I am so glad I met him, and not just because he bought me breakfast. Hurrah!


*Squee, for those of you who don't know, is the sound you make in your brain when you are overloaded with happy. Think of the sound your brain would make if you were to see a group of kittens or something. That sound is known as a squee.

This might be a bad idea...

I was told about a month ago that I was going to be fired. I got ready to be canned, cleared out my desk, and started applying for other jobs. Well, plenty of time has come and gone and they still haven't fired me. The only thing that whole speech they gave me has done is to make me hate going to work every day much worse than I ever have before. I feel outcast and tense all day long and I have to really force myself to get up and go into work every day. Well, a couple of days ago my back started to hurt. Not so much that I couldn't walk or anything, but enough that it made me think twice about going into work, especially since my commute is so long that if my back did go out completely while I was at work it would take me about 2 hours to get home again while injured.

I called in sick on Wednesday and spent the time applying for jobs. Then I did the same thing Thursday. Then again today. I am hoping that when I go in on Monday they will finally get around to firing me. I know if I quit I can't claim unemployment at all but that if I get fired I at least have a shot at it so I am trying to force them to fire me instead of quitting. I know it is a dumb thing to do but I can't bring myself to keep working there anymore. I feel like it is draining away my soul every day I have to go into that office. I got a call from a recruiter today for a possible position with another company and I am applying for upwards of 10 jobs a day so I can't imagine I would be out of work for too long. I also have 3 1/2 months of living expenses saved up to cover the time I was unemployed.

Cleaning

My date on Saturday went well, so we went out again on Monday. That also went well, so on Friday my date is coming over to my place and I am making dinner. This means that I have much cleaning to do! I swept and mopped the kitchen and the bathroom, I am almost finished with dishes, and I am cleaning the living room here in a bit. I will have to clean my bedroom too but I haven't started on that yet. It is much cheaper to cook at home and rent a movie than to go out for an evening though so I will dedicate much time to cleaning so that we can hang out here instead of spending money.

blargh

It's late. I had a date tonight. It went very well, but MAN was that a long subway ride! I am glad I had my iPod with my free audiobooks courtesy of audible.com and the NY public library!

Ultimate In Frugal Entertainment

Yesterday night I went to see Bon Jovi in concert. For free. That's right...not a dime spent to see an incredible musical performance in Central Park. It was fantastic! I was invited by a guy for our first date and I must say that the concert and the date went very well. I will be seeing him again on monday (my date, not Bon Jovi.)

Clothes Shopping Day

Today after work I went to Wal-Mart and took advantage of their insanely cheap prices to restock the very basics of my wardrobe. I got about 20 pairs of socks, underpants, a few t-shirts and a pair of jeans all for under $75. I tried to go to Target but they had nothing in my size that wasn't capri pants or see through tops and trust me when I say no one wants to see me in that kind of thing out on the street. Now I am working on replacing some of my work clothes and building up my casual wardrobe so that everything I own is in colors that suit my skin tone and hair color and a fit designed specifically for my body type. I am trying to do all of this on a minimal budget...talk about difficult! I am going to Goodwill tomorrow and see what they have there that might work for me.

Job Interview #1

My interview today went well! It is a pretty awesome company with a casual dress code that is much closer to my home than my current job. I decided that if they offer me the position within my salary range I will gladly accept it. I am very excited! Hopefully they will give me a call back soon and let me know one way or the other. I am still setting up other interviews, of course, but this seems like it would be a good fit for me.

Still Employed For Now

Well, I managed to get through my day without getting the ax! I have taken tomorrow off since I have an interview in the middle of the day with another company. I hope it goes well! I can't keep working where I am now. It is slowly draining the soul from my body and I just can't take it anymore. I am also setting up interviews with other companies for the next week or two so I am sure something great will come along very soon.

On another note, I found 50 cents on the subway today. I think that is the most money I have found at one time since I moved to the city.

Wish me luck on my interview!

Tomorrow

Well, tomorrow is the day I expect to lose my job. I have cleaned everything out of my cube so leaving won't be a long, drawn out process if they walk me out of the building. I have an interview on Thursday morning so hopefully if everything goes the way I think it will I will get fired tomorrow and start my new job on Monday.

I found 2 pennies today, so that was a bonus!

Shopping

I need new clothes very badly. I can't afford new clothes though. I went to the store and got a couple of new bras so that at least my breasts are well supported (I have lost over 50 lbs in the last year and my bras no longer fit) but my pants and shirts are all huge too and I don't have the funds to replace them. I guess this weekend I will head to goodwill and see if they have anything in my size. I would like to invest in some nice looking clothes with a proper fit so that I look like a million bucks but I don't want to spend a million bucks to look good. I will go out in search of decent sales over the next week or so as well in hopes of having clothes that fit me again.

Muffins

Today blueberries were on sale at the store! I love blueberries but they are so expensive so I almost never get to buy them. I am currently making blueberry muffins right now! I am so excited about my fresh blueberry muffins made from scratch that I can hardly wait for breakfast tomorrow.

The Box

I have been going around the apartment finding things I don't need anymore or that were left behind by my roommate and collecting them in a box. Here in a few days I will have a box full of stuff to sell on eBay when I get the ax at work. It helps me accomplish 2 things: paying the bills and keeping the apartment clean!

Happy 4th of July!

Yay! I hope everyone has fantastic 4th of July plans! I will be watching the fireworks from the roof of my apartment building tonight instead of trying to fight my way downtown to pay $25 to go to a crowded party.

Today I am celebrating freedom....freedom from debt, the freedom to live in the most incredible city in the world, the freedom to pursue my goals and ambitions. These freedoms come at a cost though. That cost is responsibility. I have to be responsible for spending less than I earn and making appropriate, responsible decisions. All freedom comes at a price. The price of our national freedom is the money spent and the lives lost in our military. The price of our personal freedom is made up of opportunity costs. I hope everyone considers today more than a time to eat hot dogs and watermelon and remembers the cost of their freedoms. Raise your red, white, and blue glass in a toast to those who fight for you overseas as well as all the things you have given up to get where you are today and the decisions you will make in the future to end up where you truly want to be in life. Take today to celebrate where you are now and where you are going in the future. I know that is what I will be doing! I will leave you with some food for thought from one of my fellow Americans, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

A man in debt is so far a slave.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

3 Day Weekend!

Woohoo! A three day weekend is always a reason to celebrate (not to mention the birth of our proud nation!) I will use tomorrow productively by looking for jobs and cleaning. I will also put in some time on the book I have started writing. Saturday during the day I am going on a date so that should be fun and exciting as well.

The most important thing I am going to do tomorrow is sleep in late. It is a rare occasion that I get to sleep past 8 in the morning anymore and I am going to take full advantage of the extra day off by sleeping in until 9 if the kitties will allow me to do so. It is amazing how much joy one can find in activities that are absolutely free! I hope everyone finds there own ways to celebrate tomorrow and makes the most out of the holiday weekend.

Why No Shoes?

I have a question for the citizens of NYC. Why are all the small children running around shoeless today? I saw no less than 4 children without shoes being shuttled about in strollers and such. Why wouldn't you put shoes on your kid? Protect the tiny feet and put shoes on them!

Anyway, I have to buy new laundry soap tonight. I had purchased an off brand laundry detergent that was on sale and now all my clothes smell like slightly burnt mold. I guess I learned that not every money saving venture is effective. I am going to write to the laundry soap company and see if they will refund my money.

Bacon

I am heading down to the laundromat tonight. I have my little washer but once a month or so everything needs to be washed and dried properly. I also have towels and sheets and stuff that need to be washed too.

When I get home I am going to make pancakes and bacon for dinner and to take for lunch tomorrow. Mmmm, bacon. Why are are the delicious foods so bad for you?