Flies Everywhere!

I have somehow managed to get flies in the kitchen. I believe they came in with a bunch of pears I bought the other day. I am so grossed out! It is too late to find somewhere to buy fly paper and I am trying to kill these bugs with extreme prejudice! Ewww...bugs! I am going to look online to see if there is any way to destroy them with common household items.

New eBay Items

I have put some new items up on eBay! Check them out if you are interested!

The first is the Dreamgirls soundtrack. It is an excellent CD and I highly recommend it.

The second item is Calvin and Hobbes. It is the first book in the collection and has a forward by Gary Trudeau. I love Calvin and Hobbes and I somehow ended up with two copies of this book so I am glad to have the opportunity to share the magic of Bill Waterson with others.

Please check out my auctions and bid if you feel so inclined!

Darts at the Bar

Last night was my boyfriend's best friend's birthday. She had a huge get together at a bar downtown and I went with my boyfriend to help her celebrate. We played darts and hung out with a bunch of really cool people for about 3 hours. I only drank water so I didn't spend a dime and I got to meet some awesome new people.

The woman throwing the party had requested people bring canned goods to help the local food pantry. I cleared out the canned goods my former roommate left behind and brought those with me so I didn't spend any money for that either. I really appreciate that she celebrated her birthday by helping those less fortunate and I am glad I was able to help.

Roommate

I am heading to the grocery store to pick up food for the week. I have only gotten 1 paycheck this month and it was only for a few hours of work so I have had a whopping $147 income so far this month. I transferred money from savings to cover rent and utilities and such but I am still kind of panicked. I have never had to use my savings like this before so I really felt the pain of transferring over those funds.

On a happy note I think I may have found a new roommate! She works with me and needs a cheaper place to live so she is going to come over next week and check out the apartment to see if she would be interested. Hopefully that will go well and my expenses will go back down! I'll still have the lower paying job but at least I won't have to cover all the bills by myself.

Lunch Today

I didn't have anything to take to work for lunch today. I had exactly $1 in quarters and I was going to have a candy bar or something from the vending machine until I discovered a Starbucks gift card hidden in the realms of my purse! I had $6 on the card so I got a soda and 2 of those cookies that are the size of your head (the sandwiches and stuff were all $6 or more so I couldn't really use the card for true lunch-type foods unfortunately.)

It filled me up but I was wishing I'd had some protein later in the afternoon. I am making dinner now and I will be setting some aside for lunch before I take a single bite. I can't go without food tomorrow and I can't go two days in a row without a decent lunch. Thank goodness there is a refrigerator at work so I can bring food from home!

eBay Sales

The new job I accepted started me at a very low training rate. I was fine with this because I was only supposed to be at the lower pay for 6 weeks. Friday I found out that they are extending the training for another 7 weeks, so I have inadvertently taken more than a 50% pay cut for the next 12 weeks. I can't really handle having my income cut for that long which is part of why I took the part time job that I was offered as well. I still need to find a way to earn a bit of extra income though so I am looking into a few other ways to make some money.

I put a couple of things up for sale on eBay this afternoon. I need the money more than I need the items, so it seems like the right thing to do. I am hoping that I'll be able to sell them and put the money towards groceries and paying the electric bill. If you want to stop by and take a look at my listings feel free!

The first item is The Sims Complete Collection. I love The Sims but I will be working closer to 60 hours a week now for less than 2/3 of what I was earning previously and I will be spending time with my boyfriend so I really can't be playing a game as addictive as The Sims anymore. The second item is Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease. I've lost a lot of weight since I moved to NYC, mostly due to dietary changes and walking everywhere, but also in part to these workout videos. They are fun and provide a decent workout, not to mention teaching me some striptease basics! (My boyfriend seems pleased by what I've learned from the DVDs!) If you have an interest in either of these items or you know someone else who might want them please don't hesitate to take a look at the auctions and forward the links on to other people as well!

Preventing Library Fines

I have several DVDs and a couple of audio books that I checked out from the library last week that are due today. I have a lot of stuff to do around the house today though and I don't have time to go to the library so I went online and renewed everything so I can return them on my way home from work tomorrow without incurring a fine.

I am going to make pancakes and bacon later today since I have the stuff to make them lying around and I can't afford to go to the store yet. My paycheck from my job only covered 16 hours so I am going to be eating what I've got here at home for now.

Mmm, foodbits!

I am having a craving for steak. Thick, juicy steak with a side of garlic mashed potatoes and followed by a double fudge brownie. I can't afford that though, so I will have tomato soup instead. Stupid finances preventing steak from being in my belly!

All Sorts of Free!

Yesterday was a 2 for 1! I went to a paperback swap and got a bunch of new books in exchange for old books I won't ever read again AND my boyfriend and I went and saw The Blues Brothers at the Hudson River Flicks. It was a very funny movie but it was freezing outside! I wish I had brought a blanket or something because it was so cold and windy outside that it was unpleasant to be out and about. It was worth it though because the movie was hilarious and I will always be glad to have any reason to see my boyfriend!

Book Club Meeting

I went to my book club meeting tonight. We met at a pub and everyone else had beer but since I don't drink and I don't have any money to spend I just had water. I always have a great time with my book club and it is wonderful to spend time in intellectual conversation with people. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to talk to people about politics, cinema, and literature without having to worry that you are offending someone or having to explain yourself over and over again. Intelligent conversation and an evening out and about with good friends is always a good idea, especially when it doesn't cost a thing!

Clothes Shopping

I finally finished my clothes shopping! I now have an acceptable amount of clothing for work and home that fits me properly, including a few new pairs of shoes. Now I can't spend another dime on clothes until I shrink out of all of this stuff, but at least I won't have to wander around in clothes that are too big for me anymore.

What I Learned About Myself

After my unemployment debacle I have learned that I don't function well without a daily purpose. There are some people out there who, when graced with the opportunity to live life without working, do great things. They volunteer with charities or go to the gym and get really slim or they travel to amazing places. I spent my week of unemployment doing nothing. Literally. I have dishes to do from earlier this week before I started my new job, which is nuts because I had nothing but time! I could have been washing dishes and cleaning my apartment but instead I spent the time applying for jobs and reading web comics. I need a reason to get up at a normal hour every day. I need something to spur me into action. I can't be without a job for more than a few days at a time. Though I wish I hadn't needed to go through the horrors of quitting and then finding a new job I am glad I was able to learn something new about myself. Learning something new about yourself is priceless!

11 p.m.

It is 11 p.m. I can hear my neighbor's alarm clock going off. They are obviously not home and it just keeps going. I have ear plugs so I should be okay. Ear plugs are cheaper than murder charges, which was my other option. Okay, so maybe not murder, probably just an angry fist shaking in their general direction.

My boyfriend and I went to the movies tonight and then we sat outside of Central Park for a while. It was a nice night and I quite enjoyed spending time with him. I have to go to bed now because I am working in the morning...my new job has half a day of training tomorrow. Insurance training is kind of boring so I will probably end up bringing a soda or something to keep myself awake, but I will buy it at the store instead of from a vending machine to save some money.

When It Rains It Pours

I got offered a part time job on top of my new job offer from yesterday! Excellent! It is a job ushering for musical performances at a theater downtown, so I would get a paycheck and get to see performances for free! (I think that is officially too many exclamation points, but I am super excited and I just can't help it.)

Last night my boyfriend took me out to dinner to help celebrate my new job so I got a free dinner and since I only ate half of my meal (they give you A LOT of seasame chicken!) so he took the rest for his lunch at work today. It worked out well for both of us!

New Job

I got the job I interviewed for this morning! It will be a bit of a pay cut, but it takes 2 hours a day off of my commute and it has flexible hours so that I can go back to school and get my master's degree in the spring. I also have the option of working overtime to earn extra cash if I need, unlike my last job where I was expected to work extra for no additional pay. I start on Thursday. Wish me luck!

Job Interview

In the morning I have a job interview with an insurance company downtown. I would work in the financial district! That would be really cool. I am very excited about possibly working in Manhattan instead of having to travel so far away from home, not to mention working for a non-crappy company instead of where I was before. Wish me luck!

Today I am going to do some laundry after it stops raining. It should be the last big trip I have to take to the laundromat! Tide changed their formula and now it makes my clothes smell like deoderant tampons, I swear. I bought new laundry detergent that is both dye and scent free and I am running almost everything I own through the laundry to get rid of the Tide smell. I am also writing to Proctor and Gamble to see if they will refund my money for their inferior product.

Oooh, It Burns!

Yesterdy at Govenor's Island, despite my use of sunblock, I managed to get a wicked burn on my back. Ouch! I am going to spend today in bed (on my stomach, of course) and not move. That at least is free! Remember kids, when wearing a tank top you MUST have someone give you a hand putting sun block on your upper back or you will end up horribly burned.

Cleaning Day

Since I am no longer employed at the moment I am taking today to clean the apartment. I might as well use my time productively, right? My boyfriend is coming by tonight and we are going to watch a movie and pick up a pizza, so we have a fun but low cost evening ahead of us.

Tomorrow I am taking a free tour of Govenor's Island with some friends. I love history and educational stuff so I think it will be incredibly fascinating and it won't cost a dime!

Hudson River Flicks

I went to a movie on the Hudson River tonight. It was a showing of Saturday Night Fever broadcast on a huge projection screen on a pier next to the river. It was good, though the movie ends in a bit of a depressing note. I got to spend the evening with a friend and my boyfriend and they gave out free popcorn, which was awesome. I love free things! I think we are going back to see The Blues Brothers later this month.

Stupid Internet Connection

For the past couple of days my internet connection has been down, preventing me from updating my blog or doing many of the other things I use the internet for every day. I have been using the internet at the library to catch up with email and apply for jobs though, so it wasn't the most horrible thing in the world. Thank goodness I have the internet back though!

Last night I took an interesting class called "How to Make a Better First Impression." Since I am currently applying for jobs and such I figured it was well worth my time, not to mention the fact that it was free! It was offered through a social group I am a part of and I thought it was very interesting. Not a bad way to spend an evening!

Art Museum

Last night I went to see the Dali exhibit at the MoMA. It is free on Fridays so it didn't cost me a cent and I met some awesome people. It was a lovely evening.

I ended up spending time with a friend tonight so I will spend my Sunday morning in the laudromat washing every item of clothing I own. I was supposed to do laundry on Thursday but my boyfriend asked me to go out that night and I will pick a sexy man over clean clothes any day!

Cleaning The Mattress

As you will remember from a couple of days ago my cat got sick and peed on my bed. Well, in the past couple of days I have tried Urine Gone, Baking Soda, and Peroxide to get rid of the smell but none of it has worked. The man at the pet store recommended a product called Urine Off, so I have soaked my bed in that and I am waiting for it to get rid of the smell. If this one doesn't work I am just going to have to bleach the crap out of the mattress and then flip it over to sleep on it while I find a replacement. I don't want to buy a new mattress since I don't have $300-$600 to spare, but I can't sleep on the couch forever. The mattress is about 5 years old at this point but I was hoping to get at least another 2 years out of it before having to get a new one. It is still really comfy and I would love to keep it a while longer.