Keeping It Frugal

I really had to fight myself this morning, but I did it. I went to Sabbath School and to Church.

I'm really glad I did, because of three things:

1. My best friend T and family were there, and I sat with them. T's daughter made me a card during church that said "I Love You ... You Love Me." Swoon.

2. I usually like to go to first service, but today went to second service. The music today was just fantastic! The church bell choir performed around 8 pieces, plus the first service praise team led us in Christmas music for a number of hymns. The sermon also was fantastic - of course, I always have gotten a lot out of Pastor P's sermons.

3. While standing in the hallway with T waiting for her son to get out of class, T noticed a new family standing across from us. She started talking to them. They mentioned they'd just moved from Albuquerque. So, of course I had to mention that my family had lived there from 84 - 89. I asked them what church they'd attended - it was the same one my family had attended, and my other best friend who recently moved back to Texas. So, I asked them if they knew my best friend K. They did! Wow! What a small world we really live in.

I just love it when I walk into the library, and see the librarian notice me and immediately go get the book I had on hold.

In other news, today was a no spend day.

Really, it was a pretty much do nothing day (other than going to church and then the library.) I slept a good portion of the afternoon. I really hope I'm not coming down with something -- not just a few days before my trip!

Let's see here . .

* Found out today that I more than likely will be keeping my Friday morning gig opening the gym. I thought it would only be through today, but apparently the person who used to do it isn't available anymore. So, that means a continued 5 hrs a week at the gym in the new year.

* Gulp. Submitted an application and resume to two places in CA today. The first one was ALL online.

It was quite aggravating because after I completed the application, pasted in my resume, pasted in a cover letter and submitted - it then had a background check form asking for drivers license, car license, places lived for last 10 years . . . You had to do it right then - no way to save it and go back later. I finally managed to finish the last bit of it at 8:29 a.m. I'm supposed to be at my Real job at 8:30. Argh!

* Updated my sidebar totals, and added an Extra Monies tracking page for Dec.

* Today was a No Spend Day
(Not for lack of thinking about things I would like to go buy - mainly food items.)

* A good friend of mine from college friended me on Facebook today! Hi DJ!

* I got paid for an unused sick day today in my paycheck. After taxes, ~$74 going to Extra Monies! Yay!

* I contacted an old friend today via email! -- I'd received an email from an address I thought I recognized saying something about "I have a prayer for you". But when I opened it, I saw it was from fanbox something or other site, and recalled getting strange emails with that website before. So, decided not to open it. SO glad I didn't open it, because about 30 minutes later I got an email from my friend telling me that it was a virus! Ack!

* The Beck Diet Solution is being held for me at the library. This is the book that has a bunch of ideas on how to fight negative thinking with positive thinking. I'd sparkmailed the person who had blogged about it to find out the name of the book, and she got back to me right away. So, I'll pick it up tomorrow and start making my keychain cards!

* A funny at work today. {Backstory} We have a 'consultant' doing some auditing for us. Yesterday he'd asked me for 5 paperclips. So, I reach into my side drawer and pull out the DW created 'paper clip pocket made out a notebook paper and staples'. He gave me a funny look, and I explained to him that I tend to give DW a lot of paperclips in the various things I do for him, so he likes to give them back to me at various times and in various modes of container.

{Today} Consultant guy comes by my desk again, and asks to use my stapler. Then he says he needs more paperclips. So, I pull out a second, more full 'notebook/staple packet' and give it to him. He then puts it down on the filing cabinet next to my desk which holds the letterhead and envelopes, and is about 6 inches or so higher than the top of my desk. He tells me he'll be back for it, but needs to go meet with head honcho.

About 30 minutes later I notice J, our CFO walking by my desk casting strange glances towards my area. Then about the same time, A, who's desk is next to mine also starts casting strange glances my way. I figured out what they were staring at.

After explaining what it was, D, our shipping manager (deal with brokers person), says "It's like you're at an airport and you see a strange package."

(After all that, I just went ahead and took it to the office the consultant was working out of!)

Maybe not so funny in the retelling - but it was pretty funny when it happened.

I'll be in California! Yay!

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Now to the mundane.

I ran 2.1 miles in 30 minutes at the gym.

I spent money today:

$20 to Office Manager towards 3 honcho's gifts

$5.64 at Walmart (bananas, sweet potato, microwavable soup, can of sweet corn, 2 packets specialty hot chocolate, and a bottle of chocolate syrup.)

I probably could have stuck with just the first 3 items . . but this is the list of what I got AFTER talking myself out of some of my more 'usual' purchases. I'm counting it as a win!

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I talked to my dad last night. He told me about the gym at the local university. Among other things, it has an outdoor pool and an INSIDE running track!

My grandma can get a free membership since she is over 80 years old. That means I can use a guest pass ($5/day - but I asked my dad to see if there was any kind of 2 week pass deal instead.)

So . . any guesses as to where I'll be at some point on December 26? LOL!

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I talked to my mom tonight. She wanted to have some specefic ideas for what I wanted for Christmas. I'd told her that if she felt she HAD to give me something, that cash really would do. She wanted to have something I could open. So I told her that some things I'd like to get (which I probably would use some of the cash for anyways) is a new pair of running shoes, a Runner's ID (she really liked that idea, because she gets so worried about me whenever I go running outside), and a low-end digital camera.

The Runner's ID is the least expensive (~$20), the shoes would run roughly $100, and the camera - I've seen some in the $90-100 range that I liked. So, what I imagine will happen is that I'll get the ID, then cash towards the shoes or camera.

Honestly, it really doesn't matter to me whether I get anything or not - to me the best thing is just spending time with family. You never know when the last moment is you'll have with a loved one, nor the last words you may speak with them.

One thing our family has always practiced is at the end of phone calls or before leaving someplace or other, is to say some form of I Love You, and or give a hug. That way if something horrible were to happen, we'd be able to have a good memory of the last contact.

Today we had a meeting where we learned about the new HR company that will be administrating payroll and healthcare benefits for us.

My insurance will be going from United Health Care to Aetna Std. It will still be fully covered by my employer.

We still have the FSA option. Unfortunately, this new company has not gone into the realm of the debit style FSA card but are stuck in the realm of faxing in receipts and getting reimbursed. Yuck. I've been very spoiled.

We were told that we can not enter any of our information on the website until December 29. There will be an email sent to our work email with the link and password info.

A coworker of mine is going to forward that email to my personal address, so that I can fill out the info even though I'll be out in CA at that time.

Unfortunately, even if I get the info all filled out on Monday, the 29th, it is highly unlikely that the direct deposit will be functional by Friday the 2nd (payday.)

So, that means I will receive a hardcopy check. I will still be in CA on the 2nd. I won't get my paycheck for the 2nd, until the 7th - almost in time for my next paycheck!

This is why I'm so glad I don't live paycheck to paycheck. For me, this whole matter is just a small annoyance - a loss of a bit of interest. It would be so much worse if I was counting on that money to be IN my checking account to cover a rent check or some other expenses.

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Today was a NSD.
30 minutes on bike at gym this AM.
Did a trash run.

Absolutely incredible.

Tonight I got home from work and checked my mail. I had several birthday cards, a couple Christmas cards ... and then a letter from the Clerk of PA court.

When I saw that I was going 'What in the world??'

Finally I sit down and open it. At first I'm reading it and going 'Uh, ok.' Then I get to the last page and it hits me what it is about!

In a nutshell back in the area of 2003 or 2004 I had $139.xx removed from my checking twice. I had no idea who the money was going to, nor what it was for. I called my CU and let them know that I did not know why the money was going out ... and asked them if they could figure it out. If I remember correctly they were able to give me a phone number to the place, I called them and told them to cancel whatever it was. Then asked for a refund of my money. I was told I'd get it in 60 days. Several months later I called again, and was told it would be put on priority. This went on for at least a year, then a whole bunch of life happened and I forgot about it. Never got the money.

According to this document I received, this happened to a WHOLE bunch of other people as well. Wachovia let this company open up accounts, then they would call people with some mis-leading telemarketing call to get their bank info, which lead into Wachovia cashing unsigned checks. (I think that's the gist of it.)

So, there is now this class-action suit being brought against Wachovia. At first I thought all I would get would be the $35 refund for bank charges (I did end up bouncing a check as a result of the withdrawal at the time.)

THEN I looked at the last page. On the bottom was a check for $139.xx - a refund for the amount that was stolen from my account! I don't think I ever had any of the money returned to me - but don't have the paperwork to show it anymore - so I am EXTREmLY pleased with this amount!

Needless to say I am going to show the teller the paperwork and ask if they can verify the check as legitimate before actually depositing it. But . . I think this really is the real deal!

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I received a $100 from my Grandma for my birthday also in the mail today.

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It was below freezing today here. I had planned on getting to the gym 10 minutes early to get extra running time in, but it ended up I needed all that time plus a bit just to get my windows deiced.

At least I got my 2.1 mile run in this morning. Then today after work I did roughly 40 minutes strength training/stretching.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been doing some thinking and reflecting on what I would like my goals to be for this, my now 33rd year.

The goals fall under personal, health, financial and spiritual.

Personal Goals:

* Find a balance between making more money and having a life.

--What this means:
-----Limit myself to 10 hrs a week doing anything related to ChaCha.
-----Accept only one extra gym shift per week.

* Build existing friendships
----Contact at least one friend each week via email or telephone.
----Invite a friend(s) to my place at least once a month.

* Build new friendships
----Attend at least one Vegetarian meet up per month
----Join and attend bookclub once a month

* Give Back to Others
-----Participate in at least one volunteer activity each month

* Have home be able to be company ready in 15 minutes (similar to flylady w/o the emails)

---Do an initial cleanup run - trash, dishes, etc.

---Divide apartment into cleaning and decluttering zones. Focus on each zone for one week.

Financial:

Car Fund: Finish funding to $4,000.00

House Downpayment: Save $5,000.00 towards it.

Cruise 2010: Save $500 towards it

Vacation(s): 2, possibly 3. I'm estimating needing roughly $1,000.00.

--If I move out to CA, I've promised my mom that I would come back to visit her at least twice a year. If I stay here, then I will want to go visit my dad/brother out in CA.

--The third possible vacation would be this June. The highschool I graduated from was closed several years ago. Many of us have found each other on Facebook the past few months, and are discussing the possibility of a school reunion.

Change my work situation:
--1. Find a way to make my current job feel as though I am contributing to the company's good on a consistent basis. Also, be able to show why I am worthy of a raise (due to being productive, etc.)

--2. Find a job in CA. It may just be a starter job (i.e. not more money) but may find a good lead in to something later.

--3. Do 1 or 2, but in the meantime take coursework to go into another field - perhaps medical - which would eventually lead to a better paying job.

Health:

Diet --
---Eliminate soda from diet
---Limit cheese and ice cream
---Limit soy products
---Avoid fast food
---Limit processed foods (i.e. frozen meals, etc.)
---Create a meal plan for the month, including treats -shop only from that list
---Create a set of cards with sayings or buzzwords I can laminate and keep on my keyring for when the 'Beat Laura Up Monster' (BLUM)appears and urges me to eat junk beyond the realms of normalcy (i.e. normal - 2 or 3 Hershey kisses -- me, a bag of kisses.)

*Note - I am not saying one word about wanting to lose weight. My diet focus is solely going to be on eating healthier and on learning to control the BLUM.

Fitness:

Cardio: Consistently do 30 minutes of cardio at least 4 x a week.

Strength: Consistently complete at least 2 35+ minute weight training sessions a week.

Stretching/Flexibility: Consistently do a 20 minute Pilates session at least 2x a week.

Participate in a 5k race at least once a month. Improve running time to 38 minutes or less.

Possibly participate in a 10k by November.

Spiritual:

Renew relationship with God
---set and keep prayer time appt daily (beyond blessing food at meals)
---set and keep daily bible study time
---attend church at least 3 x a month

---look into seeing if anyone would be interested in some kind of a bible-based book group study

---look into possibility of being a greeter at church

--- Resolve tithe issue (I give to the local church with no problem - its sending money to the 'head' church that I have not resolved with myself. In SDA denomination, tithes go to the local conference (i.e. leaders of all area churches, such as Texas.) and is then distributed for pastor salaries, missions, etc.)

-- This is long. It is a bit scattered. If you don't feel like reading all the way to the end, maybe just watch the videos and tell me what you think of them.

The other day I clicked on a blog I hadn't read in a while - Angry Fat Girlz. In the most recent posting, the author mentioned a youtube video called

A Fat Rant by Joy Nash. In her video she declares that is not too proud to claim all 224 lbs of herself and her size 18 and sometimes size 20 body.

In A Fant Rant pt 2 she talks about compulsiveness. It actually is a pretty neat video - if you watch closely, you'll notice that all the characters are played by one person.

Then in A Fat Rant pt 3 she talks about some of the rude things people say and some of the comebacks she wished she could think of right away.

Then in the shortest, yet even more profound video, Totally Awesome she shows the ol' proverb of 'grass is greener on the other side.'

On the other end of the spectrum is this video, A Thin Rant. This is a video of a very thin girl talking about the things people say to her about her weight/appearance.

I identify with Joy. I have no problem admitting that I am fat. I too can relate to having used the excuse of "I'm fat" to let myself not really examine the reason(s) behind some event happening or not happening.

In fact, that same night I watched these videos I had gone to the gym after work and ran 2.1 miles in 30 minutes. Was I happy with myself? Yes, of course, because that was my goal. But what was my self talk as I was leaving? I was telling myself "yep, if you were just 70lbs lighter, maybe that guy would've given you a second glance." 'That guy' was the gym staff member on duty - young and good looking but total lack of personality - in other words, someone 'I' wouldn't look at twice. Yet, because there was another woman there who was in a normal weight range and he was spending a huge amount of time with her while virtually ignoring me - I of course took that as a prime excuse to beat myself up. WHATEVER LAURA!

I'm going to be 33 here in a few short days. I'm not getting any younger. There is no room for excuse making or beating myself up.

So what if other people who don't know me look at me and *assume* that I've never seen the inside of a gym? That's their problem - it's not my truth.

My truth is that I weighed in this morning at 239 lbs. The dress I bought for the Christmas party is a *closely* fitting in the waist size 18. Those are just numbers - they aren't who I am.

My truth is that I workout at least 4 days a week, sometimes twice in a day. As long as I don't let the Beat Laura Up Monster loose -whereby junk food finds its way into my home and into my mouth - I usually eat sensible and well balanced meals.

My truth is that I *know* the HOW's of healthy living and eating - I just don't always do the Follow Through.

*Really. Ask pretty much *any* overweight+ person out there about the rules of good nutrition or healthy eating or healthy ways to lose weight - I betcha (heh heh!) that they could probably quote article after article and book after book, and or mention nutrition class after nutrition class that they've taken. Healthy living/eating isn't just a matter of knowledge - it's a matter of Action.

My truth is that I may NEVER be in the so called 'Normal' weight category and I'm okay with that.

My truth is that I am a child of God, and God loves his children no matter what shape, size or color they are. So if God loves me, then I should love myself too, no matter what shape or size I am!

--- You may be wondering what brought all this on. It really is probably a combination of watching Joy Nash's videos, the gym incident and my approaching birthday.

For some people the 0 birthday years or the 5's are big deals and scary. For me though, for some reason, 33 is a number that is causing me to pause for much reflection.

I'm looking at where I am in life right now, and remembering where I thought I'd be by this point. I'm looking at the options I have going forward from here, and am not sure that I really like any of them, but have no idea how to make other options possible. I'm staring into the reality that I probably will never have a flesh and blood child of my own.

I'm beginning to see how unrealistic my dream of owning a house of my own really is. Even if I somehow manage to save the 18k + for a downpayment, on my income I still don't think I'd be able to really afford all that home ownership involves.

I am finding that the older I get, the less friends I have. Mainly because they are married and have kids, so have very little time to maintain a friendship, or the ones who aren't married are caught up in a relationship and life.

I am finding that striking a balance between making the extra income with my two side jobs and doing things that get me out and about (generally costing money) is very difficult.

In fact, I canceled my membership with the outdoor club - mainly because I just couldn't stomach paying the $25/mo fee, then having to pay for whatever events I attended on top of it. But then I also haven't been attending any of the meetups for the Vege group or the Volunteer group - I used the cost of gas as an excuse at first, but obviously that is pretty lame right now. So then my excuse is that if I'm going to make money from my side jobs, I can't be going out all the time. Or my excuse is that I'm embarrassed to go back to either of the groups after such a long absence.

So really, the point of all this is mostly me doing some pre-thinking and rambling and processing before coming up with what I think I'll call my Year 33 goals and plans.

Tuesday night . . you SAW my Brother!!! I just got a call from my brother a few minutes ago. I turned it off the first time thinking it was my alarm going off.

But no, it was him calling me from his Christmas party to tell me that the episode of Real Housewives of the OC aired Tuesday night!! He said they showed about 15 minutes of him and a co-worker -- they even showed him singing!

It may be online (I'm sure it won't be yet . . but maybe later Wednesday?)

So now the tv viewing public get a chance to see what a charmer and crooner of a brother I have. Love him so much, even when he wakes me up at 2 in the morning! D

Saturday night I went over to my mom and stepdad's. We had grilled PB&J sandwiches (my request) and watched the movie "The Holiday".

I tried on my dress for the Christmas party to show my mom. She was going to go with me, but the date changed to the 13th, so she wouldn't be able to come. (My stepdad is going to go with me.) She lent me a very pretty necklace to go with my dress - works much better than the necklace I'd planned on wearing with it.

I absolutely LOVE the dress I got. It is again from Ross (like last years was), and was $23. I'll be sure to post pictures once I have them.

I'm wondering what SK has come up with for the party this year. Austin Powers is going to be hard to beat!

Then today my mom and I went and saw the Nicole Kidman movie, "Australia". I really liked it, even though it was a bit long (nearly 3 hours!). After that we went to Olive Garden and had lupper. I got my favorite meal there - manicotti formagio, a virgin strawberry margarita and then we had their 'celebration cake'. Yummy!

All in all, this was a good way to celebrate (early) my birthday.

My dad is wanting me to come up with ideas of what I'd like to do when I'm out in the Loma Linda area. I'll be there from Christmas day till the 6th of January.

What I'd LIKE to do is just hang out, relax, read books, watch backed up programs on my Tivo, maybe catch a couple movies in the theater, spend time doing ChaCha, work on decluttering and doing some real cleaning of my apartment . . . But most of that I can't do since I'll be in CA, and not home. Also, most of it probably I can't really do either because it could kind of be rude to go all the way out there, and then just kind of veg on my own -reading, ChaCha'ing, tv, etc.

So . . only thing I've thought of so far is maybe Disneyland. I haven't been there since I was around 12 or so. But that is kind of on the expensive side - although my dad did mention Knotsberry Farms.

How far is Hearst Castle from Loma Linda?

Taking into consideration that it will be a party of 3 most of the time - an 88 yo, a 64 yo, and a 33 yo -- what are some free, cheap, and or inexpensive things to do in that area of CA? (Loma Linda/Los Angeles) -- I have tried to see if there are any 5k races in that area while I'll be there, but I haven't come across anything yet.

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Today at church I heard a horrifying story. This particular couple has gone through the wringer several times. First, the wife survived cancer. Then, miracle of miracles, she gets pregnant. They have a healthy baby boy. A few months later, she gets cancer again. Beats it again. Shortly before baby is born, hubby is laid off from big money job. Finds a new job a week before baby is born.

Now for the latest. Two weeks ago mom picks nearly 1 year old up from daycare. She sets him down for a minute while doing something. Next thing she knows, he is not where she left him.

She finds him in their living room where the fireplace is. Apparentally whoever owned their house before had not screwed the glass covering in front of their gas powered fireplace tightly.

Mom finds baby with hands on the glass fireplace cover, and the glass INTACT but leaning into the fireplace against the turned on gas fire. When she picks him up to get him off the glass, skin layers tear.

Long story short - It is a miracle the glass did not break. If it had, the baby would be dead. Even so, he had BAD burns on both hands, but especially his right hand. He also has burns on his face and one side of his body.

Nearly two weeks after this incident occurred, he is running and laughing and playing again. But his right hand is missing a lot of skin still, and he'll have to have surgeries to correct the burn injuries.

CHECK YOUR FIREPLACE COVERS!

Today I enjoyed the luxury of being able to sleep in as late as I like.

When I finally deigned to get up and dressed, I headed out to get my car inspected.

I seriously thought that I was going to need to replace my windshield wipers in order to pass inspection. In fact, I was planning on buying new ones before getting inspected.

But instead I stopped at the first place I saw that had the state inspection.

I told the mechanic that I needed my oil changed, my car inspected and most likely new windshield wiper blades.

Roughly 40 minutes later, my car passed inspection and my oil was changed. But I still had the same wipers! The mechanic told me that they were still fine and didn't need to be changed.

I was very happy about that of course - but more so happy that he didn't just say that I needed new ones to make the extra sale.

--

This weekend I really need to finish up my defensive driving course. I've one hour completed and 5 more to go. I'd been planning on doing them during my lunch breaks, but then kept getting pulled up front to give the receptionist her lunch break. So . . just need to go ahead and get 'r dun this weekend.

I think when I get the 10% discount back, I'll put it in my extra monies accounting as a rebate - since I've already paid my 6 month premium without the discount.

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I got another ING referral bonus today. Now I need to do some legwork (i.e. typing) so I can send out more referrals.

I got an email this morning telling me that today's Oprah show is going to be visiting Loma Linda, CA (where my dad and grandma live!). They are going to be visiting the Loma Linda Market, which is a Seventh-day Adventist grocery store type place. They are going there to research why Adventists (who mainly are vegetarians) live so long. Then she is having some people from there come to Chicago to cook a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast!!!

This is just too cool! I even woke up my mom and stepdad this morning to call them and ask them to record it for me -- one of the pitfalls of not having cable anymore.

I was on FaceBook the other day reading one of my friends pages, when I noticed the name of one of her friends. It just so happened to be the name of the girl who's family lived in the downstairs part of our house for a bit over a year when we lived in MN! She and I are about the same age, and she has a brother about the same age as my brother.

We used to walk about a mile down the road to a combo bar/grocery and get a rootbeer at the bar (whatever it is called where Norm from Cheers would sit and be served) and then get ice cream or canned veggies, etc from the grocery area. They had the sweetest mixed mutt named Manna (what is it?). He survived being shot by a neighbor (he was chasing ducks on this persons pond) but after having costly surgery, was felled by a car a few short months later.

Her mom was single - their biological dad had been a class A jerk and no class father. I think they were attempting to stay hidden (if I remember correctly). So their mom meets this wonderful man who'd been single his whole life and was a good bit older than her. They fall in love and get married. He adopts my friend and her brother - they get a new dog - an Alaskan Husky and live on a small farm in the country.

They live happily.

Until a few months ago when my friend's adoptive dad dies.

I'm glad I found her. My mom and her mom were really good friends, but lost touch. So now I've sent her my mom's contact info so they can reconnect. I think it will do my mom as much good as it will her mom.

My dad and I were talking on Friday. He told me that the Sam's Club card was up for renewal again. We share a card and take turns paying for it each year.

However, now that he's out in CA and living with his mom (my grandma) they go to Costco instead of Sam's. I very rarely find myself going to Sam's anymore.

So, we agreed that it probably was time to let go of our membership. Bye Sam's, it was nice knowing you.

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Strangeness . . .

Last night I got an instant message from someone I'd not heard from in nearly a year - just out of the blue. This person was interested in finding out if I still had something of theirs that they'd left at my place. (I did still have it.)

Then today I got an email from someone who saw an OLD posting of mine on a teachers website about The Lorax. (Dr. Suess - cute environmental theme). At one time I had adapted the story into a play format for my students - which is what that person wanted. I had to tell her that I didn't have a copy of it anymore. I do however still have my video copy of The Lorax!)

What made the above email and instant message even stranger is the following two conversations I had recently (within the past week):

1. With my mom -- You know, I realized recently that I haven't even visited particular teacher website in over a year. I must really be starting to let go of that part of my life.

2. With friend/co-worker -- Have you ever heard back from so and so? Has so and so ever came back for that item they left at your place?

Well, the past couple days have been much better as far as the amount of productive work time I've had. Makes the days go by so much faster.

But Friday during lunch time something happened that really ticked me off. As I've said before, my desk is located very close to the kitchen/breakroom. My back is actually to it.

One of my female co-workers is a born and bred New York City native, transplanted to Dallas a bit over 10 years ago. She fits the NYC sterotype of bold and brass. I usually get along with her pretty well, and ignore her spurts of cursing, etc.

Friday, she and two other co-workers were in the kitchen getting their lunches out. I had already put my lunch in the microwave. When it was done, I went in to the kitchen and got it out, then had to ask coworker D to move so I could get to the sink to drain my bowl. I drained it, checked the sink to make sure nothing had fallen out of my bowl, then went to my desk to eat.

A few minutes later co-worker D steps out of the kitchen and shouts, "Laura! You need to clean up after yourself when you use the sink!" I just turned and looked at her, then turned away.

My bird was *itching* to fly - it hasn't flown since the 5th grade. I also seriously considered going over there and slapping her. However, maturity and professionalism prevailed, and I just ignored her.

I thought of a comeback later - "Do you think you're being funny? If so, you're not. You're just being crass and totally unprofessional." Of course, I don't know if I could actually say that to her - but if I did, I think it would totally shock her, coming from me.

So, anyway. I'm thinking that on Monday I am going to talk to our mostly Spanish speaking co-worker who is in charge of keeping the kitchen clean, amoungst other things, and try to convey to her that I'm sorry if I've left any messes behind me for her to clean up. And if I ever do, PLEASE let me know. -- I am human, as much as I try not to, there may be times I haven't noticed every little particle I may have left behind.

I also plan on talking to D. I think I may say something like "D, the way you acted on Friday towards me really upset me. I felt it was totally unprofessional and rude. It may be acceptable for you to talk to the guys in the back like that, but that's not the way to act in here. I lost a lot of respect for you. In the future, if you have a problem with me, I would appreciate it if you would come directly to me, and say what your problem is, rather than shout it across a room. You are much more likely to get a positive response that way."

I am SO leaning towards taking my dad and grandma up on the CA move. The only person in my office I would miss at all would be Shr. Really, ever since the company moved to the new building, there has been a definite shift in the pleasantness and enjoyability of working there.

I am going to be working on updating my resume this weekend, and then have my mom help me tweak it over Thanksgiving.

--
Thursday night I ran 2.5 miles in 35 minutes on the treadmill. I was totally wiped out after that, but proud of myself.

I asked my dad last night to see if he can find out about any 5k races being held out in CA while both my brother and I are visiting him and grandma. I think it would be such a blast to do a race with my brother - even if he leaves me in his dust.

Oh yes, I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I will be going to CA again. I will be leaving Dec 25 and coming back Jan 6. 13 1/2 days away from work! Yee Haw! (And yes, there is a reason for making sure there are some non-holiday weekdays included - re: resume.) I'll be using my remaining 2008 vacation days, plus 3 of my 2009 ones (which may not matter if things work out.)

My main job is one where there are periods of time where I am so busy I can hardly think, and then times where I can go HOURS at a time with absolutely nothing to do.

Before the new desk arrangement, I was able to manage the down times by surfing the net, or doing fake spreadsheets based off of other ones I'd done before (for real), etc. But now, with the new arrangement (where everybody and their mother can see my computer screen), the option of surfing the net in more than quick little spurts is gone.

Let me preface this by saying that during down times, I do mention to various people that I'm pretty well caught up, and if they have anything I can help them with, I have time.

So, 6 days or so I've had more down time than busy time. I have all the filing done, I have all the logs put away, I have the insurance as up to date as I can (have to give vendors a little time between contacts), etc.

I've pretended searched on the various work-related websites - played with the maps on the computer, created various fake spreadsheets, etc., etc., ad nauseum!

I've about had it up to my eyeballs with pretending to be usefully occupied!!

Right about now, I'd even welcome DW giving me a 600 page book to copy!

So, I mentioned my availability to at least 3 people once (one being my Office Manager, the other being the president's daughter, the third being a friend and co-worker). The first two I *really* don't feel comfortable mentioning my availability more than once in a great while to -- don't want them to start thinking that I'm not a necessary employee, the third person I work pretty closely with, so don't worry about it.

I want to be truly productive and be an asset all the time, not just when DW slams me with a ton of things to look up and print out, etc.

So, my question is, what can I do to truly be productive, or at least better ways of killing time between assignments, without making it look to those in charge like there isn't enough for me to do, and if they need to let someone go, I'd be an easy one to do so.

Days like today feel like an almost complete waste of time. From 8:30 - 5:30, I would say that I had actual productivity for *maybe* 2 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the day I was starting to feel so frustrated, that I wanted to go walk outside and scream!

Good news and not so good news.

I found out today that a third lady from my office has signed up at our gym. This is good of course for E and for the gym.

It is however not so good for me personally. These three ladies and myself all will be in the gym at about the same time in the morning - all of us needing to be DONE at about the same time as well. Not to mention that there are two other new ladies who've been coming in the mornings.

There are two shower stalls in the ladies locker room.

Now, good news part.

One of the ladies who signed up for the gym actually also signed up for a PT course from E. She had asked me personally to introduce her to E.

So I found out today that as staff, I get a $20 referral bonus for her!! I may get another referral bonus for a second of the three ladies who joined up - I didn't directly refer her, but I've talked to her a good bit about the gym and about E - so we'll see on that one.

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I've now used my netbook two times at the gym doing ChaCha. It really works pretty well.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of the keyboard.

I'm needing to do a bit of cleaning this evening, my kitchen especially. So I'm going to do what my coworker suggested to me today -- put my netbook on the kitchen table, turn the volume up loud as possible, then work on cleaning in between questions. That way I can get my cleaning done, but also keep making a bit of money. Ahh. . . the convenience factor.

This coming week I have two extra early morning shifts at the gym, plus my Friday morning early shift and afternoon shift. I started thinking about how much money I'd received from my last 3 gym paychecks which I hadn't allocated yet to any of my Extra Monies funds yet (due to the bounced check). Then I thought about how much I'd be getting soon from ChaCha (at least $145).

I made the leap.

I bought a netbook -- at Target -- for $300.00.

It is the ASUS Eee PC 900. It's just over 2lbs in weight and the screen is 8.9" diagonally.

I have books that weigh more than it, and that are thicker than it.

I also bought a usb mouse to use with it, and a carrying case.

Tonight I connected to my home internet network with it and downloaded the ChaCha toolbar and was able to do a couple queries. I will def. have to use the mouse for that though - at least till I get more accustomed to the touch pad.

I also called my dad and grandma on Skype - which came preloaded. I thought this had a built in webcam, but I found out that it doesn't. So, I'll have to see if I can find an inexpensive one -- but that will come later - after I pay back the loan to myself.

So, at this moment I have a loan of $350 that I owe myself. I will be keeping track of what I earn doing ChaCha at the gym, as well as how many hours of extra gym shifts I do beyond the Friday afternoon shifts (which is what I originally signed on for.) I wonder how long it will take me to pay myself back?

---

Oh yes, I must mention the bit of drama in the purchase. My card was initially declined. Imagine my surprise!

The people at the electronics counter graciously let me use their phone to call customer service. Apparentally my trying to make a $350 purchase at Target flagged my account as "unusual activity". I had to answer a bunch of questions and confirm a number of charges from the past few days - then my card was reactivated.

The man on customer service was apologetic, but I told him that I was *thankful* for the flag, even if it was a bit of a hassle and delay. I seriously LOVE how alert WAMU is about their customers credit card usuage. I would SO much rather have my card declined, than to go check my account and see thousands of dollars worth of charges on there that aren't mine - that is SO much more hassle and headache.

* I updated my Extra Monies pages, as well as my tickers.

* The gym paycheck that bounced as well as the next one I got have both been finally taken care of. I picked up my check today (which includes the $98.25 + $10 bounce fee + last two weeks work hours) and was told that I *do not need* to worry about this one bouncing. I'll be putting it in tomorrow. If it bounces, I'm going to insist on money orders from here on out.

* I bought a few groceries at Target this weekend. I wasn't paying close attention to the register, so missed my Morningstar corn dogs ringing up wrong. Luckily I checked my receipt and caught it. The lady at customer service gave me $3 in cash back. Free corndogs! Yay!

* My brother's birthday is tomorrow!! He's going to be 28 years old. He was born on the day Reagan was elected. Hopefully he'll celebrate his 28th birthday with Obama being elected.

* I've been doing quite well with not buying junkfood or eating junk at work. So well in fact, that I've lost nearly 10 pounds since my last post! (Mostly water weight I think though.)

* I'm still considering a laptop. Although a comment made by E on Thursday night when I picked up the keys to be able to open the gym on Friday's has me wondering if it is a good idea or not. He mentioned that they may have to let go of some of their employees.

* I won another weekend contest for ChaCha last week. $10 Yay!

* My mom and I did a 5k together last weekend. We both walked away with first place trophies for our age categories. ......... Of course, we were the only females competing in our respective age categories! LOL!

I was so very proud of my mom for finishing and not taking any shortcuts. We were the last two of 25 people to cross the line. My time was the same as my first 5k (43:37) and my mom finished in 50:00. (She can't run due to joint/bone problems.)

* I finally got to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. It was showing at a second run theatre near where we did our 5k. It cost $3 for my mom, me and my stepdad to see it. Cheap entertainment.

* I think my car's stereo speakers are dying. Today when driving home the sound kept coming in and out, getting louder and softer, going from one side to the other. First time I've noticed that.

How expensive are car stereo speakers to replace??

* I paid $2.11/gallon for gasoline today. I am loving the falling gas prices!

Bear with me folks, this is a bit long today.

This is pretty sad really, my post today. The scale has been going up and up in the past few months, but I kept consoling myself that I was still less than when I started Sparkpeople back in June 2006.

Then this morning I get on the scale and find out that that is no longer true.

What's really sad is that I am exercising, although not as consistently as before. I even have a 5k I'm participating in tomorrow, even though I've not been able to complete 2 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes for several weeks.

What has happened though is that I've gone back to most of my *really* bad eating habits. This has been affecting me both financially (food costs + needing new clothes) and health wise (weight gain, not able to run as fast).

I can't even begin to explain how frustrated and discouraged I feel about this whole situation. One totally of my own making, and my own control.

So . . . I'm working a good bit of hours at the gym. Probably once a week get called to cover an extra shift after work. Then of course, this coming Friday I will start doing the Friday early morning shift for the next 8 weeks.

Usually I spend most of my time at the gym when working, reading. I have attempted to do a weight routine while on shift, but there were so many interruptions I kept losing my place in my counts.

As I've mentioned before, I also am working for ChaCha.

So, I'm thinking that maybe I can knock out three objectives with one stone.

1. Get back on track with food/exercise
2. Reign in spending on junk/extra food
3. Make more side income

The way I'm thinking of doing this is by allocating whatever money I earn from "extra" shifts, as well as the early Friday morning shifts for the next 8 weeks, to a laptop fund.

In order to actually access the money though, I have to earn it. Kind of do a matching funds type thing.

For example:
One day where I don't spend any money on any type of junkfood or unnecessary food, as well as don't consume any office supplied junkfood equals $5.

For every 5 days, I would get a Fund Match of $25.

Once I have "earned" at least $200, I will go ahead and order the laptop I'm thinking of:

Sylvania G Netbook and then make a "loan" to myself that I will be able to pay off much faster by using the laptop at the gym to do ChaCha. (Until the loan to myself is paid off, any money I earn doing ChaCha at the gym would go towards the loan.)

I am guessing, if all goes well, it will take me around four weeks to get to the initial $200 mark. Then, roughly another three weeks (when adding additional ChaCha income) to pay it off. So, that would give me 7 weeks of getting back into my good habits, which hopefully would stick even after the laptop is paid off.

---
By the by . . if anyone knows of another laptop that would work with Firefox and in the $400 or less range, I'd love to hear about it!

Also, I think I'm right that I could use the laptop purchase as a tax write off on Schedule C since it is largely being purchased to do the ChaCha job. Am I right?

Like I mentioned yesterday, my mom and I were going to go clothes shopping today.

I wanted to get several under items, a pair of pants, and some tops. I had set my budget at $250. I don't buy clothes very often, and a good number of my tops were starting to look worn and/or "shrinking".

Our first stop was Costco. We picked up three cute tops (same top, 3 colors) for $24 + tax. My mom actually paid for these, said they were a special treat for me from her. Yay!

Next, we stopped at Grapevine Mills Mall. The first store we went to was Dress Barn Woman. I bought a really pretty flowy type dress with a lime green shrug. It originally was $69.99, but was on the sale rack and came to $23.34. I also bought a t-shirt type top for $8. So, that total was about $32.

Next we stopped at Hanes. I was fitted, then bought 3 regular bras and 2 Champion sports bras. That came to $73.

Last we stopped at Lane Bryant. I tried on LOTS of clothes. Finally I handed my mom the things I knew I wanted, then chose two items I'd get depending on how much the other items rang up to.

The clerk told me if I signed up for LB card that I'd get 15% off the entire order, plus 25% off the highest priced item. To me, it was worth doing, even worth losing the points on mypoints card.

After everything was added up, and I added the extra 2 items plus a third one - it came to a total of $101.23.

I got: 1 pair pants, blue striped button up blouse, pink striped button up blouse, plain white button up blouse, a black swingy loose jacket, and a light material blue sweater with a buckled waist.

After that mom and I went our seperate ways.

On my way home I stopped at Walmart. Since I was well under budget, I decided that I'd go ahead and see if I could find a good replacement for my purse. (The one I have the lining has ripped out and some of the seams are looking pretty loose. I've had it for about 6 years I think.)

I found a good replacement for $10, plus got a 7 pack of undies for $6.

So, for approximately $245 today I got: a new purse, 7 prs undies, 3 bras, 2 sports bras, 1 pair pants, 1 dress w/ sweater shrug, 1 black swingy jacket, 3 buttoned up blouses, 5 other office appropriate tops.

Eventually I'd like to see if I can find a brown sweater shrug to go with my dress as well, but by the end of the day I felt all shopped out!

I'm very happy to have come under budget and gotten much more than I thought I would be able to. Good quality brands too. I'd love to be able to shop at a thrift store and get much more for the same money, but if you are over a size 12, there is not much to find at a thrift store.

I wonder if anyone at work will notice my new duds.

I was sure that I had scheduled two transfers from my Chase checking to ING to go out on Tuesday. But when I checked, they weren't showing up as pending. I kept checking through the week, and still they weren't showing up.

So today I did a Yodlee check up which I hadn't done in a few days and noticed that my Chase checking balance was pretty low. Curious, I clicked on the link to see what was going on.

In bright red it showed me that my gym paycheck of $98.25 had bounced, and that I'd been charged a $10 fee. Ugh!

I called E and he apologized and told me that he'll have $108.25 in cash for me on Monday.

I'd been warned by another gym independant contractor about checks bouncing - but this was the first one that actually bounced.

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I'm off to my mom and stepdad's here in the next hour or so. I'll be doing laundry tonight, then tomorrow my mom and I are going to go clothes shopping! I've budgeted $250 for it. I'm hoping to get a few under items, a pair of pants, and then as many tops as I can with the leftover money.

I've unfortunately NOT been going in the right direction lately with my weight, and my current wardrobe has many items which have "shrunk". I'd like to say that I'm going to take the bull by the horns and get back on the losing track . . but I've said that over and over for the past few months, and the pounds have crept up instead of down. So . . I've gotta deal with reality.

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*Disclaimer: I put everything I possibly can on my Mypoints credit card, which I then pay off in full each and every month.

I redeemed 9800 mypoints today for 3 $25 giftcards. They're all Christmas gifts - brother (I'd also gotten my brother a gift card through Mypoints for his birthday which I received a few weeks ago), dad, stepdad. (I got my mom her gift from Amazon a few weeks ago.)

*Almost forgot - at the same time I got my brother's birthday gift card, I also ordered a gift card for the Office Christmas Grab Bag we do on Christmas Eve.

I have 2300 points left, so by the end of November I should have enough to get one more $25 gift card.

First, the good stuff.

My second monthly ChaCha payment went through of $131.74. $10 of that was money from a contest I'd won. I lurve ChaCha!

I also picked up my check for the gym. It was for $65.50, but then the $20 overpayment from the previous check was subtracted, so it came to $45.50.

So, between ChaCha and the gym, in October I have added a little over $275 to my Extra Monies funds. Most of what I do for both of these require very little effort - just time and consistency.

It looks like my next paycheck for the gym will be at least in the low $100 range - due to an extra shift already worked, 3 Friday afternoons, plus starting to work the early morning shift on Friday Oct 31. Me likey.

------------

Rant.

Today I went out to eat with two of my coworkers. One of them had a buy one get one free coupon for specific items on the menu - none of which could be turned into a vegetarian friendly food. Not a problem - I'm used to it, and can deal with it.

I've eaten at this place a couple times before, and have found that the Grilled Cheese Panini w/ a side of sweet potatoes can be had for $6 +tax and is filling.

It is however on the children's menu.

So, I place my order for it. I am then told that I can't order off the children's menu. I reply back by saying that I have done it both times I've come before with no problems.

The waiter tells me that if I'd like to speak to the manager he'd be happy to get him. I very briefly considered this, but then decided that I did NOT want to make a scene. I told the waiter that I am a vegetarian and that there was NOTHING else on the menu without meat. He suggested that I get the quesedilla entree and just have the chicken left out.

The quesedilla price: $8.95
The pannini price: $5.95 (includes side dish)

I went ahead and ordered the quesedillas and asked to have spinach and mushrooms added.

Later when I saw the bill, they had charged me $9.95 for my item. I can only assume the extra dollar was for the oh so much more costly than chicken - mushrooms and spinach!

OY VEY!

Needless to say I will NOT willingly go there again - nor will I recommend it to anyone!

I would REALLY like to know just what the problem is with an adult ordering off the children's menu?? The portion size is going to be the same whether an 11 year old orders it, or an ahem.. 32 year old orders it. Is it really worth $4 to them to completely lose a customer??

So I watched CSI:Vegas online this past weekend. It was a very good episode, but I was getting annoyed by all the starts and stops.

I decided it was time to go up to the next DSL tier. It was only $5 more and I felt it would be worth it.

So a few minutes ago I called to upgrade my DSL speed.

YEOW!

There is no $25 option anymore. They don't even have my $20 option anymore. The next higher speed than what I have is now $35!!!!
I just about hung up.

The lady kept trying to tell me that AT&T had given me free installation and that they'd felt like they had lost money with the free installations which is why it had gone up so much. Then she tried to tell me you don't have a phone line charge . . . etc, etc.

Finally I told her, that may all be true, but I don't have $35/mo in my budget for internet. That finally got her to back off.

I guess I will be living with the hiccups of watching tv on the lower speed.

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In other news. E asked me today if I'd be willing to fill in on Friday mornings at one of the gym locations from the end of Oct to Dec 19. It will mean an extra $13/week! Yay! It also will mean that I'll have to get there by 6:20 a.m. which is an hour earlier than I usually get there for working out. For 8 weeks, I can deal with it.

Just a quick note. I've been keeping pretty busy between ChaCha and doing extra shifts at the gym, etc.

On Saturday I had the most fabulous day. I spent the day with my best friend T, her husband and their two kids. The daughter was having her sixth birthday. The five of us went to the Dallas Arboretum where T has a family pass (up to six) and she brought a picnic. T kept apologizing for how simple the picnic was , but I told her the simpler the better!

After the kids had plenty of time to wear themselves out, we went to their house. N, the dad, and the boy N worked together on carving a pumpkin. Then D, the girl, and I separated all the pumpkin seeds.

We had a late supper of Sabbath Roast, veggies and sweet potatoes. The food was very good, but even better to me was watching young N as he insisted on serving everyone! I still remember staying with him at his parents apartment the night T had D and feeding him his "mooney" (mac and cheese).

How the years do fly.

Back in 2003 I met this guy on a dating website. We emailed back and forth for 4 or 5 months - quickly realized that all it would be would be a friendship. At one point he mailed me his collection of coins from around the world to show my students.

About a year or so after we stopped emailing each other, I received an invite to his wedding. I didn't go (it was in AR, and well, it would've been kind of weird.)

About two years ago he found me on myspace and we friended each other. He and his wife had had a son, and they were still in AR.

Today I got a message from him on myspace saying they were going to be in town, and would I like to get together.

At first I was thinking this would be a bit strange, but then I figured why not? It isn't like I had any real plans.

So I replied and gave him my cell #. He called me and we agreed to get together at a nearby SouperSalad.

We met there at 5p.m. and then were basically kicked out at 8p.m. (the place was closing.) They are both very nice and interesting people. His wife has a hobby doing something I'd never heard of before - body videos. Basically where she pantomines/sign languages what a song is about.

She attended a 3rd Day concert here on Thursday night, and someone noticed her signing along to the songs. They got her up on stage and had her sign for a couple songs. Pretty cool.

I'm glad to have had the chance to meet them.

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Last night I attempted to log in to my HSBC savings account to transfer part of my extra paycheck. (5 paycheck month - Woo hoo!). I guess it had been so long since I manually logged in, I had forgotten my security key.

I was locked out. So this morning I called the contact number and got my account unlocked. While I was on the phone, the representative asked me what the purpose of my account was.

I told him part of it was my emergency fund and part of it was my car fund. He asked me if I'd be interested in hearing about CD's where I could put some of my money to earn more interest. I told him no. He asked me why. I told him that it was important to me that the money in that account be accessible without penalties or charges for withdrawals. He backed off then, and told me that if I ever was interested in learning more about cd's to give them a call.

HSBC is offering 4% for a six-month CD which isn't too bad. I just would hate to put part of my EF in a CD, and then four months from now have to break it for some big emergency that the non CD funds can't cover. It would only be a .75% difference between the savings account and the CD interest.

Today I got my gym paycheck. I had worked a couple times at the other gym site where there had been no time cards. So E was going to write my times down on a timecard. He forgot of course - which I found out when I got my previous paycheck.

So today's paycheck included one Friday I hadn't gotten paid for (previous pay period) plus the normal hours in the current time period. But . . the numbers didn't add up.

11.5 hours (3 afternoons of 3.5 hours, plus one 1 hour afternoon) x 6.55 = $75.33

My paycheck today was for $98.25.

I looked at it and looked at it trying to figure out where he came up with that figure. Shoot - I *liked* that figure.

The only thing I could figure out is that he counted one of my 3.5 hour afternoons twice.

So I called him and told him. He told me to write on my current timecard a note to subtract $20 from my next paycheck. That's about $3 less than the difference, but he said he didn't really care much about $3.

We had an interesting exchange about just what $3 could get you.

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I can't say much, but I am very sad about a situation happening with a family member of mine. I hope and pray that the situation will change, but I fear that it won't.

---
I think I don't handle change well. At all. Work the past two weeks has totally and completely stressed me out.

Yesterday the furniture was finally moved back into place.

The way I have to place my computer on my desk causes me to have my back towards the kitchen/hallway 99% of the time. There are three heavy traffic patterns which run by my desk now (3 sides). At least twice now I have looked up from what I was doing to find multiple people by my desk looking at me. Also, due to the setup, I now have LESS space.

I keep getting asked how I like the new setup. They don't get what I'm really thinking -- they get - GRIN Oh, it's great!

Trying to think positively -- I will get used to this!

I updated my tickers on my sidebar for September. For details you can check out my September earnings page. There was some actual good movement - thanks to ChaCha and my gym job.

My ING interest increased this month (by $.48) but my HSBC interest went down, even though the actual amount in the account increased, the teaser interest rate dropped on the 15th.

In October there will be a good deal more movement due to a 5 paycheck month. Although, I am considering using *some* of that extra paycheck to help update/upgrade my wardrobe. I haven't fully decided on that one yet though.

---
At work the chaotic week - week two has continued. Only the fun was compounded by my main manager being back from vacation. On Monday he was understanding. Yesterday however when I told him I wasn't able to get some information he needed because that program was on my computer which of course wasn't set up - he became the opposite of understanding.

So I spoke to the president's daughter, who I guess you could call the company liasion (sp?). She told me that I could go ahead and set up my computer on the floor until the furniture got moved back in.

Um ok. Miss ingenious here really didn't want to sit on the floor in her skirt and use her computer. So I thought about this little rolling table we have back in the Engineering copy/file room. It has a double purpose - holds extra paper for the copier, and when I do my filing it holds my filing book and the files.

So I cleared the table off and set up my computer on it. For the rest of the day I had many people laughing at me and my setup - good naturedly of course.

I will admit it is a funny setup. But it is much better than trying to use my computer on the floor. Or continuing to share the computer with the receptionist when this particular manager asks me to get something for him and expects it yesterday and doesn't want to hear that I can't do it yet because receptionist is having to use the computer to do something for another person.

Fingers crossed - furniture is supposed to be moved back into office area and set up in the morning. Anxiously awaiting a return to some semblance of normalcy.

I logged in tonight to do a bit of ChaCha'ing and noticed that my earnings were a good bit higher than they had been this morning -- $10 higher!

I checked, and sure enough, I was one of the winners in the Sat. nite contest!!

So now I'm close to $70, with 17 days to go till the next monthly payout. I think I'll have a good bit more than just a $100 this time.

Just a quick note.

Last week at work was such a crazy chaotic week. The powers that be decided they needed to build two new offices within our company's area. Those two new offices of course are being built in the same area where another coworker and I had our desks.

So, other coworker and I had the pleasure of packing up our desks/computers etc and transferring them elsewhere. Coworker got put in the file room, and I got the pleasure of sharing the computer with the front desk receptionist. Fun.

If all has gone well this weekend, the furniture will be able to be moved back into the area by Tuesday morning, and we'll have our desks/computers back.

BTW - we're not getting the offices. There's enough room outside of them in that same area for our desks to fit. Less privacy than before (which wasn't much to speak of anyway.)

Such is life as a peon I guess.

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Up to almost $56 with ChaCha. I took a couple days off from it in order to get other things done. I'll be getting my next gym paycheck on Friday - it'll be for 11 1/2 hours *$5.55 (3 Friday's + a one-hour shift I covered). It'll be a nice start to October's Extra Monies.