When I went to Las Vegas to visit I decided to move there.
There isn't enough keeping me here anymore. I can finally save up some money and/or start paying my student loans off (if I can only afford to do the latter, I'll still feel awesome getting out of debt).
I am moving at the end of this short month, meaning I only have about two weeks left. I'll miss my restaurant job, but it's gotten really negative between staff lately & I'm not the only one leaving. I am not much torn up over leaving my day job- they were good and all, but I haven't felt like I was doing a good job since the promotion, and I also found out my direct boss is having an affair with a much much younger coworker. Off-putting.
In good news, my ex and now friend is moving out (remember, the girl I couldn't stand living with) and so I have someone to take a lot of my house-stuff, and in return they are helping me move by taking anything neither of us want to a thrift shop. Yay!
On Sunday I got back, on Monday I took my friend Alex to see Jack's Mannequin and Jukebox the The Ghost (and Allen Stone) in concert (it was awesome and I was super friendly) and they were very good live at the Theater of Live Arts. On Thursday I was supposed to go get my driver's license but it turns out my friend (whose car I was using) does not have a valid insurance card. He pays month-to-month, but when he gets pulled over the cops just look up the car to see that it's insured. The DMV won't do that, I didn't know anything about it, his mom told him to check but he ignored her thinking the DMV would also look up my info. I can't schedule another exam before I leave, so I have to learn the Nevada laws and do it there.
Unless somehow I can convince my mom to let me take the Z4, I'll either have to do it in the 4Runner (impossible. How would I parallel park?) or spend more time with one of her friends and do the test in his car. Problem: I can't stand him for very long, especially if we are one-on-one (like in the car). He's a great guy, does a lot for the community and for my mom, but oh my goodness when I had a driving lesson with him I wanted to stab my eyes out.
On Friday we had a going-away party for another coworker who is moving to Nantucket, and I had a lot of fun but didn't sleep until around 7 in the morning. Then, I woke up at 9:30 to catch a train into the city because I had an eye appointment with a place called Innervision that I found through Groupon. BUT, since they were busy (through Groupon, I imagine), my appointment was delayed and the glasses wouldn't be ready until about 3PM- and I still had to catch the train back to go to work, so I decided to come back another day. I'm not sure when that will be.
On the train ride in I was in a FANTASTIC mood. Maybe I was still drunk, but I just felt so happy, I was laughing at everything, talking to strangers, I gave some beggars money, I'm not sure why I felt so energetic and uplifted. I did connect with someone at the party, but I'm leaving in two weeks- though if I wasn't leaving I would probably have continued to refrain from moving in on them. I guess it's bittersweet.
I ate at Perch Pub for lunch/dinner and while the interior was cool, the view was nice, and the bartender a great bartender, I ordered Eggs Benedict and they didn't agree with me. Also, they were cold! I made it back in time for work and ate some fruit to stave off the hunger.
Saturday night at work I made plans with a different coworker for later in the week- and then he got fired that night! Afterwards I watched movie, was company, didn't sleep until close to seven- the sun was already coming up. I woke up at eleven (I think the stronger sunlight woke me up) and then I had to go home. I made myself soup from scratch, but before I could eat it at 2:20 my manager calls and asks where I am.
Me: I come in at three!
Manager: You come in at two on Sundays.
Me: What? I've always come in at three!
Manager: You've always been wrong!
So I rush in to work and spend the next 7 hours super hungry, but when I got home to my soup I couldn't eat much before I was full. Maybe my stomach shrank from being empty?
That night I slept for about 12 hours straight. Tomorrow is Valentines Day so I'm trying to prepare for a long, busy night full of couples making out and sitting on the same side of their table.
I'm hosting, which bums me out because I won't be making as much money- but I also won't be working as hard. Also also, I won't have to deal with so many PDA couples, so that's good for all of us...
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Cottage
I've had some recent issues with roommates, so it's been nice to be on my own. It does get a bit lonely, though. That's not a second unit on the side- it's just got two doors. I know I won't be here forever, though, and I already miss it!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Future Project Friday
It's a new year! So I want to think about some of the craft things I want to get done and the things that I have supplies and ideas for but have just been sitting around.
1. The Big Blue and Green Quilt. This is ongoing for a year now, and it's been in hibernation for too long. With my time off from my day job, I should start it up again.
2. Alex's T-shirt quilt. Just waiting for my bolt of interfacing from Fabric.com. Should get here soon; I've alwasy had great shipping times from them.
3. A t-shirt tunic from one of the shirts in the giant bag Alex gave me. I have good ideas for this one; I only hope it'll turn out well and be wearable.
4. Hemming my Ann Taylor pants. This will wait until I am back to work; I will take them to one of two tailors in the area to judge their service and workmanship before I take more difficult things to them.
5. Tailoring white wool skirt and the yellow wool skirt I got from Patina Vintage- either do it myself or take it to a tailor.
6. New yellow belt for yellow sundress.
7. Four hoodies: resize giant black Toroa zip up; maybe make it a crossover. Red Arcadia Football hoodie: Tunic, white trim? White Arcadia Beaver Beach hoodie: Unsure. May be my practice for the Red hoodie. La Salle hoodie: just cover up the front La Salle logo since I withdrew from the school!
8. Re-do the cuff on the Granny Smith Green socks I made, so I can actually wear them.
9. MY tshirt quilt? with lots of Arcadia shirts? it's a possibility but not a for-sure.
10. Matt's sweater-vest.
11. A bow tie.
12. The Torii tunic pattern I already bought.
13. Jackie's convertible cutoff gloves. She already knows I may take a while. I may be getting a crocheted blanket in exchange!!
14. Beaded necklaces and brooches.
Done this year:
1. Finish Jon's gloves.
2. Take in a teal green button-down. Teal is a color I'm excessively picky about, and I might still not like this shirt... but I like it a lot more now that it fits better.
1. The Big Blue and Green Quilt. This is ongoing for a year now, and it's been in hibernation for too long. With my time off from my day job, I should start it up again.
2. Alex's T-shirt quilt. Just waiting for my bolt of interfacing from Fabric.com. Should get here soon; I've alwasy had great shipping times from them.
3. A t-shirt tunic from one of the shirts in the giant bag Alex gave me. I have good ideas for this one; I only hope it'll turn out well and be wearable.
4. Hemming my Ann Taylor pants. This will wait until I am back to work; I will take them to one of two tailors in the area to judge their service and workmanship before I take more difficult things to them.
5. Tailoring white wool skirt and the yellow wool skirt I got from Patina Vintage- either do it myself or take it to a tailor.
6. New yellow belt for yellow sundress.
7. Four hoodies: resize giant black Toroa zip up; maybe make it a crossover. Red Arcadia Football hoodie: Tunic, white trim? White Arcadia Beaver Beach hoodie: Unsure. May be my practice for the Red hoodie. La Salle hoodie: just cover up the front La Salle logo since I withdrew from the school!
8. Re-do the cuff on the Granny Smith Green socks I made, so I can actually wear them.
9. MY tshirt quilt? with lots of Arcadia shirts? it's a possibility but not a for-sure.
10. Matt's sweater-vest.
11. A bow tie.
12. The Torii tunic pattern I already bought.
13. Jackie's convertible cutoff gloves. She already knows I may take a while. I may be getting a crocheted blanket in exchange!!
14. Beaded necklaces and brooches.
Done this year:
1. Finish Jon's gloves.
2. Take in a teal green button-down. Teal is a color I'm excessively picky about, and I might still not like this shirt... but I like it a lot more now that it fits better.
Sustaining friendships through spending money
Rambling.
Us broke post-college "Millenials" seem to share the idea that
people and friendships come first- before, say, work- but that “networking” can
be exclusive of a day job and that we don’t need to climb the ladder TOGETHER. We’ve
been told competition and jealousy is bad (I’ve read a lot of this “overcoming
your jealousy” articles geared towards ladies, as a side note), but I wonder if
that is getting in the way of a drive to advance yourself.
-Christine is getting married and it’s important that I stay
around, even if it means adjusting my career/education goals
-being a student, I can id with other friends who are
students
-working this hard, I sometimes don’t identify with friends
who don’t work as hard; however, I can discuss these feelings with mutual
harder-working friends.
-I have no idea how to talk to friends who, to me, aren't working at a similar level as I am, whether it be in school or jobs.
-this is good and bad: I want to be friends with people who
are similar to me- driven, prioritizing, responsible, not just accepting their
debt- but this also pits us against some of those who were our friends. Also I
can look snobby or pretentious to those who are friends with those people
(friends of friends, who don’t work, used as examples)
-Why do I work? I got a job to have money to go see each other (train
tickets, gas) and do things (buy food, go to bars, see the opera) but now I'm always so busy
and too busy to see each other (saving up money for a plane ticket to see Alex H
means I can’t afford to go to see Alex H yet) (working meant I missed Matt’s bday
entirely) (I work the weekends and evenings, which doesn't line up with a lot of my friends)
-However, not living together (dorm) means we have to make
time to see each other anyways. Needing to go to the mall to buy things for
work meant I actually contacted Alex T. to see if he was free and got to see him. This led to us scheduling a weekly playdate!
Generally discussing money would be see as uncouth; but when money is already an issue between friends (eg roommates paying rent) how much can other friends pass judgment? Was it ok when we thought that one friend's handling of money could hurt another friend? Money is already an issue for us eg jobs, debt, especially when we all went to the same school and therefore have some idea what it all cost us.
Ramble over.
Ramble over.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Knits With Friends
I have been knitting!
Jon's cutoff gloves. I have been knitting these since around October, and Jon's birthday, which happens to be the same as mine, was back in September. May I admit that I was occasionally a little peeved at finishing these? It wasn't just that the main time I had to knit was waiting for the train, and because I often found gloves hard to wear why knitting, I let my fingers freeze while I knit something for someone else to stay warm. I got a stranger's approval of the gloves, which was warming.
In order to keep my sanity and my time, I gave Jon a choice of certain things I knew wouldn't be too hard to finish: non-fingered wrist warmers, mittens, socks, a hat, a variety of scarves. And what does he do? Ask for fingerless gloves. *sigh* But I couldn't be mad, because he is my friend and I adore him, and I'd rather him -like- what I made. Fingerless gloves it is. No resentment. And he loves them! That paid off. I have yet to see him wear them, though, so if I don't, Jon may find himself off of my "knit for" list.
People-who-know-knitters: You should listen to your knitters. Indulge them.
Two more news octopi for Jenn. You can see their predecessors here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/onemoreday/news-octopi
The left one has a bit of a squid feel to it; the right one I made a little more lifelike and flat, but it also has seven legs. Hey, octopuses lose legs in real life! I left her a note with them.
All this knitting for friends means that you may get gifts like this for Christmas:
Isn't that great? "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" has been a really popular book but I haven't seen it in person much. I like a lot of the things in here. I jokingly asked if this was a "nudge nudge wink wink" book so that I would make more things for my friends! I also got that great mug from when Jenn was in Disneyland. It's crazy perfect because I've been thinking of buying a fourth mug. I'm only one person, but one of the mugs is delicate enough to hardly count, one holds a lot less liquid, and this one is dark on the inside so it won't get as tea-stained as my other three. And it has DORY from Finding Nemo on it! She's a blue Tang. It has "Find a happy place" repeated on it; my goal in life is to make my surroundings my happy place. A home, friends, family.
More knitting awaits! Still working on my First Sweater.
Claudia
Jon's cutoff gloves. I have been knitting these since around October, and Jon's birthday, which happens to be the same as mine, was back in September. May I admit that I was occasionally a little peeved at finishing these? It wasn't just that the main time I had to knit was waiting for the train, and because I often found gloves hard to wear why knitting, I let my fingers freeze while I knit something for someone else to stay warm. I got a stranger's approval of the gloves, which was warming.
In order to keep my sanity and my time, I gave Jon a choice of certain things I knew wouldn't be too hard to finish: non-fingered wrist warmers, mittens, socks, a hat, a variety of scarves. And what does he do? Ask for fingerless gloves. *sigh* But I couldn't be mad, because he is my friend and I adore him, and I'd rather him -like- what I made. Fingerless gloves it is. No resentment. And he loves them! That paid off. I have yet to see him wear them, though, so if I don't, Jon may find himself off of my "knit for" list.
People-who-know-knitters: You should listen to your knitters. Indulge them.
Matthew's Tychus Hat, for his birthday. This I deliberated on. I hardly ever see Matt wear knitted hats, which for most people is an indication that they DO NOT LIKE knitted hats. Matt has nice, wavy hair, but perhaps he doesn't like to cram it under close-fitting caps that squash out the nice waviness.
But Matt is good to make things for, because he will really appreciate them as he doesn't knit (or crochet) himself; or he will act like he really appreciates them and makes you feel better. :) He's also pretty open to creative ideas. He does not, however, shop for clothing much himself, which means 1. He does not already own a knit hat, and 2. He is not actively looking for the perfect knit hat.
This is why he also received, for his birthday, a crocheted scarf in similar colors from another friend, Jackie (in close to our alma mater colors) and from his sister, an amigurimi Rainbow Dash (My biggest current claim to fame is I'm friends IRL with the Brony Prime: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/12/nightly-roundup-201.html#more He's the "Presumably Psychic Person" and you can click to see his vlog).
This is why he also received, for his birthday, a crocheted scarf in similar colors from another friend, Jackie (in close to our alma mater colors) and from his sister, an amigurimi Rainbow Dash (My biggest current claim to fame is I'm friends IRL with the Brony Prime: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/12/nightly-roundup-201.html#more He's the "Presumably Psychic Person" and you can click to see his vlog).
I made sure to choose a soft yarn with alpaca in it, because we both just really dig alpacas.
I wanted to believe that the reason he does not have a knit hat is because he hasn't been given the perfect, soft, lovingly-hand-knit hat yet; and he assured me this is true!
While I haven't seen him wear it either, I also have seen him all of
once since his birthday, which is more my fault than his.
Two more news octopi for Jenn. You can see their predecessors here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/onemoreday/news-octopi
The left one has a bit of a squid feel to it; the right one I made a little more lifelike and flat, but it also has seven legs. Hey, octopuses lose legs in real life! I left her a note with them.
All this knitting for friends means that you may get gifts like this for Christmas:
More knitting awaits! Still working on my First Sweater.
Claudia
Monday, December 19, 2011
dear self,
remember when you cleared out all the perishable food items before you went away because you always do that, because you hate coming home to rotten wasted food items?
And you think you're so clever and you're really keeping house?
Will you for once remember every time you come back and you have no food in the house?
Love,
Hungry self
remember when you cleared out all the perishable food items before you went away because you always do that, because you hate coming home to rotten wasted food items?
And you think you're so clever and you're really keeping house?
Will you for once remember every time you come back and you have no food in the house?
Love,
Hungry self
Sunday, December 11, 2011
before i go
I'm not doing the Biostatistics exam that I really, really meant to do, but I'm blogging that I really, really need to do it tomorrow (because it's due). I'm finishing out Biostatistics, but not Core Concepts of Public Health.
Tomorrow, I have my day job, then the exam, and really NOT MUCH ELSE, OK, SELF?
I don't have too much left to do on the exam, just one problem I'm really stumped on but the professor said everything I need is given...
All the other things I want to do include watching the DVDs I took out from the library, cleaning my house, knitting and sewing. I have time to knit this weekend though- I'll be headed to Maryland to see some of my family! I am very excited but a little nervous. Will it feel like "home"? Also, I still don't have a present for one of my family, and one present has yet to arrive in the mail. I have a back-up present for that first person also arriving, but I'm a little put out to feel that I need to get something for this recipient when I just don't think they will appreciate it. It's just not the same feeling when I think that everyone else will either like the thought I put into it or at the very least, be polite and not have "present-face": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMWTs0YT928
I should watch the DVDs because they are due before I would come back from Maryland, but I could also just take them back because I'm starting to go through all the things I am currently most interested in at our little public library, and maybe I should pace myself. ^_^
For some reason, though, I really want to start a new quilting or beading or embroidery project... forgetting the long-term quilting project I already have and the TWO knitting projects and the friendship bracelets and the clothes I ought to resize so I can actually wear them comfortably.
New project, right?
Tomorrow, I have my day job, then the exam, and really NOT MUCH ELSE, OK, SELF?
I don't have too much left to do on the exam, just one problem I'm really stumped on but the professor said everything I need is given...
All the other things I want to do include watching the DVDs I took out from the library, cleaning my house, knitting and sewing. I have time to knit this weekend though- I'll be headed to Maryland to see some of my family! I am very excited but a little nervous. Will it feel like "home"? Also, I still don't have a present for one of my family, and one present has yet to arrive in the mail. I have a back-up present for that first person also arriving, but I'm a little put out to feel that I need to get something for this recipient when I just don't think they will appreciate it. It's just not the same feeling when I think that everyone else will either like the thought I put into it or at the very least, be polite and not have "present-face": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMWTs0YT928
I should watch the DVDs because they are due before I would come back from Maryland, but I could also just take them back because I'm starting to go through all the things I am currently most interested in at our little public library, and maybe I should pace myself. ^_^
For some reason, though, I really want to start a new quilting or beading or embroidery project... forgetting the long-term quilting project I already have and the TWO knitting projects and the friendship bracelets and the clothes I ought to resize so I can actually wear them comfortably.
New project, right?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
a little life
Tonight I got home from work and found that my landlady had taped a note on my door.. that she had written on a paper plate. Apparently when you live in a cottage, everything must be adorable.
Not-so-adorable are the mice. They really haven't been too much of a problem- I haven't found ANY evidence of a mouse eating my food- but they're leaving their, well, leavings, and it's a bit gross. Mostly inoffensive, on the scale of poop, but still not cool. I've stuffed a few holes in the walls with steel wool, as I read that they can't chew through that. Soap-impregnated steel wool pads were what I could find cheapest at the grocery store, so my cottage now features sparkly tinsel like corners, filled with soap!
I am finally getting some good responses in my new position as a recruiter at my therapy staffing agency! I don't want to take on too much more, though, because next week is my last week before I will leave for an extended period and try to get a car and etc.
I am withdrawing from the Master's program I was in because I was overwhelmed and I didn't feel like the school was the right fit for me. I am still going to finish out one of my classes, but I feel better already. I won't feel better about paying my student loans, but at least I'm in America to do so- and I am not adding to them, which is very important to me right now.
I am looking forward to not being tired ALL of the time.
I met another person who can never work for Target again. Apparently it's called "redlining."
I am partway through War and Peace (still in the War part). I picked up a lovely copy at a yard sale and don't really feel much of anything about it right now.
I joined the public library and it's great! I've been watching a lot from their randomly-large selection of British shows and movies. Pie in the Sky is about a detective chef, and it's sweet but a bit unsurprising (for a mystery show!) and the characters are a bit flat. I have been ALL ABOUT Agatha Christie's Poirot. I've resolved to ride that Orient Express one day. It'll make up for not being able to fly in the Concorde.
Funny how free books and DVDs inspire me to save up several thousand dollars to blow on a luxury train trip!
I also started volunteering with Meals on Wheels. Just once a week, but it's been fantastic. Most of the volunteers are very nice to me. One wasn't.. but it worked out fine, because instead of riding along with her, I got to ride along with a fantastic guy in this fantastic car:
Definitely one of the coolest rides I've ever had. It's up there (I do indeed have a list). The man still has the original manual!
Not-so-adorable are the mice. They really haven't been too much of a problem- I haven't found ANY evidence of a mouse eating my food- but they're leaving their, well, leavings, and it's a bit gross. Mostly inoffensive, on the scale of poop, but still not cool. I've stuffed a few holes in the walls with steel wool, as I read that they can't chew through that. Soap-impregnated steel wool pads were what I could find cheapest at the grocery store, so my cottage now features sparkly tinsel like corners, filled with soap!
I am finally getting some good responses in my new position as a recruiter at my therapy staffing agency! I don't want to take on too much more, though, because next week is my last week before I will leave for an extended period and try to get a car and etc.
I am withdrawing from the Master's program I was in because I was overwhelmed and I didn't feel like the school was the right fit for me. I am still going to finish out one of my classes, but I feel better already. I won't feel better about paying my student loans, but at least I'm in America to do so- and I am not adding to them, which is very important to me right now.
I am looking forward to not being tired ALL of the time.
I met another person who can never work for Target again. Apparently it's called "redlining."
I am partway through War and Peace (still in the War part). I picked up a lovely copy at a yard sale and don't really feel much of anything about it right now.
I joined the public library and it's great! I've been watching a lot from their randomly-large selection of British shows and movies. Pie in the Sky is about a detective chef, and it's sweet but a bit unsurprising (for a mystery show!) and the characters are a bit flat. I have been ALL ABOUT Agatha Christie's Poirot. I've resolved to ride that Orient Express one day. It'll make up for not being able to fly in the Concorde.
Funny how free books and DVDs inspire me to save up several thousand dollars to blow on a luxury train trip!
I also started volunteering with Meals on Wheels. Just once a week, but it's been fantastic. Most of the volunteers are very nice to me. One wasn't.. but it worked out fine, because instead of riding along with her, I got to ride along with a fantastic guy in this fantastic car:
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Budget by talking to even more people!
Earlier this week my boss (not my direct supervisor, but the president- it's a small but growing company) asked me if I ever wore suits. I thought she was implying that I wasn't dressing up to the office dress code. Which doesn't exist. And I often dress nicer than I have to (I don't even meet clients or contractors) AND she was wearing a Juicy Couture terry cloth sweatsuit.
What she meant was, would I like a bunch of free suits? ^_^
A few pieces are still too big on me and not really worth (for me) taking to a tailor, so I'll be offering them to yet another coworker. One pair of pants manages to be loose everywhere except the waist- much too tight for sitting, eating, breathing. I have found out that I am (up top) smaller than an Ann Taylor size 2P, or at least what Ann Taylor 2P was when these were bought, although the length of the sleeves and jacket body are great. I also learned that I fit rather well (still a bit loose) in a Petite Sophisticate size 0. This is eBay useful, because Petite Sophisticate closed down last year.
In boss news, her husband the CEO came to my OTHER job tonight. My boss at other job (restaurant) and direct bosslady at office-job were okay with the idea of me taking off for about a month.
Oh, did I mention? I MIGHT JUST JET OFF FOR A MONTH.
I only realized today that I haven't seen my father or brother in a solid year. With people I know already talking about Thanksgiving plans (my high school informal reunion is even planned for Thanksgiving weekend) I only have plans to cottage it up and probably knit. And cook lots of food for MYSELF. and... be thankful?
Just kidding! I am very thankful for my good friends, and we will probably do a Friendsgiving! or my wonderful friend Matt's not-as-wonderful parents might be hosting/insisting/staging something.
Speaking of friends, my good man Alex of @loudheadphones on twitter and tumblr has started another tumblr called Crafting for the Modern Man. It already has eight pages! I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of variety. I don't know if some people keep their terminology separate- crafting, making, a hobby, a talent, a pastime, a skill, etc. But what I mean to say is, I've seen on just this tumbler: friendship bracelets, mending clothing, knitting (clothing AND plushies), crochet (granny squares AND amigurimi), cross stitch.. I hope to see even more!
To bring it back to bosses, my direct supervisor bosslady really wants to learn to knit. She was then FLOORED to find out that men knit. I told her there was tons of men knitting, that knitting was a skilled trade that belonged to men and they formed guilds, that there are still guilds (at least one that I know of, but it is not gender exclusive), that books have been written on men knitting, for men knitting, by men knitting...
I'll bring her opinion around :D
What she meant was, would I like a bunch of free suits? ^_^
A few pieces are still too big on me and not really worth (for me) taking to a tailor, so I'll be offering them to yet another coworker. One pair of pants manages to be loose everywhere except the waist- much too tight for sitting, eating, breathing. I have found out that I am (up top) smaller than an Ann Taylor size 2P, or at least what Ann Taylor 2P was when these were bought, although the length of the sleeves and jacket body are great. I also learned that I fit rather well (still a bit loose) in a Petite Sophisticate size 0. This is eBay useful, because Petite Sophisticate closed down last year.
In boss news, her husband the CEO came to my OTHER job tonight. My boss at other job (restaurant) and direct bosslady at office-job were okay with the idea of me taking off for about a month.
Oh, did I mention? I MIGHT JUST JET OFF FOR A MONTH.
I only realized today that I haven't seen my father or brother in a solid year. With people I know already talking about Thanksgiving plans (my high school informal reunion is even planned for Thanksgiving weekend) I only have plans to cottage it up and probably knit. And cook lots of food for MYSELF. and... be thankful?
Just kidding! I am very thankful for my good friends, and we will probably do a Friendsgiving! or my wonderful friend Matt's not-as-wonderful parents might be hosting/insisting/staging something.
Speaking of friends, my good man Alex of @loudheadphones on twitter and tumblr has started another tumblr called Crafting for the Modern Man. It already has eight pages! I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of variety. I don't know if some people keep their terminology separate- crafting, making, a hobby, a talent, a pastime, a skill, etc. But what I mean to say is, I've seen on just this tumbler: friendship bracelets, mending clothing, knitting (clothing AND plushies), crochet (granny squares AND amigurimi), cross stitch.. I hope to see even more!
To bring it back to bosses, my direct supervisor bosslady really wants to learn to knit. She was then FLOORED to find out that men knit. I told her there was tons of men knitting, that knitting was a skilled trade that belonged to men and they formed guilds, that there are still guilds (at least one that I know of, but it is not gender exclusive), that books have been written on men knitting, for men knitting, by men knitting...
I'll bring her opinion around :D
Monday, November 7, 2011
Budget by talking to people!
I spend $13 dollars going to and from EACH class, by buying 10-trip ticket blocks and 10-token packets. I budget doing that once a month, with the occasional day I don't do it right- I put public transport in my budget as $70 a month. The 10&10 block costs 65.50 ($50 for the tickets, $15.50 for tokens). This saves a little because normally a round trip would cost me $12 in tickets and $4 in tokens. Really, I only save $3. I like the ease of having a bunch of tickets and tokens already on hand as well as blocking that money out and not having it be free to be accidentally used (you know, you think that cash money in your wallet isn't earmarked, spend it, then realize you have no cash for the conductor).
This is weird to think about because the subway tokens aren't entirely necessary, and I could walk and tried to get rides from the La Salle security service. However, I am not really comfortable doing either of those things now (walking through a sketchy neighborhood late at night), so the extra $3- and $15.50 a month- seems like a justifiable expense. Sometimes I still get conflicted over "justifiable" and feel guilty.
Today, my carpool woman wasn't going through Ambler, so I couldn't get a ride to work. So, I missed a day of work, and I'll miss one next week too because she won't be coming through. That's $144.50 I won't have, and if I'm not going to give up $15.50 on tokens where else can I deduct from?
I tried to work through all of that two weeks ago. When I went to the train station, the ticket attendant recognized me and asked about where I go and at what times. He suggested that I should just get a pack of day passes. At $11 each, they cover the train fare AND subway fare, and bus fare if I chose to take the bus ($55 for 10, cheaper than the $65.50 I was spending, although I may still get tokens for other days). They have to be used within the day they are stamped (I wonder about people who might work overnight shifts?) but overall they are the best deal for my needs right now. Yay for small towns!
SEPTA is going to be rolling out a fully electronic ticket system, and while I realize this will be easier for many people, I'll miss things like chatting with the ticket booth guy and having him advise me on the best deal.
Two winters ago, I used to take the train to and from my job. Once, I managed to fall asleep right before my stop and wake up immediately afterwards. I wasn't even sure where I was when the conductor caught my eye and asked me if I was going somewhere different today! He gave me a ticket to get off at the next stop and turn myself around- so I didn't have to pay for a whole second ticket just to go one stop. Very kind of him! Sometimes having a friendly smile always at the ready really does pay off. Although, I was also a girl with pink hair and a bright purple coat, so being easily recognizable probably helped.
This is weird to think about because the subway tokens aren't entirely necessary, and I could walk and tried to get rides from the La Salle security service. However, I am not really comfortable doing either of those things now (walking through a sketchy neighborhood late at night), so the extra $3- and $15.50 a month- seems like a justifiable expense. Sometimes I still get conflicted over "justifiable" and feel guilty.
Today, my carpool woman wasn't going through Ambler, so I couldn't get a ride to work. So, I missed a day of work, and I'll miss one next week too because she won't be coming through. That's $144.50 I won't have, and if I'm not going to give up $15.50 on tokens where else can I deduct from?
I tried to work through all of that two weeks ago. When I went to the train station, the ticket attendant recognized me and asked about where I go and at what times. He suggested that I should just get a pack of day passes. At $11 each, they cover the train fare AND subway fare, and bus fare if I chose to take the bus ($55 for 10, cheaper than the $65.50 I was spending, although I may still get tokens for other days). They have to be used within the day they are stamped (I wonder about people who might work overnight shifts?) but overall they are the best deal for my needs right now. Yay for small towns!
SEPTA is going to be rolling out a fully electronic ticket system, and while I realize this will be easier for many people, I'll miss things like chatting with the ticket booth guy and having him advise me on the best deal.
Two winters ago, I used to take the train to and from my job. Once, I managed to fall asleep right before my stop and wake up immediately afterwards. I wasn't even sure where I was when the conductor caught my eye and asked me if I was going somewhere different today! He gave me a ticket to get off at the next stop and turn myself around- so I didn't have to pay for a whole second ticket just to go one stop. Very kind of him! Sometimes having a friendly smile always at the ready really does pay off. Although, I was also a girl with pink hair and a bright purple coat, so being easily recognizable probably helped.
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