Baby Finances

I'm starting to wonder where the bad part comes into my new job. Everything that has happened so far has been done with openness, honestly - and not just if I ask a direction question honesty - but like full disclosure, and general understanding. Questions about my preferences have been asked, work arounds have been found, and quick reponses have been received. I'm just wondering when the bad stuff starts to happen. Maybe I shouldn't be so cynical and looking for the bad stuff starting out. So far, even looking, I haven't really been able to find anything.... here's hoping.

The last few days I've basically been doing nothing. And by past few days - I mean a week. Last Friday the movers came to pick up my stuff - I cleaned out the apartment and had my last day at work. Then I had the six hour drive to Toledo. Most boring drive ever. At least it was at night though. I would much rather drive at night because you have less people on the roads and therefore less assholes and crappy situations. Last Saturday was Goetzfest. I assumed that anyone under the age of 80 knew how to use the internet. Apparently I was wrong. It's odd to think about how people who never use the internet really experience life differently than me. It's a strange thing to think about. I'm so connected into the internet - that I can't imagine not having it all the time. We did the traditional Christmas eve thing at my parents house - hung out all day - ate cookies - went to 4:30 mass - then came home and had dinner with my grandparents. We opened a few pres...

A few days ago the check engine soon light came on. This is always a bit of a freak out moment. It was a super freak out moment because I have to drive to Ohio on Friday, and then after Christmas from Ohio to Boston. ==== SUPER FREAK OUT ==== It's done it once before right after the gas light came on. Looking it up - it said that it might be due to an engine misfire and that I should wait until the 4th warm up and cool down cycle happened and it would turn off. This time - it went on while I was driving up a hill. I didn't freak out like last time as much - but I was still pretty freaked. But on the way back from the bank - after the 5th or 6th time I turned it on and off - while I was driving it turned off. I assume yet again - that it just corrected itself. THANK GOD! I need to go tomorrow morning to get my oil changed anyways. I'm not thinking that this car is going to last that much longer.

I really over analyze any situation. Be it a simple situation where someone says something and I read too much into it, worrying about thing I can't change, or stressing out about potential situations. This can be a good thing - picturing the worse possible scenario - which rarely comes true - just makes the situation look so much brighter. Whatever the outcome actually is - it is usually not half so bad as what I picture in my head; so it usually turns out well. This technique works really well in most cases. However, there are some situation that I know are so unpredictable that there is no way that I can picture worst case. One of those such cases will happen tomorrow. Our CEO is coming into town and that means that I will get a grilling for why I am leaving. There's no other possible outcome other than having him justify to himself that my current work place is really the best place on earth and that either A) there is something outside of his control that is causing...

I never really thought about it until now - one of the perks of this new job is the frequent flyer miles. Just going to Israel alone is going to be like 12K miles. I only need like 25K for a US economy round trip. I have a feeling that I'm going elite status next year! Yeah for upgrades and perks. Anyone wanna go on vacation? I'm really close for a free round trip from American already, and I'm half way there on Northwest and Continental - I've got a million different airline mile programs - and I'm betting I'll have a few free round trips before the end of the year. Anyone wanna go on vacation? Hopefully I can at least get free upgrades.

I never really understood how people could be so self-awareless to not really realize when they were bitching and complaining. Not that it makes me stop - to know that I'm doing it. It's always been a bit of a defense mechanism against stress. I bitch and whine. Welcome to my blog! We're having a craptastical storm here in Rochester NY. To the point where I'm not really willing to drive on the roads. I know on occasion I have used crappy weather as an excuse not to do something; really it was just that, an excuse, because I really didn't feel like doing whatever it was I was trying to excuse myself from. It's been snowing since last night, with no let up. Not a ton - but enough where the snow plows don't have enough break in the weather to be able to keep everything clean. It has made it rather inconvenient for people to come and pick up all the crap that I don't want. Adding to my stress because I just want to be done with this move already. It...

So I've never posted anything on CL that has been really popular before. Especially in Rochester NY. Usually I get like one or two interested parties max. Oh holy crap did I get a lot of responses for a pub table that I have. I really have no use for it - it's cute - nothing wrong with it. Between a dresser I have, pub table set - which I have to say was the most popular item on the list, and a bed that I need to get rid of -- I've had 227 messages so far. Freaking ridiculous. They just keep coming in. I really wish that CL updated more often and could delete my posts faster. I really just didn't expect them to move so fast. Crazy. It's been an exhausting day so far. I've got a big day of packing, laundry, and organizing left to go. Now I need to learn some hebrew too. I don't even know how to say thank you! Anyone know hebrew that wants to teach me?

I've been having some issues with the intertubes lately. I came home maybe Wednesday night from our Holiday party and it wasn't working. It had been working before I left. Strange. I thought that maybe the crappy weather or something and gotten to it and they would just come fix it. Finally I called them yesterday to ask them to come out and repair it. This morning I woke up thinking "Maybe it's just the phone jack." OMG it was JUST the phone jack. Crappity crap. It sucks to realize that me being so dumb was the cause of pain for multiple days. I guess I didn't realize all this resigning crap would be so difficult mentally. I got my ticket information for going to Israel. I'm leaving the afternoon of the 4th and coming back on the 18th. If anyone wants to talk to me - I'm going to be 6 hours off EST; please adjust accordingly. I hadn't realized until they brought it up that Israel works Sun-Thursday and Friday/Saturday is their weekend. ...

What the hell happened to us? I don't remember it being like this. When did we start to care about interest rates and who was having babies... on purpose? It's amazing how it sneaks up on you. We are actual adults now. Like xkcd says: we get to decide what that means. It's really awesome in some ways - that whole deciding what it means part is pretty cool. The complicatedness and the obligation and responsibility - not so cool. I think I wanna go back for a day. Or a week. Maybe even a month. Just screw around and really enjoy it for a few days. Let's go do something stupid like drive around in a convertible going 90mph - and have a friend with a fake ID buy some booze and go get drunk in our parents basement. The most we had to worry about was our parents catching us with a six pack. This is what you get when you make me plan a move for 4 hours in a row. *Sigh*

Well, our yearly "holiday party" is coming up again tomorrow night. I have to put it in quotations because the office secretary (read: office supply Nazi - and no I do not use that term lightly) likes to bitch and whine about how it's so dumb that we can't call it a Christmas party and blah blah blah being politically correct sucks. She's very vehement. She loves to bitch and whine to the CEO about this; who's Jewish. So, in light of the timing I thought I would put a few tips together for all of those who must go to their parties. Yes, you MUST go. People like to ask you for RSVP's like it's optional. Let me tell you, it's definitely not optional to go. This is really a survival guide, but I like making lists; so I've completed it in list format, in no particular order. 1) Tell the person organizing the party about how great their job was on last years - and how wonderful it was. Really - you want to get the inside scoop on when the b...

I hate when I just feel incredibly stupid. I don't know if its because I hate not being the best at something. Am I really that competitive? I guess I've never thought of myself as "that girl." The one who always has to be right and who always has to win. It's a little hard to figure out that you are that thing that you've always said that you abhor. People always amaze me. In both good ways and bad ways. Why is life so confusing sometimes?

The damn thing is probably the freaking hardest thing to refill and it takes forever. It's not my favorite culinary task. I think that my favorite culinary task is actually chopping; or maybe searing. I had to go to the laundry mat today and people were being ridiculous. All of the washers worked but only around 2/3 of the dryers were functional. Lady I (let's nickname her "White Trash" for the sake of discussion) decided that it will be a good idea to only use the minimal amount of quarters - so she spreads her clothes into dryers = 2*washers. Then, to further help minimize the usage of quarters she only puts in two at a time; checking after each two quarter cycle. This craziness would not be an issue in an empty laundry mat, but it is a bit of an issue when three people are waiting for dryers. To complicated the matter further she does not show up on time for any of these two quarter cycles. After waiting for her to come back inside (I think she was just chi...

So I just got a settlement paperwork in the mail for refunds on foreign transactions between Feb 96 until Nov. 2006. If you've been outside the US for less than a week - they suggest the quick $25 refund. I've definitely been outside of the US more. Please anyone - help me remember all the trips to Canada... 10 days for the UK trip, 10 days for the France/Belgium trip, 3 days in high school for the day before thanksgiving trips to Toronto, 5 days to Toronto for a spring break trip w/my parents in high school, 2+ trips at least to Canada for gambling, 1 trip to montreal for boozing, 1 high school band trip to toronto - how long was that? like 3-4 days?, shit dude - this is ridulous trying to remember all the dumb trips to Canada.... anyone remember anything else that I did?