Footprints on the Moon

This post comes to you straight from work, where I foolishly decided to pick up an extra shift. Which would have been a wonderful decision (come on, 8 hours overtime when I’m financially stressed?) except for the fact that it was third shift. Which I haven’t worked for about a year and a half now. Ouch. I’m soooo tired, and there are still about 4 hours to go. I’ve been out in the guardhouse bored to tears all night, so I decided to come inside for a walk about half an hour ago… it helped wake me up a lot, and I decided to stop by my own desk and write up a quick post. About the fact that I’m at work. At 2:30 on a Sunday morning. Reminding myself that this is very good for my paycheck, and the credit card that I want to pay off as soon as possible because they pissed me off.

I definitely don’t miss third shift. I like sleeping at night, thankyouverymuch. Additionally, when I’m working the reception desk Monday through Friday, I’ve never had somebody ask me to touch their boob. Apparently, third shift Saturday night is where the boob action is. And no, I didn’t. LOL

I’m still kind of torn about the whole birthday money situation, so what I decided to do was a little of both. I got a total of $95 for my birthday. I already appropriated $20 of it to pay for lunch at work this week, which leaves $75. Of that, I’m going to take $25 and go buy the Nightmare Before Christmas which FINALLY came out on DVD today… the other $50 will make a credit card payment. That way, I’ll feel like I got to buy something for myself and make a little more progress. I think that will make me feel better about the whole situation!

I did call and close a credit card yesterday though. Woohoo! I have another one I could call and close, but I’m worried about really dinging my credit by making my credit used/credit available ratio even smaller than it already is.

Also on a completely unrelated note, apparently, acne is a hot button topic for the spammers! Usually it’s nothing but performance drugs and anatomy enhancements, but ever since I talked about my puberty chin, I’ve seen a ton of treatments for acne in the mix.

I have a question for you guys… when you get birthday money (or gifted money of any kind, like Christmas, for that matter) is it fun money, or do you add it to your debt relief efforts? I’ve generally subscribed to the notion that you should spend birthday money on something you really want rather than something you really need. This year I was already thinking about using the birthday money to buy sexy swimwear (*snort* okay, okay, just a much needed new swimsuit)… or the other option was to finally buy the books that have been languishing in my shopping cart on Amazon.com. I had almost decided to go for the latter option, but then I spent the weekend taking a good look at my finances and now I find myself leaning towards depositing that money in the bank and sending it straight on to one of my credit cards. So I’m interested in your opinions… does using birthday money to make a credit card payment go against the spirit in which the gift was given (ostensibly to choose a gift for myself) or is it a sound financial decision?

I’m really starting to get frustrated with my computer. Sometimes it runs just fine, and other times it runs so slowly that I can hardly get anything done. Virus and adware scans turn up nothing, so I really don’t know what the problem is. Maybe it’s a product of the fact that the computer is getting older… maybe it’s a computer memory issue related to the fact that I’m a pack rat in ALL areas of my life lol (Until recently, I had files from my freshman year of college on my computer… nevermind the fact that this computer was purchased after I graduated. Oops?) In any case, I don’t know what the problem is, or how to fix it, but it’s seriously getting frustrating!

It’s Sunday, and that would normally mean a Self Portrait Sunday post, but you’re not getting one of those today. Partially because I just don’t feel like messing with it, and partially because I feel like I’m going through puberty again. Seriously, I’d be concerned that I’d be taking a picture for the “before” side of an acne scars cream ad. (Too bad I’m pretty convinced they don’t actually work, especially if you don’t use them– oops lol)

I tend to break out every month with hormone changes anyways, but this month has just been crazy. I break out from my scalp to my feet and everywhere in between. My skin is so fair that everything leaves a scar, at least for awhile, so you can imagine how excited I am!

I’ve spent a bit of time this weekend reviewing my financial situation, so I thought I’d stop in and update all of you as well. I’ve been a little upset about the way things are going lately, so I thought a check was necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not upset that I can’t afford things like cruises or expensive vacations, but I don’t like that it’s difficult to afford a day off because my budget is so tight. I’ve been really feeling like I haven’t gotten anywhere, so it was definitely time to step back and look at the big picture.

When I started this journey in February, I had a total debt of $33,470.07. That includes my credit cards, car loan, and student loans. As of today, it stands at $30,589.55, which is a difference of $2,889.52. I am making progress, but it’s not as far as I’d hoped I would be in 6 months. Part of that is my own fault, as one of my credit cards went the wrong direction this month. But part of it is just a function of having such a tight budget when my obligation to, oh, clothe myself hasn’t changed.

The panic that I’ve been dealing with related to my finances comes from looking forward to the next 6 months. I need to pay for glasses in September, Christmas is coming quicker than I want to think about, and my car insurance is due on December 1st (somewhere in the neighborhood of $600, and I have only $70 set aside so far). On top of all of that, I want to continue making forward progress on my credit cards rather than just treading water. Looking at everything, I just don’t see where it’s going to come from, and that’s got me a little freaked out.

A few months ago, I was looking at getting a second, part-time job, and even had a one day stint as a paper delivery girl, but I never made it any farther than that. Now I’m thinking that as much as I don’t want to go from one job to another, maybe it’s time to seriously think about finding something to bring in some extra money. I don’t need to pay everything off in a couple of months, but I would really love to have a little extra breathing room, especially as we approach Christmas.

I gotta tell you, I’m a big fan of this birthday weekend thing. Granted, yesterday had nothing to do with my birthday, and Saturday was only marginally birthday related… but the birthday festivities started with margaritas on Friday night and extend through dinner with my grandmother tomorrow.

I was happily surprised to come in to work this morning and find a big balloon bouquet sitting on my desk, courtesy of Janette! I gotta tell you, I like having my birthday acknowledged. I’m not the type of person who would rather no one knew or noticed my birthday. Maybe it’s because growing up, school always started after my birthday (all the way through college) so I never got to have the small birthday acknowledgments that other kids did, and I don’t mind telling you, I’ve always been slightly bitter about that fact. Though I suppose I can’t complain too much since I did enjoy the fact that I never had to go to school on my birthday.

I have a twin brother, so I’ve always had to share my birthday. This year I am loving the fact that I have had a few individual birthday celebrations. For the first time, I haven’t asked for my birthday off of work, and I have to admit, I love that people are passing through and telling me happy birthday. Big thanks to Janette for the Happy Birthday balloons so I don’t have to casually slip in birthday mentions first.

Okay, it’s not quite margarita time, yet but it will be. In approximately 5 hours. My favorite local fake Mexican restaurant has their liters of margaritas on special for $10 on Fridays. Since my birthday happens to fall on a Monday this year, we decided that Friday would be a GREAT day to go out and have fun. We made these plans two months ago, so I’m excited that it’s finally here! I keep joking that I’m going to order a liter and a straw, and maybe I’ll order dinner. First though, I need to make it through the rest of the afternoon.

After a bit of a stressful week, and an emotionally stressful weekend, I was struck by the urge to get in the car and just start driving. And keep driving. I didn’t have any particular destination in mind, only a strong desire to be anywhere, anywhere that is far far away from here. Unfortunately, I have work and responsibilities that make that little dream impossible. Still, I am definitely feeling the need for a vacation. I haven’t taken a day off of work since November when we stayed in one of those las vegas hotels for a few days. It was a great trip, and I’m more than a little disappointed that I can’t afford a repeat performance on that vacation. Even so, I’m more and more drawn to the idea of taking a couple days off to just go sit on a beach somewhere.

Sunday again. This is me just before I was heading out on a walk tonight. Actually my second walk for the day. I went to my mom’s house earlier to (re)wash my uniform tops and I talked her into taking a walk with me when I was there. We took about a 25 minute walk around the block, but when I got home I decided I wanted to take another walk. Partly because the weather tonight is just gorgeous, and partly because I’ve been trying to walk closer to 45 minutes a day.

I ended up walking for probably another 40 minutes. About 5 minutes from my house, I had to stop and wait for a train. Just when I got on the other side of the tracks, some guy leaned out of his car and yelled “Hey, you’re fat!” Uh… no shit? I don’t understand what compels people to do shit like that. What kind of response are they expecting? “Oh! I didn’t realize I was fat! Well, now that you have brought this obesity to my attention, let me do something about it!” Oh wait… I’m already hauling my fat ass around the block for that exact reason.

Seriously, I don’t get it. I do a good enough job of feeling unattractive, and feeling bad about myself without your help, thank you. Just another peach on top of an already lovely day. I think for now, I’m going to take one of my books and go to bed.