Britney Spears with a side of Bacon

A few weeks ago I bought a new alarm clock that allows for me to wake up to my iPod. My previous alarm clock had a cd option that broke about 2 years ago and the radio didn't work, so I have be subject to BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. Not my favorite way to wake up.

At this time, I have a 75 song pop song list (thanks iTunes Genius) that plays every morning, picking up where ever it left off the previous day. Thus, I have anyone from Britney to Ke$ha to Justin to Lady Gaga saying good morning.

Well like all technology, I have already found a superior alarm clock that I must get - the Wake 'n Bacon. The construction of this clock reminds me of something I would have made in wood shop back in middle school, but sometimes simple is best. After all, the iPod is a very simple looking device and we all fawn over it. So here I have a big wooden box with ears and a pig nose, just seems like a large novelty clock until you realize it wakes you up by cooking bacon!

All you have to do is put in a piece of frozen bacon when you are getting ready for bed and the timer is set to start cooking 10 minutes before you want to wake up. You are then gentley woken up with the smell and sizzle of bacon. Yum. Now I would still need some sort of noise, because I don't know if the smell of bacon alone could wake me up every day. But I would definitely pop out of bed faster if I had Beyonce AND Bacon.

My CC is keeping me on budget

Ever since I moved out of my parents' house, money has been my biggest concern. I needed to be sure I was covering all my bills, have some left over to save for a rainy day, and then still even more for retirement. Bills were initially easy, as was saving. It took me until about year out before I really started with any retirement savings.

Then I got a little too ambitious. I decided to live by myself. This quickly cut down my ability to save. Once I returned to school, there were a few additional costs, but class and homework got in the way of part time work. This meant serious budgets!!! I need to reduce spending that does not fall under utilities, rent, gas, and food. After a unexpected trip to the garage, leaving me with a $139 bill, I was bummed that I wouldn't be able to pick up some items from Sephora I had meaning to get, or a new pair of winter pants. Boooo.

Just to be sure that I was up to budget for January, I went to check on my credit card. That is when I noticed I haven't cashed in my points for about a year. I use my credit cards for everything. All those charges allow for me to gain points, and I always use them to order $25, $50 or $100 gift cards. It allows for me to treat myself guilt free. :)

This time I am going with Amazon, J-Crew, and Sephora. This should allow me for a combination of things I need and want to get me through the next semester. Honestly, if I could charge my rent check I would be this much closer to a Banana Republic guilt-free splurge.

Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick

"Library Request Pickup Notice"

I opened my gmail yesterday and saw this subject headlining an unopened email. A few months ago I put myself on the wait list for a few books through the Minuteman Library system. I received one of these emails a few weeks ago, and was unable to get to the library within the 2 day window because of classes other after work commitments. This time I was able to stop and pick up the book. Now I hope I can find time to read the 435 pages of "One Day". Considering I have about 3 months worth of magazines sitting in my living room begging to be read, the odds are not in my favor.

Hopefully I can find the time. I think I'll start right now. Green Bay is kicking butts and taking names, so there isn't anything keeping me interested in tv tonight.

Good night!

Cough cough hack

Know what stops a blogger in her tracks?

Lots of work + lots of school + one hell of a cold.

I thought I was going to continue posting on fairly regularly basis even with the new time suck known as night school. What I didn't plan for was one major virus that attacked my sinuses and took no prisoners. Last week I took 2 sick days in a row. TWO IN A ROW. I think I have only ever taken 2 vacation days in a row once in the 4+ years I have been employed. I have class on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and decided to sleep the 48 hours between classes.

This week is my first quiz and I need to concentrate on the principles of economic theory. There are a few posts in the work, and maybe if all things go as planned, I can write up a few of them on Friday.

PS Emergen-c is a life saver. I totally recommend you start drinking it this winter if you never have, even if it vitamin c boosting powers aren't real, the drinks really help you get hydrated which is never a bad thing when your nose drips out of control.

Netflix for Books

Last week I was lunching with a friend and we were talking about how much we love reading, but hate how expensive a good book could be, or worse how expensive a bad one ends up. (see: Eat Pray Love) Wouldn't it be awesome if there was some sort of program out there that provided a service which is like Netflix but for books??


Oh wait, that exists already. It is called the library.



I always forget that the library exists and contains books I would want to read. Part of me dreads entering into one because the books are not out on display like at Border's on tables sitting face up. With the library, I need to know exactly what I want before entering the facility. The library system understands my dilemma and has allowed for me to browse from the comfort of my office desk or living room couch.


At this moment I have put name name down to order 4 different books. Two have over a hundred holds on them (Packing for Mars and One Day), so maybe I will get a chance around Christmas? Either way, I am very hopeful for this and maybe, just maybe, my book buying budget will slowly decrease over the next few months.

Cute Office Supplies

The best part of being an adult who has to work a traditional office job is getting unlimited access to the supply closet. This magical room allows for a person to decorate their desk with neon colored post-it notes, pink stencil notepads, colored felt pens, or so I imagine.

If I have to go back to cubicle living, I better have some fun paper products to play with to keep my notes nice and organized. While watching tv this morning, I saw an ad for the best new innovation in scotch tape.

This darling contraption grips onto the desk and provides the user with small pre-cut strips of tape. Imagine how easy it would be to wrap a Christmas present if I had this little bugger sitting pretty next to you. Yup, my life has come to fantasizing about the latest innovations in tape.

20 for a $1

After this weekend, I realize I might need to cut back my references to how poor I am. These laments stem from a year ago when I moved into my own apartment when I thought I would be taking a new job that pays higher. I could make my rent payments, but it was a bit of a squeeze and had to stop some of my automatic savings transfers. Little did I know that not only did I not get a higher paying job, but ended up elsewhere which meant taking a pretty major pay-cut. EEEeeeeep!

I do work a part-time job that is flexible, enjoyable, and definitely helps with the bills. Thus, I am still in the black, even if it is by a hair. I have adjusted my personal budget and quit saving money and things have evened out. No biggie.

Anyway, my dad let me know on the car ride home from the bar that he came up with a new way for me to earn some extra cash. Cash in my mom's diet coke cans. This is a serious suggestion, and what is sadder, is that I am seriously considering it. My parents cannot cash them in as RI doesn't do the deposit, but MA does. I am aware that it is illegal to take your cans from a non-deposit state to a deposit state, but I think I might chance it every so often.

I have shared this story with a few friends, and they have responded how they have thought about cashing in their own cans, but it seems more effort than it is worth. Normally I would agree. But my mother is my secret weapon. She pretty much only drinks Diet Coke from a can and consumes a good amount of it. If I picked up cans when I visited once a month, I could probably cover the gas money I needed for the trip.

In the end, yes, I am considering going for it. Who couldn't use a few extra bucks?

Emotional Shredding

Emotional Shredding is a term that I created over Memorial Day weekend. I have been living up here in the Boston area since graduation, but when I left my parents' house I didn't exactly clean out my room completely. There were still pictures hanging on the walls, books in the shelves, and some emergency clothes stashed in the drawers. Now that my parents are planning on renovating their bedroom, having my sister move from her room to mine, and turning her old space into a real guest room, they needed "the shrine", as they like to call it, cleaned out.

My mom and I slowly tackled the bureau, night stand, shelves, drawers and closet. I was able to let go of a number of nick-nacks, papers, and the like. Every so often there were moments that my mom had to urge me a little harder to let go and for the most part, I would let her win. It was hard, but it was time.

RIP - phone bank from my 5th birthday party and jewelry box with small brown bear with bow tie that twirled while song played.

Part of the reason she won on these items was that the momentum to throw away was so strong. I received positive feedback when trashing items, as I have a habit of saving objects that contain memories. I became a junkie and even though I wasn't really ready to let go, I did because it felt good to purge. During the drive home, I felt pretty awful that some of those items were heading to the dump shortly. Thankfully my mom realized that there were some things she shouldn't have pushed on and took them out of the piles. Yay, the phone bank and jewelry box were saved!!

I have found that I have to be careful when I clean, I become an emotional shredder when I am in the mood to really clean house. One time I destroyed a journal from high school, I immediately regretted trashing my personal thoughts like that. Now, whenever I am in the mood to purge out my possessions, I hold off before bringing the items to GoodWill and keep the items in a pile for a week or so. This strategy has worked wonderfully for me.

My next big project will be dealing with the filing cabinet that I brought back with me from home. It needs to be gone through, but I am just not ready to deal with the papers that I have been holding onto and would rather give myself some time to process exactly what is trash, and what is treasure. While I know old credit card and utility bills can be shredded without a second glance, I don't want to accidentally destroy financial docs that need to be kept because I get in the zone. Maybe the next big rainy day will be set aside for this project.

Life is (still) Good

My cupboards were not bare, but they didn't have the most useful items in them either. A meal consisting of diced tomatoes in garlic and oil with a can of baked beans and some crackers wasn't going to cut it, so I decided to stop at the grocery on the way home.

I bought way more groceries than I intended, I just cannot control myself when I am hungry, and hopped into the car to speed to my apartment before the ice cream had a chance to get melty. As I walked up the path to my apartment building, I went to reach for my keys. Not in my bag.

I frantically started pulling the bag apart and dumping the contents. That is when I realized that I had made a huge mistake leaving my coat on the back of my office chair. My morning routine consists of me slipping my apartment keys into my coat pocket. Sometimes these keys are later transferred into my bag, but this was not the case today. Ugh.

After a few calls to the property building and the various handymen, I was able to get in and save the frozen foods. An hour later I went to grab my bag so I could pick up my friend from the bus stop and go over to trivia. As I grabbed my phone, car keys and spare keys, I noticed something was missing. That sometime was my wallet.

Again, I tore everything apart and even searched the car. No wallet. I know I bought my groceries so I called the market. Thankfully someone turned it in!

I raced over and everything was there, my credit cards and my money. Sigh of relief!

As much as those two hours caused me extreme stress, I will walk away thinking that it could have been worse. I am thankful things worked out so well for me, and I even was able to pick up my friend and make it to trivia. We only missed out on the first question!

I should just become a clown.

Whenever I begin to get overwhelmed (this averages to about once a month) I remind myself that in order to fly one has to leap. Which means I try to live life as aggressively as possible. The upside to this philosophy is that my life tends to change every 5 weeks or so. While I am constantly juggling all my commitments, things stay interesting by the mere fact that various jobs or activities are being added and subtracted regularly.

Currently I have a full-time job, 2 part-time jobs (as of the May 22nd), kickball, a running program and an intense social life (which includes a number of weddings and graduation events in the near future). Come this fall, kickball will most likely fall to the wayside but I will pick up night school. Yes, I am aware that a love life was not in these lists, but, hey, I just don't have time. I can only hope that I meet someone who is just as busy as I am and can deal with knowing that I can't be bothered to sit still for more than an hour or two...

I just found a note book and am using it to keep track of all of my To-Dos and lists. In the matter of minutes after I gave the book a purpose, I managed to fill the first few pages with household chores and packing lists for the upcoming weekend. Maybe with this notebook I will be able to find more time for enrichment. I recently realized that the best use of my lunch hour is to spend it reading as I never feel good about sitting on my couch with a book. A friend of mine just recommended me a few different On Demand exercise programs to help me with my goal of getting in shape. I think if I start waking up at 6 am every day rather than just the days I have to go running, I can get my body in tip top shape in the next month or so.

Let's keep my fingers crossed that I can keep everything moving and I don't have to sacrifice. I know that sacrifice is something that you are suppose to do when working towards a goal, but I am just not ready for that and would like to keep all this going as long as I possibly can.

When I Grow Up....

I want to be a cougar.

Seriously.

Last night I had the honor of dining with four fine cougar women and had an absolute blast. Half of us at the table were under 30, the other half, well, weren't. But all were fantastic.

These women shared my love of crass conversation, high heels, big jewelry, and booze. By the end of the night I consumed more food than I care to admit and was quite happy about it.

I learned that as a cougar you must own fancy cars, arrange amazing trips with friends, go out for fun dinners, and be good at euchre. If that doesn't sound like the perfect lifestyle, I don't know what is.

Soothing? Not to my tastebuds

Finally getting over this cold. I have to get up early tomorrow to get my brakes fixed because I have to work in Worcester at night. DC is supposed to get tons of snow and so far Boston sounds like it is in the clear but just in case we do end up getting some, I'd rather be able to actually stop when I hit the brake pedal on the Mass Pike than not. Thus 7:30 am wake up call it is. My body has slowly been recovering since Monday. My sneezing has slowed down and I have definitely been going through fewer tissues per hour.

At this point I think I am ready to sleep through the night without a shot of NyQuil before hitting the bed. While I find that the medicine is a God send with providing me the ability to sleep through the night, it honestly couldn't be less pleasant to taste. The advertisements state that its is a soothing. I would love to know who agrees. Every night I want to gag after I swallow (that's what she said). I don't even know what flavor that is supposed to be. It is just revolting.

I have to say as much as I love the quality of sleep I get from taking the NyQuil, I hate having to consume it. Getting healthy not only is a plus because that means I will stop sneezing but I will also get to end my dependency on the green sauce. NyQuil do you think you could try to create something that is a little less revolting? I would really appreciate it - and I think the rest of America would too.

FYI - Because I know you miss me

2010 has started slow for my anniversary as a blogger. At this point, I feel like I want to let you in on why there has been such infrequent posting. I have been in an intensive class where I go from 6-9 every day after work. The course is called Visual Rhetoric and it is about communicating through images (visuals). My final project centers around the Disney Princesses - do not laugh or roll your eyes - it has been a lot of work but I think the final product will come out well. My major tasks have included finding and editing videos. Below is one that I particularly love, and it shows Helene Stanley dancing around for the animators to give inspiration for Aurora's dancing.

Thirty

# of books that I have bought and are sitting on my bookshelves unread.

7 - # of collections of short stories that I have started or picked through, but yet to complete all the entries

6 - # of books I started and put back down because I didn't have the time, focus, or energy to invest in them

6 - # of books bought for a college class that I didn't to to that semester and vowed to read later in life. Later still has not happened

Forty-nine books that need to be read, are dying to be read, are staring back at me in my living room. This number does not include the book I need to read for book club that is being held next week. Every few weeks I end up in a book store and say that I cannot purchase a new a book until I catch up on all the ones that are already scattered around my apartment. Those days I usually end up with just one new book in my purse. It is an addiction and it hard to break.

My goal this thanksgiving break is to read at least two of them and three magazines (which would get me caught up in that area). The first book would be the book club book, the second being The Host by Stephanie Meyers (yes the Twilight lady). I would say don't judge me for The Host but you already have, instead I will ask to still be my friend. :)

I don't know when I am going to find time to really get these piles down considering I feel like reading is a waste of time right now as I try to get my life together. So maybe when I am 50 I'll have a few hours? If anything I need a job that lets me travel so I can plane read...

Just like riding a bike

Don't get me wrong. I adore all of the friends that I have made since moving up here over three years ago, and have loved all of the adventures and craziness we have had together, but there is something to be said for a home friend. At this point in time I have few connections to my hometown beyond my family. The few school mates that I have kept in contact with live pretty much anywhere but home. One such individual has been in the Balkins for the last few years with the PeaceCorps.

Well she has returned. Not only has she returned, but she has decided to settle back down (at least for a few years) in South County. Visiting home just got way more exciting.

Our friendship is really flexible. We rarely emailed let alone spoke while she was across the big blue and this was the same when we were at different colleges. But distance or time does not change our dynamic. She happened to be in Boston on Halloween Day and sent me a text at about 8:45 am asking if I was around and wanted to meet her in the city. I said yes, of course but also requested some time for some more sleep. We spent the afternoon walking around the Commons and Newbury St. Ultimately settling in with some day drinking at a pub around 1 pm. The conversation never dwindled, nor was it ever awkward, and towards the end of the day we realized how simple our friendship was. I am really excited that she is back in New England and am excited to see her more often.

Every friendship is special and unique, but I am just so happy that we share the same appreciation for a relationship that stays strong, constant and steady even though we can go years without sharing a moment of it. Can't wait for more visits!!

But PS, I really do cherish my relationships with all of you that I do see very very regularly :)

Vampires, they are so hot right now

I tried watching a random episode of True Blood when I first got HBO at my new apartment. While the show was on, I was cleaning, blogging, and not really paying much attention. The plot didn't interest me. I figured that this was one trendy show that was just not for me.

Fast foward about 2.5 weeks ago.

My intern has been talking about True Blood since he first came back for the fall semester. Raving about it. I thought to myself, why not, let's try it out one more time, but this time I will start from the beginning. I have been watching it through sidereel.net.

After the first episode, I was hooked. I can't help but trying to watch episodes when ever I am home and have some downtime. I am about three quarters of the way done with the second season now. I can't wait to finish because not only do I want to know how things are going to end but because I miss blogging and my apartment is getting really messy.

The vampires are seductive. This is set at a time where vampires have finally given rights in the US. What I like but also have issues with are that there are tons of other creatures/super powered people. We meet shape shifters, the devil (?), telepathics and hear references to werewolves. I like that there are more than just vampires, because it would be silly to think there would only be one other type of "life" beyond humans, but at the same time I don't like having to keep track of all of the others.

Each episode keep me hooked, and I think I would love to meet a vampire if they were real. It would be like how I would love to meet a drag queen. But I would like to think that as much as I would love to meet them, I would not be interested in becoming a fang-banger.

While I still go out, play kickball, cook and apply for new jobs, but blogging has fallen to the way side. I felt like it was important to point out that every time I went to start a post this past week I would get about 2 sentences in and decide that I would rather watch an episode or two online. But, like I said, I am almost done with the second season, so I can get back to this and post more regularly.

More Workplace News

A friend of mine tweeted this article yesterday from boston.com. It was the article I have been waiting for, it let the world know that employees are not happy. There have been statistics stating that people who are employed are happy. They are happy because they are employed and therefore they are grateful for paycheck. No. They are not happy. Especially if they are young. I hear from peers all of the time now how miserable they are at work. There are fewer people in the office and more work left on the remaining peoples' desks. Longer hours are required to complete everything but there have been nothing but salary freezes and unpaid overtime. Employers are holding back on freebies which, yes does help with the bottom line, but it does not help with moral.

At my employment we had money in our budget for an annual celebration in the last fiscal year before the crunch came down on budgets. Central decided would be in poor taste to throw the small bash. The line item was probably about two thousand dollars, so it wasn't going to be super lavish, but it was what we were all looking forward to after months of uncertainty and crazy work loads. Instead of free food and drinks for 2-3 hours that usually started at about 4 pm, we were sent an evite to meet at a local pub to socialize starting at 5. It was noted that you should remember to bring cash, as drinks were on you not them. Clearly, I opted to not go. If I was going to pay for my drinks I was going to do that with some good friends.

The boston.com article really does hit the nail on the head. If you be nasty to your employees they aren't going to stay. They will bolt as soon as the job market opens up again. Hopefully the workplace becomes more employee friendly.

Like StateFarm, I am a Good Neighbor

Sunday I stopped over at the Christmas Tree Shop to purchase some picture frames to hang up photos of some really awesome people. The frames were priced at an amazing $6.99 (each holding six pictures). Sadly, they came in white and dark brown. Not the colors I was hoping for. Fortunately, it was (in my mind at least) a quick fix to turn them into deep pink and black. In the real world, it may have only cost me $5 for the paint and brushes, the time it took to paint was FOREVER.

Well, I finally finished the frames. I then designed which picture would be in which peep hole, how I wanted them put up on the wall and I get out my hammer and nails to complete the project for good. That is when my eye drifted to the clock on my cable box. It was 11:35 pm.

Being the good neighbor I am, I have decided to postpone hammering until a more respectable hour. I hope those around me can feel my positive and respectful karma floating their way. Cannot wait for tomorrow to get the pictures up! They will be a lovely greeting for me each and every time I enter my apartment.

As a side note, the building has been a pleasure to live in. There was a small window of time where someone on the other side of the courtyard thought it was a fantastic idea to jam on their fife from about 11 pm - 1 am on a weeknight. But they have since reevaluated that thought. I think my downstairs neighbor running across the yard and yelling at their window might have something to do with that decision making. (I might have been watching from my window in amazement. I can sleep through most anything so I was actually more disturbed by the yelling than the music...)

It is like I have a Home Gym now.

Going to the gym has been something that I have have been avoiding since I started to play kickball. Because clearly, kickball for 45 minutes, once a week, for a season is a major workout - I guess one could argue that if you include my walk to the field it almost is...

But back to the point, lately I have considered the fact that my metabolism will soon start to call it quits on me, and I should get in the practice of sweating to the oldies and what not. With my life changing decision to live on my own, I got caught up in the notion to also start going to the gym, eat more healthy, get a cat, etc. Very New Year's Eve of me! At this point, I have not followed through on any of those plans. But I have good reason for not signing up for the gym.


What is the reason, you ask?

I get a workout every time I go home.

(Side Note: Don't worry, I have no intention to ever look like her--->)

I have to climb up one steep hill to get to my street every day when I return from work or errands. Then I have to climb to the second floor, which doesn't sound like much, but I have to climb to the entrance way too! Additionally, when I do laundry that is a whole other set of stairs. Laundry is in the basement level and it is not easy to maneuver down the twisting spiral back steps with heaps of dirty clothing. Granted I should probably do my laundry a little more often, but then I would have less to carry but that also results with more trips up and down the stairs. Oh life...

In addition to laundry, I have been a moving machine attempting to get my place in shape. Carrying all sorts of furniture upstairs and assembling bookcase after bookcase. I really need to consider downsizing my library.... But all of this has caused so many bruises to pop up on my arms, legs and torso!

But yeah, the last time I was this consistently sore and tired I was rowing crew for HC. Chew on that for bit.

I am fairly certain I will have a fine set of legs and butt to match with all of this climbing that is in my future. Glad I get to save that monthly gym membership money - I need it, FOR RENT!

Timing is Everything

This weekend when I was home I started reading "The Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a pretty easy read and I am about half way done. It talks about how success is not just about skill. Success, according to what I have read thus far, has something to do with intelligence, common sense, 10,000 hours of practice, being in the right place at the right time and being born in the correct year.

When you are born is something you really have no control over. But basically, Gladwell shows that age does matter. For example, in the list of individuals that were worth the most over the course of history, 9 out of 75 were born within nine years of each other in America in the 1830s. They were all just the right age to start up businesses right as America began it's Industrial Revolution. Gladwell shows how the high ups in both Microsoft and Apple were born between 1953 and 1955. It is really kind of interesting.

The point of this? Well, I think my peers and I were born in a very unique time. The economy was awesome when we joined and now that we are here, well, it kind of sucks. I was hoping to only be in my current job for about 2 years, by then I figured I would have learned what I could and be ready to move on. Two years has come and gone, I am still here.

I am not the only one. My mom sent me this article, "Stuck in a crappy job - tough", not that I am saying my job is crappy. What I am saying is this article talks about how employees in their twenties are stuck. They can't leave their job since the market is so bad without lining something else up, but there is no where to go because no one is hiring. Thus, people are stuck in jobs that they would normally grow out of. I hope things change soon. I would like to grow a bit more, use some new brain cells, and get some new challenges.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that 1983 was not a bad year to be born.