My Ancestors Would Approve

The semester is in full swing now for all college and grad students.  For the first time in my life, I am not a part of this.  Though working and applying for jobs has kept me very busy, my brain is still in the "I have to learn something because that's what I've been doing for 20 years" mode.  Though I have several anthropology and art history books begging to be read, and a kindle with a bunch of free books downloaded on it and waiting for their turn to enlighten me, I have decided to divert some time from that to making my own class for myself.  In learning the German language.

Yes, I have decided again to start back on learning German.  This time, I'm not alone.  My current boss is brushing up on her German and therefore we were planning on practicing together some time at work.   I also have a few friends who speak German, and parents who will write random things in German on my facebook.

Why would my ancestors be proud of this?  Well, because about half of them spoke German.  That's right, I'm about 1/2 German/Swiss and have the last name to prove it (which for those family members reading, it's Swiss in origin according to countless hours on ancestry.com and google searches.  And going through the family history book).

So, how do I plan on learning German (and actually sticking with it after stopping 3 times before)?

1. Learning German in the car.

If you haven't seen the VW Passat commercial, watch it here.  While I do not make more than 1 roadtrip a year to visit peeps back home, I do spend a good deal of time in the car going to and from places.  I've almost memorized one conversation from one of the cds included in my lesson book (bonus: I know the translation too).  Doing just the car thing will probably give me just under an hour's worth of practice every day.

2. At home practice.

I also have a lesson book that came with the cds that helps me learn grammar and sentence structure (the hardest thing for me to learn for a new language).  Also, my boss let me borrow a children's book she has to learn some German vocabulary.  The best part is: it has pictures.

3. Time to practice.

Aside from job-hunting, I actually have free time after work.  I plan on trying to dedicate 4 hours a week (1 hour 4 nights a week) to studying.  That's not including while driving.

4. Practice makes perfect.

Lucky me knows a few people who speak German, therefore, I can practice with some.


I figure if all else fails, and when I get a real job and have the money, I can always sign up for a weekend German class as well.

Why I Don't Want a Wedding

*Note: I have nothing against traditional weddings, this is just a post on why it wouldn't be right for me*

The post on why I'm not getting married before 30 mentioned in the end that I don't want a traditional wedding: getting married in front of all my family and friends and a wedding reception to follow.  I would rather get married in Vegas, preferably by Captain Jack Sparrow or Reba but I'll settle for Elvis.  And before I get emails about it, no, there is no man (or woman for that matter) in my life right now.  But I'm pretty sure that when I do find someone I can stand to be around for the rest of my life, they will have no problem skipping the risk of having a bridezilla on his hands days before the wedding.

Like most females, yes I have put some thought into how I would like my wedding to be.  See, I can be a little girly at times.  My ideas are just a little different than most.

So to answer the main question: Why Vegas?

I remember my mother saying when I was teenager that if she could do it all over again, she would probably get married in Vegas (yes mom, you said that, remember my memory is stellar).  I thought about it and said yes, that would be a lot of fun.  Plus, I get to skip the stress of actually planning a wedding (I really don't care about centerpieces and would probably drive a wedding planner crazy with that attitude).  I'm not one to be at the center of attention, I don't want all eyes on me.  Or dealing with all the hair, makeup, getting the dress on- picking a dress too! For something I'm going to wear once, those things can be expensive and I'm pretty frugal.  I'd probably ask my mother to make one along with all her pillowcase dresses for her granddaughter. AND I get to avoid the whole hurting someone's feelings if I don't ask them to be a bridesmaid or pick one person to be the maid-of-honor over another (not saying that it would happen, the people I would probably ask are pretty cool about those things).

Plus, Vegas would be fun.  If we wanted to get married in 2 months, we can.  Don't have to worry about buying dresses and tuxes, reserving a reception place, caters, centerpieces, the money, sending out invites, posing for all the pictures (because I don't understand the whole looking at your flowers pics.  Why do photographers do that?  Yes, they're flowers, we all don't need to stare at them), getting a photographer.  Okay, I would want some professional-like pictures being taken but not the staring at the flowers one ::note to self, no flower bouquets at the Vegas wedding.....HA! Can't make me stare at flowers then!::  I mean, when I see pictures like that from other people's weddings, I think they look nice but I would burst out laughing if I have to stare at flowers.  Whoa, way off track.  Where was I?  Oh yes, essentially, I could get married faster with 1/10 of the hassle/stress of planning a wedding.

Some questions I'm sure people are wondering.

1. Would my parents agree with this?

They save a ton on skipping the wedding/reception route AND get an excuse to go to Vegas......what do you think their response would be?

2. What if the guy doesn't want to do that?

Quite honestly, I don't think we would be getting as far as an engagement because our personalities probably clash too much.  And the thought of a church wedding scares me.

3. Would you let family and friends come?

Sure, all who want to go would be invited (except crazy exes).

4. Why make everyone travel so far?

The way I think of it, if I was to have a wedding, it would either be here, back home, or wherever the guy is from or currently living (hopefully we are at the same address by that point).  Someone is going to have to fly across the country regardless of where it is.

5. But....no reception even?

Okay, I was lying a little when I said that.  I wouldn't mind having a small get together where I'm living at that point and back at home with friends and family to celebrate, especially if not all are able to fly across the country.  But something small at either my parent's house or at a small banquet hall.

6. And your dress?

I'd buy a dress, not a wedding dress, but a nice one for the occasion.




If you have ever been married in Vegas (or somewhere similar) or skipped the whole ceremony (ie court wedding) please share your stories on what you did, whether or not you regret it looking back, and any ideas on who to be married by in the comments below.

Top Things People Ask Pharmacy Employees

The top things I hear on a daily basis at work:

1. Where's the bathroom?

2. Do you have oxycodone in stock? (by the way, that's the #1 thing that's asked on the phone)

3. ::2 seconds after handing a prescription to me:: How much will my copay be? (sheesh give me a minute to run it)

4. Is there anything over the counter for pink eye?

5. Where are the earplugs?  (that one is reasonable because our company wasn't smart enough to give that section it's own sign)

6. Can I wait for it?

7. Why can't I fill my ::insert controlled substance drug here:: now?

8. Are you the pharmacist? / Can I ask the pharmacist a question?

9. Do you have Plan B?

10. What's a prior authorization?

11. No, I didn't get your phone call.

12. Can you see if my doctor called something in for me?

13. I want to check to see if something is filled before I came in. (on the phone)

14. (on the phone...again) I want to refill something but I don't have the number.

15. (store-specific question) What time is the clinic open until?

16. What time do you close?

17. I got a phone call from you guys. I didn't listen to the message though.

Still Here!

I realized that I have not posted in over a week.  With me working on a novel and Sascode's blog, I haven't had time to do a new post.  Not to mention, today I decided to try a new soup recipe (where I make it from scratch) which was a couple hours of dicing, mixing, cooking, eating...you get the picture.

Some updates:

Loan
After my next payment in a couple days, my undergrad loan should be under $17,000 next month.  More would have been placed towards it but, if you recall from a few posts ago, my grad loan kicked into repayment so there is now an $800 mandatory payment towards that now every month.

Job
Still looking for a job.  Have a huge potential for one that I'm hoping to hear good news from this coming week (fingers crossed for me please!)

Life
Eh, there's nothing to complain about here.  I just had an inspiration for a new painting so Tuesday may turn into an all-day painting event.


I promise I will post by Tuesday the latest (with the new painting if it's not too horrible).  I also want to discuss the joys of finding health insurance on your own.

Saving Money Roulette

So, as everyone knows, tomorrow is my last day at my main job and I don't have another one lined up yet.  I still have the second job at the pharmacy but it won't pay close to what I make now so money is going to be a little tight but hopefully, not for long.  I did the math and I can still afford rent, loan payments, bills, and have enough to feed myself and the cats.  Maybe even go out every once in a while.

Since I found a pre-approved mortgage estimator online, I decided to see if, with the realistic salary I'll be earning once I get an actual job, I will be able to afford that condo I saw online that I wanted (or one just like it in that area.  Turns out with my monthly student loan payments, I won't (I included the graduate loan in the estimation which makes a total of $1000 a month in loan payments for both loans).  So I decided I better start trying to find ways to save money now so I can get a hefty down payment.

Anyways, I really don't watch that much cable anymore and what I do watch is on a station that airs all their shows online within two days.  Since a lot of the time I don't watch the show right away anyways, it's usually already online before I switch on my DVR.  I signed up for Netflix as well and surprise, all the shows are also on there (one season behind which is fine because there is soo much I need to catch up on anyways).  I called my cable/phone/internet company to drop my cable to save some money each month.  After listening to and going through the whole spiel of "let's see if there is a cheaper package I can give you and still keep the cable" and upon finding out that I did in fact, have the cheapest one, he finally felt defeated and went through the procedure to cancel my cable.

The conversation went something like this:

Him: Okay, all I have to do is click this button and you're cable will be turned off.
Me: Okay.
Him: Are you sure you want me to hit the button?
Me: Yes.
Him: Once I click it, I can't go back.
Me: Okay then.
Him: Okay I'm going to click it now....
Me: Click it.

Epilogical knows how to play chicken.  Just like that, my cable is off.  My bill will now be about $80 less each month (because you get a discount when you have all three phone, internet and cable, so I lost the discount).  But still, that's (subtracting the $8 cost of Netflix)  $72 a month or $864 a year that I'm saving.  That savings will be going towards the condo downtown that I want to buy.

I get to play phone number roulette though now because apparently when you drop your cable, that also means your phone number changes.  Which they didn't tell me and I had to find out from a third party.  And now I have to wait a couple days in order to get my old number back.  Which is funny that they can mistakenly change it in an instant but takes time to get the old one back.

Anyways, the phone number thing had me thinking.  As part of the bundle deal, my phone had unlimited local and unlimited long distance calling.  Unbundled, this comes out to a hefty monthly fee.  Since I have a cellphone with free long distance, and most of my long distance calls are to my parents I decided I could do without.  So I decided to call again today to get their unlimited local plan that charges 5 cents a minute for long distance calls.  Not sure how much my bill drops now, I didn't ask but I should be getting a bill in the next week or so.  I'm guessing between dropping the various things, I will be saving at least $1000 a year now.

The Art of Deciding Where to Move

The job search is in full force.  My resume is out to various places, I've added a new round to the cover letter roulette, and I've been tapping into people I've networked with to keep and open eye (or ear) for openings where they are.

At first, I mainly applied for jobs back home and where I currently live.  There are a few reasons why I have focused in these two areas, which I probably don't have to really explain as they apply to almost everyone applying for jobs.

• The areas are familiar to me ie. I know where things are.
• There are people I know in these areas.
• Moving (or not if I stay here) would be easier than moving anywhere else.
• Going to job interviews is a lot easier.

Now, I'm starting to branch out and apply to other places, even some overseas.  At first I thought of it as a last resort.  However, the more I thought about it, moving to a whole new city or country even, may be easier than I originally thought.

For one thing, I have no family of my own.  I don't have anyone who would have to move with me.  Therefore, it would just be me (and the cats) moving and we can go wherever I so please.  Though if I was to move overseas, \my parents agreed that the cats can bunk with them.

Also, I already gone through the hardest part of relocating when I moved here for school.  It was the first time not only to move to a new town, but also the first time moving out of my parent's house.  If I move again (especially if it's closer to my hometown), I know it won't be as hard as the first time.  Unless it's overseas, but that has it's own difficulties.

With that being said, it would be exciting to move to a whole new area.  Especially if the area offers a lot for someone my age like my current city.


I know I'm going to hear about this from my mother after she reads this but there is actually a disadvantage to moving back home if it comes down to a job here or a job back home.  I have set up my adult life here.  It's my first time not living at home, I have made a decent amount of friends here, this city is the hub for my field (my hometown is on the list of top dying cities and very little in terms of jobs for someone like me), and I have finally been able to have time to explore different areas and attractions in this city.


However, with my current main job ending on Friday, at this point, whichever place hires this awesome candidate is going to have the pleasure of having me for a resident.

Bug of the Month Club

I moved into my current apartment just under a year ago.  What I didn't know when I moved in, was that this apartment had an active subscription to the Bug of the Month Club.  Never heard of it?  Don't worry, I made it up, as far as I know.  Why do I think this?

Welcome Neighbor
A little over a month after I moved in, I started seeing this black spiders throughout my apartment.  They were in all different areas.  I found one above my fridge, a few in my guest bedroom, a few in my room (on under my pillow in the morning yikes!).  So, I called the leasing office to get pest control to come spray.  Because I don't like spiders.  Remember how I said that centipedes are my second most hated bug to kill?  Well, spiders are number one.  I hate spiders.  I don't care how good they are for the environment, as soon as I find them in my apartment, they got to go.  If they are outside, I leave them but inside, no.

Anyways, pest control did come.  I even stayed home from work that day so I could watch the cats and have the guy spray in every room.  After that, I went to my nearest hardware store and they recommended some spray I could use along the windows and entryways to prevent more from coming in.  My obsessive compulsive paranoia paid off.  I didn't see any more of those black spiders during the rest of the summer.


Mind If We Join You?
So, the spiders were gone.  This was good.  My subscription apparently had expired.  Or maybe spiders were a free trial for an upgrade for the Bug of the Month Club.  My next entertainment was ants.  Not the huge carpenter ants we had back home, these were small black ones.  Which the ants back home is a really entertaining story, by the way, on how we found out how they were getting into the house.  It involves beer, a tree, phone wires, and a party.  There were no trees, phone wires, or a party when I found the ants in my apartment though.  I did consume a few beers though because, well, I'm me.  Anyways.  I noticed a few ants in my bathroom, specifically around my tub.  It had been raining pretty heavy the few days prior to this discovery so I just assumed they were coming in for shelter and would go away because this actually happened one time in my old apartment.

Well, a few days later 5 ants turned into 10 ants.  And then 15 ants.  I didn't know where the heck they were coming from.  I just knew they were getting their friends and having a party. I went back to the hardware store and got some bait traps, the kind where there is borax mixed in with the solution so they take it back to the nest and hopefully eventually kills the queen (yes, I did become an ant expert during this ordeal).  Anyways, with this stuff, it actually attracts more ants before eventually killing them all.  So I was able to find out where they were coming from.  There is a gap between my water faucet in the tub and the wall.  That was their entry point. Eventually, their numbers were diminishing.  Then, the worst happened.  It rained again outside.  Guess what?  They had more friends.  All of the sudden the number of ants coming for the bait was at a max.  Eventually I decided to do a mass murder while taking a shower and remove the baits.  I blocked off their entry point by putting plumbers putty around the faucet.  Pretty soon no ants remained in the bathroom.  I thought I was in the clear.

My handiwork

Oh nay nay.  One day, I opened my laundry closet and found a swarm of ants in there.  The reason?  Sascode didn't eat one of his treats that was still in his carrier (I use this area for storage because I don't have a washer or dryer).  I cleaned up the room and the ants went away again (and I plugged up their entry point I love plumbers putty now!).  Well, a few days later they were back.  I called up the leasing office and pest control came again.  After a couple more requests, I finally got someone to come and professionally fill in the gaps along the walls where they were coming in. So, ants = gone.


How About Some of Us?
For the next few months, I had a few visitors.  Silverfish (small gray centipedes are how I think of them) occasionally pop up. Those, I don't mind actually and if they're too high, I just leave them because they probably like ants and spiders.  I had two centipedes total, one Epa killed for me.  The most annoying one was a cockroach that I literally watched come into the apartment from a gap between the wall (see a pattern here?) and the hose you hook up a dryer too.  That could not be plugged with plumbers putty.  Tape did a good job though.

Another job by Epilogical

Free Upgrade Again

The past month, the spiders came back.  This time at least they stayed in one area.  The dining area.  Guess what?  I had pest control come and spray in the dining and living room area.  Have seen a few since then but not on a regular basis.

I'm hoping the Bug of the Month Club has is only a year's subscription because I'm getting sick of it.  My motto is "if you don't pay rent, you got to go."  The cats and I are also on a don't ask don't tell agreement.  I don't ask what they find when I'm not looking, and they don't tell me.

Job Hunting = Box of Chocolates

I'm sure a few of you just thought of the movie Forest Gump reading the title.  "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."  Well, job hunting is the same way, but for different reasons.  Yes, you don't know what you're going to get for an outcome when applying to jobs, but I'm thinking more of when one applies for jobs.

First off, like when you get a box of chocolates, you want to apply for the jobs you find most interesting/favorable first before someone else gets the chance to.  The best chance one has of getting a job is applying as soon as possible because you don't know when they will start interviewing and if they decide to hire a person on the spot. So, like your favorite piece of chocolate, you want the opportunity to have it before someone else.

After you chose your favorites, you start to become less picky about what comes next.  The ones you really want are done, therefore, it's time to start on the other, less interesting ones.  However, unlike the chocolate box, you still want the jobs you're applying to whereas the chocolates, you may not care as much if other people take them. 

Then comes the jobs/chocolates that you'll take/apply to if there is nothing else available.  You still will eat the piece or take the job, but you don't see yourself enjoying it for long and will look for better alternatives.  Usually these are the ones that don't get a second thought afterwards unless of course, you get a call for an interview.

Finally, there are the ones that you avoid.  The ones that even though they're there, you don't want them at all.  The ones usually left in my boxes contain dark chocolate.  Same with the jobs, even though you qualify, you don't want it and therefore don't even apply.  Or in the case of chocolate, don't eat it and give it away.

Of course, applying for jobs may also cause a few boxes of chocolates to appear on your counter.

Another short post but today was a little busy for me both in my professional and personal life.  As always, feel free to comment below or add your own comparisons below.

Short and Sweet

Monday, I had to make some last minute arrangements to fly back home yesterday.  My cousin passed away at the age of 32 on Friday and I flew in for her wake and funeral service.  I don't want to go into it too much other than the service was beautiful.

I did want to share a quick story about what happened when on the subway coming from the airport today.

Our car (is that what they're called?) was essentially full.  At one stop a mother came on with her two children and had them sit on the seat next to me.  Before I was able to get up, the train started.  Both the little children introduced themselves to me.  I didn't catch their names but the boy was 4, and the girl was 2.  The girl was a little scared and the mother told her son to hold his sister's hand.  Instead, the little girl leaned over and gave me a hug.  A few of the people nearby aw'ed and I gave the girl a little hug back.

The mother apologized and I said no worries (I actually needed it) and at the next stop I offered to move so she could sit but she said she was going to sit down and put them on her lap.  The little girl told her mom she wanted to sit in my lap but her mother stopped her (I actually wouldn't have minded, I have always adored children and she was cute).

Anyways, today's post is a little short but due to recent events, I really didn't feel like doing my normal, witty and sarcastic posts.  Rest in peace cousin.  I will miss you.

The Art of Volunteering

As I mentioned before, I volunteer at two places in between working and applying for jobs.  Since it's something I personally enjoy, I decided to explain the benefits of volunteering for those who don't (and why you should volunteer yourself if you have the time).


First a little history on my volunteering resume (feel free to skip because it's long):
I started volunteering when I was 14, I believe.  Maybe 15.  It was at a youth football organization in my hometown.  I started out by helping out in the concession stand.  Sometimes I would take money and call out orders to those at the grill, sometimes I would have to add up $1 worth of candy to little kids.  And sometimes I would go out on the field to sell 50/50 tickets during the games.  Suffice it to say, I liked it.  It may be because my grandfather was one of the people who had started the organization years ago (and who is no longer with us).  It may be because my parents also volunteered there.  It may be because since I was a kid, if anyone had a complaint, they weren't going to say it to me (oh how i wish that's how pharmacy customers would be like).

Anyways, around that time, I also was selected to be on my city's youth court which I did through senior year of high school.  I also went from concession stand volunteer to assistant coach for one of the cheer squads in which my mom was the head coach. Yes, I was an assistant cheer coach but don't think I wasn't sarcastic during it.  Added bonus: I was the "mean coach" so the 20+ 6-8 year old girls would always listen to me.  Wow, I was in charge of that many kids while I was 17ish and the other two coaches couldn't make it.  That experience will be a post all in of it's own later.  Especially since the only reason I think my mom asked me to do it was because she couldn't come to the first hour of the very first practice, leaving me alone with all of them.
Anyways, that progressed to me attending the monthly/bimonthly evening meetings and eventually being elected to be on the Board of Directors within this organization.  I was for a year and declined the second nomination due to not knowing if I would be living there the following year.

I left my hometown and began grad school 1,000 miles away from home.  My first year of grad school, I didn't volunteer anywhere.  Partly because I was in a new city and wouldn't have known where to begin.  It certainly wasn't because I was working two jobs and sincerely thought I was going to die of stress my second semester.  Anyways, that summer I decided to get a cat.  Found a shelter online and filled out an application for adoption.  Fast-forward two months.  I had the cat for a couple months and decided "you know what? I'm going to volunteer there."  I mean, how could I not? I get to play with cats and kittens!  Well, I'm still volunteering there (and picked up a few shifts which I think inspired the timing of this post) as well as at a museum.  That's right a museum.  A natural history museum even.




Okay, so why volunteer?  I mean, it's time you could be spending the time to do other things.  Well, here is my reasoning (besides to typical "it's rewarding" response):

1. It gives you the chance to do something you are interested in.

• Let's say you're a computer programmer.  I'm not, but I assume you sit in front of a computer all day doing computer programming things.  Now, imagine that in the evenings/weekends you can let your inner child loose and play at the playground.  With children by volunteering at a boys and girls club.  Wouldn't you do it?
• Or even, you love animals but travel a lot or don't have time to have a pet.  But a few hours every week, you get to see a dogs face light up every time you walk into a shelter.

2. It gives you something to do if you get bored easily.

• Everyday: you get up, you go to work, you come home, you watch t.v., and you go to bed (and yes I stole that from Rocko's Modern Life).  Can get boring after a while I bet.  But everyone once in a while, you can mix it up by coaching a youth baseball team every summer.

3. You meet people.

• You are going to meet other people who volunteer at the same place you do.  Which can lead to lifelong friendships.  Some of my closest friends, I met through volunteering.  And don't think that age is a factor.  I've made friends with people of various ages (mostly older due to me only being in my mid-20s).
• This is definitely comforting when you're in a new city and don't know anyone.  Or when all your friends move like most of mine did after graduation.

4. You learn new skills.

• You may not even think about it but here are some examples from my experiences:
• Patience.  You HAVE to with 20 kids.
• Leadership - Board of Directors, it goes without saying
• Communication  - All of my volunteer work deals with people on some level

5. You become known in the community.

• An awesome volunteer and the youth football organization past away from cancer a few months ago.  He was active not only there, but elsewhere as well.  People knew him in our community.  He was great with children and easy to get along with (though he used to always call me Casper).  When he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, there were many people from our organization willing to provide support for the family.  Which also goes to show how close people within an organization can get.

6. A lot of organizations will organize some sort of event for it's volunteers

• They know that it is a great time commitment on your part.  And they acknowledge their appreciation in a variety of ways.  I've been able to go to banquets for free, waived admissions to the museum, plenty of pizza parties, discounts, and even a scholarship. 

I know this list could be longer but those are the ones that come to mind immediately for me.  If you have your own reasoning: feel free to comment below.

Free Time? Wait....Huh?

After a stressful year, I have discovered something new.  Free time.  That's right, I have time to spend however I so chose.  Granted, I'm still working about 50 hours a week, but the work doesn't come home with me anymore, which means when I get home.....I get home.  So, what will I do with this newly found time?  Probably the same as most other people would do.  But, here is a list with my own little epilogical twist.

1. Sleep

That's right dudes and dudettes, I am going to actually be able to sleep more instead of working on a project into the wee hours of the night.  Sleep is important.  They recommend 8 hours a night but realistically, like food, the amount we need varies from person to person.  I had a sociology professor in undergrad who claimed he went to bed at 2am and would wake up at 4am every day.  That's all he needed.  I bet that just made a world of new moms grumble under their breath.  Other people need 10 hours of sleep a day to be able to function.  For me, I find that 7 seems to suit me pretty well.

2. Play more rounds of cover letter roulette

For my seasoned readers, you know that my contract for my main job (and main source of income) is running out real soon.  What I haven't told you yet is that it has been extended one last time to June 30th.  For those new to this blog, the previous sentence just summed up all you need to know for this explanation.  Basically, I need a job, preferably one that uses my degree because, you know, I just gave myself $60,000 of loans to get it, I should try to use it at least.  So finding a job has become my new part time job.  Except this one doesn't pay so maybe it's more like volunteer work.  Except you can't put it on a resume as relative experience.

3. Learn German

I tried to start learning German after my first year of grad school but I had to stop...twice.  Time became so priceless that I needed it for other activities (like work and the big T aka thesis).  But now I have time in case you didn't realize that yet.  Lucky for me, my boyfriend knows German and is willing to help me whenever I want.  Unfortunately, my parents read this blog, or at least one of them does that I know of, which means my facebook will probably start to have things in German from them on it.

4. Work more

Yes, I am a workaholic.  But this is for a good reason.  I need the money because the loan companies are in full "listen woman you should've had a job by now so start paying us back" ie. grace period is over.  Actually, it has been but now I really do have no excuse to not be paying into it.  Plus, the extra income can either be a) saved for a rainy day or b) put towards paying off the loans quicker.  I know my second job has already told me pretty much "Epilogical, we will use you because we need you."  We both benefit.  I get money, they get labor from one of their awesome employees.  We're all awesome there, but that doesn't mean I can't say I'm awesome by myself.

5. Volunteer more

Though it sounds trite, volunteering is rewarding.  I have to put in a story here also.  Last Saturday, I was out shopping to spend some coupons I had.  While at one store, I saw a mother and her daughter, who was about 4 or 5.  She was holding her mother's hand.  I didn't see until they walked by me that the daughter had a walking stick.  She was blind.  It made me wonder about her story.  Whether she was born blind or if it developed.  If she was completely blind or if she could tell the difference between light and dark.  Of course, it's none of my business so I walked by without a second look.  But it made me think about volunteer work with children with disabilities.  Or children in general, which is what I do at one volunteer place.

6. Read more

I used to be an avid reader as a child.  We used to have a contest at my elementary school of which class read the most books.  Every 25 pages counted as a point.  We would fill out the reading forms monthly and our parents would sign them.  I think it was called PARP (parents as reading partners but I read too much for mine to keep up).  In second or third grade, I had more points than everyone else in the class combined to which I was sent to the principal to show (he wasn't that enthusiastic about it as I recall).

7. Blog more

I have some new ideas of what to do.  A sneak peak is new items such as: interviews, restaurant reviews (though I already did one already), museum/event overviews, and more humor.

Musings From a Poor Educated Chick with Free Bread

I'm thinking about writing a book, and calling it the same as the title for this post.

The one thing I am able to do at work a lot is think, and think I do.  Lately, as you can probably guess, I've been thinking about what I'm going to do for work.  I haven't heard anything about my contract being extended so the current end date, as far as I know, is April 30th.  My third job ends mid-May which means that I will be down to one job soon and ironically, it's the one that pays the least.  I'm still playing roulette and will be sending in more applications for jobs in the upcoming week now that the big research project is *almost* out of the way and I have the smaller, but still kind of a big deal one left.

The next thing that I start to think about is money.  How the hell am I going to be able to afford things with the sudden drastic drop in income (even if I work full-time at my second job, I'm still only going to be bringing home about 40% of what I am now pretty soon).  I will have to get back into the coupon habit, which I let slip due to lack of time to do anything the past few months.  Epa still needs to get the second half of her procedure done, which a friend is urging me to get a second opinion before doing.  If I had the time and money for a second vet, I probably would do it without a second thought.

I may be looking for a roommate pretty soon since my apartment is a two bedroom.

My father told me last night that even if I'm still looking for a job in a few months to not get discouraged.  It's good advice, but it's also easier said than done.  Keep that in mind fellow rouletters.  I have also come to the decision that if I don't hear anything from anywhere by the dreaded April 30th mark, I'm going to do a Katie and work multiple jobs where my degree isn't of any use.  I'm thinking Kohls or Target because I could use an employee discount at either.  Or someplace where I deal with animals because people tend to become annoying.  Or get into a lab and (ha) put my undergrad degree to good use.


On a completely different note, I went grocery shopping today since I took off of work to get research done. Nothing special, but I did buy a ton of things in order to cook a bunch of meals for this week.  While walking out, there was a gentlemen in the cart area offering free samples.  Those free samples were packages of 6 Martin's potato rolls.  Did I buy dinner rolls already in the store?  No.  Did I need diner rolls? No. Did I take the two packages he offered me?  Oh hell yes.  So, this week while I continue to work deep in thought, I can munch on a potato roll.

Fun With Cats

Well, over the weekend, I had to take one of my cats to the vet since she has been acting odd for two weeks and started getting really bad Saturday night.  For those who don't know, I have two cats: a black one named Sascode (boy) and a dilute calico named Epa (girl).  Unfortunately, Epa lost a little over a pound since June (which is a lot for her since she was 9 pounds in June).  Also, her gums are really bad which the vet feels is genetic so nothing I could have done.  This is also probably why she's been sick multiple times since I've adopted her a 13 months ago (which is why periodontal disease can be deadly in humans).   So she'll be getting her teeth cleaned and possibly some extracted.  Sascode already has had five taken out himself last summer.  Unfortunately, this will impact my budget for the coming month since it will be a minimum of $400.  But I'm sure that anyone with pets understand it's worth it.  Sascode has been soo much better ever since his so I'm hoping Epa will be back to her bouncy self after.

But now to lighten things up, THIS is what I put up with when I come home everyday:

This is typical of Epa.  Especially when I really need to concentrate on something.

 Sascode likes to "hit" the bottle.

Who let the cat IN the bag?

Epa-In-A-Box

Why I have to wake up on time.

Who knew some cats actually liked to ride in cars?

Deep in concentration

If I have to brush my teeth, he's in there.

You Decide!

So after making some posts, I've decided to see what you guys would like to read more about.  The poll is on the right and you can select multiple options.  Have something else you would like to see?  Leave a comment below and if I have enough knowledge on it; I'll add some posts on that topic.

Art of Combining It All

I’ve tried to write two blogs on two completely different topics already (one anonymously, one everyone knew about since I posted a link on facebook).  Both blogs have not had a new post in over 6 months.  One was on me trying to become an artist and one was on being a grad student.  So now, I want to start another blog.  Problem is, I don’t know what to write it on, or whether I should just create one with multiple posts on multiple topics and not constrict myself to one topic. 

Blog Brainstorming

I thought about writing one on saving money but there are SO many on that topic already, many of which are by extreme couponers, that I know my will just probably be regurgitating the same information like many already do.  Then I thought about one on food, but I typically make the same things over and over.  Plus I’m a vegetarian.  I have a temporary mental block on what I want to paint now (and a blog already devoted to it), plus I’m not really that good.  I could do one on grad school and what to do after graduation but how long would that last (not too much longer I’m hoping).  I do a lot of volunteering but there is only so much I could write about that since most days are spent doing the same things.  I briefly thought about a general critic blog on events/restaurants but that’s too area specific and requires me to have time to go out regularly. 

Then it hit me: why should I limit myself to one topic?  I’m not one to do just one thing in real life (trust me, I work two, soon to be three jobs and volunteer at two different places, none of which are related to each other) so why should I just write about one thing?  So, I figure I could write about a variety of topics and just categorize them as I create multiple entries on a certain topic and let you, the reader, decide which ones you are interested in reading.  I will even share how much I suck at dating and how I don’t have a life with all the work I do.

Keep coming back, I’m sure you will come across some posts that will interest you!