Will be back soon!

Hello readers!  Unfortunately, I have been really busy and therefore have not been able to write anything new.  But, while I have a few minutes, I'll let you know of the results of month #1 of the Amazing Loan Race.  Unfortunately, I had $3000 in unexpected expenses this month and therefore could only put $100 towards my loan this month.  Katie, was able to put over $900 this month towards her loan and therefore has won this month (I'll be the one to state this result since she's been sick this week and really hasn't blogged as a result).

So to give you an update about what's going on this month: I'm hopefully not going to have a lot of unexpected expenses this month (outside of Epa's procedure coming up next week) which I already kind of accounted for when making a low payment in for March.

In the meantime, I am also trying to finish two research projects I'm doing (outside of work that is) which both need to be done by late April so that adds a little stress.....Okay more than a little.

Also, my main job's contract is due to end April 30th.  What does that mean?  Well, there's a chance that it may be extended through June 30th but that's it.  If it doesn't get extended, that essentially means that I will lose the majority of my income by not having the job.  Therefore, to add to the stress already, I have to find a new job, preferably in Atlanta because I had to decide whether to renew my lease or not (since it's up in 2 months) and decided to just renew it.  So if I get a job elsewhere and have to move, I have to notify the leasing office 60 days prior to moving AND get slapped with an extra fee equivalent to 2 months rent.  So fingers crossed that I get a job here!

Time to go to work!

Reptile Guy - Guest Post

Note: Since I have a lot on my plate to do the next week or so, I won't be able to post for a while.  In the meantime,  I have offered to a couple people to send guest posts.  One is below from a guy who works with reptiles.  Enjoy peeps!  (Oh yeah, I don't know how to make the background color stay blue when I copy text from an email because there's no "paste text only" option so if anyone can enlighten me on that I would appreciate it)

I'm a Reptile Guy. At least, that's what people call me. I travel with a car load of reptiles to schools, events, parties, etc. and "edutain" (that's educate and entertain, in case you were wondering) people with my scaly friends. I have come away with some very interesting stories and I'd like to share a few with you. As with any critter, these guys don't like being crammed in their boxes or cages all day, so they tend to scratch on them all day. Most are small, but some can be quite large, and make a lot of noise. So when I hear them bumping around in the back of my SUV, I pay very little attention. 

Well one day, while driving north on I-285, I heard the usual bumping and scratching I always do. So as usual I ignored it and kept driving. After a while, I felt something rub against the bottom of my left arm, I looked down and all I saw was my seat belt. "OK, no big deal," I thought, so I shook it out of my head and kept driving. Then I felt something against my leg. I was about to look down when I heard a glass *clink*. "Must be that empty Frappuccino bottle rolling around," I rationalized. 

As traffic began to speed up, I went to press down on the accelerator but was met with resistance. I thought, "Could it be the bottle wedged underneath?" As I looked down, my eyes locked with another set of eyes staring up at me from between my legs, about 6 inches from my, um, well...my crotch. It was Spot, a nearly 5 foot long monitor lizard, and might I add, a MEAT-EATER! Well after screaming quite loudly and swerving across at least 3 lanes of traffic, I finally calmed down and realized what happened. He must have forced the lid off his cage and crawled out. Since I was running late due to traffic, I decided to let him be. As long as I knew he was out, all would be fine. At least until he decided to crawl into my lap and play lap dog. Which was also fine, or so I thought. He decided to prop himself up and look out my side window. I thought nothing of it until I saw the car next to me swerve across 3 lanes of traffic. The driver, a middle aged soccer mom, was obviously screaming, while her young son had her iPhone and was taking pictures. OF ME! I still to this day hope to find those pics on Facebook! I can only imagine the captions..."The day that lizards learned to drive and mommy nearly killed us!"

Not all of my stories involve my critters getting loose in my car. Another time, a few months later, I was in a nice families house performing for a large group at a birthday party. I was showing off Sierra, an Arizona Mountain King Snake. She is normally very docile, but on this day it was quite cold, so she was anxious to find a warm place. And then she found my shirt sleeve. Before I could react, she had completely gone up my sleeve, crawled down the inside of my shirt and wrapped around my mid section. This brought about uproars of laughter from the kids and parents. I tried to get her out, but it became apparent that the only way to get her out was to unbutton my shirt. Well as I began to do so, a mother who was running late for the party arrived and walked in on everybody cheering, me unbuttoning my shirt, and pulling a snake from out of it. She too began cheering, exclaimed "This is just like my bachelorette party!", and began pulling money from her purse. I didn't know whether to die of laughter or embarrassment...but she did give me a nice tip!

Things That Annoy Me

Some updates before I forget: 
1. I've added a gadget on the side that will let you receive an email about any blog updates (ie new posts).  All you have to do is type in your email address, type in the right captcha (is that what it's called?) it gives you, and then click the confirmation link in the email it sends.  Figure people would appreciate that as opposed to checking every few days.  Plus, I have stopped posting every blog update on facebook for those who are my friends on there.
2. The Amazing Loan Race has begun, Katie and I have just not posted official start posts.  She might later this month but I will keep you updated at the end of the month on how we are doing.
3. Epa is doing much better (she was the cat I had to take to the vet a couple days ago)



Okay, so now on with the actual post.  I've made a list like this before and posted it online which was a huge hit for people (mainly those that know me).  So, I thought I would update that list a little (it's a few years old) and post it here.

Things That Annoy Epilogical (in no particular order)
1. People who are surprised by the fact that I'm sarcastic and bitter
2. People who ask me if I'm okay and when I respond yes, they then ask me what's wrong.
        What the heck people?  If you thought something was wrong why did you even bother asking if I was okay in the first place.  Just ask me "what's wrong" if my response to the first question is irrelevant.
3. People who can't park/refuse to park properly.
4. Strangers who stare as you drive by.
5. Microsoft
6. Christians who tell me I'm going to hell.
        Well, if heaven only accepts snobby stuck-up I'm-better-than-the-world people like you, I prefer hell.  It's more diverse
7. People who say "it makes you realize you could die at any moment"
        Wait, you just realized this?  Gee, I thought I could live for as long as I want despite any outside factors.
8. Men who ask if it's that time of the month when you yell at them.
9. Being followed when walking to my car (by someone looking for a parking spot).
10. Professors that tell you your freshmen year that you need to pick a career NOW because you already screwed yourself only to say later it's okay if you still don't know what you want to do.
        Yes, I am STILL bitter about that.
11.  People who ride your bumper in the right lane when the left lane is wide open for them.
12. Those extremely nice people who never stop smiling.
13. People who won't tell me how they really feel.
        What I mean is that if I'm doing something that pisses you off, let me know.  Don't be all shy and scared about it.
14. People bitching about showing IDs (required by federal law) to buy Sudafed products.
15. People who assume all vegetarians are crazy.
16. People my age who act like teenage girls.  Get over yourselves.
17. The blantently obvious science errors shown in movies and tv shows. 
        Seriously?  Open a high school science book people.
18. The two corner pins (bowling reference)
19. Leaving a solid 8 pin (another bowling reference)
20. People who park their cars in a manner that block the sidewalk. 
21. Walmart.
22. People clearly in the way of others and still don't move.
         Get your ass out of the middle of the stairs people.  Next person who does that is getting shoved down the stairs and then laughed at.
23. People who give you an attitude for no reason.
24. People who don't say anything when you hold open the door for them (I know my mom agrees with this one).
25. Let's just shorten the list a bunch and say people in general.
26. Computers crashing.
27. Having to do new computer training modules for ::cough pharmacy I work at cough cough::
28. Damn PCI calls I have to do at work.
29. Lazy co-workers.  I guess that is included under #25 but oh well, my list, my rules.
30. Telemarketer calls.
        Holy crap.  Today I received 6 sales calls on my home phone while I was at work.  4 were from the same place.  And yes, I put my number on the DNC list.  Next time I'm answering the phone and saying "law office of Mazer and Johnson what is your claim number?"

I have to interrupt this list for a moment to inform everyone I was just asked to take a 5 minute survey and it consisted of questions about pooping outside.  Yes, my life is that random.  Okay, now back to the list

31. The fact that it takes 15 minutes (or less) to fill a prescription, which is less time than you normally have to wait for a pizza to be made by the way, and people still complain.
        Okay, clearly people in this country care more about the quality of their food than a properly filled medication.  Which that would actually explain a lot come to think of it.
32. Taxes (still have to do mine and I am going to owe a lot)
33. Milk
34. Ignorance

The 5 Second Girl Dance

A centipede has inspired this post.  But before I get into that, I would like to raise some awareness about animal abuse.  Feel there is nothing you can do to help?  You can help this victim through donations, or simply keep her in your thoughts.

Okay, now the post.  I've been really busy so I haven't been able to write.  I hope this one makes up for it.

A couple nights ago I was getting ready for bed and I turned towards the bedroom doorway and a spot on the wall right below the ceiling caught my eye.  Actually, it was more than a spot, it was a 2 inch centipede.  Just sitting there like it owned the world.  Now, centipedes are my second most hated bugs to find in my apartment for two reasons:
1. They are fast and know how to get away quick.
2. I swear they have a 6th sense where they know something is about to go down.

So, here is the art form that is killing a bug (or if you prefer, catching it and scooting it's butt outside).

Initial Reaction
First, you do what someone I know has coined the "5 second girl dance" which doesn't necessarily last five seconds, nor is it a dance.  It's that moment where you are thinking "Holy crap, there's a bug.  Where is something I can use to kill it?"  We all think it, don't lie to yourself and say you don't.

Time to Take Action
Now, centipedes are a special case.  Because you know in the back of your mind that while you are going to get a paper towel/toilet paper/tissue to use to kill it that by the time you get back it will be gone.  No other bug does this.  Just them and it annoys the crap out of me.  Luckily for me, my two cats are more than willing to keep an eye on an intruder while I get something to deal with it.  So, I placed Epa on watch (ie, I picked her up, snapped my fingers in the direction of where the centipede was, and then put her down when she started to meow at it).  I knew that I was covered.  Unfortunately, the little creep was also right above my doorway, so walking back in created the paranoia that the thing would fall at the exact second I was under it. It didn't and in fact it didn't move at all.  Hey, there are always centipede school drop outs that have failed to learn when to run.  Survival of the fittest.

The Actual Event
Okay, let's stop my story right there and further assess the whole centipede killing event.  If you are short like me and it's up high (like this one was) you will need to knock it down before you can kill it.  That's easy enough with a broom.  The next problem is finding it after you do this because like I said before, these things are fast.  I mean, we would be too if we had 20 legs (and probably wouldn't need cars as much for travel when you think about it).  So, you knock it down and by the occurrence of a miracle, see where it is.  You then go to squish it.  Two things can happen at this point: you either squish it as planned or you don't.  The thing either manages to dodge your attack or, you think it's squished but when you start walking to flush the thing down the toilet, you see that it has broken free of your tissue grip and is starting to crawl towards your hand causing you to throw the tissue away from you.  Either way, you now go into stealth mode and for the next 20 seconds, the sole purpose of you being alive is to find this thing and kill it.  You have to, because you know the thing is pissed now and will probably come after you in your sleep if you don't find it.

In my case, I managed to be lucky this time and kill it the first time (and it helps that Epa will smack it around a couple times first).

The End?
Okay, so you have now successfully killed it or at least flushed it down the toilet (and by the way I find it hilarious when you flush a bug alive and as it's going down it always will grip the toilet paper.  Evil I know but you know it entertains you too).  Now the real paranoia comes and you wonder was it really dead?  Or is it just waiting to climb back out of the toilet when you're not looking.  So you flush again and check under the seat to make sure it is really gone and not just hiding.

The Cat's Plan of Attack
Sascode and Epa each have their own way of killing bugs that they find.  Sascode goes in for the kill.  He will raise his paw....move it slightly back and forth a few times and then.....BAM!!!! that thing is dead.  Epa treats them like a new toy where she "gently" pushes them with her paw until they have died a slow, painful death.  At which point, the pushes become less gentle as she tries to get the thing to move again.  That's when I step in.


In other news, The Amazing Loan Race has officially begun this month.  More on that later.

Art of Doing It All

Someone asked me the other day a question that I have been asked in high school, college, and grad school.  And that question is:

How do you have time to do all that?

What they really want to ask is if I have a life.  But no one is brave enough to word it that way.

Why do I get asked this question?  Because I do a lot.  In high school I was involved (and held officer positions) for various clubs and organizations, was on two varsity teams (tennis in the fall and bowling in the winter), bowled in mutliple leagues and tournaments (yeah, my weekends were shot senior year), was a volunteer assistant coach (again with the weekends), and managed to graduate with a 98 average and earn enough college credit to enter college as a sophmore.  In college I was still a volunteer coach, worked one (and starting sophmore year two) jobs, and was involved in a couple clubs at school.  While taking classes in grad school I worked two jobs, was officer of a campus organization and managed to get work done on time, if not early.  Now I (get this) am working 3 jobs, two of my own research projects, and volunteer for two organizations (one an animal shelter and one a museum).  And I now blog (mostly while waiting for a really big dataset to run on a really long program).

So, yes, I do a lot.  Barely have a social life outside of facebook.  Yes, that counts as a social life for me since the majority of my friends do not live in the same city. And I still manage to cook homemade meals to eat every week.

How do I do it?  I have no idea.  But I will tell you some time management skills I have picked up over the years to help keep me organized and make sure not to miss any deadlines.

Epilogical's Time Management Tips

• Keep a list

I have OCD so I am very organized by nature.  I like lists.  I have a bunch of them throughout my apartment keeping track of various things (groceries to buy, things to do, research ideas, etc.).  The ones that will matter to you are the to-do lists.  At the start of the week, make a list of everything you want to accomplish that week.  It can include things like going grocery shopping, buying furniture, cleaning the living room.  Or, it can be things to accomplish a much larger goal.  For example, a thesis where you include the parts you want to accomplish for that particular week.  Because if you can do an entire thesis in one week, you need to email me NOW.  When you finish a certain thing on the list, check it off.

For tasks that take a long time to do (ie a thesis or writing a book or anything that takes more than a week) spend 20 minutes a day working on it.  Why 20 minutes?  Because it's short enough to be able to squeeze in somewhere during the day, yet long enough to actually be meaningful.  And by all means, if you want to keep working past the 20 minutes, go for it!  By the end of the week, you will have spent at least 2 hours on the task, if not more by taking a little chunk of time daily on it.  And you don't feel as guilty as you may waiting until the weekend to do it and end up having to do something else last minute.

• Have a calendar

I personally use the google calendar and color code each activity (each job has it's own color, volunteer work is all one color regardless of where it is, Dr appointments and vet appointments are another color). Having a calendar also allows you to make sure you don't miss anything important that you may not normally have to do every week (think doctors appointments).

After finishing with scheduling all the things I have to do (work, appointments, meetings, etc) I can then see where I have time to do other things and I make a list for each day of the little things I want to get done (groceries, cooking, laundry, couponing).  By doing that, the little things from the big list mentioned above will slowly be crossed off as each day ends.

• Don't overwhelm yourself

This is something I always come dangerously close to doing.  You do this by taking on too much with the things you're required to do and leave barely enough room for that, let alone other things.  My way of handling this is easy.  I cut down my one job to 1 day a week and don't volunteer to do extra shifts at the shelter or museum.

• Make note of major deadlines and plan accordingly

This can be for work, school, moving, whatever is a big thing that you need done or to do on a certain day that will take time getting for.  Here, I suggest if you can't take off from work or whatnot, to not have anything extra scheduled within a few days prior to the big deadline to allow yourself more time to concentrate on it.  For example, I would take off from work or not volunteer the week before finals to allow more time to freak out, er.....study.

• Multi-task

Some tasks can be combined to do at the same time.  Or meaningless activities like watching tv for example, can be combined with other activities.  I never just watch tv, I get too bored.  Usually, when the tv is on I'm preparing food to cook and once it goes in the oven (or on the stove), I then start to look through the internet, blog, do part of my research that doesn't require full thinking, etc.   Saves time.  Warning, don't leave the stove or oven on unattended (ie, don't go to the store while cooking dinner if no one else is home, big fire hazard.  You want to save time, not cause an even bigger headache.  I don't even leave the crockpot on when I'm not home, though it is safe to leave on if you want a slow cooked meal).

The Art of Loan Payoff

It's getting to be near the start of a new month and the official start of the Amazing Loan Race between Katie and I so I thought I give a little update on my situation and add a little advice to all of those out there who have their battle with their loan(s) going on at the end (ie just skip to the end of the post if you rather just see my advice, don't worry, I won't be able to tell so my feelings won't be hurt).

Undergrad Loan

My current total (before future interest) to pay off this loan is: $17,780.77. My estimated monthly payments (beginning in May as mentioned here) is $250.00 (roughly).

Now, I discovered something pretty neat while going through my account on their website that I thought I didn't have the option for this far into the game of payoff. I have the chance to reduce my interest rate by 0.25%. That's right, a mere 0.25%. Now hold off on the eye rolling and calling me a loser for even writing about this. The interest gets tacked on monthly for me. So for me, that means that right now for my current total that equates to a savings of:

17,780 x 0.0025 (yes that's 0.25% when you are doing the math) = $44.45

Meaning I will be charged $44.45 less interest this month. If I sign up right now.  Of course this value will get lower as my total owe decreases over time.  For example, in 6 months, applying the minimum payment, my total owed will be around $16,200.  Let's do some more math..... Okay, I'll do it and you can just see the answer.

$16,200 x 0.0025% = $40.50 saved that month.  Still a pretty good savings eh?  I mean, that's almost the cost of  a night at the Cheescake Factory I could be having instead of paying my loan company that amount.

So how do I get this wonderful deal?  Automated kwikpay (seriously, that's how they spell it).  What that means is that if I let them take out the amount owed each month automaticall as opposed to me manually doing it, they will reduce the interest by 0.25% (enough with the thinking I'm a loser for being excited already).  So when I talked with the loan company how exactly this works I was told there are two options:

1.     They only debit out what is due for that month. So if you recall from my earlier post, they actually wouldn't start debiting until May (September now but the reason is further below) since I don't owe anything until then

2.     They debit out the actual monthly payment whether any money is due for that month or not (so they would take out the amount starting this month instead)

For me, I'm chosing option 2 because I plan on making payments anyways.  There is the added benefit here as well that I won't have to remember to pay every month and worry about any late fees if I forget.  Also, I can still make additional payments manually if I am feeling ambitious (or really want to beat Katie that month for our contest).

Grad Loan

So something interesting happened here... and also happened for my undergrad loan but I decided not to do anything about it as of yet since I'll be paying on it anyways.  Apparently, my grad school decided to send them a letter stating I am currently a full-time student (which is kind of funny considering I am taking 0 credit hours there this semester).  I didn't know about this until I called up the loan company because they sent me an email saying my application for deferment was accepted when I didn't even apply for a deferment.  After getting it back on repayment, I now don't owe anything this month because there's a month delay for it to switch.  My monthly payments for that is $817 and some odd cents. I already have a headache so I don't want to look up how much I owe in total right now for the loan but I think I posted it previously or you can do the math ($817/month x 12 months/year x 10 years - the amount I paid which is about $2,400). This month I have off as I already stated which is good because I need to save up for poor Epa's potential surgery scheduled in a month.

I think they have the reduced interest rate deal too if I sign up for autopay but....I think I might hold off on that until I get a real job.  For those who don't know, I have a job in my field but it's a temporary one that pays about half of what normal people would make who have the same degree.

Loan Repayment Advice

Okay so now the part most of you probably skipped to. Advice on paying off your student loans.

• Don't defer them after they go into repayment.
• If you do have to for financial/school reasons, at least pay off the interest so that the amount owed doesn't get any higher.
• Try to pay the interest amount while you are still in school.  
• If you can, pay more than the minimum amount each month.  It benefits you because either your future payments will be less or your next payment is delayed (like mine does).  Either way it really becomes a benefit if you're a little short on cash one month.
• Hint: the interest you pay on your loans you can claim on your taxes.
• Make a friendly competition between one or more friends :) 

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.