Tuesday, November 14, 2006
End of Cell Phone Woes
So finally my cell phone frustrations (i.e. not having one) have ending. This is in response to my previous cell phone rant in August. As of today, my cell phone will be arriving at my house. My husband's phone arrived last Friday, but I guess since my phone model is really popular, it's taking a little longer. I was able to get two free Razr V3 phones (one dark grey, one magenta) with $50 rebate on each (so $100 back total). We went with T-Mobile since they had the best deal on the phones, a pretty good plan (700 shared minutes with free nights and weekends for $59.99), and people I know in the area who have them have been pleased generally with the service. So that's exciting. For those wondering what my phone number is on the phone, I'm in the middle of transfering our home phone number to it, so that I won't have to worry about making sure everyone knows the new number, and since we're going to get rid of our home phone and just use cell phones, this will make it easier. So, anyway, very exciting news (for me anyway).
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween!
Okay, so I decided to actually dress up for Halloween. I like the dressing up, but I hate the deciding and getting things for a costume. But I was inspired and decided to be a . . .
mime!
It was something I could without much planning. In fact, I decided to do it last night. White shirt, black pants, black jacket, add to it white gloves from my wedding and face make-up I got at the store and voila. I got the make-up when I thought I might be a geisha, but I decided against the geisha idea when I realized I couldn't get me hair to look like that and a wig would be expensive. It turned out to be a good decision, though, since a woman in my church decided to be a geisha and I wouldn't want to be a repeat. Anyway, so I used the makeup to be a mime instead.
Next time I have a costume with make-up, I want to get stage makeup instead. I hated working with this stuff. The pictures on the packaging looked all wonderful with thick makeup, but this stuff is so thin. Definitely not thick enough to be a real mime. I hope next time I'll be able to get good stage makeup and use that. It looks much better!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Finally
I'm just about as excited as can be! I've been a temp now for 18 months and for the last 6 they've been talking about hiring me on as a regular employee. It almost seemed like it wasn't going to happen. Then two weeks ago my job was posted on the company's employment Web site. This was a big step. I wanted to tell everyone, but I figured I should wait till I was actually hired. You never know till it's official. My boss wasn't planning on hiring anyone else, but what if a really impressive resume came by.
Yesterday my boss came by and told me that if all went according to plan then I'd be given an offer letter today. Well, you'd think I'd be excited, right? I was, but I was also worried. My boss had said something a month ago to make me believe that I wouldn't be getting paid anymore. At the time when he said I about wanted to kill him because last December he said it would be $2 more an hour and I had been planning on that since. But I decided to hold on and see what the offer was. Maybe I misinterpreted. Plus, one of my mentors has recommended me read these books that talk about thoughts and how you can make things happen by what you think about. So I kept my thoughts on what I wanted to be paid, which was $4 more an hour (so twice as much as what he told me he'd be paying). I thought about what I'd do with that much money, how things would change, how I would save some of it, etc.
Well, I was at work working on some stuff, and my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and it's my boss. I pick it up and he asks if I can come into his office. I figured he was going to give me the offer letter. Immediately butterflies in my stomach started fluttering and I said a quick prayer asking God to help me know what I should say if he gives me a lower pay than what I wanted. Then I got up and walked to his office (feeling quite sick, I might add). I sat down and he closed the door. He had the paperwork in his hand and starting talking about what he will expect of me now that I'm an employee (assuming I accept the offer, of course). He sat down rolled over to where I was sitting. I could see the offer on the top page. Finally, I was able to relax. Not only was it $2 more an hour, but it was actually $3.38 more an hour (so quite close to the amount I had been thinking of). I could hardly keep from smiling, but I didn't want him to think I was too excited--he might wonder if he were offering me too much.
He talked to me a little more about what the offer entailed including benefits and what forms I needed to fill out. I had to go home and get my social security card because they needed to enter my information today. Apparently my official start date was last Monday, and to get me into the payroll system, they needed to get my paperwork today. So I went home to pick it up. I figured I'd fill out the papers at home so i could be sure there wasn't anything else I needed. By then it was time for my husband to be walking home from class, so I drove by and picked him up. Then I handed him the offer letter and said, "I want you to read this." When he got to the salary he turned to me smiling. "Wow." "I know," I replied. "Great, huh? More than what we expected." I dropped him off at home and then headed back to work. I handed in the paperwork to HR and so now it's official. I have a salaried job that pays much better than anything else I've gotten and has great benefits. Yay! It's so exciting! Now I'm going to go plan a new budget, which will include a cell phone for each of us.
Yesterday my boss came by and told me that if all went according to plan then I'd be given an offer letter today. Well, you'd think I'd be excited, right? I was, but I was also worried. My boss had said something a month ago to make me believe that I wouldn't be getting paid anymore. At the time when he said I about wanted to kill him because last December he said it would be $2 more an hour and I had been planning on that since. But I decided to hold on and see what the offer was. Maybe I misinterpreted. Plus, one of my mentors has recommended me read these books that talk about thoughts and how you can make things happen by what you think about. So I kept my thoughts on what I wanted to be paid, which was $4 more an hour (so twice as much as what he told me he'd be paying). I thought about what I'd do with that much money, how things would change, how I would save some of it, etc.
Well, I was at work working on some stuff, and my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and it's my boss. I pick it up and he asks if I can come into his office. I figured he was going to give me the offer letter. Immediately butterflies in my stomach started fluttering and I said a quick prayer asking God to help me know what I should say if he gives me a lower pay than what I wanted. Then I got up and walked to his office (feeling quite sick, I might add). I sat down and he closed the door. He had the paperwork in his hand and starting talking about what he will expect of me now that I'm an employee (assuming I accept the offer, of course). He sat down rolled over to where I was sitting. I could see the offer on the top page. Finally, I was able to relax. Not only was it $2 more an hour, but it was actually $3.38 more an hour (so quite close to the amount I had been thinking of). I could hardly keep from smiling, but I didn't want him to think I was too excited--he might wonder if he were offering me too much.
He talked to me a little more about what the offer entailed including benefits and what forms I needed to fill out. I had to go home and get my social security card because they needed to enter my information today. Apparently my official start date was last Monday, and to get me into the payroll system, they needed to get my paperwork today. So I went home to pick it up. I figured I'd fill out the papers at home so i could be sure there wasn't anything else I needed. By then it was time for my husband to be walking home from class, so I drove by and picked him up. Then I handed him the offer letter and said, "I want you to read this." When he got to the salary he turned to me smiling. "Wow." "I know," I replied. "Great, huh? More than what we expected." I dropped him off at home and then headed back to work. I handed in the paperwork to HR and so now it's official. I have a salaried job that pays much better than anything else I've gotten and has great benefits. Yay! It's so exciting! Now I'm going to go plan a new budget, which will include a cell phone for each of us.
Monday, October 2, 2006
Financial Stress Relieved
Well, my financial stress has been relieved. My credit card's payment was due today and on Friday we received the loan check in the mail. We went to the bank and put it in there and made the credit card payment online. The credit card is paid off (with no interest), and we are no longer scrambling for money (not that we could not use more, of course, just that we're not dying anymore). Yeah!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Going to Lake Powell
I'm so excited. I found out last Friday that I'm going to Lake Powell this weekend. It's been a possibility for a few weeks, but I didn't know for sure till then. It's going to be so much fun. If you've never been to Lake Powell, make it a point to go. It's just about the best lake ever (partially because it's so big, and is also a great location). I hear this is a good time to go because it's not quite so hot, but still warm, and cools off at night.
Basically, a millionaire I know, John (who I've mentioned before), is letting a group of us go down and stay at one of his house boats (he has two). We're going to swim, hike, hang out, have fun, and learn from John about how to be successful in life. It's going to be great. I'll let you all know how it goes when I get back.
In other news, to make up for the day off I'm taking (since I still don't have paid vacation) and to try to get money to pay for Aaron's schooling, I'm doing some freelance work this week. So pretty much I'm working 12 hours a day. I know many who do this on a regular basis, but I just don't know how they do it. I guess we just push ourselves to do what we need to do, but it's still hard (unless of course you love the work so much it doesn't seem like a job). I am grateful for my job and the freelance work, though.
Basically, a millionaire I know, John (who I've mentioned before), is letting a group of us go down and stay at one of his house boats (he has two). We're going to swim, hike, hang out, have fun, and learn from John about how to be successful in life. It's going to be great. I'll let you all know how it goes when I get back.
In other news, to make up for the day off I'm taking (since I still don't have paid vacation) and to try to get money to pay for Aaron's schooling, I'm doing some freelance work this week. So pretty much I'm working 12 hours a day. I know many who do this on a regular basis, but I just don't know how they do it. I guess we just push ourselves to do what we need to do, but it's still hard (unless of course you love the work so much it doesn't seem like a job). I am grateful for my job and the freelance work, though.
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Financial Stress
I hate it when you have unexpected expenses. Especially when they equal $1000 . . .
I just realized a couple weeks ago that we were not getting a Pell Grant this year. I guess I figured we would still get something, now that I'm working full time, but apparently the government thinks $20,000/year is WAY too much to get ANYTHING. So we absolutely got no money this year for school from the government. Well, at least Aaron got a half-tuition scholarship, so that helps.
So when I realized this I applied for a Stafford Loan to pay the rest. I called the Financial Aid office and they told me to fill out a form and they would notify us in 3-5 business days. So we wait 5 business days and then give them a call (we had to call because for reasons I don't want to get in to, we don't have access to our mail box, so I didn't know if they notified us by mail). I'm thinking that we'll call, see if we get approved and then have the money to pay tuition. Well, when we called yesterday we found out there was a whole bunch of other stuff we needed to do to get the loan approved, let alone get the money (that they didn't bother to inform us about when we first called). On top of that, UVSC adds over $200 in "Student Fees". Why this is not included in the tuition, or what it's for, is beyond me. It bugs, though, because the half-tuition scholarship doesn't pay for half of the student fee and so we owe almost $1000 to UVSC by today.
I hate money stress!
I just realized a couple weeks ago that we were not getting a Pell Grant this year. I guess I figured we would still get something, now that I'm working full time, but apparently the government thinks $20,000/year is WAY too much to get ANYTHING. So we absolutely got no money this year for school from the government. Well, at least Aaron got a half-tuition scholarship, so that helps.
So when I realized this I applied for a Stafford Loan to pay the rest. I called the Financial Aid office and they told me to fill out a form and they would notify us in 3-5 business days. So we wait 5 business days and then give them a call (we had to call because for reasons I don't want to get in to, we don't have access to our mail box, so I didn't know if they notified us by mail). I'm thinking that we'll call, see if we get approved and then have the money to pay tuition. Well, when we called yesterday we found out there was a whole bunch of other stuff we needed to do to get the loan approved, let alone get the money (that they didn't bother to inform us about when we first called). On top of that, UVSC adds over $200 in "Student Fees". Why this is not included in the tuition, or what it's for, is beyond me. It bugs, though, because the half-tuition scholarship doesn't pay for half of the student fee and so we owe almost $1000 to UVSC by today.
I hate money stress!
Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Great Weekend--Great Labor Day!
Can I say that I LOVE paid holidays. Since I'm still a temp (which will hopefully change soon), I look forward to the six holidays a year that I get off WITH pay; I love it! To add to that, I completely did nothing yesterday--well, pretty much nothing. I got up pretty early and went over to Wal-mart to beat the rush. We needed groceries pretty bad and I decided I need to do better about planning out some meals and buying the ingredients for them. So Aaron and I picked out some meals that we both like and I made a shopping list. The meals the we picked are French Bread Pizza (so easy), chicken enchiladas, Rio Ranch Chicken Wraps (really good, pretty easy), and Twice-Baked Potatoes.
So that is what I did first. I was really frustrated because I was looking for coriander and couldn't find. I was pretty sure it was a spice (and I was right), but it didn't look like they had any in the spices aisle. I might have to go somewhere else to get some.
Then I came home and pretty much just hung out all day. I read some from a novel I'm rereading, Mistborn, and then watched How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (it was on Comcast's "Free Movies" list), and finally finished off the day by playing Oblivion on the computer. I can't believe I got sucked into a video game, but I have! I'm having fun with it. So that was pretty much my day. At the end of it I was feeling guilty for not being more productive, but I guess when you only get 6 days of "vacation" a year, you tend to want to just relax and have fun. Besides paid holidays, I haven't taken one day off from work for 18 months! So it was really nice to have that day off. I can't wait till I'm hired and I get a couple weeks or more every year. I'm looking forward to it (plus my company gives 10 paid holidays a year rather than 6).
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