October 20, 2009
Isn’t it ironic that for all that we empathize with the long-laboring, store-it-up-for-the-winter Ant Fable, many of us are waging war against the industrious ant? Reporting back after three weeks of combat, wielding Terro as recommended by J.D. at Get Rich Slowly and Funny About Money, I don’t feel guilty one bit.
Those darn things get into everything, inside, outside, food, drink, swarm over anything the least bit interesting, eat through walls, chew holes in fabric. And they swarm. Like locusts! Or, you know, ants.
Funny makes a good point: you don’t want to eradicate ants completely because they are an essential part of the ecosystem. I’m not out for complete extermination. Be as that may, they don’t belong inside my home! (or dishwasher, or closet, or under my sinks.) And until they respect those boundaries, I will continue to hold the lines.
Terro is the ultimate two dollar magic. I kid you not, even though the packaging states that you may have to wait two weeks to clear out the problem, it took less than 24 hours for the three battalions and supply lines to disappear completely from the front of my house.
The tradeoff was apparently that the eradication was short-term (about a week’s worth of ant-free zone), but another quick application of Terro to a central location a week later and the next wave of exploratory ants was gone. If you’re having ant problems, I highly recommend that you check the local garden supply shop, I bought mine from Lowe’s, and pick up a clear little bottle of peace of mind.
Now if someone can help me get rid of the flies! (I feel like I live in a barn. But the dogs keep opening the door and letting flies in!)
July 21, 2009
*As previously Twittered, I am now officially weak sauce. I was incapable of lifting my carryon suitcase into the overhead bin. As in, I hoisted it halfway and failed miserably to complete the task. That Is Embarrassing. Yes, my friend called me the 80 pound girl with arthritis, but for heaven’s sake! It’s a joke! One, I weigh more than that and two, was almost always able to heave that ‘case ho (except that one time I way overpacked for winter in Italy and we were staying in a five story walk-up). I think that travelin’ friend has forgiven me for that ordeal.
* I get really easily bored on planes now. The flight attendants came through the cabin at least an hour before ETA offering “one more drink before we land?” and I bounced up out of my seat with an, “ooh! We’re landing??” Again: Embarrassing.
* Someone rationalized my talking to myself [out loud (in public)]: “Well, the rest of us have the pleasure of your conversation, I don’t see why you ought to deprive yourself. “ That’s sweet, but let’s be honest. After reading the above? How many of you would prefer not to be seen with me in public? It’s ok to be honest, I’d understand.
* There’s only so much socializing I can take. “But you’re in NEWYORK-you-can’t-stay-home!!” only works on me a few nights out of the week. I need quiet, productive time! I don’t know how those business students “network” [yes, no, that means party and drink] practically every night of the week. Columbia Business School is off my list of prospective schools.
* All about independence and tackling the challenges head on, but museums when you’re alone? Boring. Sorry. Just boring. Perhaps I need to perfect my talking-to-strangers skill?
* Food is always good.
July 10, 2009
What day is this? Is it Saturday? Again? Everyday would seem like Saturday if my friends weren’t mostly working during the day.
Update update update ….. My gamut of interviews is over for now and now we wait and we see. I won’t hear back until August about the most-wanted job but I’ve had good meetings with senior folks in the company and am now being totally Zen about this. If this is meant to be, it’ll happen.
I had a wonderful walk in Central Park with MoneyMateKate, and a lovely dinner with another friend I was meeting for the first time today! Funny how this trip has turned into an opportunity to meet so many new friends or old acquaintances.
My tour of a friend’s workplace turned up another set of informational interviews, and my resume is winging its way through another set of connections. It never fails to amaze me that people are willing to make that sort of recommendation based on knowing me for about five or ten minutes. Not that I’m not worth it! 😉
Oh, and I did extend my trip, at least until Tuesday. If the last round of meetings bears interview fruit, I have the freedom to extend again until just before Comic Con. Get this: my free ticket voucher from getting bumped from a flight allows me to change the dates of travel at will, for free.
And now, a little food porn to hold y’all over:
May 6, 2008
Each month, I round up all my expenses and work out the total of what I grandly call my net worth. A lot of bloggers do it, in one form or another. Actually, I call mine “snapshots” because they’re just a quick glimpse at my ever-fluctuating expense and income sheets. In a way, I like that the numbers continually change, especially since I get bored so easily. Activity isn’t always a good thing, though, as noted by the massive reductions in net worth during the BroDucky debacle. Let me emphasize how I never want to spend so much for so little again. 😛
Every month, I put together these snapshots, but I don’t actually have a net worth goal. And keeping track of numbers without an actual goal seems rather halfhearted. I do have annual savings goals, as you can see by my sidebars, but I don’t have an overall net worth goal. Part of this is because the savings goals are both saving and spending goals. A good half of my goals pertain to a future purchase or expenditure: car maintenance, home ownership, auto payoff. The other half are for retirement (completely untouchable), emergencies (almost always untouchable), and mistakes (only if it’s serious).
Between the two, it seems like I’m just saving to spend. Oh, that’s not really the case, I’ll still have the savings at the end of a long hard day, but the half and half structure of my goals implies that this isn’t all about holding on to my putative wealth. In that light, “net worth” doesn’t seem applicable unless I have something more concrete than the employer retirement funds and cash in a savings account. Some things more like CDs, and savings bonds, and property. An actual stock portfolio, at some point. You know, grown-up things. So again, what’s the point of tracking my net worth?
After all, it can be very subjective. You can choose to include or exclude any number of possessions or holdings that you deem worthy or not of being considered. I leave out my automobiles entirely because it’s a bit too complicated to include them. I don’t plan to sell my personal vehicle ever, and the family sedan, which is not my financial responsibility, is still being paid off. Still, if something happened to it, you betcha I’ll be the one who has to figure out a replacement. Same goes for personal loans. I only started including those because I’m getting forgetful, and didn’t want to lose track of them entirely. One of the reasons I’m leery of including any possessions is the idea that possessions only have value to me. If I lose or break something, I have to replace it at a cost to myself. It’s highly unlikely, in the general scheme of things, that my possessions will be worth anything to anyone else. Barring selling large ticket items, of course. But my point is, things are primarily a liability. More often, I’ll have to replace things, not make money from them.
So, why track a seemingly artificial net worth? In part, accountability. As long as I see steady progress, or lack thereof, in the form of numbers from one time period to the next, I have to stay on track. Some kind of track. And if I keep the variables constant, then the change in amounts is a valid indicator of circumstances. Just because I don’t include my possessions doesn’t mean my financial holdings aren’t real.
The other part, motivation. Seeing the numbers makes the whole game of finances, bargain shopping, and frugality more real. It’s not just theory, it’s life in action. If I were to be completely objective, I’d be proud of myself for going from working to pay off my family’s debt (credit cards, car payments, personal loans), to actually building a cash cushion, putting a decent amount away for later, and generally making some progress. It’s harder to see that, though, on those bleak days when all I can think of is the $18,000 I foolishly lent and lost, the entire salary of my 4 college years going towards bills bill and more bills, and most of my post-college salary going towards not me. I can only see the other side of the coin if I actually keep track of it.
It’s all too easy to forget that the grind can actually produce results, and to keep going because we’re going to make it. I look at the accomplishments of fellow bloggers, and I’m A-M-A-Z-E-D. And you know what? Seeing my numbers keeps me honest. I can finally be happy for what I’ve done here these past two years, too. Combine that with the realizations that it’s ok to be free, that it’s ok to live, and I’m going to say, not too shabby, really!
So, let’s keep on with the net worth! It doesn’t define me, and it may not truly define my “wealth” but it’s a good way to keep me truckin’ from milestone to milestone.
May 2, 2008
Feedburner revealed that I do not, in fact, only have five or six readers, I have a few more than that! Your secret is out, friends, you are there! And that makes me (even more) curious than I usually am about who might be reading this blog, and why I haven’t heard from many (?) of you. Even though I’ve been working at this blog for nearly two years now, I’m still excited about comments, and would like to know more about you.
If you’re lurking, please de-lurk and join the conversation!
Tell me, who are you, where are you from, why do you read this blog? What do you like about it? What would you like to see more of? What topics would engage you in conversation?
And a question that’s been on my mind: If you could give someone a windfall, funded entirely by yet another generous soul, who would you give it to? How much, and why? Would there be restrictions on the money or would it be a no-strings attached gift? Again, why?
