About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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April 8, 2010
I’ve started meal planning for lunches and dinners through the week with the goal of not eating out more than twice a week (if that). Expensed and catered meals don’t count, but I don’t plan on having too many of those.
So far, I’m scheduled to cook every other day and plan to make enough to package up lunch servings for either the next day or day after. That way I cut cook times in half, and don’t have to scramble for the next round of meals. As long as I don’t miss a cook day, the rolling menu should work pretty well.
Crockpot meals should be good for freezing ahead, too.
Breakfasts are simple. A couple eggs with green onions or a bit of oatmeal with a handful of walnuts is the most I can handle that early in the morning. Fruit is packed for a mid-morning snack, and so does a bar of some sort. (I LOVE Lemon Zest LunaBars.)
Some of my favorite dinner recipes
Roasted chicken (yields 2-4 meals depending on the size of the chicken).
Balsamic chicken (yields 2-3 servings) — Modified this recipe by using much less balsamic vinegar.
And lemon garlic chicken — this recipe with maybe a few less lemons.
By cooking at home, I should be bringing meal costs down to around $5 or less, including a veggie and carb side. I like brown rice best, but breads, pastas and quinoa are welcome additions to my plate.
April 7, 2010
To counter my tales of woe and angst fomented by Bekins and their “services” this week, I’d like to take a moment to praise a company for responsiveness.
I hate checking luggage: my poor suitcase gets so abused! But it can’t be helped on some trips and on one such, the pull tabs on the zippers had been snapped right off. The zipper itself worked but it’s become a dexterity challenge pushing the little zipper nubbin along the track. I intended to do something about it, but stored my suitcase after a trip and forgot about it until the move.
I tied ribbons where the tabs had once been, and that worked as a temporary measure but only roughly so – the zipper track would become warped if I insisted on using a MacGyvered method too long.
In cases like these, I’m glad to be a bit OCD about tags, because I still have the original tags with the warranty/lifetime guarantee/contact information in the side pocket. I sent off an emailed query to Victorinox Swiss Army’s customer query department about what I could do to solve the problem. I received an email from customer service asking for the model/style number, responded to that email, and received a confirmation of a shipped order for new pull tabs, no charge, within 24 hours. Those pull tabs were delivered to my door without another word.
Bravo, Victorinox. Under no obligation, and without even being asked, to replace parts that were broken in the normal course of wear and tear with such rapidity is worthy of acknowledgment. Most companies would see such a little thing and stonewall the customer. Instead, you’ve cemented the value of your lifetime guarantee by providing good service as a matter of course.
*Now I just have to figure out how to attach them.
April 5, 2010
Well, Bekins failed again!
Pretty spectacularly, too. They got so far as to get my shipment to the Bay Area Monday night, and contracted with another company to deliver on Tuesday. Except 3rd party company called me on Tuesday saying they were NOT delivering that day, they were delivering Wednesday. And oh, btw? 700 pounds of stuff was going to be dropped curbside, they would not bring anything inside.
No. No, and no.
Bekins got another call from me with this information, the dispatcher went off to do his thing supposedly, and came back two hours later saying it was resolved. 3rd party would deliver on Wednesday by noon and would bring everything indoors as per our contract.
I asked him to take the shipment back and deliver it with his crews- he absolutely insisted that he had a backup crew to deliver in case the 3rd party failed to come through but he was SURE they would. Does anyone else doubt his word? And his faith?
Wednesday at noon heralded a weak sun and no rain for which I was immensely grateful because I spent the next twenty minutes being told that the driver was going to drop a huge pallet of my stuff on the ground and leave because they were a freight company, not a moving company. My dispatcher put me on hold four times, while the delivery guy was impatiently stomping about telling me, “I can’t do what they promised! I get ten minutes per drop and that’s it!”
His boss contacted him, telling him to drop my goods next to the elevator and leave. Just leave. OR leave with my stuff and let Bekins deal with the delivery.
I was livid.
There was no way that guy was leaving with my stuff, but there was no way I was physically forcing him to stay. I was very very polite to him, explaining that at my size, there wasn’t any chance I’d be able to bring my stuff upstairs alone. I also told him that I didn’t hold him responsible for any of the mess, that I expected Bekins to fix it and pleaded with him to give me a few minutes to make something happen at their end.
The Bekins dispatcher had the nerve to tell me he could have a crew over to move the rest of my stuff inside my home by 3 pm, leaving me with a pile of goods in a public area, unattended!
Finally, I had the delivery guy break down the pallet and bring it the elevator, as far as his boss would allow, and was on the phone the rest of the time trying to get someone to do their jobs.
By the time he got all the stuff carted over to the elevator I still didn’t have a solution.
He looked at me, said, “My day’s shot. Where’s your apartment? Don’t tell anyone, I’m just goin to take this up for you.”
And he did.
At that point, the Bekins guy called me saying that he was “so embarrassed” to ask me to do this, but was there any way I could get someone else to help move my stuff upstairs? He just couldn’t get anyone there right away. Furious, I just told him that I’d figure it out and, for the first time in the entire ordeal, stated that I was completely dissatisfied with everything that had happened since pick-up, and this was the worst service I’d ever experienced.
He sputtered. Considering he caused this entire mess, taking it upon himself to delay the shipment for two days for no good reason (which he’d stated up front on Monday), he entirely deserved that shot. And was nearly apoplectic telling me that he understood I was through with them but they weren’t through with me, that he was seeking a resolution because they were absolutely embarrassed and were going to seek compensation for me.
Uh huh.
I have my letter, edited to add the Wednesday festivities, ready to go out by registered mail with a copy emailed to the Better Business Bureau if I don’t hear that a check is in the mail on Tuesday. More than six hundred dollars and all three days of my time before starting a new job was wasted dealing with Bekins in Southern California. Not one of their shining moments.
April 4, 2010
I was having a distinctly teenager moment on the way home from a fantastically fun screening of The Last Unicorn with Peter S. Beagle in attendance. Not just the goofy giddiness that comes of seeing an iconic figure, hearing him speak (he’s funny), sitting two rows behind him. Cravings are what I’m after — cravings for donuts.
A’course, in my advanced years, I only wanted one donut, not the dozen and odd that would have been inhaled ten years ago.
My companion remembered a donut chain that was open until midnight, we had plenty of time. Pulling up in front of the darkened shop, I started to resign myself to going without. My companion popped out of the car to check anyway, “what’s the worst that can happen? They can just say no.”
Well, no, the worst that can happen is the guy can respond to your “can I get two glazed donuts, please?” with a stuffed box (that won’t close) of a full dozen glazed and sugary heart attacks and a sack of mini glazed doughy chunks. All for free.
Why is that bad, you ask? How can you say no? But then, what are we going to do with all of these donuts??
If they don’t go stale by then, I’ll gladly take them in to work on Monday, but glazed donuts don’t store well when crowded so now we’ve got to separate them. Like an army of pastries.
April 3, 2010
As always, every little bit counts! And as always, you’re welcome to share!
From me
Don’t leave home without your coupons: I already know this, but I still did it. Having promised myself a few additions to my rather-shabby wardrobe, I went into a Martin + Osa to poke around, certain I wouldn’t find anything. Sure enough, sale and regular priced items were equally out of my price range.
I tried a top anyway, and a sales associate attached herself to me. She kept bringing me more clothes to try on, trying to figure out what I was looking for in the “semi-business casual” sense. Normally this annoys me to no end, but she didn’t. We piled up an impressive array of clothes that didn’t fit, and a small stack of clothes that did fit. The only problem? She’d pulled clothes that weren’t even out on the sales floor and there’s no way I was going to buy without a sale AND without a coupon.
I explained that I’d left our (20% coupon) at home because I wasn’t expecting to shop, and that I’d love to buy that day but didn’t feel comfortable spending 20% more than I would have with the coupon. Was there anything in-store they had on hand?
She produced a Friends and Family coupon for the entire purchase which was actually better than mine by 5%. I ended up selecting enough to constitute a Major Purchase so I saved $65 after spending a whole lot more.
Another banking goof: During an internet blackout/packing frenzy, I missed topping up my checking account by just a few dollars. A stupid mistake was costing me $34, until I reached a Citi rep over the phone and explained that I’d been unable to get online to transfer money. The fee waiver was immediately credited to my account. Back to keeping a bigger cushion and closer eye on the checking account.
The missing link: Shopping for a belt at Kohl’s, I was again, unarmed with a coupon. At the register, I asked the cashier if there was a coupon out that I’d forgotten to clip and she said, “I’m sure there’s something out there, I’ll just give you 15% off!”
April 2, 2010
Whoo! Reacclimating to the early morning and long day thing has been … well, rough!
I’m very glad that I started late in the week because the amount of work, meetings, and gaping void of leadership that had to be addressed. My boss isn’t even here for part of this month so I’ve really been operating from a bit of a blind spot, but I’m proud to have smoothly handled three slightly sticky HR problems, taken the staff out for a lunch and rotated so that I had alone time with each of them, and pulled them into an impromptu Q&A session that seemed to release the tension I’d observed over the past two days.
Apparently, they hadn’t been explicitly informed that I was their new boss and supervisor.
Yeah.
That definitely was tension I was feeling in between my meetings.
The absence of the boss during this time will actually work for me as I clearly demonstrate my intention and ability to manage and support them within the organization so that they feel their contributions are not just expected, but their voices are heard and teach them how to speak up in a professional manner.
Meantime, I’m going to work on a weekly menu so that I bring my lunch everyday, and eat dinner in at least 5 times a week; eating out around the workplace seems to run between $10-15 which is way too much for a single daily meal. Simple and healthy recipes are always appreciated!
April 1, 2010
Time to face the music …..
Most notably, I’ve dropped out of the six-figure club in a big way.
1. The car: $8250. I don’t count it in the asset column because it’s a depreciating possession. True, I could actually sell it for more than I bought it for (verified by the fact that another car buying friend’s market research) but I don’t intend to turn around and sell it and have to buy yet another vehicle. I have the cash, but for the sake of full disclosure, I’m including the upcoming insurance in this total because I pay for the full term in advance.
2. Moving expenses: around $2000. Again, I included all the currently due and upcoming charges on my credit card now. No creating a false sense of security for me, thank you. Never mind that they’re reimbursable, until the money is in my account it doesn’t count.
3. I have multiple outstanding invoices for around $1500. Again, I don’t count those as cash in pocket until it’s actually in my pocket.
I’ve made a few changes in my accounts
Since the Tax account was cleaned out for the car, I’ve changed it to Pin Money for now. Essentially, miscellaneous.
Moving Money might permanently change to School Money, but we’ll see if I can get any financial aid when I restart classes again. I’m taking a quarter off to concentrate on work. That money might be donated to insurance and maintenance.
I’ve been ignoring losses and gains in the TradeKing account but there’s no good reason to – after all, I track the gains and losses in the retirement accounts.
Cash flow looks like blood flow
My transaction log shows that I’ve spent about $11,000 this month against an income of $2,700. No debt (except to myself) was created so that was all saved money rushing out the door. Painful.
Finally ….
I could really use a paycheck by the time I’ve paid off the credit cards. They don’t come due this month, I’ve just got them tallied in because the charges are posted to the account; the cushion will hold a little longer. By the time charges are due, I’ll have a couple checks under my belt. And then we’ll see how the new dual-household/single income budget works. (“DHSI” as the new acronymic moniker? Not cute at all.)
