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
Read MoreOctober 13, 2008
It’s JLP’s fourth blogging birthday, and I get a present! I won JLP’s giveaway of the book on “The Genius that is Warren Buffet“: Alice Schroeder’s The Snowball – Warren Buffet and the Business of
Life.
*dancing a jig* I loved the quotes that JLP picked out, and am really looking forward to reading this book. Just when I was about to run out of new books to read!
on Major Announcements: we’ve had a wedding, a new baby has been born, another baby is in gestation, and two engagements have been announced. That’s this year alone. At least all the actual events will occur next year. In the meantime, I have to be sure to have travel money to attend the baby’s birth, vacation time for nannying (this is my best friend/practically sister, after all), and travel money for at least one of the two weddings to the MidWest which looks to be $500-$700 for airfare alone. My pocketbook weeps. At least it weeps in a lovely new bag?
on all things lips: no more lip gloss, lip color, lip stains, lip balms, lip anything may be purchased, acquired or brought home. Not even if it’s free. Not even if it sits up and begs, with puppy dog eyes. Which would be weird, and all the more reason to leave it there.
on negativity: Monday is bring the dog to work day, summer weather is leaving us for a whole five days before we see the 90s again and I have a brand new fuzzy sweatshirt for just the occasion, I’m having delicious chicken-pasta-tomato basil soups for lunch. Also, ten fingers, ten toes, full mental (ok, arguable) capacity, and enough mobility to get around. I have every reason to be happy!
on cruising slickdeals.net “just looking” at electronics deals: duh.
October 12, 2008
My darling friend is curled up asleep as I scan my next to last batch of files. I’m calling it quits here because I feel bad that she’s been hosting me for the last 3.5 hours on Leg Two of the Scan-a-thon. Planning on treating her to dinner, if she’ll let me. In the meantime, a seven-day spending report:
Monday: $6 lunch, necessary but unsatisfying. A shame, but I hadn’t any time to grocery shop over the weekend. C’est la vie.
Tuesday: Managed some leftovers, and received both the latter half of the $400 I loaned my dad, and another $130 in reimbursements for some of their spending. Notice that he’s been a lot more on the ball with that sort of thing.
Wednesday: $3.79 sandwich, quite satisfying. There’s a place we can get enormous burritos and sandwiches which are totally worth the price [the sandwiches even come with sprouts as part of their extensive veggie selection] but if I eat there too often, my stomach gets accustomed to their serving sizes.
Thursday: office lunch to belatedly celebrate my birthday. That evening, shopping [$17.68, two white tank tops] and a dinner to see an out of town friend cost and $11 after tax and tip. I had a coconut veggie curry at PF Cheng’s and was pleasantly surprised. Was also quite pleased that my friend “stole” my order option of the Szechwan tofu and broccoli because it was hothothot. Received another lovely purse, this time a green and olive tote by NineWest that I cannot locate a picture of to share. Nonetheless, it’s lovely and holds everything I need in a day, and is smaller and lighter than the red leather behemoth I’ve been toting. Note on the tank tops: I probably could have gotten them at Old Navy for cheaper but I already knew that these tops fit perfectly. Coupled with the need to find skirts for friend before dinner, we didn’t have time to waste. Y’all should be impressed: we checked three stores, bought two items each, and were on our way to dinner within 20 minutes.
Friday: Leftovers for lunch, went straight home after work and stayed there: no spending!
Saturday: Lots of spending – $11, eyebrows: they look smashing now. Previously: awful.
$13, hair cut: not so smashing. She cut it too short and didn’t manage the bangs well. Am glad I have nearly two weeks before anything important.
$9, soups and pasta at the grocery store. These will make for some very cheap lunches this week. The Progresso veggie soups will be bases, combined with penne pasta, either in the soup or separately, and chicken. We’ve been getting whole chickens for about 79 cents a pound, so for a dollar/can of soup, and < $1 per serving of chicken, the lunches will be something like $3 per. I might get some broccoli to throw in the pasta or soup midweek as well.
Sunday: No spending of money, spent time working on work-stuff, helping a friend with homework, and scanning. I’ve a pile a foot high ready for shredding. Sweet!
All in all, about $71 in personal spending all week. And the eyebrows were totally worth it. The hair? Not so much.
October 10, 2008
The washing machine’s done gone and done it again.
This time, it’s not just dyed the straps of my tank top pink, despite the fact that nothing else in the same load has colorfastness issues, white or light. This time, it chewed up the straps of the tank top and ripped one of them apart.
I can’t tell if I should be grateful that white tank tops are cheap or cranky that, because they’re cheaply made, I have to spend money on more tank tops. I think it’s the latter, and then it’ll be the former once I get into the stores. I’m not even sure if they really are all that cheap anymore, it’s been a while since I’ve been in the market for tank tops.
The last time I bought some were from Forever 21, and they were really nice and soft, and only about $8? $6? Or I can get two for $15 from Aeropostale. I think I still have a free shipping code somewhere around here ….
Updated: I just stopped in at Aeropostale and bought two white tanks for $16.50 last night. We were shopping for a newly (ish) pregnant friend and we managed to get in and out of two stores, with everything we wanted in under 15 minutes. Ninja shoppers!
October 9, 2008
It’s kind of a grown up sort of clutch, that is. It’s the softest leather I have ever felt! Standing tall at 5 inches high, 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, I feel like I can go to night functions like an adult with a real purse now.
Savvy at $ out of 15 cents posed an interesting question: Could you survive on half your pay?
I’m almost always up for a challenge, but that one gave me pause, and made me sit back a little.
Do you think you could do it? What would you have to do to make that happen? Have you already done it (like FB)?
Single Ma’s discussion of unemployment and this question are right up my alley. Just this morning, I was wondering how much unemployment I might draw if politics go badly and our entire office is laid off/closed. This is a possibility and a colleague and I have been preparing for the worst for a few months now. (Hence my major push to beef up the defenses.)
If I were laid off? Apply for unemployment, devote myself to applying for jobs full-time, try taking on freelance work to supplement the emergency fund. I’ve already cut out just about all splurges so that option is constantly exercised.
If nothing else, being aware of the possibility/employment environment is highly critical. I know someone who didn’t read the signs in her place of employ and bought herself a new car when her old one died recently. She’s been struggling with her mortgage, and was suddenly let go last week. Really rough.
October 8, 2008
So if colleagues are wearing something like this (no sparkles, though):
or this:
Is it really so bad that I want to wear this? (It’s a t-shirt.)
I know, I know. One unprofessional outfit should not beget another. But my new shirt is so cute. Can you see the radish that was ninja-starred right in the “head”?
This website and its content are copyright of A Gai Shan Life | © A Gai Shan Life 2026. All rights reserved.
Site design by 801red