An Actual Vacation

The vacation part only lasted 34 hours and driving took 20 hours. But I got away this weekend and actually had fun! My brother and I left Quincy at 5:30 PM Friday and took 95 South all the way to the Washington DC area then we used some random beltway highways and ended up at my uncle's house in Reston, VA at 2:30 AM. My brother drove the entire way down because he's a road trip pro. Me? I had worked an 8 hour day so I was the navigator. We used AAA's triptik directions and a roadmap. Yup, old school for us. None of this GPS nonsense.

Through an honest mistake in choosing a toll lane we discovered my fastlane transponder works at every tollbooth down 95. We also noticed some bizarre signage patterns on the Jersey turnpike. They put up an exit sign about 10 miles before the exit so we got on high alert thinking it's like MA where we have a couple miles left. After a while we'd wonder if we had missed the exit or the highway magically split and we didn't notice. Then BAM! Shit the exit on the left! I like that the NJ rest stops have names of famous people. We stopped at Edison on the way down then James Fenimore Cooper and Joyce Something with a W on the way back.

Reston, VA is a gorgeous planned community with a huge variety of attractions. My uncle's house is a gorgeous modern architecture abode that has a huge back yard. Also, they own a precious 6 year old dog named Biscuit who is a cockapoo. I'm usually not a dog person but I completely and utterly fell in love with Biscuit. Saturday we ventured to this resort and had an amazing time. The beach is gorgeous the water is a bit weird. It's really warm and shallow at first and then you're chest deep. The bay floor is very gross in texture we called it muck or cold diarrhea. Alot of our time in the water was swimming then trying to stand, then exclaiming, "Ew muck!" and swimming onward to try to find a place that wasn't so gross. Also, my brother got stung by a jellyfish. No huge medical drama thank goodness. He just had a tingling arm and huge welts. Then, we went to the pool which is huge and beyond awesome. The chlorine level was perfect - not stinky or stinging your eyes but definitely clean feeling.

I forgot the cutest part. As the family was packing up the SUV with beach gear, Biscuit hopped on the drivers seat and sat there waiting. When we noticed him and started talking to him, he gave us these eyes and hid under the driving column. So, we took him along. He got to swim, play with other dogs, get all sandy, and wipe himself out. All of us were wiped out so we had a nice snooze on the ride home. Then, we went out to dinner with another uncle who was visiting. Very yummy food and excellent company. We wound up staying so late, we closed the restaurant down.

By the way, my dad's side of the family is full of jokesters so if you need a good groaner joke, let me know. We had a lovely family breakfast Sunday morning and left around 12:30 PM. Biscuit tried to come with us and I was soo tempted to kidnap him.

Driving home was a complete horror. AAA's directions sucked on the route back. Why include ferry info or rush hour warnings dopes? Sunday traffic sucked plus there was a ton of construction. I drove the first 5 hours (92 miles) and was so spent, I turned driving duties over to my brother. We had a flat tire scare but it was just some road debris wrapped around my tire. We made sure to gas up in NJ, which has cheap gas and full serve. We got the the George Washington Bridge around 8:00 PM and looking at the sunset dappled New York City was really nice. By Rhode Island, I was getting really slap happy which made a rest-stop necessary. Of course we chose the one rest-stop that was closed and had no bathrooms. Eh, I've camped so it wasn't a big deal we nickamed the rest stop the Gay Sex Stop because a lot of creepy guys who weren't in a hurry to pee...

We got to Quincy at 12:30 AM Monday morning. Working today is going to SUCK! So, that is my first vacation is quite a while. It was fun, hectic, and memorable.

Personal Finance 101

Has anyone seen or taken such a class? I'm guessing the majority of my peers haven't. So how do we learn to handle our own finances? Not all of us have financial advisers or are independently wealthy. In my paranoid or angry at The Man moods, I start thinking that the rich don't want the middle class to know how to handle money because then we wouldn't mess up and make the rich richer. Isn't that the reason why the US is in this financial mess? Us little folk had no idea how to handle our money. I am not rich by any means but over the years I have developed strategies and techniques that have helped me live on very little. I know it's gauche to talk numbers but I'll give you a rough idea. I have never earned over $50,000 and I have been able to live on my own for 7 years - 2 of those when I was unemployed (2008 and 2010).

First off, let's talk about our checkbook/checking account. I have always had direct deposit - it takes a lot of guesswork out of check clearing times. Plus, some banks give you a bonus/extra for using direct deposit. I put 100% of my pay in checking. If I want to move stuff around, that's what the internet is for. I also have set up an Excel spreadsheet that tracks my expenses and income as a back up to my check register and online reports. If something is off, I can immediately see where the problem is through that method. I also keep track of everything on my check register by saving every receipt. After a round of shopping, I just empty my purse, sit down at my desk and enter everything into Excel and the register.



Most of our major expenses go to rent/mortgage payments. Here is how I am a landlords dream. Let's say my rent is 1000. I divide that by 4 (or 5 depending on the month) so that's $250. I know my weekly paycheck is let's say $500 so I tell myself that I only have $250 to spend that week in fact, I write that in my check register so I know what amount I can work with that week. That $250 each week has to pay for bills, groceries, and, if you're lucky, some fun extras. For sanity's sake, I try to pay my bills as early as possible so I know later in the month I have some fun money to play with.

Savings are important too. I know in theory we are supposed to have 3 month's living expenses saved up for emergencies. I'm sure by now in 2010, we've tapped that emergency fund over and over. I have a small savings account by now but whenever I can, I transfer over whatever I can from checking. The way I work my finances is that if I finish out a week with over $1,000 and all my bills have been paid and cleared, I know I don't need all that in checking so I transfer $500 to savings. Or if I get a gift of money, I split it in half between checking and savings.

I am not perfect financially in any way. My credit card debt isn't pretty but it's much better than it was last year when I had to use some of my 401K to get it down. Another trick I use is that I know how much is in my checking account within $10 so I don't have to worry about overdraft.

While we are on this topic, I will share a story that helped me develop this system. Back when I was 23 and just out of college, I was talking to a friend of mine who was complaining about how poor she was even though she lives at home. She had an awesome job and in theory should be able to buy a new car and/or live on her own. I volunteered to come over some night and sit down with a calculator to help her. That night arrived and I set myself up at her parents dining room table with a calculator and a tablet of paper. She brought down all her receipts, financial papers and her checkbook. I started sorting through the papers so I could figure out how to tackle the job. Lo and behold, I found an un-deposited paycheck in the pile that was a couple months old. No big deal, it was just misplaced, right? Well, upon further sorting I found 5 more! Concerned I turned to my friend and asked her if she had any more of the paychecks. "Oh I have a bunch crumpled in my pockets. One sec." she replied all blasé as she went to her bedroom. She came back down and tossed me a wad of paychecks. All told, she had $10,000 worth of paychecks!!! So, I sat her down and explained her cash flow problem her response, "So that's why HR is bugging me about direct deposit!" My head did not explode but it came very close. My friend wound up buying a car within a couple months.

The Job

Amazingly, I was able to get a full night's sleep Sunday! I think I have had so many first days of work in the past 9 years, I'm kind of burnt out on any nerves or jitters. This is my 9th job post-college. 14th job overall.

My commute was pretty good but I discovered that A) google maps is still insane. For the shortest route, it had me driving down 3A/Hancock St. when I could have just been breezing down Newport Ave. and B) there is construction holding up my commute. Helllooo Newport Ave! The offices are pretty decent. Rather than having cubicles, they have these islands of 4 work stations in a huge cubicle island throughout the building. I kinda like it - it's better than being isolated in gray walls. I share my island with two other people. One is the person who I was hired to replace and we spent my first three days in training. And there is another guy who will be there as back-up for me along with his own job duties.

As I was being given the grand tour, I noticed that a lot of these workstation islands are empty. Later in the week, I heard a lot about restructuring and people leaving. Someone even said that they have no idea who their boss will be. So, this is either a fortuitous time to come on-board as a a temp to perm hire. Or I will never go perm. It's too early to say obviously but I've had both scenarios happen to me. I was transitioned to a perm placement after a week then I spent four and a half years at a company. Years later, I was let go from a possible perm position after three months. I guess it's good not to think too long-term and just enjoy having a job for my own sanity.

The job itself is a lot of Excel analysis and learning how the company calculates commissions, accruals, and forecasts. The computer I was working on had Excel 2007 which I had just used at my last job thank goodness! No one else is installed on '07 and they curse the mere existence of the upgrade so woohoo leg up for me! Also, they use Oracle and Hyperion plus a reporting plug-in that looks a lot like Crystal Reports but apparently is homegrown. So system-wise, I am in hog heaven. The people are really friendly and helpful. But again there is an undertone of anxiety and uncertainty. Today, it was just me and the other guy in the 4 person work station island.

Oh yeah, they have a Keurig coffee maker so I am psyched about many free coffee options!

Got a Job!

The job has been in the works for a couple days through a staffing agency. I was starting to get resigned that I wouldn't get it until I got the call this morning. I start Monday and my commute is 15 minutes. It's a temp to perm position and my first day will be like a working interview. The company is really solid in terms of growth and culture. I was pleased to see that 1/3 of their Executive Team are women. Woohoo having role models/mentors! Nothing turns me off about a company more than an Executive Team full of old white guys.

I am really happy that I splurged on Tuesday by getting a mani/pedi. Hands and feet. I look forward to further splurging now that I will not be on the edge of poverty! I'm thinking a massage should be next. After that, a facial.

This afternoon I had to run downtown to fill out new hire paperwork. Fun fact, expired passports can't be used for I-9s. Guess what I'm doing at the post office tomorrow? Also tomorrow, I am going to hit Talbots outlet hard because a first day back to work requires a fab ensemble. I also have to get my sleeping habits back to working norm this weekend. I will also pick up some Seadog blueberry beer for celebration.

When Popular Fiction Doesn't Suck

It seemed like everyone and their mother was reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this past year. I saw the intriguing cover on the T constantly. Now that it is in paperback, I decided to pick up a copy. I read it non-stop until dawn and the next day I picked up the two sequels. Yes, it is THAT good! The first novel is really dense and tricky but also has awesome characters. This ain't The DaVinci Code where a big plot twist hinges on figuring out a Fibonacci sequence. I can't explain how much I hated that book! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is like an anti-DaVinci Code. My only quibble is that the omniscient narrator takes us into the bad guys thoughts a lot. I got a bit sick of reading "cunt..whore..bitch" over and over. That's my own hang-up. Fun fact: the original Swedish title was Men Who Hate Women. So, I guess my complaint makes sense in that context, huh?

Also, the Swedish film versions are very true to the books and are just as riveting. I seriously have no idea why there has to be American versions of the movie beyond making someone money. But I agree with this casting news. He just needs to get a little out of shape. But casting Lisbeth is going to be so tough! Noomi Rapace was so perfect in the Swedish films. Personally, I think Allison Scagliotti could be perfect. Tah dah

P.S. I don't understand the whole Kalle Blomquist nickname. I know it's due to solving the bank robberies but what's "Kalle" got to do with it?

P.P.S The author, Stieg Larsson, died before the books were published and apparently this was planned for a 10 book series and there is a half-finished fourth book out there. Oh what might have been!

Becoming a Gamer Girl

Since I bought a Wii last month and already own a Nintendo DSi, I decided to try out a subscription to Gamefly (basically Netflix for games). Here are my reviews of the games I've tried:

Wii Sports - included with my wii console. Hours of fun and a good intro to the whole MotionPlus remote. I kick ass at boxing.

Wii Sports Resort - also included with the console. I loved all the new sports and it's a good workout too. I haven't gone through every sport but basketball and fencing are my strengths.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS) - it was a cute game and the puzzles were really hard at times! It got me interested enough that I'm checking out the prequel game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

Sims 2 Castaway (wii) - the game really stunk on the wii platform. The game itself is pretty dumb anyways but the juggling between the nunchuk and remote for certain actions is frustrating as hell.

Boom Blox (wii) - it looks pretty but becomes boring really quickly. Progressing through levels by knocking things over isn't exactly riveting.

Cake Mania (wii) - this has crummy graphics and overall story but my God, it is insanely addictive! It's like Diner Dash but with custom cakes. The cooperative levels are the most fun. My mom and I played it five hours straight without blinking. Layered cakes are the devil. I will probably buy this.

Brain Age (DS) - my first DS game and a lot of fun plus frustration. I like the Sudoku games and the various training modules. My brain was 81 when I first played and after weeks of continuous playing, I was down to 36.

Mario Kart (DS) - SO MUCH FUN in two player mode. Luigi is my guy. Princess and Bowser suck.

Animal Crossing: City Folk (wii) - what sounded cool turned into lame and boring. A game where you can design your own home and make money (aka bells) sounded good. But after scrolling through screen after screen of dialogue with other characters, it soon becomes monotonous. Oh yeah, making money and designing is all hindered by the one store owner who swindles you. Thumbs down.

Fossil Fighters (DS) - I am insanely addicted to this game. I think it taps into my childhood love of dinosaurs and also my dream of being an archaeologist. I love the excavating and fossil cleaning with the dinosaur fighting as a side attraction. The graphics aren't top notch but it's really easy to get sucked in.