three things thursday

So here I go again, for the second time. I'll post a topic, then list three things to go with it.

Three things that cost me too much money:

1. My fast-food habit... I really need to cut that out, but if you refer to my Sticky Note Tuesday, you will see that I was too lazy to go grocery shopping when I had time. 
2. Gas! Driving a minimum of 400 miles a week really adds up. I wish I worked from home... Don't you think I could telecommute to my busy HR office job?
3. Speeding tickets! Gosh I hate people tellin' me what to do! How dare they say that I should only go 55. I really like 70 better... Unfortunately, police officers did not agree with me and I have paid all-together way too much because I can't get my lay-Z booty outa' bed in time for work. 

What about you? Leave me some comment love... for what have you paid too much?

stick 'em up!

It's sticky note Tuesday and I finally remembered. I'm plugging these stikies in and then I'm going to bed! Have a great Tuesday!

BTDubs... how do you get rid of those little checker-mark thingers behind the stickies? Not everybody has them. Why do I? (Sounds like something a tween going through puberty would ask their mom. Sad.)

Oh, and props on the cool, new button sticky.

orthodontowha???

This morning I stepped through the pristine gates doors of Meadow Valley Orthodontics, received my paperwork to fill out from one of 7 smiling, brown scrub-wearing employees, sat my booty into a leather couch facing a mounted, inset 32-inch widescreen LED tv, surrounded by a beautiful shelving unit filled with wicker baskets which were, in turn, filled with toys and books and I thought to myself, "Self, you cannot afford this orthodontist." (I realize--run-on sentence. Thank you Miss Tweed. Third grade wouldn't have been the same without you.)

As I filled out the paperwork I mused about an orthodontist that I could afford. He would surely operate out of the bottom level of his home. It'd be kind of like a mullet--you know, business in the front, party in the back. Except that by "front" I mean lower level and "back" I mean upper level apartment. Then an even more affordable orthodontics rig ran through my mind, quite literally. It'd be a "mobiledontics." Kind of like a bookmobile, you know... or even a trailer. I'm picturing something kind of like a horse trailer or a small refrigerated unit, only without the cold. It'd be one of those silver metal jobs with a roll-up sliding door at the back. They'd let down a ramp and you'd haul yourself right into the "consulting office" separated from the "reception area" and "business office" by only a divider meant for a cubicle. I could afford that kind of orthodontics.

You'd think Meadow Valley wanted me to promise them 5 years of indentured labor or the birthrights of my first son.

Well, I haven't lost hope yet. I'm getting a second opinion. Heck, I'll even get a third or fourth one if I have to! Things can't be all that bad. As a matter of fact, I've heard good things about this place called Odontologia Guadalupe de la Virgen de las Nieves. They say they only charge 140 pesos per visit, so I think I'm in luck!

open doors

Gulp...

"How will I afford all this?" I think.

Sometimes it's better when I don't count the cost, and just live life, checking the balance as I go along. Well, at least it seems that way...

I just made myself a budget. I thought that I should really start managing my money better, especially since I'm going to try to move. I will most definately need more money if I'm going to be studying at some school in New England. Nothing is cheap over there. Everything is cheap here, especially if you share an apartment with 5 other girls.

I just looked at my bank account. Not good. It seems that after I pay my rent, phone, utilities, and fill the endlessly gasoline gulping machine that is my car, I'll have meager pennies to live off of until two weeks from now. Again, payday seems to dissappear in the click of a mouse.

Sigh.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. I'm not really sure how to remedy this problem. If the money's not there, then it's not there. Maybe it's time for me to work my booty off for the summer.

And an idea just popped into my head.

Tonight I received a call from some random girl who is a friend of a girl who used to work summers at my company. She was just calling from blah, blah, blah, wondering if I wanted to blah, blah, blah, for some extra cash this summer. Naturally, I did not. Now I'm going to facebook said aquaintence and see what the deal was. Maybe I do want to blah, blah, blah this summer. Another job might be just the thing I need to get my mind off of my life for the coming months also. Of course, there's also monetary gain involved, and that's the most important thing...

Well, I guess I shouldn't say it's the most important thing. I mean, trusting that God will take care of me and lead me is more important. But like they say, "Have faith, but wear your seatbelt." In other words, do your part. God will provide, but not in a magical, Santa Claus sort of way. He gives you the ability to work for a reason.

Speaking of work (and changing the subject almost all together) while I was at work today, doing my usual administrative assistant/translator/interpreter gig, something came up that prompted me (because nobody else happened to be available at the time) to have to go personally inerpret for almost 3 hours. The experience merely cemented my desire to go back to school for interpretation/translation. I feel like today was an open door, in the sense that God uses "open doors" to lead or not lead us in certain directions. This was like an open door, welcome mat, and large sign with blinking, neon arrows. Soooooo... I'm walking over the threshold! We'll see what happens next. I'll keep you posted!