Ladyluck – Schecter

Another Schecter… bit ballsy but beautifully finished

And….the new Modern eagle from PRS.

Drool…

Tags: guitars

Poor Noelle McCarthy. She must be feeling pretty embarrassed right about now. I’m feeling sad for her; I quite like her columns, she’s young and down to earth and she’s had a pretty meteoric rise through the ranks of NZ media. Plus she’s rather hot. Not to sound all lame and gushy teenage girly, but it’s rare to have a female media figure to look up to and admire (reading the TV news doesn’t count, and am I the only one who doesn’t see the great appeal of Samantha Hayes??)

I can see how she might have mistakenly borrowed from articles she’d read; I have a terrible memory but for some reason I read phrases and sentences that stick with me forever and I go around muttering them to myself. It’s like they’re burned into my brain and I usually have no idea where I first got them from.

I find it amusing to obsserve how Fairfax are all over it – they’ve run about four stories so far. APN, well, hardly a peep out of them, not surprising really as she’s a columnist for the Herald (she really needs a new photo though, the one they print ages her about a decade).

I hope it all blows over, etc etc. Of course it might turn out she’s been plagiarising for months and has never had an original thought of her own, in which case I’ll be badly disappointed.

Tags: media

I didn’t really expect to be unlucky enough to be in a major recession at this age. At least i’ve still got a stable job and haven’t graduated or i’d be job hunting pretty fruitlessly! and i don’t have a massive mortgage or CC debt.

…but still. doesn’t make things any easier. the boy wants to quit and find a job at, say video ezy. which is such a bad idea. a) there are a million other people out there also fighting for jobs. his chances are slim to none. b) in that case, i don’t think he’d even be eligible for the dole, it’s only if you’re actually laid off  and don’t leave on your own accord (must confirm that), leaving us even worse off. even a job in name if not  actuality, is better than nothing.

what to do? stick it out till the new year? (especially in view to the materialising apprenticeship). that’s over a month away. and there’s never a guarantee really is there? christmas now is also meant to be busy, doing shutdowns for the companies, but again no guarantee. after applying for a bunch of temp jobs and the like he’s all “i don’t want to do this, there’s no point, by the time i do get one of them work will be back to normal (or seminormal). well, theoretically. but murphy’s law and all that, the exact opposite could happen too. Keep looking for temp jobs and if work is back to normal by then, just back out? Leave and just take any sort of job to keep something coming in for awhile (well, TRY to find any sort of job)?

In the meantime at least he’s managed to make further progress in the apprenticeship department, getting in touch with skills4work, done their tests and passed with flying colours and going in for the next interview tomorrow. Of course that’s another can of worms. They may not be able to work with the current employer in which case that amounts to some serious time wasted for us and maybe a bit of bad blood should he leave to do it with someone else next year. Then of course the whole training wage thing of $10 an hour, or about $320 net a week. which is fine if you have a near new car that never has problems and is paid for, no debt and an emergency cushion, otherwise… but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. and surely there’d be some sort of assistance for someone actually making less than minimum wage.

In the meantime, he can’t even get payslips from work to show his zero income for two weeks to show Work and Income – apparently no timesheet, no payslip. (How can you have a timesheet if you’re not working?). I suppose they might accept bank statements showing the absence of pay, but then again, probably not. As they say, you technically still have a job, but if you can show you’re in hardship for three weeks, all’s well and good.

I feel shitty coming home and being all stressed about money. i expect him to try and be cheerful, but really that’s not fair; if the situation was reversed i would be super worried and angry and frustrated too.

Tags: work

Marginally more composed now.

B+ for journo. Can’t actually remember what my other two marks were; i’m thinking an A and A-. So hopefully an A- average overall. Pretty annoyed with myself for making a couple of stupid mistakes, and for having had my moment of clarity AFTER the exam in regards to one story, but oh well. I’m on tenterhooks now but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Onto more pressing matters.

Second full week of nonemployment for the boy. this disgusting cutback of hours is worse than being laid off. at least with redundancy good ol Key’s package would kick in (although it hasn’t been actually organised yet, as such) and unemployment would be available.

God, sometimes i feel about twenty years older. with every new development i feel further and further removed from everyone i know, who mostly don’t REALLY know what it’s like to be dealing with all this and definitely not to this extent. of course most of these are joint problems and not really mine, but that’s what relationships are about, aren’t they?

as it is we have to try and get an appointment with work and income, along with the presumably thousands of others struggling and wanting the exact same thing. then trying to show that an average income of 2-300 a week doesn’t cut it especially with two straight weeks of no work. it’s bad for the wallet and it’s bad for the soul. i can’t singlehandedly support the two of us. our assets are separate and should be counted as such. however the fact that i have any money in the bank probably precludes the boy from qualifying for emergency help.

if nothing else, this experience has totally cemented my belief that we need to work to feel valued and have motivation. sitting on your ass all day simply stagnates you. i don’t know if i totally support making single parents go back to work, but i certainly believe in working for the plain old dole.

Tags: exams, money, rant, uni, work

Exam results. Leaking, dying fridge. Rent increase. New clutch for car. Lawn mower man. Water bill soon which wil be massive as the bloody LL hasn’t fixed the leak, so will have to find money for it – flatmates won’t be none too pleased either. Christmas. Apprenticeships/jobs/god knows what for next year. Too much to deal with!

Wigging out, lost appetite, cold sweat. Trying to be calm.

Tags: rant

What a day…at least it went by fast. Paid the power bill, deposited money, got a new eftpos card, booked an appointment and looked at sunglasses and tights. It was just one of those days where everything just kept coming, and I didn’t even think about lunch until 1pm. I’m enjoying work less and less, and secondguessing myself at every turn. Having doubts about my story ideas and struggling with the writing.

I always thought that the minimum wage was just that – a minimum wage – But apparently there is such a thing as a minimum TRAINING wage. Not the new entrants wage, although I think they may be the same rates. The training wage is for those in recognised study doing over 60 credits a year; namely, apprentice wages. It amounts to about $320 aftex tax. Would it be worth it to almost halve your pay for three or so years to get qualified? That’s a big ouch, and not a decision to make lightly.

I’m anticipating exam results tomorrow, with a small butterfly or two in my stomach. After tomorrow I’ll have a better idea of what lies in store for me next year. If i don’t get it I would seriously consider just working fulltime. (Although I did say that before really getting into the swing of working at the magazines, so may have to retract that.) Probably the biggest reason to stop me wouldn’t be the whole giving up before getting the degree with just one year to go (can you tell i’m a bit burnt out?) but the fact that I’ve got the scholarship so why not make the most of it? i’d feel guilty having used two years of it and not completing my degree, when someone could have made real use of it.

New York’s always held a certain fascination for me. I can’t pinpoint anything in particular that started it for me. Just the bits and pieces you pick up I guess, movies, TV, photos, and of course my favourite books ever (Jessica Darling/Sloppy Firsts series). I can say that SATC is not one of those reasons. So many people cite it as a major reason for first wanting to go there. Although I do enjoy the show the city as depicted in it was never something I took much notice of, oddly enough.

I no longer want to go there to live, but I definitely want to visit. Lately I’ve been reading lots of NYC blogs (Gen Y NY, Becoming a New Yorker, Escape Brooklyn etc) and live vicariously through them. But you could say I’ve had a reality check recently. Given that we struggle making it here in Auckland (although lately we have spent virtually nothing on the weekends, go us! We used to spend up to $60 eating out over the two days – and not even at fancy restaurants, more like a mix of food court, takeaway, Burger King and milkshakes) I’m sure NYC would suck me in and spit me out. I’m extra worried right now given our employment situations. We’ve just signed our next lease, but apparently it’s not too hard to get out of FTTs for extreme circumstances (ie job losses), so..

Tags: travel

It never ceases to amaze me how seasoned professionals can answer a one sentence question with a ten minute speech. They sort of go around the question and deal with related issues and context, before (usually) getting round to answering the crux of the question.

I assume it’s like learning to hold interviews and answering media questions. They never just give simple answers; they always elaborate with examples, anecdotes, etc, and avoid direct questions they don’t like by going ever so slightly off topic yet still keeping in the general gist.

I think a lot about money. Probably as I don’t have a ton of it especially lately. I’m okay with being the breadwinner for the time being; not so much the SOLE earner like this week.

A few weeks ago the boy had a spare bit of cash and so when we were out and about he asked a few times “Should I pay?” and it was really, weirdly nice of him to offer. I look after all the money and usually control the cards, so whenever we go somewhere, buy food, clothes, go to a movie, it’s me who pays (or does the physical act of handing over cash/swiping the card).

It’s actually how my parents do it. Seeing as my dad’s self employed and doesn’t give two hoots about making money and would live the rest of his life without buying any material goods (and didn’t even believe in having house insurance because ‘someone’s home all the time’…) it falls to my mum to manage the finances.

In our case I’m much, much better with money. I usually track my spending and I know where everything goes, how and when to pay bills, etc. he’s more of an impulsive spender who used to run up huge amounts on absolute crap. Although I have trained him and his spending habits are a lot better now – he thinks about purchases and makes more careful decisions. The other week he decided not to buy something at the markets and bought a better quality version somewhere else!

But I guess what I’m trying to say is I wish he was a little more financially minded. I’ve got out a few personal finance books from the library; hopefully he’ll find one that speaks to him. It’s nice to sit back and be looked after and every so often have your boyfriend “pay” for something. Even when it’s your money, combined.

Tags: money

Apparently that other work opportunity’s fallen through.

BUM.

He was meant to go for a walkthrough of the building this weekend.

It’s not happening.

There’s no money, apparently they would be able to take him on for this one project but nothing more.