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Month: December 2008

  • December 9, 2008

    Hmm

    Waiting to hear back about poss work for the boy…

    Really hoping that works out. Getting back to work should keep him out of trouble and being occupied will do wonders for him, not to mention the money! If all this hadn’t happened, he wouldn’t now have $550 to pay off…..Don’t do frickin favours for loser friends who don’t do anything for you! See what happens when you do them a favour and drive a bunch of people somewhere because ALL of them have lost their licences….THEN get slammed because you’re not allowed passengers, AND you’re in their car which has a side light out, AND the losers won’t pay for the ticket, even though it’s their car and their fault the light doesn’t work, because they DON’T HAVE MONEY and presumably never will.

  • December 7, 2008

    sunday wrapup

    I’ve been keeping my price book for three months now. The original idea was to try and track sale cycles so I’d know roughly when items were at rock bottom and when to stock up. Because we split our shopping quite evenly between PnS and CD though this doesn’t really work so well. Plus it’s not like we buy the exact same stuff every week. we mix it up you know? I’m thinking I might just start noting down important specials every week (maybe snap a photo or make a note) if I don’t actually buy them and just enter them into my book.

    Although that aspect hasn’t really worked out, I HAVE steadily noticed the sneaking, creeping price increases. Raro went up eight cents this week! Why?! It’s like sugar and flavour. Honestly. And you consider that most items have increased that much, if not more, and it’s no surprise that grocery bills are still soaring.

    But today we got a new fridge! It has a red cover on the front. An actual vege bin. It’s clean. Has new seals. Small freezer but lots of fridge space. I love it!

    Cleaning out after moving the old POS was a hearty mission. Those roaches? Had a nest below on the floor. Euuugh, I shudder just remembering it. All kinds of dirt stuck to the floor and a piece of paper practically glued down. Took a good 20mins and a LOT of bleach, but we got that fucker of afloor clean. This fridge is, I think, smaller in size and will no doubt be a lot easier to keep tidy. No one wanted to clean the old one. It was leaky, icy and just nasty icky. This one, well dirt will be instantly obvious. It won’t rust onto the floor. And hopefully the insane amount of boric acid I laid down will make sure we never get roaches again.

    Anywho, I’m sunburnt, my hands are bone dry and I keep reapplying handcream, and I have work tomorrow. Hurray!

  • December 6, 2008

    reflections

    I did originally intend this to be a personal finance blog, but to be honest, I don’t have that tight a handle on my finances and I think it would be a bit depressing to reeeeally crunch the numbers like I should, at least while I’m still studying. And really, I just don’t have the discipline to be a real, hardcore PF blogger! And imagine how dry that would be. A few can and do pull it off, but most straight PF blogs are dry as bone. It’s the ones that mix it up with opinion, politics, style, whatever, that make for interesting reading.

    I just love to read about other people’s lives. I have an innate interest in others; I did toy with studying psychology for awhile but decided it wasn’t for me. I signed up for a psych paper this year, but it didn’t work with my timetable, which bummed me out. I eavesdrop on anyone on the bus who’s having an interesting conversation (the couple fighting on the bus home last night, for instance). No matter how inane, I strain to hear every word. I recently got out a bunch of PF books, and found myself skimming them – maybe I’m not really ready to get totally serious about my money, or, I’m going to be one of those people who works off a looser ‘spending plan’ rather than a full on budget – and just reading the case studies. You know, examples, like Dave and Sally who made well over six figures but were living solely on credit……etc

    Anyhow I guess this’ll continue to be a mishmash of topics, whatever’s on my mind at the time. I might decide differently in the future, but I just don’t think I can carry a blog that’s devoted solely to one subject.

  • December 6, 2008

    product fiend

    Being a poor, tightwad student I spend next to nothing on myself. I don’t hardly drink, I don’t buy makeup, I buy sukin cleanser (fairly cheap “natural” face wash from Farmers), though I do splurge on Body Shop moisturiser, and hardly ever buy clothes (and never at full price). I’d say my one vice is food, and by that I mean we’re not eating toast and noodles every day and we drink a lot of milk. We actually eat meat almost every day and usually buy ice cream or biscuits or chocolate for a treat every week.

    Anywho, the point I’m getting to is that a lot of the best stuff is insanely expensive. $30 nail polish, $100, 200 and 300 cleansers and moisturisers, eye creams and masks from $40… Of course not all of it is worth it, but some are real gems worth every penny.

    My favourite products (none of which I paid for, but got to try out through work, thankfully)

    denny

    Leighton Denny nail polish. $29, I think. Beautiful colours and amazing staying power (almost a week, minimal chips). Great texture, easy to go on, just the right thickness and amount, just looks effortlessly amazing – even with my clumsy application. I only use about two cheap nail polishes which work just fine, so I’ve never understood who buys expensive stuff. But now I can understand why.

    asmvtwb

    Dermalogical multivitamin thermafoliant (over $100). It’s a bit gimmicky, meant to combat the ‘chemical reactions’ taht start the ageing process, BEFORE they start. Bollocks I say. Plus it heats upon contact with skin, and apparently can be used dry, convinced? It is indeed self warming, which is a bit weird but I quickly got used to it and found it quite comforting – kinda like feeling the sun on your face or getting a nice warm cuddle. It’s quite gentle and immediately my skin felt plumper, smoother, hydrated and just superduper awesome. Not keen to try it dry, but whatever floats your boat. Probably good to use once or twice a week.

    aaa-drhauschka-soothing-mask-2

    Dr Hauschka soothing mask. It’s the first product from this line I’ve ever tried. They’re quite famous and meant to be wonderful for sensitive skin. Shit yeah. This mask is a godsend. You’re meant to leave it on for 20min after cleansing, or alternatively apply a thin layer under moisturiser. I slathered it on, but it quickly sunk into my skin leaving very little to wipe off after 20min. I just left it as is without putting moisturiser on over the top. My face drunk it in, I tell you, and while I don’t know if my skin looks much different today, it certainly feels better. Less dry and irritated and not itchy at all.

    Now….to find something to shrink my humongous pores…

  • December 5, 2008

    Sim card error

    Sim card error – three words that strike fear into my heart. This usually comes after my phone takes a slide off my lap and into the middle aisle of the bus, landing with a sickening thwack.
    So far it has revived, every time, after being turned off and back on….but one day surely i won’t be so lucky. And I’m not looking forward to that day! i don’t want a new phone! i’m extremely attached to my gx17. it is lacking in many departments such as camera quality, but i hardly ever use that. it has minimal features, compared to the superphones of today. but its sturdy, pretty and easy to use. it’s lasted me three years and im not willing to fork out hundreds for a new one, esp as almost all phones these days are butt ugly. i have to admit i’d love a phone that did everything – and i mean absolutely everything, because i’d use it as an organiser – but imagine how lost i’d be if i ever lost or broke that phone.

    In other things…we have precisely enough this week for groceries. So gas, lunches and any incidentals will send us into the red. Woohooo…..

    OTOH I worked almost 50 hours this week (and may do more tomorrow if I feel up to it) so next paycheck will be nice and fat, comparatively. And man did I work hard for it! I’m hoping IT don’t monitor our usage too closely, beause I must have downloaded over 100mb of stuff today trying to get that java problem fixed. And I did (and it’s cemented why I will never get a mac). I’ve been leaving late this week, 5.30, every day, and it sucks.

    All the staff on level 4 work 8.3 to 5.30; I guess I might be expected to do the same, although it’s never been voiced. I’ve just been coming in 9-5 as I would do on my days downstairs. But this week it just got too much for me…I felt guilty andlazy and slack for taking off at 5 everyday. Hence my staying till 5.30. And yet I’m still the first to leave! God knows how long people actually do stay at work. 9.5 hours? 10? I never want to have to do that, especially on a salary. I see how stressed some of them get too, and I pray I’ll never be like that. I’d rather have a less prestigious, less well paid job and have some balance in my life.

  • December 5, 2008

    ah, the joys of public transport

    bus drivers are all powerful. they can refuse to let you on, kick you off, scream at you for not having the right change, give you directions or get you so lost you end up on the other side of town.

    if i ever doubted that, well last night i learned it all over again. after working 14 hours straight i caught the 11pm bus home. we waited for about ten minutes at the third stop. we thought the bus had broken down, or maybe we were waiting for a new driver to take over. how wrong we were. the driver kept pacing around the back and texting off his phone. finally a guy dashes up the road and gets on, panting his thanks. clearly the driver held us up JUST SO HIS FRIEND COULD GET ON.

    that really pissed me off. abuse of power! buses are so terrible as it is, this made my night ten times worse. there was no traffic and I should have been home in half an hour, tops. that clusterfuck added at least ten minutes to my commute.

  • December 2, 2008

    Another uni gripe

    First, their ridiculous method of handing back exams (cram in students from all three years on one level on WT, let three or four in at a time, hunt down their papers, wait for them to decide whether they want to appeal or not, let them out, let a new person in. Anyone who can’t come in during this three hour block, well shit outta luck).

    Today I walked up to uni at lunch (10-15 minute walk) to retrieve my photography portfolio off the walls of the art department. I got up to the seventh floor. I got no further. Construction zone signs and warnings were EVERYWHERE. Do not enter. Danger. Authorised personnel only (don’t you love that one?). Looked like they’d stripped the walls from where I could see. SO god knows where my prints are now, if they still exist. I’m pretty steamed about my wasted lunch break and not being able to get my work back! I was hoping to post my photos up here, but whatever.

    At least taking that paper didn’t bankrupt me like I thought it would. I would never have signed up if I didn’t still have my old SLR from school. As it is I think I only spent about $100, which yeah, is a lot, but not too bad considering I bought both black adn white and coloured paper plus 4-5 films.

    Speaking of money, the boy’s going to Work and Income to see if they can do anything for him tomorrow. The boss told him they have a small project and he’ll try and get him onto it. Not convinced. It’s in their best interests to keep stringing him out as long as they can and hope he stays with them till the new year.

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