Guys, it finally happened. For the first time since I started this blog, I broke out the credit card. Wait! Hear me out!!
My lunch plans fell through. I was supposed to hang out with one of my friends at work who I don't get to see often enough anymore, but her morning commute was considerably longer than usual, due to the storm last night. So she needed to work through lunch. (Not that I'm blaming her!)
I didn't have my gym stuff with me, because why lug a big bag of stuff if it's not going to be used? So that was out of the question...
Yes. I ended up at the stores. The drugstore, in particular.
I love browsing through a drugstore. There's a bit of everything! The beauty department, the glossy mags, the seasonal aisle... Love it all. And, oh! I'm almost out of multi-vitamins. And this morning I read this. And even though I have no plans to get pregnant in the next year, it causes me to check the amount of folic acid in all of the regular multi-vitamins. And there's basically none. So then I consider buying a regular multi-vitamin plus a folic acid supplement, but that will be more expensive and will mean more pills to swallow every morning. The only budget-friendly thing to do is buy the pre-natal vitamins, which feels really weird. Seriously. When I took them to the cash, the woman in front of me actually looked at my belly! (Note to self - ixnay on the ookiecays.)
Now I have to explain my choice to the boyfriend...
Since I've already decided that I'm going to be charging the vitamins, I decide to look at the seasonal section. Next Thursday is that incredibly commercial day that celebrates love in all its forms. Not that I'm shitting on VDay! I am way too much of a romantic to do so. I am, however, shitting a little on all the CRAP that gets produced for this day. I mean, I know everyone is different and some people want 3-foot tall pink teddy bears holding crushed velvet roses, but I don't understand why. What do people do with the oversized stuffed animals on February 15th? I'll tell you. They put them in the basement until their next garage sale and then they sell them for 50 cents. It's just ridiculous.
I may have purchased a little treat for the boyfriend. I don't want to say too much, since he may read this before then, but I can assure you it was not a pink teddy bear.
But we had decided to give each other small gifts for VDay, so the treat led me to look for the gift. And I found what I wanted. So then I had to charge that.
All in all, not a great budget day. I did have $13 still in my account, so I made sure to put that right on my credit card when I got home. Plus that extra paycheck next week will allow me to pay off the $45-ish that I now owe on my credit card, without too much of a dent.
Ah well. I never said I was perfect! But tomorrow my budget resets at $90, so it's another chance to make you all proud.
Total debt: $10,500 and a bit more
Spent today: $44.94
Weekly total: $134.51
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The world wide want
Staying out of the stores hasn't been too hard. Going to the gym during lunch has helped, plus I've just been shopped out since the holidays. (And I have you, my lovely blog readers, to keep me on track!)
Now don't worry! I haven't given in and purchased any of the very cute spring clothes, even though the dollar is still strong. Even though I love to get mail, so cute clothes in the mail is kind of a perfect day for me. Honestly, these two sites are both too pricey for me, even when I'm off the budget. But I dream of the day I might be able to click and consume.
But the world wide web is a whole other story...
There are lots and lots and lots of really gorgeous clothes online. And sometimes I just can't stop myself from a little browsing. My two favourite spots:
Now don't worry! I haven't given in and purchased any of the very cute spring clothes, even though the dollar is still strong. Even though I love to get mail, so cute clothes in the mail is kind of a perfect day for me. Honestly, these two sites are both too pricey for me, even when I'm off the budget. But I dream of the day I might be able to click and consume. Plus spring is around the corner and I'm going to need a few things... First I'll have to do a good inventory of what I've got, so I can get some serious bang for my buck.
Tell me, do you feel that a new season calls for new clothes? Or do you just make do with what you wore last year? (And the year before...)
Went out for Shrove Wednesday with some dear old friends tonight. (They're not old, but our friendships are getting up there in age!) I realize that it's Ash Wednesday, but we couldn't get together for pancakes yesterday, so we did so tonight. Breakfast for dinner - my favourite!
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more
Spent today: $17
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now
I popped into Shoppers Drug Mart on my lunch today, to pick up some trail mix to add to the salad that I brought for lunch. It already had chicken in it, but since I was just coming from the gym, I felt it needed a bit more oomph. (I was hungry, is what I'm trying to say. Hungrier than a salad seemed equipped to handle.)
Anyway, I ended up being served at SDM by this lovely cashier whose name, according to her name tag, is Bernice. Bernice, bless her heart, appeared to be approximately 100 years old. I mean, I have no idea how old a SDM employee can be, but I'm fairly certain that Bernice surpassed the age limit at least five years ago. And while she wasn't the fastest cashier I've ever encountered, she did have an infectious smile and an actual twinkle in her eye.
(She also had every fingernail painted a different colour, so I suspect she hangs out in the the beauty department when it's not busy.)
My few moments with her sort of reminded me to slow down a bit, because life just goes by way too fast.
My other thought was: I need to get rid of this debt and start building up some RRSPs, so that I don't have to work when I'm 100!
Oh, it's true. I am almost 32 and a half and have no RRSPs. I did have some at one point. My unionized jobs - both performing and at the arts organization - provided me with a good start, but I cashed them in a few years ago when I realized that I was paying far more interest on my debt than I was making on the investments.
And commercials touting RRSPs are designed to scare people like me by pointing out that no matter how many millions we contribute at this stage, we're still going to end up having to eat cat food to survive. I can't even think about it too much, since it keeps me up at night.
But I still liked Bernice. She brought a bit of personality into my day.
FYI, after all the bills were paid and the IOU to the boyfriend was repaid, I still found an extra $20 in the budget! So I had a bit of a splurge tonight, since I am home alone. I spent $6.09 on a DVD - The Jane Austen Book Club, which I enjoyed! I also picked up a few more groceries, since I can never do it all in one trip.
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more
Spent today: $18.71
Anyway, I ended up being served at SDM by this lovely cashier whose name, according to her name tag, is Bernice. Bernice, bless her heart, appeared to be approximately 100 years old. I mean, I have no idea how old a SDM employee can be, but I'm fairly certain that Bernice surpassed the age limit at least five years ago. And while she wasn't the fastest cashier I've ever encountered, she did have an infectious smile and an actual twinkle in her eye.
(She also had every fingernail painted a different colour, so I suspect she hangs out in the the beauty department when it's not busy.)
My few moments with her sort of reminded me to slow down a bit, because life just goes by way too fast.
My other thought was: I need to get rid of this debt and start building up some RRSPs, so that I don't have to work when I'm 100!
Oh, it's true. I am almost 32 and a half and have no RRSPs. I did have some at one point. My unionized jobs - both performing and at the arts organization - provided me with a good start, but I cashed them in a few years ago when I realized that I was paying far more interest on my debt than I was making on the investments.
And commercials touting RRSPs are designed to scare people like me by pointing out that no matter how many millions we contribute at this stage, we're still going to end up having to eat cat food to survive. I can't even think about it too much, since it keeps me up at night.
But I still liked Bernice. She brought a bit of personality into my day.
FYI, after all the bills were paid and the IOU to the boyfriend was repaid, I still found an extra $20 in the budget! So I had a bit of a splurge tonight, since I am home alone. I spent $6.09 on a DVD - The Jane Austen Book Club, which I enjoyed! I also picked up a few more groceries, since I can never do it all in one trip.
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more
Spent today: $18.71
Monday, February 4, 2008
The high cost of living
In case you hadn't already come to this conclusion yourself: Bills suck!
This is the one part about being a grown-up that they don't make a Fisher Price toy to replicate. They make toy cell phones and small plastic kitchens. You can create an entire grocery store and fill it with inedible food so children can take turns buying and charging each other for sustenance. There are even small motorized vehicles made for people who are too young to know how to spell their last name. (But don't get me started on those. The boyfriend likes to laugh at my rage during those segments on "America's Funniest Home Videos.")
But there are no toy creditors. You can't buy a set to play "corporation."
The hydro bill came in the mail. And I'm not upset because it's so astronomical, because it isn't. I'm upset because our experiment to cut down on our hydro use seems to have failed. After far too many years of having my computer on 24/7, I've finally taken to shutting it down at night. We also turn off both of the power bars in the office every evening, not turning them back on until we return home from work the following evening. I thought for sure that this would make a difference. But somehow we ended up using a tiny bit more hydro. I'm blaming it on Christmas lights and the fact that it's dark a lot this time of year, and I don't like to sit in a dark, or even dim, room. Maybe we'll see better results come spring.
The other bill that pissed us off today was from everyone's favourite evil telecommunications company - Bell. There was a mysterious new $8 charge on our bill for bandwidth usage, or something like that. The boyfriend called to find out what that is, and it's all about the amount of things we download or upload from our computers. (Maybe you already knew this, but we did not.) We only get a certain amount of stuff before they start charging. And apparently Facebook requires a lot of bandwidth, from looking at people's photos and videos, and uploading your own. I also love to watch movie trailers online, which apparently uses bandwidth.
Once you know what it is, it totally makes sense. But the boyfriend fought the charge on the grounds that we were not informed that we had to pay for such a thing. And the Bell guy happily removed it, which is good on one hand, but on the other hand it's like they're admitting that we caught them trying to be totally sneaky and underhanded. And then they used the opportunity to try to sell us more bandwidth per month. They're such crooks.
Can I just go back to playing house rather than keeping one?
Today was going to be a "Spend Nothing Monday," but then I remembered that we had to grocery shop. Oops.
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more
Spent today: $36.86
This is the one part about being a grown-up that they don't make a Fisher Price toy to replicate. They make toy cell phones and small plastic kitchens. You can create an entire grocery store and fill it with inedible food so children can take turns buying and charging each other for sustenance. There are even small motorized vehicles made for people who are too young to know how to spell their last name. (But don't get me started on those. The boyfriend likes to laugh at my rage during those segments on "America's Funniest Home Videos.")
But there are no toy creditors. You can't buy a set to play "corporation."
The hydro bill came in the mail. And I'm not upset because it's so astronomical, because it isn't. I'm upset because our experiment to cut down on our hydro use seems to have failed. After far too many years of having my computer on 24/7, I've finally taken to shutting it down at night. We also turn off both of the power bars in the office every evening, not turning them back on until we return home from work the following evening. I thought for sure that this would make a difference. But somehow we ended up using a tiny bit more hydro. I'm blaming it on Christmas lights and the fact that it's dark a lot this time of year, and I don't like to sit in a dark, or even dim, room. Maybe we'll see better results come spring.
The other bill that pissed us off today was from everyone's favourite evil telecommunications company - Bell. There was a mysterious new $8 charge on our bill for bandwidth usage, or something like that. The boyfriend called to find out what that is, and it's all about the amount of things we download or upload from our computers. (Maybe you already knew this, but we did not.) We only get a certain amount of stuff before they start charging. And apparently Facebook requires a lot of bandwidth, from looking at people's photos and videos, and uploading your own. I also love to watch movie trailers online, which apparently uses bandwidth.
Once you know what it is, it totally makes sense. But the boyfriend fought the charge on the grounds that we were not informed that we had to pay for such a thing. And the Bell guy happily removed it, which is good on one hand, but on the other hand it's like they're admitting that we caught them trying to be totally sneaky and underhanded. And then they used the opportunity to try to sell us more bandwidth per month. They're such crooks.
Can I just go back to playing house rather than keeping one?
Today was going to be a "Spend Nothing Monday," but then I remembered that we had to grocery shop. Oops.
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more
Spent today: $36.86
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Ikea: Swedish for "Holy shit that guy is taking our chair!"
As you can probably guess from the title of this missive, we took a trip to Ikea today. We went with a specific mission - to buy the Stockholm armchair (weird name, because it has no arms) in blad brown. We (and by "we," I mean "I") have had our eye on the chair ever since we got our couch back in the fall. I was sure it would add a much needed bit of pattern to our living room, elevating our expanse of blonde Ikea wood to a more stylish plane of, well, Ikea chic.
We got a very generous gift card from my father and stepmom for Christmas, so it was high time we made the trek and bought the chair.
Transit was our transportation of choice, because the boyfriend's car - I call it Chuck - has finally entered the last leg of its life. Like many old guys, it no longer has control of its bladder, preferring to leak coolant willy nilly rather than holding it in.
We head north and get off at Leslie Station to wait for the Ikea shuttle. This was annoying, because we could clearly see the entrance to Ikea in the not-too far distance, but rather than creating a path between the subway and the door, they've covered a small bus with giants ads. For Ikea. I was very surprised that the little TV inside the bus wasn't playing a loop of particle board porn.
(I was also concerned that we all acted like sheep and just got on this random bus covered with Ikea ads. Sometimes humans just don't seem the least bit wise to me. Myself included.)
We walked through the showroom, but tried not to linger, since we didn't want our entire day to be swallowed up with beautifully presented rooms that we cannot have. Sometimes I like to inhabit each room, imagining what the people who live there would be like, but then I get struck by "the want," which can take my mood from sunny to sad in about 10 seconds flat.
We located the chair and discovered it was a "Please talk to a sales associate" kind of purchase rather than a "locate aisle D-4, which will inexplicably be after F-2 and before B-7, and hope like hell you can find the box with the right Swedish-named bookshelf in the right shade of wood-colour" kind of purchase. So we find a guy who looks young enough that he probably doesn't understand more than 35% of what happens on "Family Guy." We point at the chair and he prints us off a purchase order for a total of $84.98.
People, the cost of the chair is $349. I point this out to him and he seems confused. He walks over to the chair to look at the tag, because apparently he has cause to believe that it could be $84.98. He's completely stumped! So then I suggest that maybe he's printed us out an order for just the chair cover, rather than the actual chair and the chair cover. Bingo! He prints a new order form for us and we go on our merry way, sincerely hoping that he's learning some sort of trade in school.
Ikea intermission! And you know what that means...lunch!
Yes, we make our way to the Ikea restaurant where we marvel over the fact that anyone would dare purchase a shrimp and egg sandwich from a warehouse selling mass-produced furniture.
A quick tour of the marketplace, including one impulse buy of a $5 package of wooden hangers, and we're ready to buy our chair! Now, there had been some discussion about how we were going to get it home. We planned to pay for delivery, but after seeing it on the floor, the boyfriend decides we can carry it on the subway. I'm not so confident about this plan, but agree to find out how big and how heavy the box is. (There's surprisingly little assembly work involved with this particular purchase.)
Thank goodness we asked the competent warehouse staff for help, because the boy genius in the showroom had given us a purchase order for the blad multicolour version of the chair. What an idiot.
So now we're approaching the cash, having agreed that a mini-van cab would be the most economical way to get our new chair home, when we take a little detour to the As Is section.
What's that? (Cue swelling music with triumphant horns.) It's our chair!!!
Seriously. Front and centre in the As Is section is our chair with a few dirty marks on it. Nothing heinous, but definitely not brand spanking new. We discuss. You see, the cover can come off and be dry cleaned.
What's the price? you ask. Drumroll please...
$226.95!! More than $100 off!!!
How can we not buy it? Not only is it a great deal, but I realize it will make a great story for this blog. Oh joy, oh rapture unforseen.
I head to the back of the section to procure some help. We need someone to explain how we remove the cover and provide us with the correct Allan key. While I'm waiting, I glance over and see the boyfriend chatting with some random dude who is turning our chair over. I assume the friendly stranger is trying to help the boyfriend figure out how to take the bottom off so the cover can be removed, so I look back to the As Is guy. I'm so naive. The next thing I hear is the boyfriend saying, "That's our chair!" Dude has picked up our chair and is trying to leave!
Everyone else flees the As Is section.
There is a brief confrontation where the dude tries employing the fifth-grade logic of "you weren't holding it," but the boyfriend counters with the much more rational "do you really want to make a scene?" and the very necessary "I'm not letting go." Thankfully the dude's wife came along and talked him down from his sale-induced mania. But it was very tense for a few minutes.
Anyway, long story a little less long, our chair arrived home in one piece. (Although the security footage of the two of us trying to wrap it at the paper and tape station may become a highlight of Ikea's annual "Customers are clueless" wine and cheese party.) The Tide-to-go pen has already erased a few of the marks and may be all we need for the rest of them. The gift certificate covered the ENTIRE cost of the chair, making this a very happy day for a in-debt blogger like myself.
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more
Spent today: $5 (On lunch. But I do have an IOU to the boyfriend for $30, covering some of the cab costs and some drugstore stuff we purchased today.)
We got a very generous gift card from my father and stepmom for Christmas, so it was high time we made the trek and bought the chair.
Transit was our transportation of choice, because the boyfriend's car - I call it Chuck - has finally entered the last leg of its life. Like many old guys, it no longer has control of its bladder, preferring to leak coolant willy nilly rather than holding it in.
We head north and get off at Leslie Station to wait for the Ikea shuttle. This was annoying, because we could clearly see the entrance to Ikea in the not-too far distance, but rather than creating a path between the subway and the door, they've covered a small bus with giants ads. For Ikea. I was very surprised that the little TV inside the bus wasn't playing a loop of particle board porn.
(I was also concerned that we all acted like sheep and just got on this random bus covered with Ikea ads. Sometimes humans just don't seem the least bit wise to me. Myself included.)
We walked through the showroom, but tried not to linger, since we didn't want our entire day to be swallowed up with beautifully presented rooms that we cannot have. Sometimes I like to inhabit each room, imagining what the people who live there would be like, but then I get struck by "the want," which can take my mood from sunny to sad in about 10 seconds flat.
We located the chair and discovered it was a "Please talk to a sales associate" kind of purchase rather than a "locate aisle D-4, which will inexplicably be after F-2 and before B-7, and hope like hell you can find the box with the right Swedish-named bookshelf in the right shade of wood-colour" kind of purchase. So we find a guy who looks young enough that he probably doesn't understand more than 35% of what happens on "Family Guy." We point at the chair and he prints us off a purchase order for a total of $84.98.
People, the cost of the chair is $349. I point this out to him and he seems confused. He walks over to the chair to look at the tag, because apparently he has cause to believe that it could be $84.98. He's completely stumped! So then I suggest that maybe he's printed us out an order for just the chair cover, rather than the actual chair and the chair cover. Bingo! He prints a new order form for us and we go on our merry way, sincerely hoping that he's learning some sort of trade in school.
Ikea intermission! And you know what that means...lunch!
Yes, we make our way to the Ikea restaurant where we marvel over the fact that anyone would dare purchase a shrimp and egg sandwich from a warehouse selling mass-produced furniture.
A quick tour of the marketplace, including one impulse buy of a $5 package of wooden hangers, and we're ready to buy our chair! Now, there had been some discussion about how we were going to get it home. We planned to pay for delivery, but after seeing it on the floor, the boyfriend decides we can carry it on the subway. I'm not so confident about this plan, but agree to find out how big and how heavy the box is. (There's surprisingly little assembly work involved with this particular purchase.)
Thank goodness we asked the competent warehouse staff for help, because the boy genius in the showroom had given us a purchase order for the blad multicolour version of the chair. What an idiot.
So now we're approaching the cash, having agreed that a mini-van cab would be the most economical way to get our new chair home, when we take a little detour to the As Is section.
What's that? (Cue swelling music with triumphant horns.) It's our chair!!!
Seriously. Front and centre in the As Is section is our chair with a few dirty marks on it. Nothing heinous, but definitely not brand spanking new. We discuss. You see, the cover can come off and be dry cleaned.
What's the price? you ask. Drumroll please...
$226.95!! More than $100 off!!!
How can we not buy it? Not only is it a great deal, but I realize it will make a great story for this blog. Oh joy, oh rapture unforseen.
I head to the back of the section to procure some help. We need someone to explain how we remove the cover and provide us with the correct Allan key. While I'm waiting, I glance over and see the boyfriend chatting with some random dude who is turning our chair over. I assume the friendly stranger is trying to help the boyfriend figure out how to take the bottom off so the cover can be removed, so I look back to the As Is guy. I'm so naive. The next thing I hear is the boyfriend saying, "That's our chair!" Dude has picked up our chair and is trying to leave!
Everyone else flees the As Is section.
There is a brief confrontation where the dude tries employing the fifth-grade logic of "you weren't holding it," but the boyfriend counters with the much more rational "do you really want to make a scene?" and the very necessary "I'm not letting go." Thankfully the dude's wife came along and talked him down from his sale-induced mania. But it was very tense for a few minutes.
Anyway, long story a little less long, our chair arrived home in one piece. (Although the security footage of the two of us trying to wrap it at the paper and tape station may become a highlight of Ikea's annual "Customers are clueless" wine and cheese party.) The Tide-to-go pen has already erased a few of the marks and may be all we need for the rest of them. The gift certificate covered the ENTIRE cost of the chair, making this a very happy day for a in-debt blogger like myself.
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more
Spent today: $5 (On lunch. But I do have an IOU to the boyfriend for $30, covering some of the cab costs and some drugstore stuff we purchased today.)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
It's a very nice beginning
I went to the theatre this evening, to see "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Gosh, it had been far too long since I'd seen a show. And money plays a big part of that.
Sure, this city offers a lot of pay-what-you-can performances, but they're not always the ones I want to see. And anything playing in the big theatres is so freaking expensive, even if you want to sit a block away from the stage.
So the thoughtful boyfriend (Same person as the other one I mention, just with a preceding adjective this time.) gave me a gift certificate towards this show at Christmas. (He didn't want to buy us tickets, because then he'd have to go and see the show. And while he has indulged my love of music theatre many times, this just wasn't going to be one of them.) I went with a friend, who is also an ex-theatre professional, and we laughed our asses off! It was very, very funny. They had four members of the audience in the show! Priceless. Sadly the theatre was a bit barren, which is such a shame, but we used it to our advantage and moved down into much more expensive seats than we'd paid for. Score!
I'm not good at breaking the law in any way, though, so I did worry the entire time that they were going to bust us.
They totally didn't.
Anyway, while I was getting ready this afternoon, I grabbed an old cast album to listen to. It was this show called "Once on this Island," which was on Broadway a couple of years after my love affair with the art form began. The first couple of numbers are really upbeat and fun, so I was putting on my makeup, feeling the joy of blasting my music. (The boyfriend was not at home. I try not to torture him with too much Broadway.) The third song caught me off guard. I mean, I know it's third on the CD and have known forever, but I just didn't think about it today.
It's called "Waiting for Life," and it was my song in 1994. I sang it for my theatre school audition and for my final recital in Ottawa. It's a big sing and has this optimistic message that perfectly fit who I was at 18. And this afternoon I felt like reliving it.
So I turned the volume up even higher, pushed thoughts of the neighbours right out of my head, and sang my heart out.
It was awesome.
For a moment or two, I could actually feel what it felt like 14 years ago. I could remember seeing my entire life ahead of me, full of possibilities. That's what I get out of music theatre. I can only hope that everyone in this world has a passion for something that can make them feel like that.
When all this is said and done, and I've finally paid everything off, I am going to become a theatre subscriber and see a whole bunch of shows. It's going to be great.
As for spending money, I wandered through Eaton Centre with the boyfriend, helping him pick out some new clothes, but I bought nothing. I can't say it was easy or that I didn't pity myself, but I stuck to my guns. We did, however, have dinner out before the show. But we shared, so it was pretty inexpensive. (Mmmmm...coconut shrimp...)
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more.
Spent today: $12
Sure, this city offers a lot of pay-what-you-can performances, but they're not always the ones I want to see. And anything playing in the big theatres is so freaking expensive, even if you want to sit a block away from the stage.
So the thoughtful boyfriend (Same person as the other one I mention, just with a preceding adjective this time.) gave me a gift certificate towards this show at Christmas. (He didn't want to buy us tickets, because then he'd have to go and see the show. And while he has indulged my love of music theatre many times, this just wasn't going to be one of them.) I went with a friend, who is also an ex-theatre professional, and we laughed our asses off! It was very, very funny. They had four members of the audience in the show! Priceless. Sadly the theatre was a bit barren, which is such a shame, but we used it to our advantage and moved down into much more expensive seats than we'd paid for. Score!
I'm not good at breaking the law in any way, though, so I did worry the entire time that they were going to bust us.
They totally didn't.
Anyway, while I was getting ready this afternoon, I grabbed an old cast album to listen to. It was this show called "Once on this Island," which was on Broadway a couple of years after my love affair with the art form began. The first couple of numbers are really upbeat and fun, so I was putting on my makeup, feeling the joy of blasting my music. (The boyfriend was not at home. I try not to torture him with too much Broadway.) The third song caught me off guard. I mean, I know it's third on the CD and have known forever, but I just didn't think about it today.
It's called "Waiting for Life," and it was my song in 1994. I sang it for my theatre school audition and for my final recital in Ottawa. It's a big sing and has this optimistic message that perfectly fit who I was at 18. And this afternoon I felt like reliving it.
So I turned the volume up even higher, pushed thoughts of the neighbours right out of my head, and sang my heart out.
It was awesome.
For a moment or two, I could actually feel what it felt like 14 years ago. I could remember seeing my entire life ahead of me, full of possibilities. That's what I get out of music theatre. I can only hope that everyone in this world has a passion for something that can make them feel like that.
When all this is said and done, and I've finally paid everything off, I am going to become a theatre subscriber and see a whole bunch of shows. It's going to be great.
As for spending money, I wandered through Eaton Centre with the boyfriend, helping him pick out some new clothes, but I bought nothing. I can't say it was easy or that I didn't pity myself, but I stuck to my guns. We did, however, have dinner out before the show. But we shared, so it was pretty inexpensive. (Mmmmm...coconut shrimp...)
Total debt: $10,500 plus a bit more.
Spent today: $12
Friday, February 1, 2008
Snow day
Payday! (The first of three this month. Ain't life grand.)
If you are reading this from the greater Toronto area, or if you've seen a national newscast in the last 24 hours, you are aware that the city has ushered in February with a big dump of snow. Enough that I chose not to wedge myself onto a subway, but rather stay cozy in my loungey pants, working remotely. Ah, working from home! It always seems like such a good idea...
And then the boyfriend leaves for work. And still it's okay for a bit. I make myself a cup of tea and think, "I'm drinking my tea in my loungey pants on a workday!" And I settle in to get started on things. I must admit, I am very productive when I work from home. Maybe it's because deep down I feel guilty that I'm not at the office with everyone else, so I work extra hard to compensate.
Anyway, suddenly noon will roll around and I'll realize that still being in my loungey pants with unbrushed teeth is starting to feel gross, so I'll shower and put on some real clothes. But then that always feels kind of weird, because I'm rarely dressed in real clothes at home. (Ask the boyfriend - he'll tell you.)
By early afternoon I start to feel despondent. I am a very social person (Growing up I never received a report card that DIDN'T say "social butterfly" on it.) I require interaction. By the time 5pm rolls around, I start counting down until the boyfriend comes home, because even phone calls aren't enough at this point. I need an audience! Sad, but true.
Only the boyfriend was heading out to a movie with a friend tonight - a movie I wasn't interested in spending any of my budget on - so I was doomed to spend many more hours alone before I could breathe the fresh air that interaction brings.
I decided that actual fresh air would have to do. And would likely be good for me. Besides, I was desperate to go to the grocery store, because my cookie-baking urge could not be squashed. So I bundled up and headed out into the winter wonderland. And it was really pretty outside. And I was really happy to be out of the apartment. And I was perhaps a little overly friendly with the cashier at the grocery store, because she was the only person-to-person contact I'd had since 8:30am this morning.
(You know, like many people who write for a living, I harbour a not-so-secret fantasy about writing full-time from home. Preferably witty novels that get optioned into Hollywood screenplays that all the young starlets fight over. How I would manage being alone all day every day with only my cat for company is beyond me. Particularly since my cat requires a lot of attention and isn't all that good at giving me the attention I need and deserve.)
(Maybe I shouldn't have children...)
Back at home, post-dinner, waiting for the butter to soften so I can fulfill my cookie baking and eating needs, I hear the key in the lock. It's the boyfriend!! He's home to drop his stuff off and brush his teeth before his outing, so I only get about 20 minutes tops. I am filled with glee and proceed to dance around the apartment like a maniac, releasing all my pent-up energy. He smiles nervously and runs away....I mean leaves...to see the movie.
I'm pretty sure I was one of those yappy lap-dogs in another life.
(I know a gym visit would have helped with all the energy, but the January blahs have easily transitioned into the February blahs, making excessive, organized motion nearly impossible.)
The good news of the day is that I made a nice big loan payment. Such a great feeling. Although a little less great when I noticed that my interest charge was added to my account. Interest sucks. But it could be worse. My loan could be with someone named Big Moe and my interest payments could involve broken arms and black eyes.
Money spent on a few groceries, including baking supplies.
Total debt: $10,000 and a bit more than a half (Soon it will be only four digits instead of five!)
Spent today: $12
If you are reading this from the greater Toronto area, or if you've seen a national newscast in the last 24 hours, you are aware that the city has ushered in February with a big dump of snow. Enough that I chose not to wedge myself onto a subway, but rather stay cozy in my loungey pants, working remotely. Ah, working from home! It always seems like such a good idea...
And then the boyfriend leaves for work. And still it's okay for a bit. I make myself a cup of tea and think, "I'm drinking my tea in my loungey pants on a workday!" And I settle in to get started on things. I must admit, I am very productive when I work from home. Maybe it's because deep down I feel guilty that I'm not at the office with everyone else, so I work extra hard to compensate.
Anyway, suddenly noon will roll around and I'll realize that still being in my loungey pants with unbrushed teeth is starting to feel gross, so I'll shower and put on some real clothes. But then that always feels kind of weird, because I'm rarely dressed in real clothes at home. (Ask the boyfriend - he'll tell you.)
By early afternoon I start to feel despondent. I am a very social person (Growing up I never received a report card that DIDN'T say "social butterfly" on it.) I require interaction. By the time 5pm rolls around, I start counting down until the boyfriend comes home, because even phone calls aren't enough at this point. I need an audience! Sad, but true.
Only the boyfriend was heading out to a movie with a friend tonight - a movie I wasn't interested in spending any of my budget on - so I was doomed to spend many more hours alone before I could breathe the fresh air that interaction brings.
I decided that actual fresh air would have to do. And would likely be good for me. Besides, I was desperate to go to the grocery store, because my cookie-baking urge could not be squashed. So I bundled up and headed out into the winter wonderland. And it was really pretty outside. And I was really happy to be out of the apartment. And I was perhaps a little overly friendly with the cashier at the grocery store, because she was the only person-to-person contact I'd had since 8:30am this morning.
(You know, like many people who write for a living, I harbour a not-so-secret fantasy about writing full-time from home. Preferably witty novels that get optioned into Hollywood screenplays that all the young starlets fight over. How I would manage being alone all day every day with only my cat for company is beyond me. Particularly since my cat requires a lot of attention and isn't all that good at giving me the attention I need and deserve.)
(Maybe I shouldn't have children...)
Back at home, post-dinner, waiting for the butter to soften so I can fulfill my cookie baking and eating needs, I hear the key in the lock. It's the boyfriend!! He's home to drop his stuff off and brush his teeth before his outing, so I only get about 20 minutes tops. I am filled with glee and proceed to dance around the apartment like a maniac, releasing all my pent-up energy. He smiles nervously and runs away....I mean leaves...to see the movie.
I'm pretty sure I was one of those yappy lap-dogs in another life.
(I know a gym visit would have helped with all the energy, but the January blahs have easily transitioned into the February blahs, making excessive, organized motion nearly impossible.)
The good news of the day is that I made a nice big loan payment. Such a great feeling. Although a little less great when I noticed that my interest charge was added to my account. Interest sucks. But it could be worse. My loan could be with someone named Big Moe and my interest payments could involve broken arms and black eyes.
Money spent on a few groceries, including baking supplies.
Total debt: $10,000 and a bit more than a half (Soon it will be only four digits instead of five!)
Spent today: $12
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