And the weekly update on how I'm fairing on the guitar...

The lesson last night was a bit disjointed. My instructor tried to get me to play the opening part of "Wanted Dead or Alive" with the CD and Richie Sambora kicked my ass. I got the first chord and the last chord. The rest got lost in translation! *sigh* So...I've set a lofty goal for myself this week. And that is to be able to play the part along with Richie Sambora by next week. This is no easy task as those opening notes come fast.

I also need to purchase a book at some point that my teacher recommends because it will let me sight read and he really wants to get me started on that. Of course...that means $$$ that I currently don't have. My $1.79 in my checking account won't cover any of that.

Got a doctors appointment this morning. I'll be leaving in about 10 minutes to go to that. Gotta update the insurance and fill out a form. The appointment never takes long though. Then it's back to the grind for the rest of the day.

ladystarblade is setting up a schedule for how we can work everything we need to into the day. I'm going to be changing that around for me come August as I'll be back in class (*insert sigh here*), but this will be good to at least get going on. Once you do it and keep doing it...it becomes habit. Sort of like our yoga in the morning.

Aside from that...I'm just trying to make it through these days without going headfirst into the desk. I don't know why I've been so tired, but geeze!! I have been.

I went to my lesson early last night because I had to be at the theater. Thankfully, my instructor still had an open slot he could fit me into. Whew. I would have been mad if I missed my lesson, because 1) it's paid for 2) I had to pay for the following month 3) I am frustrated but still loving the learning process.

Walked in yesterday and the first thing he asked was how my practicing was coming along. I started to laugh. Literally. And then told him that will be possible after my summer class ends in mid-June. Ugh.

But the lesson went well. I started to play along with the Nickelback CD on "Rockstar." Still have a long way to go, but he told me the way around the elusive F (which I'm to still practice...but for these purposes...), which requires playing a power chord. Very awesome. Much easier. YAY!

So...that's now coming along better. I need to work on it some tonight. Once I get everything else I need to accomplish done. Oy!

So, not bad at all. I still want an electric guitar. I hate tuition and my car for this reason.

Before I even got my statement in the mail...I have paid off my credit card! It actually had accrued quite a bit of use last month. With all the crap that went down...I went and purchased a guitar and accessories (stand, picks, strap, strap hook) as well as put the hotel we stayed at in Cleveland on there.

And it's all paid off!! The paper statement should be arriving any day now. And I can just mark it as paid! This makes me happy!

This was, of course, possible, because my pay check did in fact go through (miracle of miracles) and I received my economic stimulus for the full amount I should have. HAPPY!!

I need this because at 9:30 I have a meeting with my boss.

So, I enjoy the happiness now!

I've been pretty "meh" this weekend. I really don't feel as though I should complain...but I didn't get to really accomplish anything.

--I practiced my guitar for maybe 10 minutes all weekend. Will I know "Wild Thing" by Wednesday? Not when I have class on Monday and Tuesday. *sigh*

--I didn't read any of the 300 pages that I had in my book for class. This...is not good. Class is at 5:45 tomorrow night...and I bet Miss K will be in my office tomorrow.

--I didn't get to do my photo shoot. And this was something I've been looking forward to. Yesterday was shot. I mean, the entire day was shot. And today was cold and rainy outside which meant...no photo shoot. And this just puts me in a blah mood. As does the weather.

--I wanted to clean my room. I accomplished cleaning off the coffee table (but only because Maureen was over and she fixed the loose leg) and I did some culling of my greeting cards and letters that I've saved since, oh, 1994. Yeah, that took all day.

--I wanted to clean the apartment. I wasn't home long enough to even start on that.

--I wanted to draw. I mean, get out the sketch pad and draw. I didn't. But I did manage to create some LJ icons for ladystarblade...that she likes and will use. Well, two of them. One is already in use. The other has yet to be uploaded...but she likes it.

--I feel like an underachiever. As in what I've done in life thus far. Weird. I think it has to do with not owning slips of paper that document my successes. My memory is all I have to serve that purpose.

--San Francisco is going to be my big trip this year. I say this only because it's going to cost me everything I have to get out there. And, unfortunately, the trip falls at the same time my car payment is due, my college tuition needs to be paid, Dragon*Con needs to be attended (and paid for!), and my September birthday month of doom begins. It's going to be fun...as soon as all the logistics get worked out and I stop freaking out about the money situation. Come on economic stimulus check.

--My individual meeting is on Wednesday with JJW. I intend to voice my thoughts on the way I was treated last week. Because I'm still pissed off about it.

--I'm wondering if my job will be of any use in the near future. Special Events is being taken away from Alumni Affairs...and does the director of Alumni Affairs really need an assistant when Special Events are no longer involved? Things that make you go hmmmm...

--Laundry was pretty much the only thing on my list that needed to be done this weekend that I actually accomplished. That and baking banana bread.

Much sadness.

But tomorrow starts another week. Hopefully one that isn't as full of suckage.

I've blogged about this...sort of...before, but after today's trip to the grocery store, I felt the need to blog about it again.

FOOD PRICES!

WTF??!!

This is what ladystarblade and I bought this week during our grocery shopping:



24 pack of toilet paper
English muffins
Eazy Mac (4 pack)
Oyster crackers
Box of 100 calorie packs of Doritos
1 gallon water
1 gallon milk
Pack of AAA batteries
1 pack Ranch dressing
1 pack shredded cheddar cheese
1 pack shredded mozzarella cheeze
1 12 pack Diet Mt. Dew
Another item that we had to purchase...very necessary...is a gift...cannot say...

And this came to just about $45.00

You know...for $40.00, we used to be able to fill the cart. I mean, seriously fill the cart. And for $45, we are able to get 13 items. Does anyone else see something wrong with this?!

And this is the worst part...this is stuff that we needed for this week. We pretty much have what we can do for food this week in the cabinets and freezers. This was for lunches, snacks, and the usual items that we get every week. So...um...what the fuck gives?

I'm sorry, but this is beyond ridiculous. Granted, I told ladystarblade I might just cry again, I didn't. Because while the bills keep rolling in, and my bank account dwindles, the fact that we could buy so LITTLE food for what we'd normally spend and fill a cart pissed me off rather than upset me this time.

And this is at Wal-Mart!! God forbid if we had done our grocery shopping at Kroger! We'd have 6 items at most, I bet.

And why is it like this? Because as gas prices rise, so does everything else. Thank you inflation!! Thank you for making my paycheck so much harder to hold onto. I keep saying I need to save, I need to save. How the hell am I supposed to save when I can only get 13 items from Wal-Mart for grocery shopping?!

I just don't know how in the world the people in America are going to get through this recession. Because we have to go to work, and we have to go certain places...and we can't afford the gas, and we can't afford the items at places like grocery stores...so how are we going to climb out? Food prices rise as vegetable plants are wiped out by storms, heat, etc. Bread prices have skyrocketed because of the cost of wheat rising. Milk...Milk was $3.58/gal at Wal-Mart!!! That's almost double what we're used to spending on milk!

This is a time when companies aren't giving raises (they can't afford to), and paychecks are staying the same while the cost of living is rising. But the government insists that we're not in a recession...and we're not heading toward another depression.

I beg to differ.

*sigh*

And is there an end in sight for any of this? Nope. There isn't. And I doubt prices will drop anytime soon. Gas prices steadily climb each week. Everything else follows suit.

We've given up driving over to Louisville for things because we can't afford to use up the gas. Do you realize that Louisville is a simple drive over a bridge? Yet, we can't afford it.

And it sucks. And it won't get any better. So we have to learn how to deal with it...

Without putting ourselves into debt.

Wish us luck.

Well...I did it.

I purchased a guitar today. I went with the Johnson JD-16 Carolina Series acoustic guitar. It's absolutely beautiful. All that's left that I need to purchase is the tuner. I got the strap...which I LOVE, the picks, the stand, and the extender piece for the strap since this acoustic doesn't have a second peg for the strap.

Could I afford this?

Not really.

But I sure as hell wanted it. And I'll be taking lessons this summer.

I can't wait.

Happy things today. Happy things. Because it was the end of a bad week.

Yes...I'm very happy this week is over.

Even better...I have only two articles to work on. Nothing more. I finished my research paper. I'm done with my readings for the weekend. I can really just try to enjoy it for once. And that's a very, very nice thing.

We have some plans for tonight. Going out to eat. Grocery shopping. Tomorrow, there's a bit of stuff that we need to accomplish around the house. And around the apartment too. But nothing that is really demanding a lot of time. Which is nice...because that's something I haven't had a lot of lately.

What I REALLY wanted to do this weekend was a photoshoot. However, with all the rain that we've been getting the ground is going to be muddy and not good for what I had in mind. So the camera stays tucked away once again. *sigh*

Perhaps for the best, however.

Other than that, today I went to an interview for a paid study here on campus. That was interesting. Other than that...just trekking through. Got a lot of things going on. Especially on Monday...and only ladystarblade knows why. Ugh. Not happy about that one...but what can you do? Just what the big boss says!

Oh rain...rain...please...go away. We're due for a nice warm Sunday.

Oh...and it's PAY DAY! WOOT!!

And before I go...

Swiped from ladystarblade



"Izzo (H.O.V.A)" - Jay Z
"Hollaback Girl" - Gwen Stefani
"Hey Ya" - Outkast
"Girls Just Want To Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
"Dance, Dance" - Fall Out Boy
It's so weird that you can spell "party" without "f-u-n" since that's what parties are FOR, uhduh. That's why you favor party anthems that announce to all in attendance: "Hi, we're here to have good times. Let's GET ON THAT!"

I just realized as I was flipping through old entries of my LJ, that back on January 2, 2007, I was complaing about gas being raised to $2.37/gal. OMG...how I'd love to see $2.37/gal again!

Eating my words this year, eh? As gas sits at $3.15/gal.

I just knew that today when I logged online to pay my tuition that my bill wouldn't have been compensated for me being employed at the college. This now means I have to figure out who I need to talk to in regards to this and will probably end up calling Bloomington. I just...I KNEW IT!!!

Okay...so, usually if my boss is late...she calls. And I haven't heard a word from her yet. That's odd for her.

And...as of this morning, I went to purchase my books for classes this fall. My history class has 5 books. The bookstore only had 1 in stock. *sigh* And I got my book for my Journalism senior seminar. Two books. $129.06. OUCH! And my discount on tuition STILL hasn't gone through. I think I'm calling accounting this morning.

And...I swiped this from ladystarblade

Your New Year's Resolutions

1) Get a pet pit bull 2) Eat more chocolate syrup 3) Travel to Italy 4) Study cannibal cultures 5) Get in shape with dodgeball

Heee...number 3 happens in 2009. Yes...oh yes, it does!

ETA: Apparently I forgot to open my e-mail this morning. My boss has no voice and may not be in today.

ETA 2: Went and spoke with someone regarding tuition, and they insist that it will go through by Friday at the latest. *sigh* I hope so. That's when I have to pay the bill.

Well, I got my e-bill for my semester in the spring. YIPES. It's $1645.65 for three classes. So...with much luck, the form I filled out to get compensated for being an employee will knock that down a bit. I can hope. And for some reason, my scholarship isn't hitting until mid-January. WTF? That doesn't help me when my bill is due on January 4. GRRR.

As for work today...I got a ton of stuff done. Been working on thank you notes for the Medallion Dinner. Since the event was a month ago, we figured it'd be good to get those out.

Aside from that, tomorrow is Yuletide in Indy. WOOHOO!! That's always a good time. Leaving from work a little after 2:00. Not sure when we'll make it home. But...yay.

And, apparently I have something coming UPS...so it's being delivered to ladystarblade's office. Don't know what it is. I don't think I ordered anything that I haven't already received. Interesting.

No grades posted yet on my final exams. *sigh*

And the reason is that...

1.) I'm tired.

2.) I thought I was actually getting ahead on school work, but my assignmnet due on MONDAY is in my school e-mail and as of last night, I haven't been able to access it from my laptop. This IS A PROBLEM!!! I can't do my assignment, which I think is a website, but I'm not sure, until I have access to my e-mail. And it's pissing me off.

3.) I have a huge project due in a week I haven't even started.

4.) Bills are piling up. Money an issue.

5.) The holidays. Affording the holidays. Affording the holidays and the bills that are piling up.

6.) Not knowing what to get ANYONE for the holidays as far as gifts.

7.) I'm hungry. And I'm still tired.

*sigh*

I'll go whine somewhere else now.

Are you aware that a lot of retail stores are already holding their holiday hours? It's...JUST NOVEMBER!! Granted, I know that kicks in around Thanksgiving, but they still have a few weeks.

And this, my friends, is why I got out of retail.

But the best part is...I've started my Christmas shopping.

I have my dad completely done. My eldest nephew done. And I've started in on ladystarblade. She's easy to shop for...except most of what she wants is...well, only available online. Go figure. So, I'm doing the stuff that I need to be sure gets here on time and I'm working out the details of the rest.

But...I realized just how many people I have to buy for.

Dad
Mom
Brother
Sister-in-Law
Nephew
Niece
Sister
Brother-in-Law
Nephew
Mom2
ladystarblade (1/3 done)
congoddess
lost_judi
Stacey
Sandy

ACK!! No wonder I go broke this time of year. LOL!! Actually, I think that's common everywhere. But, still.

And to top it off, I got my car insurance bill in the mail today. Yeah...it's over $900. Yeah. Ouch. AND...I'll have to pay for my next semester of college in December too. Yeah. Double Ouch!

Another holiday season...another paycheck bites the dust.

Okay, so I spent a majority of yesterday keeping myself busy. Time flew!

Work went by fast. I was doing writing, and getting my stuff done. The offices are quiet because most of the marketing team is on a retreat. They'll be back on Monday.

But, I left work at 3:45 p.m. to go to the BMV. Got there. And was out of there in no time. I thought that would take longer. But Steve (my car, for those of you who haven't been following along) is now properly licensed. Sort of. It's actually in my back seat. I'll put it on the car this weekend. But, woohoo! And only ran me $72.00. Not bad. But I'll get hit with the big bill this February.

Then went home and put in a call for maintainance to fix the lock on the door...again. They did. WOOHOO. Made spaghetti for supper. SO good. Had been craving pasta like there was no tomorrow. I ate it all too, which is a rare thing for me because I always put way too much on my plate. And I ate my breadsticks too...which never happens. With all the snacking I did during the day, I'm surprised. LOL!! But it was SO good.

Then the multitasking fun came in. I was busy working on study cards for the upcoming Political Science test. And I was writing at the same time. And doing a damn good job of keeping up. My fingers started to hurt from all the writing I was doing. I mean, honestly, I understand that there were a lot of landmark Supreme Court cases...but choose a few and test us on those. I don't know how I'll ever keep them straight. But, I got it all done by about 11:00 p.m. last night. Very proud of myself. And also started in on reading the required Barak Obama book "Dreams from My Father" for my Political Science class too. Great book. Easy read. I'm already over 100 pages in.

Now, I'm sitting in the office waiting on my boss to arrive. We have to get to work on the alumni magazine. It was supposed to be done a month ago, but things got crazy. And from the sounds of it, and what we discussed at the staff meeting on Wednesday...it's only going to get crazier.

Welcome to my life...

Today marks the 1 month mark of the Ireland trip in June with The Bards. I'm so not ready. I need to start putting together the list of stuff I need to remember to pack. And I need to get to the bank and find out about currency exchange. I don't think National City does that. Hmmm...I may call and ask.

Looks like my attorney was busy this weekend. And I'm on out of county court runs today. Meh. Best get started. More later.