Things have improved at work pretty substantially: I think the some of the boys were right ashamed with themselves and the project as a whole has moved on. So far we have had a four day week, a three day week, and can expect a four day week to start off 2012.
I'm enjoying the light load. Monday Darling and I had a great belated Christmas dinner with friends and it was a little bizarre having to pull ourselves away by nine that evening! Weeks ago, we were staying up with the same friends until three or four in the morning. Even though we were in bed by ten that night I was completely knackered at work on Tuesday. It didn't help that Raja and Xy were having a moving-truck-packing party that evening. After eight hours of lifting and moving heavy things I drove to their house and moved heavy things for another four hours. I had to leave before they were totally finished, exhausted and desperate for bed, and it wasn't a good way to say goodbye. They left town before I got out of work the next day.
Wednesday I came home from work and went straight to sleep, so today I felt great! We're kind of knocking out the work faster than they can print out the checks, so for two weeks now my crew worked half days and got paid in full. Which is nice besides the fact that we are working ourselves out of our jobs :) I came home and sort of stared at the stove for a few minutes - yesterday I had just enough energy to make a stir-fry veggie satay before crashing - but ended up crawling back into bed for another four-hour nap instead!
Now I have The Weekend, the last weekend of the year, a decent amount of money, friends to celebrate it with, and no concrete plans. The only flaw on the horizon (besides, perhaps, the sad imaginary specter of Raja and Xy's moving van trundling into the icy distance) is that we still don't know Darling's exact start-date for his next job. But we have four days to figure that out, and a weekend to spend together in the meantime. Who could ask for more?
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Merry Christmas
I've never been a big Christmas spender, primarily because Darling and I never seem to have "extra" around the holidays. This was especially true last year when the restaurant I worked out shut down for the last two weeks of the year, putting a choke-hold on our already tight budget. That was about the same time Darling left his job and had an $800 dental procedure...Some years, the holidays just sort of happen around us.
This year, though, something came over me. It started with the tree debate we have every year, and for the second time Darling and I went down to the lot and brought home a "real" tree. We decked it with the plentiful lights we happen to own from our last holiday splurge (2008?). What's a tree without presents? Out with Raja I saw the perfect gifts for Oblio and Baby-O, a sweet book for my niece in Ohio...and from there on out we spent at will. Eggnog, and a bottle of rum to go with it. A bottle of brandy to make amazingly delicious vegetarian mincemeat pies, a bottle of amaretto for a cheesecake recipe. Two tofurkeys, vegetarian marshmallows for hot chocolate, my beloved seasonal teas. Gifts for Mom, Dad, Stepmom, brothers and sisters, friends and housemates purchased at local shops and the Armadillo Bazaar...I stocked up on Darling's favorite English treats (Jaffa cakes, Ribena, and Hobnobs) and picked up my Mom's fresh Turkish Delight at the Phoenicia Deli.
Darling and I spent the weekend wrapping gifts, sipping Nog, watching our favorite winter films, visiting the massive "tree of lights" at Zilker park, baking and cooking. I cut out Texas-themed sugar cookies and topped them with home-made butter-cream frosting, baked chewy gingerbread men, stewed apples and dried fruit to make the individual mincemeat pies, chopped carrots and onions and potatoes to roast and brewed endless pots of tea. My Mom borrowed our kitchen to bake her sweet potato pudding and produce her "sugar plums:" balls of ground dried dates, apricots, cherries, and sultanas glittery with a dusting of sugar. Darling soaked tvp and mashed potatoes for his cottage pie.
It was all very lovely and also fairly pricey, not to mention very concentrated so far as the season goes: the bulk of the spending, baking, and general merriment occurred in the span of a few days. Obviously, there were better ways I could have gone about the business of celebration: I could have been making gifts all year, or at least buying presents for months instead of days. But I didn't, and I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out. Despite shopping two days before Christmas, there were no crowds or frantic masses in the little local shops. The folks at the craft fair were marking down their wares, and everything was very carefully chosen for each individual.
Despite our spending spree, we're all set for the New Year. January rent was paid weeks ago, so our next big expense should stem from figuring out Darling's commute situation. He should be starting a week from now, and no one is responding to his calls for a carpool. Our worse-case scenario plan is to set him up in a sort of extended stay hotel in the hopes that he'll have better luck talking to people about sharing rides face-to-face.
This year, though, something came over me. It started with the tree debate we have every year, and for the second time Darling and I went down to the lot and brought home a "real" tree. We decked it with the plentiful lights we happen to own from our last holiday splurge (2008?). What's a tree without presents? Out with Raja I saw the perfect gifts for Oblio and Baby-O, a sweet book for my niece in Ohio...and from there on out we spent at will. Eggnog, and a bottle of rum to go with it. A bottle of brandy to make amazingly delicious vegetarian mincemeat pies, a bottle of amaretto for a cheesecake recipe. Two tofurkeys, vegetarian marshmallows for hot chocolate, my beloved seasonal teas. Gifts for Mom, Dad, Stepmom, brothers and sisters, friends and housemates purchased at local shops and the Armadillo Bazaar...I stocked up on Darling's favorite English treats (Jaffa cakes, Ribena, and Hobnobs) and picked up my Mom's fresh Turkish Delight at the Phoenicia Deli.
Darling and I spent the weekend wrapping gifts, sipping Nog, watching our favorite winter films, visiting the massive "tree of lights" at Zilker park, baking and cooking. I cut out Texas-themed sugar cookies and topped them with home-made butter-cream frosting, baked chewy gingerbread men, stewed apples and dried fruit to make the individual mincemeat pies, chopped carrots and onions and potatoes to roast and brewed endless pots of tea. My Mom borrowed our kitchen to bake her sweet potato pudding and produce her "sugar plums:" balls of ground dried dates, apricots, cherries, and sultanas glittery with a dusting of sugar. Darling soaked tvp and mashed potatoes for his cottage pie.
It was all very lovely and also fairly pricey, not to mention very concentrated so far as the season goes: the bulk of the spending, baking, and general merriment occurred in the span of a few days. Obviously, there were better ways I could have gone about the business of celebration: I could have been making gifts all year, or at least buying presents for months instead of days. But I didn't, and I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out. Despite shopping two days before Christmas, there were no crowds or frantic masses in the little local shops. The folks at the craft fair were marking down their wares, and everything was very carefully chosen for each individual.
Despite our spending spree, we're all set for the New Year. January rent was paid weeks ago, so our next big expense should stem from figuring out Darling's commute situation. He should be starting a week from now, and no one is responding to his calls for a carpool. Our worse-case scenario plan is to set him up in a sort of extended stay hotel in the hopes that he'll have better luck talking to people about sharing rides face-to-face.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
A Traditional Construction Workplace, and then also The Holidays
On Monday I started back at the plant, and the atmosphere has been totally different.
My first day seems to have totally set the tone: the night before, I had nightmares about sleeping in, running out of gas, driving the truck into a river, or otherwise not getting to work on time. I woke up every hour, on the hour, lurched across the room, and cursed my alarm clock. It was a relief to finally get dressed at 4:30 in the morning.
The trip to work was perfectly smooth. I arrived early, as usual, but found a completely deserted employee area. Besides a bored security guard on the verge of a nap at the entry point, there was NO ONE. Before, there were dozens of workers of all trades sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes as they waited to start their shifts. It was very eerie waiting twenty minutes before any of my coworkers arrived.
Whereas before I was one of about twenty carpenters, nine of which were apprentices, and one of whom was another woman, this time I was one of nine carpenters, three of whom were apprentices, and the only woman. Filling in the gaps were non-union laborers whom I'd never known, and whom I later learned had been instructed by their ex-union boss to pretend not to speak English (no joke).
The project itself is smaller and more specific and, in some ways, more concentrated on the hard-labor front. I can handle the work fairly easy, so the problem is not that I am weak.. The problem is my strength apparently makes the other (male) workers look bad. By day two the non-union guys were blatantly blocking my way to lift not-so-heavy loads. Which made me angry at everyone. My regular coworkers, for whom I have quite a bit of affection, took the side of their gender rather than backing up their union SISTER. "It's not that you're a girl," one of them said to me, "it's that the guys look bad if you're doing their work." Um, hi, this is a union job, mofo. Why are you concerned about rat labor looking bad?!
For the record, I did stand up for myself, both to my fellow workers and the management, and intend to continue doing so. I'm neither bothered nor surprised by the sexism, per say, but the all-round betrayal by guys who, until now, have been so supportive of me. Also? I hate workplace politics and can't stand the fact that it's followed me into construction.
After work one day, though, my boss gave me a turkey, which was really sweet. He asked me if I needed him to carry it to my car, which was the WRONG thing to do at that point, but it was still very thoughtful. My step-mom was psyched to have the main entree at her Christmas dinner provided.
Fortunately, Thursday night I had class and my fellow apprentices let me vent a little. Four of us went out for a beer and it felt good, very secure and comfortable and easy.
In other news, Darling and I are really enjoying the season. We purchased and decorated a living tree and bought lots of presents for friends and family. We've gone through three quarts of eggnog and watched our favorite winter films: In Bruges and A Christmas Story. I'm going to make mince pies and sugar cookies today and hang out with family this evening and tomorrow. Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!
My first day seems to have totally set the tone: the night before, I had nightmares about sleeping in, running out of gas, driving the truck into a river, or otherwise not getting to work on time. I woke up every hour, on the hour, lurched across the room, and cursed my alarm clock. It was a relief to finally get dressed at 4:30 in the morning.
The trip to work was perfectly smooth. I arrived early, as usual, but found a completely deserted employee area. Besides a bored security guard on the verge of a nap at the entry point, there was NO ONE. Before, there were dozens of workers of all trades sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes as they waited to start their shifts. It was very eerie waiting twenty minutes before any of my coworkers arrived.
Whereas before I was one of about twenty carpenters, nine of which were apprentices, and one of whom was another woman, this time I was one of nine carpenters, three of whom were apprentices, and the only woman. Filling in the gaps were non-union laborers whom I'd never known, and whom I later learned had been instructed by their ex-union boss to pretend not to speak English (no joke).
The project itself is smaller and more specific and, in some ways, more concentrated on the hard-labor front. I can handle the work fairly easy, so the problem is not that I am weak.. The problem is my strength apparently makes the other (male) workers look bad. By day two the non-union guys were blatantly blocking my way to lift not-so-heavy loads. Which made me angry at everyone. My regular coworkers, for whom I have quite a bit of affection, took the side of their gender rather than backing up their union SISTER. "It's not that you're a girl," one of them said to me, "it's that the guys look bad if you're doing their work." Um, hi, this is a union job, mofo. Why are you concerned about rat labor looking bad?!
For the record, I did stand up for myself, both to my fellow workers and the management, and intend to continue doing so. I'm neither bothered nor surprised by the sexism, per say, but the all-round betrayal by guys who, until now, have been so supportive of me. Also? I hate workplace politics and can't stand the fact that it's followed me into construction.
After work one day, though, my boss gave me a turkey, which was really sweet. He asked me if I needed him to carry it to my car, which was the WRONG thing to do at that point, but it was still very thoughtful. My step-mom was psyched to have the main entree at her Christmas dinner provided.
Fortunately, Thursday night I had class and my fellow apprentices let me vent a little. Four of us went out for a beer and it felt good, very secure and comfortable and easy.
In other news, Darling and I are really enjoying the season. We purchased and decorated a living tree and bought lots of presents for friends and family. We've gone through three quarts of eggnog and watched our favorite winter films: In Bruges and A Christmas Story. I'm going to make mince pies and sugar cookies today and hang out with family this evening and tomorrow. Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!
In 2011 I...
* Tracked my income, spending, hours worked, and Real Hourly Wage every month
* Started the year working at a cafe (earning roughly $600 a month), a coffee shop ($600/month), and cleaning two houses ($270/month)
* Saw my Godson the very night he was born (waiting, somewhat awkwardly, with his family in the waiting room for hours)
* Rode my bike 15 miles to see him again the next day
* Came out of the blogger closet and axed my pseudonym "Tread"
* Discovered, and disputed, a number of black marks on my credit history resulting from my student loans being sold every couple of years (never got a satisfactory response about that)
* Made a go at getting a cell phone, again, and totally regretted it, again.
* Had my first and second fender bender, one of which was my fault
* Quit cleaning one of the houses
* Quit the coffee shop job
* Rode out of Austin on accident, Rode nearly 30 miles across two towns for my birthday, and in fact rode my bike every day for 100 days
* Learned a little about meditation
* Put up shelves in my room
* Baby-sat my Godson every week
* Replaced a part in our washing machine
* Oversaw the purchase of a refrigerator
* Was offered my dream job at a cooperative pub and brewery
* Was forced to spend hours commuting every week to reach my dream job
* Did the co-op shopping via taxi cab, and loved it
* Grew incredibly agitated with the oppression at my "dream" job: endless meetings, politics, dozens of folks in charge who had almost no food services experience...
* Quit that job before finding another
* Lost my sense of taste for a day
* Said goodbye to Darling as he spent six weeks out of town at his first professional solar installation job
* Applied to the carpenter's union on a whim
* Started writing my Dad's life story
* Scrubbed down my stepmother's house while she was out of town
* Was accepted into the union and started taking metal stud framing classes
* Borrowed Mom's truck to get to potential jobs
* Lost my cleaning job, and found myself totally and absolutely unemployed - aside from Darling's support
* Got my first construction job
* Received OSHA 10 certification
* Spent a few days at Occupy Austin
* Survived three lay-offs in one week
* Was laid-off for the first time ever and received unemployment benefits for four weeks
* Went back to work for the same company
* Darling successfully completed his second solar job and was offered his third
* Set up my first work- trade: mixing concrete in exchange for a compound miter saw
* Had an $80 extraction and $400 root canal
* Started the year working at a cafe (earning roughly $600 a month), a coffee shop ($600/month), and cleaning two houses ($270/month)
* Saw my Godson the very night he was born (waiting, somewhat awkwardly, with his family in the waiting room for hours)
* Rode my bike 15 miles to see him again the next day
* Came out of the blogger closet and axed my pseudonym "Tread"
* Discovered, and disputed, a number of black marks on my credit history resulting from my student loans being sold every couple of years (never got a satisfactory response about that)
* Made a go at getting a cell phone, again, and totally regretted it, again.
* Had my first and second fender bender, one of which was my fault
* Quit cleaning one of the houses
* Quit the coffee shop job
* Rode out of Austin on accident, Rode nearly 30 miles across two towns for my birthday, and in fact rode my bike every day for 100 days
* Learned a little about meditation
* Put up shelves in my room
* Baby-sat my Godson every week
* Replaced a part in our washing machine
* Oversaw the purchase of a refrigerator
* Was offered my dream job at a cooperative pub and brewery
* Was forced to spend hours commuting every week to reach my dream job
* Did the co-op shopping via taxi cab, and loved it
* Grew incredibly agitated with the oppression at my "dream" job: endless meetings, politics, dozens of folks in charge who had almost no food services experience...
* Quit that job before finding another
* Lost my sense of taste for a day
* Said goodbye to Darling as he spent six weeks out of town at his first professional solar installation job
* Applied to the carpenter's union on a whim
* Started writing my Dad's life story
* Scrubbed down my stepmother's house while she was out of town
* Was accepted into the union and started taking metal stud framing classes
* Borrowed Mom's truck to get to potential jobs
* Lost my cleaning job, and found myself totally and absolutely unemployed - aside from Darling's support
* Got my first construction job
* Received OSHA 10 certification
* Spent a few days at Occupy Austin
* Survived three lay-offs in one week
* Was laid-off for the first time ever and received unemployment benefits for four weeks
* Went back to work for the same company
* Darling successfully completed his second solar job and was offered his third
* Set up my first work- trade: mixing concrete in exchange for a compound miter saw
* Had an $80 extraction and $400 root canal
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Health and Employment Update
Health Update: Thanks for all the supportive comments and advice on my previous post. I also wrote a sort of ranty-crazy-woman e-mail to Aldra, which also helped a lot. I had another appointment with another practitioner today, for which I was super excited. When making the appointment, the administrator was telling me they would perform a number of tests, including the actual ultrasound needed to confirm the PCOS diagnosis. But at the actual appointment, the actual practitioner basically blew me off. Maybe it was a mistake that I noted on my paperwork that another doctor had diagnosed PCOS, and that I was looking for a second opinion, because this one straight up said, "you don't need a second opinion. PCOS is so vague a diagnosis that it basically encompasses anything that might be wrong with you." She stopped just short of telling me that any examination of me would be a waste of her time. She kept saying that there wasn't anything she could do for PCOS, and I kept saying that I wasn't asking her for a cure, just a diagnostic tactic besides looking at me - particularly since I lack the physical symptoms (abnormal hair growth and excess weight). I even pointed out that there was an ultrasound machine right bloody next to me, and that's all I wanted, some visual confirmation since I lack EVERY OTHER SYMPTOM of this disorder besides not ovulating. She refused, but gave me a list of gynecologists that might give a damn.
On the plus side, they didn't try to charge me for the visit. I also feel a million times better about the doctor I went to last week, who actually listened a number of options and tactics I could take in dealing with my problem. I finally filled the prescription she gave me and am pleased that she'll take the next steps with me in April (more on that in May, I guess).
In the meantime, this is my eighth day without coffee, as well as its companion white sugar. I did bake one batch of cookies and enjoyed a couple with friends on Saturday, and I take a little honey in my Early Grey. I don't think of it as dieting and don't feel all that restricted, probably because my house is full of so many whole foods that there's always plenty of good food for me to eat. I also sort of plan my next "treat:" tomorrow, I drive Darling to San Marcos for a work meeting at a nice little cafe, and my intention is to have a cup of coffee while waiting. Saturday will probably be my weekly baking day because my weekend is very social. I'm not saying goodby to the things I love forever and ever, I just need some time apart :)
Also, how cool is it that I am able to go to a doctor?! And my dental health is imminent. And we paid January rent today! We didn't simply put the money aside, but wrote the check and sent it to the bank. So, really, I have a whole lot to be grateful this holiday season.
Which brings me to the Employment Update: I'm going back to work next Monday! I was called back by the company I worked with in October/November, and this job should last until April. Which means Darling and I will both be earning a steady income in the first quarter of 2012, I will get the hours to qualify for my raise in March, and I will soon qualify for the union health insurance policy. See those ducks all lining up in a row? How pretty is that?
I also discussed with Darling our potential to throw a LOT of money at debt, and he is all for paying at least $1500 a month. This is not something we are taking casually - after all, putting a good deal of money in savings would also be nice, maybe taking a holiday, or something of the sort, but none of this would be as amazingly exhilarating as paying off our debt, and I think that is what will happen. My tentative goal is to be debt free by April, but that would actually cost us $1800 a month. But...if we managed to get our respective carpools set up...
If everything worked perfectly, April could be THE month for us: debt free, totally healthy, car-free, and in charge. Maybe I should find a Santa to sit on...
Hope everyone else is having a productive week-before-Christmas!
On the plus side, they didn't try to charge me for the visit. I also feel a million times better about the doctor I went to last week, who actually listened a number of options and tactics I could take in dealing with my problem. I finally filled the prescription she gave me and am pleased that she'll take the next steps with me in April (more on that in May, I guess).
In the meantime, this is my eighth day without coffee, as well as its companion white sugar. I did bake one batch of cookies and enjoyed a couple with friends on Saturday, and I take a little honey in my Early Grey. I don't think of it as dieting and don't feel all that restricted, probably because my house is full of so many whole foods that there's always plenty of good food for me to eat. I also sort of plan my next "treat:" tomorrow, I drive Darling to San Marcos for a work meeting at a nice little cafe, and my intention is to have a cup of coffee while waiting. Saturday will probably be my weekly baking day because my weekend is very social. I'm not saying goodby to the things I love forever and ever, I just need some time apart :)
Also, how cool is it that I am able to go to a doctor?! And my dental health is imminent. And we paid January rent today! We didn't simply put the money aside, but wrote the check and sent it to the bank. So, really, I have a whole lot to be grateful this holiday season.
Which brings me to the Employment Update: I'm going back to work next Monday! I was called back by the company I worked with in October/November, and this job should last until April. Which means Darling and I will both be earning a steady income in the first quarter of 2012, I will get the hours to qualify for my raise in March, and I will soon qualify for the union health insurance policy. See those ducks all lining up in a row? How pretty is that?
I also discussed with Darling our potential to throw a LOT of money at debt, and he is all for paying at least $1500 a month. This is not something we are taking casually - after all, putting a good deal of money in savings would also be nice, maybe taking a holiday, or something of the sort, but none of this would be as amazingly exhilarating as paying off our debt, and I think that is what will happen. My tentative goal is to be debt free by April, but that would actually cost us $1800 a month. But...if we managed to get our respective carpools set up...
If everything worked perfectly, April could be THE month for us: debt free, totally healthy, car-free, and in charge. Maybe I should find a Santa to sit on...
Hope everyone else is having a productive week-before-Christmas!
Friday, December 9, 2011
PCOS And My Fascist Regime
Monday I went to a doctor to ask about a chronic issue I've had since "becoming a woman."
The tentative diagnosis was PCOS. It's tentative not only because without relatively expensive blood-work we can't be sure, but because I had some of that blood-work done earlier this year to no effect. Basically, if I have PCOS it's so mild and well-managed that I only have the one symptom of any worry to me. Not that I would love some excess body hair, but it's not the worse thing in the world.
Anyway, I'll be having comprehensive blood-work done in the next couple of weeks to be sure, but I'm already working on my eating habits. Since PCOS is ultimately a matter of insulin resistance, I decided to give up sugar (or the white death, as Darling has recently started calling it). For me, giving up sugar ultimately means giving up coffee. At least three cups of coffee a day, to be honest. So I've been sleepy and drinking endless mugs of hot tea.
Knowing basically nothing about the glycemic index, the first few days I made some educated guesses. No bread, white potatoes, white rice, sugar, honey, or baking. Not too big a deal. Tea with a slice of lemon instead of coffee with sugar in the morning, and experiments with grains and lentils instead of flours and yeast in the kitchen. I'm not going to be too hard on myself, but the desire to be able to have babies one day and not be medicated the rest of my life is very motivational.
Anyway, yesterday I finally googled "glycemic index chart" and was pretty horrified. First of all, many of the charts inevitably begin with a listing of "bad" foods: honey, Snickers bars, jelly beans...The first chart I saw portrayed pound cake at the top of the list, highlighted as a "low" among the baddies. Beetroot, on the other hand, is labeled "high," but there is no indication of what sort of beet and whether or not it is canned. While any of the information on these charts might be technically true, they are laid out in a deceptive fashion. One can not help but to make a mental note, "chips are only 54?," and compare that with the healthier foods, "that's a lower GI than brown rice!" A number of charts highlight empty calorie foods, presumably so people know to...what, ignore it? Avoid the highlighted foods topping the chart? Because that's human nature.
It upset me because this information is supposedly compiled to help diabetics. This is a life or death situation put in the context of a fad diet. So I'm left trying to figure out if my insulin can be controlled, if white rice and yams could be affecting my fertility, or if it's all a net to catch people bored by the Atkins diet.
If I ever happen to lead a fascist regime, one of my many proclamations (along with the ruling that all people must decorate their homes for the winter season, and that no more Christmas movies shall ever be made again ever, and in fact Hollywood as a whole shall be dismantled in its entirety, boxed up, and mailed to thousands of discreet and distant locations around the world to be buried) will be that no for-profit corporation, organization, or individual shall be allowed to ever promote anything as a weight-loss product again. Implying that any product, be it pill, exercise, lifestyle, beverage, or machine, could in any way positively affect one's weight at all will be punishable by...I don't know, you have to help old ladies put up their Christmas lights. Only medical doctors would be licensed to make any profit as a result of diagnosis regarding the correlation between health and weight, and then only on a patient-by-patient basis - no books. (Free speech is still sacred in my fascist regime, so anyone can say whatever they want, but not profit on fear and misinformation).
The tentative diagnosis was PCOS. It's tentative not only because without relatively expensive blood-work we can't be sure, but because I had some of that blood-work done earlier this year to no effect. Basically, if I have PCOS it's so mild and well-managed that I only have the one symptom of any worry to me. Not that I would love some excess body hair, but it's not the worse thing in the world.
Anyway, I'll be having comprehensive blood-work done in the next couple of weeks to be sure, but I'm already working on my eating habits. Since PCOS is ultimately a matter of insulin resistance, I decided to give up sugar (or the white death, as Darling has recently started calling it). For me, giving up sugar ultimately means giving up coffee. At least three cups of coffee a day, to be honest. So I've been sleepy and drinking endless mugs of hot tea.
Knowing basically nothing about the glycemic index, the first few days I made some educated guesses. No bread, white potatoes, white rice, sugar, honey, or baking. Not too big a deal. Tea with a slice of lemon instead of coffee with sugar in the morning, and experiments with grains and lentils instead of flours and yeast in the kitchen. I'm not going to be too hard on myself, but the desire to be able to have babies one day and not be medicated the rest of my life is very motivational.
Anyway, yesterday I finally googled "glycemic index chart" and was pretty horrified. First of all, many of the charts inevitably begin with a listing of "bad" foods: honey, Snickers bars, jelly beans...The first chart I saw portrayed pound cake at the top of the list, highlighted as a "low" among the baddies. Beetroot, on the other hand, is labeled "high," but there is no indication of what sort of beet and whether or not it is canned. While any of the information on these charts might be technically true, they are laid out in a deceptive fashion. One can not help but to make a mental note, "chips are only 54?," and compare that with the healthier foods, "that's a lower GI than brown rice!" A number of charts highlight empty calorie foods, presumably so people know to...what, ignore it? Avoid the highlighted foods topping the chart? Because that's human nature.
It upset me because this information is supposedly compiled to help diabetics. This is a life or death situation put in the context of a fad diet. So I'm left trying to figure out if my insulin can be controlled, if white rice and yams could be affecting my fertility, or if it's all a net to catch people bored by the Atkins diet.
If I ever happen to lead a fascist regime, one of my many proclamations (along with the ruling that all people must decorate their homes for the winter season, and that no more Christmas movies shall ever be made again ever, and in fact Hollywood as a whole shall be dismantled in its entirety, boxed up, and mailed to thousands of discreet and distant locations around the world to be buried) will be that no for-profit corporation, organization, or individual shall be allowed to ever promote anything as a weight-loss product again. Implying that any product, be it pill, exercise, lifestyle, beverage, or machine, could in any way positively affect one's weight at all will be punishable by...I don't know, you have to help old ladies put up their Christmas lights. Only medical doctors would be licensed to make any profit as a result of diagnosis regarding the correlation between health and weight, and then only on a patient-by-patient basis - no books. (Free speech is still sacred in my fascist regime, so anyone can say whatever they want, but not profit on fear and misinformation).
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Why I'm Not Living Within My Means
For what felt like a long, long time, Darling and I could claim to live within our means. Looking back on that golden era it seems like we did everything right: we did NOT eat out, we worked side jobs for food and debt servicing, we lived in the smallest space anyone would rent a couple, we borrowed cars to drive to the Mennonite bulk store, every single piece of furniture, and some of our food, was rescued from the garbage man...ah, to be young and wise again...Despite our pitiful income, we were able to pay off debt and save like maniacs!
Why were we doing so well with a fraction of our current income, when we can't we get it together here and now? What went wrong?
Nothing. Nothing at all.
I'm finally - FINALLY - coming to terms with the fact that although we did many things right, we were not living within our means.
Living within one's means is often defined as spending less than one earns. Without access to credit, Darling and I had not problem spending less than we earned. After paying rent and bills, there was too little to take to the store. Paying debt online was the least painful way managing the pitiful remnants of my paycheck. Over the course of a couple of years, that amount naturally increased, and we tucked it away out of habit. Which looks good on paper, but misses the finer points.
Those years of hardcore frugality Darling and I never addressed our dental or vision needs. Heck, we didn't even get haircuts for a couple of years! We were paying debt, sure, and even saving a good deal, but investing in personal care was put on a permanent back-burner.
After moving to Austin Darling and I started seeing an optometrist, which is fairly expensive. We also started playing the health insurance game. Someday I'll sit down to do the math for a precise figure, but we definitely spent several thousand dollars on health insurance that saved us, at most, a thousand bucks. But it was a necessary learning experience. In the meantime, actually getting the dental care we needed - with or without insurance - was an incredibly trying undertaking. It took four years to find someone I could trust and afford, and only in the past two years have I actually received any beneficial treatment!
The more we earn, the more capable we are to address such needs, and the more we spend on a monthly basis as we try and repair the damage of previous neglect.
The good news is that we're finally coping with these expenses with the help of neither the credit nor insurance industry. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel, and a realistic limit to our needs. Soon, very soon, Darling and I will be healthy, working, and debt free. Then we can honestly claim to live within our means.
Why were we doing so well with a fraction of our current income, when we can't we get it together here and now? What went wrong?
Nothing. Nothing at all.
I'm finally - FINALLY - coming to terms with the fact that although we did many things right, we were not living within our means.
Living within one's means is often defined as spending less than one earns. Without access to credit, Darling and I had not problem spending less than we earned. After paying rent and bills, there was too little to take to the store. Paying debt online was the least painful way managing the pitiful remnants of my paycheck. Over the course of a couple of years, that amount naturally increased, and we tucked it away out of habit. Which looks good on paper, but misses the finer points.
Those years of hardcore frugality Darling and I never addressed our dental or vision needs. Heck, we didn't even get haircuts for a couple of years! We were paying debt, sure, and even saving a good deal, but investing in personal care was put on a permanent back-burner.
After moving to Austin Darling and I started seeing an optometrist, which is fairly expensive. We also started playing the health insurance game. Someday I'll sit down to do the math for a precise figure, but we definitely spent several thousand dollars on health insurance that saved us, at most, a thousand bucks. But it was a necessary learning experience. In the meantime, actually getting the dental care we needed - with or without insurance - was an incredibly trying undertaking. It took four years to find someone I could trust and afford, and only in the past two years have I actually received any beneficial treatment!
The more we earn, the more capable we are to address such needs, and the more we spend on a monthly basis as we try and repair the damage of previous neglect.
The good news is that we're finally coping with these expenses with the help of neither the credit nor insurance industry. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel, and a realistic limit to our needs. Soon, very soon, Darling and I will be healthy, working, and debt free. Then we can honestly claim to live within our means.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
2011 Resolutions
The resolution I was most excited about this year was my decision not to get into a car. At all.
FAIL.
I drove more this year than ever before. And I hated almost every moment of it. And I had so many bad experiences behind the wheel: getting rear-ended downtown, driving into a manager at work, getting hopelessly lost driving a coworker home, being stuck in traffic for untold hours...All those benefits I thought there would be to having a truck handy? Okay, I was able to give BS rides to gigs, shop for groceries, drop donations off at St. Vincents, and get to and from family gatherings with relative ease. Was it worth it?
No. Not by a long shot.
What about getting to and from work?
Well...I don't know. I just don't know.
Speaking of things I don't know about: Veganism. My focus on this ebbed and flowed depending on what was going on in the rest of my life. I successfully snuck a vegan chocolate-peanut-butter pie to Thanksgiving dinner, found a scrambled tofu recipe I actually like, and went a few days without thinking about eggs or milk. But the mornings I woke up and headed to the plant, I honestly wanted nothing in the world besides a fried egg on buttered toast.
I DID succeed at tabulating my income and expenses every month as described in Your Money or Your Life. And I do intend to actually take the next step of this program in the next week or so. Maybe even today?
I rode my bike every day for 100 days in a row. I rode it to visit Raja and see Oblio on his first day of life, I rode in the rain and sleet, rode it all the way back to Austin from our campground north of Leander, rode home from closing the pub at night, rode to and from doctor appointments, rode along Texas highways and beautiful inner-city bike paths. It was one of the coolest things I did this year, and even if I felt 265 days short of my original goal, I still consider this a success.
So, two wins, two fails, and lots of lessons learned all around. Not bad, really. Anyone else make headway on this year's resolutions?
FAIL.
I drove more this year than ever before. And I hated almost every moment of it. And I had so many bad experiences behind the wheel: getting rear-ended downtown, driving into a manager at work, getting hopelessly lost driving a coworker home, being stuck in traffic for untold hours...All those benefits I thought there would be to having a truck handy? Okay, I was able to give BS rides to gigs, shop for groceries, drop donations off at St. Vincents, and get to and from family gatherings with relative ease. Was it worth it?
No. Not by a long shot.
What about getting to and from work?
Well...I don't know. I just don't know.
Speaking of things I don't know about: Veganism. My focus on this ebbed and flowed depending on what was going on in the rest of my life. I successfully snuck a vegan chocolate-peanut-butter pie to Thanksgiving dinner, found a scrambled tofu recipe I actually like, and went a few days without thinking about eggs or milk. But the mornings I woke up and headed to the plant, I honestly wanted nothing in the world besides a fried egg on buttered toast.
I DID succeed at tabulating my income and expenses every month as described in Your Money or Your Life. And I do intend to actually take the next step of this program in the next week or so. Maybe even today?
I rode my bike every day for 100 days in a row. I rode it to visit Raja and see Oblio on his first day of life, I rode in the rain and sleet, rode it all the way back to Austin from our campground north of Leander, rode home from closing the pub at night, rode to and from doctor appointments, rode along Texas highways and beautiful inner-city bike paths. It was one of the coolest things I did this year, and even if I felt 265 days short of my original goal, I still consider this a success.
So, two wins, two fails, and lots of lessons learned all around. Not bad, really. Anyone else make headway on this year's resolutions?
Friday, December 2, 2011
December Net Worth and Commute Discovery
Last month I totally didn't report my net worth. It was calculated, accidentally deleted, and then apparently forgotten. Oops.
Rest assured that between the $1,000 loan from my mom, mounting interest on my student loans, and earning roughly $600 in October, November's net worth wasn't pretty. December would probably look good in comparison, though it's still not impressive.
I have $2,783.80 in assets and $10,077.11 in debt, giving me a total net worth of -$7,293.80.
Having earned so much money I've been resisting the urge to make grand proclamations regarding my net worth in the coming months. It seems that Darling and I will both be working and earning more than ever. Darling's new job is especially promising, with the single glaring flaw that it is a 60+ mile drive away.
Up until yesterday the most affordable and reasonable idea I could come up with was to rent Darling a studio apartment within a half-mile from his work-site. Which is still a possibility, but I found a completely phenomenal Plan B yesterday: The CapMetro Vanpool.
If 5-12 folks need to get to and from a location at least three days a week, Austin's public transportation office will provide a van for only $60/person a month. Not only does that $60 cover gas, maintenance, insurance, and so on, but the driver is excluded from that fee. Outside the metro area, a $.61/mile fee is applied.
So if only four of Darling's coworkers in Temple are commuting from Austin - which is very likely - the total price per person would be, at most, $390 a month. The driver would pay $360.
That's a hundred dollars less than what Darling and I would pay driving the truck. For someone driving, say, a relatively new Toyota Camry, however, that's about a hundred dollars more - assuming they can find gas at the fairly cheap price of $3.00 or less, which I can't, but the internet assures me is possible. However, if 8 people join the vanpool, it will cost the passengers only $266 each ($206 for the driver), which will be a savings for anyone getting less than 31 mpg. If the maximum 12 people join the carpool, which strikes me as a reasonable expectation, riders will pay a maximum of $197.50 a month!
Again, this is an estimation. I actually think the daily price will be slightly less, and on Monday I'll talk with the capmetro office to determine more precise figures. I also think it's reasonable to expect the price of gas to increase in the next six months, and also inevitable traffic is going to decrease everyone's mpg drastically. I also came to my total cost by counting the work days in January. Most months seem to have twenty-one work days, a couple have twenty-three, which will add a little variation to monthly cost, but not savings.
Other benefits include a free monthly bus pass for each rider, normally $20, and a certain number of emergency cab vouchers to prevent members from being stranded. The driver, as well as getting the $60 discount, can also get discounts on personal car insurance discounts and other perks, such as using the van to run errands during the day. Also, there are the untold benefits of simply not needing one's car every day: no missing work due to a failed transmission, flat tire, empty gas tank, or the other inevitable results of driving 18,000 miles in six months.
Frankly, I can't believe Darling's future co-workers wouldn't jump at this opportunity! If so, we'll save SO much money!
What's more is that my coworkers could do the same thing, and since we won't be leaving Austin it will only cost us $60/month total! If Darling is Vanpooling to Temple and I vanpool to the plant, our travel costs will be $450 for the entire month. That's quite a bit of money, but half of what it would cost for Darling to rent a small apartment and visit on weekends.
Of course, there are other options. Hopefully even if we can't find enough people to vanpool someone with a small car will offer Darling rides, and the same goes for me at the plant. That could be even cheaper, but without the safety nets offered by the metro. Also, I just love the idea of convincing twenty-two other drivers to leave their cars at home!
Rest assured that between the $1,000 loan from my mom, mounting interest on my student loans, and earning roughly $600 in October, November's net worth wasn't pretty. December would probably look good in comparison, though it's still not impressive.
I have $2,783.80 in assets and $10,077.11 in debt, giving me a total net worth of -$7,293.80.
Having earned so much money I've been resisting the urge to make grand proclamations regarding my net worth in the coming months. It seems that Darling and I will both be working and earning more than ever. Darling's new job is especially promising, with the single glaring flaw that it is a 60+ mile drive away.
Up until yesterday the most affordable and reasonable idea I could come up with was to rent Darling a studio apartment within a half-mile from his work-site. Which is still a possibility, but I found a completely phenomenal Plan B yesterday: The CapMetro Vanpool.
If 5-12 folks need to get to and from a location at least three days a week, Austin's public transportation office will provide a van for only $60/person a month. Not only does that $60 cover gas, maintenance, insurance, and so on, but the driver is excluded from that fee. Outside the metro area, a $.61/mile fee is applied.
So if only four of Darling's coworkers in Temple are commuting from Austin - which is very likely - the total price per person would be, at most, $390 a month. The driver would pay $360.
That's a hundred dollars less than what Darling and I would pay driving the truck. For someone driving, say, a relatively new Toyota Camry, however, that's about a hundred dollars more - assuming they can find gas at the fairly cheap price of $3.00 or less, which I can't, but the internet assures me is possible. However, if 8 people join the vanpool, it will cost the passengers only $266 each ($206 for the driver), which will be a savings for anyone getting less than 31 mpg. If the maximum 12 people join the carpool, which strikes me as a reasonable expectation, riders will pay a maximum of $197.50 a month!
Again, this is an estimation. I actually think the daily price will be slightly less, and on Monday I'll talk with the capmetro office to determine more precise figures. I also think it's reasonable to expect the price of gas to increase in the next six months, and also inevitable traffic is going to decrease everyone's mpg drastically. I also came to my total cost by counting the work days in January. Most months seem to have twenty-one work days, a couple have twenty-three, which will add a little variation to monthly cost, but not savings.
Other benefits include a free monthly bus pass for each rider, normally $20, and a certain number of emergency cab vouchers to prevent members from being stranded. The driver, as well as getting the $60 discount, can also get discounts on personal car insurance discounts and other perks, such as using the van to run errands during the day. Also, there are the untold benefits of simply not needing one's car every day: no missing work due to a failed transmission, flat tire, empty gas tank, or the other inevitable results of driving 18,000 miles in six months.
Frankly, I can't believe Darling's future co-workers wouldn't jump at this opportunity! If so, we'll save SO much money!
What's more is that my coworkers could do the same thing, and since we won't be leaving Austin it will only cost us $60/month total! If Darling is Vanpooling to Temple and I vanpool to the plant, our travel costs will be $450 for the entire month. That's quite a bit of money, but half of what it would cost for Darling to rent a small apartment and visit on weekends.
Of course, there are other options. Hopefully even if we can't find enough people to vanpool someone with a small car will offer Darling rides, and the same goes for me at the plant. That could be even cheaper, but without the safety nets offered by the metro. Also, I just love the idea of convincing twenty-two other drivers to leave their cars at home!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Cost Of Work
Tabulating my income, expenses, and Real Hourly Wage was more complicated in November than ever before. Even when I was balancing cleaning houses, waiting tables, and serving coffee, tracking hours and tips was a more manageable ordeal. Darling was a champ, of course, tracking his time on the job, getting to work, getting home, and money spent on bus tickets. Compiling all the information in a way that makes sense is the challenge. The more I categorize our spending, the more detailed it becomes. Early next year I might post our January 2011 tabulations next to our December tabulations so you can see what I mean. What originally took 68 lines on a spreadsheet now spans 163, to give you a clue of how much intricacy my personal "budget" has developed in only ten months.
We earned a lot of money in November. Easily twice as much as we've earned in previous "good months." That helped make up for the fact that, besides a massive loan from Mom, we made less than $600 in October. Swings and roundabouts, as my beloved says. That enabled us to pay October and November's rent, purchase three tofurkeys to share at the family dinner, devote $400 to my teeth, and mail off $260 for Darling's passport renewal. Any one of these expenses would have been a challenge to us in recent history. We also paid off two months of Darling's phone bill and two months of my union dues at once, simply because we felt like it. Also, we very nearly have the cash to pay rent in full. We should have it all, and probably will by the time a housemate gets to the bank next week, but it's still kind of a bummer to be a hundred bucks short.
In fact, let's talk about the bummer elements of last month's spending: only $300 to my student loan company, which is a lot, but not enough considering I haven't paid anything in months (fortunately I don't have to worry about late fees - I could probably miss a year's worth of payments before they start charging those). Also, I was planning on having $600 worth of work done on my teeth, not just $400. I shouldn't have had to choose between that and making rent considering Mom loaned me the tooth money last month.
So...where did we go wrong, financially speaking? Our food and eating out expenses were normal - despite the tofurkeys and buying my family dinner. Our entertainment budget included one item, a $21 gift I absolutely had to buy for my niece. We spent less on booze than last month, which wasn't difficult, but still...No, the culprit was not among the usual suspects. One category of spending towered above the rest, ominous and disturbing and infuriating all at once: Work Expenses.
Holy Home Depot, Batman. We spent a lot of money to work. Naturally I wanted to blame Darling, who spent three times as much on tools as I did. Plus, his cell phone is a work expense - we don't give the number to friends or family at all. But I spent a little more than he did to work. Gas for the truck cost us over $200, and my union dues take another bite out of the bank balance.
Despite all this, Darling and my combined Real Hourly Wage (Income - Work-Related Expenses / Hour Worked and Commute time) is still very reasonable. Not so much as when I was cleaning and waiting tables, which cost me almost nothing, but still reasonable considering how steady the hours are.
Have you ever tracked the time and money you've spent on work? Taking into account the coffee you need to get through the morning (especially if you stop at a shop, unable to take time to brew at home), the professional shoes, the second reliable vehicle so your significant can get to work, childcare, hours spent tweaking the resume, days spent in traffic, drinks with coworkers, time and money devoted to training...Have you ever really seriously thought about how much you pay to work? If not, try it for a few months, let me know what you find :)
We earned a lot of money in November. Easily twice as much as we've earned in previous "good months." That helped make up for the fact that, besides a massive loan from Mom, we made less than $600 in October. Swings and roundabouts, as my beloved says. That enabled us to pay October and November's rent, purchase three tofurkeys to share at the family dinner, devote $400 to my teeth, and mail off $260 for Darling's passport renewal. Any one of these expenses would have been a challenge to us in recent history. We also paid off two months of Darling's phone bill and two months of my union dues at once, simply because we felt like it. Also, we very nearly have the cash to pay rent in full. We should have it all, and probably will by the time a housemate gets to the bank next week, but it's still kind of a bummer to be a hundred bucks short.
In fact, let's talk about the bummer elements of last month's spending: only $300 to my student loan company, which is a lot, but not enough considering I haven't paid anything in months (fortunately I don't have to worry about late fees - I could probably miss a year's worth of payments before they start charging those). Also, I was planning on having $600 worth of work done on my teeth, not just $400. I shouldn't have had to choose between that and making rent considering Mom loaned me the tooth money last month.
So...where did we go wrong, financially speaking? Our food and eating out expenses were normal - despite the tofurkeys and buying my family dinner. Our entertainment budget included one item, a $21 gift I absolutely had to buy for my niece. We spent less on booze than last month, which wasn't difficult, but still...No, the culprit was not among the usual suspects. One category of spending towered above the rest, ominous and disturbing and infuriating all at once: Work Expenses.
Holy Home Depot, Batman. We spent a lot of money to work. Naturally I wanted to blame Darling, who spent three times as much on tools as I did. Plus, his cell phone is a work expense - we don't give the number to friends or family at all. But I spent a little more than he did to work. Gas for the truck cost us over $200, and my union dues take another bite out of the bank balance.
Despite all this, Darling and my combined Real Hourly Wage (Income - Work-Related Expenses / Hour Worked and Commute time) is still very reasonable. Not so much as when I was cleaning and waiting tables, which cost me almost nothing, but still reasonable considering how steady the hours are.
Have you ever tracked the time and money you've spent on work? Taking into account the coffee you need to get through the morning (especially if you stop at a shop, unable to take time to brew at home), the professional shoes, the second reliable vehicle so your significant can get to work, childcare, hours spent tweaking the resume, days spent in traffic, drinks with coworkers, time and money devoted to training...Have you ever really seriously thought about how much you pay to work? If not, try it for a few months, let me know what you find :)
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