Why My Debt Doesn't Stress Me Out

Leaving behind my current temporary position for a permanent job, I'm wondering, how much room do I have to be picky about the job I take?

I have two degrees (and some loans to go with them), a car payment, no health insurance, no savings, and my 6-month job is about to be over.

At first, I was panicking a bit about my impending joblessness. Even if I go stay with my parents, how will I ever make all my monthly payments?

After recovering my wits, I realized it will be easy.

Before I went back for my MA, I was really good about taking my extra income and dividing it between retirement, savings, and paying off loans. My next loan payment for my undergrad loans isn't due until 2014. I'm that far ahead. Even with my current tight budget, I've been making monthly payments as if I am not that far ahead.

My next car payment isn't actually due until April, though I'd like to keep paying it off if possible simply because I'm between 5 and 6 months away from having paid off half of my debt on it.

I've got less of a handle on my graduate school loans. They have the highest interest rate, the highest balance, and my next payment is due in January, though that still gives me some flexibility in finding a job.

At first glance, I look like I'm in pretty bad shape, and really, I kind of am, but it could be worse. I have a buffer here, and I'm looking at a future with benefits and enough extra income that I can go back to actually paying into retirement and savings. I might even be able to afford a vacation.

Got an Interview

I have an interview. It wasn't my first pick, but I've been really impressed with the company's hiring practices, so this potential job is growing on me...a lot.

There were two definite jobs I wanted, and this wasn't one of those two. However, I think it has pushed one of those top two jobs below it.

What's more, the interview is on Halloween, which happens to be a Monday. For me this means that I can be in MHK on the Saturday before to attend the Halloween party being thrown by the English graduate student group. It works out especially well because I will be in Denver training people the whole week before, so I will be about 4.5 hours closer than if I were home in GJ.

I will get to see so many friends who were first years during my second year of grad school and even some of my favorites from my own class (cough, Mariya and Lacey). I couldn't be happier to get to see them all. I've missed them a ton.

I'm also so excited to be a Kansan again (and yes, I know most people think that's weird).

I Have Fun, Too!

I've noticed that none of my posts have been about anything fun lately. No crochet projects, no baking adventures, no weird TV watching, so here is a fun update.

I'm using this weird loopy green mohair yarn to make my sister's frog hat. It causes the hat to be a bit lumpy like the frog has warts, which is perfect and is not impacting the cuteness factor negatively. I purchased the yarn at the Salvation Army for 50 cents a skein six or seven years ago. It's just been waiting in a box for the perfect project. This is the perfect project.

I made another sock monkey coffee cup sleeve for my boss. She did a few rows for herself because I was trying to teach her, so it was a good collaborative effort.

I'm watching Star Trek, the original, on Netflix. Yesterday I watched the episode "Arena," which is based on a short story we read in the science fiction class I took last summer. It is soooo cool how Star Trek revised the story to suit the changing worldview. I also like seeing how progressive Star Trek was for its time. Tis awesome.

Last, but not least, I didn't do an ounce of baking this weekend, so tonight I'm making zucchini bread for my brother-in-law, Beej. Tomorrow I will make peach galettes for everyone else.

Must I Go to Work Today?

Really, it's not that I don't want to go to work today. It's just that I have so much I need to do. Why go to work when I have more than a full days work waiting for me at home? Oh wait, no one pays me to stay home. Oh, and I have this rising sense of panic that my replacement will not be able to pick up where I left off with some of my larger projects. My boss is stressed enough. I'd like to leave her in a good place. I did get halfway through revising the Administrator's manual at work yesterday, That's number 1, and it will get done before I leave. No doubts.

Mostly, I want to stay home so I can actually write a test for my tutees so that Thursday (my last day of tutoring) I can give them some sort of certificate of achievement and their scores. It's just wrong to end without offering them a sense of achievement.

I also want to clean up my home because with all the packing, it's a bit of a disaster, and I hate messes.

I could finally take my mound of donateable goods to the various places that might need them.

I could apply for a job or two. In case you're wondering, 3 rejections so far, but mostly a lot of no news. This morning I did get a "You made it through round 1. Fill out this questionnaire to see if you make it through round 2" email. Woohoo!

In procrastinating work, I just sewed my cat's favorite ball back together (again). I used yarn and a darning needle this time, hoping it would maybe hold up a little better than thread and that it would add some new substance. The sides of the ball are almost gone, and all that's really left is the stuffing inside. Of course, with newly fixed ball, cat wants to play fetch. That was not on my high priority list, but kitty is happy.

...in the process of all this, I just texted my boss to ask if I could come in late this morning, she said yes. Except, as I write this I am remembering that she is interviewing my replacement today, so I am now worrying that I should be there to tackle things while she is interviewing. Oh blergh.

I'm going to stay and write this test as quickly as possible. Then pitch in. Really, my boss suggested yesterday that she'd be okay with me falling behind on hours. She'd like me to pop in a bet during the week after I'm done so that I can help train. I'd kind of like to have a job by then, but it would be nice to continue alleviating her stress as long as possible.

Productivity! (cue Superman music)

Yesterday, I finally conquered the lingering dishes. I also copied a number of CDs onto my computer so that I can get rid of them. Books to donate are consolidated into a single box, which they are spilling out of. Other donateable stuff is in another box. Laundry is done. I even crocheted a few more rows on the frog hat for Kerrie.

Today I need to bake some zucchini bread for Beej and some pies or gallettes with my peaches. I also need to put some ears on the sock monkey coffee cup sleeve that my boss and I were collaboratively working on Friday night.

Right now I have Star Trek going, and I am packing books into a boxes. I'm going to try to pack as much as possible this week and move it to my parents this coming weekend when I visit them. I'll be bringing their truck back to GJ with me and leaving my precious subaru behind.

With the truck, I can rent a U-haul trailer, which is much cheaper than renting a truck.

I just need to figure out who can help me load the big stuff into the trailer. I don't mind asking my boss and her family for help with most of the stuff...but the entertainment center is monstrous. I may have to just break it up and put it in the dumpster. :(

Dear Holmes, Rest in Peace

I write out rest in peace above because, well, I feel like RIP just doesn't capture the beauty of the concept. The acronym means "to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner" (dictionary.com). That just doesn't capture the mood of "rest in peace," though it does capture another side of death, just not the well-wishing part.

Anywho, Sherlock Holmes was my parakeet. When I woke up yesterday morning, he was no longer with us. After initial shock, tears, texting my boss I would be late for work, and a day feeling distracted by thoughts of "what did I miss?" all I can think is that I was responsible for this tiny creature, and I failed.

Needless to say, I won't be leaving my cat with my parents for the week that I stay with my sister and brother-in-law. I am feeling particularly paranoid, so cat needs to be with me. I will be back to waking her up every time she falls alseep because she sleeps so soundly and looks dead sometimes. I did that all the time in grad school. I was paranoid that my cat would die because I was too busy to really pay attention to her, so I would shake her awake in a panic.

With bird gone, I'm wondering, is there something wrong with my apartment that I should be worried about? Is he the canary in the mine? Or was I feeding him too much? Parakeets are prone to obesity and little birdy heart attacks. Was something wrong with the most recent millet spray I gave him as a treat?

And as much as I am sad that my bird who was happily tweeting the night before was not alive the next day, I am also worried about cat. Who will keep her company all day while I am at work? That clever little bird loved tormenting the cat. He'd hop down to the bottom of the cage where she can just barely reach, and then he'd hop away. They both really seemed to enjoy having the other around, which is good because I really worried about the impact of getting a cat on my parakeet, but he definitely seemed happier with her in the picture.

Now I have to worry about her being lonely, but I think it's time to ditch the giant bird cage, which is hard to move from place to place, and it's time to just have cat since she is a good road-trip buddy and can travel with me much better without a bird in the car. No more birds.

Enough melancholy. It's laundry and baking time. I mean, I just conquered all of those dishes I was dreading cleaning up all week. I need to make more.

Cat-ness...Keeping Me Chipper

I am tired, not because I'm doing anything particularly tiring, but because I have so many things I need to get done.

I have like 30 projects I either need to wrap up or write instructions for so that my replacement at CPW will not be at a loss for what's going on. I really want to leave my boss and the future web temp in a best case scenario situation.

I also need to pack. Keep applying for jobs. Donate some stuff. Do the dishes--they just keep looming there in the sink, and I'm barely making a dent in them when I try.

I put in my notice for tutoring today. I feel bad leaving those lovely ladies behind. I hope someone awesome comes forth to fill my shoes, or better yet, some bigger ones.

With all this load, there is nothing like a soft furry cat to curl up next to at night. I love my cat!