Give Me Back My Five Bucks

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A single gal's night out on the town
2007-11-26 19:47:00
Well, I went grocery shopping for the second time by myself. I didn't go last week because I was trying to use up what I had in my freezer and pantry ... and I had dinner with my parents more often than usual, just to get away from the ex-BF for a while. Anyway, I spent $35, which is approximately what I spent the last time I went shopping. A few things made this week a little more expensive than usual - I bought a huge box of Red Rose tea ($5) and a block of cheese ($7, regular was $11.59).Saturday night out with my friend was a lot of fun. I didn't feel as old or as out of touch with the "bar scene" as I thought I would. I even recognized most of the music - albeit, they were now all remixed to death. Can't people come up with original music nowadays? I had 4 drinks and my share of cab fare was $15.25. It was an expensive evening by my standards (about $35), but I know that's not bad. Plus, I never EVER go out, so I figured it was okay. The best part of the night? My friend we...
More About: Night , Town , Single , The Town

Going to the interview
2007-11-24 18:33:00
Well, after thinking about it, I think I'm going to take the opportunity to go for the interview. No, it doesn't really follow my rules for moving ... but this is a great opportunity to be in a position and gain the experience I would not be able to get in many other places. And you've got to start somewhere, right? My parents are very much against me even considering the position. They're concerned about the isolation from any "big city," the small town atmosphere, and the harsh winters - something I've never really experienced before. Personally, I'm scared of the 3 hr. drive to the city from the airport in the rental car. I don't have much experience driving in snow, or in temperatures below freezing. Hopefully there's cell phone coverage along the highway if I end up getting in trouble.Tonight a friend is taking me "out on the town." We used to go out a lot a few years ago, when we were both single. Now, we find ourselves both single again, so I'm pretty excited. Althou...
More About: Interview , Goin

A little Friday night folk music never hurt anyone
2007-11-24 05:59:00
Before I head out for the evening, I just thought I would share two YouTube videos I found of one of Canada's most talented folk singers (and one of my favourite artists), Jeremy Fisher. Enjoy! :)Sula - solo, acousticScar That Never Heals - full band, on Craig Ferguson
More About: Music , Hurt , Night , Folk , Friday

You tell me!
2007-11-23 22:59:00
In an interesting turn of events, the interview I have scheduled for December 3rd ... they just called back and have decided that they want me to fly out and do the interview in person. It's a municipal government job, so I can see why this might be necessary.I've never been flown out for an interview before, but I think it's pretty neat. I just have to save my receipts for my flight, rental car (the city is about 3 hrs away from Edmonton), hotel and meals, and they will reimburse me for all of the expenses. The woman on the phone estimated the trip would cost about $800.Is it ethical of me to travel all the way there on their dime, knowing in my heart that I'm very lukewarm about the position? I mean, it could end up being my dream job ... but based on what my previous criteria was for work (see previous post), it seems like this job doesn't fit the bill. Yet, I'm still curious.

I sort of regret ...
2007-11-23 22:19:00
So, I sort of regret applying for every single communications/marketing position I could find in Canada, in that blind "I just got let go, so now I'm desperate for a job" rage I was in for about two weeks last month ... because now I'm actually getting calls for interviews. In middle-of-nowhere hick towns I really wouldn't consider living in. Ever.I'm starting to come around about the idea of moving from this city, but I've decided that if I do, I'm only going to move to a city that will provide me with the opportunity to pursue a secondary career in professional sports (much like the part-time job I have now), and that could eventually lead to full-time employment in that industry. For example, I would move to Edmonton or Calgary because not only do they have NHL teams, but they also have a ton of teams that feed into the NHL. I would not move to Nanaimo, BC because there are no professional sport opportunities there.This morning I called and canceled the interview I had sche...
More About: Sort , Regret

The EF is fully funded
2007-11-23 17:05:00
Well, the good news is I was able to fully fund my EF today. The bad news is my credit cards were a lot higher this month than they usually are. This was due to a few factors, including my mini-trip to Seattle, replacing my prescription sunglasses, and a bit of retail therapy due to the break-up. I'm the only one to blame, and my only saving grace is that I'm not in any sort of debt. That being said, I could have been a lot smarter with my money this month. Hopefully these choices won't come back to bite me as this was my last pay cheque from the FT job.Next pay period, I expect to get a few hours of pay from the FT job, about 15 hrs. from the PT job, and hopefully I'll have this contract piece finished up. I also $$ from PPP sitting in my PayPal that I can cash out if I need. It's not a lot, but should be around $150 by that time.Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans out there! :)

The possibility of becoming a fulltime freelancer
2007-11-22 00:48:00
My interview today went really well. The HR woman seemed really positive about all my answers, and I'm pretty certain I'll get called for a second interview. She said that she would pass on her interview notes to the Manager (who would be my boss), and he would then decide whether he wants to contact me for either a phone interview, or fly me out for an in-person. When she asked for my salary expectations, I was honest and said that I would like to stay within the same salary range that I'm in right now, although I would be open to negotiation.Pluses of the job are that they seem to have a really great corporate work environment, they have offices all around the world, and they like to promote from within. Minuses are that I would have to move to Edmonton (where the only people I know are an ex-BF, a work acquaintance from my co-op term in Northern Alberta, and an ex-field hockey teammate), they don't have any sort of education allowance or reimbursement, and while it's a marke...
More About: Freelancer , Possibility

PayPerPost comes up with RealRank to combat the PR drop
2007-11-21 20:00:00
So with the recent drop in PR to anyone who uses PayPerPost, they've now come up with a new way to rank blogs ... called RealRank. Apparently, they just rank you from 1 - 1,000,000 (number depending on how many blogs are registered with PPP), with the #1 position obviously being the best. It's sort of interesting, although I'm not exactly sure how they're calculating RealRank positions.I have a RealRank of #161 for this blog (and a PR of 0), which is pretty amazing, although I don't know how accurate that really is. I highly doubt I'm the 161st most popular blog registered with PPP. My other blog has a RealRank of 0, but still has a PR of 2. It's weird.At any rate, I'm getting higher opps now, but not by much, and definitely not as high as I was getting when I was a PR 4. And apparently it's going to take a while for advertisers to weigh RealRank on the same level as they rank PR and Alexa, since those are still options to choose when they choose which kind of blogs can pos...
More About: Payperpost , Combat , Drop , Comb

Thanks for your help!
2007-11-21 16:43:00
Thanks for all of your input about claiming the freelance income in my EI claim. I wasn't trying to "get away" with anything. My intention wasn't to try and scam the system - I honestly had no idea if I had to claim my freelancing since it isn't a steady source of income.Now I know that I have to claim it! :)It's kind of sad that the amount of money I'm bringing in this year with my freelancing won't put me in the black compared to the amount of $$ I spent on my business (mostly that new iMac computer) ... it's better than bringing in ZERO dollars last year, and hopefully I'll see a better result in 2008. Although to be fair, I never really promoted my services this year since I was already working a lot.I have an interview this morning for a position in Edmonton. This would be an amazing opportunity to work with a pretty huge company on the international scene. It would definitely provide me with a lot of room for growth, and great experience. It's in Edmonton though, so w...

A question to any freelancers out there ...
2007-11-21 02:04:00
Just a thought ... should I be declaring my freelance income on my EI claim?I don't know if it makes a difference, but I'll be claiming any money I make through my design business as income when I file my taxes in the spring.
More About: Question , Freelancers

Freelancer at your service
2007-11-21 01:47:00
I had a panic attack today as I walked around this place and realized that by the end of next week, it's going to look pretty darn empty. There are so many things I'll need to replace that I never really thought of before. And they aren't really wants either ... most of them are pretty essential. For example, I don't have an ironing board, a kettle, a toaster (or a toaster oven), a knife block, a cutting board ... I have very few pots and pans of my own ... no coffee table, no bookshelves ... not even a rug for the bathroom floor. Most of the stuff I can do without for now. I'm going to have to! But eventually, it'll all have to get replaced.Today I met with the guy who wants me to do his website. We went over a bunch of details and it turns out his budget is a lot smaller than I had originally thought ... so it's a good thing the website he wants me to create is a lot less complicated than I had been anticipating. I'll have to write some copy and do the photography, but I t...
More About: Service , Freelancer

The non-profit, the couch, and the EI
2007-11-20 18:26:00
So that position with the non-profit in Calgary? After talking with them again today, I'm definitely not going to take the position. The guy interviewing me (who would be my boss) is kind of a flake, and I would probably go crazy working under someone like that. It's too bad, but it's probably for the best.A friend from college asked me if I wanted to buy her couch. She's moving at the end of the week and needs to unload it. My couch has been broken (and unusable) for the past 3 months, and I just couldn't afford to buy a new one. She was asking $300 for her couch (she bought it for $500 not too long ago), but I told her the most I would pay for it would be $150. I told her now is not exactly the greatest time for me to be buying furniture, what with me being unemployed and all ... but it's kind of been a pain to sit on the floor or prop myself up with pillows in order to avoid the huge dip in my couch. And I wouldn't be able to buy a nice couch like that for $150 anywhere el...
More About: Profit , Couch , Non-Profit

The BF is packing up
2007-11-20 05:40:00
The BF is in the process of moving some of his stuff out of the suite, so forgive me if my writing is somewhat sporadic this week ... it's pretty hectic over here!I've been keeping busy today doing some contract work for the old employer, and getting my portfolio ready for my meeting tomorrow with the person who wants me to build him a website. I also have that job interview tomorrow morning. The Director at that position already told me that they don't have the funding to fly me out there to visit ... and I'm not really willing to spend the $$ and go out there myself ... especially for a job I'm really lukewarm about. We'll see what happens.Also, I haven't made it public knowledge that the BF and I are no longer an item, but it seems like all the guys I know have somehow sensed that I am now single ... because they've all been extra friendly to me lately. Especially one of them. Who just so happens to be a professional athlete. It's too soon, but flattering all the same. ;)
More About: Packing

The last day at the full-time job
2007-11-18 22:06:00
Not much new to report. Today was my last day at my full time job. I'm still going to log a few hours this week as I help them prep for some upcoming events. They want me to design a few posters and ads for them, and I'm more than willing to help out. I also told my boss that I'm always available for contract work if he needs it.As for the website contract, I was supposed to send him the link to my online portfolio, but it was being hosted on the ex-BF's server ... and he's since taken it down. I'm going to burn the files to a CD and bring it into him tomorrow, so it should work the same as if he were viewing on the internet. Hopefully that'll be okay.I applied for a position a few weeks ago at my uncle's company. It's a huge company, but he said he knew the person who's doing the hiring, and will go and talk to her on Monday for me. He's been with the company for over 25 years, so hopefully he'll have some pull. It's a great job, and while it wouldn't pay as much as a...
More About: Time , Full , The Last

Another quick update on the job situation
2007-11-16 18:44:00
Well late last month, I had a phone interview with a not-for-profit in Calgary. When I didn't hear from him, I figured I didn't get the position. Not that I minded much, since I don't think I'd be the best person for the job (and I don't think it's the right position for me) ... but I just got a call, and we're going to speak again on Tuesday about the job. The way he spoke, it seems like the job is mine if I want it ... which is surprising, but they've been without a person in this position since August, so I'm sure they're getting pretty antsy to fill it.So next week, I have 3 phone interviews, all for positions in Alberta.Also last night at my field hockey game, one of my teammates asked if I would design his company website for him. I don't know how much to charge, and I feel like I should give him a break in price since him and his wife are longtime family friends, and my sister works for him. I was originally thinking of charging $875. I don't think he wants anythi...
More About: Update , Quick , Situation

Another Alberta job interview
2007-11-15 18:27:00
I have a phone interview next Friday for a communications position within government in Albert a . This'll be my third interview for a job in Alberta. It's in Northern Alberta (about 2 hrs. away from Edmonton), but it's a great opportunity to 1) get in with the government, 2) gain valuable experience, and 3) save money since it pays the same as my current position. Plus, it's only an 18 month contract (with the possibility of an extension), so it's not like I would have to be up there forever.As much as I hate the idea of living in Northern Alberta again, it might be good for me. Maybe. We'll see.Also, Google has been on top of my horoscope lately. I'm impressed.Feisty Mars is camped out in your 10th House of Career, making this a great time to drive steadily toward your professional goals. But its retrograde motion can bring about delays, so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get what you want right away. Instead of wearing yourself out, remember you are better serve...
More About: Interview

Got robbed of my PR and my money
2007-11-15 16:01:00
What is going on!? This week, my PR has dropped from a 4 to 2 and now to ZERO. It's impossible for me to have a zero PR. Something must be going on.Also, last night when working at my arena job, someone had the balls to sneak upstairs to where all the office cubicles are and steal all the cash out of my wallet, and my sister's wallet! We leave our bags and coats in my boss' cubicle ... and the door to get to the offices aren't locked during the games, but you have to go through the team store to get to them, so whoever went upstairs most likely would have been an employee. I had about $50 in my wallet, and my sister had $20. I'm fortunate they didn't steal my credit cards, cell phone, or my iPod (which was right beside my wallet in my purse) ... and it's not so much the money I'm upset with, but the fact that it was probably someone we all know and talk to every day that took the money. :(I almost NEVER carry cash because I'm paranoid of getting robbed ... and the ONE time ...
More About: Money , Robbed

It's funny how the world works
2007-11-14 21:36:00
Have you ever had a complete stranger go out of their way to do something kind for you? Whether it's running to open a door for you when you're overloaded with parcels, or taking the time to really talk to that person you see sitting on the street corner every day ... or even smiling at someone ... it's moments like that, that really make me see what a wonderful world we live in - and how out of all the anger and hatred and war we have going on right now, there are still kind, generous people out there.Today I was having a rough day at work. Then, a reader of this blog e-mailed me with a lead on a potential job opening at her company she thought I'd be good at. She then revealed that she was Debbit Debt, a woman who came to me a few months ago for help with her debt problem. It's such a small world, and it put a huge smile on my face. To try and help someone, and to be helped in return. I don't know, it just warms my heart. And maybe this lead doesn't pan out to anything ... ...
More About: Funny , World , Works , The World

How I'm going to lose 10 lbs.
2007-11-14 18:28:00
I'm slowly but surely losing weight. I can see it. But now that I'm keeping track of my food and making sure I'm eating proper portioned meals, I'm finding that I'm always hungry. I've been able to curb this by drinking water and/or tea before and after my meals to help make myself feel more full.Also, whenever I'm watching TV, I pull out my yoga mat, and do free weights, an ab workout, and stretching. It makes me feel good that I'm doing something to improve my well-being, instead of zoning out and flipping through channels.As for field hockey, the first half of the season is slowing down in anticipation for the winter break. Instead of playing 4x/week, I'm now down to 2 or 3x/week. It'll be like this for the next 3 weeks or so, and then won't pick back up again until the season starts up in the second week of January. That means I'm going to have to really watch what I eat, and make sure I'm getting out there and running more often than I am right now.I'm going to tr...
More About: Going , Goin

How do you manage your finances with your partner?
2007-11-14 18:13:00
Before the ex-BF moved in with me about 1.5 years ago, I had only lived with one other guy before. This guy, we'll call him S for the purposes of the story - he was awful with money. And while I wasn't much better (my debt was piling up), I did have some limitations. When it came to managing the household money, S would just sign his pay cheques over to me every 2 weeks, and we would share my bank account & debit card.This worked well because I could monitor how much money we had, since we were living paycheque-to-paycheque at the time. But it was also bad because neither of us were very good at managing money, I was just the lesser of two evils. Thinking back to that period of my life, I can't believe I used to live like that. We were living on the edge, and I bet at any given point, we never had more than $100 to our names, in cash or credit.Fast forward to the present. When the (now) ex-BF moved in, we decided to keep our finances separate. In order to share household expe...
More About: Finances , Partner , Manage , With You

The snag with the November PPP challenge
2007-11-13 20:33:00
My Google PR has mysteriously dropped from a 4 back down to a 2 ... meaning the PPP opps that are available to me are few and far between. Not to mention that none of them are above $10. And I'm just not willing clutter up this blog and double or triple the amount of sponsored posts on this site, just to make a few extra bucks. This is frustrating because that extra income would have really helped me out.I'm not sure what else I can be doing to remedy this whole job/life situation. I've exhausted all my industry contacts, and nobody seems to be hiring. And as hard as I'm trying to stay positive, I've been trying hard not to cry all day. I didn't think it would be this hard to find a job, seeing as the last time I applied for positions in the summer, I was getting interviews left and right. Now, when I really need a job, I'm coming up empty-handed.This is my last week of work, and I haven't gotten a single call from any jobs I've applied for in the city. So far, I've gotten...
More About: Challenge , November , Halle

The inconvenience of island life
2007-11-13 06:05:00
Some of you know the area that I live in, but for those who don't - I'm located on Vancouver Island , which is just off the west coast of BC, Canada. It's a fairly large island, and unless you're near the water, it doesn't really feel like an island at all.Living on this island is great, as I'm sure Wooly Woman would agree with me. I love everything about this city and this island, except when it comes to traveling to the mainland by ferry. It's a pain in the butt, and requires a lot more planning ... not to mention more money!This weekend was the worst I've ever seen the ferry service. Not only was it a long weekend (lots of travelers!), but we also had a pretty severe wind storm (over 100,000 households are still without power up the coast) ... and that led to sporadic ferry service, long line-ups and lots of angry, frustrated travelers. What a nightmare. The foot passenger line-up was out the terminal door, and down the street a good 400-500 metres. (The car line-up was ba...
More About: Life , Island Life

Update: Day 9 of November PPP Challenge
2007-11-09 16:50:00
Well I'm about 1/3 of the way through the month, and I've made $120 so far via PPP. I'm just ahead of schedule for making $300 in November . I have 21 days left to make $180, which breaks down to $60/week or just about $8.57 per day. Piece of cake!
More About: Update , Challenge , Halle

The second-to-last FT pay cheque
2007-11-09 16:35:00
Well, today was pay day, so I updated my NetworthIQ and my sidebar totals. Although not by much. :( On a positive note, I killed off the remaining RRSP loan I had, so now I'm once again completely debt-free.My entire next pay cheque (minus travel fund & rent) can go towards my EF, so I'm feeling okay about facing this unemployment phase of my life. I still have hope that I'll only be unemployed for a few weeks, but a good friend thought the same way (she works in the same industry as me), and she ended up being unemployed (still working PT though) for over 6 months. And that's really frightening.Anyway, here's where my money went:Income:$1,531 ($1,303 from FT job, and $228 from PT job)$712 (took out the bulk of my Condo Down Payment Fund to pay off the RRSP loan)$300 to EF$150 to Travel Fund$1,200 to RRSP loan$420 to Visa bill ($275 of it was for my sunglasses, which leaves $145 that I spent on groceries, dining out, eBay shipping costs, etc)$17 to MasterCard bill (2 weeks ...
More About: Cheque

Have you done the online dating thing before?
2007-11-09 09:49:00
Note: the following post is sponsoredNow, I've mentioned it before, but for those of you who don't know, I met the ex-BF on an Online Dating Site called Lavalife. It was at a time in my life where I was taking 7 classes, volunteering, working 2 PT jobs, and playing on 2 field hockey teams ... I didn't have a lot of free time to go out and meet people the conventional way. Neither did any of my classmates, so a bunch of us signed up for Lavalife, and have been using it off and on since then. In fact, one of my classmates just got married to a woman he met on Lavalife! :)Prime Dating Sites is a resource for singles out there to help them find the best online dating services and matchmaking sites on the internet. There are SO many different Internet dating sites out there, each with their own niche, style, features, costs, requirements, etc. Prime Dating Sites helps people choose between the various options, and helps them pick the best dating site for their needs. And because they ...
More About: Online Dating , Thing , Done

Shedding the relationship weight
2007-11-08 20:29:00
So after Saving Diva made her public declaration about wanting to lose 10 lbs, she's inspired me to do the same. I too want to lose 10 lbs, and it's hard because my natural weight is exactly 10 lbs heavier than what I'd ideally like to be at. So it's a constant struggle to keep that weight down. And honestly, even though I have a smallish frame (size 4), I'm the only one who can notice that extra 10 lbs on me. But it's the difference between my clothing fitting me perfectly, or them pulling a little where they really shouldn't be pulling. Plus, I find I'm much more confident when I'm at my ideal weight. With my natural weight, I'm a little self-conscious.For the past two weeks I've been keeping a food journal (much like a spending journal), and I've been recording everything I eat, including the time I ate it ... and how many glasses of water I'm drinking each day. It's kind of tedious, but it's definitely been working. I used to keep a meticulous food journal when I ...
More About: Weight , Relationship , Weigh

Decided to take the mini trip down to Seattle
2007-11-08 19:36:00
So after talking to my friend this morning about Seattle , I've decided to go. We leave Sunday morning and will come back sometime on Monday. Plus, we are going to go to the Seattle Sonics/Detroit Pistons game for $15/ticket! I've never been to an NBA game before, and even though I don't really know much about the players or the teams, I'm excited to be going. Haven't been since the summertime! :)As a bonus, it's going to be a Coastsaver sailing on the ferry to Vancouver, which is basically 1/2 off the price. So travel will cost $13.60 roundtrip, plus gas down to Seattle. Don't need to worry about accomodation, so I'll only have to deal with paying for 3 meals (maybe 4), since we're only going for 1 night and I'm going to pack my own breakfast for the early morning ferry ride (7am sailing).We're also going to go to those awesome outlet stores on the way down to Seattle. I figure I can pick up my sister's Christmas present down there (and maybe my Dad's as well) ... and s...
More About: Mini , Trip

Learn the secret to mastering The Secret
2007-11-08 19:35:00
Note: the following post is sponsoredThe New York Times' best-selling book, The Sedona Method, is considered the "secret to mastering The Secret ," and how to really apply it to your everyday life. I'm going to be honest here - I've never read The Secret, but I know a lot of people swear by it ... and when you sign up at http://www.sedona.com/, you will get a FREE DVD, CDIf you truly want to achieve financial abundance, improve your relationships, and optimize your health & wellbeing on a permanent basis, then The Sedona Method might be right for you. If you’re seeking to free yourself from depression or emotional trauma, overcome bad habits & addictions, or manage stress, tension, anxiety or anger, be sure to check out the site!Sedona method the secret
More About: Learn , Erin , Aster

Resisting the urge to spend money
2007-11-08 18:11:00
I booked a hair appointment for tomorrow after work. I don't exactly have $65 lying around for this, but after everything that's happened over the past week, I've decided that I deserve to get a fabulous hair cut ... and I'll make it fit into the budget. Then afterwards, I'm going for tea with one of the girls from my old fulltime job. She's single as well, so we're going to start hanging out more I think. :)My field hockey games got cancelled for the weekend, and I have half a mind to go down to Seattle with my friend for a day or two. She invited me two weeks ago to come with her, but I declined. It would be really nice for me to get out of the house and relax without the BF watching every move I make. I mean, it wouldn't be that expensive, and since she has an apartment in Vancouver, we wouldn't have to pay for accomodation. I would say the trip would cost less than $100. But, I probably shouldn't go. Right?
More About: Money , Urge

The Leader in Mobile Marketing Technology
2007-11-08 16:22:00
Just over twenty years ago, a deal was signed to build mobile networks based on GSM technology. Since then, mobile phones have exploded in popularity, and I honestly don't know a single person who doesn't have a cell phone. And phones just aren't phones anymore. They're a tool to play games, take photographs, download music, read news, reply to e-mail ... and more recently, they've become a distribution and advertising channel for brands wishing to interact with their customers. Especially with premium SMS service and internet access.Companies are now facing exciting opportunities to increase revenue by deploying mobile marketing techniques to demographically predetermined groups of potential customers. It's estimated that 1 in 3 big brand companies have already launched live moble marketing campaigns!I think it's really important that these companies specifically target their campaigns in such a way to avoid being preceived as "spammers" through their mobile billing. I perso...
More About: Marketing , Technology , Mobile , Mobile Marketing , Leader