I realized a few weeks ago that I am generally unimpressed with my life as it currently is. Not in a horrible way, just in a I-don't-know-where-I-thought-I-would-be-now-but-this-doesn't-seem-like-IT. In other words, another post title I considered was, "Meh".
If I think of the things I have done, things I have seen, they are interesting, worthwhile, and some impressive in themselves I suppose.
Then I think about how the sum of them got me to this point eating left-over (Annie's) mac n' cheese (with bacon, basil, and spinach) on my couch with my cat, only to try to get up the motivation to pay my bills and read the paper for lab meeting and work on my grant revisions and probably go to bed later than I should only to get up tomorrow and listen to NPR and/or country music on my way to another 11 hour day inside where my eyes get really dry because my desk is under a vent and complain about what the undergrads do (and mostly don't) do and...Yeah. Unimpressed.
31 March 2011
28 March 2011
A visitor
Some of you may have seen a picture or two on the FB. This guys stops by a couple times a day to clean up under the feeders.
He is a ring-necked pheasant.
The cat is not nearly as excited to see him anymore. In fact, she ignored the noise he was making outside the window over the weekend. She does still like the squirrels and chipmunks though.
23 March 2011
Recalculate and model
1. Over the past few weeks, I have gotten some GOOD deals. Between the local consignment shop, Banana Republic gift cards from gifts and credit card points, and a 30% off Family & Friends coupon for BR and the Gap I have purchased:
2. In other news, I know I have had some pretty brilliant ideas in the past, but some of my recently implemented methods of savings really are working.
The speed limit here is 70 mph for cars and 60 for trucks. I used to drive close to 80 mph when commuting in the absence of bad weather, traffic, or idiots. I decided I would slow down. Now I hover around 70 usually, but have driven home at a mere 65 behind an 18-wheeler who was breaking the wind for my little Jetta. Why? Because if you decide to drive that way, it is actually quite relaxing and you get WAY better gas mileage. I have filled up at the same gas station and pump the past two times so I could figure out my gas mileage controlling for variation between pumps (oh, the scientist in me despite all the other gross estimates I am about to make).
Drumroll please!
3 mpg MORE driving the way I do now compared to the way I was. That works out to an extra trip to (or from) work. I may have over-estimated how much I would save last time I calculated it out (~$700), but with these new data (yes, 'data' is plural), I still save between $300 - $550 per year!
Bear with me for the rest of the math (and logic)...or skip to the punchline. I essentially "save" a gallon of gas every time I fill up (as in I use one less gallon per full tank because of the saved gas mileage). Now, if you consider that there are 255,917,664 registered vehicles on the road, and if each vehicle slowed down a bit and aimed to getter better gas mileage, and you assume people fill their tanks once a week (I fill mine every 4.5 - 5 days), every vehicle would end up NOT using 52 gallons a year...
Punchline: As a country we could NOT use 13,307,718,530 gallons of gasoline every year by just driving ~ 65 mph. That seems like a pretty significant number to me. Despite all the gross approximations, I think they were reasonable approximations. People could save money, the country could reduce dependence on foreign oil, and we would all win...I think. I am sure there are people who like to drive fast who think this is absolutely a ridiculous idea. I propose to start the trend, when police cars do not have their lights flashing, they should drive the speed limit (and not weave in and out of traffic and stay off the phone, but these are different issues I have observed while commuting), and public vehicles that would never need to go fast (like a department of transportation plow or a department of energy "official car") should have a speed thing (I forget what they are called) so that they CANNOT go over a certain speed. I know this has been suggested by many, and here are some arguments for reduced speed limits that would be even lower than 65 mph. Heck, if speed limits were reduced and police pulled people over, they could increase ticket revenue too, thus solving another local budget problem. I would be interested to see an actual modeling of this idea with real numbers broken down for car types, etc., but I still think I am pretty brilliant.
3 dress shirtsFor ~$30. That's right. Not including what the two shirts from the consignment shop may have cost in a previous life, I got ~$344.44 (if you go by all the suggested prices) or $189.99 (if you go by all the marked down and clearance prices) for $30. I think I can stop complaining about not shopping now.
3 t-shirts
1 dressier short-sleeved shirt
Light-weight 3/4 sleeve sweater
open-fronted light-weight sweater
Jeans
Brown leather belt
2. In other news, I know I have had some pretty brilliant ideas in the past, but some of my recently implemented methods of savings really are working.
The speed limit here is 70 mph for cars and 60 for trucks. I used to drive close to 80 mph when commuting in the absence of bad weather, traffic, or idiots. I decided I would slow down. Now I hover around 70 usually, but have driven home at a mere 65 behind an 18-wheeler who was breaking the wind for my little Jetta. Why? Because if you decide to drive that way, it is actually quite relaxing and you get WAY better gas mileage. I have filled up at the same gas station and pump the past two times so I could figure out my gas mileage controlling for variation between pumps (oh, the scientist in me despite all the other gross estimates I am about to make).
Drumroll please!
3 mpg MORE driving the way I do now compared to the way I was. That works out to an extra trip to (or from) work. I may have over-estimated how much I would save last time I calculated it out (~$700), but with these new data (yes, 'data' is plural), I still save between $300 - $550 per year!
Bear with me for the rest of the math (and logic)...or skip to the punchline. I essentially "save" a gallon of gas every time I fill up (as in I use one less gallon per full tank because of the saved gas mileage). Now, if you consider that there are 255,917,664 registered vehicles on the road, and if each vehicle slowed down a bit and aimed to getter better gas mileage, and you assume people fill their tanks once a week (I fill mine every 4.5 - 5 days), every vehicle would end up NOT using 52 gallons a year...
Punchline: As a country we could NOT use 13,307,718,530 gallons of gasoline every year by just driving ~ 65 mph. That seems like a pretty significant number to me. Despite all the gross approximations, I think they were reasonable approximations. People could save money, the country could reduce dependence on foreign oil, and we would all win...I think. I am sure there are people who like to drive fast who think this is absolutely a ridiculous idea. I propose to start the trend, when police cars do not have their lights flashing, they should drive the speed limit (and not weave in and out of traffic and stay off the phone, but these are different issues I have observed while commuting), and public vehicles that would never need to go fast (like a department of transportation plow or a department of energy "official car") should have a speed thing (I forget what they are called) so that they CANNOT go over a certain speed. I know this has been suggested by many, and here are some arguments for reduced speed limits that would be even lower than 65 mph. Heck, if speed limits were reduced and police pulled people over, they could increase ticket revenue too, thus solving another local budget problem. I would be interested to see an actual modeling of this idea with real numbers broken down for car types, etc., but I still think I am pretty brilliant.
20 March 2011
Miss and Hit
I tried to make some pad thai tonight. It was more pad thai-ish.
I found this recipe, and it had me at 'maple syrup'. This recipe looked pretty simple too. In the end, I just threw some stuff together, figuratively speaking. The sauce was some peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot chili paste, and oyster sauce. It tastes pretty good, but is definitely pad thai-ish. I think I'll take the route my sister mentioned to me once - get a pad thai mix and add more of whatever you want to it. Then I would at least have the correct flavor base.
Then I made these quinoa ginger pecan muffins for breakfasts this week. I highly recommend them. YUM. I used buttermilk because I happened to have some, walnuts because that's what I had, and mixed dry fruit chopped because I did not have just apricots. Next time I will skip the white sugar and use something different. They are not too sweet, I just think they have too much sugar.
I found this recipe, and it had me at 'maple syrup'. This recipe looked pretty simple too. In the end, I just threw some stuff together, figuratively speaking. The sauce was some peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot chili paste, and oyster sauce. It tastes pretty good, but is definitely pad thai-ish. I think I'll take the route my sister mentioned to me once - get a pad thai mix and add more of whatever you want to it. Then I would at least have the correct flavor base.
Then I made these quinoa ginger pecan muffins for breakfasts this week. I highly recommend them. YUM. I used buttermilk because I happened to have some, walnuts because that's what I had, and mixed dry fruit chopped because I did not have just apricots. Next time I will skip the white sugar and use something different. They are not too sweet, I just think they have too much sugar.
15 March 2011
Satisfied for now
I do not really spend a lot of money, but do have a new found drive to spend less to save more/anything. To satisfy my desire to shop, I got to buy the following to be worn in my brother's wedding (as a bridesmaid).
Get this - the dress has pockets. For real. My future sister-in-law requested nude-colored heels, I immediately stopped at shoe stores on the way home to satiate said desire to shop. I figured a nice dressy pair of pumps can certainly be worn again! These I got at Nine West, whose shoes apparently run big because I tried on a size 7 in a different shoe for the first time since sometime in high school.
Now, they are comfortable from what I can tell, and even more so if I put on nylons so my feet are not sticky. I am a little concerned about summer weather swollen feet, but the wedding is in side and the next size up was way to big on my smaller foot. My questions to regular heel-wearers out there though: Can heels ever be completely comfortable? I mean, these are okay, but I have been wearing them around the house and then the balls of my feet hurt.
I really liked the sales guy. He was a really good sales guy too. I came THIS close to buying a bag, and it was tough not to buy this REALLY cute pair of red pumps that were similar. Or the cork ones. They would have been only $25, but luckily for my wallet, they did not fit as good as these did. I have been thinking about the red ones ever since though...
I really liked the sales guy. He was a really good sales guy too. I came THIS close to buying a bag, and it was tough not to buy this REALLY cute pair of red pumps that were similar. Or the cork ones. They would have been only $25, but luckily for my wallet, they did not fit as good as these did. I have been thinking about the red ones ever since though...
Foiled?
A baffle. A door. A chair.
CF reported to me one morning that said cat was sitting on the table looking out the window when he got up. So, the chair that used to be in front of the door is now upside down on the end of the table (and you can just see the back of it in the picture). The other morning he sent me a message that the cat was on the table...next to the chair...where I had put newspapers to deter her. She does not get up there when I am home, presumably because I chase her with a newspaper. When I asked CF if he chased her off, he replied that she is just going to do it again. Awesome. Guess who will be the disciplinarian?
I got a squirrel baffle for my standing bird feeder (see squirrel on ground and baffle on pole). My birdseed now lasts more than a day in the feeder. Coincidence?
My cat likes the new little carpeted thing next to the door. I used to keep a chair there but it was a pain to move when I wanted to use the door. She gets really excited when the squirrels are near. The squirrels get excited too. One morning after I listened to the squirrel sitting right next to the door bi*&#@ing at my cat, it ran over and scratched at the door and ran off. The cat did not know what to do.
CF reported to me one morning that said cat was sitting on the table looking out the window when he got up. So, the chair that used to be in front of the door is now upside down on the end of the table (and you can just see the back of it in the picture). The other morning he sent me a message that the cat was on the table...next to the chair...where I had put newspapers to deter her. She does not get up there when I am home, presumably because I chase her with a newspaper. When I asked CF if he chased her off, he replied that she is just going to do it again. Awesome. Guess who will be the disciplinarian?
10 March 2011
Variations
My friend Danielle has always taken beautiful flower shots and was recently going through her best photos. I have used her pictures as my desktop in the past and gotten compliments (which I don't think I ever passed on, but did tell those people who took the photo). I told her I had a great tulip that CF brought one day. It is still light out, barely, so I took a couple pictures with my camera. She could do better though. :-)
There was not much light left coming in from outside...
...so I turned on the inside lights for the rest.
There was not much light left coming in from outside...
08 March 2011
Not feelin' it
Last year I gave up the FB for Lent, and it was good. The biggest "problem" was that CF was still on it all the time, so when I wanted to get up and do something on the weekend, he wanted to check FB first. This year, I am not really feeling it. I do not really feel like thinking of something I can sacrifice because at the moment I feel like my life is pretty lame anyway. Might as well not make it any lamer by limiting something I enjoy. Yeah I get that that is the point of sacrifice, but I guess this year I am feeling too sorry for myself to give something up. I might use Lent as an excuse to limit my FB, but I am so busy in lab right now, that I am not really wasting time online like I was last year...
...If only I could get myself to do some work when I get home. When you are gone for ~12 hours a day though, it is tough. Off to get to bed early so I can leave early before all the people who don't know how to drive on slippery roads get on the slippery roads in the morning. K. I am done with the rambling.
P.S. After my last post, I got a check in the mail from the Treasury. I think this means that they think I paid too much in taxes. Yay for getting money back; boo for it making it more complicated to amend my taxes because I got a long forgotten W2 in the mail long after I had filed my taxes. Such is life.
...If only I could get myself to do some work when I get home. When you are gone for ~12 hours a day though, it is tough. Off to get to bed early so I can leave early before all the people who don't know how to drive on slippery roads get on the slippery roads in the morning. K. I am done with the rambling.
P.S. After my last post, I got a check in the mail from the Treasury. I think this means that they think I paid too much in taxes. Yay for getting money back; boo for it making it more complicated to amend my taxes because I got a long forgotten W2 in the mail long after I had filed my taxes. Such is life.
05 March 2011
The envelop please!
Okay, so when I first started thinking about this, it was Oscar weekend. The title had more immediate relevance then, but is also still relevant to my last point...see way below.
That same weekend was also right before I got paid at the end of the month, and I started thinking about where my money goes. This was in part prompted by the fact that I need to purchase some undergarments. I really want to buy good ones that will last and keep the girls up, if you know what I mean. I do not feel I have the money to get a $50 bra though. I also have a college reunion, brother's wedding, and a possible trip back east to appear in court; CF is still looking for a job; I want to move when my lease is up in May; presumably when CF gets a job, we will plan another trip to Germany.
I use Mint to keep track of all my accounts; each of my individual accounts will mostly track categories at this point, but Mint will put them all together. I have budgeted amounts for everything from rent (nice and stable), to groceries, gas, bills (somewhat stable except for electric), pets (cat and outdoor bird feeders), shopping (used to be clothes), gifts, etc.
[DISCLAIMERS: I am not complaining about my income, nor is this meant to be a woe-is-me post. This is a post for me, and maybe you'll learn something about how much you can save on gas and restaurants if you have not thought about it before. If you have any money saving tips, do share. Also, NIH post-doc salary scale is public information, so the amount of income I live on does not have to be any big secret. If any of you know of a job for a dairy/cattle nutritionist with a PhD, do let me know so I can let CF know. Preferably within a long-weekend's drive distance from New England.]
A few things I have noticed that I need to change:
I spend more on bird feeder food than cat food. Thistle is expensive?!
- When the weather is warmer and stable, that feeder is coming down and the birds will have to deal with cheaper food in the bigger feeder that the squirrels pillage. I should have enough Thistle to get me through.
I spend more on gifts than on myself. I like spending money on other people and donating money, but I do need to replace things like sneakers and underwear. One of the bad budget things I did was not decide a priori what to spend on Christmas gifts. I did not get anything extravagant, but if nothing else, CF and I should have decided on an amount ahead of time. The rest of the family got gifts of approximately the same monetary value.
- Last year I decided to donate $25/month to a charity. Sadly, I am not going to do that this year. I will still donate money to things if people ask (emails from organizations CEOs do not count), but will not go out of my way to find charities to donate to. This is especially difficult because there are so many organizations I would love to help out just that little $25 bit because of all the political issues our country is facing. I will have to be satisfied with gifts-in-kind this year. Already stopped by the local animal shelter with old towels!
- Buy birthday and Christmas gifts as I find them if they are a reasonable amount. I went into Urban Outfitters yesterday, and although I wanted to buy myself a $10 wallet, I settled for three birthday gifts all of a similar price. Sorry if you get one of these and now know how little I spent on you. ;-) It is the thought that counts!
- I was really good last year not to cheat on my clothes budget and will continue to do so. This can potentially put a wrench in my bra shopping too, as clothes for weddings count. No cheating, a dress is clothes! Luckily I already of a dress that I want to wear to my reunion, or this could get really dicey.
NEWS FLASH: Cars are expensive. Because I am commuting, I have to have regular work done nearly every other month. In Boston, those big $500 - $1500 jobs were only once a year at the most. Never mind that I just paid over $40 to fill my gas tank. And CF refused to move, so I do more driving than I may have had to if he had sucked it up.
- I need to sit back and drive slower. With a 70 mph speed limit, it is SO tempting to drive 80 mph home. I will get one or two miles per gallon better gas mileage if I drop down to 65 or 70. For real. The 18-wheeler speed limit is 60, so I am thinking just truck on behind one of them so they break my wind too. (Pun intended.) That might not sound like much, but roughly speaking if I fill my gas tank every five days instead of every four days, that would save me SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. Holy crap.
- I will need a new car in the next one to three years. Mine will (finally) hit 100,000 in the next couple of months, and I need to decide when a monthly payment outweighs the every-other-month mechanic bill.
I need to save again for things like a down payment on a car and moving expenses. Because I mistakenly severely underpaid my taxes last year, literally all I had saved over the year went to our federal government. Oops.
- I already do not keep the house very warm. The weather will soon be warming up too, so I will get some disposable income back.
- Right before Netflix is supposed to renew, I will cancel it. I have only had it for three months anyway. I will also cancel my gym membership. Over a year, these two changes will be somewhere around $600. That is a lot of money when you add it up like that!
- I need to cut out the Groupons, as much as I love them. The one I just got for shoes is one thing, because I will need them come summer. The ones for restaurants or entertainment are not necessary.
Lest any of you think that too much tax money goes to science research, this is how a post-doc must manage her money.
So back to the envelop. My mom claims that when they did not have enough money she used to cash their paychecks and put the allotted money in an envelop for bills/groceries/gas/etc. [I only say claim because my Mom claims a bunch of things, but this I tend to think is true.] I think when I get the credit cards paid off and am caught up again, I will take the same approach. That will help me not go over budget for things like restaurants. Those few dollars or cents left at the end of the month at that point? Rainy day fund.
That same weekend was also right before I got paid at the end of the month, and I started thinking about where my money goes. This was in part prompted by the fact that I need to purchase some undergarments. I really want to buy good ones that will last and keep the girls up, if you know what I mean. I do not feel I have the money to get a $50 bra though. I also have a college reunion, brother's wedding, and a possible trip back east to appear in court; CF is still looking for a job; I want to move when my lease is up in May; presumably when CF gets a job, we will plan another trip to Germany.
I use Mint to keep track of all my accounts; each of my individual accounts will mostly track categories at this point, but Mint will put them all together. I have budgeted amounts for everything from rent (nice and stable), to groceries, gas, bills (somewhat stable except for electric), pets (cat and outdoor bird feeders), shopping (used to be clothes), gifts, etc.
[DISCLAIMERS: I am not complaining about my income, nor is this meant to be a woe-is-me post. This is a post for me, and maybe you'll learn something about how much you can save on gas and restaurants if you have not thought about it before. If you have any money saving tips, do share. Also, NIH post-doc salary scale is public information, so the amount of income I live on does not have to be any big secret. If any of you know of a job for a dairy/cattle nutritionist with a PhD, do let me know so I can let CF know. Preferably within a long-weekend's drive distance from New England.]
A few things I have noticed that I need to change:
I spend more on bird feeder food than cat food. Thistle is expensive?!
- When the weather is warmer and stable, that feeder is coming down and the birds will have to deal with cheaper food in the bigger feeder that the squirrels pillage. I should have enough Thistle to get me through.
I spend more on gifts than on myself. I like spending money on other people and donating money, but I do need to replace things like sneakers and underwear. One of the bad budget things I did was not decide a priori what to spend on Christmas gifts. I did not get anything extravagant, but if nothing else, CF and I should have decided on an amount ahead of time. The rest of the family got gifts of approximately the same monetary value.
- Last year I decided to donate $25/month to a charity. Sadly, I am not going to do that this year. I will still donate money to things if people ask (emails from organizations CEOs do not count), but will not go out of my way to find charities to donate to. This is especially difficult because there are so many organizations I would love to help out just that little $25 bit because of all the political issues our country is facing. I will have to be satisfied with gifts-in-kind this year. Already stopped by the local animal shelter with old towels!
- Buy birthday and Christmas gifts as I find them if they are a reasonable amount. I went into Urban Outfitters yesterday, and although I wanted to buy myself a $10 wallet, I settled for three birthday gifts all of a similar price. Sorry if you get one of these and now know how little I spent on you. ;-) It is the thought that counts!
- I was really good last year not to cheat on my clothes budget and will continue to do so. This can potentially put a wrench in my bra shopping too, as clothes for weddings count. No cheating, a dress is clothes! Luckily I already of a dress that I want to wear to my reunion, or this could get really dicey.
NEWS FLASH: Cars are expensive. Because I am commuting, I have to have regular work done nearly every other month. In Boston, those big $500 - $1500 jobs were only once a year at the most. Never mind that I just paid over $40 to fill my gas tank. And CF refused to move, so I do more driving than I may have had to if he had sucked it up.
- I need to sit back and drive slower. With a 70 mph speed limit, it is SO tempting to drive 80 mph home. I will get one or two miles per gallon better gas mileage if I drop down to 65 or 70. For real. The 18-wheeler speed limit is 60, so I am thinking just truck on behind one of them so they break my wind too. (Pun intended.) That might not sound like much, but roughly speaking if I fill my gas tank every five days instead of every four days, that would save me SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. Holy crap.
- I will need a new car in the next one to three years. Mine will (finally) hit 100,000 in the next couple of months, and I need to decide when a monthly payment outweighs the every-other-month mechanic bill.
I need to save again for things like a down payment on a car and moving expenses. Because I mistakenly severely underpaid my taxes last year, literally all I had saved over the year went to our federal government. Oops.
- I already do not keep the house very warm. The weather will soon be warming up too, so I will get some disposable income back.
- Right before Netflix is supposed to renew, I will cancel it. I have only had it for three months anyway. I will also cancel my gym membership. Over a year, these two changes will be somewhere around $600. That is a lot of money when you add it up like that!
- I need to cut out the Groupons, as much as I love them. The one I just got for shoes is one thing, because I will need them come summer. The ones for restaurants or entertainment are not necessary.
Lest any of you think that too much tax money goes to science research, this is how a post-doc must manage her money.
So back to the envelop. My mom claims that when they did not have enough money she used to cash their paychecks and put the allotted money in an envelop for bills/groceries/gas/etc. [I only say claim because my Mom claims a bunch of things, but this I tend to think is true.] I think when I get the credit cards paid off and am caught up again, I will take the same approach. That will help me not go over budget for things like restaurants. Those few dollars or cents left at the end of the month at that point? Rainy day fund.
03 March 2011
No Joke
This is the FB interaction I had with the Ex after I reposted a friend's picture of her stolen rings to my wall. I can understand the initial confusion if you are using a FB app on a phone, but he just does not know when to stop.
You can't make this crap up. Had to share. Enjoy.
You can't make this crap up. Had to share. Enjoy.
Ex: Holy smokes! Your rings?? Congrats -- I think.Maybe I brought this on myself by asking him to check his LinkedIn account because I thought it was spamming my hotmail account resulting in him taking advantage of the communication opening? On second thought, he really just is this ridiculous.
Jenski: No - an old friend who lost them/they were stolen.
Ex: I've been waiting for you to make the big announcement. Any month now??
Jenski: Geez, I told you I would tell you so you wouldn't find out on FB. Life doesn't move very fast when neither of you has money for anything.
Ex: Damn. How big of a ring do you need?! Fair question given you made a diamond ring your FB profile pic!
Jenski: Okay, one I did NOT make a diamond ring my FB profile pic, I reposted TO MY WALL a picture of rings that a friend had stolen and desperately wants back because her husband saved for the first 8 years of their marriage to get her the ring he really wanted to get her when they got married.
Second how much money do you think a grad student in Animal Sciences in the Midwest has in the bank after doing his undergrad education here and not being able to get federal loans because he is an international student?
Third, your comment is ridiculously insulting to me.
Fourth, nevermind me respecting our past and calling you when I get engaged. You'll find out on FB.
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