Anjelah Johnson- Nail Salon Uncut - ChickComedy

I was blog surfing today and found a clip of this female comedian. I clicked around and found the full clip for your viewing pleasure!

Enjoy~

June TCOB Goals 2008 - End of the Month Review

1) Reduce Student Loan debt to under $2000.

2) First month of Automatic Savings deductions ($100). Monitor to make sure this is completed.

3) Find a way to make an extra $50 this month.

4) Start formulating a list of things I think I will need for Australia. (Backpack, clothing, etc)


Well it looks like this month was a complete bust due to the loss of my job. I managed to collect the last of my pay and vacation pay from my employer. I made $50 working 4 hours for my friends mothers company. I managed to get some post opps and thats about it.

I cancelled the automatic savings for now, until I'm back on my feet. I'm shocked at how dry the job market is right now. It's the worst time to be looking and its quite annoying but I keep working on it every day.

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Olivieri Contest

So today I was fumbling around the internet when I found a contest:
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We’re looking for the next OLIVIERI connoisseur. How do you add a little passion and personality to your meals? Do you use colourful flower petals as a garnish or eat your pasta with chopsticks? Have you figured out how to make OLIVIERI pastas, sauces, marinades, or pestos taste even better? Is it a touch of creamy yogurt or pinch of fiery paprika?

Let us know how you add your own personal flavour to your meals and you could win one of our gourmet OLIVIERI pasta cooking gift packs valued at $250 each. Post your ideas and upload any relating photos to our discussion board under the Saucy Gourmet Contest forum.
One prize will be given every month starting June 30th until December 31st. Good luck.

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If you are interested in entering here is the link. Good luck!

My Pay Per Post is Broken

I can't access Pay Per Post today.... anyone else having this problem?



**EDIT

This is now posted:

Our servers are on holiday.

Welcome to the IZEA Network. Most of IZEA's properties are currently experiencing technical difficulties due to connectivity issues at our datacenter. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we’re doing everything possible to get the page you were looking for back online soon!

Thanks for the $100 Mr. Lush Campbell

I saw it on the news yesterday and today its in my hands. My $100 from the BC government.

Nope, I'm not talking about GST cheques being a few weeks early. I'm referring to my $100 climate - action cheque.

Residents of BC can go here to find out more about it.

You can also check out what The Province had to say about. Take time to read the comments... pretty funny!

So how about that cost of living, eh? Pretty fucking outrageous on Vancouver Island right now... how about a that wage increase we've been waiting 6 years for? I think that will help us out a lot better than $100. Nice try on trying to sugar coat the carbon tax, its not like any of us noticed what you are doing.

Well I guess its better than the nothing we're used to. I'll be giving mine right back in the form of a BC student loan payment. How lovely :)~


***EDIT**

If this is really a climate action cheque why did they waste so much paper to get it to us?

Show Your Style with Network Solutions

Have you ever felt a little limited by the your blog host? Sometimes I do. I am a pretty creative person and sometimes I wish I had the know how when it comes to blog designs. I would love to show more of my own style. I think it would give another insight to me as a blog writer and would probably attract more readers. It can be so boring seeing the same templates over and over again. When ever I notice a lot of bloggers using the same template as me I try to switch it up but its still not ME.

With Network Solutions you can let your funkiness shine through in two ways.

1)Do It Yourself Web Sites

2)Professional Web Design Services

Myself I would probably go with the Do it Yourself option as I want to be all hands on with my blog. With Network Solutions you don't have to be a professional website designer because the tools are all built to help you every step of the way. Rates start at $4.95 and include all sorts of goodies like a free domain name.

If you prefer to leave it to somebody else thats okay too. They have trained professionals ready to make your ideas into reality.

Dolly don't do Ultimatums!

Wow! Yesterday was one full craziness!

I am sure I have mentioned before that I was able to get some hours working for my friends mothers company doing landscaping. Anyway, my friend also has her own business that I have done work for once or twice. On Friday she asked me if I wanted to go to a job site out of town with them on Sunday and work. I said sure. Saturday she told me basically told me that they had all this work that they didn't want to do so they thought I could do it. I'm like hmm... so I get all the shitty jobs? Oh well, suck it up. A day of work is a day of work and I don't mind working hard for my money.

I was happy to be able to go to a site and work my friend. She's been promising for over a week that we would work together but her stupid BF always messed it up one way or another.

Well we didn't even get started working before all hell broke loose and here's the culprit:

My friend needed to use the restroom at the gas station so she put her baby (14 mo) in the front with me to play with while she went inside. We had been eating some take out from A&W and sharing fries with him on the long drive out of town. I was eating my burger when the baby tried to make a grab for it. I laughed and handed him a fry instead as I know his parents don't allow him to have any cow products. Not because they are vegan but because they are afraid of things like mad cow disease.

I heard a voice behind me and saw that her bf had pulled up behind us. He was giving me an evil look and I just ignored him because he is described always as the "angry guy". I honestly can't stand him but tolerate him due to my friend's feelings for him. As soon as she came near the vehicles he called her over and began ranting and raving in a low voice, cursing like crazy. I knew he was talking shit about me, I just knew.

When she came back to the car she waited until we were pulling out to tell me "Um, so just that you know my BF is really crazy about the baby and he doesn't want you touching his food after you've touched beef."

WTF?! I was like "Okay, well I didn't really touch the beef because I was holding the wrapper and eating it and I didn't think it was a problem to give him a fry. He was reaching for my burger and you were feeding him fries on the way here"

She shrugged and told me its just the way her BF is. Whatever!

I tried to shake it off as we drove to the job site but I was pretty mad. Especially when I could hear him saying all those nasty things. As soon as we pulled up he took the baby out of the car seat and held him like he was dying. It was nuts! Then he dragged my friend to the side to rant about it some more. I could hear things like " it just pisses me off" "ignorant bitch" "no fucking respect". That was enough for me. Here I am standing alone by the car listening to this crap.

When my friend came back I told her that I really didn't find his behavior appropriate and that I was going to call somebody to come pick me up.

My friend blew up! She started yelling at me and telling me how everyone is deserting her and reminding me that she's pregnant and how if I leave she'll never talk me to again.

Are we 5 years old? That's how I felt she was behaving.

I remained calm and said that he was her bf, not mine and that I don't have to take that shit from him and that I'm tired of him always saying shit and freaking out all the time. She totally ignored it and focused on yelling at me for being a "bad friend". I asked her for the address and she refused to give it to me!!!!!! I had no idea where I was or how to even get back to the highway. She kept telling me I couldn't leave.

Then she ran over to her BF and told him I was demanding to leave and I heard him say "Well we won't take her back until we do all the work, she can just fucking sit here all fucking day then. What other option does she have, bitch!" I walked past them and said I would find my own way. I didn't need them to get my ass out of there, I could take care of it myself.

As I walked past she started yelling at these personal attacks at me. I remained calm. Actually I was eerily calm throughout the whole ordeal. I really felt it was ridiculous from start to finish. I walked down the long driveway with her shouting hateful comments at me. When I got down to the bottom I only had to walk a short way to find a house that had luckily posted the street name along with the address so I called my mom who googled it and came to my rescue.

Not soon enough though. During my wait (it was 20 minutes outside of town) she decided to come yell at me again. She kept giving me all the ultimatums about our friendship and I told her that it was her choice to do that but that she might want to think about what she was saying before she said it. I told her... " I want to leave, its not ok for your boyfriend to disrespect me that way". She kept on about how I was abandoning her like everyone else and how's she pregnant.. blah blah. I really couldn't see how any of this was related to what was happening.

It ended up with her storming off with two fingers in the air and yelling very childish remarks at me. It was a temper tantrum. Plain and simple. She even told me that I should come say a last goodbye to her baby, but then yelled that I probably didn't care about him anyway. Come on!!


We've been friends a long time with some fall outs along the way. The last year though the relationship has sometimes been a tad bit draining. She needs constant attention and if she doesn't get it then I'm a bad friend and she threatens to discontinue the friendship. I told her today that she makes the relationship stressful. I told her that sometimes I need space. Some days I don't feel like picking up the phone. Some times my life is stressful and I don't have a lot of time for other people cuz I'm trying to get my shit together. I told she couldn't rely on other people. If she needs something she's not getting from us thats not our fault. I can't be responsible for making her happy and neither can anyone else. I also told her she can't group what happens in our relationship with her relationships with other people. I'm not responsible for what happens with other people, she is. She just nodded and called me selfish.

I sat alone on the side of the road in boonfucknowhere and tried to collect my thoughts on what had just happened.

Soon enough my mom and her friend showed up to get me and we had a laugh about it. It was a strange morning. We went for a walk at the march and then sat down to brainstorm for our own landscaping company. Then we topped things off with some BBQ, dessert and Yahtzee. So they day ended well for me.


I can't stop thinking, what the hell is wrong with my friend? She chose her life. She's not happy and thats not my fault. Her expectations are unrealistic and ultimatums and Dolly don't match.

Amy Winehouse Back to Black

Labeled as the next Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse is tragically amazing.

So Cute, It Makes Me Sick

Our neighborhood is filled with cats. Every day I have kitties just walking right in and making themselves at home. Two weeks ago I was standing in the driveway with my niece when we noticed a cat looking at us from the other side of the road. As soon as we made eye contact with it, it charged at us full speed. I've never seen a cat do that before so I moved in front of my niece just in case, but she was nothing but a purring machine.

Since then she comes every day and hangs out with us. Last night she was jumping all over the branches in our cherry tree trying to catch birds that hang out at the feeder. She is so cuddly and loving. Now when other cats come around she sits in front of us and growls and hisses at them like she owns us! I caught her cornering another cat in one our closets growling like crazy. The above is a picture of the poor cat that was trapped being carefully watched by our new kitty friend.

I call this picture " Do you really have to do that when I'm eating ?!"


"Alright then, take a picture of this!!"

" Whatever then, stare all you want"



I love this cat to death but I'm so allergic that I woke up today and my eye ball was swollen. I'm talking my actual EYE BALL. Eww. BF put some drops in that helped before he left for his trip today and I took some Benedryl that seems to be helping.

That didn't stop me from petting him with my sleeve 20 minutes later though. I mean who could resist that face?

ALONE

This weekend my BF is taking off on a 4 day adventure hike with a friend who is visiting from his motherland. They may come back for one night in between just to go right back out on another trip to the beach.

:(

I'm gonna miss him. I know its only a few days but I'm kind used to having him around, you know?

Oh well, at least when he finally returns it will be in time to help me host a dear friends birthday at our home during the long weekend.

Bringing down the Hydro Bill

Yes! I checked the mail again to find that I still don't owe any money on my cell phone. I overpaid somehow awhile ago and haven't had to pay the last two bills. In fact I still have a credit but it won't cover a full month. I guess its lucky I did that while I had the funds cuz things are tight right now.

In other mail news our hydro bill was only $159.61 which is a huge drop! I am very happy to see this. Its been annoying to never see our bill going down and now it is.

I would like to think that all of our energy conserving, plus the weather (who am I kidding, have u seen the weather?), has helped bring it down significantly, but I notice other bloggers announcing the same thing about their bills. I thought I heard hydro was going up?!

Hmm......

Free Pizza for a Year?? Yes Please!

How many of you have ever tried a Ristorante Pizza by Dr.Oetker? I have, and they are pretty much magically delicious! Well they have finally launched a website featuring their yummy pizza's and are holding a contest to win pizza for year to celebrate!

I checked out the site and it has this adorable monthly feature "12 Minutes to Romance" which features a different pizza each month paired with ideas on how to turn it into a romantic night for two. Aww! Thats my sort of date night. I like this idea because it shows you don't have to pay outrageous fancy restaurant prices to have a sexy evening at home. If you want to suggest this to your guy sign him up for the monthly romantic email as a quick reminder. Oh, and check out the Ristorante Contest.

If you haven't had a chance to try one of their pizza's yet there is a spot on the sight where you can look up locations they are supplied at. For the ingredient watchers they have all their nutritional facts online as well. :)

So check it out and sign yourself up for the contest. I did! Good luck everyone!

Sorry, Canadians only this time guys!

Same Old Story

My boss has still not contacted me regarding my work status so I sent him a very professional email today. I have to go there tomorrow to pick up my pay cheque as I still have two days owed to me. I really have no idea if I have a job there, not that I would go back, but I would like to get my paperwork filed if I'm fired.

I sent the email to my boss to start a paper trail between us. I already documented the last conversation we had and am going to email it to the union rep as soon as my boss finalizes everything. It may not help me but its a step in the right direction for the amazing women I met while working there.


***EDIT

I already received an email back and it is quite funny. It proves the fact that I was let go because he is intimidated by me and this is just what I wanted before contacting the union rep. There is a cheque there for me and after I pick it up tomorrow I can hit send on my email to the union. Once then email is sent I'm wiping my hands clean of this experience and moving on. My boss on the other hand can stew in the juices he has created for himself. I hope this helps out the women working there in their fight to get him out of the company. I noticed he also advertised our jobs before we were fired so I took a screen shot to send along as well. The proof is in the pudding my friends.

New Garden Updates

If you haven't checked it out yet I have another blog featuring my experimental garden. I say experimental as its been years since I've been able to have a garden and have planted a lot of things that I had never had the chance to until now.

If you are into gardening check it out.

It's updated periodically, I'm going to be trying for once a week, and is full of pictures of my little babies. I also write about the crazy birds we have blessing our yard, quite interesting little guys we have!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Prawn Crackers

Today I have a long time favorite of mine to share with everyone. Prawn crackers! Not the ones you buy already made in store but the ones you make at home. I learned how to do this when I was young kidlet and have loved them ever since. In case you don't have any clue about what I'm talking about I decided to take some pictures the last time I was making some.

The first thing you'll need to do is turn on your deep fryer. If you don't have one you can also heat up oil in a pot but please be careful. My sister accidentally burnt down a kitchen being careless with oil on the stove.













Prawn Crackers come in different varieties and brands. Some also come in different colors and flavours. The blue box are the ones I having been eating for years. Recently I discovered they also come in red which actually makes them a cute pink color. The box on the right are ones I picked up just to try. They are multi colored and all taste slightly different. I've tried other brands in the past but the blue box is my favorite so far.



Here you can see the difference in color before they are cooked. At this stage they are hard little ovals.






Once the oil is ready go ahead and drop one in as a test. If it puffs up right away the oil is ready to go. If you have a fryer basket like mine you can drop a few in at a time with no worry. If you are doing it manually do one at a time with a set of metal tongs. I used to throw one in as I was taking one out before I had the fryer. Now that I have the fryer I dump 6-8 in at a time.








Fun, right!? It's totally fun to watch the first few times. They go from this hard little chip to a fluffy white cloud. Once they stop growing get them out of there. Make sure to shake off any excess oil.


Dump them onto some paper towel. I usually put a few sheets on a cookie sheet to soak up any oil that was missed. Once you have a layer of them, lightly sprinkle with salt.

After a few basket fulls you should end up with a nice little pile of snacks. If there are left overs place them in a freezer bag to keep them fresh. I did a little mix here to show what they look like when cooked.

I like to make these when we have company because they are fun to share with people. Sometimes when we have company and I make sushi and wonton soup I will make some of these for snacking on as part of the nights theme. Delicious!

Pay Per Post Update

Over the last few days I have been paid out for some paid posts I did last month. I earned $15.50 between the two of them which I think is great. I still have some more payouts coming up soon so I'm pretty happy about it.

This brings my total Pay Per Post earnings up to $63.50

Not too shabby!

If you would like to use my referral to sign up for PPP please do and it will earn me a little extra $ to put onto my debt. It is by far the best way I have found to pick up some extra cash while blogging. If you would like to try it out please use the link below and I will be forever grateful. :)

Wising up to Phone Card Savings

A few years back I used to work in a call center that had a high priority on selling the customer more than they needed. We used to get points for getting customers to sign up for things such as long distance plans and services that were not really not all that great. The customer would call in about something different and the goal was to get them focused on other products to "improve" their service. Long distance plans were a big one, which gave us a lot of points which lead to more cash in our pockets.

The long distance plans were horrible. The rates were high and the calling cards didn't offer services that were useful. There was also a dial around number that had very high fees which I would constantly get calls about, only to tell the customer to read the small print. It was a very degrading process and I didn't work there very long.

I think people should do their own research when it comes to long distance calling. There is a great site out there called Phone Card Avenue where you can get amazing rates calling all over the globe. They even have a cash back system so that you can earn money as your calling to fund future calls.

There are a lot of benefits to using a phone card. For one you don't have to pay a monthly fee to just have the service available to you like a regular phone company does. Two, you don't have to worry about weird charges showing up on your phone bill because its all prepaid and can be done easily online.

I am definitely going to look into these cards the next time I travel too! The last time I visited the United States I had a really hard time finding a calling card with good rates to Canada. Some of the cashiers even asked me where Canada was and wanted to know why I wanted a card for it. Ugh. I'd rather bypass the slow guy at the counter and jump online and get it done in two seconds flat and be on my merry way. :)

The bottom line is don't just eat what your long distance carriers feed you. Check out this site and the deals on phone cards so you can really see what the competition offers. It will be worth you while and save you some $.

Dolly's Doings

Today I found out that I did not get the portrait studio job because of my availability. It would have been alright except the other person working there changed hers at the last second causing me to not get the job :( However, the woman was so impressed with me that she was very apologetic and asked if I would be interested in coming to work for her in the fall when she needs more staff. She told me she wanted to hire me very badly and wished that the schedules didn't conflict the way they did. I told her that would be fine because I really did want the job and was pretty disappointed not to get it.

I had my interview with the bakery yesterday which went well. The owner called me last night to tell me I had got the job. I was happy but not really that enthusiastic about it. For some reason when I got there I had a weird feeling. The owners are a couple maybe a little older than me and they are extremely nice but I couldn't shake this feeling that I just didn't really want to be there. The sad part is I took this job because it would work out perfectly with the studio job and now that I didn't get that I don't really want it.

Beggars can't be choosers but the owner told me he had called everyone who didn't get the job out of fairness. So now I feel like if I change my mind I've put him in a bad spot. It was considerate of him to do that for the other applicants but kind of dumb business wise. It's just the fact that now I will have to find a job that fits around the bakery schedule which I don't really care for because its not very many hours and I have to work every second Saturday which I hate. Plus, the money is poor but I was willing to take it because of the other job. What a situation I've put myself in!

So I'm job hunting again. My mother has offered to take me around tomorrow or the next day to drop off resumes so I can get around easier and get it all done in one day. I have a list of places to apply at.

I also have managed to pick up some work through my friends mother's landscaping company. I viewed a property Sunday night and did 4 hours there yesterday. I got a bad sunburn (I'm an idiot) and so I'm taking today off since its raining anyway. I will be back there tomorrow after the business closes to do some more work. I will be able to get small jobs from her over the summer so it sounds good.

Seeing the amount of work turned down by the landscaping company due to lack of time really got my motors running. My best friend also has her own company but since her husband got a great paying job at the mill they only take a few jobs a month and turn everything else down. It's fairly lucrative to have a landscaping company and doesn't require a lot of start up costs depending on the jobs you accept. I mentioned it to my own mother, sister and friend of the family. I suggested we start a all female company and see if we can attract business. We're just tossing the idea around right now but we're all in need of money right now and we are all great workers so we'll see how it goes. I want to get together and see if everyone is really ready to put the effort out there.

I'm sorry about the lack of posts but my schedule and life in general has been so crazy the last few weeks since I lost my job. I'm trying to keep on top of things and get some money coming in. I don't want to miss my goals this month and I'm really trying. I apply everyday for jobs and am eager to find something soon. I even applied today for paper routes in my area as another side income stream. I just want to find ways to have money coming in from different directions all the time so I'm not relying on any one business for my lively hood.

It's been a long two weeks but I'm staying positive for what's to come :)

Mail Call

Today we went past the store that has our PO Box so I stopped in to see if anything had arrived lately. I was worried there may be bills I don't really want to see right now but it was better than I thought.

There was one bill but its in BF's name so I don't have to worry about that one. Then there was letters from the University telling me my date to register and all this. No, I'm not going to school but they send me this every year since I originally applied. Waste of paper! Then there was my chequing account statement... boring. Then there was a letter from the government stating we are all squared away for taxes. Good! Lastly there was some relief...

Earlier this year I wrote about MSP and how, dependent on your income, you may qualify for assistance under which its partially or fully covered. Last year I was EI for a good part of it due to an illness so my income was under $20,000 and so they are not going to be billing me the rest of the year. I usually pay $32.40 a month so this will be a relief since money is tight right now.

:)

What's Cooking Wednesdays - Rambutans

I like to try a lot of new foods. Especially fruits and vegetables! Whenever I go to this one small oriental foods store here in town I always end up with a few new items in my basket. About a month ago I purchased my first Rambutans. The store owner is a very good salesman and introduced me to them and insisted I try some.


I decided to just purchase three. One for me, BF and BF's friend who was shopping with us for a dinner we were preparing. I took them home and opened them right away. The shop owner had explained they are pretty much like a lychee nut, so they have a shell and a pit. I carefully cut around the outside of the Rambutan to pop off the exterior.


Then I carefully bit the fruit off the tiny pit in the middle. It was great!


I am always scared when I try things like this because the first time I had a lychee nut I bit into it and accidentally split in half which resulting in a horrible taste in my mouth. The owner told me that meant it was probably bad (Eww) but that its still not right to bite into the seed (LoL).

I definitely did enjoy this new fruit and I would recommend you to try if you see it the next time you're at the grocery store. Mmm good!

Employment Update

So I have a small update for everybody regarding my job search.

First of all I have that interview tomorrow at the portrait studio. I hope it goes well. I need some new clothes and shoes if I take this job. I've been working pretty rough jobs the last while and have no dressier type clothing anymore.

Secondly I got an email back about another part time job picking up some shifts at a mom and pop type bakery. They wanted to know if I would be available for specific days which I am so I emailed them back earlier to let them know I'm still interested. We'll see what happens from here.

Lastly, I planted a seed to my friend that if her mother needed help with her landscaping company from time to time that I would be interested in some extra money. Today she got back to me that her mom does have some jobs that I could do without having a vehicle. My friend said there may be some weekends or days where she might come with me if she can find child care arrangements to make some money too. We may meet up Friday morning to look at a job site or two which I am very excited about.


************edit*************

I just checked my email and I got another response from the bakery to set up an interview so I offered some times I am available for sure to meet with them. Fabulous :)

Job Search Progress

So over the last few days I've been mapping out a plan of attack for my job search. I have been emailing my resume to any job that didn't make me gag. I hate being in this situation of not being able to be choosy!

Tonight my plan is set up my printer/fax if I can get it working so I can start faxing my resumes out to people that I have written down on a list. After that I'll need to print out a handful of resumes to hand out tomorrow. I am dividing my job search into geographical sections. I like to work close to home to avoid long nasty bus commutes because I cannot drive. Tomorrow I have two sections to deliver resumes too.

I have a job interview on Thursday for a part time job at a portrait studio but I'm not sure how this will work out. The job is on the opposite side of town and although I enjoy photography I'm not trained as a professional. I actually had an interview scheduled with them today but discovered some information online last night which stated it was a weekend only job which doesn't work for me so I called today and left a msg stating that I was looking for something on weekdays. She called me back and said that one of the two ads was incorrect and that she could work with me if I needed weekdays so we rescheduled. She seems very nice so I think I'll give it a try and see if I can pick up a new skill!

Part time is definitely not going to cut it for me but its a start. I'm going to keep looking.

Planning Ahead

I've been a little upset with myself over the loss of my job. Not because I feel I did anything to cause it but because I didn't leave myself with any other prospects for income just in case things fell through, like they did. I always think about ways to bring in extra money but I never put plan into action. Right now I'll have to take whatever comes first to get some money coming in while I look for something suitable. To avoid being in this situation again I want to find some extra ways to bring in money.


Here are a few ideas that I've brainstormed over the past few days.


Try to sell some handmade treasures online. I've been checking out EtSy.com for awhile now and they look like a pretty good site to get me started. I read somewhere on their site though that you need a credit card when you sign up which would be a problem because I don't have a credit card and don't think I could get one. I do have plans to get a secured credit card once my debt is paid to rebuild my credit rating but I obviously don't have money right now to do so.

Get on the wait list for a paper route in my neighbourhood. Okay, this sounds a little silly but I think it would be a good way for me to get some exercise daily and make a little cash on the side.

Advertise for pet/homesitting. I advertised online once and got a response but then didn't know what to charge or really what I was doing at all. ;) Maybe I should research this a little more and find out what it entails before trying again. BF and I really would like a pet, but can't get one due to our big move expected in just over a year.

Mystery Shopper. I've been reading on Krystal's blog about her secret shopping experiences and it sounds pretty fun. I saw an advertisement for another company in a local paper. I've looked at the applications but never know what to write when they ask you to describe a recent shopping experience. Any suggestions?

So there's a few ideas. Anybody have any others to offer?

The conversation - part 2

My boss swung his chair away from me leaving me to stare at his back of his slowly balding head. The he swung back with great force and blurted out:

"Actually I've thought about it and already made up my mind that I'm not going to keep you. It's just not working out."

I was stunned! I asked for some type of explanation as to why I was being let go and he said my "begging and pleading made him feel uncomfortable". Excuse me? Asking for an explanation as to why I'm being fired with no notice is hardly begging. This man has some serious issues.

The conversation lasted 20 minutes and it felt like a bad ping pong game. He gave me lame excuses and I defended myself. Basically it all boils down to the fact that he believes that I don't enjoy my work and that I think I am smarter than him and that I could run the factory better. WTF?? How do I know this? He told me.

He told me a lot of other BS excuses too but I'm not feeding into because I know its a game he's playing.He doesn't want anyone to make it past probation because then he loses control over the situation. In the end I asked him if he had planned to inform me ever on how to improve so that this wouldn't happen and why he wasn't honest in the first place instead of cutting my shifts. He was very dismissive about the situation and offered to give me what he could until I found something else. The nerve!

He also told me that he was also "getting rid" of the woman I spoke of in my last post. This woman immigrated to Canada and is part of a dual income family. She's been very insulted and distressed over this situation too. I decided it was my duty as her friend and a human being to let her know what was said so that she can move on. I also informed her of BC labor law which states if you are fired after 3 months of employment you can get a small compensation. Not a lot but every bit helps when you have three teenage boys to feed at home.

This news has been very unsettling for my other coworkers who have been getting sick of the games at work. Women who have worked there for 7-20 years are fed up and typing out resumes. There is a union meeting sometime this week and I've been asked if I would supply a list of the comments made by our manager during our discussion Friday. These women are ready to take a stand.

I am not going to fight this. I've had too many battles the last few years and I'd rather just move on to somewhere that's not toxic. I am worried because he's put in a position where I have to find a job right now or I'll have to use my tiny EFund and I really don't want my goals jeopardized by this monster. I think its sick that he has no respect for people trying to make a living, but I cannot dwell in this right now, I have to act fast.

The conversation

A lot of thinking and talking has been done over the last week or so. My frustration level with my job really hit its peak this week.

I never attended the job interview because after discussing it with BF we decided that I should try to get past my probation period and that way after it was completed I wouldn't have to compete for hours anymore. So I politely declined the interview. All in all, except for scheduling problems I really like my job. I enjoy the physical part of the work. When I go to Australia I want to be in great physical shape so I can withstand the long hot days picking.

On Monday I noticed not very many people were working which I thought was strange. I worked on Tuesday and there were still not very many people there. I worked my ass off that day, as I always do, because I wanted to be sure they noticed the extra effort. I found ways to improve my speed and I was quite happy with myself.

At the end of the day I went upstairs to check the schedule and was shocked to find out I wasn't scheduled for the next day. I have to say that I am a great worker who always gives 100% and was surprised to see who WOULD be working. I don' t like to say mean things about others but I will say they could have me in and lay two people off. Thats the difference between me and the other people lower on the totem pole.

Wednesday no work. Thursday no work. I did however run into another coworker who is having the same issues. She was surprised to see me not working. I told her I was rethinking looking for a job because at this rate I would never reach the end of my probation (60 working days). She reminded me that the week before she had received a letter stating her probation was extended another 60 days and that if she didn't improve they would "sever their relationship with her". Ouch!

Friday I went in to get my pay cheque which I knew would not be much since I was never working anymore. I checked to see if next weeks schedule was up but it wasn't. I headed to my managers office to pick up my cheque. He was sitting at his desk. He asked me how I was doing and was about to hand me two envelopes stapled together. I decided at that time to casually mention my concern over the lack of shifts.

I stated to him: Well at home I have a calendar that I keep track of my hours on and over the last few weeks I've noticed I'm getting less and less shifts per week. I just wanted to speak with you and make sure that there's nothing that I am doing that is holding me back from getting more shifts per week because at this rate I cannot support myself on these wages. I thought about taking on a second job but its very hard because this job is very physically exhausting and I worry about trying to juggle both. I've been looking for something to make money on the side but that takes time. Is there a problem that you'd like to discuss with me?

........................................

Stay tuned for the results of that conversation.

Sorry for recent delays

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I have been making some big changes and decisions during the last week. I promise I will update you during the next few days.

Finding Money Mondays

It came! It came! Gails book was waiting for me when I arrived home today. What a great treat. In honor of this occasion I am sending you to her blog to read a great money saving post. Enjoy!

A Show of Commitment

Since I get paid on Friday and I don't see myself needing any funds for anything besides a few groceries this week I transfered some funds from my account towards my loan.

Knock another $50.00 off my tab please!

June TCOB Goals 2008

I didn't really put too much thought into this before starting this post but I do have some things on my mind. As in I'd really like to get this loan off my back before my birthday in October. I hope I can get more shifts so that I can make bigger payments. I need to find another source of income. Not just because of my current situation of lack of shifts but because I want to get myself better established before our big Australia trip and its going to take a lot of funds to get me there.


1) Reduce Student Loan debt to under $2000.

2) First month of Automatic Savings deductions ($100). Monitor to make sure this is completed.

3) Find a way to make an extra $50 this month.

4) Start formulating a list of things I think I will need for Australia. (Backpack, clothing, etc)

Reducing my debt is always my number one goal. Once my debt is gone I can start focusing more on the future instead of being reminded of the past and having it slow me down. This why I am starting to wonder if I should push my debt freedom goal up to my birthday as a gift to myself. I can't imagine a single thing that I would want and appreciate more.

End of the Month Review for May 2008

I know I've been a little behind on blogging lately. I promise to catch you all up during the next few days. I've made some great progress in my garden and luckily I've been getting shifts again. Here is the review for the month of May!

End of the month figures for April were:

Federal Student Loan $2759.26

Savings $600.00

After completing all of my financial goals for the month my numbers currently sit at:

Federal Student Loan $2423.14

Savings $753.95

The month of May was also finished on a high note because I completed all my May goals a week early! Yah for TCOB

1)Pay Student Loan Under $2500

2)Set Up Automatic Savings Plan with ING Direct. - Set to $100 automatic at the end of each month.

3)Beef EFund up to $750

4)Plant Garden