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Home > Archive: December, 2010

Archive for December, 2010

uni, food inc, job

December 30th, 2010 at 07:33 am

Things have been going alright here. I am pretty much halfway or a little further through in my two uni subjects. I just finished part of a group assignment (thankfully all other 4 members are willing to do the work too!) and recieved kudos from them all for achieving my portion by the due date, which was the day after boxing day. I also completed a major essay for my other subject with 12 days to spare. Whew.

I actually completed a goal this year that I did not expect to: I saw a naturopath! Technically I cheated as he is a family friend who is staying at DF's dads house. The best part was that the session, and one for DF, were FREE as a courtesy for DF's dad giving him a room for a few months (due to relationship breakdown...)

He gave us a copy of a dvd to watch called Food Inc. Has anyone here seen it? Has some pretty interesting info on it.

I think I am now very determined to find a new job in 2011. My best friend (whom I also work with) also has this as her New Years Resolution. Except that her resolution is 'to find an amazing new job' whereas mine is 'to find a new job'. Big Grin It is not that I don't want an AMAZING job, but really I would prefer one that is low stress and fairly monotonous, so that I can focus on study. I think I really want a supermarket cashier job, or some kind of factory linework job... another idea is Aldi, but as DF's mum works there she has said to me 'DONT get a job at aldi.' Frown The rewards are good and they are good to work for, but you really work HARD and they expect you to work a lot of hours. But then again, whatever hours they give her, she works. So it could be different if I said no once in a while. My other thought is mail sorting at the post office. I always thought that would be fun Smile

ANyway. Those are my thoughts on the job situation. My best friend has this idea in her head that we are sticking together. She keeps saying she is going wherever I go. Which is silly, because she's a qualified baker and pastry chef. I am not. Therefore, she should be reaping the benefits of all the apprentice wage hours she put in, not getting a cashier job after all that hard work!

updates.

December 23rd, 2010 at 05:43 am

When I started getting ready to study for uni, I was looking for blogs about people studying and couldn't find many. Now I know why - they are all too busy to blog!
I have downloaded a Wordpress app which I might use to start up a blog there. Though, I've never used wordpress and it looks a bit foreign. Has anyone ever used it here?

Things are hectic here and I'm a bit stressed. To say the least.

I will be glad when Christmas and the New Year is over. All it ever does is seem to put strain on the everyday hustle and bustle and make everything seem so much more stressful and rushed. People are crazy this time of year - driving, shopping etc. Just crazy, rude, unthoughtful...

Study is ... ok. Some days I like it. Some days I hate it. Sometimes I see myself achieving the things I set out to do in terms of study & career... then other days I really just don't.
So, I'm not sure how it will work out. At this stage, I am just taking it day by day, week by week, course by course. I refuse to pay $1000+ per course and FAIL due to slackness or lack of motivation, so I am obviously studying and working my butt off. And I have enrolled in my next two courses for February.
But there are days where I just don't get the grasp of what I am studying and it just seems to make everything hard and difficult and stressful. Frown Of course, THOSE are the days where I want to quit! Big Grin The days where I am doing fine and picking up the theory - are the days where I imagine myself completing the degree and getting a job. Of course!

Work seems to be getting worse and worse. In the new year, I think I will begin looking for a new job. I am just not sure what is out there, or if I will be any good at a new place. My heart is just not in my current work any more. Well - not in the PLACE - I do like the actual work. It is just the boss really, and his wife, and the way they run things. I just can't stand it any more and my mood goes from relatively balanced to unhappy each time I step in the door in the morning to start work. Frown

I do have some goals for the new year, so hopefully I will get some time over the next week to post them.

All the weight (4kgs) I lost last summer and kept off over winter has returned! So I currently feel fat and unhealthy. I blame my sister living with us - she is a teenager and eats like a horse. When I see her eating suddenly I feel like eating - so that has to stop! (it has, already... but there is a long road ahead of losing those kilos I gained, and further losing the kilos I had planned to lose this year and haven't). Grr.

Aldi has opened last week, closer to us than the other one I used to go to. I won't be going there until the new year, but I am looking forward to the savings.

That's all my updates for now. Whew.

bought ourselves a tv (& cute pic)

December 6th, 2010 at 05:49 am

As some of you know, DF and I have been looking at buying a new television for a very long time. We have gone through three of the older tube-style tv's this year (one was DF's, one was mine, and one we were given). So finally, on Saturday, we bought ourselves the one that we have been looking to buy since the beginning of the year, it's a 40" Sony Bravia LCD tv. They have come down a lot in price in the past few months, what with all the LED's and 3D TV's coming out. And even though we *could have* spent a few hundred more and got one of those, we didn't.

DF is always hard to convince about these things - he doesn't look at it as saving $300 by buying an LCD, instead he looks at it as 'We could get an LED for what we would have spent on an LCD three months ago.' Big Grin

Me? I'm not interested in always having the latest and greatest. It is something I think DF and I will never agree on. He likes STUFF. I am happy with the basics, pretty much. I don't need a new computer, therefore, I don't want one.

In total we spent $990, with a 5 year warranty. The tv itself was $861 - ticket price on that day was $1126.00 - I think we did well at bargaining it down.
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In other news, we got our new mobile broadband starter pack with a mini wi-fi modem - and (after much hassle - I think I was nearly ready to kill something) IT WORKS! And it works good, which is the main thing. We have to invest in a wi-fi adaptor for DF's computer ($42) but from then o... it's all savings baby!

Old Plan (24 month contract - expired)
Home Phone: $29.95
5gb ADSL Internet: $44.95
Total: $74.90 + approx $5 in monthly calls

New Plan (12 month contract)
4gb Peak, 8gb Off-Peak Mobile Broadband: $29.95

So, we are saving between $45 and $50 a month! It means though, we will not have a landline phone. We do not use it anyhow, TBH it is mainly to order pizza Big Grin, which we can do online. With the old plan, you could not have internet by itself, it had to have a phone line, and that was the cheapest I could find.

We both have generous mobile cap plans, so if we have relatives that want to talk to us for a while for a catchup, we can just call them.

Next in line is our life insurance and superannuation. I am looking forward to this saving as well, it will be roughly $50-$60 a month in savings PLUS linking our superannuation to our online banking so that we can actually see how much we have in there (it does not allow us to withdraw from it though, in case you are wondering).

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And finally, Aldi is opening locally in TEN DAYS! I am sooooo excited. Big Grin

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I think that is all my updates for now. Oh! DF has put in a quote for a large job that needs to be completed before christmas, and he will probably be getting a large sum for it. We were talking about putting it towards our wedding rings and Soundwave concert tickets we were eyeing off.

Is it really *that* unconventional to go to a heavy metal music festival for your honeymoon...?


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And to end the post, here is a cute pic of Banjo:



Smile

my to do list for today

December 3rd, 2010 at 08:57 pm

I am going to try and achieve most of the following goals today, so that I have relatively little to do tomorrow. My best friend is coming over tomorrow to look at wedding cake designs with me, as she is going to be making the cake for us. So I want my house clean Big Grin as it is has been a bit messy lately... Other than that, tomorrow I was hoping to go for a drive and take a look at some of the halls that are for hire, so we can start making preparations for that.

To Do List:
- Finish Module 5 for my accounting subject.
- Laundry (will be a slow process, as it is raining)
- Vaccuum
- Clean the kitchen
- Clean the bathroom & toilet
- Tidy the lounge & dining room
- Put away our clean laundry (a small single pile seems to have grown in our room and now comprises of hmmm... MOST of our clothes).

I also have to decide whether I am going to go to the markets today, or the local fruit & vege shop.

reaaaallly big catchup post!

December 2nd, 2010 at 06:32 am

Whew, lots of things going on here at the moment, so I thought it was best for a quick update post.

I am really hating my job right now. Something seems to have changed, and I just dread going to work each day. I think that it is just that our boss and his wife seem to have stopped caring for their employees. They were always fantastic bosses up until the past few months, when everything seems to have just changed.
My boss bought a boat, and so now all he ever does is whinge about money, or talk about his boat, or talk about how he wishes he was in his boat - and no one cares to listen to him about any of those topics. It really doesn't do him any favours, because the first thought that comes into anyones head when he mentions money is 'Well, you just bought a boat, things can't be that bad'.
Secondly, there's no Christmas party this year. I would totally understand if it were for money reasons (even with the purchase of the boat!) but their reason? 'Oh, we are just so busy this year, with a wedding to go to and our son graduating from kindergarten.' Wow. Way to make your staff feel appreciated! Frown
Thirdly, our closing times changed, from 5.30pm to 5pm. This does not effect me or my wages, but the way they went about it was just rude. When shifts were first cut down at the start of the economic crisis, they sent a letter home two months before the shift cuts started, saying they were sorry but they could not do anything about it, costs had to be cut etc. This time? Not a word of warning, no explanation until the changed roster came out. (Rosters are done a week in advance). I just don't understand why they couldn't have done what they did previously!
And lastly, and I guess, most importantly, I just feel like strangling my boss every time I look at him. Smile It is not just me though, it is everyone. He has become erratic, extremely inconsistent with his words and actions. He will say one thing and do another, constantly contradicts himself, blames other staff members for doing things he told them to do, bitching about staff members to everyone but never telling the actual person involved what's wrong... Just so frustrating. He's very passive aggresive, doesn't like confrontations. I actually had an argument with him last week (first argument I've ever had with a boss before - it involved me confronting him over something he'd said about a staff member), and he hid from me for an hour and would not talk to me. Mature!

Anyway. SO I am not really sure how much longer I can last, if things do not change/go back to normal. Perhaps I have been looking for an excuse like this, but then again I do not have great confidence in finding another job and settling in. I guess everyone is like that though. New job jitters?

The thing that sucks is that I like the WORK. It is just everything else that I hate right now.

DF and I had a discussion about children. He has suddenly decided (probably because his sister is due to give birth in January) that we should have children soon. Like, next year soon. I know that there are good times and bad times to have children, but in the end, there is never a 'perfect' time - so many people have said 'there's never going to be that perfect financial/mental point to have a child, you just cope as it happens.' It's totally true. BUT! I think that if we were EVER going to pick a year to have a baby, next year would be the absolute worst time. I am sure we would obviously learn to cope and make ends meet - but I also think if we had any choice in the matter (which we do) we should make the choice to atleast post-pone this for one more year. Why?
Several reasons: 1) this 'wedding party' that DF wants nest year will take up valuable baby saving funds, not to mention time, and will only add stress to our lives. I don't want to have to deal with morning sickness and all the goodies that come with pregnancy AS WELL. 2) We will need to replace my car. It is unsafe, getting to be unreliable, and also extremely noisy etc. What we want will be new-to-us, but will have to be saved and paid for obviously - not going to be easy to do on one wage. 3) I have just started studying. I atleast want to do one year! 4) We are going to have to consider seriously in the next month or two, getting a business loan and starting our own business. Yet again, not something I want to deal with in its' initial stages as well as pregnancy. Eugh! Can't imagine anything worse!

and my last reason being - I want to achieve certain health, weight and fitness goals before I have a baby, as sort of a mental exercise so that post-baby, I can say to myself 'you did it once, you can do it again'. I am currently only half way through, so would like to be able to complete this.

Is that too much to ask?

ANyway, I think DF has given up on the idea anyway. Only because I said all the logical stuff that he agrees with, and the only reason he doesn't agree with me completely is because he 'wants' to start a family now. I told him, waiting one extra year isn't going to hurt anyone, and cousins being 2 years apart is not going to matter that much. (right???)

And I guess the last of my news is that we now have a 'boarder' living with us, in the form of my sister. I know most of you probably already knew this as I posted about it a few months ago; but when I last posted about it, this was a temporary arrangement. It is now about to become semi-permanent. I say semi-permanent, because there are rules involved. If the rules are obeyed, she can stay. If not, well...

We might finally be buying a new tv! prices have dropped a lot lately, and we are hopeful of getting the one we want at roughly $900.

At the moment DF and I are tossing up whether to go to a festival in late February. We have not been to one in two years - and we are really interested in the lineup (one of DF's favourite bands, Primus, is one of the headline acts). It's also pretty different, genre-wise, than other festivals we've been to and focuses on metal. I'd be super excited if we could go. Some of you may know some of the bands (check it out at www.soundwavefestival.com/lineup - I mean, who hasn't heard of Iron Maiden? Big Grin) However, it's probably the most we've ever had to pay for a single ticket before - $169 each. OUCH. So, we'll see. It's still a while away and tickets have not sold out yet. So, keep your fingers crossed for us that some special person drops $340 in our lap some time soon!

One way I am trying to save the money (and also, in general, just save money, regardless of whether we go or not) is that recently I've changed a few of our utility providers and a few other things, which should result in atleast $100 a month in savings, if not more.

Hmmm... I think that is all my news for now. Whew! Quite a catchup post, I wonder if anyone made it, reading all the way to the end? You deserve a cookie!