Friday, March 14, 2008

You better be, good to me

Another Friday - holy crap, I cannot keep up. This week has been nothing short of screwed up, but still, I would think I would do a better job of keeping up with all of it.

I managed to get a huge mess in my house straightened out yesterday; now my office is somewhat organized. I can at least find the bills I can't pay. I had kept an amazing amount of crap in my work office, it was somewhat like the way it works at home, when you have been at the same place for so long, you drag half of what you own from home. With every box that I packed before I left there, I was more stunned at the amount of junk that had accumulated. I had so many pictures in frames that just those took up one whole, huge box. Pictures of my kids, pictures of my nieces, pictures of those I worked with that were taken at various parties over the years...I had a huge bulletin board on the wall, full of cards and letters and sentimental shit. I had one whole wall covered in framed sprint car photos...there were vases from flowers, lots of personal items, blowdryer, hairspray, etc. I kept all of my own financial information there, all of the Ice Cream Store info there, I still had many, many records from the racetrack there, I had all of Bill's personal financial papers there...and all of this had to come home with me. I had to find a place for all of it in a house that is already overflowing with junk...ack!

And speaking of junk in my house, this is a good time to make a huge, HUGE dent in that, as well. We are having a giant garage sale at the end of April, and I have enough crap to fill three garages, all by myself. Janelle and Bill and his family are going to have things to put into it, also. So much of what I have to get rid of is too good to throw away, but no longer wanted by me. Finding a place to donate these kinds of items around here is a real problem, so I will happily sell/give away all of it to anyone interested. Garage sales are very popular here. I have never been able to understand why, but they are. It costs so much to throw things out these days, in a lot of cases I would be happy not to have to pay to have someone haul it off. Note to kids: Get what you want out of my house within the next couple of weeks, after that, it's subject to sale or being pitched.

I also went grocery shopping yesterday---can you believe it? I know, I couldn't either. I am not good at grocery shopping, usually I don't give a thought to price, I just buy. Yesterday, I acted like I was on my last dollar, and I was in slight sticker shock at the price of everything - holy shit! Then, it was late by the time we were finished, and the idea of having to drive all the way home, put it all away, then cook, was more than I could bear. So, we went to McDonald's. MCDONALD'S! They have a dollar menu, who knew? I ate a hamburger. A HAMBURGER. I don't eat meat, and haven't for more than 15 years, and I ate a hamburger. I figured, 89 cents...I am poor now, what the hell. You know what? I liked it. It tasted like my childhood. I wouldn't want to make a steady diet of them, and my stomach was begging me to never do it again, but it was good.

That was my exciting day. I spent the rest of it online, applying/looking for jobs. There are a few out there that I am interested in. Not too many...and it would help if I knew where we were going to live. My resume has been posted on a couple of websites for a few days now, and I have gotten several calls from sales type positions, Farm Bureau, a couple of life insurance outfits, but I am not interested in sales. I want to go to a place everyday, work my scheduled hours, go home. It will be interesting to see how many of those kind of jobs are actually out there, and whether I will actually be able to just WORK somewhere, without wanting to run it, and tell everyone else how to do it. Hah! I am my own worst enemy.

And just so you all know, I am making the financial picture out to be worse than it is, we are not ready for the bread line quite yet. We have adequate money to keep us going for awhile, but the thought of using what we have in savings is a little scary. So don't pass the hat for me quite yet, okay? Maybe in a week or two.

Have a great Friday. Love to you all. :)

13 comments:

Summer said...

You have so much going on. I know you can handle it though. How are you feeling these days? Any pain?

Anonymous said...

yeah you do...while it's good to be already looking for jobs and stuff..dont rush it..take the time you need to breathe...even for a little bit..before getting back into the rat race again...

Anonymous said...

Hey sis - did you say "GARAGE SALE"???? Can I come and stay and
help?? You know how much I love
garage sales and I dont even care
if you sell stuff I have given you!!
Can I???? Please Can I????
Love you
Trav

Jamie said...

Trav,

LOLOL-of course you can, good heavens, are you loco? Of course,I would love your help. In fact, you can do it - all, if you want. You know how I hate them. Having you here would make it more bearable, and fun, for sure. XO

Cheryl said...

What a huge relief it must be to clean out that stuff. I know cleaning makes for bigger piles at first, but you're getting there. Now what to do with the stuff.

I work every Saturday so I don't get to do yard sales. I donate it all and take the tax break.

Have a great weekend!

CRUSTY MOM-E said...

garage sales means spring! But I know that it's a lot of work.
I want to come and buy some stuff off your hands!
Happy friday!
Feel good!

Summer, may I please have an Invite?
Always,
Elizabeth

Mary said...

It's a busy time for you. But isn't it a relief to get the house de-stuffed and have only the things you need or want? Sounds like you may have help on the way.

Unemployment is not comforting but if it has to happen isn't it better in the spring than in the winter? At least you can get out of the house and not be butt deep in snow and ice.

SOUL said...

good lord-- im what-- eighth today-- wth

i might as well just give it up anymore--- :)) nah

but hey-- i PAID my bills-- finally
it was that or jump offa bridge--

so, "whatever "
:))

good luck with the sale-- i really need to do that too. i have so much crap it just kills me to think about.

how cool of your sis to offer to help---

happy friday

ttyl
oxox

Rebecca said...

Well, you certainly sound more upbeat! And I agree with Yankee...take a moment to breathe. You need to relax and decompress from all that has gone on in the last month or two!!

I remember when I left a job I held for 10 years. I carried boxes home forever. Shipped a few, and STILL needed a car service to take me home on the last day. I vowed to never allow that to happen again. Mylast job, it took 2 boxes. And is again creeping up with this job. Oh well.

Garage sales are a lot of work. But hell, might as well recoup some of that money! Hell, my husband would drive from NY to IA to have a look see!

Hope you have a good weekend.

r.

Portia said...

wow, i'm almost surprised you didn't get sick from eating McD's after not eating meat for so long!
job hunting is one of the most frustrating processes to bear, but it sounds like you are being sought out. that's a good thing, even if THE ONE hasn't shown up just yet.
i hope you have a great weekend :)

fiwa said...

I'm sorry to hear what happened to Mark/his job.

Good luck with your garage sale. I think garage sales are great, it's so much better to recycle stuff than have it just sit in a landfill. And good for you for being careful with your money now, before you need to be. It never hurts to tighten the purse strings a little.

I hope you find a job that you'll enjoy, soon.

Thinking about you,
fiwa

Brad said...

I almost sense that your stress level is comming down, even with the stuff that truely are issues you seem a bit more relaxed. I'm so glad your out of that hell. Garage sale is a great idea - one big cathartic purge of stuff will do ya good. Have a great weekend Sis !

Maria said...

I see something good coming soon...

And, you know...I never think twice about what I spend at the grocery store but there are times when I feel like we buy about ten items and the end price is usually over 30 bucks. If I think about it too hard, it gets scary.

We have enough in savings to get by for about five months if we had to...and that is it. That scares the bloody hell out of me.