Thanks for reading this crap... or at least starting to
So here is my first entry in a LONG time. I suppose I will actually start updating a little more now that Jay is at school and I have free time. Not that I am glad that he is gone. I'm just being optimistic about the situation I guess. 4 years... well, not even a whole 4. Knowing how focused and hard-working that Jay is, I'd actually like to believe that he can do this in 7 semesters, but I really think that even my super-student boyfriend can't pull off his insane double major that easily. We've known each other for 7 years though, and if it took us almost 6 to start dating, I suppose that another 4 until we can get married isn't that big of a deal, right?
A few people at work insist that Jay and I are engaged because he gave me a new promise ring for my birthday to replace the one from last year. They say there is no difference between a promise of future engagement and engagement itself. I can see their point, but to be completely truthful, I am in no position at the moment to begin to plan or even consider a wedding. I thought for a while that I could start a seperate savings account for a wedding fund, which shortly there after turned into a car fund as transportation is a somewhat more pressing necessity.
On the topic of cars, I actually went car searching with the parents last night and today. In some respects, it was a great idea, but in others, it was hideous. The great parts include me getting the chance to attempt to bargain with a salesman and test drive 2 cars, one of which I absolutely LOVE (though I didn't show it). The hideous parts include Allan and Linda. The end. Haha. I swear that I am going with Jay's dad tomorrow. My dad NEVER opens his mouth because I swear that he is truly the most passive human being in the known universe. My mom, on the other hand, opens her mouth once for about an hour and a half about meaningless garble. This dazzling combination makes the salesman believe that he has finally found the retard-family of his dreams. *sigh*
Family issues aside, the car is a BEAUTY! It's a 2000 Taurus, though it only has 30,000 miles on it. It is a glorious shiny silver with power EVERYTHING. w00t! They are asking $9500 for it, which Al (the salesman) tells me will leave me with payments of about $200 per month. That sounds completely reasonable... until I force myself to remember that student loans are going to begin the murdering process next month at a rate of about $200 per month also. And with the Citibank card at about $50 per month to cover my books from the last 2 semesters and this damn computer, and the Discover card at $15 per month for my last 3 credits this summer, $32 for my health insurance, AND my cell phone bill at $50 per month, we're talking... (please allow time for the English major to calculate)... $547 per month on average. Then car insurance will be in there somewhere. I am estimating that at about $75 per month. so that's putting me pretty close to $625 a month. I've been doing pretty well at work, but I can't allow myself to count on that continuing.
I really really REALLY need to get a "real" job with a "real" income that I can manage into a budget plan. Tips are great, but it is so hard to create a plan of financial attack based solely on luck.
What would be ideal right now would be to just keep working for a bit until I pay off the Discover and Citibank cards. That would at least free me of about $65 per month, and maybe I could actually save a little money by then. At that point, I would like to look more into the possible internship with The Dominion Post in Morgantown, WV. They wanted to meet with me at the beginning of my last semester at IUP, but that wasn't exactly possible at the time. The managing editor told me that they employ several interns throughout the course of the year, and I really feel like I have everything that they could need from me as an intern.
The only problem with that plan would be that I’d only be making minimum wage for 30 hours per week in the internship, which would definitely NOT pay the bills and rent. I assume though that I could just transfer to one of the Bob Evan’s in Morgantown and work evening shift. There are actually 2 in Morgantown and 1 in White Hall, WV, which would be about a 20 minute drive, give or take depending on where I find an apartment.
It sounds so good right now to think about this. A new car, a start on a career, money, my own place, freedom, Jay. I might actually get to convince some people that I’m a grown-up... until they realize that I stay up until 1:00 am on LiveJournal mapping out my life.
So with that said, maybe I'll try a new, grown-up thing and go to bed.
A few people at work insist that Jay and I are engaged because he gave me a new promise ring for my birthday to replace the one from last year. They say there is no difference between a promise of future engagement and engagement itself. I can see their point, but to be completely truthful, I am in no position at the moment to begin to plan or even consider a wedding. I thought for a while that I could start a seperate savings account for a wedding fund, which shortly there after turned into a car fund as transportation is a somewhat more pressing necessity.
On the topic of cars, I actually went car searching with the parents last night and today. In some respects, it was a great idea, but in others, it was hideous. The great parts include me getting the chance to attempt to bargain with a salesman and test drive 2 cars, one of which I absolutely LOVE (though I didn't show it). The hideous parts include Allan and Linda. The end. Haha. I swear that I am going with Jay's dad tomorrow. My dad NEVER opens his mouth because I swear that he is truly the most passive human being in the known universe. My mom, on the other hand, opens her mouth once for about an hour and a half about meaningless garble. This dazzling combination makes the salesman believe that he has finally found the retard-family of his dreams. *sigh*
Family issues aside, the car is a BEAUTY! It's a 2000 Taurus, though it only has 30,000 miles on it. It is a glorious shiny silver with power EVERYTHING. w00t! They are asking $9500 for it, which Al (the salesman) tells me will leave me with payments of about $200 per month. That sounds completely reasonable... until I force myself to remember that student loans are going to begin the murdering process next month at a rate of about $200 per month also. And with the Citibank card at about $50 per month to cover my books from the last 2 semesters and this damn computer, and the Discover card at $15 per month for my last 3 credits this summer, $32 for my health insurance, AND my cell phone bill at $50 per month, we're talking... (please allow time for the English major to calculate)... $547 per month on average. Then car insurance will be in there somewhere. I am estimating that at about $75 per month. so that's putting me pretty close to $625 a month. I've been doing pretty well at work, but I can't allow myself to count on that continuing.
I really really REALLY need to get a "real" job with a "real" income that I can manage into a budget plan. Tips are great, but it is so hard to create a plan of financial attack based solely on luck.
What would be ideal right now would be to just keep working for a bit until I pay off the Discover and Citibank cards. That would at least free me of about $65 per month, and maybe I could actually save a little money by then. At that point, I would like to look more into the possible internship with The Dominion Post in Morgantown, WV. They wanted to meet with me at the beginning of my last semester at IUP, but that wasn't exactly possible at the time. The managing editor told me that they employ several interns throughout the course of the year, and I really feel like I have everything that they could need from me as an intern.
The only problem with that plan would be that I’d only be making minimum wage for 30 hours per week in the internship, which would definitely NOT pay the bills and rent. I assume though that I could just transfer to one of the Bob Evan’s in Morgantown and work evening shift. There are actually 2 in Morgantown and 1 in White Hall, WV, which would be about a 20 minute drive, give or take depending on where I find an apartment.
It sounds so good right now to think about this. A new car, a start on a career, money, my own place, freedom, Jay. I might actually get to convince some people that I’m a grown-up... until they realize that I stay up until 1:00 am on LiveJournal mapping out my life.
So with that said, maybe I'll try a new, grown-up thing and go to bed.