There go my holiday shopping plans.
So the other day I called my credit card company and asked them if I could get an increase on my credit limit, becuse I'm planning on buying a new computer and would like to have enough to cover the purchase. Yes, I can work with what I have as a limit right now and just save for a few months to cover the rest. I don't want to do this, however, because I am impatient. Now that I'm of a level where I can actually go out for hunts with my guild, I want to be able to. I can't do this with the machine I'm currently on, however. The solution is for me to get a new box.
After a lot of run-around, I found out that my mom was still on my credit card and that I had to have her taken off before I could get a limit increase. Okay, I said. We took my mom off and I had to apply for a new card, basically. If the limit increase was declined, I would still have the old setup. Just no more. This had me bouncy for a few days, because I kept thinking that I'd finally be able to get a machine that works properly. The twin lines wouldn't be running across my tiny monitor, I wouldn't have dead spots on the screen, and I would be able to play for more than two hours without crashing because of having next to no RAM. It would have meant paying off the new computer /and/ Jack's computer /and/ working on my student loans all at the same time, but I know I'd be able to handle it.
Apparently, the credit card company doesn't agree with me. My request for an increase was declined, so I'm left with barely enough for a crappy machine, let alone the one I've been eyeballing. (The twin to Jack's machine, if you must know. I'm rather pleased with how it's been working out, and I'm aboslutely in love with the keyboard.) I also discovered that my first payment for my student loan was due today and I have about ten dollars left in my bank account because I paid my half of the rent like a good little girl. It also happens that I can't ask Jack for money right now because he just spent what he had saved on his CNA class, something which I wholeheartedly support. Fortunately, tomorrow is payday and we still have a few cans of beans and half a bag of rice left in the cupboard. My first loan payment will be a bit late, but not terribly. Only a few days. I'll have enough money to pay the phone bill, and enough money to pay off a bit of what remains of Jack's computer. Then I'll be broke again until next payday.
I just have to learn to not get myself psyched up for things until I know those things can happen. It only leads to pouting and disappointment when something falls through. I also have to learn to leave myself notes about bills that are coming up on due dates, because I have a tendency to forget them. And while I'm thinking about money, is tomorrow or Friday any sort of day that would cause the bank to be closed? I managed to wrangle a day off for decompression/taking care of financial things by claiming I was sick and wanted to get better before I had to take lots of time off, so I'll be able to get to the bank. I just want to make sure things will be posted on time so I don't end up with yet another hellish stack of overdraft charges. It cost me half a paycheck or better last month. >.<
In other news, I finally finished Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and have moved on to A Different Kind of Boy, which I am very nearly done. I'll probably finish it up before naptime. After that, I have absolutely no idea what I'll read. Possibly Jarhead or some manga. It's rather scary how close to home some of the stories in my current manage to hit. For those of you that haven't been reading over my shoulder, it's a father's story about his autistic son's first eight or ten years. He writes about Alex's (his son) early years at school, Alex's relationship with his NT brother Simon, Alex's interests, and the different approaches he and his wife took to working with Alex. (Pronouns? What're those?) My favorite snippet so far is from when Simon was being evaluated by his school for placement. The speech therapist placed a jar of fancy jelly in front of him and asked him what it was, expecting the lad to say "jelly." Instead he replied "spreadable fruit" and, when asked why he said that, pointed to the label. His examiner went on to ask what he would call it if he hadn't read the label and he replied "spreadable fruit" again. It took a while for the examiner to get "jelly" out of him and tick it off her list. The scenario just reminds me of most of my childhood. I was always the one to helpfully point out that we had not in fact gotten cream, but half and half and then get worked up because they were called "coffee creamers" but did not in fact contain cream. (Butter, margarine, and "dairy spread" were other sources of fun with me.) Anyway, it's a good book and a quick read. If you have some page-turning time on your breaks or while you're in the bathroom, I recommend it.
Oh! Now for today's funny. While I was in drive-through wiping down my counter I saw a short, bespectacled person in a brown coat and blue hat coming across the parking lot towards the store. My first thought was "Woot, it's Jack!" which was soon followed up with "Why's Jack visiting me at work? What happened? Are the cats okay?" Yes, my first worry is the cats, because I'm silly like that. Anyway, when the coat person came into the store, pushed through the door to the kitchen, and started peeling off layers of cold-protection, I realised it wasn't Jack. (After being very, very confused about him coming into the kitchen.) Turns out it was the new girl on my shift, and not Jack at all. I live with the man, and I still manage to mistake other people for him. In my defense, she was wearing the same color hat and coat as he does, and they both wear glasses. They're not the same glasses of course, she has thick black frames and he has wireframes, but...they're still glasses, dammit! It's funnier when you take into account that the only time I recognise Jack while he's at work is when he comes up in his street clothes or waves his hand over my book to grab my attention. I'm tempted to tell him this, but I'm not sure whether he would laugh or be miffed that I can't keep track of who he is outside of the apartment or situations where it's just us and then everyone else (like when we're downtown). Ah well. I'm just silly.
I'm also cold, so I think I'm going to grab a bite to eat and hop in the tub for book-finishing.
After a lot of run-around, I found out that my mom was still on my credit card and that I had to have her taken off before I could get a limit increase. Okay, I said. We took my mom off and I had to apply for a new card, basically. If the limit increase was declined, I would still have the old setup. Just no more. This had me bouncy for a few days, because I kept thinking that I'd finally be able to get a machine that works properly. The twin lines wouldn't be running across my tiny monitor, I wouldn't have dead spots on the screen, and I would be able to play for more than two hours without crashing because of having next to no RAM. It would have meant paying off the new computer /and/ Jack's computer /and/ working on my student loans all at the same time, but I know I'd be able to handle it.
Apparently, the credit card company doesn't agree with me. My request for an increase was declined, so I'm left with barely enough for a crappy machine, let alone the one I've been eyeballing. (The twin to Jack's machine, if you must know. I'm rather pleased with how it's been working out, and I'm aboslutely in love with the keyboard.) I also discovered that my first payment for my student loan was due today and I have about ten dollars left in my bank account because I paid my half of the rent like a good little girl. It also happens that I can't ask Jack for money right now because he just spent what he had saved on his CNA class, something which I wholeheartedly support. Fortunately, tomorrow is payday and we still have a few cans of beans and half a bag of rice left in the cupboard. My first loan payment will be a bit late, but not terribly. Only a few days. I'll have enough money to pay the phone bill, and enough money to pay off a bit of what remains of Jack's computer. Then I'll be broke again until next payday.
I just have to learn to not get myself psyched up for things until I know those things can happen. It only leads to pouting and disappointment when something falls through. I also have to learn to leave myself notes about bills that are coming up on due dates, because I have a tendency to forget them. And while I'm thinking about money, is tomorrow or Friday any sort of day that would cause the bank to be closed? I managed to wrangle a day off for decompression/taking care of financial things by claiming I was sick and wanted to get better before I had to take lots of time off, so I'll be able to get to the bank. I just want to make sure things will be posted on time so I don't end up with yet another hellish stack of overdraft charges. It cost me half a paycheck or better last month. >.<
In other news, I finally finished Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and have moved on to A Different Kind of Boy, which I am very nearly done. I'll probably finish it up before naptime. After that, I have absolutely no idea what I'll read. Possibly Jarhead or some manga. It's rather scary how close to home some of the stories in my current manage to hit. For those of you that haven't been reading over my shoulder, it's a father's story about his autistic son's first eight or ten years. He writes about Alex's (his son) early years at school, Alex's relationship with his NT brother Simon, Alex's interests, and the different approaches he and his wife took to working with Alex. (Pronouns? What're those?) My favorite snippet so far is from when Simon was being evaluated by his school for placement. The speech therapist placed a jar of fancy jelly in front of him and asked him what it was, expecting the lad to say "jelly." Instead he replied "spreadable fruit" and, when asked why he said that, pointed to the label. His examiner went on to ask what he would call it if he hadn't read the label and he replied "spreadable fruit" again. It took a while for the examiner to get "jelly" out of him and tick it off her list. The scenario just reminds me of most of my childhood. I was always the one to helpfully point out that we had not in fact gotten cream, but half and half and then get worked up because they were called "coffee creamers" but did not in fact contain cream. (Butter, margarine, and "dairy spread" were other sources of fun with me.) Anyway, it's a good book and a quick read. If you have some page-turning time on your breaks or while you're in the bathroom, I recommend it.
Oh! Now for today's funny. While I was in drive-through wiping down my counter I saw a short, bespectacled person in a brown coat and blue hat coming across the parking lot towards the store. My first thought was "Woot, it's Jack!" which was soon followed up with "Why's Jack visiting me at work? What happened? Are the cats okay?" Yes, my first worry is the cats, because I'm silly like that. Anyway, when the coat person came into the store, pushed through the door to the kitchen, and started peeling off layers of cold-protection, I realised it wasn't Jack. (After being very, very confused about him coming into the kitchen.) Turns out it was the new girl on my shift, and not Jack at all. I live with the man, and I still manage to mistake other people for him. In my defense, she was wearing the same color hat and coat as he does, and they both wear glasses. They're not the same glasses of course, she has thick black frames and he has wireframes, but...they're still glasses, dammit! It's funnier when you take into account that the only time I recognise Jack while he's at work is when he comes up in his street clothes or waves his hand over my book to grab my attention. I'm tempted to tell him this, but I'm not sure whether he would laugh or be miffed that I can't keep track of who he is outside of the apartment or situations where it's just us and then everyone else (like when we're downtown). Ah well. I'm just silly.
I'm also cold, so I think I'm going to grab a bite to eat and hop in the tub for book-finishing.