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Archive for June, 2007

I believe in miracles!!!

June 29th, 2007 at 07:08 pm

you've read my rants about my cousin and the $1,ooo in phone calls her son made on my line...this is VERY old news (this was in January of 2006!)....and how she had only repaid $300....well, she gave me $100 towards this debt yesterday!!...
I am truly amazed!... I honestly thought this was going to be one of those times when she promised and "something came up" at the last minute!!...
I just HAD to tell you all!

Goals 2007- review!

June 27th, 2007 at 06:36 pm

1. Control expenses and make sure total is at or below budgeted amounts for category/month, any “leftovers” in categories will go towards debt!...tsk, tsk...haven't really been taking good care of this, but, I KNOW I've been putting money towards debt like crazy!...I also know I've been spending on silly unnecessary stuff...like pizza on the weekends at least once a month!

2. Continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K and Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... Jan '07 started with $16.5K …. Expect to pay about $5K this year- not counting interest! doable as per my projections!...

3. Start my own business– formally: E-Spiral is the name, translation is our business (G-d and Ale are my partners!)… and contact at least 4 new potential customers per month, so as to find 50 pages of translations per month in 1Q07, getting to 150 in 4Q07…. From Jan – July: 40% of each job will go towards debt, 40% back into the business, 10% into savings (to fund my Freedom Fund!) and 10% to the Padre Vito Guarato Home. From Aug-Dec 07 percentages to be 30,40,20,10 ….hopefully, I’ll be able to quit my current job by mid 2008!! hmmm, I actually stopped this when I got the new job...re-starting now that I feel more "settled in"...I actually have new contacts! Smile
4. Help Ale earn/save $25 for her savings account by 071231! still at $5...have 6 months to help her come up with $20!....

more translations!

June 25th, 2007 at 11:11 pm

well, I still haven't been paid for the first one (payment is due on 6/30), and already got more translations...the first one was billed at $74 and, this one was much longer, so it'll be $261!...
I'm $150 from recovering my "missed" salary payment...and about $700 away from undoing the damage that missed payment caused!...still, I already allocated the money and, hopefully, I'll be able to catch up on all my debts sooner than I expected...I see God's hand in all of this, because I had prayed for $600 before the end of this month and, if other payments come through as well (my $172 from income tax return and $100 that I've been promised by cousin towards her debt...we'll see!)then the total would be $607!...I'm going to start praying/giving thanks for $250 in translations each month...

Kitty....

June 25th, 2007 at 07:18 pm

sis took Kitty to the vet for her first check-up and deworming...turns out, Kitty is a MALE kitten....so, we have officially changed the name to Shreck...although, we all keep calling him Kitty out of habit!! LOL!...

do I dare??

June 22nd, 2007 at 06:26 pm

Ale is forever asking me to make up stories for her at bedtime....a few months ago I saw an ad for a children's stories writing contest (Charles Perrault children's literature contest), and I thought: I should write a story...then, just 2 days ago, I finally tried to put one of my stories in writing...it's basically the story of Kitty coming home...just using some of our "home names" for the characters...Ale is my Princea Pelipreciosa (a non-existent compound word that means she has beautiful hair!), and my niece is the Pink Princess...I'm still working on proper Queen names for sis and myself...although really, the story is mostly about Kitty and our Fiona (also called Fi, Fiffi, Firi and Fifirififi!)...so...now I'm letting it "sit" for a few days so I can look at it objectively and make changes...the deadline for submitting an entry to the contest is Sept 30, so I have time...the question is: will I dare enter the contest??

re-building old ties

June 21st, 2007 at 05:10 pm

I don't know if I mentioned that during our trip to the northern zone our translator was a guy that used to be my best friend at school...(very long, painful story...the short-short-short version: he slept with my boyfriend!)...
back to the present...so, there we were and, all that hatred that I felt for him at one point? GONE!...all the bitterness? GONE!...you know what? forgiveness IS liberating! (I just don't think it's entirely a matter of will, you have to be emotionally ready to let go!)...well, the thing is he came to our house, we chatted for hours and hours and got up to date and, the next day he sent me an email apologising for what had happened over 12 years ago! (I didn't expect that, honestly, if I invited him into my home that meant everything was over)...so, anyway, I wrote him and explained that, from the moment I had invited him, it was because he was forgiven and, that we both knew we ALL had some sort of "fault" in all this, if only in not knowing how to handle all that was happening...so...we are friends again...I don't think we'll ever be "best" friends again (though, who knows? ) ...and, since he' s working on translations now, he sent me some work that he didn't have the time to finish...so, this week I get $74 for that work and, he already knows I'm available from 5pm onwards to do translations!!!...so, besides a renewed friendship (which is priceless) I already got an economic benefit out of the whole thing! Wink

I'm baaaaaack!

June 20th, 2007 at 06:40 pm

Or, as the song says: No estaba muerta, andaba de parranda!!...lol!..not exactly...

please be patient if you see a lot of typos, the "s" on my keyboard is not working properly!...

As most of you may (or may not) know, I started a new job in April of this year...some days I have little to do....others I have a regular workload and, only occasionally do I have lots to do!...it feels SOOOO weird!...really, it IS weird...most days I'm home by 5:30pm (if you can believe that!)...the monthly pay is only slightly better, but, there's a mid-year bonus and the end-of-year bonus is almost double what I got at the other place...plus, if you take into account quality of life, then it's definetely worth it! (also, if rumors are true, then this was definetely the right decision at the right time!...apparently the other place is going to let go 500 employees before August!)

So, I'm trying to enjoy my time here and not go crazy....my file is perfectly up to date..including the docs that arrived this morning, thank you!...my Outlook Inbox is practically free already (most things have already been taken care of) and I only keep "active" things there...and never for more than a week!...my desk is clean at the end of each day...((cue music from The Twilight Zone))...

Ale is a much happier child, we have time to play and read and watch TV together before bedtime...she just finished her Preparatoria and is ready for the 1st Grade!...since I didn't want her vegetating for 6 weeks, I enrolled her in summer camp at a local club and, she's taking swimming lessons, tennis, karate, ballet and arts and crafts on a rotating schedule from Mon-Fri, 8:30-12:30....her afternoons are blissfully free, so she can rest or play or generally enjoy the art of just 'being' for a change....she's chosen to teach Nanny to write in cursive!...

We have also acquired a new pet...a cat, who now has the un-original name of KITTY...HELLO Kitty is her full name! ...she's a total sweetie....if you are wondering what Fiona (our dog) thinks about this new creature in our house....well, Fiiona thinks Kitty is her puppy...she keeps "cleaning" her (eewwwww, the poor thing ends up covered in dog drool at least 3 times a day!) and steers her out of trouble...literally, the cat cannot take a step without Fiona directing where she should (or shouldn't!) go!...I predict the time is not far when Kitty will teach Fiona the meaning of "giving someone space!!" LOL!...but at least things are peaceful in the house!...
Well, guys, I'm sort of defying all those "no expectation of privacy" warnings that keep popping up on my computer...(no internet service at home...the bills caught up with us!...when you live paycheck to paycheck -- and at minus $200/month!, missing one salary payment has a HUGE impact!...Hoping to report progress soon!)