Sis had an accident 2 weeks ago...thought I had written about it, but not. She ran a stop sign and another car hit her in the back. Luckily, she was not going too fast, and the other car did not hit her hard (the other car just had a dent in his front bumper!), but my sister's car spun around and hit a lightpost (again, God was with her and the pole did not fall on top of the car or anything like that...) The car was destroyed, but sis walked away with only a few bruises...
Today, it is official: the insurance company declared the car a "total loss"...
While sis is feeling better physically, now she's worried about losing her job (she DID run the stop sign... she says she didn't see it... it was a dark corner)...
The only things that MIGHT work for her are>
1. she IS the best sales exec the company has in the region
2. they WERE going to give her a new car anyway, and whatever the insurance company gives them just might be more than what the dealership was going to give them!

It's not much, I know...

As a dark joke I told her she might finally get an answer regarding her raise... like: yeah, we gave you a $50 raise, but we're going to dock it to pay for the car!

(we make this sort of sick jokes when things are going bad!)

I admit it, I'm a word junkie... I salivate over new dictionary releases... I find pleasure in those "technical glossaries"...
Ale inherited it... or else it rubbed off on her...
A couple of days ago she came to the house with a dictionary that wasn't hers... she told me that a friend who knows the owner said that the owner doesn't want it anymore... the whole class deliberated and decided Ale could keep it...
I told her otherwise. I made her turn it into the Lost and Found at school...I'm not even sure the kid who (says) knows the owner actually knows the owner!... there is no name printed on the dictionary (this is why, in addition to a nametag taped to the face of books, I generally write our surname around the borders of the pages!)... While it wasn't a particularly fancy dictionary (soft binding), it was better than the "first learner's" that she has, and she was disappointed that I hadn't let her keep it...
I promised I would buy her a new one in November, a better one... (she has to leave the other one at school, anyway, and they only let her bring it home if she has Language homework where they might use it)...
So, yes, my daughter is infected...

Every new transaction I have signed up for, I've asked them to include in my netbanking profile...

the loan, the "house" programmed account, the "taxes" account...you see, this way, I could just pay the loan online and/or make transfers from my checking account into the house and tax account and, even, if the circumstances so merited, transfer money from my "taxes" account into the checking account...

Did they do it? No.

I then asked our acct exec here at work to do that for me. She took all the paperwork with her....nothing.

I called their call center (which they call "solution center")...the guy was very friendly, took all the info, I could hear him typing...then he said the accounts would appear in my profile in 24 hours...that was 2 weeks ago...still nothing...

I will call them again today, but, if that doesn't work, I'll have to GO to the bank on Saturday. (And I HATE going to the bank on Saturdays...they only work half a day, and because most people's schedules don't allow them to take care of banking matters during the week - normal business hours> 8-5, Banking hours> 9-4!!!...it's ALWAYS packed!)

It has been very rainy lately, and it was sooooo cloudy this morning, you could not see the volcano!...I just had to point that out to Ale...
I was translating a program on volcanos in El Salvador....I must say, I didn't quite like it, it made it seem like my country is so barren...LOL!..it probably is...we are one of the most deforested countries in Latin America...

They showed a waterfall and a piece of forest, but, since they were focusing mostly on the waterfall, it looked "rocky"...so....


Oh, well, it's part of the package for August (programs to be aired in Sept, and $$$ to be paid end of Sept/beginning of Oct)....I'm behind this time. I should have delivered the last script yesterday night, or, at the latest, today, but I still got 3 scripts to go!...

well, that is it for today...I have to take advantage of Labor Day (we are off at the Embassy, naturally, but, Ale is at school, niece is asleep and sis will soon be leaving for work, which means I have the whole morning to try to catch up with translations...but, since you know what they say about all work and no play, I called a friend and we will go to the movies around noon, so we are out just in time to go pick up Ale from school!)

While my finances are in much better condition, I still haven't gotten to the point where I can afford to live solely off my salary OR the translations...I need BOTH...(at least I'm not trying to decide WHICH debt gets paid and which one doesn't anymore!)...so, yeah, I need to pay the new loan ($209) and Ale's school ($155) and the rent ($175) and there's only $180 in my account right now...I NEED that translation $$$$...hopefully, it'll come before the end of the week (that would be SOOOO great!)...if not, I'll just have to move some money from my "taxes" saving account to the checking account to pay for the loan and the rent, and pay Ale's school (due on the 10th) with my next salary payment (9/5)...Everything else is covered...

Yep. She needs new ones...she outgrew most of the stuff...
she is down to 1 skort, 1 shirt, 1 t-shirt and 1 pair of pants...

I already bought the material to have 1 skort made...and I gave her $25 today, which I hope will cover 1 shirt, 1 t-shirt and 1 pair of paints...if not, I told her to get the shirts and I'll give her the money for the pants later on (PE classes on Fridays and Tuesdays, only, so...)

Well, July will be a 'dry' month...I got paid for all my translations last week (and the $$$ is all gone already!- some spent, some paid)...and the next payments aren't due until AUGUST! ....((GASP!))...AND, I have to renew my drivers license and the car registration...so in July I won't be able to make payments above the minimum payments...I hate it!...((sigh))...at least, I have the $$ for both the minimum payments and the license and registration!...PATIENCE!!!...
oh, but August will be a great month!...I already have $300 worth of translations that are due in August...and I just got a new 96-page job!...of course, that means I should be translating, not blogging!!!...oops! gotta go!

Well, I had secretly hoped to be able to pay off ALL my debt by 12/31/08...and starting Jan 09 debtfree...but, with the tax calculations I made a few days ago, I know I need to "save" about $300/month to pay for that...that means I can NOT pay all proceeds from the translations toward debt...that means I have to delay my plans by 4-6 months...
my NEW dream will be to be debt free before my b-day next year (that means 7/15/09, as my b-day is 7/16)

..not wanting to be caught off guard next year, I modified the excel sheet my co-worker gave me to calculate my taxes for next year...I've input the salary info (old salary for the first 9 pay periods, new salary going forward) and linked it to my translation business sheet for translation income/ taxes...
Just with that info, I've already jumped into a higher tax bracket...and my estimated taxes for next year are at $4,000....If I reach my goal of $1,000/ month average, I'd have to pay $5,000...
this year I had to pay about $2,600...

OUCH! ...I guess I need to start a fund for that, too!

Thing is, the Embassy - by law- cannot withhold income tax from our salaries (although we do have to pay income tax) ...AND, for services, the translation companies withhold 10% of my income as income tax (which they have to deliver to the Ministry of Treasury)...BUT, given the (estimated) level of income, I'd have to pay 30% income tax ...
and, given that I don't need a car to do my job, and that the laptop was a gift...well, I don't have business-related deductions...

We were assigned new, larger office space- yay!
we moved today- not yay!
My workstation did not fit the way it did in the other space (it's a combination reception desk/workstation/file cabinet)...so...we had another piece of it in storage...had to get it out of storage...had to change the orientation of the whole thing (my drawers used to be on my left, now they are on my right hand side!)...making that change took a lot longer than anticipated...as a result, half my furniture is still NOT in....hopefully tomorrow.
This also delayed the setting up of IT equipment, so I have my computers (yes, I use 2!), but I only have 1 (out of 3) printers...
Because the furniture is not in its proper place yet, I haven't been able to unpack my files, paper supplies and other knick-knacks!
I haven't been able to set up the coffemaker, either!

At least, my boss#1 office is set up and I was able to unpack all his stuff already. All that is needed is his conference room table (which we had in storage due lack of space at the other offices)...

Boss#2's furniture is set up, and he is only pending unpacking his files...

our DAS' (development assistance specialist) office had not been painted, so that his office is less than 50% ready!...and I'm leaving on FRIDAY!!!! ((breathe in, breathe out))
Hopefully, this will be all set up by tomorrow!!!
++++
oh, yes, and I'm leaving at 5:00pm today, since there's not much else I CAN do!

since 2 customers had promised to pay me "at the end of the month" (already overdue, since one should have paid end of Feb and the other one mid March)...I sent them a note today inquiring about the payments ...((sigh))...after all, $$$ on paper is just that...$$$ on paper...it's no good to me unless I actually GET it...in fact, it's bad to me if I don't get it, because that means all that effort (oh, and my fingerprints!) were wasted!

****
The dermatologist suggested all that typing MIGHT worsen the problem!

Ok, so I kept calling until the receptionist knew my voice/number and refused to take my calls...no problem, I just dialed a different number and got someone else (it's one of those "rescue services" provided by a local cell phone company to its customers, so they HAVE to answer). I even had a bit of a spat with her, because she said: oh, yeah, I know, we will give her the message. And I asked: are you sure you got my last name right? Sure. Ok, could you spell it for me, just so I make sure you got it right? I can spell it, lady, don't worry. Really? go ahead, spell it for me! ...you catch the drift (only the people that KNOW me get my last name right...everyone assumes its either Lazo or Larios or Claros...)
Anyway, I called again today (gave her 3 days to respond to my last message)...since I was told she's not in, I asked for her boss...I was told HE's not in (not sure I believe it, it might just be the secretary trying to cover for the girl that contacted me)..ok, so I ask for his e-mail...would you believe the secretary "doesn't know what his e-mail is"?...yeah, me neither. So, I asked for a fax number (she couldn't withhold THAT from me, could she?) I wrote a very nice memo explaining that I had been contacted to do the job on 2/26, agreed that terms of payment where "immediate" and that I had delivered the work on 2/27...I also added that I normally deal with the person that contracts me directly but, that since I had fruitlessly tried to contact this girl (didn't use that expression, of course!) for the past month, I felt I had no other recourse but to contact him directly. I stated the amount I was owed and asked for a speedy payment. I included a copy of all the translated documents, a copy of the email I sent the girl and a copy of the fax transaction report...
Of course, I also added my phone # and email...

I hate this!...I should have asked to get the original documents (birth certificate and other legal docs) and not release them until I had the $$$ instead of making things easier for her by telling her she could scan them and send them to me via email/fax!

I was feeling so good, having made 2 full meals from leftover chicken (so, 3 meals total from the same chicken!)...and, as I went to look for something in the cupboard, I noticed.... there are those nasty bugs that eat pasta/grains in there!...ACK!...went through everything...had to throw away A LOT of stuff!... At least, I fumigated the cupboard and managed to save some of the stuff (I need to talk to Nanny, this is precisely why I bought all those plastic containers, so NOTHING would be exposed!)...ugh!

This is ridiculous! ...
I call at 9am, she's not in yet, I call at 10, stil not in...I called at 12 (yesterday) she had just left for lunch...I called at 2, she still wasn't in...I called at 3, she hadn't returned and they didn't expect her back for the day...

today, the same thing...I emailed her (from 2 different addresses, just in case she has me blocked) and sent the translated documents again via fax (together with the original transmission page from 2/27)....

We are being dismissed early today...I'm still hesitating between going to her home tonight (I know where she lives because she originally contacted me through the owner of the translation agency, and they're neighbors) and waiting until after the holidays to contact her boss directly (who, after all, is the owner of the documents, so he's the actual end customer) and refusing to deal with her anymore...

hmmm....another option would be to just try to get her boss directly today after lunch (it's already 12:30)

Needless to say this isn't someone I'd like to work with in the future...(all this over $53! can you imagine if it were more than that??)

...we went to get our passports today...everything ok for Ale...then the clerk checks my documents and everything is OK...then she tries to take my fingerprints...the machine CAN'T READ THEM!!!....

I don't understand this: I haven't had any accidents or cuts, I don't work with harsh chemichals...I don't even do housework regularly (in case you thought the detergents might have had something to do with it)..and, I don't suppose they could get "worn" from typing, could they?...this is sooo frustrating!...so, now I'm supposed to go to a dermathologist to get a medical certificate that states there's a problem with my fingerprints...then I have to go back to passports to get an appointment for their main office downtown...which means 2 days off work (1 to go to THIS branch office so they call downtown to get an appointment, then ANOTHER one to actually GO downtown...and, NO, you cannot call yourself!) ... ((sigh))...IF we do the Disney trip, then I definetely have to break it in 2 and make sure I have plans to stay overnight at the point of entry, just in case the machines at the airport in the US cannot read my fingerprints either!....((double sigh))

ugh! tough week at work (notice it's just Tuesday?)....tough environment at home with sis crying every 10 minutes then starting to tell me how unfair it is that she cannot get her loan because of cousin...(at least, cousin has NOT been calling me!)...Ale has not been slacking at school...it hasn't affected her grades (yet) but I've had at least 3 "did not work in class today" notes last week!...to top it all off the newspaper says gas prices will go up by $0.17 this week!....

UGH!

We tried to get our new passports today, but were unable to…the guy did not accept our birth certificates…mine does not have all info on my marriage and divorce (should be annotated on the margin), and both had been folded, so they considered them unacceptable…((sigh))…oh, well, at least they checked the other documents and pronounced them OK…
To celebrate my freedom from CC1, I had told Ale we could get a piece of cake after the passports…so, we went to do that instead…I asked for just one piece of cake and 2 sodas…Ale wasn’t too pleased about 1 piece for both, but, let it go because I let her choose the cake… I don’t know the real name of the cake she ordered, but it might as well have been “Sugar O.D”, or, maybe “Death by Chocolate”…I took 4 bites and OD’d …Ale was able to go for 6 bites before going blhaaaaa on chocolate…there were still at least 3 bites left to that piece of cake!!!...and I said to her: Can you imagine if we had bought 2 pieces?...she said: Waste!

I gave Ale $6 and told her to go pay…she said: how much is it? And I said: I don’t know, we didn’t ask before we bought it…(I knew it couldn’t be more than $3 for the cake!...our total ended up $4.85)…she gave me this look…and she said: “You didn’t ASK??” …((the look was: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!!!!????))….
Ahhh, there’s hope for us yet!

oh, boy!...I just checked my balance on line... I have a whooping $0.48....which should have to last until next Friday...yeah, right!...the good news is, we are supposed to be getting the money for the first school supply packages on Monday (about $1k for me)...((sigh))

meantime, I have $2.6K in uncollected translation money, too...which should have been paid to me before the 10th of Feb....hopefully at least part of that $$$ will come through this weekend!

Back to work!

I could kick myself!...I was asked to quote on a translation job...I did..I quoted $50...turns out, I somehow got my math wrong...it should have been $150!... the customer accepted, I accepted the job and, only half-way through it did I realize: "hey, this is too long for $50!"...aaaargh! ...

ok, lesson learned! (double and triple check before committing to a quote!!) ... a $100 lesson!

We've been joking about it for some time now with sis, but, I think we are now getting to the point where we WILL have to institute this as a meal at least 2x week! (nothing wrong with it, except I must cook it - for some strange reason, none of us like the way nanny cooks it!... I mean, there's no science to it...I think it might be that she adds tomato and worcestershire sauceto it...eventhough we've asked her not to! -see, that is the downside of having someone to do stuff for you! )

Thankfully, they opened (someone else's) car and stole everyone's handbags while they were attending a wedding, so she wasn't harmed...the thieves DID smash the car window, though, and now niece has to replace all her id's (national id, drivers' license, tax id....)...((sigh)) since I had the day off today, I took her to get her national id (step #1 and the cheapest id!- $10.31)...we left the house at 7:30am, dropped Ale off at school, went to the police station to file a report (you need a copy of the report to be able to replace the drivers license) and then to the place where they issue the national id's...we came back at 2:00pm, had lunch and then I went to pick up Ale.. (the other offices close at 4pm, so there wasn't much chance of us making it before closing time...plus, the license costs $52...and we don't have that at the moment! --yeah, we DO need an emergency fund!)...((sigh))

same bag that cost me $3.09 on Saturday!
...and they tell me Premium gas has reached $4/gallon!!!

Desperate times call for desperate measures, I'm calling a "clan meeting" at my house tomorrow!!

...went to the grocery store today...bought almost the same things I always do (did not get meats, but had to buy food for both Tonio AND Fiona, as they were both running out)...the total is generally ~$70...today it was $85!!!
...and the MInistry of Economy says cummulative inflation as of November was 5.5%!!!

I'll have to adjust my monthly budgets to reflect these new prices!!!...and I'm guessing the difference will have to come out of the money allocated towards paying debt....grrrrr!

....we already have our hands full as it is, and, yesterday, one of our suppliers told us that the 30% off promotion had expired...we actually had a large order on toys from them...so, cousin ran downtown to find another supplier (she found one, yay, cousin!), but, it took her all morning...AND, the office get-together was yesterday night...(no way I could get out of going...we are only 9 people!-counting the spouses and 2 consultants!)...and, today, one of the people coming to help pack presents is sick!... AND, I still haven't finished my translation!!! (the good thing is, I was given an extension, because the end customer is NOT going to arbitration just yet-they might not go at all, but they want to have the documents just in case anyway!)

::breath in, breath out::

I'm overcommitted for this weekend!...
these are the events:
1. Ale's church meeting (yes)
2. Embassy's Xmas festival for children (don't think we'll be able to make it!)
3. gift-wrapping/order preparation fest with cousin (definitely YES!)
4. Xmas get-together with translation agency folks (VERY difficult)
5. 20-year anniversary class reunion (also VERY difficult)
6. 35 pages of translation....

HELP!!!....oh, and here I am, instead of trying to reduce those 35 pages..I'm blogging!

I was on my way to pick up Ale when the car started overheating...took it to the nearest gas station...the radiator was dry!...I just checked it about a week ago (when filling the tank)...they filled the radiator with water and I drove it all the way back to our neighborhood (there´s a good workshop one block from my house) Needless to say, the car has to stay overnight (it was already 4 pm when I finally got here!) ....I told them the car had overheated and, they´ll check it...they´ll also do the oil change and I asked them to check the brakes (I check them every 6 months) while they´re at it....

((sigh)) they´ll call me tomorrow to tell me what it is, how much it´s going to cost and how long it´s going to take!...wish me luck!

the freighters guild announced a 30% increase in their rates...guess what THAT'll do to food prices! (not that I can blame them, though, with gas at $3.68/gallon!....ok, most use diesel, which is cheaper, but, still, it HAS gone up in price!)

well, Nanny asked me yesterday if it was ok for her to use the iron, as the cable had started smoking while she was ironing in the morning!...er, NO!...I will probably take the old iron to have it fixed and use it as a "spare" for emergencies...I bought a new iron yesterday (luckily, they were on sale!..it cost me $29)...a steam iron, HEAVY, teflon coated... (don't ask ME, I don't know how to iron, but Dad had learned while in the military and always said a heavy iron works best...of course, he was in the army around WWII, so....the new technologies might make that unnecessary!)...

there was a discrepancy between HER numbers and the balance at the bank (she discovered this when a toy wholesaler tried to reserve a cheque she had given and got rejected for insufficient funds)...well, someone has spent $685 from her account!...living the good life at expensive restaurants and bars in the two most expensive malls here in ES (coincidentally near the place where we live!)....I would have blamed it on her son (who, at least apparently, continues to behave and will start to work next month!- or so he says)...well, I would have blamed him if it weren't for 2 things: 1. he was with her at the times when the transactions took place and 2. there's a $150 purchase at a store called Ilusion. Cousin didn't know what it was, but I do...it's a very expensive home-decor store (definetily not your average teenage-hangout!)...nothing but crystal, silver,pewter and the likes there...definetely not a place where a teenage boy would spend $$$$....she is disputing the charges (obviously) and has closed her account with the bank...

On the day her cheque was rejected, she tried to go to an ATM to get a balance and found out her card was blocked. When contacting the bank she was told the card had been reported as stolen, so they issued her a NEW card...and not she's lost ANOTHER $535 ....fishy, very fishy...

anyway, the bank is investigating, and she got whathever money she had out of there...

She's been told it generally takes 45 days to have something like this resolved...we'll see...wish us luck! (the $$$ in the account was the toy money!!!...obviously she thought it would be a lot wiser to keep it in the bank, where it would be "safe" rather than keep it home....after last year's "incident" with her son!)...I'm just glad I didn't give her MY share of the $$$, but chose to keep it myself, as we need to buy some toys TODAY to be able to benefit from a special sale price- which will allow us a $10 PROFIT/toy, instead of the $5 foreseen!!

One of the larger jobs was not paid yet. I spent: $1.30 for traditional candy at the mall (Ale begged and, since she can't eat the colored ones at the moment, I gave in!), I also went to the toy store and, I found a bike that was a bit more expensive, but had 18 rim tires, so it's bigger than the ones I had seen before and, will last her longer. She tried it and she can use it - it does have training wheels!...we can pay it with 25% downpayment and 3 installments without paying interest, so I paid ~$25 also bought the protective gear...I separated $6 for our vegetables tomorrow (change) and, put the remaining $$$ in a safe place, so I don't have it with me today and tomorrow (so I cannot spend it!)...on MOnday I'll deposit it and start working on the payments!...oh, and it seems my car may need a new battery (it refused to start after I dropped cousin off!...luckily her neighbor is a mechanic and he was just arriving at the same time, so he looked at it and, used the jump cables to start my car!)...that could cost me about $60-$75....I have to look on the bright side: while that means less money towards debt, at least I HAVE IT!...if this had happened last year, for example, I would have been in BIG trouble (and would have had to incurr new debt to get it!)...If this had happened before we went to the toy store, I might have backed down on the bike!, but, I'm already committed now (else I lose part of my $$$)...I also have to buy some more medicines for Ale, to finish her treatment...part of that is reimbursable, though, so...no big loss there...
Oh! and the guys from the translation agency warned me that there's "a TON of work coming really soon" and to check whether any of my friends were willing to do translations, as they might have more work than their current pool of translators can handle!..that is sweet news, indeed!!
it was a good day!!!
*****
minor detail I was forgetting! I owe $322 to my friend who helped me with one of the large translations! duh!...I'll go take that out of my stash RIGHT NOW!