I called today to find out what the next steps are to enroll her...
I need to go and fill out an application and pick up some new information and leave a deposit to guarantee the space... They will let me know when I have to deliver the money to purchase the books she'll use...
I still have to decide what happens if, when tested, it turns out she should be in first grade as opposed to preparatoria...I lean more towards having her start in prepa, though, because school here goes to grade 11 now, instead of 12 (as it was back when I was at school) and, I don't know if I want Ale at University at 16!! ((faint!))...My niece will be out of school at 17, starting University at 18 and, I feel she's still a bit immature as it is...then again, maturity doesn't always go hand in hand with age...but still ...decisions, decisions, decisions!

The friend that is selling it to me brought it by, saying he's sorry it has taken so long, but that he's still got to do a couple of things (experticia, which means he has to take it to the police so they issue a certificate that it is NOT on their stolen cars list! and emmissions certification) before we can process the salvadoran license plates...says he estimates things should be ready by the end of next week!...
It looks beautiful and it truly is in great shape! ...he will also give me the receipts of all the work that he has had done on the car (brakes, new battery, new time belt, etc)...
end of next week sounds great to me! By then I'll know (or I should know!) about the money!!

The CC company wanted a copy of the payment voucher- again...so I resent it. "they're taking care of it"...now I'm trying to decide whether I want to spend the energy pursuing their deleting some of the interest charged to my account due the money being "lost" for 2 payment periods! ....

Income tax refund - sent a message to the foundation. They have the letter and will send it in tomorrow, so, in THEORY, this should be settled by Thursday (yeah, right!!)

((sihg)) PATIENCE!

Ok, I just re-sent the documentation to the bank again...let's hope noone loses them THIS time!...

back to waiting for an answer!!
AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!!

((sigh)) PATIENCE!!

I called the bank exec today to find out why my loan was denied and, she said the loan wasn't really denied...that it's just that someone at the bank had lost my paperwork...("someone"??)...I'm re-submitting all the paperwork again tomorrow!...oy!- and I thought the bank exec at the OTHER bank was hopeless! (took that one 4 months to set up a savings account for one of the Directors!)...
...worst thing is, I really CAN'T ask for another exec, as she (or rather, they) are the ones assigned by the bank to the company, so even if I go through someone else, it gets re-directed to them!...

Lord, grant me PATIENCE!!!

We had to buy a new blender...ours was old and stopped working...must be the motor...I found a blender on sale for $19.99....and had to buy new video and sound cables for the DVD..."someone" chewed on them! ...those were $23...but the new ones are 3x as strong as the original ones!...(and Fiona better stay away from them!)

They wanted a copy of the payment voucher (scanned and sent already!)...Hope this gets resolved today...that way this payment will be counted towards this month!!

Oh, well, I'll have to look for an alternate solution!!...I know I can get a loan from the company co-op, as long as I can find 2 co-signors...I have 1, need to find another one...

"la esperanza es lo ultimo que se pierde!" (Hope is the last thing you lose!)

LOL!...yesterday, Ale made a sign that said $12 (of course, the "$" was facing the wrong way! how cute is THAT!) and pasted it on a shoe box ("with glue, 'cause it sticks better than with tape") and she put in a bunch of "booklets" she had cut out of an old math-readiness magazine ...she then made me write (in small letters!) "If you buy one, they're $1")...she said for me, they'd be free, and for her aunts...but not for the rest of the people...the first thing she did when her cousin C came home from a school field trip was sell her one of the booklets! (of course, C didn't give her $12...or even $1!)...but, hey, Ale has the instinct!...

Now, how can I help her apply/develop it??

...remember I posted about applying a payment to the wrong cc??
Well, checking on line today I found the $25 late payment fee reversed...but no sign of my $170 payment (thank God I make a point of paying by cheque!)...It is not in last month's account statement, and it doesn't appear under "movements since last cut off date"...sooo...WHERE IS MY MONEY???...I've already sent an email to the cc company....
I will go speak to them in person next Monday (after HOly Week) if the money is not being reflected into my account by then! - the cheque HAS cleared (3/17/06)...so, I know the CC company HAS my money!!...

will post again once I have any news!

1. keep better track of my spending- I still having a hard time sticking to this one!

2. Send out at least 15 resumes in January(best time of the year to find a new job in ES!) and, at least one more per week for the rest of the year until I find a job that pays better! Interesting development in this area

3. FINALLY decide on a school for Alejandra, AND save money for her enrollment fee, uniforms and school supplies Went to see a school that had been recommended. Think it's a good fit for us!...reminds me of the first school I went to: small, few children, re-converted house conditioned to be used as a school...strict but loving owner/director...AND, the initial enrollment fee is $380, and the monthly fee is $110!!...(at the preschool I pay $200 and $70, so the differnce is not THAT much!--at least, it's not $1,000 and $200!!!)...I think this one's a go, so, now I can really do numbers and work on the rest! yay!! Have to take care of this before April ends, though, to ensure there's a space for Ale at the proper grade!

4. continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K (out of which ~$4K were for a loan and the rest -~$13K!-pure cc debt) and, am starting Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... expect to be able to end Dec '06 with ~$7K, which I expect to be purely for the loan... to come partly from the English classes/$20 challenge. Same as last month, all "additional" income going towards the "car account"...

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money...Pending...

Well, since I have saved most of my $20-challenge money towards the car (except the $20 for Jan!), I think I should set the price of the car as my goal, so, I'll say $4,000 by December 31st!

and, as you all know, I hate waiting!!!...
oh, well, I have about $1,000 and I can get $500 from the company co-op...plus, someday I'll get my $282 in tax returns...so I know I can do something to get a car!....will keep you posted!

There are inconsistencies in it...mainly, Fundacion Hermano Pedro (the children's home that I contribute to) has not presented their declaration of donations received...($31 in my case)...soooo, my options are: 1. wait until they present the documentation or 2. re-do my income-tax report and omitting the donations...) - sigh!

What if I omitt and in the meantime they present the documentation?? It'll be held up again!!...

Plus, this is the sort of thing that you have to do IN PERSON here in ES....so I'd have to find the time (they only open from 9 to 4) and the transportation (taxi! -$$$) to go do it!!!

AAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!...

...I'm calling the foundation to find out what happened and if they foresee any resolution to the problem in the near future!!

****************
They say they'll draft a letter and send it to the Ministry....unfortunately, the Ministry closes on Monday for Holy Week vacations and won't be open until Apr 17 (and, sadly, even if the foundation sent the letter tomorrow, I doubt it the Ministry would do anything about it until after the holidays!)....oh, well, at least this should be solved before the end of April!

Woo-hoo! I got 3 more paid translations for April!! - that's $36 more for my April total!! (and it's only the 5th!)

Well, I was looking at my entries for March of last year:
I was getting TONS of creditor calls and could not even manage minimum payments...I was paying every other month!...My car broke down and had to spend a lot of money repairing it!...also, Fiona, our dog, was then just a puppy and creating all sorts of trouble at the house!

What a difference a year makes!
Nowadays, I am making payments that are slightly higher than minimum payment (of course, I have less credit cards, and lower balances!! YAY, ME!!)...I am trying to get money to buy a new car, so I guess in that sense I'm worse off than last year...and, while Fiona still creates trouble sometimes, these are now exceptions, and not the rule!

This was a good exercise, it helped me put things in perspective...I've still got a long way to go, but, there has DEFINETELY been a lot of progress!!

The company works very closely with 2 of the major banks here, so we get "special treatment" (or so they say!)...One of the banks rejected my loan a couple of weeks ago, so I applied to the other one...see what they say...I already have a loan with them (have had it for 6 months) so, worst-case scenario they'll just let me have an amount equal to what I've already paid...which would be a bit over $1,000....I'm done with the coop loan, so I could ask for yet another one (the most you get is $500 without a cosigner)...so that would mean $1,500 + the $1,000 that I already have...I'd still be short, but I think I could come to some sort of arrangement with the car owner...
I'll let you know what happens...

Translated 3 pages for a friend, that'll be $36 to be added to April's $20 challenge...

Posting it so I don't forget to add it at the end of the month!

Total for March

Challenge statistics:
invested:
$20 gas for cousin
$48 for taxies/March
=======
$68.00

Earned in March: $448.00

net for January: $12.15
net for February: $318.40
net for March:$380
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$710.55

1 small translation- 1 page
need to add $12 for my March total...just noting it down so I don't forget!

at least, the car I want to buy is here...now, all I need is $2700! ...the car will be ready for delivery next week...the guy has promised he won't sell it until I've seen it and decided whether I want it or not!...woo-hoo!!!
(I'm fed up with asking for rides!!)

IF I get this car (or WHEN I get a car, even if not this one) I'll come back and post a picture!

I was looking at my cc account on line and found a $25 late payment fee...I did NOT pay late!...soooooo, I look for my voucher, find it, it's safely tucked away with the cc, check the date and...oooops! ....I took the wrong plastic with me when I went to pay!...so the payment was applied to a different cc....soooooo, I ran to the cc company at noon and, explained the problem to a customer service rep who proceeded to transfer the payment to the right cc...and I asked if there was any chance of reverting the late payment fee...and she said YES!!!...and she did!!!...woo-hooo!...I feel $25 richer!!

...as soon as it is humanly possible..not only am I exhausted by Wednesday, but Ale is having trouble at school and I cannot really help her...I mean, I tried today, but, the poor kid was falling asleep on her notebook! (I arrived at 8:45 and, I had her practicing dictations and spelling until 9:15, which is a bit past her bedtime!)...plus, I feel like a drill sargent, Mom is not fun anymore!...she has a "graded dictation" on Wednesday...
And, I can't really expect the nanny to help..she's more than willing but, it's difficult for her... I had to explain the word "dictation" to her... after all, she only went as far as 1st grade herself...and at a public school, too!!...

...don't try to tell me it didn't...I bought the usual stuff at the supermarket, and spent $67 (okay, I had a few items, totalling about $12 that are not weekly purchases, but, still...-hair dye, a flea collar and a shampoo for Fiona)...I paid almost $55 for what would have been $40 two months ago!! It makes me so mad,because all my efforts in other areas are rendered null by the supermarket bill!

because Ale is not doing well in her dictations and, because the teacher at her school knows that I don´t have a lot of money for private lessons,she sent me her notebook so I can try to work with her at home...obviously, the only days when we can really do this are Saturday and sunday...so, right now, Ale is working on the words that she got wrong on her dictation....less than yesterday, so it's progress...but, honest, I somdays feel that Ale is going to think that having me at home is worse than not having me, she hates it when she doesn't do it right, and starts crying, which in turn makes me mad...so, we are not the best of company to each other when we are frustrated!!...((sigh))
Hopefully, this will all be resolved soon...

I don't know which one prevails in me right now!...I just called the bank and, my loan application was denied...they say I'm reported with DICOM (the local agency that tracks your payment records)...since I got a loan in November, I'm sure my credit was "clean" back then...and, all my accounts are current now...except for the telephone line in my name that I installed at my cousin's...the one from which her son called Canada every day....totalling $975!! - which she can't pay!!...so, I guess the phone company has reported me (obviously, it's in my name!) and that's why I cannot get a loan for my car!!...honest, right now, if he were here, I'd kill him!...as soon as that line is paid off, I'm cancelling it!...I feel sorry for my cousin, because I know she NEEDS that line for her business, but...there is no way I'm going to let her kid ruin MY credit ...If I had the money, I'd pay it off today and cancel the thing! (I know she hoped that once she had paid it off I would just cancel international calls and let her keep the line, but, that's NOT going to happen!)

Several places are lands of tempation for me: bookstores and shoestores are at the top of that list!!...I HAD to go buy some shoes today (I really really need a pair of nice brown shoes and I really really need a pair of nice black shoes to wear with my dresses...)...I found the perfect pair of black shoes...but, they didn't have them in my size...and, I found beautiful tan shoes...so I bought them...problem is, now I feel deprived...I saw soooo many beautiful shoes....(back when I was at the university, my sister used to call me Imelda Marcos...I cannot believe I only own about 6 pairs of shoes now!!- and, yes, I NEED them all!...one pair brown boots, one pair black loafers, one pair tan pumps, one pair tennis shoes, one pair black sandals, one pair brown sandals) ...flip flops and slippers are "home" shoes and don't count!

Forgot to "report" on this...her eyes are perfect 20/20 and 20/30 actually...she'll have to take additional classes in the afternoon until she catches up! ....((sigh))

Have spoken to H regarding the job he wants (to put all his 100+ presentation cards into Outlook contacts for him), says he'll pay me $10/hour...should I cry? If I translate my regular pay/regular hours,it's almost double!...
so, we'll see how long it takes...I'll probably get started tomorrow, as I don't have to teach a class!

I got the package - turned out to be an envelope!, and left the documents at the Ministry. I called a school ref info for enrollment and have a meeting with the principal tomorrow (HAVE to look into this!)- I called the Ministry of Education ref teaching accreditation, definetely a no-go unless you have your diploma...hmmmm... found the website for the university I attended...turns out now you can do a lot of stuff on line...for other things, though, you have to go there!...they also don't list the courses on line, so I'd have to go there and get a list of the courses required to graduate nowadays (the plan is probably different, if it isn't, all I need to do is make my social hours - translations, maybe? and I'm set!)...if the plan is different, it might require going back for a course or two...or taking a test! ...depending on what the courses are, this would be a good option...
All this and it's still 2:26 here!....Oh, and I graded the listening comprehension/structure part of the English tests!...still have to do that pivot table for the modules feedback... (waiting on 1 overall final survey to update the presentation, though)..
Not bad, not bad at all!