miclason's Personal Finance Blog

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!

someone left a comment asking for my resume...I commented this to my boss and, I thought he had somehow asked IT to block my access!! ha,ha,ha,ha!

...now you know why conspiracy theories are so popular! (because we are all paranoid to a certain degree!)

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!!

Wow...they just sent me a presentation to translate for upcoming trainings...we do them in English and all our trainings are in English, but, if we want to reach all levels in the organization, we need to translate the materials so that HR can give the trainings to the whole company....this is 1 out of 3(trainings) that need to be translated...This presentation alone is 89 slides!!!....and it has like 8 handouts!! ((faint))

...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...

today at work I was invited to a meeting. Since I cannot tell you what it was about, suffice it to say that it was a working meeting -not a general one- and not for the training team...
I know I wasn't there to take notes...
so, I still don't know what the purpose of INVITING me was...

Unsolved mysteries!

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))

I've been working like crazy and I still didn't finish even half of what I needed to do...the good thing is, I finished with the most important things, at least!...tomorrow I get another chance to catch up with work! LOL!...have to find something that I can do in 10 minutes before leaving for the school...hmmmmm

We still don't know and, unlike previous elections, this time the percentages are REALLY close!...so we really won't know until all votes are counted (well, they have been counted by the individual voting tables, but the numbers have to be consolidated!) ...either way, it's a victory for ARENA...San Salvador has been headed by the FMLN for the past 9 years and, traditionally, the difference has been abysmal...
Now, San Salvador is our capital city, that's why we all care about who won, but, actually I live in Antiguo Cuscatlan, and we know who won THERE!...Milagro Navas has been the Mayoress (does this word exist?) for 9 years there!... I used to believe that she got elected because of the inordinate amount of people from San Salvador who chose to vote in Antiguo (it's extremely close to San Salvador, so many people opted to vote there in the past, to avoid crowds, nowadays you can't really choose where to vote, it gets decided based on your address!)...but, when we went to sell school supplies at the Antiguo Cuscatlan fair this February, she came by to see how things were doing at the fair and, everyone seemed to know her - and like her, too!...Also, if you go to the city hall, they'll tell you: we don't support any party, we support HER...and, really, she has done a lot for the town and its surroundings...

seems like everyone decided to wait until after lunch!...there were no parking spaces, either...I had to park almost 5 blocks away!...but, if bullets couldn't stop us in the 80's, 5 blocks, crowds and traffic jams are certainly NOT going to stop us now!

We are still waiting for the results, of course, but, they should be announcing the preliminary results at around 8:00pm tonight (it's 7:30 here!)

I already bathed the dog...Ale is having her bath, then I'm next and, after lunch, off we go to vote!!...it's National Assembly Representatives and Mayors this year....

Since my class was cancelled -and since I didn't have a car today- I didn't take Ale to her Scouts meeting...
We went to the eye doctor in the morning: her eyesight is perfect!...so, she has to go to classes to catch up!...she says she doesn't want to, and I tell her that is up to her...if she applies herself more in the mornings, there won't be a need for her to go, but, if she continues to get distracted when she should be working, then...
in the afternoon, a friend came to pick us up and we went to La Gran Via- a new shopping mall, with a huge fountain in the middle...the kids run around and, we bought them a ride on the kiddie train ($0.50) and then we went for cake and ice cream...we ordered a strawberry shake in two glasses for the kids (perfect size! they each finished their halfs!) and a piece of cake for each of us...so, it wasn't really a very frugal weekend, but, it felt soooo good to be able to have a more "normal" weekend for a change!

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!

I have a car (my sis is out of the country and I can use her car today and tomorrow, yay!), so I'll go drop off some documents for one of our trainers, pick up some mail that has arrived for one of our PM's, drop off a letter for one of the directors (yes, I also run errands on occasion!...but, if I leave these things with General Services, it takes about a week...I can do them in just one day!)...I've finally finished inputting all the data from the feedback forms from our training, so all I have to do now is the pivot table and update the presentation, so that can be ready for Friday (I promised it for next MOnday, so...I'll do that this afternoon)
I left the documents for my loan application for the car at the bank yesterday, so I have to remember to call the sales rep and see if the preliminary investigation is ok (they do a credit pull)...then I can either relax or go back to fretting about it! LOL!...
I also have to call the Ministry of Education (they wrote back "please call this number") to see what can be done about accreditation...OK, break's over, back to life!

I just knew something was "off" (mothers DO have that instinct!)...I've been meaning to talk to the teacher, but, because of the car thing and the English lessons and whatnot, I haven't been able to do it...and today, the nanny at the school asked me to wait, as the teacher wanted to speak to me...
she says Ale has been falling behind, and suggested I take her to have her eyes examined....see whether it might be miopia or astigmatism...if that is not it, in case it's just that she gets distracted too easily, she'd have to take reinforcement lessons twice a week!...
I'll take her to her eye doctor (the one that operated on her about 2 years ago, when she had the "chalaciones") on Saturday...so, no church or swim lessons this weekend!...IF she needs glasses, I'd like to take her to one of the stores that have an agreement with the employee co-op, so I need to take that list with me...I can probably find a branch at the medical neighborhood!

**************
The doctor is out of the country attending a congress....so is my ex-brother in law (who is our family oftalmologist!) - ((sigh)) Will have to ask for referrals!

they $157 for the last translations have already been deposited into my account (-$17 for taxes), so I have to add $140 to my challenge money for March!

I went to the interview yesterday...I feel it went ok...as stated before, maybe the things I had against me were: my divorce, the fact that DD's father is not involved in her life (it came up), the fact that I'm not actively involved in the Catholic church (it came up, too, although, at least I mentioned Ale is going to weekly meetings!)...we'll see. I think the interviewer liked me (she kept looking at me while asking me the church things as if pleading: PLEASE say you're active!)...
The things that might weigh in my favor are: I have this wonderful (true!) teaching story about helping a child realize he wasn't "stupid" as everyone said he was, and about being able to stand for himself against a group of teasers after that! (it IS my proudest moment as a teacher!), also the fact that I'm concerned about DD's education and want to spend more time with her...and the fact that, at least we are TRYING to be closer to the church...she said they'd let me know in a couple of days whether I need to come in for tests and more interviews...it's really in God's hands now!

We can scratch them off the list!...they don't offer work by the hour, only full time or part time...part time being from 2-9 on weekdays and 8-2 on Saturdays...not convenient!
And, although they didn't mention how much they paid full time teachers, they did say it was less than what I'm currently making...so, again, not convenient!
Oh, well, it was worth a try!

I just filled out an on-line job application for another school...continuing with my "evil scheme" of getting myself hired and asking for a discount in tuition...lol!...
at least, it feels good to be doing something about my present situation!

Mom passed away....I can't believe it's been a year....
and, I dreamt about Dad last night...it was a weird dream, and left me feeling lonesome and abandoned...not a good feeling at all!
I hope I donn't have any more weird dreams tonight!...

sent out 2 more resumes: 1 to Berlitz and one for another call center...figure these would be ideal "additional" jobs to supplement my income, either here or at the school if I get the job...Depending on what they pay...the current language school is paying me $5.75/hour...if any of these offer the same hours @ a better rate... I have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain! right??

According to our agreement, I told my boss (the director) about the job interview today...he said: oh, if you leave school at 3, then perhaps you could come here from 4 to 6, or 7, and continue to work part time with us...so, that means they really value my job....which makes me even madder to think that, if I'm so good, they still haven't found a way to give me a raise! ...and my boss (the VP) is out sick...in the hospital, actually! ((sigh))...there goes my chance of finding out this week!

honest, the coverage is so bad, that I really don't have the money to use the insurance...I'm better off going to the community clinic...for serious things there's the Bloom Children's Hospital...that's where you end up anyway if things are REALLY serious (they have great doctor and the best machines, so if things are really bad, even private doctors and hospitals send you there, so...)
It's not that I pay much (about $25/month), but, given the use that I'm giving it, I don't think it's worth it (last time Ale was sick I took her to the community clinic because I just don't have the money for the copay anyway!)
I'll fill out the proper documentation tomorrow... ((sigh))