2015: Bye, Felicia

So a year ago at this time I finished my third day back at work. The state hadn't called me back after the 2011-12 LIHEAP season ended in May 2012, thanks to budget cuts and my being last in seniority. But out of the blue last December they finally had enough people leave or some more money in the budget.

There is much I dislike about the job. Not in any particular order: the decrepit computer system, the building that is essentially a germ factory, with the HVAC system that often keeps it too cold in cold weather and too warm in warm weather, the mismanagement of the agency, the time it takes me each day to get to and from work via SEPTA...but with no other prospects and my finances in dire straits I had no choice but to go back. But I was determined to spend this summer in an intense effort to find another job.

Then, one evening in April, my face started twitching.

The whole you-had-a-small-stroke-oh-wait-it's-brain-cancer saga and the 6 weeks of daily radiation pretty much wrecked my plan for finding new employment. And then the state called me back to work in September with everyone else. While the pay is a help, I now have some medical bills in addition to my other debt. And I hate my job as much as ever, if not more. And I'm stuck in it until sometime in May, when I'll be free to try again to find something better.

Unless my body betrays me some more.

So basically what I have to say is this:

Dear 2015: drop dead.
Dear 2016: be better than 2015 or else. Don't fuck with me. I'll cut a bitch.

Mega Millions

I present this in a shameless attempt to get more hits...

P.S. I didn't win.

MixBlog 2-26-11: Such A Mess

Let's see...where to begin...

Two of the last three nights I've fallen asleep in front of my TV for at least two hours, thus affecting my sleep patterns. Happened Thursday night, and somehow when I went to bed and slept, I didn't set the alarm properly and didn't even wake up until 8:30 am, which is when I have to arrive at work. Last night, and I ended up staying up really late and then stayed in bed until a little after 5.

5 pm.

I have to be up for work tomorrow morning, so I've got the choice of trying to drug myself to sleep (with cold medicine or Tylenol PM) or stay up between now and at least 6 pm tomorrow (when I get home from work). As I have no leave time to use, skipping work is not an option (and as I already was late for work Friday I don't want to do that again).

Then there's the credit card I've been using regularly.

MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney...MONEY!

This post brought to you by the O'Jays! The Sound of Philadelphia!

Tonight I had tentatively planned to see "The Ides of March" at the theater at Neshaminy Mall. I was on the route 14 bus, headed north on Roosevelt Blvd. to go to the mall, but I had a last-minute change of heart. I needed a new alarm clock radio for the bedroom, so I got off the bus and went to Best Buy and bought one instead. It has really lousy AM reception, at least for KYW Newsradio, but I only set the clock radio to KYW if someone I don't want to hear is on WIP sports radio (usually happens early on weekends). And since WIP is now on FM, the AM side isn't something I'll use much.

Anyway, I got home and looked at my mail -- I got my first paycheck today! A whole week's worth of salary! YES!

The only problem is, way back when I had my interview for the job, I gave them (as requested) my direct deposit information. I'm not supposed to get my check in the mail. Now I have to make a trip to my credit union to deposit it. An inconvenience, but hey, the important thing is I can finally start crawling out of my financial hole.

Too Long For Twitter: Netbook Part Deux

I'm so confused and frustrated. Help! I previously wrote about how I want to buy a netbook or laptop before my trip to California (which is next week already). In checking various websites (and going into a couple of stores) I'm just not completely satisfied with any of them. Either they're too expensive or they have issues:

• Too large to easily carry on the plane (or anywhere else) with my backpack
• Only 1 GB of memory (I've seen a lot of comments on different pages saying that 2 GB or more is better)
• Includes Windows 7 Starter instead of Windows 7 Home Premium (almost all comments say the Starter edition is really bad)
• Out of stock
• Not sold in the store and it can't be shipped in time for my trip unless I pay a high price
• And probably one or two other things I'm forgetting at the moment

The cheapest I've seen is a Gateway netbook sold at Best Buy for $199.99, and on its site it has surprisingly decent reviews from customers. I'm thinking I should either settle for it (even though it's one of those with the 1 GB memory and Windows 7 Starter) or get nothing at all. But it's gonna be a serious pain in the ass to carry the old laptop with me.

Too Long For Twitter: Netbook Edition

There's a part of me that, despite my current financial status, really wants to buy a new netbook or laptop before my trip next month. The laptop I have is NINE YEARS OLD. I bought it before I went to Baltimore on a temporary work assignment (I ended up staying down there for nine months). It's on its second hard drive, which I somehow managed to install by myself. The disc drive doesn't work any more. The battery life is pretty poor. And it's not very light. I have to take it on the plane in my carry-on bag because, as old as it is, it still would probably disappear from my checked bag.

A new laptop (or netbook) would be a lot easier to carry. But, just like my old TV that still refuses to die so I would be forced to buy a new HDTV, I'm not sure I should buy one if the old one still functions (at least well enough).

If you want to talk me into (or out of) buying it, feel free to comment.

And don't forget to vote for me for the CBSPhilly.com Most Valuable Blogger awards. Click on the image at right. Thank you!

How To Save Money On Sirius/XM

There's some excellent money-saving advice in this for you if you currently are a subscriber to Sirius/XM satellite radio, so pay attention. I've been a Sirius subscriber for a few years (back before they merged with XM). Last year at this time, because of my financial situation, I decided to cancel. I changed my mind when they offered me a year at half-price -- about $80.00 instead of $160.00 (I'm rounding these numbers, by the way). I really like listening to music commercial-free, and I'm not able to get a reliable wi-fi signal in my living room to listen to Internet radio (which I'm listening to right now, since I'm in the basement in front of the computer).

Since things still haven't improved, and when my account statement on their website said I would owe $160.00 for the coming year, I again decided to cancel. I called on Friday. The woman I spoke to offered the $80.00 deal again. I declined. She made another offer, which I didn't hear clearly, but I just turned it down again, not bothering to ask her to repeat it. So she said she would take care of canceling my subscription.

The satellite signal still was coming in to the receiver, though. In the last couple of days I've gotten a number of calls from a toll-free number (my caller ID displayed the number but not the name of the caller). I usually let them go to voice mail unless I know the caller, but last night I decided to pick up. It was a recorded message from Sirius asking if I received my bill, saying I owed $160.00, etc. The woman I spoke to didn't do anything. More customer service incompetence.

So I called back today, and told the guy who answered what happened, and said clearly that I cannot afford it and it has to be canceled. He said he would take care of it, but then repeated the second offer that the woman had made last week: five months for $20.00.

Four dollars per month! That tells me that Sirius/XM is really desperate to keep subscribers. I still turned it down, and the subscription was finally canceled and the signal cut off. It's sad but I had to do it. So if you subscribe to Sirius/XM, just threaten to cancel and say you can't afford it and they'll offer you a nice price break.

Mo' Money, Mo' Money!

First came this, now comes this:

You elected to receive a cash payment in the In re Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Class Action Settlement. The attached settlement check represents the Settlement Benefit you are entitled to receive as an eligible Class Member under the terms of the Court approved Settlement...

Another $24.42 in my pocket! Woo-hoo! And, believe it or not, there's another one of these things I'm a part of, regarding fees charged to credit cards based on foreign transactions, that could get me another $36.00 or so, but there have been appeals filed challenging the court's approval of the settlement, so it's all on hold. (This one I'm aware of because I actually filled out a more detailed claim rather than accept the $25.00 "easy refund.") I guess I'm more litigious than I knew!

P.S. The dollar sign comes from the website of the "Arkansas Out of School Network" -- kind of looks like a Rainbow Dollar, doesn't it? Hmmm...

My Personal Ad Finally Pays Off!

I have only placed personal ads sporadically -- none in recent years -- and they have never been successful. My ads tended to attract people who either didn't read my ad or ignored what I wrote. For example, I made my interest in sports quite plain, and the guy answering my ad says "I hate sports" and any other interests don't remotely come close to matching mine. Or, I'd clearly state "this is not a sex ad/not looking to hook up" and the replies were on the order of "Want to hook up tonight" or describing his sexual interests/body parts.

I'd given up on personals, obviously. However, today, at long last, something good has come from one of my ads...

The National Lottery Is Coming

The best things in life are free
But you can give them to the birds and bees
I need money (that's what I want) 
That's what I want (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want)
That's what I want

That's the opening to the first hit from Motown Records, Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)," a song that's very much an appropriate musical accompaniment to this post.

I just read that New Jersey and some other states are going to begin selling Powerball tickets on Sunday. These are states that have been Mega Millions states, and now they're adding Powerball. Pennsylvania, a Powerball state, has announced plans to start selling Mega Millions tickets. Back in October, Powerball and Mega Millions reached an agreement to allow stores to sell tickets for both games. More and more, states that are desperate to find added revenue are signing up for both of the huge multi-million jackpot lotteries.

So it just makes sense that eventually Powerball and Mega Millions will merge completely and we'll have one big national super-lottery. I'm guessing it will become MegaPowerball; the jackpots will start with a minimum of $30 million (currently Powerball starts at $20 mil and Mega Millions begins with $12 mil) and each time no one hits the jackpot will skyrocket. Start saving your pennies now, because this is going to happen.