My Life
I’m sure you have no desire to read about the minutiae of my everyday life, but surely interesting things happen on occasion. And if they don’t well, perhaps I have intriguing stories to tell that simply don’t fall into the other categories on my site. Inside, you might find stories on personal finance and being a Midwestern transplant in CNY.
Remembering my Grandparents
This year has been a difficult one. I lost two of my grandparents in the first half of it. It seemed like every time I visited my family, I had to turn around and fly home two weeks later for a funeral. They’re both greatly missed, as are all of my other grandparents that have passed away. With all the renovations I’ve been doing on this site and the content I’ve been putting out, I’ve been reminded how much they taught me—much of which is vital to the topics I write about here. So, here’s a post in memory of my grandparents, and a little more about the lessons they instilled in me. … Continue reading
Demystifying My Post Writing
Most of the time, my new posts are published right around 1:45 or 2pm, corresponding with the end of my lunch at work. Sometimes I’ll tweet about them saying “Lunchtime blog post:…” but truth is, it’s highly unlikely that I just wrote it over my 30 minute lunch. It’s more likely that I started them during lunch a few days before, finished them up that night or the next day, then gave them a final once over during lunch the day I post them. Exchange “lunch” for “after work,” “during a break,” “at work” or “when the idea struck me” and you have the process of most successful bloggers out there. … Continue reading
Decluttering the Closet (and Life)
Here’s an idea: owning less “stuff” means having a happier, less spendy life. I’m trying to apply that idea to my life. (Actually, I have been for a while; it’s an ongoing process, especially because I hop from plan to plan.)
So, my mission this summer has been evaluating my wardrobe, clearing stuff out, and working on rebuilding the basics. There are a gazillion pages out there that describe the “basic” wardrobe for a woman. I agree with some items, vehemently disagree with others, and think that yet others have no bearing on my lifestyle. Part of this journey involves evaluating what my basics are. But the main issue: getting rid of things. … Continue reading
Tour de Loop 2010 Photos
This morning we were off to Oswego, NY for the Tour de Loop. It was overcast and chilly on the shore of Lake Ontario, which played havoc with my exposure settings for a while (and I’m too lazy to do much editing), but I managed to get some shots later in the race of both the B group (which Carl raced) and the A group. The loop was more of a figure eight without the crossover, allowing me to take a gross amount of photos from a single place of two different approaches. Unfortunately the lead pack beat me to the finish, so I didn’t catch Carl crossing the finish, but on the brighter side, the camera took photos with him in focus this time! See the photos. … Continue reading
Canal Classic 2010 Photos
Carl raced in the 2010 Canal Classic this past weekend, which takes place in Little Falls, NY. Camera in hand, I snapped away at the start, finish and just shy of the crest of a 4-mi 18% average-grade hill climb. The day was overcast, and my camera didn’t want to play nice, but I did manage to get some passable shots (and posted some not so great ones just in case anyone wants them). See the photos. … Continue reading
What I Learned in 11th Grade American History
I had this crazy nightmare last night about how I had to go back to high school to retake one specific class from my junior year because the teacher messed up my grade and it wasn’t valid or something. So despite my having a bachelor’s degree, I didn’t have a high school diploma—which was like the end of the world in my dream. Psychoanalysis about the dream and why I’m having it as a mostly-successful degree-wielding professional aside, it really made me revisit some concerns I have with the US school system and the teachers that are instructing my and future generations. And really got me thinking about what I learned in the course. … Continue reading
How Bad Does it Hurt? Closing Your Oldest Credit Card
I came home a few weeks ago to an ominously large envelope from 1st Financial Bank, USA, the guarantor of my oldest credit card—too large to be the statement or those deplorable fee-heavy cash advance checks they send me. You may remember from my grousing a while back that 1FB was guilty of pretty much every shady tactic outlawed by the CARD Act that recently went into effect, and how happy I was to finally pay the card off. Well, know that they’ve been forced to stop double-cycle billing, roving due dates, and other money-making tactics, they have a new way of making money: annual fees. … Continue reading
Great Time to Start an IRA
“You’re in your early 20s. That’s too early to start thinking about retirement.” Wrong. So completely wrong. Now is the best time to think about retirement. Sure, it’s a long way off, but even a small percent of your salary can mean a nice bit of savings in the long run thanks to the power of compounding interest. … Continue reading
On the Subject of (Not) Learning From Past Mistakes
If past mistakes had taught me anything, I would know this: Back up your data. Often. And make sure it finishes transfer. Having worked in IT for 4 years, and being a Web Developer, I’ve counseled at least high tens, if not hundreds about “Save Early, Save Often,” backing up data, etc. But it seems I can’t take my own advice. … Continue reading
Don’t Let TurboTax Free Edition Fool You—You Probably Want FREEDOM Edition
TurboTax touts their Free Edition’s free-ness. Free to use, free to file. Free for Federal, that is (1040EZ only). Then, they try to up-sell you on filing State for $27.95. What they probably don’t want you to notice is that the Free Edition has nothing to do with the Free File program offered by the IRS, which TurboTax does participate in. But I noticed. Especially one year in while in college when I had to file in three different states, all of which allowed Free E-Filing. … Continue reading
