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T h e A d v e n t u r e s o f C h i c a g o J o

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Greed and Needs

2004-05-28� � 2:22 p.m.
My forty hours are up for the week, but I�m still sitting here. Why? Because I�m greedy.

As a contractor, I don�t get any shiny benefits like holiday pay. My contract company is nice enough to give me one week of vacation after a year of service (the most paid vacation I�ve had since 2000), so I have little wiggle room in pay when taking time off.

Monday�s holiday will set me back eight hours. Friday�s house closing will set me back some more too. Being out two full days of work isn�t going to cut it, especially when my mortgage payment is 2.2 times my current rent.

I could cut into my vacation hours from the contract company if need be, but it would be nice to get that extra paycheck when my contract expires.

My to-do list has grown exponentially, and I have a slight sinking feeling that some of this won�t get done. I likely don�t need to worry about updating my address with my cell phone carrier, but it�s written there in red (just like all of the other items, as I only have a red pen here at work), beckoning me to get it done.

This weekend I have a couple friends from Texas in-town. One is staying with me, and we�re going to a wedding on Saturday night for some very friendly people I�ve never met before. I say they�re very friendly because when I was asked Chicken or Beef?, I replied neither and now have a vegetarian meal made especially for me-me-me.

Saturday night will be in the 60s, so I�ll likely not get to wear the very pretty dress I�ve had since 2002 but haven�t gotten to wear yet. Poop. With summer approaching, I�ll find a reason to wear it sometime, even if I�m sorely overdressed.

The other friends are this couple I knew in Austin. They aren�t staying with me (no room in Casa de Jo), but we�ll likely all meet up for food or fun in the city. I took advantage of restaurant.com�s 60% off sale and got me a few of their gift certificates. I figure between this weekend and my dad and brother�s upcoming visit, the out-to-eating is going to be a bit much. I might as well spend $4 to get a $25 gift certificate to at least cut into the bill.

Speaking of the following weekend, it�s yet to sink in that I�m actually moving. The entire place is up to my ears in boxes, and I�m now living off the bare bones of everything. I put all of my hanging clothes into garbage bags last night (make a hole at the bottom of the bag, stick the hanger tops through that, and tie the bag�s bottom to protect everything and still let it all hang up nicely -- ta-da!), put all of my clothes that were in the dresser into a Tupperware storage bin, and washed all of the remaining stuff.

Bare bones.

I�m wondering when I�m going to realize that I own a piece of this planet. It�s also an odd thought that I�ll be here for at least three years. Since 1995, I haven�t lived anywhere longer than my current place -- 16 whole months. I�m secretly afraid that everything�s going to be realized as I�m signing Joannaimous Patricionado Keenaiferous along the dotted line of all of the papers at the closing.

Holy crap. I�m 24 years old. I�m buying something that costs 11.92 times more than the most expensive vehicle I�ve ever driven. Much like people get a dog before they have kids, shouldn�t I have bought a nice car instead of a condo?

So [gulp]. Maybe I do realize all of this, but it�s just not phasing me.

Maybe I know that my financial goals are secure and that this is a good decision. Maybe I know that I like the place enough to indeed stay for three whole years. Maybe I know that resale prices will work out and that I�ll get even more equity than what I�m throwing in as cash up-front.

Yeah. Maybe I know that all of this will work out just fine.



Miss something?

Moving Day - 2008-02-15
Working from Home is Glorious - 2008-02-13
Speaking in Tongues - 2008-02-07
I Have My Reasons - 2008-01-25
Got an Itch, Fix it, Shine it Up, Sing it Out - 2008-01-23

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