The Raging Tech

Paying off The Man for FREEDOM

My inheritance funds finally cleared, and my final decision was to pay off debt instead of getting fancy new tech gadgets. It seemed like the smarter thing to do. I dumped a load of money into my Money Market account because it has a 3.20% interest rate, and I paid off Bank of America FOREVER. It feels SO good to be out of their clutches finally. I closed the account today and as soon as my bill pay arrives in their hands they said they should be sending me a check (I over-payed a little just to be sure).

I went to Wal-mart last night and bought some things for the kitchen, the rest of the house, and for the cat. I think this weekend I’m going to buy a propane grill (a modest one, not a huge hulking expensive one) and a self-propelled lawn-mower, maybe a weed-whacker. My lawn looks kinda shaggy right now, and my black push mower I brought from home is missing a part to the handle (it pulled a Houdini, I have no idea where it went) that makes it really difficult to push.

The last things to buy will be my new living room furniture over Labor Day weekend. I’m thinking about just going to the Big Lots in the next town and getting a reclining sectional and a coffee table, and maybe a twin bed frame for the guest room. The other thing will be paint, so I can paint my living room. I’m re-thinking the dark navy blue color, and thinking more of a light brown or a khaki color with a dark brown trim.

Speaking of the cat, I got her a lot of neat stuff. I got a “pet taxi” cat carrier, so I can take her to the vet for shots and getting spayed. I got her a new litter box with a cover and a little cat door in it, that has a built-in air filter and the floor doubles as a sifter, with a pan below and another pan below that for switching out as you empty it. I got her a little “Cat Mat” floor mat that goes right outside the litter box, so that she has something to wipe her paws on as she gets out of the litter box. She actually uses it, it’s so cute.

I upgraded her to some larger food and water bowls since she’s getting bigger. I got her a little white stuffed bear that is barely smaller than she is, and she loves it. She spent most of last night wrestling it and gnawing on it. I got her a little plush cat bed that she slept in some yesterday. I also got her some of those little balls that have tiny bells inside them and she played with those for a while.

I’m not exactly financially free now, but paying off some bills and getting some things I need means not spending my paycheck on those things, and that means more money in my pocket each month with no new debt acquired since the house.

Ch-Ch-Changes

I thought Monday at lunch was going to be my final goodbyes to Kylara, and the end of our relationship. But then when I showed up at lunch our friends were there hanging out, so we didn’t really get to spend much time together. As they got up to go get food, Kylara said she’d drop in to see me later. So while I was prepared to deal with the hurt of seeing her the last time before she moves at lunch, that got delayed.

I wasn’t upset that I’d get to see her again before she left, my heart was just shaken up because when I thought it was over, it wasn’t quite over yet. It was just stressful. So now, we’ve said our goodbye and had our last hug and kiss before she leaves. I’m single again. I think my heart officially broke a few days ago when it started to really sink in, so now I’m mostly just sad about her leaving.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is my first day of class for my master’s degree in project management. I’m not quite mentally prepared for that yet. I need to be. It’s awkward because I need to get my third book that I couldn’t find in PDF format, but I won’t have money until tomorrow so I guess I’ll have to have it overnighted from Amazon.

I’m about halfway through with the 12 days straight of work (due to the students moving back on campus), and I’m on a weird work schedule, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. It’s nice to sleep an extra hour, but apparently the traffic between my house and work is lighter but full of stupid people who can’t drive.

Friday evening can’t come soon enough. I can’t wait to unwind, destress, and relax with some friends and some games. Maybe some Huddle House, because I love me some waffles.

Three Things #1

I heard a guy on the radio (WNOX - Knoxville’s Talker) say this morning that you should start your day off like it’s a blank slate, and think of three things for which you’re thankful. Apparently, it’s not just new-agey inspirational stuff, it’s psychologically good for you.

So here goes, three things (in no particular ranking order) for which I’m thankful:

1. My Family: I love my late father, mom, sister, both grandmas, cousins, aunts, uncles, and everyone who has helped me grow up to be who I am. They’ve supported and encouraged me in their different ways, and like any loving family, they’d do anything they could for my betterment. In fact, my mom and sister are coming up in September to help me paint and get new furniture.

2. My Friends: I’ve met a lot of people that have pretended to be my friend while it was convenient, but I’m so very thankful for the people that have shown me they love me by their words and their actions. The friends that give up their time, money, energy, strength, and anything else without hesitation for me, and know I’d do the same in any way possible. These are friends who have stuck by me through tough and good times, and rally behind me when I need strength.

3. My House: I never dreamed I’d own a home and have a mortgage at 25. It’s not terribly uncommon, I just didn’t think I’d be at a point where I could do it now. God is good, and his love endures forever! My house is in pretty good shape, and I have plans to rennovate over the years to come, and it may not be the house I live in forever. But for now, it’s mine, and that’s a huge accomplishment to me.

So I do feel a little better, and I’m sure there’s no “rules” to any of this, so I’m going to list a couple more in brief: I’m starting grad school, I have a wonderful girlfriend and even though she’s moving away I’ve enjoyed our time together so much, I’m employed full-time with a salary and benefits, I have a big screen TV and a nice car (half-way paid for!), my boss gave me a compliment this morning on an e-mail response I sent to a user, and I’ve got two adorable black kittens at home that play and explore and in general amuse me greatly. I have to scoop their poop up from a litter box, but that’s a small price to pay.

Liked this? Try it out yourself! Have some tips of your own on how to start off your day happy and healthy? Leave it in the comments!

New House, New Stuff, New Bills

So, the move went pretty well. I had help from lots of people: my roommate, his brother James, his girlfriend Kendall, Kylara, Aron (who is recently married and was just back from his honeymoon in Italy!) and neatly enough my old friend Becca from back home came up for the weekend to help me move. They all did a lot of hard work, so I’d like to thank them publicly!

Now I’m all moved in with all of my belongings in this world, and I’ve lived in a much smaller world for so long that my stuff, even all spread out, still leaves the house feeling sort of empty. I need to get some nails and my level and hang some pictures. I need some plants, or maybe just some fake ones. Kylara is giving me her cat Meow Kitty’s two kittens, I’m not sure what I’m going to name them yet. Maybe I’ll name them both “Station,” like the alien(s) from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.

I’ve been settling in. Monday satellite was installed, and the guy had a heck of a time finding the “sweet spot” to put the dish up. He finally put it up on a pole in the front yard. At least it doesn’t look too terrible. Verizon DSL was activated on a dry-loop (no local phone service required) on Tuesday, so now I have internet too. I used our old wireless DSL modem from the last house because Verizon sent me a modem without a built-in router like I ordered.

I’ve got some new pots & pans that I got on the cheap from Wal-Mart for about twenty bucks. They’re non-stick and have a brushed metal finish on the outside. Kylara found me a skillet and a pot at the flea market for a buck or two each, and a nice pillow for my couch for another couple bucks. It’s nice to live within five miles of a huge flea market. I also found a nice serving plate for two dollars at the local Food Lion an exit up the highway from me.

Everytime I walk by the room with my unpacked boxes I wince a little, because I really don’t want to break them all down, but I need to get to organizing or I’ll never feel moved in.

This morning I made sure all the utilities are getting switched over to my name. The funny thing is, my water company’s office is pretty much just one guy, operating out of the back of a Maytag Repair Shop in a nearby town. When I looked at the EPA web site’s record of our water system, it says it supports a total population of 292. That record may not be up to date, but that should give you an idea of the town to which I’ve moved.

The change in my sleep schedule is killing me. I have to go to bed earlier now because I have to wake up at 6:30am instead of 7:18am, so that I have time to get up and get ready and eat breakfast before I leave for work. I also started watching the news in the morning. Did you know they cleared that Jean Benet Ramsey’s parents of her killing, and now the case is wide open again? Crazy.

The drive to work isn’t so bad, it takes about 30 minutes because they closed the left-hand lane on either side of the highway, so it bottlenecks behind people who do 10 under through the construction zone. I imagine when they open that up again my commute will shorten to 20 minutes.

The in-town driving is also crazy - apparently around 10 minutes to 8am, every person with no particular place to go drives through town like it’s a lazy Sunday. At least a morning drive gives me time to listen to my iPod. I think I ‘m going to download some audio books or some podcasts that are about 30 minutes long, and start listening to those on the way to work.