How to Pay the Rent

Heyo!  I’m back in Atlanta for the summer, which means I’m back on my quest for self-sufficience.  (This summer, however, is shaping up to be a much more fruitful one for my piggy bank.)

Naturally, since it is again the summer, and I am again in Atlanta (working some of the exact same jobs), I decided this blog needed to make a re-appearance.  SO, dear readers, prepare to hear about my life more than you probably ever wanted/needed to know.

Here begins the tale of the summer of 2011, the summer before my senior year of college, the summer in which I have no idea what will happen, and the summer in which perhaps I willl make better decisions than last year.

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I’m terribly sorry for the lapse in postings, faithful readers.  I have absolutely no excuse.  Life has been as dull as ever although I’m still enjoying it very much.  Once again, I’m writing from my beloved desk at the WoodPEC and the swiping machine is still very much broken, so this job is still very much useless.  But I really can’t complain.  I just got the best paycheck EVER for absolutely nothing.

AAAANNNDDD, another win for the Piggy Bank!  I did another MRI today (I have to go to the second part on Friday, but that’s irrelevant) and I’m getting $126 for the whole thing!  This MRI kind of sucked a big one though.  I had to provide four freaking saliva samples and I’m not sure if you know this, dear readers, but spitting excessive amounts into a tube is potentially the most awkward thing in the world.  They also tried to draw some blood, but apparently I’m a vampire?  I couldn’t bleed. They kept sticking me to no avail.  I have no blood.

I did another MRI last week too for $100, but that one was fairly average.  At this point, I have done four MRI’s this summer, which is 4 more than I had done ever before.  They’re a lot less frightening than I thought they would be.  The MRI tech and I are good friends now.

The conclusion of all this nonsense though is quite exciting:
I’m going to be able to pay all my rent/utilities and STILL AFFORD A TICKET TO LOLLAPA-freaking-LOOZA!!!!  This may seem somewhat mundane to some of you, wealthy readers, but for this impoverished blogger and librarian, that is almost the fulfillment of a life goal.  I have managed to remain financially independent for an entire summer including gas, Netflix, groceries, housing, and BOOZE.

I’m not going to conclude this blog now by any means, but I’m just letting everyone know that the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight!  And then it’s off to Rome with me!!!! (I think the blog will probably continue in the old country, probably even with the same name, but will doubtless have even less focus than these ramblings…)

So everyone get excited.  1809 Ridgewood is headed cross-country soon!!!

So for what may be the first time, I am typing an entry to you, dear readers, from all the comforts of home, instead of those dreadful chairs in the WoodPEC.  Because today, for once, I actually have something worth writing about!  I Baked MotherFucking BREAD!!!!  I know that I had grand plans to make an entirely home-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but that may have been biting off a little bit more than I could chew in one weekend.  So I went for the good part of the plan.  THE LOAF!!!!  She’s quite the beauty, although I may have burned it (but only a little!!! Hey, it was my first try…)

Isn’t it lovely?!  I kneaded it and I punched it and I left it to rise and I made it!  I don’t really know why I’m always so flabbergasted when I make a baked good and it turns out correctly.  If you follow the directions, things generally turn out as planned.  But hey, I’m excited!  It doesn’t hurt that it’s freakin’ tasty too!!!

So anyways, aside from that, this weekend has been pretty terrible for the piggy bank.  On Friday, Charlie, Stone, Whitley and I all went to see the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra play PLANET freakin’ EARTH, which was stupendous, if I do say so myself!  It was at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (which, fun fact, is not an amphitheater at all, but simply a regular theater because it is not in the round as they say, so the stage isn’t on both (i.e. amphi) sides), and as soon as we got there, it began to MONSOON.  Luckily, we had purchased tickets for under the awning, but as any good monsoon should, the wind blew the rain straight into the venue and absolutely drenched anyone within 100 ft of the lawn.  It was an amazing way to see a storm though, to the sounds of epic orchestral music with beautiful scenes of exotic locations on three screens in front of you and watching the lightning strike about 200 yards away.  Slowly but steadily though, we began to inch our dripping wet way forward and miraculously (with a little help from a persuasive pout from Charlie) we managed to find ourselves at a VIP table that we most certainly did not pay for.  That was true style.

Yesterday (Saturday) night, my friends Arden and Henry visited from home and so I obvs had to show them a good time!  It was really nice having griffins around again too.  So I took them to MJQ which is always a good time.  Unfortunately, on Saturdays there is in fact a cover charge, but it’s only $5 so I didn’t feel too guilty.  Again unfortunately though, the crowd on Saturday nights is not nearly as large, young, hip, fun, or diverse as it is on Wednesdays.  But a good time was had by all nonetheless.

Afterwards, Arden and Henry got a cab back to their hotel and Charlie and I hiked our way up to the Majestic Diner to meet up with the rest of our crew, because really, what else is a hungry hipster to do?!  So we arrived there at 3:30 and I’ve been at clubs with less strict bouncers than that place!  It was pretty ridic, but I was pretty drunk and really just wanted my over-priced bagel.  I got it, and then had a lovely drive back at about 4 am which is a beautifully underrated hour of the day if you ask me.

So in conclusion, I freakin’ love this summer!!!  Life is pretty grand right now guys.  Life is grand.

Unfortunately, these days, the weekends and week days have completely blurred together.  I have worked at the woodpec literally every day this week and I’m beginning to go stark-raving mad.  I think there is a limit for how many hours one can sit in the same chair, breathing in the same stale sweat gym air, and staring at a computer screen.  On the plus side though, I am most certainly making enough to pay rent.

This Monday, I had to make an appointment at student health to renew a presecription (which I thought was bullshit since all they needed to do was take my blood pressure).  But anyways.  Apparently, if one is not enrolled in classes *at that moment*, you’re not entitled to any of the student benefits (i.e. free trips to student health).  Lucky for me, I apparently have a very effective pout because I managed to convince the receptionist to lie and click the little button saying I’m enrolled, saving me an office fee. Thank god.  I was literally in and out of the exam room in 7 minutes.  If I had had to pay for that, I probably would have cut a bitch.

And my other money-saving adventure isn’t really all that frugal at all, but I’m excited nonetheless.  My weekend project is going to be the artisan crafting of a completely homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  It’s not like I’m low on bread or peanut butter (although my jelly is on its last leg), but I like baking and I like pb&j’s, so why not?
I’m going to be working with this recipe for bread, because it seems ridiculously simple and comes with pictures: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/
The pictures are a really nice touch for those of us who are fairly kitchen-retarded.

The peanut butter and jelly I will be kind of making on the fly.  I’ve attempted to make jam before and it wasn’t really all that difficult, but also wasn’t quite as tasty as I’d like.  But we’ll see.

So that’s all that’s going on in my life right now.  I’m just dying to get out of the gym, but alas, someone has to man this dreadful entrance desk, and unfortunately that task falls to your’s truly. 21 more excessively long minutes between me and freedom.

So since Spring Break 2010 (a crazy party-filled week in Gaffney, SC of course) I have been trying my hand at baking with marginal success. Baking for yourself, I think, may be cheaper than buying store-bought stuff, but I’m not really sure…at the rate I have to re-stock my dry goods, this is my somewhat pricey hobby. But I digress.

 I have completely mastered the art of the chocolate chip cookie:

And my sugar cookies are coming along nicely.  Unfortunately, my other baking endeavors aren’t going as well.

• Beer Bread: I used a “simple college cookbook” which basically assumes the reader’s only skill is boiling water, so the recipe itself wasn’t really up to snuff, but I tried it nonetheless.  It turned out bland, dense, and an off-putting color.  Bizarrely, Lauren and Madison ate the whole damn loaf and asked me to make it again.  I will not put my name on such an un-appetizing loaf, but they’re more than welcome to make it for themselves.  Also, it probably would have been better had I used a more quality beer than Pabst Blue Ribbon (sacrilege, I know!).
• Baguette: I had my friend Gabriel/Gabby (oldest friend at Emory guys!) forward me a recipe he uses to bake baguette.  So I attempted it, and for a first try, it really wasn’t so bad.  They weren’t the prettiest loaves, but they tasted like freakin bread! I need to make that again (this time, with enough flour, yeast, time, effort, etc.  They really didn’t get the love they deserved.).
• Dinner Rolls: I found a recipe online for “sweet dinner rolls” and the two times I made them, they turned out pretty darn well.  They’re kind of horrifically dense at this point, so I need to figure out how to lighten them up, but they’re getting there.  I whipped up some honey butter for them and they were fucking delicious!
• Crepes: Today’s fail.  One would think that a crepe would be as simple as pancakes, because in my mind, that’s all crepes are: fancy fucking pancakes. But noooo, mine were weird.  At first I over-greased the pan, so that failure was allowed, but then all the rest afterwards were weird too. I pouted a while and then decided to make things a little more familiar so I made one into a PB&J crepe with my FOUR POUND JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER. So that was tasty indeed!

Anywho, the conclusion is: I’m getting there.  Yeast is really not as scary as I thought it was going to be.  It has the most un-appetizing name, but really, if you just feed it, it will love you back!

OH: and what should I make for the potluck tomorrow???  I’m thinking rolls again, but also maybe a cake? Or home-made brownies, because really, those are SO much better than the stuff from a box (my second sacreligious comment of the post. burn me at the stake).

Au revoir faithful readers!

So here I am, swiping cards at the WoodPEC (that’s the gym at Emory for all those who aren’t hip to my lingo).  As if the early morning didn’t make this job tedious enough, the machine I use to swipe cards is broken and only reads, “Bad Swipe,” which means I can’t tell whose card is legit and who technically can’t come in the gym.  So my job just got even more useless.  I now let absolutely everyone in (as if I didn’t before).  There is no need for me to be here.

But I shouldn’t complain.  I get paid $15 to sit here on my butt checking my facebook and updating you fools on my life.

Not too much has been going on.  I’ve just been swiping and stapling away.  I’ve signed up for more Psych and Neurology studies, but none nearly as lucrative as that first day.  This past weekend, dearly beloved roommate Matt moved out, Madison spent the weekend in New Orleans, and Rachel went back to Athens (Georgia, mind you) with some of her friends from her program at the CDC.  So that left poor little Lauren and I home alone. Naturally, we came to the conclusion that we should have a party!  Unfortunately, that HAD to be the day the US lost and were eliminated from the World Cup, so the overall day had a bit of an overcast tinge to it.  But alas.

Fun side story!  That Saturday, while swiping away in much the same manner I am now, some guy walked up to me and introduced himself as an alum of Emory (c’07) and then sort of struck up a conversation.  He is apparently a third year med student at UPenn (what what!) and had a very positive, but somewhat ostentatious life perspective. He sort of talked at me for about 10 minutes, then asked for my number.  I was a bit shocked, so I gave him my number, if only to reward him for being so ballsy.  I assumed I wouldn’t really ever have to talk to him since he only asked me to text him my plans for the evening. BUT lo and behold, 2 hours later, he asks me out to dinner at Thaicoon, a sushi place that can be cheap if you want it to, but pricey if you know what to order.  I have no idea why, but I said yes. I think I was feeling impulsive and the general consensus of my friends was something like, “Free food!”

So at 7, I showed up and the kid was wearing a blazer!  It was adorable!  We sat down at the sushi bar (which I think is kind of awkward) and he tries to order us a nice bottle of sake, but unfortunately they carded me and alas, I have no fake anymore.  So that sucked.  But eventually, we ordered some really nice rolls, he got a few glasses of wine, and we talked for two and a half hours.  Or rather, he talked and I sort of nodded along.  Now don’t get me wrong, he had a lot of very interesting things to say, but sometimes it felt like I was on a date with an inspirational speaker.  He seemed to just want to share his concept of positive thinking and “following your passion,” blah blah blah.  Suffice it to say, he’s ridiculously happy training to be a doctor, but also misses his glory days at Emory.

I think the moral of this story was that I got a $20 dinner for free without expending any effort whatsoever.  At the end of dinner, he didn’t have a car since he was only in town for two days so I had to drop him back off at his hotel.  It was slightly awkward as he was getting out of the car because I could tell he was judging whether or not to try to make a move, but he didn’t and he didn’t pressure me to come inside or anything.  So truly, it was free food!

Then I drove back and Lauren and I hosted a party which was also, strangely, good for our wallets.  When all was said and done the next day, we were up two-thirds of a handle of bacardi, thre-quarters of a handle of McCormick grape, and our friend Kris bought us two cases of beer to go along with the half case we already had, and then those two cases didn’t get completely finished.  Good fucking night, right?!

BUT, I obviously had to black out-pass out at 1 fucking am, so I never really attended the party (which didn’t start until midnight) and I have no recollection of it whatsoever. Fuck my life.  I’m going to try harder at our next party:

4th of July Slip n’ Slide!!!!

In the spirit of absolute honesty, I’ll let you all know, dear readers, that I’ve been pretty bad about being frugal lately.  My sister Caryn came to visit, so we had to go out to eat and I had to get her to buy me booze and I had to take her to Yogurt Tap and I obviously had to drive to South Carolina to pick her up.  So I may or may not have spent a lot of dollas.

But anyways. She was here and we had a positively pleasant visit.  Now I’m at home watching World Cup re-runs and typing on my new freaking laptop!!!!!! I’m so pleased! So far, all I’ve done with it is re-install LearnLink, which is AWESOME, but soon, some day, I will eventually have photoshop again.  I also need to do all that gruntwork of re-doing my favorites and stuff. LAME.

No real updates on the financial front though.  I’m babysitting on Friday so we’ll see how that goes.  I’ve never really done that before.  I’m probably going to fuck those kids up.  I guess it’ll serve their parents right for being so irresponsible as to hire me to watch their kids.

I wish I had something a little bit more poignant to say, but really I can only recount my latest adventures in frugality and employment, per the theme/point of this blog.

So today was a craaaazy day. I woke up at 10 when my vodka-induced slumber wore off and watched some World Cup with dearest roomie Matt Stylianou.  Greece won!  (Matt, being Greek, was thrilled.  I, being American, was marginally pleased for him and his financially-befuddled homeland.  I can sympathize with their plight.) Next part of the day: made my way over to campus to take part in an MRI Neurology study.  It really wasn’t all that bad…I sat in the tube with sponges around my head to remind me to remain very still for an hour doing a weird gambling test.  Afterwards, I got out $120 richer.  Not too shabby for an hour and a half of laying down if you ask me.

Unfortunately, as soon as I got in the tube, the worst hangover of the summer hit me.  I really just wanted to be OUT and was almost tempted to walk away from the study without the money just so I could go vomit. But I stuck it out. Because I’m poor. So I wandered around campus for another hour after that, still pretty damn ill, but I needed to stay because I was signed up for yet another psych study after that.  I made my way over to the Rich building and took a weird ethics/judgement survey that lasted 30 minutes and got $20 for that as well!  So all in all, a $140 check is headed my way!  Win!

Also, I’m at work as I type this, so I’ll be $15 wealthier in about another hour and 10 minutes. Today was a Good Day for the Piggy Bank.

I wish I could do some sort of recurring graphic that could chart my progress in making rent.  Like one of those little thermometers that I could bubble in every day with my earnings.  Maybe I’ll just have one of those in the house.

Anywho: my greatest, frugal-est night out ever occurred last night!  As we all know, MJQ (aka the world’s BEST club EVER) is free on Wednesday nights, so it’s usually pretty inexpensive, but there’s the inevitable cab fees and drink purchases. BUT last night, Lauren Ladov, my saint of a roommate, drove there AND back. So no cab fees!!! AND I didn’t even buy any drinks because A) I didn’t need one at all and probably pre-gamed a little bit too hard, and B)A cute boy bought me a beer. Win! So last night’s receipt was -$0!!!

So today I treated myself to lunch.

I’ve found myself in a bit of an ethical pickle, so I’ve taken to this site to try to decide what the best course of action would be.

I’ve signed up for a Psych Study next week with a base pay of $40, but the chance to win $80 more.  I’m going to get an MRI taken of my brain (here’s to hoping they don’t find anything at all interesting in there!), but while they’re examining my brain, I’ll be taking part in a test with another *unknown* subject.  Neither of us will be able to see one another, but we’ll be asked to either cooperate with each other or trick the other person.  See, we’ll be voting, sort of.  If we both say yes (or check, or affiermative, or help, or something positive), we both benefit and each get like $5.  If one person says yes and the other person says No, the one who said No gets a bigger reward, say $10.  If we both say No, neither of us get anything.

So what do I do?  Obviously I want to win as much as possible, but do I risk voting No?  Or do I risk the other person thinking I’m a softy and always vote yes, hoping they’ll want to cooperate as much as I do? Or do I do what I think I’ll be expected to do and sort of wing it and attempt to trick my poor partner?  I have arrived at a crossroads in my attempts to pay the rent.

Help?

PS - My laptop has officially died so now I’m working at the WoodPEC on a 6 hour shift with a borrowed computer.  Lauren Ladov, you are my saviour and I owe you.

So I apologize both for last week’s morose drunken ramblings and my long period between postings.  I have no excuse for either since my life has been extremely dull of late.  So far I have simply watched countless movies and attempted to get a tan.  (Today’s efforts at that may have unfortunately resulted in a sunburn. I’ll keep you posted.)

Anyways. This is the week.  I can feel it.  This is the week I will finally find my elusive third job.  I’m still working 10 hours/week at the library and gym (each) but that is simply not enough!  I can’t just eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for the rest of the summer!  (For the record, today I am eating a pb&j for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sad, I know.) So. A third job looms on the horizon.

Current Options:

1. Turning in an application at Chocolatte.  A former camp counselor of mine used to work there and says even though they don’t specify that they’re hiring, they always accept applications.  So I’m not too hopeful about that, but it can’t really hurt to turn it in.
2. Waiting to hear back from the Emory College Administration.  I turned in an application to be some sort of Administrative Assistant (and the ad said there were 8 positions available!).  This is actually my ideal job since it’s on campus and the correct number of hours/week.  But I turned in my app Thursday and no reply yet. So those bastards probably aren’t thinking of hiring me.
3. Madison Poche, the lovely, found an ad that a new Frozen Yogurt place is opening in Little Five Points (Very exciting, I know. Who doesn’t love Frozen Yogurt?!) So I’ll be turning in an application there.
4. I have an INTERVIEW!!!  Some new restaurant (Isabella’s Cafe or something) is opening in Decatur and I responded to their Craigslist ad so on Friday, I may be a lot more employed than I am now!!!

Obviously, I only need one of these jobs to pan out.  But options are good.  Options are GREAT.