At lunch today, in a public setting, I found it curious that people will make an effort to not share a table. The moment a table became available another stranger would pick themselves up, including their meal, to move on over. Remember grade school? I am certain it was different then. I have this vague memory of sitting down with others, sometimes with kids I never met before. And we would eat and enjoy our meals. Why didn't that stick with us?
These posts will become ever more frequent and relevant to current projects. I hope so, as I do not want to end up with a 'blog' that makes me sound like Morrissey. No sir, I would not.
And just to prove it: I will be setting my scanner up, hopefully with a new set of photos to upload by the end of Sunday.
17.1.08
Proof of Purchase
I've had a pair of receipts in my coat pocket for about a week now. Due to some sort of nervous habit, I tend to hold onto (read: grasp) this evidence tightly, ready to present to whomever it may concern. I believe one receipt to be from my last venture into a Home Depot which, if you'd like to keep track, has become one of my primary destinations for things. Things needed as my place I apologetically call 'home' (for now) is lacking quite a bit. Anyhow, I can't seem to throw the receipts away and somehow, magically perhaps, I let go of the receipts as I remove my hand from my coat pocket. I guess I just need to keep my hands busy. At least they remain warm.
Good news for me: I have created my first monthly budget template. Playing adult in this working world has given me an opportunity to make money, money that remains in my bank account. This opportunity has made me take an interest in this money. I'm certain others are in a similar boat as I am, so let's see if I can be of assistance or at least see if this makes any sense to anyone else out there.
First off: background info. I recently graduated and moved to NYC, where I snagged myself the aforementioned 'home' and an okay job that is related to my degree, which makes me feel good about myself. Unfortunately I'm the small potato at work and along with the standard of living in this city, my sunny optimism is darkened by the daunting task of budgeting. I have an advantage, though, in that I am actually quite careful with my money. Growing up poor has made me enjoy the simple things, so I am used to not burning money. I have my moments though, where I might venture into a book store or media outlet only to leave with a few purchases more than I anticipated.
I think it's a common song: Student loans, rent, utilities, credit card (only 1 though!), car insurance, transportation, and food are my monthly costs. What do I have on my side? A job. A little outnumbered here. I suppose Time is on my side, but I find it can be a bit fickle. Having only one credit card certainly helps... I guess. Yes, I am well aware: why do I own a car while living in NYC? WELL. I haven't decided what to do with it. I've only been in NYC for 3 1/2 months. I've used my car twice. I have to move it about every other day for parking regulations. It pretty much has been a drain on my account, especially since it has begun to have 'issues'. But I also don't know how long I will be living in the area. I'm quite flexible and feel I might only be in the area for about a year (that's another post). But I haven't made any plans, so I guess I'll keep the leech for a little while longer until it finally bites me too deep. Oh, I should note that I do have another member on my team. You should look into this if you can when out on the job hunt in this area: some companies offer their employees a monthly metro card. This is an amazing teammate to have in NYC.
Writing this post has already given me a better perspective, sweet! So I'm staying afloat with my steady job, just well enough to actually pay most of my bills consistently every month and save up. I figure it would be best to pay the essentials: rent, utilities, credit card, and insurance. I believe these are necessary expenses at the moment, anything else is flexible depending on my finances. Having the metro card from work means I don't have much to pay in the way of transportation expenses, except for when I forget to renew my card. Therefore my next big expense is food. Again, I tend not to fall under the norm. I spend a lot of time cooking from scratch. I've grown wise in the ways of eating and cooking. It takes time, but buying ingredients rather than prepared 'foods' is a money saver. Plus you get to improve your cooking skills. A lot of effort? Perhaps. It does give me an idea. I will make a section in this site o' mine with simple recipes. Say: a 'recipe of the week 'or something? It challenges me to be creative and actually keep track of recipes that I never write down. More on this at a later time.
Now, then. I've listed my expenses and earnings. Ideally I will have a second source of income from my side projects, which I do so wish will become a reality and eventually my only job. That would be swell. But since that has not happened yet, it's out of the picture, or at least not colored in. Lightly sketched in, you could say. The next step is to make my monthly budget template. The internets assisted me in this matter. As I'm a young adult in this working world, I don't need those detailed spreadsheets that list such matters as a mortgage, various types of insurance, and random investments or expenses. Maybe at a later time, but for now I want something simple that won't scare me away. The basics. I did a quick search to get some ideas and found a decent one as a starting point. Here you will find the one I like. What is great about it is that, although simple, it allows plenty of room for expansion. It's flexible. I've expanded upon it to be a bit more detailed and relevant to my situation. The comments section is great. I use it primarily to 'check off' which of my expenses I have taken care of for the month, rather than pondering upon it and then checking each of my accounts to see if I have paid my monthly balance. Efficiency is always a good thing.
Just for a moment, a sidenote: in my college days of 'yore (not really that long ago actually), I spent many a day at my college's radio station. I eventually helped out more by taking the finance director position. This position threw me into the face of such programs as Excel and... well mostly Excel. So I had learned a thing or two about creating a useful budget template with the program. One that can use multiple sheets at ONCE. Yes, it is possible. End sidenote.
SO, with my previous Excel skills, I expanded my monthly budget sheet to 12 sheets (you know why) and then added a final 'top sheet' that totals my annual expenses and earnings. "Boo yah", as they say. It's not complete, as I made it about two days ago and didn't complete each month. But it's a good start and simple. If there is an interest, I can post a template somewhere on here. Also, if you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to drop me a line as I'm still learning.
Lengthy for a post, I'm not sure how often I will post, but hopefully I will be consistent. As I learned as a radio DJ, just show up every week at the same time and you will build up an audience. Everything just takes time.
Good news for me: I have created my first monthly budget template. Playing adult in this working world has given me an opportunity to make money, money that remains in my bank account. This opportunity has made me take an interest in this money. I'm certain others are in a similar boat as I am, so let's see if I can be of assistance or at least see if this makes any sense to anyone else out there.
First off: background info. I recently graduated and moved to NYC, where I snagged myself the aforementioned 'home' and an okay job that is related to my degree, which makes me feel good about myself. Unfortunately I'm the small potato at work and along with the standard of living in this city, my sunny optimism is darkened by the daunting task of budgeting. I have an advantage, though, in that I am actually quite careful with my money. Growing up poor has made me enjoy the simple things, so I am used to not burning money. I have my moments though, where I might venture into a book store or media outlet only to leave with a few purchases more than I anticipated.
I think it's a common song: Student loans, rent, utilities, credit card (only 1 though!), car insurance, transportation, and food are my monthly costs. What do I have on my side? A job. A little outnumbered here. I suppose Time is on my side, but I find it can be a bit fickle. Having only one credit card certainly helps... I guess. Yes, I am well aware: why do I own a car while living in NYC? WELL. I haven't decided what to do with it. I've only been in NYC for 3 1/2 months. I've used my car twice. I have to move it about every other day for parking regulations. It pretty much has been a drain on my account, especially since it has begun to have 'issues'. But I also don't know how long I will be living in the area. I'm quite flexible and feel I might only be in the area for about a year (that's another post). But I haven't made any plans, so I guess I'll keep the leech for a little while longer until it finally bites me too deep. Oh, I should note that I do have another member on my team. You should look into this if you can when out on the job hunt in this area: some companies offer their employees a monthly metro card. This is an amazing teammate to have in NYC.
Writing this post has already given me a better perspective, sweet! So I'm staying afloat with my steady job, just well enough to actually pay most of my bills consistently every month and save up. I figure it would be best to pay the essentials: rent, utilities, credit card, and insurance. I believe these are necessary expenses at the moment, anything else is flexible depending on my finances. Having the metro card from work means I don't have much to pay in the way of transportation expenses, except for when I forget to renew my card. Therefore my next big expense is food. Again, I tend not to fall under the norm. I spend a lot of time cooking from scratch. I've grown wise in the ways of eating and cooking. It takes time, but buying ingredients rather than prepared 'foods' is a money saver. Plus you get to improve your cooking skills. A lot of effort? Perhaps. It does give me an idea. I will make a section in this site o' mine with simple recipes. Say: a 'recipe of the week 'or something? It challenges me to be creative and actually keep track of recipes that I never write down. More on this at a later time.
Now, then. I've listed my expenses and earnings. Ideally I will have a second source of income from my side projects, which I do so wish will become a reality and eventually my only job. That would be swell. But since that has not happened yet, it's out of the picture, or at least not colored in. Lightly sketched in, you could say. The next step is to make my monthly budget template. The internets assisted me in this matter. As I'm a young adult in this working world, I don't need those detailed spreadsheets that list such matters as a mortgage, various types of insurance, and random investments or expenses. Maybe at a later time, but for now I want something simple that won't scare me away. The basics. I did a quick search to get some ideas and found a decent one as a starting point. Here you will find the one I like. What is great about it is that, although simple, it allows plenty of room for expansion. It's flexible. I've expanded upon it to be a bit more detailed and relevant to my situation. The comments section is great. I use it primarily to 'check off' which of my expenses I have taken care of for the month, rather than pondering upon it and then checking each of my accounts to see if I have paid my monthly balance. Efficiency is always a good thing.
Just for a moment, a sidenote: in my college days of 'yore (not really that long ago actually), I spent many a day at my college's radio station. I eventually helped out more by taking the finance director position. This position threw me into the face of such programs as Excel and... well mostly Excel. So I had learned a thing or two about creating a useful budget template with the program. One that can use multiple sheets at ONCE. Yes, it is possible. End sidenote.
SO, with my previous Excel skills, I expanded my monthly budget sheet to 12 sheets (you know why) and then added a final 'top sheet' that totals my annual expenses and earnings. "Boo yah", as they say. It's not complete, as I made it about two days ago and didn't complete each month. But it's a good start and simple. If there is an interest, I can post a template somewhere on here. Also, if you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to drop me a line as I'm still learning.
Lengthy for a post, I'm not sure how often I will post, but hopefully I will be consistent. As I learned as a radio DJ, just show up every week at the same time and you will build up an audience. Everything just takes time.
13.1.08
Seems right to begin on a Sunday
Okay, it appears that I am just about done fiddling with this website, let me know how it looks and/or if it works for you. I'll be tweaking some minor details and all, but I think it's good to go. It just needs more content now, and that requires me to actually go out and get more work done. As I am done spending so much time on building this site, I can now use that time to work on projects and thus have more content to upload. Like a snowball, I just hope it's a good snowball.
Hello, World: welcome to my website.
Hello, World: welcome to my website.
Did you go to school to make people laugh?
I decided to watch my Ren & Stimpy collection while working on the internets. You know how, as time passes, you begin to gain a new perspective on certain things, for instance - Shakespeare or Thoreau? I have gained such a perspective with Ren & Stimpy: I enjoy it even more so now than I did before. I found myself laughing outloud to the sometimes pyschotic humour. It's clever, though, as grotesque and unflattering as the show can be. There's more than just "toilet" humour and I would go into it further, but at the moment I am distracted by said show. toodles.
Frank Zappa as the Pope: gold.
Frank Zappa as the Pope: gold.
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