I was looking up the company that makes one of our instruments at work today, and this lead to some internest daydreaming. And this lead to my (probably not) brilliant idea.
I should get a job in London.
What? Work in the UK? "Hells yeah!" I thought. This isn't a fully thought through plan, or even really a plan at all. But now, it's a bee in my bonnet (not to put to fine a point on it).
Sure, there are universities in the US where I could get a professor job. But don't they need eccentric assistant professors of Chemistry/Biochemistry/Materials in the UK? This will, of course, require lots of thinking and some serious soul searching. But I'm not ready to jump on the job hunt bandwagon just yet. I have some job security (word from The Boss is that I'm not getting kicked out anytime soon), but I can't stay here forever. I do, however, need to publish two (hopefully three or four) more papers, finish up my work, and get my independent project started (I have a plan, and I'm 0.05% started already).
Now, I just have to decide...Los Angeles? or London? Hmmm. Either will be 4000% improvement over Connecticut.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
It's Sunday... Where'd my money go?
I have some time on my hands tonight and figured it would be a great time to get back on my more regular schedule of these posts. So, a short week...
July 15 - 19, 2009
Groceries - $10.69
7-11 - $12.85
IHOP - $12.38
Convenience Store - $6.03
Walgreens - $5.21
TOTAL DEBIT CARD: $47.16
Starting Cash: $3
Cash Withdrawal - $35
Wed. Lunch - $8
Thurs. Lunch - $8
Fri. Lunch - $8
Cash Spent: $24
Cash in hand now: $14
Not too bad. But I still spent $71.16 in five days, and considering that I haven't left the house today, it's actually been only four days. That's $17.79 per day. Yipes. My $100/week allotment comes out to just over $14/day. So, I'm dead on if I count this spending as five days instead of four. So, not so bad, really. But there's still room for improvement, I'm sure.
July 15 - 19, 2009
Groceries - $10.69
7-11 - $12.85
IHOP - $12.38
Convenience Store - $6.03
Walgreens - $5.21
TOTAL DEBIT CARD: $47.16
Starting Cash: $3
Cash Withdrawal - $35
Wed. Lunch - $8
Thurs. Lunch - $8
Fri. Lunch - $8
Cash Spent: $24
Cash in hand now: $14
Not too bad. But I still spent $71.16 in five days, and considering that I haven't left the house today, it's actually been only four days. That's $17.79 per day. Yipes. My $100/week allotment comes out to just over $14/day. So, I'm dead on if I count this spending as five days instead of four. So, not so bad, really. But there's still room for improvement, I'm sure.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
I'm SHOCKED! (July food "budget")
Oh. My. Frakking. Gods.
So, Dr. Faith just posted an excellent blog about food budgeting. This inspired me to take a look at how much I actually spend on food.
My thoughts were this... I'm a HORRIBLE person, and I rarely eat dinner or breakfast (I know. I'll be dead by age 50.) My main expense is lunch at work and what little groceries I buy for at home snackage. My guess is that I would come in a tad over the $125/month that Dr. Faith discussed.
I just scrolled back to my recent Where'd my money go? post for the past two weeks and added up what I spent on food.
$136!
Holy crap. I spent $240 for the two weeks, so I spend 57% of my money on food? Really?? Then again, when I think about it... what else do I buy? Where does the money go REALLY?? ALL of my cash spent the past two weeks was on food ($102). $112 of the food money was spent AT work or ON MY WAY TO work. The rest ($24) was spent on actual groceries. Mind you, my "groceries" for the past two weeks were a box of cereal, 20 bottles of Powerade (this doesn't count Powerade purchased at 7-11 or at work), two boxes of toaster strudel, and things I forget from my trip on the 1st. Oh and a case of Raman Noodles for $2.
I think I could fill a swimming pool with the Powerade that I drink in a month. Shit.
Okay, things I've learned tonight. (1) I spend WAY more money on food than I think I do. (2) I should eat better.
I find myself wondering (and not just tonight) if cooking at home and bringing lunch to work would really be cheaper than buying lunch at work from the carts outside. IF my now famous (or infamous) casserole of death (it has broccoli so it's good for you, despite the fried chicken strips, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and cheese) costs roughly $25 to make. I pulled that number out of my ass; the major expense here would be the chicken and the veggies. And I get say four lunches out of it, I'd about break even. However, I'd eat a bulk of it at home and not save 100% of casserole for lunches. So, if only half of it went to two lunches... I'd still about break even. This is how I justify it to myself that it's okay to buy lunch every day. I'm going to have to make said casserole of death to get the exact cost, eat dinner once, and divide the rest into lunch-sized portions. See, to me, the "extra" hidden cost is eating the dinner at home. If I didn't make the casserole, planning to bring it to work for lunch, I wouldn't eat anything for dinner (most likely). So, there's no money saved, and the casserole actually has cost me the money I saved on lunch by eating a lunch portion for dinner at home. But I don't know if this is ACTUALLY true, or only what I tell myself to justify my hatred of going to the grocery store.
Hmm. Lots of things to think about here. The other variable here is the dread of having to deal with the endless comments and questions from people at work who would be shocked to see me bringing my lunch to work. I hate that. On the rare (read 5 or 6 times in 3.5 years) occasions that I have brought a lunch to work, it's been a horrid experience, simply because of the comments and conversations that ensue.
Anyway, this has become rambling. (Click "Publish" you jackass!)
Laters.
So, Dr. Faith just posted an excellent blog about food budgeting. This inspired me to take a look at how much I actually spend on food.
My thoughts were this... I'm a HORRIBLE person, and I rarely eat dinner or breakfast (I know. I'll be dead by age 50.) My main expense is lunch at work and what little groceries I buy for at home snackage. My guess is that I would come in a tad over the $125/month that Dr. Faith discussed.
I just scrolled back to my recent Where'd my money go? post for the past two weeks and added up what I spent on food.
$136!
Holy crap. I spent $240 for the two weeks, so I spend 57% of my money on food? Really?? Then again, when I think about it... what else do I buy? Where does the money go REALLY?? ALL of my cash spent the past two weeks was on food ($102). $112 of the food money was spent AT work or ON MY WAY TO work. The rest ($24) was spent on actual groceries. Mind you, my "groceries" for the past two weeks were a box of cereal, 20 bottles of Powerade (this doesn't count Powerade purchased at 7-11 or at work), two boxes of toaster strudel, and things I forget from my trip on the 1st. Oh and a case of Raman Noodles for $2.
I think I could fill a swimming pool with the Powerade that I drink in a month. Shit.
Okay, things I've learned tonight. (1) I spend WAY more money on food than I think I do. (2) I should eat better.
I find myself wondering (and not just tonight) if cooking at home and bringing lunch to work would really be cheaper than buying lunch at work from the carts outside. IF my now famous (or infamous) casserole of death (it has broccoli so it's good for you, despite the fried chicken strips, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and cheese) costs roughly $25 to make. I pulled that number out of my ass; the major expense here would be the chicken and the veggies. And I get say four lunches out of it, I'd about break even. However, I'd eat a bulk of it at home and not save 100% of casserole for lunches. So, if only half of it went to two lunches... I'd still about break even. This is how I justify it to myself that it's okay to buy lunch every day. I'm going to have to make said casserole of death to get the exact cost, eat dinner once, and divide the rest into lunch-sized portions. See, to me, the "extra" hidden cost is eating the dinner at home. If I didn't make the casserole, planning to bring it to work for lunch, I wouldn't eat anything for dinner (most likely). So, there's no money saved, and the casserole actually has cost me the money I saved on lunch by eating a lunch portion for dinner at home. But I don't know if this is ACTUALLY true, or only what I tell myself to justify my hatred of going to the grocery store.
Hmm. Lots of things to think about here. The other variable here is the dread of having to deal with the endless comments and questions from people at work who would be shocked to see me bringing my lunch to work. I hate that. On the rare (read 5 or 6 times in 3.5 years) occasions that I have brought a lunch to work, it's been a horrid experience, simply because of the comments and conversations that ensue.
Anyway, this has become rambling. (Click "Publish" you jackass!)
Laters.
Laboratory Finances
Okay, I'm going to get a little bitchy about my work. I've been absolutely IRRITATED the past several days about recent events in the lab. BUT, I feel I need to qualify this whole post by saying that (1) I love my job; I bitch and moan a lot about it, but it's the best job I've had ever and (2) I love my boss; I'm convinced that without her this job would blow major chunks, and I know for a fact that if I had my previous boss for this job I would have been fired years ago. And with that said, I do have to bitch and moan about lab finances for a bit.
Our boss announced in our weekly meeting last Thursday that one of Program Project grants from the NIH did not get renewed and that the other labs on the project decided to take the rewrite in a different direction, so our lab is no longer included. This totally blows, but is not at all catastrophic. We have plenty of money from other grants, and she's working on writing several other applications to make up for this loss. However, what this does mean is six months to a year of "conservative spending" (her term).
This was contrasted with the announcement that no one had to worry about his/her job/salary/stipend. She was going to rearrange things so everyone would still be paid. That's nice; I enjoy job security (especially after my last job). HOWEVER, she also just took on a new grad student. AND she keeps refusing to fire the bitch of the lab who deserves to be gone. Rumors have been swirling around the lab for over a year that AC would be gone "soon". First is was Jan 2009. Then, I was even told by the secretary that June 30, 2009 would be her last day. Then, the summer meeting schedule came out, and she's listed through August! WTF?
Okay, don't get me wrong. I'm all for saving money in lab where appropriate, and I do think that we've been a bit over frivolous (partly due to lack of supervision and partly do to being spoiled for the past couple years). HOWEVER, AC uses the most supply money of any one person in lab (by my rough "calculations" in my head), and she yields very little good results. I know, I'm a complete hypocrite by saying this (and I cringe looking at my typing of it), because I was fired from my last job for not bringing in enough results to justify my salary.
But this is just a simple case of her not getting along with ANYONE. Her lab meeting presentations are frequently punctuated with shouting matches between her and the boss. Her individual, bi-weekly meetings are spent arguing loudly with her. It was 2 years after she started when the boss said at a meeting (where AC was not present) that "she finally had data that she believed". AC comes in at 1130am and leaves at 4 or 430pm. She'll talk on the phone a lot of that time. She monopolizes equipment and leaves messes (fungus growing in "sterile" hoods) everywhere. She makes one of the techs do most of her work, so she doesn't have to do it. She's generally just a horrible person. She was told a year ago that she had to find her own source of money or she'd be gone. Well, she didn't get the fellowship, and she's still around. Everyone in lab has come to me separately and said "I know how to cut out a HUGE chunk of money" (or words to that effect), all meaning that AC really needs to go.
Granted, AC does not have a job lined up. She whined about being a single mom with no job, and our boss pitied her. And I've been told, that as long as I want/need to be here I can be. But the boss can not keep hiring people when people aren't leaving the lab. We're out of space!
When I joined the lab, there were 5 people regular lab members (I make 6). In the past 3.5 years, two people have left, and 9 people have joined. We're now 14 people (not including my summer high school student). The boss expects lots of work being done, but less money spent and not enough space to do the work she wants.
I have a feeling that AC really will leave at the end of the summer. There is a week on the current schedule when she's not listed, and that's an excellent sign. I really just hope that the extra work of this "conservative spending" is worth it. I trust that the boss knows what she's doing. It just makes the lab a completely different dynamic now, and I'm not adjusting well to the change.
Our boss announced in our weekly meeting last Thursday that one of Program Project grants from the NIH did not get renewed and that the other labs on the project decided to take the rewrite in a different direction, so our lab is no longer included. This totally blows, but is not at all catastrophic. We have plenty of money from other grants, and she's working on writing several other applications to make up for this loss. However, what this does mean is six months to a year of "conservative spending" (her term).
This was contrasted with the announcement that no one had to worry about his/her job/salary/stipend. She was going to rearrange things so everyone would still be paid. That's nice; I enjoy job security (especially after my last job). HOWEVER, she also just took on a new grad student. AND she keeps refusing to fire the bitch of the lab who deserves to be gone. Rumors have been swirling around the lab for over a year that AC would be gone "soon". First is was Jan 2009. Then, I was even told by the secretary that June 30, 2009 would be her last day. Then, the summer meeting schedule came out, and she's listed through August! WTF?
Okay, don't get me wrong. I'm all for saving money in lab where appropriate, and I do think that we've been a bit over frivolous (partly due to lack of supervision and partly do to being spoiled for the past couple years). HOWEVER, AC uses the most supply money of any one person in lab (by my rough "calculations" in my head), and she yields very little good results. I know, I'm a complete hypocrite by saying this (and I cringe looking at my typing of it), because I was fired from my last job for not bringing in enough results to justify my salary.
But this is just a simple case of her not getting along with ANYONE. Her lab meeting presentations are frequently punctuated with shouting matches between her and the boss. Her individual, bi-weekly meetings are spent arguing loudly with her. It was 2 years after she started when the boss said at a meeting (where AC was not present) that "she finally had data that she believed". AC comes in at 1130am and leaves at 4 or 430pm. She'll talk on the phone a lot of that time. She monopolizes equipment and leaves messes (fungus growing in "sterile" hoods) everywhere. She makes one of the techs do most of her work, so she doesn't have to do it. She's generally just a horrible person. She was told a year ago that she had to find her own source of money or she'd be gone. Well, she didn't get the fellowship, and she's still around. Everyone in lab has come to me separately and said "I know how to cut out a HUGE chunk of money" (or words to that effect), all meaning that AC really needs to go.
Granted, AC does not have a job lined up. She whined about being a single mom with no job, and our boss pitied her. And I've been told, that as long as I want/need to be here I can be. But the boss can not keep hiring people when people aren't leaving the lab. We're out of space!
When I joined the lab, there were 5 people regular lab members (I make 6). In the past 3.5 years, two people have left, and 9 people have joined. We're now 14 people (not including my summer high school student). The boss expects lots of work being done, but less money spent and not enough space to do the work she wants.
I have a feeling that AC really will leave at the end of the summer. There is a week on the current schedule when she's not listed, and that's an excellent sign. I really just hope that the extra work of this "conservative spending" is worth it. I trust that the boss knows what she's doing. It just makes the lab a completely different dynamic now, and I'm not adjusting well to the change.
Thank you Target!
So, in writing my last post I realized two things: (1) I really shouldn't have bought two sets of Legos and (2) my one collectible vice I'm allowing myself (U.B. Funkeys) rang up at $10.99 instead of the sticker price of $3.45!
So, after posting my post, I hopped back in the car with Legos and Funkeys and receipt in my red, reusable Target bag and headed back to Target. I returned the two Legos and got the price adjusted on the Funkeys. Total refund: $30.75!
So, now I'm only over my $100/week by $40, which is so not bad for my inaugural two week period. Of course, I'm going to try better for the second half of July. Quitting smoking now would definitely save me at least $40 over two weeks. So, that's what I'm going to do. I was going to say try. But really need to DO THIS.
Granted since I picked up the disgusting, lethal habit again in November, I've been much less of a smoker than when I was going whole-hog before (3 or 4 packs/week vs. 8 or 9), but cigarettes cost WAY more now (~$7/pack), so I'm guessing that I'm spending about the same amount of money despite smoking a lot less.
**sigh** or rather **cough cough**
Okay, with this detail out of the way, I have something else that I've been thinking all evening about blogging.
Stay Tuned...
So, after posting my post, I hopped back in the car with Legos and Funkeys and receipt in my red, reusable Target bag and headed back to Target. I returned the two Legos and got the price adjusted on the Funkeys. Total refund: $30.75!
So, now I'm only over my $100/week by $40, which is so not bad for my inaugural two week period. Of course, I'm going to try better for the second half of July. Quitting smoking now would definitely save me at least $40 over two weeks. So, that's what I'm going to do. I was going to say try. But really need to DO THIS.
Granted since I picked up the disgusting, lethal habit again in November, I've been much less of a smoker than when I was going whole-hog before (3 or 4 packs/week vs. 8 or 9), but cigarettes cost WAY more now (~$7/pack), so I'm guessing that I'm spending about the same amount of money despite smoking a lot less.
**sigh** or rather **cough cough**
Okay, with this detail out of the way, I have something else that I've been thinking all evening about blogging.
Stay Tuned...
It's (DAMN!) been two weeks! ... Where'd my money go?
Yes, I've been a huge slacker with the blog lately. I hate myself for taking so much time away. But sometimes shit just happens. Anyway, in lieu of two weekly posts, let's squeeze two weeks into one post and see how I've been doing with the $100/week plan. I have no idea. I'll just have to see what the receipt jar has to say...
July 1 - 14, 2009
13th - Walgreens - $3.41 - Unnecessary candy and drinks for work.
14th - Hosp. Caff. - $2.92 - Breakfast this morning.
13th - 7-11 - $13.11 - Drink and cigs. (yes, kick me in the face for that one)
14th - Target - $60.06 - Cat litter, cereal, and a bunch of crap I didn't really need. I'm thinking that I'll return the Legos. I don't need them, and they did cost $21.47. Plus, I just realized that one thing rang up $10.99 instead of the $3.45 sticker price. I feel another trip to Target coming on tomorrow.
12th - 7-11 - $6.47 - Snacks and drinks.
14th - Groceries - $9.31
14th - Gas - $23.55
8th - 7-11 - $17.59 - Snacks & cigs.
5th - Walgreens - $31.99 - Candy, drinks, meds, & cigs.
7th - Transfer - +$100
14th - Transfer - +$100
Starting Cash = $28
9th - Cash Withdrawal - $35
3rd - Cash Withdrawal - $35
1st - Lunch - $6
2nd - Lunch - $5
1st - Groceries - $12
1st - Breakfast - $3
3rd - Lunch - $8
4th - Lunch - $6
6th - Lunch - $7
7th - Lunch - $6
8th - Lunch - $6
9th - Lunch - $5
10th - Lunch - $13 (me and JY)
10th - Drink - $3
11th - Snack - $5
13th - Lunch - $7
13th - JY for lunch on the 10th - +$5
14th - Lunch - $5
14th - Drink - $5
Cash left over = $3
It doesn't look good folks.
Total money spent = $270.41
This is $70.41 over my $100/week. And the sad thing is, I thought I was doing well with this. I'm not in dire straights, but I really need to be more careful. And I do plan to hit Target and try to get some things returned and refunded. That would help by about $30. We'll see how that goes.
July 1 - 14, 2009
13th - Walgreens - $3.41 - Unnecessary candy and drinks for work.
14th - Hosp. Caff. - $2.92 - Breakfast this morning.
13th - 7-11 - $13.11 - Drink and cigs. (yes, kick me in the face for that one)
14th - Target - $60.06 - Cat litter, cereal, and a bunch of crap I didn't really need. I'm thinking that I'll return the Legos. I don't need them, and they did cost $21.47. Plus, I just realized that one thing rang up $10.99 instead of the $3.45 sticker price. I feel another trip to Target coming on tomorrow.
12th - 7-11 - $6.47 - Snacks and drinks.
14th - Groceries - $9.31
14th - Gas - $23.55
8th - 7-11 - $17.59 - Snacks & cigs.
5th - Walgreens - $31.99 - Candy, drinks, meds, & cigs.
7th - Transfer - +$100
14th - Transfer - +$100
Starting Cash = $28
9th - Cash Withdrawal - $35
3rd - Cash Withdrawal - $35
1st - Lunch - $6
2nd - Lunch - $5
1st - Groceries - $12
1st - Breakfast - $3
3rd - Lunch - $8
4th - Lunch - $6
6th - Lunch - $7
7th - Lunch - $6
8th - Lunch - $6
9th - Lunch - $5
10th - Lunch - $13 (me and JY)
10th - Drink - $3
11th - Snack - $5
13th - Lunch - $7
13th - JY for lunch on the 10th - +$5
14th - Lunch - $5
14th - Drink - $5
Cash left over = $3
It doesn't look good folks.
Total money spent = $270.41
This is $70.41 over my $100/week. And the sad thing is, I thought I was doing well with this. I'm not in dire straights, but I really need to be more careful. And I do plan to hit Target and try to get some things returned and refunded. That would help by about $30. We'll see how that goes.
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