2007

I can't believe it's already the last day of 2007. I also can't believe it's Monday and I have to go to work. (The news doesn't take a holiday!) I accomplished very little over the weekend. Did some laundry, ran the dishwasher, and took out the trash. But of course, there's more trash now. Funny how that happens. I wish I lived in one of those cool old buildings you see on TV/movies that have a trash chute. I hate walking out to the dumpster, especially when the parking lot is a skating rink and it's freezing outside. I actually found one of those buildings here in Spokane, but I just couldn't live there. The neighborhood was just too scary for a single female who gets off work at midnight. It was a lovely building though. Even had central air, which I would kill for!

life insurance

Do you ever think about life insurance? Depending on your current situation (for example, does someone else rely on your income?), you probably should. And just like with getting a loan, you should compare life insurance plans and make sure you are getting the best deal for yourself.

At this point in my life, the only life insurance I have is through my employer. That plan would probably cover funeral expenses and nothing more. So if I wanted to make sure that Jewels’ guardian would receive enough money to take care of her, I’d need to purchase some additional life insurance. From what I’ve heard term life insurance is the best way to go.

Advantage Term Life Insurance has an easy way to compare rates right on the website. They state that they have the best competitive rates around. I bet they do, especially when you consider that they’re able to provide comparison rates from more than 25 companies. With that kind of information, you know you’re getting the best rate for your new life insurance plan. And making it all the more convenient, everything is done right online. Just type in your information once and you’re taken care of. No more calling around to different companies for insurance quotes. Who has that kind of time?

So if you or someone you know is in need of life insurance, be sure to shop around. Advantage’s website makes that easy and has the form to fill out right on the front page so you don’t even have to do any searching to find exactly what you’re looking for.


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my new dress needs shoes!

I fell in love with this dress on the mannequin at American Eagle. I tried it on and decided it looked cute on me too. Since it was on sale and I had 15% off (ever notice how frequently AE sends out those 15% off coupons??), I bought it. Now I've realized a few problems with my new lovely dress. 1) I have no shoes to wear with it! Now that's hard to believe considering I literally have a closet full of shoes, but it's true. The colors of the dress just don't work with any of my shoes. 2) The dress is very much a winter dress, but the type of shoes that one wears during a Spokane winter wouldn't look good. I must move elsewhere to make this work. 3) Exactly when am I going to have a reason to wear this dress?!

brrr...

It is cold outside! And there's tons of snow and ice on the ground, which makes getting around just so pleasant. I wish I could go into hibernation like the bears. Since that's not really a possibility, I'm thinking the best option would be to move to the desert--someplace beautifully warm with little chance of ever seeing snow. I definitely prefer tank tops to sweaters.

Ginger Rogers

It'd be awesome to be related to Ginger Rogers, but quite sadly, I'm not. She had quite the life...starring in 77 films, dancing with Fred Astaire, and so much more I can't even begin to list it all.

And now there's the Ginger Rogers Musical! It debuts in Ginger's hometown this February. You can get tickets through Ticketmaster (of course) for $40-50 depending on the seats.

So check out Ginger and Me (the musical). It's Dancing with the Stars--For Real!

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traveling Jewels

Jewels was such a good traveler. She was a little freaked at first since she wasn't sure why I'd packed up her food and litter box, but everything was fine once she realized she was coming along. She sat quietly in her carrier and watched me drive.

At my mom's she continued to be a good girl. Again, a little freaked out, but she started to get more comfortable with each day. She even checked out all of the rooms last night. Of course, then it was time to go back home. No problems there either.

I did discover one interesting thing. Although Jewels has never had an encounter with a dog (with the exception of maybe seeing one at the vet), she recognizes the scent as that of a predator. My sister tried to pick her up after having petted a dog at someone else's house. Jewels immediately backed up, struck the "Halloween cat" pose, and started hissing. Even after my sister washed her hands, Jewels wouldn't let her get near.

great idea

I wish I'd thought of this. Check it out.

Before I am Famous: Weekly Shorts

pet peeve

I have lots of pet peeves (I get annoyed fairly easily), but the one that's been driving me super-crazy lately is gum cracking. I happen to work with a gum-cracker. I don't like her anyway, so the constant cracking of her gum right in my ear is making me absolutely insane! I want to make a rule that no one can chew gum during the show. And especially if you're on headset.

traveling and hotels

Lots of people are traveling this time of year. I'm one of them! One of the biggest nuisances involved with traveling is figuring out where to stay. To make it easier on yourself when making Hotel Reservations just head to the internet. This allows you to easily compare all the hotels in the area. You can sort by price (and these are probably the best rates you'll find), then compare the amenities offered.

By the way, if you're coming to visit me, you'll want to book a room. Unless, of course, you don't mind having a cat bite your toes as you sleep!




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mystery apartment shopping?

Although I work full-time and attend school full-time, I still look for little side jobs. I need to. Getting a master's degree costs a fortune. Plus, I've got tons of loans from my undergrad years. So anyway, that need for more money makes me check the university job board all the time. People post short-term jobs like baby-sitting and tutoring there. I even got a weekend job judging at a high school debate tournament this way.

Now on the job board there's a post for mystery apartment shoppers. I didn't know people mystery-shopped apartments. I'd only heard about grocery stores, restaurants, and the like. I'm thinking of doing it. I've apartment-hunted a lot. In fact, I do it every so often still because I hate my current place. So I think I'd be good at it and I might even find a new place to live while I'm at it. Unfortunately, the website for the company doesn't give any information on how much they pay. Plenty of other details are there, like all the things you have to include in your report, but not how much you make. I want to make sure it's worth my time before I do their little training program.



Why do I never remember to use the "labels" part of this? I press "publish post," then realize I forgot. Then I have to go back and add. And sometimes I just don't feel like doing that!

oh dear lord

Brit's 16 year old sis is preggers. The end of the world is upon us. Here's the article: http://www6.comcast.net/entertainment/articles/2007/12/19/People.Jamie.Lynn.Spears/?cvqh=itn_jamielynn

the kids at Taco Time

I know they're making minimum wage over at Taco Time. But minimum wage is $7.93 (and soon to go up) in Washington, which is pretty good money for a high school kid. So you'd think they could put in some effort...

We keep airing commercials for Taco Time's new Casita. Advertising works on me, so I decided to buy one for dinner. I went to the drive-thru and ordered. The kid asked me to repeat myself. So I told him I wanted the "new item--the chicken casita." He still couldn't figure it out. I drove to the window to order. I should've just left. Even face-to-face he was unsure of what I was ordering. Finally he seemed to figure it out, but then he had to keep double-checking with me. My fault, I suppose, for not wanting lettuce and tomatoes. He finally handed me my order and I drove home. I just started eating it and have discovered that he gave me a beef casita instead of chicken. I can eat beef, so it's ok, but I really wanted the chicken.

house flipping loans

House flipping is the hot new thing. Turn on your TV and you'll find there are a number of TV shows dedicated to house flippers. You can make quite a bit of money (or lose your shirt), but in order to flip a house, you have to have the money to buy a house. More than likely you'll need to take out some Investor Loans. Before you decide to flip a house, do your homework and make sure you can get a loan for the amount you'll need. And then be sure you can pay it back!

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Christmas vacation

This weekend should be interesting. I'm going home for Christmas. That's not interesting or unusual. But I'm taking someone with me this time. And that's what will make the trip very interesting. Who am I taking with me? Oh, I don't know... Could it be


That's right. Jewels is coming along. She's only been out of the apartment to go to the vet. She's been fine in the car for that, but of course this will be a much longer car ride. And then she's going to be in a strange house with strange people and new smells. She could very easily freak out.

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neighbors

It's just past 10pm. 10:02 to be precise. My upstairs neighbors are doing laundry. We aren't supposed to do laundry after 10pm according to the terms of our lease. I completely understand why. The machines are cheap and LOUD. Plus, the building has paper thin walls. (Never again will I live in new construction!) And of course, I can't even complain because I totally believe in karma. If I complain about them breaking the rules, someone will turn me in for the rule I'm breaking every second of every day!

great gift idea

What's the best gift you could get an animal lover, particularly someone with a dog? The Michael Vick Plush Dog Toy!

So not only is it fun to watch your pet torture and attack the image of a man who killed so many dogs, a percentage of the proceeds goes to various charities to raise awareness of animal abuse. So if you still need a gift for your pet (come on, you know you buy them toys all the time anyway) or the animal lover in your life, buy this:





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downtown shopping -- the secret

I figured out how to avoid paying to park downtown when I go shopping! See, the place I like to have my car worked on had to close their northtown location. I was upset, but since they offered a half-price oil change for northtown customers' trouble, I went ahead and booked an appointment at the downtown location. Turns out that location is about seven blocks from Nordstorm, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, etc. So while they changed my oil and put on new tires, I walked down to the stores and went shopping. So now I can shop downtown every three months without paying to park!

comparing loans

Like I've said before, I found out the hard way that you should always compare terms before you take out a loan. Terms can vary so much and you definitely want to get the best deal because you could be paying this loan back for years to come!

Of course, the internet makes things so much easier now. There are sites that let you compare loans easily. How NameYourLoan.com Works is that a person seeking a loan fills out an online application and then sits back while lenders compete. The bids can go lower depending on your circumstances. Once you've received your bids, it's just a few easy steps to compare the lenders and get yourself the best deal out there. And in case you're wondering, the service is free.

This is the press release:

NameYourLoan.com Diversifies Current Lending Environment for Borrowers with New Approach to Online Mortgage Loans.

New online mortgage auction site, NameYourLoan.com, has revolutionized the way borrowers obtain mortgage loans online. As a unique and creative online community, borrowers can easily connect with the best mortgage lenders while lenders benefit from a wealth of real time mortgage leads and opportunities for business growth.
(PRWEB) – In today’s tough lending environment, littered with deceitful lenders and cunning tactics, it’s high time for a revolutionary tool that can empower borrowers yet still benefit lenders. NameYourLoan.com has answered the need with the launch of a new online mortgage auction site designed to give consumers access to an increasing mortgage lenders network to ultimately obtain great online mortgage loans.
“For centuries, auctions have been the most efficient and effective way to get the best deals in everything,” says Al Salahi, President and CEO of NameYourLoan.com. “Why not have auctions for all mortgage loan types?”
NameYourLoan.com is an online community where borrowers can easily connect with the best mortgage lenders. Lenders compete with one another in an online auction to win the borrower’s business. As numerous lenders submit loan offers, the site enables consumers to see “apples to apples”, compare mortgage interest rates and achieve the lowest rate mortgage online such as the best home equity loan rate or home refinance loan.
The site’s sophisticated computer system compiles and calculates all the information submitted by lenders (interest rates, points, fees, terms, etc.) and then ranks loan offers, based on their true worth relative to the borrower’s stated preferences (lowest rate, lowest fees or best combination of rates and fees). This simplified process gives borrowers a coherent presentation of information without having to do the math themselves.
Unlike other online mortgage comparison shopping services, only those lenders who come out at the top of the auction with the lowest interest rates and fees get a chance at the borrower’s business. Moreover, borrowers can invite their friend or relative lender to participate in the borrower’s auction quickly and without cost. Lenders who refuse to participate are most likely high priced and not the best mortgage lenders.
“Through advanced technology, we are starting to make haggling and deceptive lending tactics a thing of the past,” explains Salahi. “At the same time, we are transforming a generally stressful and complicated process into a very pleasant and easy experience for borrowers. Our multiple bid auction format, coupled with constant consumer feedback, will make it easy for us to weed out dishonest lenders—and hopefully put them out of business!”
Use of NameYourLoan.com is completely free for borrowers. Borrowers are under no obligation to accept any of the online mortgage loans offered in the auction. To protect against identity theft and fraud, site users are never asked for sensitive information, and lenders that receive multiple consumer complaints will be barred from future auctions.
For more information, visit NameYourLoan.com.
About NameYourLoan.com:
NameYourLoan.com is the world’s first online mortgage auction, designed to advance the lending process by helping honest and competitive lenders grow their business, and at the same time, make it possible for borrowers to instantaneously reach multiple lenders and receive competitive loan offers online, in an auction format. NameYourLoan.com uses a patent-pending concept powered by sophisticated proprietary software that has been developed by a number of technology heavyweights from the Fortune 500 arena.



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academia

I'm reading Flyover States and I think I might want to be an academic! Of course, I always seem to identify with book characters, so this could pass once I start reading a different book, which will be soon since I'm almost done with this one. But anyway, now that I'm coming up on the end of grad school, I'm already thinking about the things I want to study afterwards. Here's what I've come up with:

-Spanish (definitely a priority)
-dance, particularly ballet
-ceramics (I did it as a kid and now wish I hadn't stopped)
-business, particularly business ethics

And just think, the longer I stay in school, the longer I have before I need to start paying back my loans!!

free greeting cards

It's the time of year that everyone sends around cards. First you send out the Merry Christmas cards, then you send thank you notes to the people who bought you gifts (though I don't think it's necessary to send one if you opened the gift in front of them). Sending out all those cards gets expensive, though, especially since the post office keeps raising the price of stamps. So why not send FREE online greeting cards? There are a lot of totally cute ones. You can even send cards in languages other than English, which is definitely awesome. I think I'm sending everyone Spanish cards this year!




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all done (for now)

The semester ended on Wednesday. My group's presentation didn't go off exactly as planned, but oh well. I'm pretty sure I'm still getting an A in that class. I got 25/25 on all of the papers, so I don't see why not. I also know that I got an A in 501!! The professor sent back the paper with the course grade and some nice comments.

And even more good news: I emailed the department chair (who has to sign off on the thesis) about my plans. He wrote back saying, "I love everything about this proposal." Woohoo!!! I'm going to meet with him sometime over break to discuss it some more.

Now I have to work on writing up the official proposal. The great thing about that is it'll work for both school requirements and the National Association of Broadcasters grant that I'm going to apply for.

my favorite new show

Check out this article from TV Guide (and reposted on Taylor's Entertainment News) about what I think is the best new show of the season. Gossip Girl!

Taylor's Entertainment News: 5 Things to Love about Gossip Girl

Chris Hansen

How come no one ever recognizes Chris Hansen from Dateline? Last night I watched To Catch an ID Theft Predator. One of the guys actually told Chris that he watches To Catch a Predator all the time and for that reason is careful about who he chats with online. And yet he didn't recognize Chris! Sometimes on the show he gets a little pissy with guys who don't recognize him. That's always amusing to me. He must realize that if people did start recognizing him, her wouldn't be able to keep doing the shows.

weight loss surgery

America is fat! So many people need to lose weight. For some people diet and exercise isn’t enough. They’re just too far gone. That’s when surgery becomes an option. Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding, which is more commonly known as Lapband, is one of those options. The band that is inserted controls the size of the stomach, which means that someone can’t eat as much as they once did.

A number of different places offer the surgery. If you're in Houston, you should click here: houston weight loss
JourneyLite also operates in Los Angeles and Tampa.

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another phone update

Discovered yet another annoying thing about my new phone. It doesn't display message information on the caller ID screen. My last phone would stop showing the time and instead display "missed call," "new voicemail," or "new message" (for texts), so I knew with a quick glance that I should look to see who called or texted me. This phone shows the time no matter what. So any time I'm away from the phone or have it silenced, I have to flip it open when I get back to it in order to find out if someone called. I find this quite annoying. I read through the book, but couldn't find any way to change this.

pay day loans

Some people have bad credit. Those people can’t get cash advances from a credit card, so when they need money to pay for things like car repairs, many turn to pay day loans. A pay day loan doesn’t require a credit check, which is why it’s an option. As with any loan, it’s best to shop around in order to get the best deal. One website that gives quotes is No Fax Payday Loans. They also offer electronic transfer of funds.

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next up

All school work is done for the semester other than pinning down just what we're going to say in the presentation. So we're meeting for lunch on Sunday to figure that out. I'm so happy I get to sleep some these next few days. In a few moments I'm turning off the computer and curling up with a book in bed. Nighty night.

good news

Paper and presentation for 501- complete
DVD for 506- complete
paper for 506- nearly done

I have no idea how I pulled this off. Though I haven't really slept. I suppose that's how I accomplished all of it.

One other note: I completely love my group members for 506! They are the best.

starting a business?

Sometimes writers to decide to make themselves a corporation for tax purposes. So far, I haven’t. But I’ve read books on the subject and know that one day it might be something I need to do in order to change the way my income is taxed. One company, IncParadise.com encourages small business owners to incorporate in Nevada because of Nevada’s business-friendly laws. The website offers a lot of advice on nevada corporation. They have various forms that business owners. Some of those forms are available for free while others have fees associated with the service.

The website offers a section on frequently asked questions that should provide some help to small business owners or people interested in starting their own business. Some of the questions addressed are: the difference between a "C" and an "S" corporation, obtaining a tax idea number (something they also offer forms on to help), and rules in naming a corporation. All important topics you need to find out about if you’re thinking of starting a corporation.

They also have something called a "corporate kit." If purchased, you receive documents you might need for your company, such as stock certificates. The kit costs $35 plus $20 shipping for second day UPS. Here’s an example of the kit:



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that 501 paper and presentation

I think I might finally be done with the paper and presentation. Since I don't have to turn them in until tomorrow at 5pm and I have the day off, I'm going to hold off on posting to the class website. I'm going to take a break from all the school work now. I'll look at them again tomorrow morning (after I go to the dentist) and see if there's anything I want to change. Hopefully there won't be.

new phone update

You would think that by staying with the same phone company and the same brand of phone, that switching phones would've been easy. It wasn't. First, I discovered that I hadn't saved anything to my SIM card. So I had to put it back in the old phone and save everything to it. I couldn't figure out how to save the games I'd purchased, so I guess I've lost those.

Now with the new phone working, I'm having difficulty navigating it. The answer/hang up buttons are reversed on this phone. That's a pain. And for some reason the calculator and alarm are under a different category. I made the alarm a quick key since I use it more than the calculator. But when I do want to use the calculator, I sit there forever trying to remember where it's located. I guess I'll get used to it eventually. And I just have to hope that when I change phones again, everything won't have changed again.

web coupons

I have used these coupon codes before and they totally work, which was thrilling for me. I once got $10 off my eBay purchase, which was great. I like that webbyplanet allows you to search for the coupon you want a number of ways. You can type it in the search field or browse by category or first letter. Being able to browse by category is great because you can discover new stores. With Christmas coming, these coupon codes will come in handy.

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love

This is what I wake up to in the morning. I love this cat. She's a little crazy sometimes. There's no Christmas tree this year for fear that she'll try to climb. Actually, I'm pretty sure she would climb it. The only place I haven't found her is on top of the fridge, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she figures out how to get up there. Then when I least expect it, she'll dive down on top of me. It'll probably be when I'm carrying a pot of boiling water to sink. But then I'll remember what it's like to curl up in bed with her and all will be forgiven.

paintball!

paintball gun for sale
I'd buy. But no one ever takes me paintballing with them. I’m not sure why. Maybe they’re all afraid of getting beat by a girl! Anyway, you can get yourself paintball guns and other various gear through Ultimate Paintball. It looks to me like they have pretty good prices. Plus, you get free shipping! Got to love that. And if you’re impatient for your orders like me, the good news is they ship almost everything the same day you order it.

The Ultimate Paintball website also says they’re building a Paintball Tank to play out scenarios. My guess is that it’ll be in Missouri since that’s where the company’s based, but it’d be cool if they had it across the country.

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life

I obviously have too much going on. I nearly forgot to pay the rent. I suddenly realized slightly after 10pm that it was the first of the month. So I shoved my feet in some shoes, threw on my coat, and I headed down the stairs and through the fresh snow to the manager's office. Now the check is safely in the drop box. No late fee for me!

Oh, and I'm still procrastinating doing any of the work I need to do by constantly writing other stuff like this. I've made very little progress on the 501 stuff; nothing on the other.

massive loan debt

As a grad student, loans are a big part of my life. I’m not only in massive debt from my undergrad years, I now have taken out even more loans as I pursue my master’s degree. When I took out my undergrad loans, I was completely clueless. My parents didn’t really agree with my decision to go to college, so they didn’t help me understand the loan process. Not knowing about student loans and their terms is something I regret. Thankfully, I know more now and the terms of my grad school loans are much better. Anyone who is thinking about taking out a loan, regardless the type of loan, should do plenty of research before agreeing to any lender’s terms. I am paying so much in interest of my first student loans because I didn’t know what my options were. I have good credit, so the interest rates I’m paying are ridiculous. If you have high interest rates and good credit, I would recommend doing what you can to refinance at a lower rate. I haven’t been able to refinance all of it, but have been able to do a good chunk.

Luckily, the internet makes it much easier to do this type of research now. You can Compare loans through this website. They also have Homeowner loans available through their site and be sure to check out Unsecured loans there too.


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work

At this point, I don't know how I'm going to get all my work done this weekend. Writing this is obviously not helping. But I'm having a hard time getting started.

By Monday, I need to complete my work for 501. This includes a PowerPoint presentation that's about halfway done and a paper (the paper that is killing me) that, according to the professor, is 80% done. I really wanted it to be completely done last Monday, but he made suggestions on what I turned in, which means I have to do more in order to get an A. I'm so not looking forward to writing any more on the subject.

Then by Wednesday, I need another paper written for a different class. Thankfully, this one only has to be three pages; but since I haven't even started it, there may be some problems with accomplishing that. I also need to put together the video clips for the group presentation. That actually isn't due until the following Wednesday, but since most of the DVDs I'm getting the clips from were rented, I need to get them at least copied by this Wednesday.

I might die.