Do You Do Dumb Stuff at Work?

So, in the course of yesterday’s work day, my behavior was borderline freakish, I’m being serious. I honestly don’t know what was wrong with me, but I embarrassed myself not once, not twice, but a grand total of six times.

Here’s the rundown:

1. I misunderstood a caller’s name, talking with him for a good 10 minutes before realizing he wasn’t who I thought.
2. Once said caller realized I’d gotten confused and called me on it, I fumbled all over myself trying to explain.
3. After getting off the phone with him, I decided it was, definitely, a order-out-food day. So my coworker and I headed out. I took a wrong turn and got us almost lost.
4. Paying for my takeout at the restaurant, I knocked over the metal lid on the toothpick container, sending it bouncing onto the tile floors. Every head in the packed place turned to me.
5. I went down the parking lot lane the wrong way, almost hitting a car.
6. I messed up something in our records for the day.

And these are just the things I remember right now. Let’s be honest: I’m forgetting something, for sure.

Quick, someone: make me feel better. Tell me you do dumb stuff, too. Please?

I spend about $.10 per mile to commute

Squawkfox posted a handy tool the other day, the Gas-Mileage Calculator, which will show you just what gas prices are costing you.

I drive about 15 miles each way to work (give or take) and spend roughly $.10 each mile. In other words, I spend $3 a day (not counting tolls, which add another $1.60 each way) to commute to work.

On top of which, there’s the time factor: I spend 30 minutes there and 45 back. (TRAFFIC!!! AHH!)

Still better than public transportation for me, if only for convenience: I can leave as soon as work is done and get there just as it begins.

What about you?

Even Bank Tellers Use ING

Today, my brother stopped by his Washington Mutual, and the bank teller (glorified sales person) tried to sell him on a savings account.

“No thanks,” Brother said. “I have an ING.”

“ME TOO!” the teller exclaimed.

What I Aspire to Be:

A big old YAWN.

That’s right: I’d like to be plain old vanilla, boring as can be. What does that mean? Well, I’d like to be a young, prosperous, frugal girl who lives on less than she makes and gives more to others.

According to Kiplinger’s, I’m not alone.

Hat Tip: I just read this in my Bloglines, and I can’t remember whose blog cited it!! If it was you, tell me and I’ll pass on the credit (and thanks!). (Budgeting Babe)

Advice from Dostoevsky

“…a youth of our last epoch– that is, honest in nature, desiring the truth, seeking for it and believing in it, and seeking to serve it at once with all the strength of his soul, seeking for immediate action, and ready to sacrifice everything, life itself, for it. Though these young men fail to understand that the sacrifice of life is, in many cases, the easiest of all sacrifices, and that to sacrifice, for instance, five or six years of their seething youth to hard and tedious study, if only to multiply ten-fold their powers of serving the truth and the cause they have set before them as their goal–such a sacrifice is utterly beyond the strength of many of them.”

Every day, I am more and more convinced that all of the worthwhile things in life, I mean the really worthwhile ones, take hard work, discipline, faithfulness and TIME. Dostoevsky, back in like 1890, understood something he wished the young people would: sacrificing time now will mean gain later.

In other words:

THE NOW: Working hard, putting my time and effort into a 9-5. Hiring, managing, working, learning. Giving a few years, maybe five or six, to really growing as a writer, editor, manager. Setting aside large amounts of money from every paycheck. Not having my own house or a new car.

MEANS, THE LATER: Skills and experience, and the accompanying benefits. Character. Huge financial savings. The ability to buy my own house or start my own business or whatever (i.e., more options, more freedom).

Inspired by the speaker who shared this quote and who advised the audience to be its own worst boss (setting higher standards for your work quality and job performance than your employers), I am inspired for the future. I’m encouraged that, no matter what I have or haven’t already accomplished, if I’m willing to sacrifice, other things are possible.

I am not going to a wedding this morning.

A few months ago, I made a command decision: if I don’t know someone (i.e., if I ran into them, I’d feel weird going over and saying hi), I don’t have to go to their weddings/baby showers/graduation parties. It’s the time of year for that sort of thing, and, especially when you travel in my particular circles, you get invited to a lot of things, even for people you don’t know. I have gone to my fair share of stranger-parties, and sure, I’ve survived. But I’ve not enjoyed them, and I don’t think the people of honor even knew I was there or cared.

So, last weekend, I didn’t go to the graduation party of a high-schooler I’ve never spoken with, even though her parents seem nice. At the end of the month, I’m not going to the baby shower of the girl whose bridal shower and wedding I’ve already attended but haven’t talked with her since. And today, I’m not going to the wedding of the couple I know nothing about, save from some random Facebook updates.

It’s nothing personal, and it’s not about the money. I’m even sending a gift to the newlyweds. My brother and I went to Target last night, and we split the approximately $30 cost of a Brita water pitcher, which he’s taking to the wedding, seeing as he went to elementary/high school with the bride. I feel $15 is fair for an acquaintance’s wedding gift. (Side note: cost to me was actually $9, thank you bank-reward gift cards)

It’s just: with our society’s big, big parties and invite-everyone-you-ever-knew gatherings, I get invited to things, probably out a sense of obligation from someone. They’re inviting my brother or my parents or my co-worker, so they feel they should invite me, too, so I’m not hurt. And that’s kind. But it’s always kind of awkward for me–how many receiving lines can you go through saying, You look beautiful! Great wedding! as they smile at you, wondering what your name is. (OK, maybe exaggerating, but not by a lot.)

When I have a party or if I ever get married or have a baby shower, I’d like to just have the people I love that love me. It may be a smaller group–no 2000-person guest lists, as my random cousin is apparently choosing later this year for her wedding–and there won’t be as many gifts, but, in my opinion, that’s perfectly fine.

I’m Not Giving Up on My Jetta

The car dealership figured out what’s wrong with my car: a burned-out clutch. This is very good news. Why?

(a) They can fix it. (b) It’s under warranty. = $0 and I don’t have to get a new car.

I can keep driving my paid-off vehicle AND there’s even more good news!

Apparently, a burned-out clutch wastes fuel. So after the clutch is fixed, my car will be getting its best mileage, thereby saving me more money!

This is the best news ever.

(No, that’s not my car above. It looks like it, though. Image borrowed from this site)

Sometimes I Really Feel Like a Girl

I am learning that, at least when it comes to my car, I am all emotion.

A few hours ago, sitting outside a random Culver’s, watching my VW Jetta from a safe 50 feet away, it was all I could do to not start crying in public. While I had been driving home in insanely bad traffic, my car again put out a burning smell. This time, though, there was smoke. I turned on my emergency lights, moved to the right lane and pulled into the nearest parking lot, Culver’s. One phone call to Dad, and I was assured everything would be fine. While I waited, though, a few thoughts went through my mind, thoughts like, Maybe I deserve a milkshake.

I am also learning that, at least when it comes to bad days, I want sugar.

My dad was leaving the house to meet me, so we could caravan to the dealership, hoping, hoping to prove finally that my car really is possessed by some serious problem. So while waiting I wandered into Culver’s, my emotional voice saying, Yes, you should get a milkshake! You’ve had a bad day! It’s only a few dollars! and my rational, PF-brain voice saying, No, no, you cannot have a milkshake! You spent $18 ($18!!!!) dollars on a terrible lunch you ordered out with coworkers, one of whom just turned down the promotion she’d already accepted last week. You blew, what–like 30% of your restaurant budget?–on one bad meal. No, you can’t have a milkshake now!

And I am also learning, at least when it comes to money and life and relationships and work and time management and family, very little is easy.

How Movies Set Us Up To Want

If you, like me, find yourself more interested in movie characters’ real estate or wardrobes than the plots or story line, you’ll appreciate this post over at Escape Brooklyn.

In it, she cites a recent MSN Money article that points out the discrepancies between what movie/tv characters have and what they supposedly do for a living.

Among the examples are Eva Mendes’s character in Hitch, a gossip columnist with a $5,000/month-rent New York Loft and Ann Hathaway’s Andi in The Devil Wears Prada, who gets loads of free designer clothes at work.

I’d add the following:

Gilmore Girls: A beautiful Victorian house, all meals ordered or eaten out & gorgeous, new clothes every season… all on an innkeeper’s salary? OK, they couldn’t pay for Yale, but even still!

27 Dresses: Katherine Heigel’s character lives in a beautiful, vintage apartment in NYC. Her sister visits and calls it “cute.” I think we all know that had to cost a pretty penny. And she’s someone’s assistant.

The truth is, as a manager in the Chicago area making a mid-level salary, I can’t even afford a two-bedroom condo in my area. So do you think movies set us up to want more so that we’ll spend? Or is allowing us to pretend we can afford X, Y & Z part of a movie’s magic?

How a Saver Spends Vacation/Personal Days

It’s hard to believe, but my one-year anniversary at work is coming up, and with it, faster accruing vacation times and two new personal days.

The way it works is this: After your three-month probation, you get paid holidays and two personal days, as well as accruing vacation hours up to one week (40 hours). After a year, you start accruing up to two weeks over the next year, never able to earn more than 80 hours total.

(Random question: what are your personal/vacation days like? Are my benefits pretty normal?)

Even harder to believe than the fact that I’ve almost hit one year is the fact that I’ve use 0% of my vacation days and still have five hours of personal time left. California will eat three vacation days, and I’ll probably use some more this summer/early fall. The personal hours, all five of them, will expire if I don’t use them fast.

So, discovering this last week, I quickly filled out a blue slip for a half day the next Friday (today). My manager was funny, saying I didn’t have to use them. Um, let’s see: I came to work when I was tired/exhausted/sick/sniffly/etc., manned the office on Christmas Eve, have never, ever taken a sick day—and that was because I wanted to work more? HA!

I came then because I’d rather use the time for fun now. That’s just me.

How do you spend your vacation/personal days? Are you a spender or a saver, and does that match with your PF philosophies?