Don't come back to work until you brush your teeth !!!

Wow, I think that some people I work with should be suspended due to their horrendous breath. Seriously. Most of the time all it really takes is good dental care and breath mints. And I also think that we should refuse service if people reek of rotting roadkill everytime they speak. It's offensive. Why do other people have to be subjected to the bad hygiene of others ? Look at all the anti-smoking laws around. Let's apply that to the hygiene department. "Sir, I am going to have to ask you to eat your dinner outside until you learn to stop smelling like ass." There really oughta be a law. I know in the real world this would warrant lawsuits like crazy, but it would be worth it. I would love to see people disciplined for subjecting the rest of us to bad hygiene.

 

NEW YORK (AP) - A Manhattan doorman has been suspended for having bad breath. Jonah Seeman, who has been ushering tenants into a four-building complex on East 89th Street for 40 years, was told not to come to work Friday because of halitosis.

Seeman said he has stopped eating garlic, uses mouthwash and takes breath mints on the job.

The Brooklyn resident, who supports his 81-year-old mother, has been suspended twice before for bad breath - one day in May and then again in July.

Apartment dwellers at the Gracie Gardens complex expressed surprise over Seeman's suspension and came to his defense.

"His job, which he does well, is opening the door - not to be opening his mouth," said Adam Reingold.

Officials with Cooper Square Realty, the management company that oversees the property, did not return calls seeking comment. But the company sent the doorman a letter dated Nov. 21, stating: "We can no longer tolerate the fact that you have severe breath odor while on duty."

The union that represents Seeman, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, has filed a grievance in the case.

How Frugal Are you ??

Okay, so I found this list that some guy wrote, giving 50 suggestions as to how you can save money. How well are you doing in being frugal ???? The answers in green are my opinions.

Go with one car.  Hahaha, I already Have just one car.

1. Go with a smaller house. Not only do I have a smaller house, I have a roommate to cut costs further
2. Go with a smaller car. Lol, I drive a small car
3. Rent rather than own. See Number two
4. Look for used first. I don't think I will ever get used to buying used clothing at a thrift shop. The only used things I will really buy are textbooks and cars 
5. Eat out less.This is a good suggestion. But when I try and buy food, I am usually too busy or tired to cook it, and end up wasting it. I think I will stick to my current habit of eating out. 
6. Eat out frugally. I never spend more that 10 bucks when I go out for lunch I usually keep it at 5 bucks.
7. Brown bag it to work. Lol, have you ever eaten my cooking ?
8. Adopt a minimalist wardrobe. Already done, especially since I spend a lot of time at work and already have a uniform. In fact, I haven't shopped for clothed for about a year now.
9. Stop online impulse buys. I only really buy my books online, and they are much cheaper used than at the local bookstore.
10. Don’t shop. Lol, screw this. I get out of the house to shop very rarely, So when I DO get to the store, I will make the experience the most fun I can, and if I buy a few things I don't really need (which doesn't happen too much anymore) it will be to reward myself for supporting myself and working hard.
11. Use a 30-day list. I am not going to predict all my needs for the next 30 days. I like a little fun in impulse shopping as long as I am reasonable.
12. Cut out cable. Already done. We don't have TV
13. Use the library. Sorry, although I this is a good idea, and I do check out good books for reference during school I love collecting new books. Shopping for a new book is my thing, and I love my book collection at home. I am not just going to use the library.
14. Find free entertainment. I rarely ever go out anyway.
15. Frugal exercise. I will not cut out my gym fees. The fees are reasonable, and my gym is great so it stays. I get a lot of free classes included in the bill anyway.
16. Stay healthy. LOL. I sure do try. For starters I try to take multivitamins and exercise. 
17. Commute by bike. LOL, I am not commuting on the highway 
18. Carpool or ride the bus.No one I know has my wierd schedule. Not going to happen. And as for the bus, the system sucks here. It would take me two hours to get to work when the drive is really 20 min by car. Plus there are some real dirty pervs that take the bus. 
19. Walk. Last time I walked in my neighborhood, I got picked up and hollered at at least 5 times and I live like a block away from the taco shop. Plus at least 2 registered sex offenders live in the area.
20. Sell your clutter. This is a really good idea that I would love to follow. I just don't know who would actually by my crap.
21. Frugal gifting. LOL, I am the master on this one and did quite well this holiday season
22. Quit smoking. LOL, I don't even smoke
23. Alcohol in moderation. I don't even drink that much. Maybe one drink a month IF THAT
24. Sweets in moderation. I don't buy a lot of sweets. I just find them or people give them to me, lol.
25. Drink water. This is one thing I do religiously
26. Batch your errands. I barely do my errands, so I do alright on this
27. Stay home. I am the MASTER on this one
28. Stop using credit cards. Not on my salary. I am barely surviving
29. Cancel subscriptions. I have no magazines, no cable, no porn sites. But my cell phone and my internet subscription stays. 
30. Make your own. That would be a disaster
31. Do it yourself. LOL. Like what ? Paint my own room ? Like represent myself in court ? Build my own furniture ? I don't think so.
32. Stop paying interest. LOL as soon as I make more money to pay down my debt I will listen to this
33. Reduce convenience foods. Not going to happen. The convenience foods I buy, being the cheapskate that I am, are actually cheaper to buy than the foods I cook myself.
34. Travel frugally. LOL, I don't even travel
35. Cut the cell phone. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN
36. Cut your own hair. LOL, this is the worst advice ever !! I think a man wrote this one
37. Maintain stuff. Duh, I already try the best I can to take good care of my things
38. Save energy. I don't pay utilities, but I still try to be a responsible roommate.
39. Save gas. I barely even go anywhere
40. Only buy bargain clothing (when you need clothes). I am reasonable, but I am not going to just stick to the 50% off rack
41. Telecommute. I prefer to get out of the house to go to work
42. Plan ahead. I definitely try
43. Cook ahead. Didn't I just say that I am not that good of a cook ??? What;s the point of cooking if I won't eat my own food ?
44. Wash clothes less. Hell NO. Besides, I don't pay utilities
45. Sun-dry clothes. LOL, it's winter now !! The man that wrote this list is really a cheapskate !
46. Eat less meat. LOL, Okay, I don't even know how to prepare meat unless its hotdogs and I don't even buy them that much
47. Save on groceries. Yeah, thanks to my wonderful habit of frugally eating out, I don't have much of a grocery bill
48. Frugal Christmas.Already bought my frugal, not cheap, Xmas gifts
49. Eat a cheap breakfast. Breakfast is my cheapest meal of the day !!

I Have to Save Myself.............

Okay,

2007 is almost up and next month people will be thinking about their New Years Resolutions. I have a few, but one of them will be on the top of my list.

1.) Save myself financially. I have found my financial guru, Suze Orman and I will give her plan a spin. I bought two of her books, and I will put them to the test. I will talk more about that later. I have read a lot of financial books out there and hated all of them, feeling like they don't apply to me. I finally found advice I can actually agree with, and a plan that I can work with. In my humble opinion, most of the financial books out there are NOT geared towards young adults.

I have found that it's not really about how much you make, rather how you manage what you make. If you can't handle the little salary you make now and understand where everything goes, then when you do make a bigger salary you're likely to piss a lot of it away and leave a lot of money on the table at the same time.

I am supposed to graduate by the end of next year and I would like to have my shit under control by then. I may still owe a lot of money, but at least I will have a better handle on my finances. I would like to cut back on services I don't really use, get a better grip on my retirement funds, and get all the mistakes on my credit score cleared up.

For the longest time, I only thought that having a good credit score is all that one needs. But there is so much more involved with financial planning.

Anywho, that is my first priority for next year in addition to school. Finally a resolution that doesn't involve weight loss.

 

 

A 95 Year Old Blogging Woman

http://www.amis95.blogspot.com/

I was reading the news when I learned that a 95 year old woman in Spain has a blog. She got the blog because she said that her "stingy" grandson gave it to her for her 95th birthday. Okay, I lived in Spain once, and she is right about Spanish men, for the most part at least. When I was living there many of the men I met stilled lived with their parents well into their thirties. On top of that, they were very stingy. Good luck in getting them to even buy you a drink sometimes.

Seriously, what kind of grandson gets his grandmother a blog for her birthday ?? My Austrian grandma never communicated through e-mail and it took her forever to get a cellphone. My other grandma here in California uses e-mail but I am not sure how she would react if she was given a blog.

But it turns out that this was one of the best gifts he could've given her. Her blog has been very popular and she has received letters from all over the world. She said that she feels that the elderly are a forgotten people. She also said that with her blog people are writing to her and asking her for advice and asking her about life when she was young. She said that people really value her opinion.

Her blog is in Spanish, but I heard that you can translate it into English through Google. I need practice reading in Spanish so this would be good for me. I read in the news that she talks a lot about about the Spanish Civil War, and about the differences between men back then and men now in how they treat women. I really look forward to reading more about her life. And I hope that you will too.

I really love hearing the elderly talk about their pasts. Here in America I feel like they are tossed to the side, and that their opinions are less valued. One thing that really bugs me is when I am serving an eldely is when their children talk for them, even though I am clearly not talking to them. I also dislike it when an elderly person is trying to speak to me and their child downplays what the person is saying. Luckily I don't see that too often.

My grandpa lived to be 92. I loved hearing him retell his stories and I saved his letters that he wrote, telling his life story. If it weren't for him, I really wouldn't have been able to learn about my Russian great-grand parents that immigrated through Ellis Island.

I also love hearing my grandma here in California talk about hermother, my great- grandma. I also got to hear her retell her stories about volunteering for the Red Cross back in the day.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the journal. I will also post it on my journal collection to the side.

 

 

Presidential Election Coming Up

Hello All,

So I have been reading about the presidential candidates for 2008 and I am so frustrated. I really don't know who to vote for. Unless the candidate is really far to the left or so far to the right, they don't really clearly state their agendas. They shy away from a lot of direct questions.

Take Hillary Clinton for example: She was asked if she agreed whether illegal aliens should be given drivers licenses. She would not give a straight answer. She danced around it. She said that the problem with that is that states are making the decisions individually when it really should be a federal issue. She did not answer the question.

Hello, Hillary !!! You are campaigning to become the next president. The president of the United States is a FEDERAL position, so shut up and answer the dawddamn question !!! Answer yes or no, because I am sure as president it would become your problem and you can sign or veto the bills in Congress. And I am trying to decide if I should vote for you or not, so please just answer some questions directly.

I am not far to the left and I am not to the far right. I am very liberal on some issues and very conservative on others. So therefore, I can't vote for a die-hard liberal or a die-hard conservative.

Seeing as in school we've been taught that only Democrats or Republicans win the presidency, it would be pointless to vote for another party, such as the Green Party. So therefore I would have to vote for someone like Guiliani, a Republican, or Hilary, a Democrat, candidates that kind of dance in the middle, and at least try to appeal to both sides.

But the problem with that is that they don't really have solid plans. And you can't really appeal to both sides.

I am also frustrated because we are in such a budget crises. The Democrats can't possibly keep their promises for their plans to help the poor. And the Republicans if they clean up the budget would do a lot of clean up in the name of eliminating important social programs.I remember when Arnold first came into office here in Californina. One of the first things he did was cut our school budget. I was in a state college at the time and we were hit pretty hard. The budget was so tight that the teachers couldn't even make enough photocopies of our homework for us.

I guess I am rambling. I have come to the conclusion that no candidate that I vote for would really be on the same page as me. I guess I willjust have to choose the lesser of the two evils.