Looking for a place of my own

Well, I won't be moving in with my friend after all. So if and when I get my DAC benefits, I'll be saving up to get my own apartment. There's a place right down the street I'm considering called CityVue, and I plan to stop by the leasing office next time I'm out and about to ask about them.

I'll also consider a townhouse if I can find one for $500-$600/month. I wouldn't mind moving up north of here, say Plano, if I can find an inexpensive place. I'll have to get an apartment guide and see what's available. Of course I could move out to Irving too. Or move back to Ft. Worth/Richland Hills. I can ride the TRE back and forth to visit my friends here.

Or I could save my money and find a place out of state. My friend Nessa lives in New Orleans; maybe she could help me find a place there. I've always wanted to visit. It's such a beautiful old city, rich in history and culture (those parts of it that weren't destroyed by Katrina, anyway).

Or I might could go to Chicago. Yes, the winters are brutal, but still it's a lovely city, and I've been wanting to go there (to visit) for quite awhile, too. I do need to research the cost of living where ever I decide to go... don't want to live anywhere that I'll spend all my money just on expenses.

All this is just pie in the sky fantasizing at this point, though... I don't even have my appointment to file my claim until Tuesday. And even then it could be months before I hear anything, and even then I could be denied. (If I am, though, I'll appeal it.)

We'll just have to wait and see...

Update

She's trying to set up a telephone appointment for me to apply for my DAC benefits. She spoke to someone earlier who took my information, and their going to do what they can on their end to speed up the process. I imagine I'll still need to get my medical records from the joint yOureserve base (formerly Carswell Air Force Base) and the doctor who did my back surgery 25 freakin' years ago. I'd hate to be whoever has to go through the archives to find my records. I just hope like hell they still exist.  :-(

Not much else is going on. I'm still busy decorating the new house, lol. (My roommate and I haven't even gone out looking at houses yet. She's been getting on me a little bit about "putting the cart before the horse", which I admit freely I am. I'm just so excited! I've never had a roommate before, so this should be interesting. And as I've said before, it'll be good for Alaska, cause she'll have other dogs to play with, plus a much bigger living area. We really want a two-story house with four bedrooms and a large (I insist on fenced in) backyard. (I don't want to risk Alaska getting out and maybe running into the street and getting hit by a car.)

I also would love walk-in closets. I'm a huge clothes hound, and I'd love to be able to go shopping and buy nice clothes that actually fit well. I'll probably end up doing a lot of online shopping (Amazon, Lane Bryant, places like that). When you buy alot of stuff and don't have a car, it's just easier to get it delivered. I can take a taxi if a store is close, but not if we don't live close to a mall or something.

I'd like to start saving up for a car. I don't drive, but I'm hoping my roommate knows how. That would be a big help. We could go places we couldn't get to on the bus. I'd like to explore the city, but my knees are getting pretty bad. (Arthritis) Of course, exercise would go a long way in easing the pain, I'm sure. I have a doctor's appointment on Monday, and I'm hoping to get a knee brace. (Hopefully they'll also have the results of my labwork back and can tell me more about what they discovered last time.)

Well, it's half an hour until NCIS starts, and an hour and a half until NCIS: L.A., so I'll end here. Chris O'Donnell directed tonight's episode of L.A., so I'm eager to watch it. I'll probably be tweeting all through it. Might even post on Facebook about it.

Randomness

Wow, I've had this blog since October, and already I've posted 68 (including this one) entries! I wonder how many I'll post by this October (the one year anniversary, eight months from now)? I look forward to that. Hopefully I'll be posting from wherever my roommate and I are living at the time.

I'm hoping that I get my dad's check (for Feb.) on Monday or even tomorrow or Saturday. (I think it may have gone out Tuesday.) I'm planning to take it right to Chase Bank and opening a checking and a savings account with most of it, and keeping something like $50. I'm also expecting my check for March on the 28th or so, and I'll be doing the exact same thing (and using it to set up direct deposit so it won't  get lost in the mail again... the first time this has happened!

Hey, I just thought of something! It would be awesome if my roomie and I each got north of $1,000/month in disability. That way we could afford to pay more for a nicer house! I'd like to be able to get a really nice place. (Or at least a fixer-upper that doesn't need much fixing...) My roomie has been looking at 2, 3, and 4 bdrm houses, which would be good. (Possibly we could have guests if we got a 4 bdrm? We'd like one to use as an office. Keep our computers, files, etc. in there.)

I'm not sure how she'd feel about a two-story house. It would be fun for the dogs to be able to run up and down stairs, and I could also use the exercise, lol. I need to lose some of this gut! (BTW, I found some workout clothes on Amazon, along with a Total Gym. I already have a Total Gym, although I don't know if I'm going to take it with me. I may donate it to the building and see if anyone here would want to set it up and use it. If not, I can sell it.)

I also have to work on finding out how much land goes for in OK. I inherited about 5 acres (I think) from my grandmother, and since I don't plan on ever living up there again, I'd rather have the money than the property. My brother is willing to buy it from me if I can find out how much to ask for it. If I can get my cousin David's phone number, I could call him and find out.

............

Just messaged my aunt on Facebook and asked her if she knew how to get in touch with him. Hope she gets back in touch with me. I don't know if the property is in my name or not (probably not; I never signed any papers or anything that I remember... although I was so upset at the time, I may have forgotten. I don't even know what happened to all the stuff that was in the house... I do know that I've never gotten anything.) I don't know why I'm writing all this. It's been a little over six years since she passed, and while I think about her all the time (and it still makes me sad that I won't see her again for a long time (God willing), I'm talking about what I can get from her estate?!?! Does that make me sound like a greedy biotch? I hope not. I remember what my aunt said at her funeral, because it was the same thing I was thinking. Grandma had three children of her own, but she had ten kids. Me and my three brothers, her brother's four sons, plus her own. She was a remarkable woman with a huge heart, and I can't say enough about her. What I wouldn't give to be able to see and talk to her again. I'll miss her always.

Update

I talked to my friend Doug on Tuesday, and he said when my birthday comes around, he'll take me to a pawnshop and help me get a new laptop. He paid $250 for the one he has, and has never had a problem with it. I'll still need to get a flash drive so I can download my stuff from my current computer and then upload it to my new one. I'll also have to get Norton, but that only costs $60/year, so no problems there. I'll also have money left over to get an iPod! Yay!

 I went and got my ID renewed yesterday. It'll take about two weeks for it to come in the mail. As soon as I get my check from my dad, I'll go open a bank account. I'm still thinking Chase. I've banked with them before, and they always treated me well. I'm going to open a checking and a savings account, putting back $25/month, and any extra money I save up from my weekly allowance from my SSI. (I'm trying to live off $50/week while saving up $150-$200/month.) I think I'm doing pretty well with that. I may be able to take a trip in the fall to see Styx after all if I keep going the way I am. About every six months I plan to cash in what I've saved up in change and put that in savings, too, so hopefully I'll have a several hundred dollars by the time I decide when and where to go see the band. Of course, I'll have to save money in case my friend and I find a house within the next few months, too. I still would like to move by the summer, but I don't know. I'll just have to keep praying that we'll find something soon.

I just read this article ("The Lying Disease"), and it's just horrifying how many liars, scammers, and cheats there are on the internet. I'm not talking about the Nigerian scams, the "friends" who are stranded in foreign countries with no money, etc.; but people who would fake serious, often fatal illnesses to get sympathy and/or money. As it says in the article, Manchausen's Syndrome/Manchausen's by Proxy has been around for decades, and the invention of the internet has just made it easier for these people to scam total strangers. I fee kind of sorry for them (they're mentally ill, after all), but as one commenter said, that's no excuse. I wonder exactly how much their therapy is helping them.

I'm going to go ahead and out myself here. I can be very manipulative myself. It's easier (on me) if I can get other people to do stuff for me. Like getting on SSDI. I've tried to get my counselor to do all that (contact Social Security, since as I told him, social worker types all speak the same language and maybe he could move things along faster. It's also why I wanted him to help me get on Section 8 even with the years long waiting list. He suggested that I contact the housing authorities in places like Garland, although I'd actually rather live someplace like Plano... Collin Creek Mall is there, and I love that place!) It would be very easy for me to make up a fake persona and go on various forums and play the victim. But I can't bring myself to do that. Sooner or later someone would catch me in a lie (or a dozen) and then they'd never trust me again. That would be the worst thing that I could imagine.

One thing I want to do on this blog is be as transparent as possible. I won't always go into great detail about my life, but I will be honest. If I need to vent, then I'll vent (as I've already done a couple of times). I'll be willing to share my joys and my sorrows with everyone whether I know them or not. (I have people in my Google+ circles, and hope to gain more. Anyone and everyone is welcome to comment on this blog or leave a message for me.)

Thanks to all who read my blog. I really appreciate it.

Musings

I still can't get over the fact that Jameson (Parker; JP) responded to my comments on his blog yesterday. (Okay, so I'm still a little star-struck... I had such a huge crush on the man back in the 80s when he was on Simon & Simon (he played AJ)). But I do enjoy his posts. A few days ago, he wrote an amusing entry, and now he writes something like his "Gun Appreciation Day" entry. And he writes so well! That's the kind of writing I aspire to do. Of course, I don't have the kind of life experiences that he does, so I can't write about the same types of things that he does. (Maybe I'll get one of those emails promising me great riches if I send my personal info to some bank I've never heard of in London or where ever. You know, the ones where an African patriarch died and they haven't been able to find his family, blah-de-blah... Those are always fun to read. Or the lottery somewhere in England. Hey, if I could win a few zillion pounds (how much is a pound in American dollars, anyway?) I could forget about renting a house and just flat-out buy one. A house big enough for me, my friend, our dogs, and maybe more dogs.)

Okay, maybe not. But it's fun to dream about having lots of money. Be as rich as Oprah, or Bill Gates, or Donald Trump... I'd buy the biggest house and property I could find and become the crazy dog lady. :-) I'd adopt as many dogs from shelters as I could, or even right from people who couldn't keep their dogs anymore. And they would live in the lap of luxury, of course. Only the best food and shelter for my babies.

Have y'all heard about that Publisher's Clearinghouse sweepstakes they're doing now? The $5,000/week for life one? What I could do with that much money! And then I might leave it to my friend if I died before she did, or to one of my brothers. Of course, I'd bury most of it in the bank. (Find the best interest-bearing account I could.) I'd make almost a quarter of a million dollars the first year alone (before taxes; I have no idea how much I'd have to pay in taxes. I might be lucky to have $100,000 at the end of the year.) But hey, that would be a heck of a lot more than I'm making now!

Hmmm, I'm getting way off what I was writing about at first, lol. (I tend to do that.) Getting back on topic, I might see if I can go back to school or take a few online courses in creative writing. I've always loved to write, and it probably wouldn't hurt to beef up my skills. My grandmother took some classes when she and my aunt lived in AZ, and she wrote some stories about her life. One of my favorites was a story she used to tell all the time about when I first moved to OK to live with her and my step-grandfather.

It seems a couple of ladies from Green Country MHMR (that's the closest I can come to what it was called) came out to evaluate me. (I have no idea why, and neither did my dad or grandmother.) Anyway, they did a bunch of tests (which I passed with flying colors; I was an intelligent kid!), one of which involved raisins and a bottle. They put the raisins in the bottle and watched to see if I could figure out how to get them out. Of course the neck of the bottle was too small for me to reach my finger into and get them out, so after puzzling over it for a bit, I turned the bottle over and shook them out. Grandma said that as the ladies were leaving, one of them turned to her and said, "Mrs. Merritt, if that child's retarded, I'd sure hate to see a smart one!" lol (Retarded, no. Scatterbrained in the extreme, but definitely not retarded. I'm one of those people who'd lose or forget their head if it wasn't firmly attached.)

I wish I could remember more of my childhood. It's funny (weird) that I have such a great memory, but except for a few little things, I can't remember much about growing up in Oklahoma or visiting my parents in Richland Hills (or even after I moved to Texas full-time). I remember watching my brothers Pat and Lonnie playing football, I remember things like chasing the bus down when I missed it. I remember my brother Lonnie carrying me to the end of the driveway on cold winter mornings. I remember a few of my teachers (like my first-grade teacher, Anna Milligan, who taught me to read. I picked up on that really quickly, needless to say. You can hardly find me without a book these days.)

I remember going to Six Flags when I came down to visit my dad. I even remember the first time I rode the Shockwave there. I was scared of the loops, and ducked my head, getting it trapped between me and the restraining bar. My brother Frank and his then-wife had to work hard to get my head unstuck. I spent a few Christmases with my parents, and I remember one year I got a baby doll that I loved. (I don't know what happened to that doll. I think her name was Angel.)

I do remember one year my grandmother made me a doll (a Cabbage Patch-type doll). She had curly yellow hair, and I named her Elizabeth Ann. I ended up giving her to my Aunt Annette because she had a childhood friend named Elizabeth Ann. (My grandmother made me another doll, of course.) And there were the soft sweaters that all the girls were wearing in Jr. High. I wanted one so bad, and I asked my Aunt Jessie for one for Christmas. Unfortunately, what I got was a purple wool winter sweater. (Okay, that makes since. It was winter, after all, and she didn't know about the fashions in Warner, OK, being from Michigan.)

Jeez, I talk to much even when I'm writing, lol! I'll probably post more memories (such as they are) later.

Haven't had much to post about lately...

And still don't. I have a very boring life, lol. I do have 55 followers on Twitter now, if anyone's interested. :-) I'm still saving up my money in case I move, or for my birthday/Christmas, whichever comes first. I'd like to see if I can get my change jug filled halfway (it's a 5 gallon jug, so that's a lot of spare change!) so I can buy something really nice. I wonder how much I can save in five months? (Or four months, since my birthday's in May.) Maybe I'll just save up my change for Christmas, and use the money I save from my SSI and pension checks for my birthday. Actually, I don't think I'll be spending any money for my actual birthday; I'll save it all until July or August and use it to buy my new laptop and maybe a printer and an iPod if I have enough. (Definitely the iPod, though.)

I also have to take Alaska to the groomer at the beginning of next month to get a bath and a trim. She's getting long and shaggy. (Of course, that's part of the reason I got her... I wanted a long-haired fur baby, but I need to keep her looking nice.) I try to do that every couple of months.  Right now she's engaged in a battle royal with one of her squeaky toys. I love watching her. She barks and growls while she's playing, and I love that.

The property manager at my building is trying to get a vet to come out once a year and give free vaccinations to all the pets (there are a few dogs and cats here). That would be great, since most of us are living off our government checks, and several people have no income at all. (Dallas Housing Authority pays the majority of those people's rent.)

Let's see... there's really not much else to write about. I'm going to try to post something at least once or twice a week, even if it's just a very short piece.

Thinking about furnishing our new home :-)

We're not even close to moving at this point, and I'm already thinking of what we'll need in the way of furnishings, lol. We both have bedroom furniture... beds, dressers, etc. I have two dressers, in fact -- a six drawer and a five-drawer (one of the drawers in the five-drawer is broken, though... the front needs to be glued on). I also have a desk with three drawers in it and a cupboard on top (gee, ya think I have enough storage?!?! lmao).

We'll need living and dining room furniture. A sofa, chairs, coffee table, end tables, lamps, a dining table and chairs... hope we have plenty of storage in the kitchen. I have silverware, a coffee maker (want a new one, though, but I can afford to buy one), a blender, and a toaster. I have a few dishes and a couple of pans and a skillet... and a wok, if we ever want to do stir-fry for a meal. I want to start going through all my stuff pretty soon and deciding what to throw out and what to keep. I have about five storage totes filled with stuff, and I can start there. Empty them out so I can pack stuff up when my roommate gives me the word that we're ready. (I just hope I have a few weeks notice.... enough time to get my address changed with Social Security, definitely. I'm going to try to go get my ID renewed soon so I can open a bank account. Of course, I'll have to get my ID updated when we move, too, so I'm not sure what to do about that right now.

She said that we can get whatever we need off of freecycle, and her friend will help us pick up whatever we're given, so that's a relief. I wonder if we should go ahead and check the groups for around the Cove? I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? But I'm just so excited! (Unfortunately, that's a symptom of my bipolar disorder. I just go off on my own little way without considering that things may not be how I think they are, and then I get in trouble. Hopefully my roommate will be able to help me rein in that impulsivity. And that's another thing... I need to find a good psychiatrist and/or therapist in the Cove when I get down there. I can look one up in the Yellow Pages, or maybe find on online or through my Medicaid plan.)

(I'm also excited about (hopefully) being able to change my location on my blog to "Copperas Cove, TX USA" soon. lol And maybe finding someone to tell me how to change the damn time  stamp on here as well! It's driving me crazy having my blog say I'm on Pacific Standard Time when I'm not!!!)

Merry Christmas to all!

Well, Donna's sciatica was acting up all day yesterday, so I didn't get to go over to her house last night after all. Too bad. But Jeff is coming to get me after breakfast today (probably around 10 or so?), so I'll spend the day with them at least. I'm so excited to see them!

I'm still disappointed that I have no money to spend this week, but I should be getting my pension from my dad's retirement this weekend, so that's good. At least I'll be able to go out for New Year's Eve if I want to. (I just have to be sure not to spend all the money! I do need groceries next week. And I also need to put a little bit back for savings.)

I'm still hoping that I can save up enough from my SSI to get a new laptop this coming year. I also still have everything on my Amazon wish lists that I want to buy (I categorized stuff into CDs/DVDs, books, and everything else). I'm hoping I can get some of it for Christmas next year if not during the year. Two of the things I want soon are an iPod and a stereo with a disc changer and an iPod dock. Then I can get all the other stuff. (My laptop and printer, as I've said before, will be bought during the back-to-school sales in July or August.) I also want to get a new digital camera. The one I have now is only 3X zoom, and I'd like a 5X or better. (That way if I'm way off in Bumf***, Egypt, when I see Styx next time, I'll still be able to get some good pictures of them. When I saw them in Wabash in '08, I was in the 17th frickin' row, and the pix I took were really crappy.) I don't want that to happen next time.

I'm listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra right now (Christmas Eve and Other Stories). I really want to get some more of their CDs. I first became a fan of theirs around Christmas of '91 or so (around the time this album came out), and the song I'm listening to now -- "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)" was the first song of theirs I'd heard (I think it was the first song of theirs that was played). I love their mix of rock and classical music, which I'd never heard before. (I wish some of the "old masters" of classical music could be updated to have a more rock feel. Is it some sort of blasphemy for me to feel that way? lmao) Don't get me wrong, I can handle classical music in small doses, but I just like rock a whole lot better. Maybe I should add some classical music to my musical want list. I have almost every other genre on there. My dad, who was born in 1933, got me interested in big band/swing music, so I put some of that on my want list in memory of him. I also listed some country bands and artists that I grew up listening to, as well as some blues music. I need to get some jazz artists, too (Dixieland is my favorite). Maybe some light jazz, like Kenny G.

Speaking of jazz musicians, I want to take a trip to New Orleans sometime (go to some jazz clubs on Bourbon Street). Maybe during Mardi Gras (although not this coming year... maybe I'll go to the Mardi Gras celebration at the West End when they have it. I've never been, and I'm wondering how it is since the influx of Katrina evacuees in 2005. Did they influence it in any way? If anyone would know how to throw a good Mardi Gras celebration, I think they would.). Or maybe I'll find out when the Southern Decadence celebration is this next year and go to that. I'm not even sure what Southern Decadence is all about; I'll have to research it, but it sounds fun.

Well, it's 2:50 a.m. here, and I need to go to bed if I'm gonna be coherent later on today. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a 2013!

Fifteen days and counting...

... until I see Jeff, Donna, and the boys! I can't wait. It's gonna be awesome to be able to hang with someone I haven't seen since 2000. I can't believe it's been so long! Wow. Our next class reunion is in 2020, and I plan on going to that one (knock on wood). OMG, I'll be 48!!! Where have the years gone?!?! lol

Anyway.I need to go to the CBS website and see when the NCIS Christmas episode is on. It won't be on Christmas, for sure, but I don't want to miss it. Senior (Tony's dad) will be in it, and you know how I love me some Robert Wagner! :-)

I'm in one of my euphoric phases, as you might be able to tell (I have bipolar disorder), but in this case I think it's understandable. When I went shopping with my friend the other day, I was also, which is why I spent almost all my money. (Yes, I'm one of those "Yippee, money, and I get to spend it!!!" types. Unfortunately.) I have got to learn how to budget and save, especially when my other friend and I move in together. The worst thing I can think of is to have too much month at the end of my money. lol

One of the things we have to budget for is internet/cable. I might see about getting DISH Network or something. (Is satellite really better than regular cable? I mean, can you pick up channels from other countries, or how does it work?) I don't think we're allowed it where I live now (it's an historic building, so there's not much we can do to it, I guess... although we're supposed to have some remodeling done to it, so the city says. I hope we can get the heating/ac replaced, because the system we have now SUCKS!!!)

Ooh, one of my fave TSO songs is playing! ("Christmas Canon Rock" from The Lost Christmas Eve.) God, I wish I could still sing... I would so be belting this one!

Now playing: "Waltz of the Flowers" from The Nutcracker... and with this, I'm getting off here and listening to some Christmas music! Ta!

Went shopping today...

... and as usual came back with a lot of stuff I hadn't planned to. I spent over $100 at Target, buying not only two trashcans (one for the bathroom and one for my living area), but a new blender, some frozen fruit and o.j. for smoothies, and some new socks and underwear (which I really did need). So I got what I wanted, I just hadn't planned to buy it all today. Oh, well. Now I can spend my Christmas money on something really nice that I want. (And if I need groceries, I always have my food stamps. It's only $28/month, but every little bit helps.)

My friend commented that Alaska probably won't be happy once she realizes that she can't play with my trash anymore, lol. I have to agree. But she'll get over it. I'm always buying her little squeaky toys at the dollar store or at Target if I have money. She likes those.(Funny thing... the squeaking never gets on my nerves. I guess I'm just happy it keeps her entertained.)

I think one of my neighbors just went by with his dog. (There are two guys on my floor who have dogs.) She's barking at something outside, and she usually only does that when she hears raised voices or when she senses another dog. (Our dogs don'/t play together unfortunately, so that's another reason I want to move in with my friend. Our four dogs would be able to play.)

There's a dog park that's a part of the new Clyde Warren(?) Park that just opened. Now that I know that I can take Alaska in a cab, maybe I'll take her down there once in awhile and let her meet some other dogs. She needs the socialization, and so do I, so it'll be good for both of us. Maybe I'll start after the new year; I'll have to start saving up for all the cab fare. (Unless I can find someone here who could take us and drop us off for a few hours. I wonder if there are any dog-friendly restaurants in the area where I could stop for lunch or something.)

I'm hoping that Criminal Minds is on tonight. I've developed an interest in that show, and that's one of the ones I want to start a DVD collection of too. (Along with NCIS: L.A. and maybe Bones. I also want Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Angel, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (hey, don't judge me! ;-)), Simon and Simon, The Golden Girls, Hart to Hart (yes, all the shows from my child- and young adulthood that I love... and as you may remember, Robert Wagner starred in Hart to Hart, and as I mentioned last night, I love his acting.)

So that's what some of my plans are. Like I said, I can't buy all this stuff at once, but I can save up for it.

Well, Thanksgiving is over and it's now time to start thinking about Christmas. I'm so looking forward to spending Christmas day (and a couple of nights) with Jeff and Donna and the boys. I just need to find someone to take care of my baby while I'm away. I've never been gone for more than a few hours, certainly not a day and two nights. I'm afraid the poor thing will think I've abandoned her. :-(

My neighbor Pam is going to take us to the groomer's next week so she can have a bath. She really needs one, and it only costs about $15.  Plus $15 for gas, and that's a pretty good deal.

I'm not sure how much money I've saved up for Christmas. I'm thinking of withdrawing all of it shortly before Christmas and seeing how much I can spend. I need to buy something for Jeff and Donna for hosting me. She suggested cookies or something (I was thinking about a bottle of wine, but she told me Jeff doesn't drink much, although she'll probably have a bottle or two for dinner). Everyone likes desserts, though. lol

I've about decided to save up as much money as I can by July/August so I can get a new laptop and printer during the before-school sales. I also want an iPod and a stereo with an iPod dock.  Then for Christmas I can get a tv and DVD player. I'm thinking of buying a Dell laptop this time (my current one is a Toshiba, but I think Dells are better). I'm not sure what kind of printer to get... I think I have a Canon on my Amazon wish list. And then of course I'll need to buy ink. (Lots of ink. I do lots of printing, lol.)

I still haven't found anyone willing to help me out with the fanfic I'm working on. I'm about ready to give up on it. :-( I've been working on it for over a year now! God, why won't anyone help me?! I'm not a bad writer; I'm just stuck. I don't expect anyone to write it for me, I just need some idea of where to go with it. Sighs Oh, well. Maybe I can find someone to help. I'll just have to keep trying, I guess.

Money, money, money...

I'm saving it like crazy so I can have a nice birthday/Christmas... next year. lol Unfortunately, I had to pay off a loan with the money I was saving for Christmas this year (I still have a little bit, just not as much as I was planning on to buy myself something really nice). I've been adding stuff to my Amazon wish list (some of it I can get at brick-and-mortar stores, but it's always nice to have a list of what I want), and it's like a few thousand dollars, all told.

I'm really hoping that I can find a place to move to (I'll really have to do some thinking and praying and talking to my friend about moving in with her... there's a big reason she needs to move out of her current house and wants me to be her roomie. Let's say personal safety issues.)  So, yeah, I have to save money for when/if I move, but why not save up to get some nice stuff, too? I really need a new laptop... the one I have now is like four or five years old, and I have so much stuff on it that it freezes/crashes (I may have a virus, too... really need to get Norton reinstalled!!!), so a new one would be nice.

Some of the "big ticket" stuff I'd like are the laptop, an iPod and iPad, a Kindle Fire, a printer... luxuries, but things I'll use. The other stuff I want is CDs/DVDs, books, things like that. (Although why buy "real" books if I also have a Kindle... hmmm... ;-))

Well, as of right now, all this is just harmless fantasizing (but fantasizing never hurt anyone, right?), although I'm beginning to save every penny (dime, nickel, quarter) I can. Hopefully I can make some of those fantasies reality over the course of the new year...