I have Kindle Cloud on my computer now!

I've also added some classic novels onto it (that I got free from Amazon! How cool is that?!) When I get some birthday money, I may buy some of the other books I want.

If there's anyone who has a Kindle/Kindle Fire, is there any way I can "synch" it to my Cloud and download all the books I have on my laptop to my Kindle (when I get one)? (Like you synch an iPod?)

A couple of the books I have are French/English dialogue and a French/English dictionary. (I think I have a Spanish phrase book too.) So I can practice my foreign language skills a little bit. I'm glad about that! (I'm going to try to get a Kindle for my birthday if I can. They're good to have. I can carry an entire library around with me, and read several books at the same time. Again, thank God for a good memory, lol!)

Added lots more stuff to my Amazon want list...

Among them are some Spanish and French language courses. There's a lady who comments on Jameson Parker's blog fairly frequently who's French, and I would love to learn her language. I've done pretty well in the past picking up various words and phrases in foreign languages (thank God for a good memory!), and now that I'm getting older, I think it would be a good idea for me to continue giving my brain a good workout by trying to learn new things. Yeah, it'll be hard since I won't have anyone to practice with (except for "talking" to Anita on JP's blog), but still... And since I do live in Texas, it will be good for me to learn some more Spanish, too. (My housekeeper speaks it, as do some of the residents in my building.) I think it'll be fun.

I've also put some of my other favorite books and CDs and DVDs on my want list. Hopefully I can order some of them for my birthday. I should have close to $1,000 by then, and even spending $250 of it on a new (used) computer, I'll have enough left to have a nice birthday.

I've been a little bit upset this past week. I haven't gotten my check from my dad's retirement from the airport yet, and I'm really hurting for money. I need to buy groceries soon, and I don't know what to do. I tried to call the lady in charge of the retirement accounts at the airport, but she hasn't been in the office and hasn't gotten back to me. I hope she does soon so I can find out where my check is. I'm hoping it will be here next week.  I'm also trying to get my dad's social security number so I'll have it when I go back to apply for my DAC benefits.

I'm hoping that we'll find a house soon, too. I'm being as patient as I can, but if you know me, you know that's not easy! lol

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.

I'm putting back $150 of my SSI check in savings. That means in four months (by my birthday) I'll have $600 saved up. By July it'll be $900. I think that's enough to buy a new computer and an iPod. I'll wait and buy the other stuff I want for Christmas. (The stereo and CDs and stuff.)

Unless my friend and I end up moving before then (I hope we will), then I'll just use the money for my share of the down payment on the house. I haven't been on freecycle in a while, so I don't know what kind of stuff they have on there. It really depends on what area of the city we move to. The "high rent" areas (for lack of a better term) will naturally have nicer stuff people want to give away. Hopefully the people whose house we end up renting/buying won't mind if we install a satellite dish in their yard, because I really want to get something like DISH Network (I wonder if they have internet service? I guess I'll call and ask when time gets closer for us to move.).

I actually think I'd better hold off on the computer and stuff until after the move... two things I want to buy for the new house (at least my room) are a digital TV and a DVD player. Both of those will probably cost me a couple of thousand dollars, depending on where I buy them (Best Buy or Target or someplace). I could look on Amazon or someplace like that. Maybe they'd have them cheaper. I've bought a lot of stuff from Amazon, and I've never been disappointed.

I'm hoping my friend can get her disability soon and find a house so we can get out of our respective living situations!

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.