Frugal February

Given the current horrid state of the economy, I've decided to try an experiment. For the entire month of February, I am going to watch what I spend. I've never bothered to keep a budget before - as long as my credit card gets paid off every month, I don't really track my money all that much. Bad Adrienne...

So, for the next 28 days, I will be limiting what I spend - which is both an exercise in self-control, as well as prudence (I know more people who have been laid off in the past 4 months than I can count on one hand). I've decided on a few ground rules:

1. Must bring lunch to work 3 days per week.
2. Non-essential spending is limited to less than $20 per occasion (limiting my costly clothes-shopping habit, hopefully).
3. Leave my credit card in the car - small purchases to be made with cash only.

So, we'll see how I do. Goal is to cut down on my credit card spending, and start growing my 6 month emergency fund. Much like a corporation, cash is king. Time to get some assets on my balance sheet :) Happy saving to you all!

Resurrection

The blog is back. Maybe it's because I need to get some things off my chest. Or maybe it's because I am not a quitter. Or maybe it's just something that only happens in the winter when there is nothing else to do (see last post in JUNE).

At any rate, the witty repartee is back. Stay tuned...

Happy Pride!

So, my parents were in town this weekend - looking for some entertainment, we took them to the Pride parade in Mpls yesterday morning. What a good time! I learned a lot of things - 1) Most stickers in the world are printed for political campaigns, 2) Al Franken is a short man, 3) You can make almost anything out of a pair of high heels, leather straps and tulle, 4) Cameras seem to stop working at the most inopportune times (like when a white terrier painted like a rainbow flag walks by).

However, the thing that struck me the most was how involved the gay community seems to be. There were groups of every description - gay Jews, gay Athiests, gay Catholics (funnily placed right behind the athiests...), a gay hockey team, the Mpls Gay Men's Chorus, the Pride Band, riders from the gay rodeo, lesbian bikers, the list goes on and on. And not only were there lots of gay activists, but lots of people who support the GLBT community - PFLAG, Rainbow Families, Politicians (hopefully genuine), Chipotle (my new favorite restaurant doing good in their local community), myriad corporate clubs promoting diversity (3M was NOT among them). It struck me how proud gays are not only to be out, but to be out doing good in the community, not just for themselves, but for others, too. That a group of people can be proud of a community, which does not necessarily return them the favor, is very humbling indeed.

So, Happy Pride to one and all!

PS - on a separate note, I hate my job.

Lovely Day

Spring has finally arrived in Minneapolis/St. Paul (it's only a month late...) - yesterday we officially hit 70 degrees, and it was gorgeous. Made my search for a new apt, with a patio so I can BBQ, even more relevant. Spent the afternoon looking at places, then went over to a friend's house for some burgers and stayed late around the fire pit as the stars came out, sipping watermelon screwdrivers. What a perfect end to a lovely day :)

Irony

The last place one would expect to step in a big pile of shit is in a bathroom. Am I wrong? Seriously - you'd expect to step in shit out on the street somewhere, but not indoors, on a pristine bathroom floor.

Well, things can't get any stranger, because this morning, I stepped in a big pile of shit - IN THE LADIES' ROOM AT WORK! Are you fucking kidding me?! I was talking to someone when I went in the stall and didn't even notice until I had stepped smack in the middle of it. Things haven't been swell at work the last few weeks, so this is either a metaphor come to life, or a sign from above. Oh, the irony...

I cannot believe that someone would make a mess on the floor, and not attempt to clean it up. I surely hope it was an accident - I can understand if we were in the bathroom at a bus station, or on Bourbon St in New Orleans (yes, human feces on the ground here, too), but in the bathroom of a fortune 500 company?! I never knew women could be so un-hygenic.

No way am I going to become a lesbian now!

Duck, duck... grey duck?

It's funny how often you learn something new. I learned quite a few new things this week.

1. I learned that I can sing Aretha Franklin at the end of a long night of Karaoke and (almost) pull it off. Set stretch goals, and go out and get them (some beer and a supportive group of friends doesn't hurt, either).

2. Work. On the upside, this week I learned that loyalty and trust are two of the most important qualities I value in people. On the downside, I learned that upper management at 3M do not possess either of these qualities.

3. By far, the most interesting thing I learned was that in St. Paul, kids don't play duck, duck, goose - they play duck, duck, grey duck. WTF? Minnesotan humor, apparently. You can mess with people this way - "duck, duck, duck, green duck... Gotcha! I said green duck, not grey duck." Kids playing games of semantics? Kind of messed up, if you ask me.

Ex-Boyfriends and Resolutions

So, I am once again single. Got me thinking about the good and the bad of recent relationships, and some of the things that have rubbed off on me along the way. From Matt in '07 I picked up drinking organic milk. Tastes sooo much better, I highly recommend it if you have not had the chance. From Adam in '06, I got my cool dining room art installation (ok, really just a bunch of picture frames strategically hung, but I like it). And from my most recent Ex, Scott, I picked up the combination of wine over $10 (come on, we're not in college anymore) and really good dark chocolate. Food is a very personal thing for me, so I guess I choose to remember the good times by the foods my exes leave behind :)

...which leads to my resolutions for spring 2008:
1) Keep up the gym (see last resolutions post).
2) Continue having a life and leaving work at a reasonable hour (ditto).
3) Be single. Be celibate. Now, I know this one is likely to cause a stir, the least of which is because I have kept many friends entertained over the years with my dating escapades. It's time for a little break, for me to get back to understanding what I want out of life, and of relationships in general. And I can't do that if I date every Tom, Dick and Harry (or in MN - Lars, Sven and Erik) that comes along. So, if I'm not going to be dating, then I'm not going to be sleeping with people, either. It's time for a karmic cleansing - no boys allowed!