junkie symphonies

a few of my friends are going through hard times right now.
whether it be due to bad choices or just life shitting on you in general.
a few people have actually turned to me for advice lately.
which i am flattered about.
because i have become very, very passionate about saving money and all the tricks to do so.

this blog entry is a fun read for anyone that has tried to save money.
the ways some of these people have saved money are both hilarious and tragic.

i think sometime in the near future i will make a blog about things i have done and currently do to save money.
things that might help other people....
or disgust other people... whichever.
i will title the blog "frugalism".
look for it.
yeah, i realize frugalism is not a word.
but it should be!
or maybe frugality is good enough?

jennifer and i have decided to meet up twice a week for walking.
we walked the 3.2 miles around la fortune park saturday afternoon.
it was fun... even though i should have left the dog at home.
walking helps me feel better and gives me more energy to make it through the day.
sure, it isn't much.. but it's a start.
plus it give me quality time with my buddy.
michael will be joining us when he is out of "the states custody" as he puts it.

i'm tired of hearing the fire truck and ambulance sirens.
and why can i not understand a word crackheads say?
do you have your own language when you're fucked up?

since when are my crackhead neighbors allowed to have a piano?
and why do they compose their junkie symphonies in the middle of the night?

i am very, very close to finally being able to burn dvds.
it's such a damn long process when you aren't willing to spend any money for the fancy software to do it with.
i have found a few free options to use.
i converted harold & kumar go to white castle to a dvd file and burned it to dvd, but apparently there are a few errors in the file because it only played half way through on my dvd player.
i will attempt it again with a different movie,
hopefully with a better result.
i want to be able to burn copies of the majority of my own dvd collection, so i can sell my dvds on half.com and have less to move.

i have a toothache.
i have not had one like this since i lived with chris in indy.
so that's been about 5 years?
it's my damn wisdom tooth on the lower-right side.
it's been hurting for a couple of days now.
nothing extremely painful.
but annoying, yes.
if it continues for a few more days,
i will make a dentist appointment.
i needed to go to the dentist anyways....
but i was kind of looking to not spend much money.
maybe if i don't eat anything hard or sweet or salty....
looks like it's jello time for me.
i wish i had some orajel.

i got a $50 shell gift card in the mail saturday.
yay for mypoints.com!
this will help with my moving budget.
hopefully i will not spend it before then...

by this time next weekend,
i hope to have at least 4 more things crossed off of my list of things i need to do before i move.
1 - take brandy to the vet. shoulda took her over the summer... but didn't.
2 - get AAA premium package. i'm sure the budget package is a lot cheaper, but it doesn't have all the perks of the premium one and i need those perks incase something bad happens during the travel.
3 - renew my tags. gotta do it anyways.. it's that time of the year for me.
4 - buy a pre-paid cellphone with a spokane phone number. so potential employers and landlords won't have to dial a long distance number to reach me.

that will leave me with just the big things to get done.
like getting a tune-up on my car and filing/paying my taxes.

i think the movie juno is awesome.
it seems a little fake at times...
but overall, i loved it.
maybe cuz ellen page is so great.

i finally finished reading a book i started .....
well, i don't really recall when i started it.
but it's done.
now to move on to white teeth by zadie smith.
yet another book i've had in my possession for quite some time,
but never got a chance to read.