Journal: 05/29/06

There were many things I wanted to do today, as it is once again my day off. I thought about doing laundry and considered that I could do it on a day that I work, the laundry room being door to the front office. I debated about the energy it would take to make a trip to the jewelers and discuss my bill, deciding that the trip could wait until some morning before I go to work. Ditto for taking pictures of the newly renovated rooms at the motel for their web site. I still remember the words of caution from another resident motel manager from my past, pointing out to a front desk candidate for employment, that "two days off is a day off." There is a lot of truth in that sentiment, people with the normal Saturday-Sunday weekend spread actually spend one of those days doing all the work and errands they couldn’t do during the week, leaving only the second day as a true "day off." Having one day off really isn’t any downtime if you spend it running yourself ragged trying to get things accomplished that couldn’t be done during the standard workweek.

With that thought in mind, and realizing that between my work hours and Bill’s car, all of my mornings are left open, so I decided to treat my one day as if it were the second day. Thanks to my daily schedule, there isn’t anything I can’t accomplish by getting up one hour early a couple of times a week. Furthermore, I can do my laundry while I’m working my normal shifts. In a perverse way, I like the idea that I can get paid for doing my laundry.

So, I’m living my day off for myself, not doing chores and other stuff. During the week at the front desk, I never get any peace and quite to write in. The managers blare Indian music and TV shows all day long. The bane of the front desk isn’t the guests or the phones ringing, it’s the managers in the apartment behind the office. This one day I wanted to have quiet. I turned off the TV after Bill turned it on during breakfast and explained that this was to be a day of QUIET! I also wanted to get some writing done in the peace of the day, I’m a couple days behind in my blog postings and that makes my skin itchy. ‘Nuff said.

Downsizing My Personal Economy

I have started thinking about the things I really don’t need for the moment. Recognizing that I’m facing extended financial difficulties without any real cash flow, I’ve been going over the "need" and "do not need" list.

I need my cell phone. The cell phone number is what I give out to anyone with a potential job. I have had this number for years and am loathe to loose it, it resides on web sites, business cards, flyers, resumes, and is many other ways interwoven into the fabric of my life. The cell phone is a keeper.

Much as I love getting the daily newspaper in the morning, the motel front office also gets the paper and I can read it there, as I usually do anyway. Nix the newspaper. I have had a paid E-Fax account for a couple of years. The theory is that there would come a time when I would need that account to find a job. The motel also has a fax machine that I can use whenever I need to, I just can’t fax directly from my laptop. Kill the paid E-Fax account and go back to the free one by where I can still receive faxes. I also have fax software, so I can fax out using a phone line.

For years I have had an email account attached to my Outlook that costs $5.00 a month. I think I’m behind on payments anyway, so I might just as well close it. I use Hotmail for most of my email these days and can easily change Outlook email to the Hotmail account. I get mostly junk anyway.

I do have a website, though I’ve never done much with it and now it may be too late. The blogs I have are doing a fine job and I can get a free home page several different places. When the next payment is due, I think I’ll shut the website down.

Joann’s credit card will still be paid monthly. It is the one card that I can still use, even though there isn’t any money in the account. I can put money in the account as I need to, and when I have it, to cover the cell phone bill. I also have a PayPal account that doesn’t cost me anything so that will also stay. I won’t be able to use my Wells Fargo account until I pay of the large balance, so these two other accounts afford me a way of paying bills.

When all is said and done, I will have only the cell phone account to maintain, and two outside bills, my mailbox and a jewelry payment. Even that could be a tough haul in the future.

This too will pass. It could be worse, it could be a kidney stone.