Ok stop laughing...or rolling your eyes...I'm serious. Now I know I spit out tons of stuff I plan on doing and whatnot...but I'm serious!
I read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and I can't help but think...I want to write a book! Not because I want to compete with Junot Diaz or Julia Alvarez, but because I know there is a huge story to tell and hell...why not. So this past weekend I was sitting with my mom and two aunts and they started sharing stories about growing up in DR and I realised, all they need was for someone to listen. They told me things that my siblings and cousins have no idea about. One of my aunts said she was only telling me because she sees i'm interested and i wont judge them.
Initially I thought, "man this could be a movie" but honestly, it is way too much and it would be a great book to write. So I took it upon myself to write it. I dont think they thought i was serious, so we'll see what happens when i show up with tape recorders at their homes and start to get all this stuff on paper.
Wish me luck!
Sooooo... I've kept this excel file ever since I graduated college and started a full time job. This file contains everything I have done w/ every check since July 9, 2004. I can go back and tell you how much of it went on tolls, phone bills, dinner, drinking, flights, etc. It's pretty cool b/c I update it once a month and it helps me realize where my money is going. So when I first moved here I was doing pretty good.. I felt like I was partying a lot yet saving a lot... but then November happened and I think after my China trip it was all downhill... my savings were just decreasing and decreasing... things just added up, weddings, flights, trips, more trips, bdays after bdays... I mean to the point where this morning I was like wait a minute, this is ridiculous!!
So I sat down and made a budget for myself. I dont know how realistic this budget is but it starts May 1st. I have an allowance of $130 a week which can roll over and if I overspend will subtract from my next wk. These $130 is for everything = partying, drinking, cabs, lunch, dinners, shopping, etc. I figure, my parents cook every day, I shouldn't have these 30-50 dinner charges on my cc, and i should be taking left overs so i shouldn't have these $10 salads for lunch, and since I don't drink as much I shouldn't have $100 tabs at a bar from buying one round of shots! I also should be responsible and wake up earlier rather than pushing it having to take a cab to lexington in the morning... lol. Anyways, I really hope this works out. I also think I'm going to cut on the random trips. Limit it to 1-2 big trips a yr. I have my whole life to travel (although now is the best time) but I should keep other priorities - studying for my gmat, going to grad school and if not that then buying my own place. Anyways, thats my new budget.. I thought I would share. I'm kind of excited about it. I guess after making myself not drink for 2 months I think I can accomplish anything now... haha. I'll let u know in two months how this worked out.
Don't you hate it when you do certain things and ppl just ask too many damn questions!?!
So yeah sometimes I'm a little secretive and don't like to share anything w/ anyone but if you are my friend and u know me you should know that is how I am so DON'T ASK ME?!
This just happens to be b/c this wknd I was hanging out w/ a friend and my sister texts me "who is this friend?" I just ignore the text... next text is "why are you so secretive!" anyways... this is just random but sometimes I just don't feel like sharing, I dont like everyone knowing where I am at all times of the day and what I'm doing. Sometimes I just love turning off my phone and ignoring the world. It just sucks when I have to turn it back on and I have texts and voicemails asking where am I what am I donig and why I'm ignoring them. Can't ppl just leave it alone. When do I ever harass ppl into telling me where were they the night b4. See thats why sometimes I just feel like moving to a different state where ppl can't just say "I went to your house last night and u weren't there... where were u?" lol.
Maybe i'm just weird. I mean i've been told i'm weird before...lol.. just b/c I keep things to myself too much.. but I like it this way.
Anyways... just rambling. :)
lol.. so as you all know I gave up drinking for two months as of the morning of the 24th of February. When I first said it, I have to admit I thought to myself multiple times... "damn will I be strong enough not to do it?" I did doubt myself I really did eventhough I didn't show it! lol.. So it was kind of an eyeopener when I told ppl I wasn't drinking anymore and they laughed at my face like riiiiiiiiiiight .... I'm like damn I am really a lush!!!
haha so I started writing that back in March and one month later I'll finish it up...
so yes. my two months were actually up this wknd. Everyone asks me, so how does it feel? I dont really have an answer to that. Do I feel healthier? not really, but I'm sure I am healthier. My beer gut did go down a little :). Anyways, so this was definitely a fun experience. Like I said before I didn't think I could do it b/c I love to drink and have a good time. I learned that you can def have a good time w/o drinking. :) WHen I say this to ppl they are like yeah right.. suuuuure, who goes to a bar and watch ppl drink? etc. You don't realize it until you try it. Of course I got tired much earlier.. those 4am nights followed by El Presidente was definitely a wrap, as were trying to make it to 4 bday events in one night. Haha.
So all in all it was a great experience, I had 2 urges to break my 2 month experiment and have a drink. One was our very first warm Thursday 2 wks ago - it was so nice out everyone was in a good mood, and I had an urge for one ice cold beer.. just one! I didn't give in though. Second time was a random Friday, I was tired from work hanging out w/ my friend and I thought, today would be a good day for one ice cold beer...lol.
So what now? Well on thursday I went out w/ my boss and coworkers and I walked in there and we were playing pool and I said u know what.. i just have one more day left... let me just have a beer. My coworkers were excited and they got me a 16oz beer Yuengling on tap to be exact. I took my first sip and ... well I didn't expect fireworks or anything but I dont know it just felt weird. I didn't even finish the beer, the urge wasn't there. So Friday I hung out at my friends house and we were playing some games... everyone was drinking and I made myself my first mixed drink. I didn't even drink half of it... I babysat it all night (of course I made believe that I "just" made that drink whenever ppl asked "is that still ur first drink?") lol. I checked my email this morning and I have an email from my brother saying that he went out Friday night and he decided to put this not drinking and having fun thing to the test and he was amazed how much of a blast he had, the fact that he remembered ALL details of the night, and he was able to wake up early Saturday morning and start reading a book he had been meaning to read for the past 3 yrs. I thought it was funny. So it works! At least I can say I've been inspirational to some ppl to at least try it once. haha.
Anyways, that was my 2 month experience. It wasn't a tough one at all. I look fwd to not getting as drunk and not spending as much money as before... and no more standing at the bar calling for a round of shots... lol. :)
-The End
hellooo bloggy mcblog blog! how i've neglected you so.
can anybody out there hear me? 'cause i can't seem to hear myself
i'm so tired right now! and i don't have anything really interesting to write about so i'm just going to make a list of things i need to do:
today
- get through the work day
- go to class and pay attention bc last week i got called on and i was in my own little world. that was so high school.
- go home and read a million pages.
- email prof asking if i can get squeezed into his summer class. (i logged on at exactly 5pm to register and all the seats were filled in like two secs. oh, alma mater, how i miss you so, where we didn't have to really deal with much bureacratic crap)
- snore.
future
- buy a bday present for a friend
- shred junk mail and throw away even more papers
- go through clothes and get rid of more
- send thank you cards to 2 ppl
- buy contacts (i lost mine more than a year ago. i suck)
- watch netflix movies i've had for foreverrrr
- take driving lessons
- cut my hair again
- go to 3 doctor's appts in the next week. fun.
- start jogging on sunday.
- plan weekend trip to philly
- re-join salsa class if school class doesn't work out
- dance salsa
- go to container store and buy something to organize earrings (i've lost 3 earrings in the last 2 weeks. all brand new. they all cost less than $4 but that's besides the point)
- decide what i'm going to do about school/work/etc.
- continue to make fun of people who say "good times, good times"
- use patagonia gift card
- use blockbuster gift card
- buy a nose ring that isn't too big/long for my nose
- finish editting my resume
- buy a belt or two. say no to plumbers crack.
- save more money!
- buy new earphones
- aids walk, may 18th. gimme money.
- find out who the fuck keeps stealing all my damn post-its at work!