Wednesday’s Money Menu 9 27 23

Money spent: $0 (so far)

19 days until payday?

I noticed blossoms on my pepper plants today. Because of the way my balcony is, the plants are getting more sun because it’s lower in the sky now. That solved the mystery of why my plants were seemingly on steroids about this time last year.

Definitely a mellower September this year. I feel more organized.

Food Boredom

Is it possible to be bored with food? The other night I went out to get KFC because I hadn’t had it in a while. It was good, but somehow not as good as I thought it would be. Tonight, I was thinking of going out to get fried shrimp. Champion Pizza isn’t so great, but they have other things, shrimp being one of them. I ought to get some shrimp and keep them in the freezer. I’m out of cocktail sauce, however. I have horseradish, which I mix with ketchup. But I’ve stayed away from Baopals because of lack of money. It’s a great site, and I’m thankful it exists, but it’s waaaay too easy to browse, and browse, and browse, and before you know it, you’ve spent 1,000 RMB, or $140.

Don’t Shop ’til You Drop

There are all sorts of things I could get: a microwave, a DVD player since my Lenovo doesn’t have a DVD slot, imported snacks. But I’m trying not to buy stuff I don’t really need. I think maybe that’s why I’ve been bored with food. I’m eating the same thing, or else not very much.

Still in a weird mood. I hope that goes away soon.

Monday’s Money Menu 9 25 23

No tengo dinero. Sal de aqui.

Days until payday: 21? 51?

Money spent: $7 (KFC)

I’m still rather frustrated lately. I’ve not posted anything on my Facebook wall, page, whatever you call it, not even blog updates. No one hears me, so why bother?

I told a former friend of mine how broke I was and how concerned I was about my situation. She asked how things were progressing with my house. Then, she proceeded to offer her husband’s handyman skills when I come back from China. In addition, I could buy a trailer to live on my property while my house was being renovated. And I could also buy an SUV so I could drive around the country.

I figure all of that will cost roughly $60K or so.

If I’m broke, where will the money come from?

Someone on LinkedIn was trying to sell me marketing. I said I was broke. She said we could start out at $500.

I know the use of euphenisms and corporate slang has gotten out of control, but I still speak English.

“I’m broke” is a slang term for not having any money.

So, when I say, “I’m broke” that is NOT your cue to sell me stuff I can’t possibly afford.

It means I don’t have any money.

And no matter how hard you argue with me, I’m still not going to have any money. It doesn’t work that way.

Keep being tone deaf and I’ll continue to ignore you, because your indifference to the current financial event is initiating a negative change in attitude.

Translation: Stop trying to sell me stuff. It’s pissing me off. Because… I. CAN’T. AFFORD. IT.

Saturday’s Money Menu 9 23 23

22 days until payday?

Money spent today: $43 (Subway sandwich, drinks, subway fare, chocolate, water)

Tonight’s OTHER shock after realizing I spent $34 on chocolate and water was nearly getting hit by a scooter.

Yes, I had the right of way.

But scooter drivers think they have the right of way all the time.

It was a “warm reminder” to look before stepping off the curb, off the bus, and opening up the Didi door. Because the bus and Didi are about 2-3 feet away from the curb, leaving just enough room for a scooter driver to squeeze through.

Still, if I hadn’t paused for one second before starting to cross the street, I’d have hit pavement.

Shopping gave me quite a laugh that I really needed tonight, but I’m alarmed at how much I’ve been spending lately.

Trump pretzel balls. Imported from Japan.

Interesting. Yes, some of us are so beautiful, we’re cut down in our prime, stuck in a vase, and put in a refrigerator. Others grow wild. It all ends the same though, right? A long, slow death, before being tossed in the garbage.
This made me laugh out loud. I never thought of nuts being “precious.” The only way this could have been better was if they called it, “Family Jewels Gift Box.” It was a much needed laugh after the bullshit of this week.

Thursday’s Money Menu 9 21 23

Less than a month until payday?

Money spent today: $0.

It doesn’t feel like fall, but it won’t feel like fall here for another couple months yet. I checked hours ago, and the temp was 33 C. For you Americans, it means it was around 91 F. Not sure if any of my tomatoes will survive, but the pepper plants look pretty good.

Here Comes More Sun

Because of the fall equinox, it means that my plants will be getting more sun. My balcony is covered, and with the sun being high in the sky, it means my plants don’t really get as much sunlight as they should. With the sun being lower in the sky, my plants are getting a lot more sun. Last year, when my pepper plants started taking off in October, I really didn’t know WHAT was going on.

This time though, looking at the sun this morning, things made sense. The sun hits just below my balcony, but still pretty high in the sky. As we creep closer to winter, the sun will sink lower, and shine over a bigger portion of balcony.

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever

I still have my cold. I woke up and got some work done, then took a nap and that was lovely. Purposely taking it easy these past few days. The only way I can get rid of a cold is by resting.

I stayed home the entire day. Plenty of food in the house, although I didn’t have any oranges to make orange chicken with. But I had nachos today, and since that wasn’t filling enough, I topped that off with a ham sandwich, fries, and Coke Zero, along with some lettuce. That STILL wasn’t enough so I had a peanut butter sandwich. My eating habits are unteathered. I can go for hours without anything except water, then there are days when I feel I do nothing but eat. These days, I eat like one meal a day, with a couple of snacks.

Say No to Veggies that Aren’t Fresh

Today was a two-meal day. The carrots I cut up two days ago were slimy, so I dumped them. Felt bad about that, but life’s too short for veggies that aren’t fresh.

90 Day Fiance is a Cautionary Tale

Watching 90 Day Fiancé: The Last Resort reaction videos from Sixteen Leo and Your Wet Sock. Some kind soul uploaded the first six episodes of the season to YouTube and I got to watch them. I feel bad watching these people to make myself feel better, but at the same time, I don’t. I would have given up a long time ago, but then again, no one ever paid me to go out with someone. But the abuse some of these folks are taking make me glad my self-esteem is light-years ahead of theirs. I’ll never get the kind of love I really want, but that’s okay. If I had a choice to meet the love of my life, or receive $10 million, I’d go on, take the money and run. Because I may meet the love of MY life.

But how do I know I’m the love of HIS?

Wednesday’s Money Menu 9 20 23

26 days until payday???

Money spent: $30.54 (Pizza, groceries, household cleaning supplies)

I have a cold. I didn’t have to work today, so I slept late. When I finally woke up, I decided I wanted a pizza. Getting a pizza was a lot better than the other thing I wanted to do. So I got a pizza.

It was soooooo much better than the Champion’s Pizza I had recently. The cheese was sweet, and I was constipated for a day or so.

There’s a lot more I could say about things, but I won’t.

Tuesday’s Money Menu 9 19 23

Money spent: $11.51 (Transportation, bread)

27 days until payday? And how much???

I left my HDMI adapter at home today, so I had to go back before class and got it. That meant double the transportation costs today. Made me mad.

And to add to the fun, I found out the HDMI cord in the classroom worked fine. I tried it out tonight, and it turned out I didn’t need to run home after all.

But of course, if I HADN’T run home and got it, the classroom HDMI would have messed up.

That’s what happens when you switch bags for school. But I’m sure my bag weight will reach at least 20 pounds at some point, and my Walgreen’s shopping bag won’t survive that sort of punishment. Time to go back to the leather Banana Republic tote bag I got at a friend’s yard sale some years ago. Tote bags are not my favorite style, but I love the classic look of it. And for $15, I couldn’t pass it up.

These are going for upwards of 45 pounds, or a little over $55 for you Americans.

But today wasn’t the greatest day. It’s always when you’re being observed that everything takes twice as long, and the things that went right go unseen.