Last Evening Off

For the next seven straight days I'll be working at Walmart. I'll be rewarded with two straight days off in a row, next Thursday and Friday.

Next Friday is Veteran's Day so it'll be a real day off all around! That will be nice and very needed by then. I'm doing it for the extra money. Everyone knows that by now, it's helping too, I don't have a bill count for you this post but I will soon. Friday is payday and our bills will be due soon. I know the amount is slowly being chipped away.

Its a good thing too, honestly this is starting to wear on me. I also know this time of year is when Walmart will start to give a lot more hours. Hopefully they keep mine the way they are, I'd be worn through if I had more to work. In reality I'd probably have to quit if they gave me more hours at this point.

I'm hitting the sixty seven hour mark on a regular basis now, it was a breeze when I was a kid. Now it's not as easy. We'll benefit from it though and it'll change our lives for the better when we are finished with it!

We'll look back on how tough it was and say something like, "It wasn't so bad." but it'll be over then and I know I'll be relieved. That's just the way I envision that day when it comes.

Eye on the prize!


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Ready Player One

I zipped through this book! Only put it down when I had to and still pulled it up on my Kindle app at both jobs in my spare time!

The story takes place in the not so distant future. The population is out of control and resources have dried up. The only respite for the common person is to spend time in the OASIS. A free massive multiplayer online game or life simulator. It's free to access for everyone and depending on your personal wealth how you are able to access it is up to you. From free publicly provided visors and gloves to state of the art immersion pods. In OASIS you can escape the drudgery and very harsh reality around you. You can be anyone you design, you can go to public school in the OASIS, or church. You can basically do or explore a painstakingly realistic simulations of many fantasy universes from Star Wars to Star Trek. From Norrath to Azeroth and more.

Then came the day that changed everything. James Halliday died. The co-creator of OASIS, genius, and multibillionaire had no one to leave his fortune to. So he held a contest and the first one to find a hidden Easter Egg or surprise within the game would inherit everything.

Halliday was a teen during the eighties, like myself, and chose to make hundreds of pop culture facts as his clues and sprinkled them around OASIS.

This lead to full time Egg Hunters or Gunters for short. A sort of professional class of pop culture experts trying to glean every shred of knowledge about the seventies and eighties they could to find the Egg.

That's the premise you'll find in this book and I loved it! Every bit of it! I devoured it from ecover to ecover! I wished it had been twice as long or longer like the Song of Ice and Fire series!

One of the more interesting references was to an Atari game series called Swordquest. The idea was four individual games that held the clues to a hidden jewel encrusted sword. The first game was released and I had it and played it! Before the games could be completed Atari cancelled the contest and the prize. I believe the first prize was found though but I never looked into the winner.

This was an enjoyable trip down pop culture lane:)

Ready Player One was just a good book:)


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A RAK

Saturday evening before the teen show and after I had gotten off of work I picked up some supper for The Date and Thing 2. After I had ordered a couple of kids came in behind me.

The youngest of the two ordered something like a dozen tacos but ran out of money somewhere around the sixth taco. From where I was waiting I saw the very young girl running the register pull a few crumpled up bills out of her pocket and complete the transaction for the child. Considering that she kicked in around five to six dollars and she likely makes around seven and a half per hour she basically worked an hour for them to eat.

A fact that was likely lost on the two young children or at the very least something they wouldn't think to consider as they likely don't grasp a lot of concepts in currency.

However I'd love to point out that even when we could calculate the nation's mood via the old scale of the misery index from the Carter years good things still happen and good people still exist. If that doesn't brighten your day just a little bit and inspire you do go and secretly do someone a good turn today than I don't know what will.

You'll get the opportunity to hold open a door for an elderly couple or make up the slight difference in a grocery bill for a single struggling mother. Do it and smile, you won't be able to help yourself once you do!




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Great Snape Family Reunion!

I got to hang out with all of my relation last night from the house of Snape! Myself as Occulous Snape and my family of Bette LeStrange Snape and Studious Snape made our appearance from whist we came.

We enjoyed the company of many fine Snape relations for several hours of fun and frivolity. It was a spectacular reunion complete with pictures! I even found a You Tube video on how to tie a tie but I still didn't get it quite right.

One of my Snape relations helped me though and his name escapes me so I'll call him Teehee Snape. All of the Snapes enjoyed themselves immensely and had the best of times!
Very grateful to Ludicrous Snape for arranging the reunion and hosting such an extravagant event, he has outdone himself once again!

Yawwnnnn

Feels good to sleep in some after working last night!
The alarm is turned off and I wake up naturally, that feels great actually!

I've started reading the best book! It's written by Ernest Cline called Player One Ready. Once I'm done with it I'll post an in depth review here. I'm loving it even though Cline's character is an atheist and his beliefs aren't along with mine it's really a minor point when dealing with this incredible story!

Well it's a great story for those who grew up in the seventies and experienced the eighties as a teen that is, it might fall flat on others of an older or younger generation but that is exactly me. Might be why this story resonates for me and I'm enjoying it so much.

I'm cooking The Date potatoes O'Brien right now and enjoying my free time before heading off to work later on. I only work until six tonight and have the party of the year to go to later at Jamal's house. That should be a great time!

Good Show!

I'm proud of the teens. They put on a very good show last night and did a great job of bringing the characters to life! It's especially impressive when you know that few of them had any experience before this show.

Naturally I thought my own Thing 2 as the spinster owned the stage but I think that's what parents are supposed to think. Be that is it may they should all be proud of the jobs they have done and I'm sure audiences will enjoy the show even if they don't have a teen in it!

That was how I spent my night off, tonight I'll be working my second job. A less enjoyable endeavor but a necessary one. My next day off will be Monday I believe.

The snowball is rolling.
Eye on the prize!


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Night Off

Final dress rehearsal for the teen show, And Then There Were None is tonight. Thing 2 has got a pretty healthy part as the old spinster. The Date tells me the show is looking fantastic and is coming together like they always do in the final week.

Tiger Direct is sending me another motherboard. They had me call Asus, the manufacturer and talk to them. They told me the motherboard wasn't compatible with the CPU. Called Tiger back and they told me it was.

I said I didn't care I just wanted it to plug in with no errors and work and if they had a trouble shooting idea to fix the error then I was listening. They didn't have any ideas so they are sending out a new motherboard from a different manufacturer.

It'll be here in the next day or two and I'll get it all buttoned up and running!

I got paid today from Walmart! This getting paid every week stuff is pretty cool! I'm enjoying it a lot! It is helping too, The Date and I will figure out who we can send money to tonight. I believe we paid off three or four small bills last Friday. I also think we have two or three that are now under two hundred dollars. I'll have to check those for sure to find out. The snowball is rolling along and we've got proof!





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New PC Blues

After work I headed out to Walmart to see if they needed me. There was a big inspection manager coming and they wanted extra help so they asked if I would show up. Actually to start they wanted me to come in at five AM, chuckling I said no.

I arrived there and talked with my manager and she said head on home, so thankfully I got to do just that! I arrived home and spent a little bit of time with the family before tech rehearsal at the theatre. Just before they left the UPS truck showed up with the new PC kit I ordered last week! I wasn't expecting it until tomorrow.

Now I had a fun project for the evening! I called my friend Mandingo to come over and help. He does this stuff daily, it's his job at work.

So I started in with unpacking and getting things put together. It went very well. The instructions were clear, I had Mandingo double check my work, we plugged it in and got a two motherboard error lights. After moving the RAM we got it down to one error light.

Not sure why it's on. The CPU is seated well, went in like a dream and the fan heat sink right on top of it. There shouldn't be any errors at all. So we started looking at error codes online.

Similar problems were posted but they all had to do with bent CPU pins. Well we didn't have any. It fit snug into its socket and locked down like it should have.

By that time Mandingo had to head home. So the new PC is still a work in progress this morning. I'll be reading message boards on my iPhone and seeing what I can come up with. I know Mandingo will be doing the same.


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Kitten Trouble

Watching our kitten Jet play is an exercise in exhaustion. He runs everywhere, attacks everything, is in the air as much as he is on the ground, chases every single other pet in the house including the dog, and has zero fear for his own safety.

Everything is something to bite, stalk, chase, attack, or rarely sleep on. He has no idea where he is going but he runs there as fast as he can. Even the dog will go to his pet taxi once in a while to get away.

He will use up every single molecule of energy before just laying down, sometimes in mid attack and nap. Very sudden like, he'll just terrorize whatever is there and like flipping a switch it's nap time.

Scotch and Baby Kitty have had very active kitten hoods but neither were as rampaging as Jet, nor as willing to inflict bodily harm on himself or others. Let alone the energy tank Jet has is far bigger than any I've witnessed. He goes on forever!

I'm not sure if Jet will evolve into being a lap kitty or not, he doesn't enjoy being held much at all. Baby Kitty is very lovey and when I'm home will frequently be in a lap. Scotty though has his moments of loving a lap.

Today is Tuesday and the new PC kit will make it here this week! I'll be able to work on it perhaps this coming Saturday if all goes right! It should be up and running this weekend and everything will be restored once again! That will help The Date out with her school work and make my blogging that much easier!

Although it is much easier on this iPhone than it was on the last one!


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Going To Work

I just took my last steroid pill. I'm having coffee to wash it down and I'm better, much better. Who was the first person to find a coffee bean? What would possess them to take it, roast it, grind it up, run water through it and drink it?

Who was the first person to take bacon and eggs and say, "You know? Maybe coffee would go good with breakfast."

Some daring culinary pioneer no doubt. Someone who perhaps thought that if you found a plant, dug underneath it and found an ugly looking root like thing you could cut it up, fry it, and serve it with ketchup.

I owe that guy though, I don't think I have a better comfort food than fried potatoes. Well to me that is. It's simple, filling, and tastes good.

To those daring pioneers who took that first bite or first drink, I salute you this morning!



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Much Better

Today was the last day of the antibiotics prescribed to me. I feel a ton better and will continue to improve from here. Yesterday at work was fairly easy. Just some stocking and such, nothing major at all.

The four and a half hours flew by and I was back at home a bit after six. Now I've got one more day like yesterday and then I'll head back to work like normal tomorrow. I guess I just wore my body down enough that I needed that kind of rest. When I look back through history at some of the most rugged men that came and settled this country I wonder if they ever had the same problems.

For example the coal miners who ushered in the industrial age and brought America to the forefront of modernization. They were essentially indentured servants for a long time, paid with coins that were only good at the company store. They were given housing but it was usually very shack like and ramshackle at best. But they were men and they went to work when they couldn't or shouldn't. Yeah they also had a very short lifespan and if a mine accident didn't get them then more than likely black lung disease did.

They were among the designers of this country that went unmentioned for the most part but had a work ethic that would shame many today that enjoy our country as it exists. Even at my best I will never be as tough as those men. Long hours, bad conditions, worse pay.

Today I go in for another four and a half hour shift of moving products from one section of the store to another section. Easy enough, and thank you to those that came before me and helped settle this country into what we now enjoy.

Another Day Off

I took Friday off from work and went work at Walmart at five. I'm feeling much better after yesterday's rest. I was able to run some errands and I also ordered our new PC kit. It will replace the one that has served faithfully for over four years. I'll have it built and running by next weekend for sure as I have a couple of evenings off this week from Walmart.

I also decided against purchasing the iPhone 4s and went with the iPhone 4 instead. It was readily available, I upgraded The Date to the same phone and played with it. It's really an impressive machine.

It's very fast, easy to work with, has IOS5 already installed, has so many advantages over the iPhone 3G that it's like night and day. For a hundred dollars you can't beat it so it's got a ton of value. I just put the two 3G iPhones on eBay for sale and they'll more than make up the cost of upgrading when sold.

The extra money will be used for car insurance next month when it's due after they sell this week.

I work four and a half hours today and tomorrow, thankfully I'm nearly done with my medications. I feel a lot better and I hope to continue to improve over the next week!

Feeling Better

After three weeks of a hacking cough, enough congestion to put an elephant down, and numerous aches and pains I decided to take off of work on Wednesday and headed to the doctor. I have a respiratory infection and while it wasn't pneumonia it didn't feel good either.

I got two prescriptions and headed home to get better. I called in to work yesterday and today but I'll have to go to Walmart tonight from five to nine thirty. My cough is still there and is still a hacking cough but it is lessening some. The worst thing about this is that I wanted to build my leave up, I had just passed the ninety hour mark and now with me taking off two and over a half days it'll be back down to the high seventy hour mark.

I'll rebuild it though. It won't take too long to do again. It's ok though because I do need to get better or I won't be able to handle my schedule again. I probably should have gone to the doctor before the other day, I mean three weeks with a bad cough is probably too long but I just didn't take the time to take care of myself. If I had then it probably could have been caught before it got as bad as it did and wouldn't have had to taken off from work to get better.

I'm blessed that I do have a job where they are very understanding about leave and it's very easy to take off with no problems at all. Just a phone call and you are good, it's not like I abuse my leave. I show up and for 99% of the time I take off from work with permission, usually half days or put my leave in well in advance so it can be approved.

For a job as good as mine is to me I can do that for them. They deserve that in the least. Walmart on the other hand is a bit of a different animal. You don't start earning leave until after a year of service. I can see that because of the turnover rate they have but perhaps if they altered that policy then maybe they would retain more people. Take care of your people and the good ones will take care of you and do more than make up for the screwups that game the system.

I am feeling like I have more energy now this morning while the past two days I've felt drug out and trampled on. That's probably an effect of breathing better now and feeling like I have a clear head. I should be back to normal by Monday and I'll definitely be back to work then. Thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts:) It's helped a lot:)

Occupy

I've been watching the Occupy X movement with intense curiosity and without a lot of comment although I did engage in a brief discussion on a friend's facebook wall about it.

I have kept my powder dry until now and I feel I have a good grasp of what the movement is about and what they want. I can infer from this list of demands that they are hoping to reform congress and pass different acts to place limits on, further regulate, and prosecute criminals they deem to work on Wall Street.

While I don't really agree with a lot of it I can see why they are angry. They feel disenfranchised. Well so do I and most of the other millions of Americans that didn't vote for Obama. That aside if you look over the demands you'll notice they demand that essentially criminals responsible for the banking, housing and whatever other crisis be prosecuted. I'm actually all for that, I'd LOVE to see Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Jimmy Carter, and all of the other liberals who engineered the housing collapse (which triggered the banking bailouts) to go to prison. Don't believe me? Read this.

Second of all I know they are against income disparity. The growing rift between the rich and the poor. That is one that really tugs on the heartstrings. Poverty of course and how the rich control the money in the country has got to be a sticking point of the protesters. For those of you who know me I'm not anti-rich, anti-poor, or anti much else but I am anti-elitist. I have little patience for those of you who feel you are elite among many. I've met wealthy individuals and would hang out and have a drink with them and I've met poor, destitute idiots who felt superior in every way to me. It goes both ways. No one class is immune to its share of elitists.

So let's examine the poverty issue. Granted this article comes from Heritage.org however they draw their numbers from the Census Bureau so the numbers don't lie. It would appear that the poorest among all Americans have it better than around 70% of the world. We on average live better, have better homes, have better entertainment options, and a higher standard of living than many other countries.

So if a few misguided protesters are being driven by envy, well I'd say it's undeserved but likely rampant. I'd also like to point out that many wealthy athletes are exempt from a lot of the disdain exhibited from the Occupy crowds for some reason. Even the poor like to pull for their favorite team as I don't see Occupy Giant Stadium or Occupy Jerryworld in Dallas protests. That leaves me to believe that a lot of this jealously is urban myth. Something believed to be true and reinforced by media stereotypes such as music videos and athletic commercials. After they are seen over and over again on their color TVs in the houses of the poverty stricken they can't help but garner a bit of resentment.

I'm for the free market. I'm for earning your own way. I'm for student loans, grants, and aid and working to pay it back with your newly earned education. I'm for hard work and earning your way, I'm for living within your means, and I'm for living debt free. If you feel the banks are greedy and only want your money, DON'T APPLY FOR A CREDIT CARD WITH 30% INTEREST to get a new shiny thing! If you don't give them your money they have no power over you! At all, end of story!

Took me a long time to learn that lesson but we are digging our way out as you loyal readers well know by now. The rich, by and large, have earned their wealth. No one is stopping you from being as wealthy as you wish to be but you. Athletes, actors, musicians all earn obscene amounts of money and get little in the way of criticism from this crowd, why is that? Supposed overpaid fatcat CEOs are responsible for more than you'll ever realize when they run a company. Families depend on the decisions of those in charge, good decisions put food on the table and bad ones break a company and put people out of work. Try to sleep with that knowledge, all of that pressure on you and you alone.

Athletes can dunk a ball or throw a touchdown and get millions each year for that. Actors can put out a lousy movie and get paid the same as a great movie. So I'm not sure that the anger Occupy Wallstreet exhibits is directed in the right place or not. Something to think about isn't it whether you agree with me or not. I don't think there are protesters at the houses of Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts, you don't see a Occupy Tom Cruise movement do you?

I'm upset with Congress too and feel they deserve lots of reform. I've blogged about that before, and can sum it up by saying serving in congress is a privilege and not a career. You go, you serve, you go home.

Comparing the anger from the Tea Party and the Occupy movements does seem legitimate to me. Both are equally passionate in what they want but what they want is as far apart from the East to the West. The Tea Party wants restraint on government while the Occupy movement wants restraint on corporations...which (and I can't labor this point enough) hire people such as me and you.

Is it an organic movement? Who can really say at this point, I'd wager George Sorros is funneling money to them somehow and in some fashion though. While the Arab Spring was purely organic and led to overthrown governments the Occupy movement will not topple anything. It'll likely have very little effect over time. The 2012 elections will rid our country of our failure of a President and hopefully a liberal senate and we'll see gains in the house. Jobs will come back and the protesters will go away. Tax rates will lower, drilling will increase, oil prices will lower, and overbearing regulations will dissipate like a bad nightmare. Dawn will break and the country will be new and fresh again, free from the liberal grip that has held it's boot on the throat of freedom!

Well that's a bit dramatic but hopefully that's what will happen anyway:)

Half Way

This week is huge for us. First of all The Date gets her student aid this week! Finally after the semester is over half way finished. Second all of the work I put in last week gets paid off Friday! I got my paystub yesterday and yeah, it felt good to see the bottom line! My next Walmart check will be full as well and that snowball will be rocketing down the hill once this month is over!

Yesterday was a day that I wished we were in a position that I didn't need a second job. I hadn't slept well the night before and was tired all day, wanting nothing more than a few hours of sleep. It was not to be. I got home and made chili for the family and went off to work until eleven.

I feel better this morning though. I'll have a decent day at work but I am working until eleven again barring any overtime at work that might alter that time table.

Let's see what fun stuff I can blog about. I finished the second Sandman Slim novel. It's pretty good, lots of funny parts, lots of violent parts. A weird mish mash of detective noir ala Sam Spade, supernatural suspense, and a lot of fun. Not for everyone though. The series deals with Heaven, Hell, and everything in between!

It focuses a lot on the angels that fell from Heaven after God kicked them out. Some want back in His good graces, some set up life on earth and in Hell. Sandman Slim is in between, a Nephilim in fact, half man half angel.

Set it all in LA and let the fun begin!

Working Tonight

I'm back to my normal six thirty to eleven schedule tonight. There is a chance of overtime as well from my real job.

If that happens I'll probably head from one job to the next and just change clothes. Yesterday I was off and worked my normal hours, the day flew by! After what I was working last week it was a breeze to work a regular eight hour shift! I couldn't believe it was time to go home when it came!

That's a good feeling, a feeling I'll get again once I'm back down to one job again. It is temporary, it's going to be so much better when that happens, and I'll tough it out until then. Those are the words going round and round in my head. Lots of people work two or more jobs with a goal to work one that pays a good wage. I'm not unique, not breaking new ground, just traveling the plowed earth that many others also tread in this miserable economy.

Every day, every hour exchanged for money...well that's one hour closer to obtaining that goal. One day closer to having a single job, coming home at 4:15 and cooking for friends on Wednesday nights again. Spending time at the theatre again, that's a nice goal. I'll get there!

Eye on the prize!

Off Tonight!

After working the weekend I'm off tonight and Thursday night. I believe it's going to turn colder today or tomorrow so I've got chili planned for supper tomorrow night before work.

The Date got her homework submitted last night so since student is her full time job we both worked yesterday. Work was super busy for me, the section was a huge mess when I got there and when I left. There was an area manager inspecting the place when I got there and she didn't like a lot of stuff I gathered. The fat assistant manager was upset at my coworkers before I arrived. Only three of us were on the schedule though, not the best move on one of the busy days of the week. Not my call though.

Fortunately since I don't depend upon this job for a living I've got more options as to what I can put up with regarding the attitudes of managers. My coworkers aren't quite as fortunate. However they really don't bother me a lot so I don't feel defensive around them. Generally always working when they rarely come around and busy so they can't say much.

I'm giving them a fair shift of work compared to my wage, they really can't complain a whole lot. We are short handed and perhaps they can address that soon, it'd solve some problems for sure with scheduling.

Tonight we don't have any plans:) come home from a regular day of work and enjoy the evening unless they offer overtime:)

Evaluation

Yesterday I got my Walmart evaluation from our manager. She said I rated higher than she was going to put on the evaluation and by doing that she was doing me a favor. I rated as Exceed. Basically on the path to a manager but she put me as a grade lower and told me why.

She told me that management would be all over me, I'd be required to do a lot of extra tasks, and that I'd have to work more hours. All of the things I don't want as I won't be working there long enough to advance anywhere. She said I was an exceptional employee and she needed more like me. All in all it was a very nice evaluation and made me feel really good about my self, my work ethic, and what I'm accomplishing for our debt snowball. It really validated what I'm doing right now.

She is leaving soon to take care of a family member that needs help. I'm sorry to see her leave but hey, she's got a great reason to do so.

I came home and started to rest up. I was about to go to bed but then The Outlaw Josey Wales came on so I watched that and went to bed around one thirty. The Date and I watched it actually:) It was a pretty nice experience to just chill on the couch and enjoy each others company.

Thing 2 auditioned for the National Honor Orchestra yesterday and wound up getting first section, eighth chair violin! Better than anyone else in varsity orchestra and she's a freshman! Very proud of her! She's worked very hard to get where she has gotten and it really shows:) Love my girls!

Super Friday

I got to work and had nothing to give. I really didn't have much at all to offer so I thought it best to remove myself from work and head back home. Three days of sixteen and a half hours is rough. It came down to simple math, I worked forty nine and a half hours out of seventy two possible hours. That leaves a scant twenty two hours off to sleep, eat, and recharge.

I know I'm not twenty anymore and now heavy work loads take everything I've got over an extended time. Fortunately my company has a very good leave policy and they are always willing to work with someone over any situation. It's looked upon as what you've earned and ninety nine percent of the time you get the time off you ask for without question.

That's darn hard to beat. So I worked three hours and came back home and crashed on the couch for a bit. My head was stopped up, coughing nonstop, and I Nyquiled up and stopped coughing.

Last night we went to movie night, a new trend my circle of friends is starting. Hosting a movie night and showing a movie that you feel needs to be seen or appreciated and you want to share it with your friends. It's really a great idea and I'm going to enjoy going provided I'm not working that night.

I work today but now I've got some fresh batteries in my system. It's a standard shift for me which equates to roughly four and a half hours. Not hard by any way, shape, or form. I'll be back home before I know it and getting ready for a similar shift Sunday. As long as I get a bit of rest now and then I'm more than up to the task. It was only getting to me last week as we worked overtime at work and tacking on another shift after I left work. However as I've blogged about, the money was way too stellar to not work it and I knew Walmart wouldn't work with me on the schedule anymore. So to keep both jobs and make the money I did what I had to do. Glad I did it now, very glad next Friday, but it was hard when it happened.

Hopefully the overtime train isn't done yet though, it's possible to run into more this coming week and possibly the next two months. For the debt snowball, and the holiday season it'll be very good to us if this continues.

Now I've got to get some food and get ready for work soon.

Eye on the prize!

Normal Day

Yesterday we came to the point on our project at work to where overtime was not necessary today. Next week probably though! I get to go home at a normal time and I'm off from Walmart tonight!

Instead of getting up at a quarter to five this morning I got up a quarter after six! I needed that rest. It doesn't sound like a lit but it is. I am feeling refreshed this morning and knowing my day ends normally this afternoon I'm really feeling pretty chipper!

The iPhone 4s is released to the world today. I am going to wait until this massive paycheck comes in before I'm able to search for one. I'm eligible for the upgrade though:) It's going to be free though as I plan on selling Thing 2's broken screen phone and my phone and that should more than cover the cost.

Used and broken they still bring from ninety to a hundred fifteen dollars each! Both combined in one sell will cover the cost of my upgrade but I can't sell them until I get one bought, hence the waiting.

Looking forward to the weekend, I need some rest.

It's Early

Today and tomorrow and I'll be able to sleep in a little bit extra on Saturday! Last night was tough. Making it to eleven was quite a feat. I ran out of gas around nine. Had to take a break for a while and refuel some.

It'll all be worth it next Friday and then again on the following Thursday. Both paydays will be very sweet!

Until then though I'm just looking forward to being able to grab some extra rest on Saturday...before I get to work at noon. Next week won't hold much overtime, thankfully and sadly. The money is top notch but this week has been rough as you, dear reader have been enduring with me.

Eye on the prize!

Yeah, Sixteen More Please

By the time they put me in the ground in another forty years or so I might be the laziest person anyone would have known for the last couple of decades of my life. But I'll have earned it and those of you who know me will know I earned it.

Kindly let those who don't know me know the real story if they should ever ask you:) You can tell them that even before you knew me that I had worked over a hundred hours a week when I worked at the local airport and once went a hundred and thirty one days during the summer without a day off. You can tell them that when I had a single job I still dedicated free time to those things I considered a challenge such as the theatre and making it a better place for both the patrons and volunteers.

You can tell them that during his prime he would have laughed at a long day and come back for more. That he did what he did for his family and his friends when I'm old enough to wake up and watch The Flintstones, or any other cartoon all day and little else.

You can say you knew me when...and it'd likely be true. You do that for me if the subject ever comes up and I'll return the favor for you if someone should speak ill of you after you've earned the same rights. And I know you will:)

Now after four and three quarters of an hour of sleep I'm going to put in my second sixteen and a half hour day of work. One more after this to go!

There are rumblings at work that our twelve hour days are just beginning due to two coworkers out on medical leave until after the first of the year. Maybe I'll have a few more of these weeks in store for me!

Bring it!

Eye on the prize!

Tuesday Morning Sunshine!

Well it's not sunny yet but it will be, it definitely wasn't sunny when I got up at fifteen till five! I'm good though, reminds me of high school and the paper route days. I've got an edge on the world, I'm awake and yes alert while you are still in the REM sleep cycle.

Not sure how much more overtime I'm going to get this week but after today I'll have twenty in the books! That's quite a bit for me and us as a shop! We rarely get OT as I've said many times in the past.

This is all coming at the exact right time too, with the holidays approaching, with the PC needing rebuilding, and with the snowball in full rolling mode! Yes this extra amount added in will be a fantastic boost to any above!

I had thirty three hours on my last WM check that goes into the bank on Thursday. It's a bit more than I expected, a welcome sight. Next check will be full and will have about a hundred dollars plus added in which is what I've been getting.

A very happy birthday to my beloved wife! Happy 29th honey, sorry I couldn't be with you today but I got to spend my day off with you yesterday!

Coffee, Black

That's what I'm enjoying right now and I've got no where to go today and little to do! A very rare day off and I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it. Tomorrow is The Date's birthday and we'll probably go do something nice for her at lunch today:) We talked about it earlier so it isn't a surprise. It's going to depend on if she has to work or not.

Tomorrow is going to be tough, the first of sixteen hour days. I just set the alarm for a quarter to five. I have to be at work by six and then I'll get off at six and be clocked in at Walmart by six thirty. I haven't put in days like that in a long time but I have been working fourteen hours recently so two and a half more hours won't bother me a lot.

I'll get through this too and enjoy the benefits when both checks come in. The biggest on the twenty first, then a regular full Walmart check the week after that. The debt snowball is rolling, rolling, rolling along! The Date officially accepts her student aid today and it's a huge blessing! As I think I said earlier in a blog she got way more than expected! She was nervous about it but it turns out that her hard work and good grades have paid off in spades. She's got a ton of aid now and I couldn't be prouder of her efforts!

It'll make college less of a struggle right now while I'm doing what I'm doing. In other words it's one less thing I've got to be concerned about cause I know it's all taken care of.

Another cup of coffee is calling my name!

Eye on the prize!

Good Night, Good Day

Last night after work The Date and I helped Hollywood Actor celebrate his thirtieth year on this earth and helped warm his house with about twenty of his favorite people around him! It was good to see him be so happy! I've known him a long time now and he has been a gloomy Gus most of the time but the past few years have been very kind to him and he's come a LONG way!

May he have many many more days like yesterday!

Today I've gone to work, got come groceries, came home and now I'm making tacos for the family. It was a fairly easy day of stocking produce, nothing out of the ordinary. Most everything is routine now.

It has rained ALL day long, a slow soaking rain. We needed this for months now and finally we've got it. It would have been nice around July but that's ok, better late than never.

Tomorrow is my first day off during a weekday in a long time. I am off from both jobs! I did have last Sunday off and that was very nice, tomorrow will be sweet! I plan on sleeping in until at least seven, maybe seven fifteen!

We'll see what the day holds!

Cabaret

I got through the workday, both jobs, and made it in time at cabaret to hear my baby sing! I clocked out at Walmart and ran over to the theatre to make it just as Thing 2, FFC, and Musical Genius just left the stage. I was sad that I missed them sing but I did make it in time to hear my wife rock the theatre's audience:)

I couldn't be prouder of my gifted family:)

After the set closed the show Tech Guy and I were chatting in the lobby. He had this observation that was really pretty profound and one that I and many of our age have noticed of the upcoming generations. Let me preface this by telling this short story, I had a conversation with a coworker at Walmart who stocks frozen foods.

He is in college and we were talking in the back room. He said there were a lot of hillbillies in a small town north of here. I said there weren't any because the land was flat and that Oklahoma wasn't where hillbillies come from. I explained to him where hillbillies came from and he said I was a historical genius or something. He also said he made good grades in his college classes. Now if THAT doesn't make you question our educational system I don't know what will.

So Tech Guy and I were chatting that the youth of today lack many mechanical skills that were commonplace in past generations. Tech Guy gave the example of ten guys riding in a jeep in WWII, if it broke down on the side of the road more than likely nine of them would be capable of fixing the problem. I myself am capable of fixing many minor problems that arise with owning a vehicle. Some things are obviously outside of my knowledge range and comfort level for example I wouldn't go tearing into a transmission without guidance. I can do the work if I had an over the shoulder mechanic guiding me but it's not something I'd attempt on my own.

Many growing up today lack those skills and many other skills. Carpentry alludes me even though that's one of the basic skills that I'd enjoy having mastered. I'm a basic welder, and I can paint anything that moves. I add to my educational background on my own and am always learning politics and the ins and outs of the political system. I know how the electoral college works and why it's necessary for example.

I'm always anxious to learn more in fact. I never cared for my education while I was in school as much as I care about it now and after I dropped out of college. I wanted to get on with living and being an adult. Classrooms weren't teaching me what I wanted to know.

So to wrap it up I'm thrilled that my wife did such a great job at cabaret, I'm thrilled it was another successful evening at the theatre, and I'm thrilled that my family is prone to working hard and learning more about being self sufficient. Basic skills that everyone should know and should endeavor to learn.

Finished

The tough part of the week is finished now. Four twelve hour days at work are done. Hopefully they will say they need more next week.

I can work both jobs without much problem I think. If work will let me come in early I can get twelve in and still get to Walmart without a lot of difficulty for four or five more hours.

Every hour worked is one hour closer to quitting Walmart. It's serviceable income and it's helping to get things paid off sooner. That's the goal. That's why I keep rehashing this in my blog every morning, to keep me focused on what I have to do.

I remind myself why I'm doing this every day, I remind myself what the prize is, and I remind myself that it's not about me and my comfort anymore. I put my needs behind the needs of my family and our financial health, from that we'll grow a much better future for ourselves.

It's a big prize to earn but earn it I will.

Eye on the prize!

Endurance

I can tell that working two jobs has earned me some endurance. I was dragging a for a few days after I started working at Walmart now I can make eleven o'clock with no problem.

My coworkers have had a tough time adjusting to twelve hour shifts but I've done pretty well getting through the day. It's not easy but by the time it's over I've still got a little left in the tank.

Another two weeks of this and I'd be fine for all twelve hours but as I said yesterday I'd probably have to start working a earlier shift so I could get my hours in and make it to Walmart. They probably won't take me off of the schedule again like they did this week. Well I do work there right after work tomorrow but I get off earlier too.

The overtime count so far is twelve hours. That's the exact same money wise as twelve five hour shifts at Walmart that I've been working. So three days overtime is the same as a little over two weeks at Walmart.

Strange how that works but that's it, almost down to the dollar in fact. I'm serious about this financial change taking place, for the first time I've got more than just me to consider and it's important to get these ducks all rowed up and standing at attention. A few months of this is worth the rewards later!

Eye on the prize!

Two More!

Tonight and tomorrow and then the overtime spigot might close off for us. This is a three day weekend approaching and they will measure the overtime to the progress worked thus far.

If we get overtime next week I'll have to stay on the Walmart schedule at the same time and my company will have to let me adjust to that. I would likely come in and start work at six, get my twelve in and then work until eleven that night.

Yeah that is possible, unlikely though as my company doesn't like to pay overtime. It'd be great though as it'd be a lot of extra cash and that debt snowball would have a turbo boost down the hill for a couple of checks!

We'll wait and see what happens though.

I slept a lot better last night. Right after I got home I took some Nyquil and went to bed. I couldn't handle today being as rough as yesterday was. I needed sleep and rest badly. I got that! I'm good to go today for a twelve hour shift! Yeah I've still got the symptoms of a head cold but at least I've got the sleep I needed to help my body recover.

I'll be ok today, I'll repeat the process tonight and then on Friday it's back to working two jobs as I go to start my Walmart shift right at five o'clock.

Eye on the prize!

Little Sleep

My first twelve went well at work. The downside is that I've got a quarter of a head cold going on and it has kept me awake most of the night. I'm feeling in bad shape this morning and could sleep for a few hours but I can't afford to miss today at work.

I'll tough it out because that's what I do. That's the kind of stuff I'll do for my family and our goal.

Eye on the prize!

Wonderful Day Off

Yeah I didn't do much but made a roast and potatoes in the crock pot for supper but by golly it was a great day off! I'll be home late tonight but over all I'll be making more money and it'll roll that debt snowball along faster and faster! Yeah the overtime starts today, we'll hit it hard for the next four days and I think it'll likely be over with after that.

Sixteen hours is a lot though and I'm happy to have it.

My fantasy teams did ok yesterday. In the keeper league I'm up by eleven points. Ten and his Legend team have one player left tonight. I can lose easily if the player does well. In the other league I'm up by one point and on the verge of my first win. One league my team is good, in the other league I suck. Tough year!

Still Employed

Yesterday was a super busy day at Walmart. Not only was it the day I was supposed to talk to my immediate supervisor and get a decision on next week's schedule change but it was also a Saturday and food stamp day. Those three factors combined in a very rushed and frantic shift.

First off I talked to my manager and she said she hated to let me off as I was closing but she did take me off of the schedule. So that's all good. I'm still a Walmart employee. I told her that I wanted to be seen as reliable and if she needed me to be there to call me and I'd come in after I clocked out and work the last two hours of the shift from nine to eleven. She didn't think it would come to that but said she would call if she needed me there.

Second off Saturday is a very busy day for Walmart. Everyone does their shopping at the same time. What happens when you combine a Saturday with the state's first of three food stamp days is nothing short of frantically paced stocking and refilling! It's almost a video game in real life. You grab a cart, grab what needs to go out, rush it out and stock it then head back in where something else has to go out right after! It's all day and it's hectic.

By the end of the day your back hurts, your legs ache, and you want to chill. And chill I did! I brought home some pizza materials and made The Date and I a Boboli pizza. After that I texted Abostang and told him I was probably going to start my day off, my first day off since late August, with a slight hangover.

He texted me back and said that he was at a local club with another friend that I've had for over twenty years just hanging out. So The Date said she would drive me up there and pick me up when I wanted to come back home! She even gave me a few dollars for the evening:) How cool is that for a wife to do!?!?

Today is very sweet so far! I feel great, no hangover. I was a little buzzed but not falling down drunk. Not even really staggering around drunk, I could walk fine. Nice morning out, I had coffee and an apple for breakfast and now I'm getting ready to watch some football and get my laundry going. Next week is going to be a huge boon for the debt snowball. Sixteen hours of overtime will be a great boost to what gets paid off next and is one step closer to being debt free!

Eye on the prize!

New Dilemma

At work yesterday, the main job not Walmart, I was informed that we'll be working sixteen hours of overtime this upcoming week. I knew right then I'd have to inform Walmart of having to be taken off of the schedule for three days in the evenings.

I'm already off Monday evening and we are not working overtime on Friday so I'd only be gone from Walmart on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. I'd return back to Walmart on Friday for my normal shift. I told the managers and they were less than thrilled but said they'd give me an answer today.

Here's the dilemma, overtime at my main job is five times the pay, literally. I can work one single overtime hour and it's the equivalent of working a five hour shift at Walmart. So sixteen overtime hours is the same as working sixteen shifts of what I've been working at Walmart. That's a little over three working weeks as I work five days and get two off per week.

It's a no brainer, if they won't let me off I'll give them my badge and tell them it's been great, thank you for the job while it lasted. I can find another eight dollar an hour job without a problem. Yeah this job has been pretty solid, not going to lie about that. I'd hate to see it go away right now. It's a needed job and it's been a huge help in the debt snowball.

Wow, didn't think I'd say that but it's true! The managers have been coming around and getting to know they can depend on me lately. They aren't like someone I'd go have a drink with or anything but they've been decent people lately, they are doing their jobs and have a ton of responsibilities to do each shift. The dirty secret is, and one I keep to myself, I probably make at least three times what they make as well and put in less hours to do it. These people work a ton of hours.

For the right people Walmart is a good career move. It really is and I'm happy I'm there right now. It's really up to them if I keep this job or not. I'm one of the better workers they have now after I've gotten up to speed. I'm reliable, I don't call in like one of my coworkers has repeatedly the past two weeks, and I don't hide and screw off for a whole shift like another coworker does when I'm around.

I've got three great coworkers though and they can really do work, they are diligent and do good jobs! All in all I'm really thrilled that overtime has come up at work, I'm getting to the point now where Walmart is an easy job and the challenge is going away a little.

My choice is simple and clear but one way or the other the debt snowball isn't stopping until it's finished. By the end of my shift today at the latest I'll either be in the job market again or I'll be the same as I am now:)

Eye on the prize!

Two Days

Just today and tomorrow and I'll get my first day off in over a month! Tonight though I'm scheduled to go to work right after I leave work. I'm taking my clothes with me to change after I clock out.

The upside is that I don't have to work until eleven! I'm actually kind of happy about that and the fact that I get another payday in a week!

THAT I'm very excited about! Anyway it's getting easier but last night sucked. Two days before food stamp day they decided to change the entire section I work in around. I spent all night trying to figure out this telxon price gun thing and getting the portable printer to work right. Of course I had no training on important things like that. Not to mention my scheduled coworker called in and was a no show, so it was just me with a huge mess to figure out and no training to do it with.

I DID figure it out though! I kept messing with the options, printing test labels, and finally got it all to work! That was a system that was seemingly more complicated than the Apollo missions but it attaches to your wrist and with no help or instructions I did it!

Chalk one up for the old brain rolling around in my head!

Eye on the prize!

One More Day

Last night at work went well enough. It was a busy night and flew by. The Date cooked a great supper for me when I got home as well! Chicken fried chicken and fried potatoes! She pickled the peppers from the garden and in a couple of weeks we'll use them in an Italian beef dish!

All in all things have gone well. Nothing pressing has gotten us down really. Everything is flying by on schedule. Today is payday and it'll take care of one bill and groceries. Next payday, next Friday will be the big payday that will clear up the big bills and take care of at least one small bill altogether according to the budget! That's an exciting day to look forward to!

Eye on the prize!

Ben Hur

Last night I made some decent chili for supper. The only thing that was missing was the twenty degree weather to make it really good chili.

Thing 2 said when it gets cold we needed to make a big pot of chili and go outside Beersnob style and light the ball o' fire and a lot of friends and eat it with hot coffee. She actually said that.

I had everything ready to pickle the banana peppers but Thing 2 and I started watching the epic Ben Hur and really that made for a great night with me and her. The only movie I consider on the same level with Ben Hur as far as the epic scale of it and the era of Hollywood from which it was produced is The Ten Commandments. I even place that movie a slight bit more epic even. It was more groundbreaking in terms of scale, special effects, and the actors are more widely known and were mainstream at the time.

Heston, Brynner, Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, DeCarlo, Vincent Price, and more! Directed by DeMille! That's EPIC and why I give it the slight nod over Ben Hur in a close tie. The peppers will get pickled though, we didn't get the garden going to just waste the products it made.

It was a fine evening though and my last evening off this week. I believe I work four straight days now and get Sunday and Monday off. That will make Sunday my first day off from both jobs since August 28th. I hadn't considered that before but wow! That'll be a good day! Tomorrow is payday and we'll put money into our grocery envelope and pay a bill. We are under our grocery budget this week so it'll be adding up now!

Eye on the prize!

Last Evening Off

We are making chili tonight and I plan on pickling the banana peppers from the garden! The sweet potatoes are just about ready to pick as well so the harvest is coming in. The tomatillos are there but tiny.

The tomatoes didn't do well at all. Too hot and they burned midseason. Next year we are going to grow more conventional crops like onions, beans, potatoes, a different variety of tomatoes. Garlic, which will be planted very shortly, and stuff we use in cooking weekly.

We started the garden too late in the growing season for those crops and it was already too hot by the time the gardens were built.

It's ok though, they are established now, the soil is in great shape. We'll be ready on the first day of planting season to get it all in the ground!

Airplane Revisited

Classics are classics for a reason. Not only do they stand the test of time but sometimes they can surpass your expectations when you revisit them again.

Airplane is one of those movies. It's a movie I saw in the theaters when I was a kid. I walked to the Esquire Theater when this disaster movie spoof came out. Actually this was the grandaddy of all spoofs when it hit the screens.

What followed since Airplane has been the Police Squad movies, Scary Movie movies, and many many more I don't want to list. I remember laughing very hard as a kid and I laughed a lot last night when I played this on Netflix streaming. Yeah I was way too young for most of the jokes but that's ok too.

It's just that good! I'm glad I revisited this old classic last night. What a spectacular time capsule movie! Give it a watch again sometime and you might agree!

Beautiful Morning!

This morning is what I want in a fall day! Mid sixties, calm, sunny. Good grief if there is any proof of God in the universe days like today have to be in the top five! Hard to be an atheist on days like today!

I work from one thirty to six today. It'll be a snap. Yesterday most everything was stocked and finished by the time I even got to work. They had a full crew in the early mornings and they got it all in great shape and then when I got there I just had to restock once in a while. Did some straightening up of some fruit and vegetables and such.

That's what comprised my day! Today will be similar to yesterday except I'll have some help for my whole shift. I had help for the first half of my shift yesterday and then I had a guy with me who is a bit slow. Not mentally slow just doesn't want to do a whole lot. He is what he is and for what they pay that's what they'll continue to get. People who will make a career out of that job or people who are passing through such as myself. They'll have to take the good and the bad and weed them out when they get the chance.

I made some stir fry rice when I got home and didn't do much at all after that. Thing 2 wasn't feeling well so she went to bed around six and I didn't see her the rest of the evening.

I just took her to work a bit ago and I'm less than two hours from going to work myself now. I am making a gumbo for supper tonight! I picked up some tiny shrimp and smoked sausage yesterday after work. Going to put some crushed tomatoes, okra, sausage, seasonings, and a flour and oil base in the crock pot before work and let it simmer while I'm at work. By the time I get off work it'll be ready for the shrimp and then we'll make the rice to serve it over. Easy as can be!

Eye on the prize!

Last Show

Today is my baby's last show for Dixie Swim Club. It's a special arranged show for a bus of tourists. If it is a success, which I know it will be as this is a great show, then it can signal more business for the theatre! That's always a great thing!

Sadly though I won't be as involved with one of my favorite past times as I have been in the past. I will be though once things are squared away, and I'll be able to keep to the schedule I used to keep with them. Two or three shows a season, a helping hand here and there, and a few workdays for that extra bit of help!

Yesterday I took off of work early. I came home to change the brake pads of The Date's car and decided I'd do the same on the Tahoe. It ran us over our budget a bit but they were needed on both vehicles. I literally had The Date's car finished in under a half hour. It took longer to take the wheel off than it did to change the brake pads, easy work.

The Tahoe though was a nightmare. I couldn't break loose the lug nuts on one side. Unusual that they were so tight. So I took it to a tire shop and had them break them loose and re-tighten them for the drive home. Then the caliper had star head bolts that looked like allen head bolts. One broke loose easily but the other was another nightmare. I nearly stripped it out in the effort before a buddy called me. He thought it would be easier with another head drive.

So he headed over an hour before I left for work at Walmart. The tough side took fifteen minutes before we got the pads changed. The second side took less than five minutes from tire off to pads on and back on the ground again! I made it to work easily in time!

So it was sort of a day off but I did work at home and at Walmart. Not to mention the three hours I did spend at work buttoning things up for the weekend and preparing for next week.

Bill Count

We started with twenty two bills total. The first week we paid off five. We acquired two more bills and today we are paying off three more. That brings the total to eight bills paid off in the first month. However since we did acquire two more bills we will have seventeen left now.

We were very happy to have gone over the math last night after I got off work! It was very exciting to see the math on paper right there in front of us and plan our budget until Thursday! To me it showed actual progress and why I am working two jobs.

We plan on getting at least another ten bills paid off very soon, some are as higher amounts while others are around a hundred dollars, some lower. It's the effect though that keeps me going.

Once we get everything out of the way but the Tahoe and Caliber we will be in such great shape! After they are finished we'll be in tremendous shape and paying down the mortgage! That's the big one, a paid off mortgage is worth more peace of mind than anything I can think of!

The snowball is rolling and gaining speed!

Eye on the prize!

Rainy Night

On my way home after eleven last night I was watching the sky dance and crackle with lightning. What an amazing sight after the summer we've all endured! Yes we've had some rain but there's something different about rain in the middle of the night.

It seems to make you sleep better and deeper. Not sure what makes rain so conducive to great sleep but it works and I feel better this morning even though I've had less actual sleep than the night before!

Work was ok yesterday. I was by myself during the day at my main job. It was busy but no overly so. Work last night was ok as well, most everything was filled up by the time I got to work. There wasn't a lot to do but we did it anyway. The night did drag by time wise but that's what happens when there isn't a ton of work.

It's ok though, it'll be so worth it in a few months! I'll be glad it's over with but I'll be glad I did it too! A guy at work decided he was going to max out his PTO leave. To do that you have to come to work every day for a full year. Every optional day you have to come to work, every snow day you have to come to work, every single day. For a year. After it's over with though you've got nearly three hundred hours of leave built up though. It'll last you a long time once you've gone through that and you'll likely never be out of leave again unless you have some medical emergency and even that you'll be on short term disability and only lose two and a half hours a day.

That's the same thing with me. Once we've been Ramsey'ed and our bills are finished it'll be over! One tough stretch of time and it's done for good! You've set yourself and family up for a lifetime of responsible finances.

Eye on the prize!

Downsized

I watched a tiny bit of this show last night. I guess the premise is that this family has fallen on hard times and are trying to get their way out of it. What I found ironic is that if they had a plan like I'm (and many millions of Americans who have found out that being debt free and on a cash basis is the way to freedom) working on they wouldn't be in the situation they are in.

They waited until it was too late though. They got caught thinking the jobs they had were forever, they got caught getting comfortable in their lifestyle which isn't bad but you can't owe the kind of money they owed and be comfortable. Think about it for a bit, the unemployment rate is hovering around 9%. That's nearly one in every ten Americans out of work.

How safe is your job? I survived two layoffs in my own job over the years. They cut right up to me twice! Now I have seniority over a couple of people again but some of the older ones have left and they never replaced them. I'm fairly safe but it's taken nearly twenty years to get there.

Examine your job, see how stable it really is. Put a plan in place to keep you safe if anything did go wrong with your job. I don't want my family to suffer if something goes wrong with my job. I want everything to be safe for a few months while I find something else to do should things go bad. Security is why I'm doing this, what kind of security do you have?

Quiet Night Off

The Date and Mom took Thing 2 to have a root canal done in a nearby town. I got home and made some enchiladas for supper. They were nearly finished when the family arrived back home safely. Thing 2 curled up in our bed and slept the evening away while I watched Columbo and The Date talked to Crime Reporter on the phone:)

All in all it was a typical American evening at home. I will figure out something different for this evening as I've nearly exhausted the amount of Columbo episodes on Netflix. After this evening I'll have five days in a row to work and I'll get next Monday and Tuesday evening off as well!

I hope my readers will figure out in my own small way that I'm being very public about my second job experiences in order to at least inspire those of you on the fence about getting your debt paid off and following the Dave Ramsey plan or at least a portion of it. If it motivates you then I hope you follow through with a plan of your own making if nothing else.

It's not a sugar coated account of getting a second job either, I've been very upfront with the bad as well as the good. As Dave Ramsey says, "You have to live like no one else" (meaning you have to buckle down and take the first step in the process. The Date and I put all of our bills in front of us and we decided together that we were going to do this. She doesn't want me working two jobs anymore than I want to work two jobs but that's the way out of this right now and the way into a better house in a better neighborhood.) "so later you can live like no one else!"

The rest of the sentence is the icing on a tough cake to bake. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and it's really there! It's of your own making, your own labor will produce that pot of gold. If there is two of you in a household get on the same page first of all about committing to this. Second figure up your bills from smallest to largest, and put the calculator, pen, and paper to use and see how long it would take to snowball your way to that pot of gold.

Then figure out your income and how you can add to it to make the snowball really rock down that hill of debt! If we can do this then I know you can and if you have two full time incomes then you can do this much faster than we can! I know you can! This Friday we'll pay off at least one more bill bringing the total to six I believe! In three weeks we've knocked out six bills, six bills that will never bother us again!

What can you do?

Eye on the prize!

Johnny Cash The Killer

Changing up the tempo of the blog today to talk about a TV episode I saw the other night on Netflix streaming. I do enjoy Columbo quite a bit. You see who the killer is at the start of the episode, you see their ingenious plot to pull off the perfect murder, and then you see the seemingly bumbling yet disarmingly brilliant Lt. Columbo solve the case with lots of brilliant questioning.

Lots of times at the end you see the killer catch themselves in a trap that Lt. Columbo has laid for them. They usually go quietly and are relieved that they have been captured by such a mild mannered man.

The show ran as part of the NBC Mystery Movie weekly show in the seventies. You'll likely recall the whistling theme if not then it's on You Tube and it'd bring back memories:) Columbo shared the spot with McCloud and McMillan and Wife and after a while ran an hour and a half long. Unusual for a weekly show to run ninety minutes and unheard of today.

One of the few episodes I watched the other evening was with guest star Johnny Cash as he played a gospel singer who was parolled from an Arkansas prison and was being blackmailed and used by his wife to earn her lots of money for a tabernacle. He constructed an elaborate plot to get rid of her and the blackmail material and then Lt. Columbo was on the case and yes he caught him, yes Cash confessed and was relieved at the end, and yes it was a very good episode.

I do wish that Netflix would add the rest of the show to the streaming side as right now there are only forty odd episodes available. To contrast that the entire Rockford Files and Hawaii 5-0 is available as well as Magnum P.I.

When I have the spare time recently (which isn't a lot) I've been unwinding with a seventies or eighties mystery show. They are really quite the time capsule stored in my forgotten memory and make for a great diversion! I just wish Netflix would up their streaming library a bit more so I can get more Columbo without getting the DVD sent to us via snailmail.

The job went well enough yesterday, I was left with about six hundred pounds of rotten fruits and vegetables to be dumped though and it took me about forty five minutes to accomplish that. Not bad overall but I wound up with mushed up rotten peaches on my shirt which I did my best to clean off when I finished. The thought occurred to me then, this will be worth it though.

That's quite the attitude to have when you can really believe in your heart that what you are going through right now will be worth it in less than two years. No I don't believe the job will last two years at all, far from it actually but it'll last long enough to get a lot of this cleared up via Dave Ramsey's program!

Eye on the prize!

Sunday Sunday

Working four and a half hours today. That's what I worked yesterday as well. I forgot my schedule is now adjusted to the hours I originally wanted, roughly twenty hours a week instead of thirty. Now it appears that I'll be working roughly forty five hours every pay period instead of sixty.

It doesn't seem like much but believe me it is. It takes a toll on you after a while. This schedule is lighter by a few hours but I won't be rushing around after work to get back to work now.

It'll be a boost to my energy level and a bit off of my shoulders to carry.

Yesterday went well, it was nice to come into work and work before most other shifts were finished. That means that you actually get less of the junk work like carrying out the rotten veggies and fruits and more of the easier work such as stocking them. Tedious yes but it's money and it's a means to the end.

Eye on the prize!

Paydays Rock

We just figured our budget, we have leftover money! Groceries are bought, full tanks of gas, and payday is seven days away again! This week The Date and I both got paid, next week I'll get my paycheck and all is right with the world!

Leftover money from the budget! How cool is that?!

More than likely we'll hang onto the leftover until next payday and put it all onto paying off another bill, I'm pretty excited to see what bites the dust next!

I work from noon to six today and tomorrow, I get Monday and Tuesday off though in the evenings! This is working so well right now that I'm starting to look forward to going to work, how strange is that?!

More Serious

We don't know 100% as of yet but Ramfan and I believe that the pc died of a motherboard failure. It makes sense and that's what the diagnosis signs point to. No matter, we have a laptop to work on in the mean time.

I'll be looking for a barebones system that I'll have to assemble and I'll build our next system when the budget allows. It'll be a nice challenge and it won't take long to get things going again, perhaps a few weeks to a couple of months.

My evening off was very nice. I enjoyed doing very little but watching The Night Stalker and Columbo on streaming Netflix. I work tonight and the weekend before having two evenings off in a row in Monday and Tuesday!

It's getting easier!

Eye on the prize!

PC Problems

I arrived home from work yesterday, the main job, to see the family pc locked up and dead acting. I rebooted it to no avail. I believe the hard drive locked up and failed. I'll ask my friend today what he thinks as a second opinion.

I'll do a proper diagnosis tonight when I get home again. I'm off this evening and I'm very happy about that!

Easier

Last night was easier although it was a long and busy night. The second job will start paying off tomorrow as it's my first payday. I work tonight and get Thursday night off leaving me Friday night to work.

They fired one guy who had attendance problems, he didn't like working there anyway. I don't see why he had a problem with it. He acted like it was the hardest thing in the world. Go find another job where everyone pretty much leaves you alone. In this economy yeah, go find another job and see where you wind up with no skills and whatever experience you have from working at Walmart.

If he thought he hated working there he'll really hate working for a place that micromanages you and is on your tail every second of your shift. It's really getting easier for me. I don't dread getting out of the Tahoe anymore to go clock in anymore. Yeah it's hard getting off of one shift and going home to change clothes only to go work another five and a half hours.

It'll be worth it though. What's a few months of harder labor compared to a lifetime of financial security. When you've got your EVERYTHING paid off and a savings account on hand to use if you need it. When the money you earn is going into your pocket instead of creditors and when you have a special feeling when you go to sleep. It's the same feeling we dream of having that drives us to play the lottery on occasion.

The odds are better with a part time job though. I mean unless you know someone who's been attacked by a shark, after they've been struck by lightning, two times....while on a road trip to Idaho.

Tomorrow is bill paying day. The Date and I get to decide on who gets paid next, write the checks and get them gone! That's an exciting day now! I used to dread paydays...in fact the payday before this last one where we started our snowball I dreaded. I hate being paid and being broke five minutes later after you pay your bills online. It's not a good feeling.

I imagine that's what the miners of old felt after they were issued company coin for pay and it was only good at the company store. That's a similar form of what we have with today's credit card system except it's voluntary and you don't have to work in a coal mine to get into trouble.

So tomorrow is payday, at least one more bill will be paid off completely making the total six paid off out of seventeen I believe which includes the mortgage and two cars. If it's more I'll make sure to blog about it for those of you who are keeping track of our progress:)

The Decision

The Date and I have decided to take Dave Ramsey's Baby Step program and alter it a little bit. Since I'm working a second job I'd like to be in the position to quit it sooner than the step program would allow. Meaning in step three the idea is to build a three to six month emergency fund. Step four is putting your retirement into place. Step five is to fund college and step six is to pay off the house.

I want to include the house into step two which is the debt snowball. Since we really don't have a lot of consumer debt, credit cards, and such things our biggest bills would be the vehicles and mortgage.

Step four is completed for me. I have a 401k and a pension plan. I'm kicking in 8% right now to the 401k and on October 1st I'll be putting in 10% and work it up to the required 15% automatically. It's got years to grow so it'll do fine and nicely supplement the pension plan.

Since I'm already working two jobs and the second job is getting easier I like the idea of swapping steps six and three, although step three is very important and vital to the overall financial health of a family. I want the house paid for sooner and with step four already in place I feel comfortable with it. The debt snowball will include the mortgage and it'll be paid down substantially or off completely before moving on.

It's a bit late to fully fund a college fund for The Things as one of them will be going off to college in less than two years, The Date is already in college, and Thing 2 is a freshman in high school. That step is not irrelevant but by the time they go to college we will have everything including the mortgage paid off and possibly have a new mortgage by that point. The Date will likely have a full time job and we'll be in the position to financially help both Things.

As I've said earlier and I've been reading a lot of accounts that a lot of step twos have over fifty thousand in debt to pay off before proceeding to step three. We don't have that. To me and our situation (and to allow me to quit the second job faster) it makes sense to include the mortgage in the snowball. It'll open up more of my income to going to the other things we want to accomplish, it'll allow the second job to go away at will, and it'll put us into the housing market to find a bigger house and have a substantial down payment on the next house.

That's the decision!

Eye on the prize!

Monday Monday

Not much in the mood to write this morning but I'll soldier on. Work was funny yesterday, they had three people including myself scheduled and then after I went home at six they had no one. Ouch.

I'm not sure how that played out but I'm positive that it wasn't good.

I did my shift, things went well but got very busy. It's the way it is for now. The Date worked up our minimum budget that will be our baseline plan. It'll be what we go by as it's the most realistic, we'll be saving a ton of interest and years off of our cars and especially house payment.

Best of all we'll be in a fabulous position to purchase any reasonable house we will want in just a couple of years instead of the better part of a decade. That keeps me motivated to stick it out with a part time job until I can't stand it any longer. I can do that as long as we are making progress like we currently are.

We're making great strides to start with as a lot of the smaller medical bills are either paid for or will be this week as The Date and I both get paid. I got my paystub online and it's more net than I expected it would be. Thus it'll be a bigger help than I expected it would be and go further:)

Honestly I didn't figure it would add up as fast as it would but it did, I was genuinely surprised at the total that fifty nine hours paid me, it's not a lot but when you've got a real job to go to every day fifty nine hours is a lot. As I said though it's ok as we are making a lot of progress right now:)

The Day

I was at work when it happened. We had heard that a plane had hit the WTC and it sounded like an accident. We pulled up the news website and saw the first pictures. It was bad.

Then we heard heard about the other three planes that were hijacked. Then the whole world changed forever as we came to the realization that we were under attack. We had been punched a few other times and didn't do much to retaliate such as the WTC bombing, the African embassy bombings, even the USS Cole. Now they really wanted our attention and got the world's attention in the process.

We went to one of the shops that had a TV, the second plane had hit the WTC and then it fell. It came crashing down to the ground and everyone was speechless at this horror, this real life horror and nothing was funny anymore. We lost our collective voices and the nation's tears flowed.

The Palestinians danced in the streets in celebration at this tragedy and we stood silent. The world learned the name Osama Bin Laden and then the world changed again as we became the hunters.

After a manhunt that lasted the better part of a decade we found him and we killed him. We destroyed the greatest part of the Al Qaeda network and neutralized a large part of the Taliban.

Today we are still fighting and we are still learning and we are still vigilant. We have not forgotten.

God help us and God bless us.

Nice Night Off

I came home and did as much nothing as I could handle!
I made some cheddar biscuits, planted myself on the couch and turned on Netflix streaming on Thing 1's Xbox.

I then proceeded to browse many different movies and TV shows. I watched a large part of The Andromeda Strain and then later went to Conan. That is such a great movie! It does indeed hold up after so many years, it is shot like a movie should be shot and not like the CGI laden Conan reboot.

Then I headed off to bed to await my love after she finished with the show and cast party. They had a perfect show and she loved it! I'm glad! We both had great nights!

Twenty Two Months

We have our final budget picture now! Ran the numbers three times to make sure it was correct and yesterday The Date put it into action! We paid off five full medical bills yesterday! Granted they were small but that doesn't matter, they are paid off and the debt snowball is rolling now!

We will have everything including the house paid off in less than twenty two months with no extra sources of income. If we get an additional source of income for example, child support, income tax return, etc, then the debt snowball rolls to a stop in just sixteen months instead of twenty two! We are talking mortgage, cars, everything that has money owed on it will be paid off!

All in all this is exciting and something to work towards! I've read a hundred stories on Dave Ramsey's app about who paid off what and in how much time. There are some amazing stories too but on our income this is not out of line. Our debt is relatively low as I've blogged about many times. That's our ace really, we don't have crushing monthly payments on a credit card that'll never be paid off.

I get paid today and again in six days so yesterday was the last day of being broke! We have a food budget, gas budget, and bills budget. It's flexible but if we stick to it then it'll take us to a land of financial peace in no time really!

I'm excited about it and it'll be easy to see it working because it'll be on a weekly basis. We'll pay on the lowest bill every single week and depending on the amount of income available from my first part time check it'll knock out another bill or two! And so on and so on and so on.

I also figured up what our budget would be like with no part time job and honestly it was exactly what was happening. The numbers didn't lie at all. We would continue to lose ground each payday as we were. It sucks to be broke before payday even gets here, now we aren't and the prize has taken shape!

Eye on the prize!

Sort Of A Day Off

I didn't work at Walmart last night, had the evening off. I also took half a day off from my job to come home and rest up a bit. At any age two jobs is tough although I confess when I worked eighty plus hours a week when I was twenty it sure was easier then than it is now to work seventy hours a week.

I came home and had a short nap before taking Thing 2 two the dentist. That took a while but I got her some ice cream later on. I did have the time to make some enchiladas before heading off to film the rehearsal tonight though which went very well.

This is a very polished show now, I'm very proud of The Date and her efforts over the past few months in developing her character and getting her lines. For a while I'm fairly certain I was getting the lines down as well as she was and I know that Thing 2 had them too.

I missed the GOP debate last night but it was worth it to see my baby on stage again! Very good show!

Sounds like so far that even with Governor Perry in the race that we haven't seen anything we haven't seen before. I'm still hoping for that perfect Cain/Paul ticket and that Romney fades away fairly fast. He's a moderate at best, probably a conservative for the northeast but here where I live he's a liberal. I wouldn't mind seeing Perry with the nomination either barring my dream ticket. He's a conservative for sure and will recognize the problems and address them as I read this morning he did with our entitlement programs.

I'd rather opt out of social security, I want no part of that program in my future retirement. It's not right to ask people who haven't been born yet to pay for my retirement. I believe that the generation is coming that will believe that as much as I do as well. If you want to stay into the program, fine, don't care but I want out of it and to keep my money that I earn and set it aside how I see fit.

I'm not thrilled with the rest of the field. I'm not seeing much that distinguishes them from one another yet, they are all arguing on who is more conservative at this point. With that said I'd still take any single one of them over what we have now!!! We have fifty years of liberalism to repeal and undo and it'll have to start with this election cycle. We've got the House, we need the Senate and the White House full of conservatives who will stop fighting each other for four years and start defeating liberalism.

We don't need the McCain type in Congress anymore, yes he was a great war hero but now he's a moderate at best who would rather compromise than stand on principle when the country is in desperate need of conservative heroes. Liberals are outnumbered by three or four to one and if you don't believe me than look into the ratings of the liberal themed shows. Air America anyone? That troubled network crumbled long ago and was never stable because no one listens to it! MSNBC? Look at their ratings compared to Fox! It's not even close!

I work tonight but tomorrow evening I'm off again and plan on doing a lot of nothing when I get home!

Eye on the prize!

Evening Off

Last night was the end of the six day stretch of working at Walmart. It went well enough and I kid you not, I cleaned maybe two to three thousand jalapeno peppers. I cleaned out the bin they were in because I could smell a couple of bad ones in there somewhere. I started digging and sure enough, there were a few that had turned mushy.

So the only way to fix the situation was to clean the bin which took me about two hours. Then when I started to put the peppers back in I had to go through each individual one to make sure they were good so by hand I took a paper towel and inspected every pepper.

That was the joy of my night but you know, it was mindless work that required me only to stand up and look over peppers. I put my brain on pause for a while and escaped things for a bit.

Tonight and Friday are my days off this week. I plan on doing nothing but coming home Friday after work and doing as much nothing as I can handle, tonight though I'm shooting the final dress for the current show, costarring The Date:)

Things are going well enough though. I'm glad things are turning around and the light at the end of the tunnel is there and we should be passing through it in a few months!

Eye on the prize!

Very Tough Waking Up

Yep, Beersnob and I finished putting up fence panels yesterday. Not a hard job but it required some lifting of wooden panels and screwing them into place. It took us about three hours including a trip back to Lowe's for more and longer screws.

After that I made us some Buffalo Chicken Dip, good for football days, easy recipe:
A can or two of Hormel chicken breast, a bottle of Franks Buffalo Hot Sauce, a bottle of Ranch Dressing, cream cheese and mozzarella cheese.

You can literally have this heating up in less than five minutes. Put the chicken in a baking pan, kind of separate it with a fork to make it finer, add the sauces (however much you want but I use a little bit and there is no wrong amount, add some of the cheeses. Again no wrong amount of cheeses just don't make it too saucy or too cheesy.

Put it into the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes at 325 and your done and ready to serve with chips. I used Tostitos Scoops. You've got game food.

After that I tried to rest up a bit but found myself unable to grab even a few minutes of sleep before heading too work. So I closed my eyes and tried to sleep anyway but failed at that so I showered and got ready.

Work was very busy last night, I started out with tomato bins, moved to the onion bin and that took much of my evening. Our zone manager came over to me and said "Thank you, I need people like you here. I don't have to watch you and I know you'll do a good job. I just want to say thanks." That really made me feel pretty good! Yes it's a part time job but come on, how often do you get complemented at work? I mean you just started and finished a full week and you've already established yourself that well?

So that was my day and then I read this article! Want to know how tough it really is out there? Want to be grateful for the job you have? Want to gauge yourself against the rest of the working class that make this country turn each day?

Be thankful if you have a job, this country is changing right now and we really don't know the full ramifications of this "hope and change" right now. I'd like to think that this full fledged experimentation with liberalism has taught the voting public how bad it can get with liberals in charge. We do not know what the landscape will look like in another couple of years after this fundamental shift away from prosperity and American values that made this country great.

If you are unemployed I'm sorry for you, especially if it wasn't your fault and your company left for a more business friendly country. Our government is against businesses right now. They hate prosperity and find it evil. I cannot stress this enough, when they demonize "corporations" they are demonizing workers. A corporation is not some kind of alien entity of and unto itself, it's made up of people who create more jobs for more people.

Yes I'm working for two big corporations and the hours are tough, I'd wager you work for a corporation as well. Big or small a corporation is just people dear readers and those people make this country work.

Eye on the prize!

Labor Day

The day we use to celebrate labor in this country, a grand day! It's cool, calm, and very nice outside. This week should be the herald to fall and the wonderful weather it brings. After such a long and hot summer, fall will be a nice reprieve many will look forward to!

Work was ok yesterday. It went fairly fast and the coworkers are pretty nice. The weekends are very busy and as I said it goes by very fast that way. The evenings go by a little bit slower and there aren't as many customers around. Either way I rarely see anyone from management around. It's like we are on an island in produce and they only come see us when something needs to be changed or checked. Other than those reasons they don't come around apparently.

No matter, I've got the job down so far in a little over a week. It's not rocket surgery, get fresh produce from the back, replace produce in the front when it gets low. Take out the stuff that has gone bad and throw it away. Um, that's pretty much it. I'd recommend it if you are in need of a part time job even, it's easy enough work.

So tonight I'll labor on labor day from 1630 to 2300 and get one day closer to the weekly paychecks that will be so very nice!

Eye on the prize!

The Draft

We had our keeper league draft yesterday and it was really a lot of fun, at least for what I stayed for. I'm sure it was a lot of fun after as well but I had to go to work.

Ten and I had a nice chat about the economic times and he was completely correct, incomes can't buy what they could even a year ago let alone two years ago. We could be doing pretty well on one income three years ago in my family but now as you dear readers know I'm now working two jobs to not only make ends meet but to gain a long term advantage in our finances.

Ten literally told me that I was doing what I had to do, that should be the rally call of the country right now. Do what you have to do to get by until things change, until D.C. has changed hands, and until this country gets back to it's rightful path.

Who knows what uncertainties there are in the future but thankfully I know that we will be prepared for many of them. Our bills will diminish exponentially thanks to a very unexpected source. Literally a miracle happened yesterday, we received child support two times in a week! Early last week I was uncertain how we were going to make it through this coming week until payday on Friday and now we are in very good shape! We can't plan on it as it is very sketchy on when it comes in but it will take a lot of pressure off of me if it does.

It was totally unexpected as it had not happened in months, so if you don't believe in miracles then come talk to me about it. Now we can stock up on groceries, fill up our cars with gas, and get our budget underway!

We had it figured to where it'd take so long with just the income we had and it'll go that much faster if we get a steady stream of child support on top of that. Probably at least twice as fast but I haven't taken the calculator to it yet.

The clouds are parting, blue skies are above, and the sun is coming up!

Eye on the prize!

Busy Day

This morning I'm going to participate in a couple of rounds in my keeper league football draft, after that I'm headed back home for some rest and to change clothes before heading to work until six.

Thing 1 is camped out on the couch with very swollen cheeks and asleep on pain medicine. Thing 2 works today, The Date works today, and I work today. We are quite the industrious family.

It's ok, there will be lots of tremendous benefits from this labor soon enough, actually starting on the ninth actually! That's the day that will mark a weekly paycheck from then on as long as I work two jobs.

That's the day our freedom and our security begins!

Eye on the prize!

First Night Of Real Work

I've learned that it's the first thing people see so there's a push to keep it all looking organized and fresh. I've also learned that like my real job my second job is also short handed so putting a new guy in there isn't going to be a lot of help for a while.

I was on my feet from the time I got there until I clocked out, I was tired by the end of the shift. I know the pace seems hectic right now but it's not that bad of a job. It literally reminds me of when we were on strike and I was a delivery driver. When we weren't delivering food we had to do stuff around the place like washing dishes. This is exactly like that. I can take a huge bin of whatever vegetable there is, empty it, clean it, and fill it again after taking out all of the bad stuff and fill like I washed a sink of dishes.

It's mindless, it's busy, and it's paying me. You don't have to think about it, just find a bin that needs filling, find the stuff that goes there, and fill it. Sometimes the stuff that goes there is out though and you can't do anything about that.

The night will go by fast because you can keep busy, likely as busy as you want to be as I'm pretty much by myself. I'll get used to the hours in a while, I can do all of the lifting and such already without a problem but I'll get stronger doing that much on a nightly basis. I'll also look forward to the day when I can cut my hours in half and if things go right that won't be very long!

Eye on the prize!

Six Days

Tonight starts a six day stretch working a second job without a day off. The good thing is that I get off at six o'clock on Saturday and Sunday and I'm off from my normal job on Monday for Labor Day!

I'll basically have three half days to work during the six days. As long as I keep my hours up it'll be fast and go well, just a long stretch until my next payday and then we won't be living so close the wire anymore, that's why I'm doing this! Nine days to my main payday and then I get paid every single week I keep the second job after that! That is so refreshing to me and us, it's going to be great to get this rather small monkey off of our back! I'm glad it's not a gorilla, it's more like a tiny squirrel monkey. (I think that's a real breed and it sounds much smaller than a gorilla, can't find a picture though. Just proof I'm keeping my sense of humor through this experience.)

Despite my dread of working two jobs that's more than a relief to me and makes this very worth it.This schedule will help me over the next six days too, I won't be as worn out as I would have been if it had been six full days. I even get next Friday night off out of this schedule!A friend/coworker at my first job was laid off about ten years ago, maybe a bit longer. He literally worked three jobs to make ends meet before he got called back. I'm glad we are in much much better shape than that and I'm not forced to do that. I would if it came down to it and there was no alternative but we aren't in that situation and I don't:)

Yesterday Thing 1 had her four wisdom teeth removed. She's pretty sore and swollen but is doing ok. She can't talk and can barely eat or drink but it'll get better day by day. She'll hurt a little less tomorrow and a little less the day after that. In two weeks she'll be as good as new again!

Eye on the prize!