unbibium

Insurance decided not to pay for my last two psychiatrist visits. OOPS. And I have another appointment this Friday.

I'm hoping it's just some clerical snafu, like they misspelled my birthday on a form or something.

So what's the best way to get Canadian dollars out of my Chase checking account? I neglected to cash up at an ATM before going through the checkpoint. The exchange desk at the airport was buying US$ at CAN$1.09 and selling at CAN$1.27, and something tells me I can do better than 8% commission if I go to the right place once I land.

US Airways Flight 506 leaves in an hour and a half. And it looks like my slacks are coffee-stain-resistant.

Someone in the office had trouble finding change for a $5, and had to borrow a dollar. I wondered why we don't have dollar coins by now.

I checked the US Mint's website, and we've been minting $1 coins with the first eight Presidents on them since 2007. And this is the first I ever heard of it. Other people in the office also had no idea.

Isn't the US Mint supposed to try to make the public aware of new currency?

On the bright side, they're the same weight and consistency as Sacagawea dollars, so the 60% of vending machines that support those will support these. But try spending them at a bar.

My aunt, who's a realtor, took me to a couple of houses in the area today. There's one town house that's perfect, and a great value. It's two bedrooms, everything's brand new, the kitchen is great, it has a washer-dryer, stairs, block construction, one-car garage, all that. The fact that it's under $150,000 and somehow not a shit hole, that's impressive, and it's a deal that might not last long, even in this market.

The problem is, when I told her my salary, she agreed that I was underpaid, especially considering that I've been working where I've been working for eight years. And she suggested that I seriously look for better work. And I hemmed and hawwed and gave her the usual excuses that salarymen give when they're feeling too down-trodden to put out a shingle. And she suddenly became concerned that maybe I shouldn't anchor myself down to the southeast corner of Scottsdale.

Except, they're trying to move us from hourly to salary, with an appropriate adjustment. I started at $15/hour in '00, and I'm at $22.11 right now. In the past, my excuse was that I hadn't been exposed to any technology that wasn't a specific invention of my own company. But now, my role has expanded, and I might be able to hold my own in another company.

But I think we all know what's really going to happen: I'm going to stay here and coast. So if I'm going to coast, I might as well be earning equity.

Also, even in that corner of Scottsdale, it's pretty damn easy to get into downtown Tempe by bus, and that's where the hot jobs are, right?

So I checked my account balance today and I was overdrawn by six dollars. Fortunately I had a $25 FSA check that I could deposit this morning; hopefully that means I've dodged any fee I'd have earned myself.

Usually I keep at least a rent check's worth of slack in there, so I don't have to worry about keeping my checkbook balanced. Eventually it would swell up to three months' rent, and I'd spend a few hundred of it on a little vacation. But that hasn't been working lately.

Inflation, weak dollar, bawwww. I think I just blew too much money on last year's move, and have been spending money emotionally. What I need is a plan. Here's a start:

1. Instead of having fast food for lunch, I'll have either leftovers or some cup ramen. Cup ramen will be my punishment for not having leftovers.

2. I'll return that book I got through amazon.com that I know I'm not going to read. Yes, it means I'm eating the handling charge. I'd rather get $25 back than have it take up space and earn me nothing.

3. Cancel GameFly. I originally thought I'd save money because games are expensive and I only play them for a week and forget I own them. A better plan is to just not spend money on games anymore unless it's that must-have one, like Super Mario Galaxy. If I need a new game, I can break out any number of old PS1 titles I still have in the shrinkwrap.

4. Remove the digital tier from my cable. I'm basically paying money for the privelege of leaving Attack of the Show on in the background.