I'm Connected Again

The internet is back up. I came very very close to switching my service from Qwest to Verizon. This morning the internet was still out so I called when I got to work. It is hard to call from home without the internet because I don't know any Qwest phone numbers. So, I make it through the whole recorded introduction (which, by the way, I hate with a passion...that guy's voice is SO annoying and I hate having to say my responses instead of pushing a button. Do you know how hard it is to hide the fact that you are making a personal call at work when you have to say everything so loudly and clearly so that the robot man can understand you???) and I was connected with a human who was just as unhelpful as robot man.

The customer service agent told me that I had to call from home so that they can run diagnostic tests on the line which I know is not mandatory because the last customer service agent submitted a trouble ticket for me without doing that. I told the guy that I had taken both of my modems outside and plugged them in to the pedestal and tried them with different phone cords and nothing worked. I knew it was not my problem. The last time the internet went out it was caused by someone cutting the cable with a road grader so I knew there was a good chance that this problem would get resolved, it was just a question of how long it would take.

But since the robot man and the customer service agent were so annoying and unhelpful I looked in to switching to Verizon. I was about to do it but Verizon requires a 2 year contract in order to get any discount on the modems and a $35 activation fee. And I looked up some reviews and there were some unfavorable ones that made me worry that I might not get a good connection in this rural area. I was concerned enough to give Qwest more time to fix the problem and when I came home today the internet was back up. I wish there was some way for Qwest to notify its customers that there is a problem in the area so that we aren't left wondering. I don't want to call the help number and listen to the robot man if I don't absolutely have to!

Anyway, it is good to be connected once again. 3 1/2 days without the internet is too long.

Oops, A Little Late

I completely forgot to post last night. I took the puppy to work with me again so that I wouldn't come home to a nasty surprise after work. I decided to go to the county fair with my sister and all the kids. A friend offered to puppy-sit for the evening which was great. The fair was fun. The food choices were the usual fair food...deep fried twinkies, snickers, oreos, cheesecake, just about everything that could be fried was fried. The boys had turkey legs. I ended up with pizza.

Then we went over to the rides and the kids had a blast. I have a lot of blurry pictures. After the fair I picked up the puppy, went home and went straight to bed. I was tired. This morning I got up and turned on the modem and I didn't have any internet service. I checked all the cables, no problem there. I didn't bother to call to complain to Qwest because these problems are often caused by construction or an accident and I don't want someone to have to come out to my house if it won't help. If I don't have internet by Monday morning then I will call them.

Anyway, for now I will have to settle for posting on my netbook at my sister's house. Good thing I have that option. They will only be here for 2 more weeks. After that I will have to go to McDonalds, a coffee shop, or the library if my internet goes out. Luckily, it doesn't happen often.

My Ebay Goal Is Not Getting Off To A Good Start

I listed 5 items last week and disappointingly, only one sold. The collectible cars just aren't selling now and the fact that it costs $10 to ship them is a big deterrent for people. Perhaps I will have better luck selling them on craigslist or at my spring garage sale. I originally intended to sell the cars at the local swap meet but I'm a big scaredy-cat when it comes to doing new things like that...it's part of my ISTJ personality, really. Plus the fact that I don't have anyone to give me a bathroom break makes the swap meet seem unattractive. It is also depressing to sell my treasured possessions for really really low prices. People just don't have the money to be buying extra stuff right now. I wonder if I should just hold on to it for a little while until people start buying again...or is that just an excuse to hold on to my stuff? Ah, I have an idea! Everyone is getting a Nascar diecast car for Christmas! Unfortunately, no one in my family is a Nascar fan. Now if they were footballs...

I have a few other items that might help me reach my $500 goal. An expensive watch that I won and a brand new water heater that I never hooked up. I have a copy of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace book too. I watched one sell on Ebay for 99 cents. That's not even worth the trouble. Perhaps I should give it away in a contest on my blog. At least that would be fun!

Packing For My Trip

I'm off to Spokane for a week. It rained last night (yea, more water!) here in Arizona and reminded me that I need to pack a jacket. After 100 degree temps last week I had put all of my long sleeved things in to storage.

I am flying non-stop on Express Jet. They just started offering non-stop flights last November. They were cheaper than anyone else too. This morning on the radio I heard that they are discontinuing their flights to Spokane as well as some other destinations. Bummer. Now the flight will take a couple of hours longer and cost more. Express Jet had newer planes too and a one seat/aisle/two seat set up that made it easy to get a window seat and easy access to the bathroom.

I probably won't get a chance to post while I'm away so the blog will be boring for a week and a half. When I come back I am house-sitting for 3 days so regular posting will resume June 3rd. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Procrastination Can Be Motivating

If I don't have any deadlines looming, everyday chores can seem boring and monotonous. But when there is something big that needs to be done, like taxes or a complicted project, I attack my chores with enthusiasm. Anything is more interesting than the bigger project.

The project that I am avoiding this weekend is the airbrushed flames project that I talked about here. I really need to just do it. I did briefly attempt some flames with spray paint but that was too messy. I have an orange-red thumb now though. I tried out the can of paint that is supposed to be the base color for the motorcycle tank but it is a purple kind of red. The orange red that I bought to practice with clashes terribly and the yellow paint is too old and won't spray. Oh well, I guess I get to go paint shopping again.

While I was avoiding my airbrush project I did 2 loads of laundry by hauling water to the washing machine. It wasn't too bad. It went a lot quicker than I thought it would and I am thrilled to have clean clothes again. I also spent way too much time trying to create a re-direct page for my web site. I was able to forward my blog to www.myfrugalfreedom.com successfully but it was a lot more complicated to re-direct myfrugalfreedom.com (without the www). I had so many help screens open that my computer froze. It was a good time to go for a walk. It was a beautiful day anyway and I was spending too much time indoors.

Hobbies Are My Weakness- Bought My Own Domain Name

I've been doing pretty well sticking to my budget so far. Ok, so I've only been following my new budget for one month. Today I spent a little bit of money on my blogging hobby. I bought a domain name. That's right. I bought www.myfrugalfreedom.com for one year. It cost $17. The domain only cost $9 but then they used scare tactics and say that if I didn't pay $8 to keep my information private I would be hounded by spam and identity thieves. I couldn't let that happen!

I haven't quite figured out how to redirect the blog to that address. I think I followed all of the instructions but I have to wait until the host updates their info or something like that. I tried switching it before I read all of the instructions and almost had a heart attack when my blog disappeared and all I saw was a parked web page with ads. I thought I had lost my whole blog! I was able to switch it back, whew. I'll try it again later.

The reason I wanted to buy a dot com web address was because my company blocked the dot blogspot sites. I thought that other people might not be able to see my site either. I think that a plain dot com address won't be blocked. I don't know if it will make a difference but I thought it was worth $17 to try it for a year. One good thing about this hobby is that I am learning about computers, code, advertising, writing, etc.... Learning new things is always easier when I am doing something fun.

Blogger Musings

Sometimes I read about other blogs and how much money they make and I am jealous. Sure it would be nice to make hundreds of dollars a month just by writing articles that appeal to the masses, but then it would become a chore, a job, another chain that keeps me from doing things I really enjoy. I read those blogs and I don't find them particularly interesting. Occasionally there is an article that I can relate to which is why I keep visiting them. I get so bored at work sometimes that ANYTHING is more interesting than data entry.

I really enjoy the personal frugal blogs. The ones that talk about the nitty-gritty, everyday ups and downs of living with and without money. Unfortunately, those are the ones that are blocked at work. That's probably a good thing. I might spend too much time reading blogs, then get fired, and then I couldn't afford the internet anymore. I don't think those blogs make a lot of money, they are a labor of love.

I should continue to chronicle my life on this blog and not try to change it just to try to make money at it. When something blog-worthy happens in my life I get excited about writing on my blog, taking pictures and trying to explain myself without sounding like too much of a crack-pot. I should utilize other avenues for income such as finding another renter for my house. I shouldn't let jealousy take the fun away from my little blogging hobby. Not everything is about making money.