Wants vs. Needs

So during the slow times at work I attempt to reach the end of the internet. Tonight I went through my e-mail box that I use for my occasional stuff. Anything less pressing goes to this "other" address. Tonight I was going through and found a link to an Oneida sale. I know that they have great things for the kitchen, so I sneak a peek.

Lo and behold, they have the dishware I want at a crazy discount! Instead of service for four costing $156, it only costs $50! I want it! And the design I want is available in round and square. I figure I'd get a set of each. They will mix well and then I'll have plates when I have more than one or two people over. I have put a little thought into this...

The downside is that I have dishes, and I don't NEED any more. I have some savings, but student loans are coming around, and I don't know what that will do to my finances. Do I really NEED to spend $100 on $300 worth of dishes? Not so much.

New Year Resolutions

I know it's a bit early, but I want to start planning now. I have a couple things I want to do. Most of it is just trying to clean up my life.

1. Pay off a certain credit card. It isn't the highest balance, but it's the highest interest. I've been slowly chipping away for years, but I feel like I should have made more progress. My goal is to have this ENTIRELY paid off by the end of the year. My credit and credit cards are a huge weight on me and I want to get rid of it. I have better things to pay for and now that I make a little more money, this is possible.

2. Shine my sink. It is the first step in using baby steps to tidy your home. My mommy has been part of FlyLady for years, and the house has been looking much better. It is all about doing little things for a little bit of time. An extremely messy room is a pretty overwhelming task to attack, but if you just work on it for 15 minutes, it is more manageable. You are more likely to work for 15 minutes than you would be to try to attack the whole thing at once. Then with the first 15 minutes down, you feel as if you accomplished something and you're more likely to return.

There are a lot of other things that I want to get into soon like taking more photos and learning how to use my grandma's old sewing machine. But those are little things that just require mustering up some patience to sit down and learn a few things on my own.

Any other resolutions out there yet? What about your resolutions for this year? How'd you do?

Green Energy

I have always been a bit of a tree-hugger. When we would go camping, I loved to just walk through the woods. Hemlock Gorge was always where I felt "at home" and would spend the majority of my time there. I haven't been there in a couple years and the last time I did go, it was after they had found and destroyed an infestation in the trees. I think it was the Emerald Ash Borer that had infested the trees, but the infested trees had to be removed so they didn't harm the healthy trees. Sadly, many trees had to be taken out. What was once my refuge had become open and odd to me. It was no longer home, but a strange place that hardly looked familiar.

Growing up, we also had recycling bins on the porch, and all we had to do was put the recycling out with the trash every week. It would be picked up in a separate truck and I was happy to be doing a little to help the environment.

Since I have moved out of my parents' house seven years ago, I haven't been recycling because I don't just put it to the curb for pickup. But since I've started my new job, the little voice in my head pushing for recycling is getting louder. At work I see a lot of paper and plastic waste.

I have been trying to print on the backside of old paper and refill my plastic bottle instead of getting a new one. When I'm done with the bottle I try to take it to my boyfriend's parents' house because they recycle.

Since I went to MIAT, I have been paying more attention to green energy and alternative energy. It is continuing to gain momentum and I'm excited about this. I have been thinking about getting a house for a while now, and I would love to use some form of alternative energy. I was thinking about solar panels, but they are pretty costly. Since a main focus of the training of the Power Tech Institute is wind energy, I have started thinking about that. A windmill in the backyard could be fun and a great learning experience.

I guess this is just my ramblings of wanting to do more and feeling pretty helpless about it.
Any suggestions?

Don't leave me alone with a coffee maker...

So tonight has been my first night on my own at work. It has been rather uneventful on the work front. I have released one aircraft so far. I have also had to call a pilot to ask about when I set up his Customs for a scheduled run... Overall, not anything exciting.

But in the world of things that happen at the office that could be messed up anywhere... Well, put it this way: I should not be allowed to go near a coffee pot. It doesn't matter how good the intentions are, I need to keep away.

Tonight, I decided that I would make a pot of coffee for the Hot Standby guys. They have to come in just in case the airplane on a scheduled run breaks. That way we have a recovery team waiting in case they are needed. Thank goodness they are not usually needed.

So I went to make the coffee... In my mind, you put coffee and a filter in the basket above the pot, then you add water, put the pot in place and press "Brew." It would seem that this is not the case. I poured the water in and within seconds, the "Ready to Brew" light came on. I took this as a good sign. That is, until rather warm water came running out. There was no pot, no basket, no nothing waiting for the liquid so it went all over.

I spent way too much time and way too many paper towels cleaning this up. (We have cheapie paper towels... they don't do much.) Anyhow, I made a mess, and I've learned from this. Don't go anywhere near a coffee maker!

Movin' on up!

Since I was last on here, I have gone to school, graduated at the top of my class, got my FAA dispatcher license. And my apartment even feels like a home.

So I am two months into my new job! I am now a "Flight Follower" at a company in Pontiac.

So many people ask what I do... it's hard to explain. I guess I do everything to make a trip go as smoothly as possible. I do paperwork, set up Customs, set up fueling and loading and off-loading.

Now my goal is to get rid of my debt. It has been hanging over me for far too long. My goal is that if I get at least one of my cards paid off, I will be that much closer to paying off the other one. I'm trying to spend less on gas by driving the Chrysler instead of my truck. I wish I could afford to get a "fuel-sipping economy car." I figure if I could find a car that could keep in line with my "car" account with fuel and payment included, I can afford it. But so far, it's not working out...

Now with the new job, I can get a commission check! I can use that to get ahead, or save up. I haven't figured it all out yet, but I will! I'm excited and a bit confused about my future, but I know it will all come out well as long as I keep a positive attitude.