I dont get it. Still no reimbursement check. And now the student government screws things up and the bus subsidies are no longer quite as substantial... I'm going to have to pay $60 instead of $45 each month for a bus pass... ugh. What else can go wrong?

Who knows.

Other than that, I've been doing really well not doing any uneccesary spending. Well, except yesterday I got dinner with friends. I only spent $9, but that was still money I shouldn't have spent. I guess you have to live a little though. I didn't put it on the credit card either. I get to send off my internet bill tomorrow because I picked up my paycheck and it just covers it. Thankfully I get my last paycheck here on friday, so I may have cash to buy groceries too. Yippie! haha.

I have been good with tracking how much I'm spending as well. The weekend got a bit shaky. I guess there was some uneccesary spending there too. I spent $20 at the hookah bar. I of course have my own hookah at home... but it was fun nonetheless to go out with my friend. We dont do it nearly enough. BF paid for just about everything else this past weekend, which of course made me feel awful. But I really cant afford anything right now, and he knows that.

This weekend hopefully will be a bit less expensive. Thursday night BF and I are going out with a group of friends to a tiny comedy club downtown that I didn't know existed and apparently only costs $3 to get in. That's pretty sweet. Friday night there are people coming over to my apt to smoke the hookah and eat and drink. That should be pretty low-cost. We have to buy some shisha, but aside from that, we're set. It's the remainder of the weekend that will be tricky. We tend to go out to eat way too much when BF is in town. I'm going to have to cap down on that.

Good news, though. I think I've found a roommate. I may have already mentioned it, but it looks like it's going to be a for sure thing.

Oh, and I think I'm moving to Ohio for the summer! This is going to be substantially cheaper than living here in PA. I'll probably stay with BF for the few months. And possibly go to school as well, I worked some numbers today and it seems that I can save a couple thousand dollars in educational costs by going a semester in Ohio, if my university will let me. I have some people to talk to tomorrow.

Oh, and BF got the job he applied for!

Oh, and I got a 100% on an exam I took last week!

So I guess there's some happy stuff hidden in here too

So I finally sat down today and worked out my budget for the next few months. It's going to be incredibly tight, but I think I can pull off stretching my loan money until I get a new job. Why? Because I quit today. Something about soliciting people for money over the phone just doesn't jive with me. And dreading work on your 5th day just doesn't seem right. Call me crazy...

So that's good news. The bad news is that I'm still waiting on that check, though it should be here soon. Hopefully REALLY soon. I have my internet bill to pay...

I sold a game yesterday and rolled some change. I also get my paycheck (one of two) tomorrow. I need to get that into my account, because I need to buy a bus pass and groceries! I've been shopping at Giant Eagle for the last couple weeks because I haven't been able to touch my checking account and Aldi doesn't accept credit cards. I'll have enough cash to shop at Aldi this week, which will help quite a bit.

I've got my grocery list all planned out and my dinners planned for the week. Should be a light grocery bill.

Me and a couple friends are having a girl's night tomorrow, which I'm pretty excited about It's been a while, and I'm stoked. I just need to watch the spending a bit. BF is coming down on Saturday to stay for a couple nights too. It gets a bit pricey when he's in town... we tend to dine out a lot. I'm gonna have to let him know that we'll be cooking at home for the most part, well, unless he wants to cover dinner

I'm looking forward to not wanting to rip the hair out of my head. I've been so exhausted for the last couple weeks. I really dont have 12 hours a week to put into something not my studies. And my studies have suffered. Because I haven't had as much time, because I get stressed and can do less work, because when I'm tired I get cranky and my relationship suffers, which stresses me out more. lol. It's just not worth it. I'll find a job sometime later in the semester. As long as I have one by may I'll be fine. And by May 1 I'll be living in an area with much more to offer in the way of job options. I'll find something at least for the summer.

For now I'm just happy things are back to normal and I can continue focusing on school

Well then... It's been a while. I think September was my last entry, and I can definitely say a lot has changed. So... here goes.

In October I quit my job at the restaurant. I decided that investing more time in school was worth the lack of paycheck, and I began living on student loans. I still think it was the best decision I could have made. The rest of my semester went wonderfully, and there are exciting things going on in the educational world of Tara.

I never did get a car. The BF continued pressuring, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a terrible idea. After quitting my job, there was no way to do it anyhow, so I still remain without car.

The biggest news yet: BF and I broke up. Thanksgivingtime. It was long in coming, and the best thing I could have done. Cant say it wasn't messy, but we're finally at a point where we can talk and be civil, so I'm a bit happier about it all.

He moved out that week, so I've been living alone since. I've been having a terrible time finding a roomie because I live so far outside of the city. The problem is, however, that I cant pay my bills without getting a job because not even my student loans will cover the cost *sigh*. Lease is up May 1. Counting down the days...

I spent the entirety of my winter break at home with family and old friends. I mooched off my parents, which was cool, and also kindled sparks with a very old friend, who is now the new BF as of Christmas[dont waste any time, do I??]. Things are going very well at the moment, though I'm busier than ever. Not only do I have mounds of schoolwork to do, but now I try and get it all done during the week, because new BF lives in Ohio.

I move to PA to be with boyfriend, break up with boyfriend, then get new boyfriend in OH. Sweet irony.

People ask me if I'm going to move back to Ohio. Likely not, because I love my education here way too much (despite the fact that I could get one far cheaper in Ohio). The fact of the matter is that I'm in a terrific program that is everything I could ever want. And I've only got til the fall and I'm finished. If only I could decide what I want to do after I graduate... haha.

So I mentioned the roomie problem. Yeah, well that's still going on. I got a few interested parties, all of whom were male and strangers. Needless to say I'm still rather apprehensive, and no one has offered to move in. Thus, as of last week, I started at a new job.

I'm a phone-canvasser for a political non-profit/advocacy group trying to push through environmental legistlature. It's $11/hr, with potential bonus after 3 months, and I like it so far. Not my preference above all, but it's good money and it's a good cause. I get to work anywhere from 3-5 nights a week, and it works with my schedule.

The only downside is I dont get home til 10:30 every night. Last week was fairly tiring, but you'll have that. Gotta pay the bills! I'm hoping things work out with the job, and I dont completely lose my sanity. I really didn't have 12 hours a week to sacrifice, but it could be worse, I'm sure. And I dont really have a choice in the matter.

Still super involved at school, and I'm having a fantastic semester thus far.

The only trouble I'm running into now is financial (obviously). I'm still waiting on my loan check and W-2. I need to get my tax refund soon because I need to pay off some of my credit card (which I've been living on due to the delay on my loan check... ugh). Not to mention, I had to practically re-furnish my apt, so a trip to IKEA got me a futon, a coffee table and seating cushions, a small dining room table and 2 chairs, a lamp, and about $500 more debt. That tax refund is going toward all that. Yay fun.

I am happy to report, however, that I'm still on my parent's insurance and have managed to get new glasses for relatively cheap, and went to the dentist for the first time in 2 years now, for free, and had no cavities! woo!

So yeah, as soon as this loan check comes in I'll be listing some goals and refiguring my spreadsheets. I just need to know what I'm working with in order to budget. So wish me luck. I'm a busy, busy girl! haha.

Hope all is well with everyone, and I look forward to getting back into the groove of things!