Fees

Warning to all you bankers. We have been banking with Bank of America for a few years now. As I was doing a routine browse of out statements I noticed a maintanece fee of 9 dollars. It happened again on the previous statement too. I looked it up and it indicated that we have this fee cause we aren't maintaning a certain amount in our accounts. Also we can't waive the fee because our companies don't offer direct deposit. So we go to the bank to talk about our options. Apparently this fee spreads across our other accounts. The amount we need to maintain is higher than we are able to keep in there at one time. The teller didn't seem to understand that our lifestyle is very different than most. She didn't understand that we don't get offered direct deposit and she was at a loss when we said that I get paid in cash everyday. The look on her face made me realize the she wasn't going to help. I was infuriated that we are paying for the bureaucratic, CEO salary for someone to press a button and stare at a screen 9 dollars every month and that people can't see past their regular life and notice a life that isn't the typical 9-5. I immediately called other banks to compare. Although they also suggest direct deposit, they also DID NOT charge maintanence fees. I closed one of my accounts and once that gets here we will close the rest and move our money to a bank that doesn't try to take money for rediculous purposes. What a world this is.

Thoughts

My dog is the cutest thing ever. She had developed this stance of laying alond the back of the couch with her little hind paws stretched out behind her. She also has a biological clock at 1030 every morning, if Jason and I aren't awake, she will take it upon herself to wake us up by stepping on our head or face and licking us. Can be annoying, but you can't help but love her like a human child. We want to get her a friend so she isn't alone when we are working. Jason has a friend that has a dog they want to find a home for. Jason is very impulsive and would have taken the dog in a second. However, he has me the voice of reason that said we can't afford another dog while living in these apartments. I told him to tell the friend to hold off til April unless another owner can be found. I feel bad, but rent on top of dog rent on top of bills and another major issue we are dealing with adds up to money strains.

Christmas was a good one. we bought a 37" flat screen TV for our christmas gift to each other. Its the bomb. In our apartment it looks like a movie screen. We love it. Next is a sick sound system.

Once our lease is up in April we will try to find a place that is less expensive, and more spacious. We just have a few to many things for our little place. Its manageable, but storage is limited. Counter space is ZERO. As I looked online for places I was a little stunned to find that a house for rent is about 200 dollars cheaper than our apartment. I don't really get that. Besides the amenities available here I don't think the price is worth it. So I am excited to get a place with more space, a nice kitchen, storage, and no pet rent.

DUI

Why do people think they are invincible, indistructable, and responsible when they drink and then drive. People are stupid. IDIOTS! my friend has been battling his DUI for two years now just to get it dismissed. So much money and time for a simple phone call to a cab or friend would have avoided that situation in the first place. And why do friends (if they are friends) let thier fellow friends walk out of the bar or whatever drunk and not offer a way home even if they had been drinking but are totally sober enough to drive the person home or call them a cab. Friends....puh whatever, no trust there. It is the worst thing in the world to see someone you know shouldn't be driving sent away by thier friends and you don't know them but still worry about them. Tons of water and a little time and one could be sober to drive. it completely escapes too many people's common sense to remedy thier behavior and then redo it once they are safe at home. It is such a frustrating thing to see and know people that have been beyond stupid and paid the price. Yet they still never learn. What is it that makes them think they can drive safely home after having drinks. If you don't know your limit then you shouldn't even be participating in bar activity etc. So ridiculous. I am grateful for my up bringing and that I can be that person to care for friends that can't care for themselves.

work woes

All of us that have work are grateful and happy to provide for our families. I am grateful for my husband that works so hard everyday. He deals with so much and is always stressed about work. Believe me, he will talk in his sleep about work. It is that bad. Me on the other hand doesn't know how I feel about my job anymore. When I first started working there I was the work horse and would work anytime, anywhere. Than I started taking parties and actually had a couple I would have every week. I also started having shifts in the bar a couple times a week. And presently, I am now fully in the bar as a bartender/cocktailer. I didn't sign up for that. I am a server. I am not a fully trained bartender. I make far less money even if I have a shift by myself in the bar. A restaurant that is part of our corporation had closed and we took on a couple of people from that restaurant. Suddenly some of the senior staff's shifts are less and these new transfers are working the shifts we should be working. It is good to know that they trust me to be alone in the bar anyway. However, I must go back to the MONEY. Even on a slow night on the floor chances are I would make more than if I was in the bar. As a cocktailer, we pool the tips in the bar. so unless I close or stay on for awhile I don't make a lot. It is frustrating. I don't want to say anything cause for some reason management can be very vengeful for stating your concerns. It is slow, I understand. But I can still make good money. I just don't know what to do. I will fight for my right to work during the holidays. Not in the bar either. Why does it need to be this hard to hold a position you have become established at. It is all complete crap.

travel channel

I love the travel channel. I like to watch a occasional Samantha Brown, lots of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmermn. They make it look easy, tasty, and entertaining. Now if only we had the money to follow their excursions. I find myself hesitant to travel to foreign places like southeast Asia or even south america. My taste in food is pretty basic and to dine in a foreign country just to try the food is a little scary. They are eating food sold on the streets and served from the most questionable kitchens (if that is what you want to call them). It is odvious that I have been brought up in sanitation and simplicity. I work in restaurants and I would never serve food from an open kitchen, with street smells, bugs, and people secretions buzzing all around. But there is also the problem that its hard for my stomach to take spicy foods. I am not a fan of the Hawaiian style of mango, pineapple, guava etc. mixes in food. And my husaband is a pork fanatic. So whats left our there for me to eat? I suppose I will have to settle with the kid classic, pasta and butter. I will never be able to follow these travelers in their culinary quests. I hope to at least see the sights.

citizenship

So in going through the process of changing my name, I was very happy to be informed by other newlyweds that you should hit the security office first. Good move. Next was the DMV to change my driver's license. I thought we had the correct documents. Marriage certificate, new social security card and previous driver's license. We fill out the paper work and are called to the window. He than asks if I have my birth certificate. What? Turns out, according to him, Utah doesn't check for US citizenship. Hello! that is new information. And being Arizona I can understand the concern with thier problems of immigration and all. However, Utah is a different story. As far as I knew I would check a box that said I was a legal US citizen. Apparently, not. So I had to ask my sister to send me a certified copy of my birth certificate. Now maybe I can get the ball rolling again so that bank accounts can be changed, car registration, and other important things. Note to all newly weds, start with the social security office first, make sure your state checks for US citizenship and have fun.

Open House

When we returned to Utah from our brief honeymoon, we had a lot to do. We were worried about it raining so we had to come up with a backup plan. We had to put decorations up and experiment with these really pretty floats that Candice created for the pool. We tried to decide what the setup would be and where the food would be. The day of the open house everyone was busy super cleaning, cooking, preparing, setting up, getting ready etc. Well it was raining all day! My aunt called about three times to reassure us that it was supposed to clear around the time the open house was supposed to start. We watched, an hour before the open house, rain pour from the sky, hail pelting the ground. Our street was practically flooding, the hail pretty much covered the ground and made our pool look like a slush puddle. We all were wondering what was going to happen. Well, once again God smiled on us and the rain stopped. We were running around so fast trying to get things setup I have no idea how we did it! Jason and I had seconds to get dressed in our attire. We were all so sweaty and hot from running around we barely had time to catch our breath before greeting our guests. The food was awesome! Severely overpriced, but good. We made ourselves the pigs in a blanket and bacon wrapped shrimp. We are awesome!! Everything was crazy, crazy, crazy, but in the end things cleared up and once again became Perfect.