I am so Pathetic

I am so pathetic.

Over the past few days I have become fascinated with a story. This story is about two young women who meet and become fast friends. Over the course of a year they are there for each other through earth shattering break-ups, new romances, scandal, failure, and success. One of the women becomes pregnant (and enters a loveless marriage) by someone the other does not like, this puts a rift in their friendship that only ends when the other experiences a personal tragedy. The death of her fiance. I am so caught up in this story that when I read of the death I went to bed sobbing. As I am writing this my eyes are tearing up.

I can't believe that my life is so empty that fictional characters can bring me to tears.

The really sad part is this story is not literature. It is not a great work of fiction. It's not even a book.

Don't laugh.

It is a Japanese manga called "NANA".

I discovered the anime on T.V. and got so into the story that I looked it up online. Trust me, this is not one for the kids.

I need to get a life.

To Do This Month -February Goals

My goals for the month

Career
I. Complete Adobe Photoshop Lessons
1. Complete Lesson 1 (Chapters 1 & 2)
2. Complete Lesson 2 (Chapters 6 - 9)
3. Complete Lesson 3 (Chapters 10 & 12)
4. Complete Final Project

Finances
1. Rework Budget - Every Saturday

Health
1. Work out on the elliptical (30 min) - Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, & Sunday
2. Drink 61.6 liters of water (2.2 a day) - Everyday

Personal Growth
1. Research fashion magazines and subscribe to the best ones
2. Read a book about finance


Style
1. Try to sell unwanted clothing

After many failures I decided to trim my to do lists until I complete my graphic design course. I have 3 months to complete 6 modules.

That's what I get for procrastinating.

Personal Style

As you remember I got a new job 2 months ago, with this new job comes a new dress code. You may also remember my quest to find my personal style and become one of those women that look great all of the time. I spent a lot of time taking stupid on-line quizzes and reading online fashion blogs to no avail. During this time I noticed that my eye would always be drawn to cardigans, anything argyle, and woven oxford shirts. Then it came to me......

I AM A PREP. But not a boring prep, more like a "Modern Prep"

I love clean lines, classic shapes and colors.

Once I realised and excepted this fact it made clothes shopping a lot easier. Now I know to look for woven tops, sweaters and cardigans. Knowing this fact also narrows down the stores I have to go into to shop. I like what I see on web sites for J. Crew, Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, New York & Co., and The Limited. I've also seen some things I like at Target.

I have decided to name my style "Upper East Side Prep" (aka Charlotte York). I want my style to be preppy but with a stylish edge, striped shirt with an argyle sweater, animal print cardigan, etc.

Facebook Makes Me Sad

I was clearing out my inbox and saw that I had 12 friend request that I needed to respond to on Facebook.

Side note - I only signed up with Facebook so that I could view the page of a company I was interested in, not to reconnect with high school friends.

Anyway, looking at the pages of people I knew eons ago made me sad. It seems like all of their lives turned out better than mine. They are all in relationships, have kids, live in great cities with great jobs, basically..... they have lives. What do I have, 2 college degrees that seem worthless, a mountain of student loan debt, and a blog that it seems no one reads.

In high school, I was destined to succeed. Everyone knew it. I am so embarrassed at how my life turned out that when I do run into someone I knew back then I hide.

Why does it always seem that life worked out great for everyone but me.

Where did the time go

I looked around to day and realized that the month is almost over and I did not make any goals, I need to be ashamed of myself.

Not to say that I have been lax with my to-do list. I have been working hard to complete my on line courses that I have not had time to do anything else. I am so far behind that I will need to complete 3 courses a month for 3 months in order to finish everything on time.

So, I am going to wright January off as a bust goal wise and start fresh in February.

1 Down, 3 To Go (Redo)

I'm sorry I've been MIA, I am working fervently on my online courses so that I can complete them on time and not have to pay for an extension. But ......

As of 30 minutes ago my Master Card has been paid off!!!!!!!!!

1 credit card down, 3 to go. I feel so light and free.

Next on my agenda is my American Express. I hope to have it paid off within 6 months.

Also, my savings account is up to $500, that is a lot for me. I am still dropping water in the bucket.

Wish me luck.

401k Blues

Sorry that I have been MIA, I have been working 12 hour days and when I get home blogging is the last thing on my mind. Sometimes I really hate being salary, at least when I was hourly I never worked more than 40 hours per week.

Anyway, I have been working toward my goal of paying off my Master Card and I am glad to say I am $170 away from that goal. I also have $450 in my savings.

I have also been reading up on finance, and in the near future I plan to open a Roth IRA. But here is my dilemma.

The good news is - my new company has a 401k. The match up to 1% of my salary 100%. From 2% - 5% they will match $0.50 on the dollar. I will be eligible to join in 11 months.

The bad news is - there are no investment options. They take the money to purchase their own stock. I am told I can sell the stock whenever I want but that is a lot to go through.

The question is, should I sign up for the 401k?

I know free money is great, but only having the stock of one company in my portfolio seems dangerous to me.

Help.