I should know better by now. I should know that when I ask, the universe delivers. I asked for money, and oh boy, am I getting it, but this is not what I had in mind!!The gelato shop owner loves me. Thinks I am a stellar employee, a great team member, all that. (May or may not have something to do with all the other staff not being old enough to drink.) After 4 shifts he gave me a raise to $15/hr and scheduled me for 9 days in a row - every single day right after my office job until ...
Money
What a weekend.
I went offline for a few days and a lot happened! Here are the details, with photos for your viewing pleasure.1. I spent a much-needed long weekend on the west coast of Vancouver Island in a lovely little oceanside cabin in the woods. It was so nice to relax after the whirlwind and stress of the last month and as I was graciously treated to a free trip, I didn't have to worry about money either!Me on the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet2. Bad news and then good news ...
A step in the right direction.
A few good things have gone on lately, which is a nice change!I took my new mask and snorkel out for a spin in the pool last night and they were awesome! Mask was a little foggy, but I might not have gotten all the manufacturer's film off the inside, and also my face was super hot because I was working so hard. It won't be like that diving (especially since the water is so much colder) and also I'll be using anti-fog spray when I dive, so I'm sure it will be fine. The semi-dry ...
A case of the Mondays.
I have a total case of the Mondays. Not loving it here right now! It's back to being regular rainy and gross Vancouver weather and that just bums me out even more.This is my desktop background photo, I like to look at it every day when I'm on the computer and pretend I am back there walking up and down the road. I can see my friends houses, the dive shops I did my courses at, and the bay where I did my confined water dives! I like showing this photo to people who don't believe me when I say ...
The things we do.
It's Sunday night and still nothing on the job front. I'm disappointed. I had no idea it would be this hard to get a part-time evenings/weekend job. I don't live anywhere near the big box stores in the suburbs...I guess I could get a job at one of those, but it would probably be an hour of transit each way. If it comes to that I will, but everyone cross your fingers for me that it doesn't!I did manage to get through the weekend without spending any money, and even made a tiny bit! It was my ...
New toys, new money.
An updated budget!But first... diving porn. Here are my new toys:That's right folks, this is the Atomic Aquatics Frameless Mask and matching SV2 Semi-Dry Snorkel (and if you know me, you know I love purple!)I got these bad boys (girls?) at the IDC Dive Shop thanks to the super awesome Royse, who so kindly gave me a discount on my purchase as I waited around the shop for a long time for him one afternoon while he helped other customers. They ...
Penny pinching.
I came across a really helpful guest post that Alex from Alex in Wanderland did for And Then She Saved called 8 Ways to Save Money While Travelling (Part 1 of 2). I am looking forward to reading part 2 of 2! (And I loved seeing the photo in the article of the Salva Vida from Alex's trip to Roatan!) I am totally addicted to the And Then She Saved site right now... this girl has gotten herself out of over $20K of debt and has a lot of tips for saving (including ...
The universe knows.
I love accurate horoscopes! Here are mine for today, first from the Globe & Mail and then the Vancouver Sun (thanks to my co-worker for reading it, laughing, and then showing me...and sorry to the rest of the Pisceans in the office, cause I totally cut it out of the paper): ...
Good to know.
I had the best/worst Skype date yesterday with one of the lovely ladies I met in Roatan, she is by far one of my favorite people ever... she's a scuba instructor at Enomis Divers (check them out if you're planning to dive in West End!) - and the video chat was so bittersweet! It was awesome to 'see' her but I was sitting alone in my apartment watching it rain/snow outside and she was across the street from the beach in a bikini and a constant stream of people were coming by to say hi ...
Today is a very good day.
I DID IT! I paid off the last bit on my credit card today. This is the first time ever that all my credit cards are at $0. It is an amazing feeling!! I wish I could have put all that money towards my trip but at least I can go with no debt now. I'm going to cancel two out of the three cards I have and put the other one in the freezer. Never again!! I plan to post an updated trip budget either tonight or tomorrow as quite a few things have changed on it already.In other exciting news, my ...