Boredom at Your Door



Cologne in Germany



I used to get really jealous of people, especially when Facebook first took off... Most of my friends seemed to have wonderfully exciting lives judging by their status changes. They all seemed to work during the week, afford to take care of the kids, afford to play ball or another sport, afford gym memberships, afford shopping sprees, afford a trip to the salon for a trim or to have their nail chips filled in, afford dinner (or another meal) a few times a week, afford a new car/house/toy of some sort. Then every few months they seemed to be going on vacation, whether it be down to the good Ole US of A or some exotic location, Mexico or the Dominican Republic. The REALLY lucky bastards left for Australia or Europe.

Seemed to me that boredom was only knocking at MY door. That really chapped my ass! I was lucky if I could afford to take care of myself let alone kids or a pet. I'm still a renter and *gulp* still take the loser cruiser. I'm not a girlie girl, so I don't have fake/gel nails or a hair appointment problem (I dye my hair at home. I go in every few months to have a trim done as I'm trying to grow my hair as long as I can. And I've never been able to keep my OWN nails clean when they grew out, so there was no point in spending cash on fake ones.) I'm lucky if I can eat at a greasy fast food joint once or twice between pay days.... I do get to buy new clothes and a few odds and ends every so often, don't get me wrong. Being that I loser cruiser it up, forget a gym pass. I wouldn't have the energy/time to get there on work days, and why pay for something I'd use maybe 8 days out of a possible 30/31??? My exercise comes from walking to and from the bus stops. Any time I feel a lil too fat, I go for a long walk or if I'm in an ambitious mood, I go get groceries - now there's weight training for you! Don't believe me? Pack a 4 liter jug of milk 12 blocks (because you figure your close enough to home and don't want to look like an idiot riding the bus approx 4 blocks to make it easier) and tell me otherwise. (I've never been much of a physical activity kinda gal, but I'd love to lose about 40 pounds and would love a gym pass to do as much!) I moved to Edmonton in May of 2003, I'm originally from Vernon, BC. I've been a few places, no where further East than Edmonton. No where further South than Idaho and Washington state. So in other words, I've been to the USA and of course, Canadian places. I usually get back to Vernon for Christmas... That's it... LAME!!!!!! I know...

Most of my cash goes to good old fashioned bills. You know, the pieces of paper in your mail box once a month. (Or even more conveniently, in your email inbox every month.) I don't drink or party, you can usually find me drunk about twice a year. I don't use drugs, well, at least not the expensive ones. And I've recently quit smoking. (Yay for two days! No one's dead and I've got at least an extra $20 in my pocket.) Every month I seem to be broke though.... Here's why, rent paid? Check. Utilities paid? (Heat for me as arranged with the roomie who pays the electricity & Shaw Bill, which includes his land line and the cable aspect.) Check. Loser cruiser pass, or how would I get to work? Check. My student loans (both federal & provincial) for the education I'm not currently using at my job, Check. Credit cards get paid (Both the Visa & MasterCard because one or the other may not be accepted somewhere I'm shopping) check. Groceries, check (though some times that load is pretty sparse.) Cell phone, check. Prescriptions & surprise bills, check. (surprise bills usually occur for me when I get a few bucks, substantial bucks, in the savings account=0( And I started my current job a month ago = no benefits for at least another two months.)

I had screwed my credit back in the day, and it only took the 7 years here in Edmonton to get my credit rating back. The first time college, it was my first time away from home COMPLETELY by myself. I was immature and I did drink too much. I didn't have a student loan and my parents would only give me so much cash during the month. So, I was "responsible" and used the cash on groceries.... But, I applied for credit cards, got them, then proceeded to rack them up drinking and smoking cigarettes. (So now that I have my credit back, I've got two credit cards with low, low, low balances.)

Thanks to the Student Loans people, from my latest crack at the Higher Education attempt, I have a laptop computer. And one that I actually bought - not one that was passed down by my Dad. I have Internet at home, but it's pretty shotty when it comes to reception. Luckily, three months out of the 7 years in Edmonton, I did have a car. (Again, this was thanks to my Dad, I was making the payments but he set it up for me.)

So what do I do then, right? I make it sound like I can't afford to breathe! Well, I do read a lot. I've been known to write a poem or two, when I feel like being profound. I've mastered the lost art of letter writing... I mean who doesn't like getting a letter in the mail? Beats the crap out've BILLS!!!! I watch entirely too much TV, serious brain rot.... But I will not watch reality TV other than the news or UFC on occasion. When it's not suck ass cold/snowy here in Edmonton, there are a lot've places that I like to walk, and take pictures as a tacky tourist of sorts in my own city.

So, I'm no longer jealous.... Working on being less hateful. I'm not sure if people get to do all the things I'm not because of outside circumstances.... Whether those circumstances are FAT FAT FAT credit card bills, Mummy and Daddy are paying bills, an accident settlement or some large pay out (including the lottery) or they've got a spouse with a large pay day. (IE/ Doctors/Dentists/"Rig Pigs" etc) I'm also not sure if they've got high paying jobs themselves. Most of the people I'm referring to are paper pushers just like I am, and those kinda jobs are mediocre at best pay and benefit wise. They smoke and party like it's 1999.

Point is, got over the jealousy, working on being less hateful. Working on getting myself up to the standards that I want. And as long as YOUR bills continue NOT showing up at my door step....... I know I'm not the only one going through this... How do I know? I've watched the Debt Diet on Oprah and I've seen people on Dr. Full-of-it (Dr Phil) with the same complaints and/or huge amounts of debts..... It's not always about me, now is it?