There are limits to my abilities
Wednesday, 17 May, 2006
Feeling rather down in the dumps today. Last night I made the stupid mistake of looking at our budget for the year and I discovered that we are running at a deficit of about $70 per week for the entire year. I suppose it was always way too optimistic that I would be able to earn us an extra $440 a month to cover counselling fees (or even an extra $260 a month as we've been able to get a little bit back through the Allied Health thingummy—or will get back once those stupid forms are sorted out) but I think the thing that really broke the bank was the $700 we forked out for Ben's textbooks. I keep kicking myself for feeling sad about the fact that I worked so hard and it still didn't cover everything (I know it's not my fault and that I did all I could short of driving myself to exhaustion or breaking up my marriage) but all I end up with are bruises. It does put yesterday's delightful frolic into perspective though.
Anyway, at least the question's answered: we can't survive with me working just four days a week. I need to work five. Tonight MM will make a decision whether they can employ me for an extra day. If they can, I have to work out what to do next. If they can't, I'll be trying to hold onto my three jobs for a little while longer and going slightly crazy. Maybe we can space out Ben's counselling a little more. Maybe we will have to cut the giving.
Maybe today wouldn't be so bad if I weren't faced with the prospect of indexing DBK III (which still hasn't come back from layout; I feel like I'm waiting to be executed) and if HE 10 weren't still hanging over my head.
Blinks:
A way of funding writing in the future: pitch and idea and get people to support it.
Place where you can hire play equipment for parties, etc.
How to recalibrate the home button on your iPhone.
Unsolicited manuscripts accepted by Pan Macmillan with certain conditions.
Thought Balloon is a group blog in which the writers tackle a new theme every week? month? with one-page scripts. This URL is for their Phonogram ones.
How to sew a zipper on a knitted garment.
Issues organised by tale.
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My solution: don’t budget. Life is too short!
Hear, hear. When I used to budget I couldn’t afford soap. I stopped and managed to see most of the movies that were out at the time. Same income.
Not that I’m saying this is a policy to live by…
But where does wisdom fit in? Is it necessarily wise to keep on living the way you are if you are operating at a deficit of $70 per week? Soon you’ll go broke!
That was the odd thing - there should have been a deficit, but there never was. I accepted it as one of those mysteries-one-should-not-enquire-to-deeply-into.
Then last year I decided to keep better track of translation income and realised ‘Oh. That was where it all came from. Probably.’
I can spell “too”.
give up smoking Karen: that will save at LEAST 70 bucks a week.